Basketball from a fans perspective

He was not one of them

Numerous former ABA players with the NBA takeover became household names. Dr. J., George Gervin, Moses Malone and others…their careers blossomed in the NBA too. George McGinnis was one of those names although his star was much dimmer and it had nothing to do with his talent. He was among the best in the ABA playing for the Pacers and later in the NBA for the Sixers. From 1975 through 1980 with the Sixers, Nuggets and a return to the NBA Pacers McGinnis was one of the best of the best.

He was a three-time NBA All Star, NBA First Team in 1976 and NBA Second Team in 1977. The word wasn’t used much back then but the 6-foot 8 235-pound McGinnis defined the word power forward. Although he never won a championship in the NBA he was a two-time champion with the ABA Pacers. In 2017 he was enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame and McGinnis would have his number 30 retired by the Pacers. After retirement he returned to his hometown Indianapolis, he was plagued by back problems in his later years. On December 14 at the age of 73 McGinnis passed due to heart complications. The name George McGinnis is another name from the rich history of basketball you should become acquainted with.

“All of us are going through stuff”

Those were the words of Stephen A. Smith regarding Draymond Green, Smith made an attempt to defend Green recently. This is me, I believe everyone deserves a second chance whatever the matter. I make this statement indicating they must face some sort of punishment. As for Smith he was defending the actions of Green by saying this, “He’s going through some stuff” or something similar. Mr. Smith all of us are going through stuff, some of us don’t have enough to eat. Some of us have no shelter and its now winter, some of our children are suffering because of poverty.

Yes, Mr. Smith they are going through stuff as well but I have a question for you. Are you aware any of them punching or chocking someone around them? I’m sure it might exist however they have no more excuse than a Draymond Green. It is clear to me that without any behavioral help background I can see Green needs assistance. Who is responsible, is it the NBA or the Warriors or his family? I believe whole heartily in recovery but he’s got to admit he’s got anger issues. Until these issues are resolved Green needs to remain sidelined. The one thing I believe Green doesn’t require are apologist for his actions on the basketball court.

Please help me

Some might not be aware this is D’Angelo Russell’s second go round with the Lakers. He was originally drafted by them as the second pick in the first round of the 2015 NBA Draft. In 2017 he was traded to the Nets and the question might be what happened to cause the Lakers to sour on him? In a 2019 interview Magic Johnson then a part of management revealed he made a decision to trade D’Lo based on an incident involving a teammate. No need of going into detail if you are not familiar with it let’s just say it was a “TMZ” type account of the behavior of this teammate. D’Lo moved from the Nets to the Warriors for a season and then traded to the Wolves in 2020. Last February the Lakers acquired him in a trade and he performed well until the playoffs. We are 20+ games into the 2023-24 season and it seems every week I’m reading a story claiming the Lakers are attempting to arrange a trade for his replacement at the point.

What are the issues for D’Lo this time around besides last seasons bad playoff run? I’ve tried to watch his play and attempt to figure out why it appears he’s fallen into disfavor with the Lakers this time around. I located a scouting report for detail and it follows. “Creative ballhandler and scorer who often takes audacious shots but hits them at a rate that makes them acceptable…Attracts a lot of attention while running the offense, which allows him to distribute the ball at a good level…Poor defender who gives little effort trying to get stops…Can shoot his team to wins and also miss shots to losses…Probably better off as an instant offense off the bench rather than starting.” Gabe Vincent proved quite successful last season while a member of the Heat but that appeared primarily on the offensive side. The Lakers signed him in the off season and if he is to replace D’Lo he must defend at a higher level plus prove he can run the team’s offense.

John Wooden

There remains two questions for me regarding the late John Wooden. Was he a great coach or just a great motivator for his UCLA teams all those years, better yet maybe he was a combination of both. In fairness a coach must have superior talent, having a Lew Alcindor and Bill Walton and others certainly helps. 620 wins versus 147 losses (.808) at UCLA including 10 NCAA Championships, his teams won 300 games in the NCAA Post-Season and only 67 losses (.817).

One of the areas of my focus has always been the magnificent quotes he left for us to ponder. This is one of those quotes I’ve posted in the past but believed it was significant enough to repeat it again. I’m sure he must have communicated this to his UCLA teams at times while running practice sessions. “Be more concerned with your character than your reputation because your character is what you really are, while your reputation is merely what others think about you?” Think about the words and how they might reflect on you personally.