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Basketball from a fans perspective

There is a history

I watched and listened to a cardiologist this morning on The Today Show, the discussion centered on Bronny James and the cardiac arrest he suffered at practice. I then thought back to last winter and Bills safety Damar Hamlin and others. According to this cardiologist African American males suffer in disproportion numbers in this area no matter the field of endeavor. There are other issues which cause heart-related problems which I discovered searching the net.

“Research suggests African Americans may carry a gene that makes them more salt-sensitive, increasing the risk of high blood pressure and heart disease.” The flowing accounts are not instances of cardiac arrest however they are heart related, I mentioned Hank Gaithers at Marymount in yesterday’s account. I had almost forgotten about former Celtic Reggie Lewis. In the case of Gaithers and Lewis both suffered death due to heart issues. In 2018 Shareef O’Neal son of Shaunie and Shaquille underwent open heart surgery to correct an issue with his heart. As much as we might love the game of basketball to have a healthy life is much more important.

The SEC

Prior to Mizzou’s move to the SEC I didn’t know a great deal about the conference. Sure I was aware the dominance of Alabama, Auburn, LSU and Georgia football but not a great deal about the basketball. As for the basketball I thought it was only Kentucky and Florida and maybe Tennessee or one other, I figured Mizzou would struggle in football but compete successfully in basketball. I certainly missed the boat on that one, offering no excuse Mizzou basketball was not as good as I believed it would be.

After Mizzou struggled much of the past few seasons new coach Dennis Gates arrived on the scene and was able to produce a sustainable team quickly. As I look ahead to the 2023-24 season it appears Mizzou will have its hands filled once again. All way too early Top 25 polls list the same teams and get this, they are chock full of SEC schools. I perused ESPN’s poll they list Tennessee at 6, Arkansas 14, Kentucky 17, Texas A&M 19 and Alabama 22. This should provide us an idea the SEC will again be competitive in the upcoming season, will Mizzou be prepared for battle, I certainly hope so?

Bits n Pieces

I didn’t read the article only the headline, Laker guard Austin Reaves proclaimed former Laker Russell Westbrook “was the best teammate he’s ever had.” If this appears strange coming from me allow a brief explanation, I would like to point out there was never any hatred on my part toward Westbrook, at the time he was acquired I felt he just wasn’t a good fit for the Lakers. My view of him varied over the course of his time with the team. After he left the Clippers signed him and I pointed out his numbers were much better than had been exhibited for the Lakers. I hope Westbrook has a good season, just not against the Lakers I hope.

Wemby can’t play at the NBA level, at least that’s what we’ve been led to believe. I am unsure about you but I’ve heard from a number of former NBA players claiming Victor Wembanyama will have difficulty transferring his game from Europe. What is really amazing to me are the names willing to come forth with these claims. The most recent name to add to the crowd is Glen “Big Baby” Davis who spent the greater portion of his career with the Celtics. For those who might be unfamiliar with the name Davis was drafted in 2007 by the Sonics, his rights were later traded to the Celtics. He would conclude his NBA career in 2015 with the Clippers, his lifetime numbers 8 points along with 4 rebounds a game. We might discover Wemby can’t play successfully at the NBA level but why not determine that on the court rather than in the media.

I like this argument, we have witnessed statements mostly from NBA fans. They claim Player A who appeared in the 1950’s couldn’t play in today’s NBA and something similar. It’s always been an issue for me, comparing players from different eras and that’s changed now. I’m not sure where this began but a discussion ensued who was the better player Dwayne Wade or Paul Pierce. For once we had athletes playing in the same time frame. Wade entered the NBA in 2003 and was active until 2019, as for Pierce it was 1998 through 2017. If we look strictly at the numbers Wade scored at a 22.0 point clip a game while it was 19.7 for Pierce. Things are never balanced, the Heat might have depended more on Wade over the Celtics use of Pierce. Wade has three NBA championships to the single championship won by Pierce, you are the decider here.

I could be proven wrong

Based on the latest news Mexico City might be gain an NBA franchise over my hometown. The NBA announced on Wednesday the Orlando Magic and Atlantic Hawks will play a regular season game November 9, 2023. According to a news release “It will be the 32 NBA game in Mexico since 1992, more than any other country besides the United States and Canada.” If you remember the article I questioned if the altitude of Mexico City (7,349 feet) might be a detriment to obtaining an expansion franchise. Visiting NBA teams have complained for years about playing in Denver’s rarefied 5,276-foot air.