Basketball from a fans perspective

“I can’t relate to lazy people. We don’t speak the same language. I don’t understand you. I don’t want to understand you.”

Kobe Bryant 

The rookies

There are more rookies in the NBA other than Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren, despite that fact these two are the leading candidates for NBA Rookie of the Year. The Spurs and Thunder are in action Saturday night however the per game stats do not include the action from those games just in case you wondered.     

Wemby 19.3 points 9.3 rebounds 2.3 assist 43.6% FG

Holmgren 15.5 points 7.8 rebounds 2.6 assists, 52.9% FG

What do you think, it appears we have a huge race to determine who receives the award. Later you will read the review of the game where both players were in action.

A winner

Friday evening the Clippers were winners 106-100 over the Rockets. It’s reported Russell Westbrook went to the coach and said he would become a sixth man. James Harden hit the game winning 3-point basket, there were significant contributions from Paul George and Kawhi Leonard plus Ivica Zubac. All is right in Clipper land…well maybe, the 6-game losing streak is officially over. If we look at the Clipper starters plus Westbrook they are a talented group but there remains a question.

Are they willing to make the sacrifices required to become a championship winner over championship contender? It’s my belief one must be selfish to play at the NBA level however there must be forfeit to a degree. A willingness to give up a shot and pass to a teammate in a better position for the shot. In other words forgoing “hero ball” for the opportunity to play “winning ball.” Have the Clippers reached that point yet, I certainly don’t have the answer the truth is based on last season we can never say never. The Clippers have close to the same won-loss record as the Lakers exhibited this time last season, and they played for the Western Conference Championship.  

Nicknames…sometimes

If you’ve read this blog any length of time you are aware, I love nicknames. If you say Magic your first thought might be Earvin Johnson former Laker great, if it’s Larry Legend you know the subject is Larry Bird. Michael Jordan has been known as Air Jordan or MJ. Early Saturday morning I discovered a well-known media guy has hung a new nickname on Anthony Davis. I’m not going to mention his name nor the nickname he’s given AD.

I will only make this statement, I hope I’ve not done the same i.e. pass on a negative nickname on an athlete. Basketball fans are aware that despite his talent AD has an injury history, we could make the same statement about Zion Williamson and a few others. The basis for my attitude change is simple, there are rare instances where a player suffered an injury while not in action on the court. The nicknames are intended to point out a humorous fact of the player however generally I see them now as a put-down. There might be one or two but I believe the overwhelming majority of athletes are not malingerers. Why sit on the sidelines for an extended period of time for a game you’ve played all your life?

There is nothing funny about sitting on the sidelines watching your team in action without you. If one sits behind a keyboard there are probably few work-related injuries you could suffer. If you believe derogatory nicknames are funny so be it, I’m not here to criticize you. This is a simple declaration on my part to indicate if I have used them in the past going into the future no more. Do I intend to offer critical remarks on players less the nickname thing…I certainly intend to do just that.

We’ve got this thing mixed up!

Some readers might be upset over what they are about to read, as for others they may or may not agree with my take. This is my observation and there certainly is no requirement for you to subscribe to my belief. I'll ask the question that's the basis for this account, why can't white guys be athletic too, on the other hand why can't black guys be cerebral as well? We are guilty of believing some misconceptions. Why didn't Michael Jordan in the past and Kevin Durant today "think" the game. 

At the same time we are forced to believe Luka Doncic or Austin Reaves are unathletic...not true. Why do we continue to perpetuate stuff that's often untrue, check this out. One site compares Duke commit Cooper Flagg to former NBA player Andrei Kirilenko while Alexander Sarr top 2024 NBA prospect is compared to Cavs power forward Evan Mobley. My question at all times regarding these and all prospects, can he play. Each of us no matter our ethnicity brings a particular skill level to the game, it really doesn’t matter if you are black or white, the key has always been can you play the game?

I was disappointed

Just as soon as I saw the schedule I thought, “This is going to be a good one.” Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren would be facing one another again. They played one another at the time both were amateurs, in addition they met in an exhibition game prior to the season start. The final score read Thunder 123 Spurs 87, as the Oklahoma team played an outstanding game, my disappointment involved the two principles I wanted to see in action. I was displeased there as well, during most of the game they were facing other opponents. Neither Wemby nor Holmgren had particularly good games, Wemby scored but 8 points on 4 for 15 from the floor (26.7%) although he did manage to grab 14 rebounds, as for Holmgren it was 3 for 10 (30%) and 9 points. I’m sure they will face one another again but this initial meeting was a snoozer.