Basketball from a fans perspective

On the other hand

If you read yesterday’s edition and the story concerning George Karl some might believe I was too tough on him. Someone reading it might say, “He can’t be that bad.” Guess what they are probably correct however I admit it, I don’t particularly like Karl for some of the reasons I detailed previously. For him alone Karl has chosen a path of complaint regarding many of today’s players and issues. Despite that fact of what I wrote there is another side to everyone and that includes Karl.

This second account will provide you with several positives about the former NBA player and coach. Karl was enshrined in the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2022 which certainly bodes well for him. In addition his NBA teams won over 1,000 games, although he never won an NBA championship his 5 teams made the post season tournament 22 times. His best team was the 1996 Sonic team comprised of Shawn Kemp and Gary Payton, that team faced the Michael Jordan led Bulls for the NBA championship. As for the relatives, friends and fans of Karl I believe this update balances the account published on Monday.

A unique record

Those familiar with the name Rick Barry might say his most unique skill was free throw shooting. Barry is in 8th place all time in the NBA, his underhand style saw him shoot .8931 for his career. During his 14 year ABA/NBA career his .862 effort was the lowest percentage Barry ever scored from the line. Despite his outstanding effort at the line that’s not the unique record. Barry led the NCAA, the ABA and NBA in scoring at one time the only player to ever accomplish that feat. While he was enrolled at the University of Miami (FL) Barry led the NCAA in scoring with a 37.4 points per game average his senior year.

The 1966-67 season while a member of the San Francisco Warriors Barry led the NBA with a 35.6 point per game average. Once the ABA began play Barry left the Warriors for the ABA Oakland Oaks, in the 1968-69 season he led the startup league with a 34.0 point per game average. Is it possible for a player to duplicate a portion of Barry’s record in this day and age, that’s conceivable although not likely? I could see a prospect such as a Cooper Flagg leading the NCAA in scoring and repeating that endeavor in the NBA, as for a third professional league that might be a slight more difficult to accomplish. I guess if that player led the G-League or Euro basketball in scoring we could count that.

A time for giving

Needless to say the Christmas weekend was not good for Larry Laker. Allow me to detail the sorry for you, it began for me on Friday evening. My Mizzou Tigers would face the Fighting Illini in the Annual Braggin’ Rights game. For some reason I didn’t realize Illinois was number 13 in the nation until tip-off, that would turn out to not be good. In addition that would be the beginning of my really bad sports weekend. The game quickly turned in the direction of Illinois, the final score was Illinois 97-73 that hurt badly.

Fast forward to Christmas day at noon, the NFL Chiefs stumbled and bumbled their way allowing the Raiders a 20-14 victory. 4:00 p.m. Central Time the Lakers took the floor against the Celtics at Crypto.com, I believe the score was 12-0 Celtics before the Lakers scored their first point. Needless to say this game continued the downward trend of my other sports teams. The final score for this game was Celtics 126 Lakers 115. Generally we tend to think of Christmas as a time of giving, my sports teams were certainly contributors. They found themselves on the other side of lopsided wins by the opposition.   

Radio

If you are a history buff as I am you might have heard the term, “The Golden Age of Radio.” I am far too young to remember it however it occurred in the 1930’s and 1940’s. Most programming came into households via the radio, a number of radio dramas moved to television once it began to dominate the airways. In addition to the dramatic programs there was the news. In addition there was sports, baseball dominated the airways but football and of course basketball came along later.

I’ve had the opportunity to listen to all of those sports at times, I believe due to the slow pace of baseball it lends itself best to radio over the other sports. The worst in my view…basketball, I suppose when the game was played at a slower pace it was probably okay to listen to a radio broadcast of a basketball game. For some strange reason I was unable to locate the date of the first radio broadcast however the history indicates it was a 1921 baseball game between the Pirates and Phillies. In October that same year the first football game between Pitt and West Virginia was broadcast. Somehow it’s my belief basketball would have followed around that same time. The radio broadcasters such as the Knicks Marty Glickman covered all sports but moved from the radio side to television, his first year on Knicks radio was 1946. Marv Albert his protegee followed in his footsteps.

Another sports broadcast legend was the Lakers Chick Hearn who began his role in 1957. His was unique because it began on the radio side but eventually moved over to television. He simulcast on radio and television and he coined the phrase “Words eye view.” On occasion I have been forced to listen to a Mizzou game on the radio, I find it extremely difficult. We forget in the early days radio was the only outlet available to determine the outcome of the game before the morning newspapers.

Rookie of the Year

If you’ve read this blog any length of time you realize one thing, rarely do I claim one player is better than another. That is the case for the 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year, as this is written Chet Holmgren is clearly the leading candidate for the award, Victor Wembanyama is a close second. There are factors impacting both, let’s check Wemby first. I’ve been reading complaints from a number of fans how coach Pop is utilizing the talents of Wemby. I cannot get into that area for a single reason alone, I ain’t no coach. I must assume the youngster is adapting to the NBA as best he can. For me the factor is the talent surrounding Wemby, it’s clear the Thunder roster is more capable than the one that represents the Spurs.

It’s my belief Holmgren has adapted to the NBA much in the same manner as Wemby. Holmgren playing for a better team might appear to several to be the superior performer. Keep in mind this is written with a little more than two months of NBA play. This is December 23, the numbers might go up or down however both (in my view) are relatively close.  They are playing about the same number of minutes, in scoring the ball Wemby is up by 1 point over Holmgren. As for FG percentage Holmgren is the leader 53.1% to 43.5% and the same goes for shooting from distance, Holmgren is 38.1% to 27.9%. Rebounds, assists and steals Wemby is the leader but not by much. In block shot leadership Wemby is tied for first with 3 a game while Holmgren is 2.7. What have I proved with this exercise, absolutely nothing. Well not quite…I’ve proven barring major injury the NBA has two stars for the immediate future. Oh, that ROY thing…you decide who should earn it not me.