Basketball from a fans perspective

“The cardinal rule of playoff basketball: Can you take care of your defensive board?” 

Hubie Brown

An explanation

Mizzou has a game tonight against Minnesota, the last one 7 foot 5 Conner Vanover will be forced to miss. You remember the NCAA suspended him for the first three games of the season. This was done because he participated in the pre-NBA draft Portsmouth Invitational in the spring. I decided to check the sight to uncover some facts, they pay for meals and lodging while an athlete participates in the event. This is copied from the Portsmouth website, read it and see what you think.

1.“Please be advised that, due to NCAA rules governing the NBA pre-Draft process, participating in the Portsmouth Invitational Tournament may adversely impact a college player’s ability to return to college to complete in NCAA Men’s Basketball during the 2022-23 season or any subsequent season. Thus, prior to accepting an invitation to participate in the Portsmouth Invitation Tournament, college players who wish to preserve the option of returning to college for the season should consult with their head coach and the compliance department at their educational institution to discuss how their remaining NCAA eligibility may be impacted by participations in the Portsmouth Invitation Tournament.”

I believe Vanover most likely read the document but may have thought he was headed for the NBA, G-League or Europe to continue playing. Second to that at the time there was no head coach or compliance department for him to consult. He was yet to sign with Mizzou but indicated earlier his days at Oral Roberts University were over. This is certainly not intended to offer an excuse for Vanover but simply point out it was an oversite on his part. How many times have you had to sign your name to a document, have you read all the fine print? I’ll be honest I haven’t, just yesterday I had to indicate by my signature I read the 150-200 words on each of the 3 pages I signed.  CORRECTION: Vanover will be eligible to play I counted the number of games in error. Despite that fact once again the NCAA proves how it dispenses justice. 

1.Portsmouth Invitational Tournament

The plight of the Clippers

I was limited to highlights only prior to Tuesday night, although I didn’t see all of the Clippers-Nuggets game it is slowly becoming clear the problem for the other Los Angeles team. The positives I saw was hustle, although the Clippers lost 111-108 they fought valiantly coming up short at the end. Two issues which must be addressed in my view, one that can be fixed the other not so easily. The first is Westbrook or Harden must be benched, both are ball dominate point guards. Although I believe Harden is a better shooter his dribble-dribble-dribble slows the game tremendously. Westbrook at the point moves the ball, in my view Harden plays with the second unit.

That is the fix, the portion causing me to shake my head is size. From top to bottom this Clippers team must be one of the shortest in the NBA. It’s 7-foot Ivica Zubac, then reserve Mason Plumlee (6 foot 10) who is injured with an MCL sprain. As I attempted to point out the Clippers have no assets to trade due to the acquisition of Harden. The defeat by the Nuggets leave them with a 3-win 7 loss season. Is this dilemma fixable…of course it is remember last season. The other Los Angeles team began with a 2 and 8 record yet managed to play for the Western Conference Championship. That team was able to acquire talent to aid their regular season and deep playoff run. In closing I can say nothing is impossible however Clipper management has some tough decisions in front of them over the next few weeks.

If you are a certain age

Chances are good you are most likely not a cable subscriber. You might ask the question what that has to do with the NBA or basketball in general. Commissioner Adam Silver addressed the issue recently basically stating Gen Z & Alpha individuals are not watching cable television in the numbers of previous generations, cable subscriptions are declining. What are Gen Z and other folks doing, it’s viewing streaming services and Tick Tock for them. Naturally with the decrease in viewers the NBA must make adjustments with its television contracts.

Before I proceed any further consider this fact, the NFL with a much larger fan base has already moved. Their Thursday night NFL games have moved to streaming service Prime. Broadcast stations in the market must telecast the games but if you don’t live in the area it’s pay for the streaming service. I certainly am no Nostradamus but I foresee a day when practically every sports event would be available on something other than over the air. We might as well prepare for it, Bob Dylan once recorded a song, The Times, They Are A Changin’ and that certainly applies to sports broadcasting in the near future.

Two years in a row

If we check NBA mock draft sites we could possibly see this scenario occurring. The 2024 draft might have the second Frenchman in a row to be drafted number one. In 2023 the top pick turned out to be Victor Wembanyama with the Spurs, next June it could be Alexandre Sarr. He's a 7-foot 1 inch 205 pound center, don't concern yourself with the question of weight. We've seen razor thin Chet Holmgren with the Thunder and the aforementioned Wemby drafted in consecutives years

As for Sarr a check of his bio indicates home is Toulouse France although unlike Wemby he's not playing in Europe. Sarr is with the Perth Wildcats of the NBL in Australia. Mock site nbadraft.net list Sarr as its top pick, nbadraft.com place him number two, while thakathon.com has him in the 6 position. We have an entire season to play prior to the draft, plenty of time for change. The main thing I wanted you to be acquainted with his name prior to the lottery and later draft.