Basketball from a fans perspective

The sky is falling

It’s possible you might remember the children’s tale of Chicken Little. For those unfamiliar with the tale it goes like this. A pebble fell out of the sky one day and hit Chicken Little on his head, at that point he went into overdrive trying to warn the other farm animals. He ran from one end of the barnyard to the other screaming “The sky is falling, the sky is falling.” I don’t remember the end of the story without searching but that’s where our tale begins. At least once every two weeks or so you read an account from a media member or a fan, they point out “Nobody is watching the NBA” without offering 0 proof of their statement. Well here I am prepared to give you 20 reasons why fans are watching the NBA and the league is in a continuing growth mode, they are listed below:

Shai Gilgeous-Alexander                        Nikola Jokic

Chet Holmgren                                      Brandon Ingram

Victor Wembanyama                              Anthony Edwards

Austin Reaves                                        Karl-Anthony Towns

Brandon Miller                                       DeAaron Fox

Luka Doncic                                           Donovan Mitchell

Jaren Jackson Jr.                                   Jaime Jaquez Jr.

Ja Morant                                              Zion Williamson

Devin Booker                                         Jayson Tatum

Giannis Antetokounmpo                         Jaylen Brown 

Notice who is missing, there is no LeBron nor Kevin Durant listed, in addition no Steph Curry,  Anthony Davis or Kyrie Irving. If you haven’t spotted the difference allow this brief explanation. All the players listed above are younger than 30 years of age. It is possible several of the names you might disagree with being placed on a rising star list. That’s okay, this is my list, you are free to detail one of your own. It’s just the fact I happen to believe the NBA’s future is quite solid if the majority of these 20 reach the level many believe capable. 

You could do this on your own

On Wednesday, a thumbnail sketch was provided on Providence coach Kim English. You could do this on your own however since I had an opportunity to see this Mizzou Tiger as a player this is a shortcut. English from Baltimore arrived on campus from Notre Dame Prep School and Randallstown High School both in Maryland. Although English was drafted the NBA proved a way stop on the road to a coaching career. There were three stops as an assistant, Tulsa, Colorado and then Tennessee in 2019. In March 2021 George Mason hired English as head coach and his first season saw his George Mason team finished with a 14-16 record and 7-9 in the Atlantic 10 Conference.

Improvement occurred in the following year as English was able to lead them to a 20-13, 11-7 record. In two seasons the school went from 9th in the conference to 5th. Two years to the date English was hired at George Mason he was signed by Providence to replace longtime coach Ed Cooley. The 2023-24 season is early, as this is written Providence has 11 wins and only 2 losses prior to conference play, they are the number 25 team in the Top 25. English is not that far removed from his playing days, at the age of 35 he is one of the youngest coaches in the nation and can relate to those he is recruiting. I can only believe the two stops are the road to a major Division I program at some future date. So the brief update on the rising star I believe is named Kim English.

The coach (or manager)

I heard this a long time ago and believe it still applies today. “A coach (or manager) receives too much credit when their team wins and too much blame when they lose.” To me that says, “Damned if you do, damned if you don’t,” in all seriousness that person is the leader of his or her team. I have seen several that appeared to have no clue what they were doing while others coached or managed at a high level. Some took over poorly performing teams and were able to lead them to success. In basketball I once read of an assistant coach who worked for years under Pistons coach Chuck Daley. This NBA team seeing the success Daley had believed his top assistant should be able to duplicate that effort. Needless to say the assistant wasn’t a very good head coach.

A member of the media said, “How could he coach under Daley and learn so little about basketball?” In the college ranks I believe Quin Snyder is a good coach now, I’m unsure if that was the case when Mizzou hired him to replace Norm Stewart. I believe there was a growth curve for Snyder and its allowed him (in my view) to become a much better coach for the Jazz and now the Hawks. A number of assistant coaches long to become head coaches, circumstances are always different however the rate of success varies. Example, Patrick Ewing was a Hall of Fame athlete and long time NBA assistant coach. Hired at his alma mater Georgetown he was found unable to lead the program to success. I’m writing this to provide you an indication I’m concerned about Laker coach Darvin Ham. I will reserve my judgement for a time but let’s just say I am not as comfortable with his decisions as I was at the beginning of the season.

Are they legit

I’ve mentioned on more than one occasion I’m not an ESPN Insider, I only read the headline not the content. Because the play of the Clippers has improved the story ask the question are James Harden and team contenders? Before I begin an assessment allow me to say “I’m from Missouri you’ve got to Show Me.” No argument with the writer on my part Clipper play over the last few weeks has improved, has it progressed enough for them to play for the Western Conference and maybe NBA championship?

That question can only be answered in June, I’m going to attempt in late December to assess the Clippers. Although I questioned the acquisition of Harden at the time of the trade his play has certainly been exemplary as this is written. Despite the positives there are unresolved questions beginning with Harden. He all but disappeared in the playoff run last season with the Sixers. The health of Paul George and Kawhi Leonard remain key to an extended run, we could say that’s no more important to the Clippers than any other NBA team. The key issue to me are the reserves which includes Norman Powell, Terrance Mann and most of all Westbrook. So this is your quick critique of the Clippers, we shall see how this plays out.

Entitled

I’ve long understood we now live in a different age, it is the age of the consumer and them ALL WAYS BEING CORRECT. The latest example involves Clipper Russell Westbrook, I don’t have all the details but it appears similar to those of the recent past. A courtside fan made a statement which upset Westbrook however the aftermath is what concerns me. The first two letter writers attacked Russell, they were not worded in this manner but took that stance. “I paid for my ticket, I can say anything I wish,” the problem that’s only partially true. Freedom of speech does give that fan a degree of privilege but only up to a point.

He or she is not permitted to say any or everything that comes up, I understand and can agree a number of athletes are overpaid and for lack of another term spoiled. Many of us have customer service jobs, we must work directly with much of the public. There are few instances as a customer service rep where you are going to listen to profanities uttered in your direction without some form of retaliation. The basketball court is no different than your job as a customer. Some reading this will conclude I’m stating the paying customer at an NBA game has no rights, that’s not the point. The point is don’t allow yourself to appear foolish by uttering words you wouldn’t say to a bank teller or someone repairing your automobile to their face, we are not as entitled as many of us believe.