Basketball from a fans perspective

I hope this doesn’t appear a retreat

After I wrote an account regarding derogatory nicknames shortly thereafter I used “Thin Man”, “Men” or “Thin Twins” in a description of Victor Wembanyama and Chet Holmgren. I did it based on their body frames and nothing else, after the fact I begin to think, I hope this doesn’t appear a retreat from my earlier expressed view. If you remember I mentioned how this story began, I read of a new nickname hung on Anthony Davis by a member of the media.

I expressed my belief I thought the tag should be considered disparaging and I pledged in the future to no longer use those types of nicknames. Although it was me I certainly wasn’t attempting to say to anyone you should follow my lead. As for these two (Wemby and Holmgren) we realize they have thin frames, there is no requirement to point it out for you. As a reminder to myself and a pledge for the future I intend to cease using any term of the type describing the frame of mentioned Wemby or Holmgren.

A brief look

There are two teams I have been impressed with in this brief NBA season. I realize this will be surprising to many of you reading this but it ain’t the Lakers. One is on the west coast, we have the Sacramento Kings with their 8 win 4 loss season thus far, I’ve had an opportunity to see them in action I’m impressed. De’Aaron Fox and Domantas Sabonis are leading the way for the Kings, why in a manner of speaking are we surprised, they finished last season with a 48-34 record. After a long playoff drought they succumbed to the Warriors 4 games to 3, this season might be far different. In the Midwest or Central Time Zone we saw the Thunder finished last season two games under .500 with a 40-42 record.  

In a manner of speaking similar to the Kings the 10-win 4 loss start is not actually shocking. Who’s impressed so far, well I could say rookie Chet Holmgren but I’m not initially. It’s point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander who is only 25-years of age. In Kansas City our cable system contains Bally Oklahoma so I’ve have numerous occasions thus far to see him in action. He shoots the ball extremely well with few turnovers. As for the other Thin Man, to a degree Holmgren is what many expected, he should become a capable NBA player. The Kings plus the Thunder are two of the chief reasons the Wild, Wild West is so Wild! Both teams certainly have more than two players on each roster contributing, the quartet mentioned are a major part of the early success. 

Sometimes I wonder

I read an account of an Indiana High School State Championship game played in 1930. As is my custom I sometimes check the responses of readers. The first letter had me scratching my head, I couldn’t figure out if the email writer was attempting to provide some comedy or just had no clue what he was talking about. The following is a copy of his letter and you can draw your own conclusions. The winning school won the championship 32-21 and this is what was written. “Final score 32-21?! Great defense or poor offense.”

Did this writer fail to take into consideration the wealth of changes occurring between 1930 and 2023? My research indicates there was a center jump after every basket at the time, can you imagine how much that slowed the game down? In addition there was no fast-break basketball, the ball was walked up the court. In addition no shot clock meant teams could hold the ball or stall as long as they wanted. Those are but a few examples of basketball play at the time and understand this. If the letter writer wasn’t aware I would give him a pass, if this was an attempt to be funny it was lost on most of us, wanna know why? Letter after letter pointed out the facets of the game that changed over the generations. It would appear if he was attempting to poke fun regarding the score it was lost on most.

Jack Molinas

Recently you read of the 1961 College Basketball Scandal, it’s interesting that the name Jack Molinas was revealed. Molinas was involved with the 1950 scandal as well, he was a player at the time. Everything points to the fact Molinas was a very intelligent guy, played basketball at Columbia and later graduated from law school. There was just one problem according to those around him, Molinas loved gambling more than he did basketball. How good a basketball player was Molinas, very good according to those who witnessed his play. One of those is long-time NBA broadcaster Hubie Brown. 

“Jack was one of the best players ever” and considering the number of players Brown's seen over the years that’s a strong statement. As for the other part the 6-foot 6-inch Molinas was reported to have a 175 IQ which would place him at the genius level. How about this from Molinas, “I didn’t care about the money. I never did. Gambling was action. Winning was glory. Money was just a way of keeping score.” Molinas was drafted by the Fort Wayne Pistons and was selected an All-Star but never got to play in the game. He’d been suspended for betting on games his team played, he sued the NBA but the league won. Molinas played in the defunct Eastern League and registered good numbers before deciding to attend law school after his playing days. He was admitted to the New York Bar after an investigation was conducted on his past. He was never caught although his name was linked to the 1950-point shaving scandal.

In 1975 at the age of 43 Molinas was killed in his backyard a shooting victim, at the time it was claimed to be a mob hit based on his association with organized crime members. Based on what I’ve read it’s unclear if the Los Angeles PD have open case file on the Molinas murder. Please this but a thumbnail look at the life of Jack Molinas, Charley Rosen wrote a book on him titled The Wizard of Odds: How Jack Molinas Almost Destroyed the Game of Basketball. I’ve not read the book but must believe it provides far more detail than I could provide you in a few sentences.