Basketball from a fans perspective

Sorry dude you are wrong

My intent was to leave Draymond Green alone, I was going to wait until judgement was rendered by the NBA. Unfortunately Shaquille O’ Neal forced my hand, he might have been the lone voice defending the play of Green and that’s okay. He said a couple of things I take issue with, Shaq claims Nurkic “oversold” the punch/slap whatever you wish to call it. Because none of us could feel the impact of the blow we must guess the officials called it correctly. That’s strike one against the statement of Shaq, strike two is a little more difficult to define. He contends Dennis Rodman played a similar style of basketball and he’s in the Naismith Hall of Fame.

This is my counter argument to the Shaq statement, just because someone did something and was able to get away with it is no excuse. I’m sure there are bank robbers who escaped and were never caught, just because their life played out in this manner Shaq is saying its okay to rob banks. I’m being facetious, there is certainly the possibility of injury to Nurkic. I wonder if Shaq remembers this Rodman incident, while still a member of the Bulls. It seems Rodman wound up on the floor near the basket competing for the ball. A photographer was a short distance from him and for no apparent reason Rodman decided to kick him. He’d not been responsible for Rodman losing his footing or even being on the floor, this photographer later sued Rodman. I wonder if Shaq would justify the actions of Rodman in this instance.   

I’m not a happy camper

Just as sure as the sun rises in the east I knew it, I was sure the Spurs would break their 18-game losing streak. I certainly didn’t expect it would occur against the Lakers but that’s how it turned out Friday evening. The game was on ESPN at 6:30 p.m. Central Time, I soon discovered LeBron was returning to the lineup, that was the good news. As for the bad, no AD, nor D’Lo plus Cam Reddish was also missing. My first thought was “This is not a good look.” I watched as an unknown Spurs player scored the first basket, Spurs 2 Lakers 0. It is now time for me to check out, which is exactly what I did,

This report is box score written only I didn’t see but 2-3 minutes of the game by choice. I’m unsure who was “watching” Spurs guard Devin Vassell…they were not guarding him as he led the way scoring 38 points in the 129-115 Spurs victory. Wemby contributed to the win but from the box score he might have been more effective in areas other than scoring. He pulled down 15 rebounds and had 5 assists along with 2 blocked shots, Wemby contributed 13 points. Winning the tournament I thought the Lakers might have turned the corner apparently that is not the case. The Lakers had a loss against the Mavs, a barely there win against the Spurs and then the Friday evening loss to those same Spurs. The Lakers must go some distance now to prove they want to win.

Living paycheck to paycheck

I’m sure for most reading this the headline is not an unknown, it could be you or someone with whom you are acquainted. For others it simply states a person awaiting a paycheck to continue maintenance for themselves and their family. While this fits a number of persons you might ask the question an NBA player? Yes indeed that is the case for former NBA player Joe Smith. We read of the financial success of Michael Jordan, Shaq, Junior Bridgeman (look him up) after they retire and we tend to believe that is across the board for most former NBA players, not true. Back to Smith, it was a 16-year NBA career playing for 12 different teams, Smith earned $61,000,000 during his playing career. Did I mention the homes he purchased, his classic automobile collection and the costly divorce?

It was reported in this manner Smith only “earned” $18,000,000 of the amount mentioned. There were taxes, agent fees and management fees dispensed from the total earnings, i.e., Smith had terrible spending habits leaving him with only $3,000. Based on his time in the NBA he qualifies for the NBA Pension but that will be some years before it kicks in. Despite the wild spending habits of Smith his management team did a poor job advising him. Some are claiming “It was his money, he should be able to do what he wants with it.” No argument from me however someone should have placed him on a money management plan prior to retirement. Smith will never recover the money he’s lost over the years but it appears he now has affective management in place, in addition the NBA Pension should aid him in the future.

A pending change

From Adam Silver NBA commissioner, the order of the NBA Draft is likely to change, this modification might be as soon as 2024. The draft would become a two-night event rather than the current one evening. There are several reasons for the proposed change, the commissioner mentioned this one. Nikola Jokic was drafted while a Taco Bell commercial was running, I cannot confirm the story I don’t remember the draft back then. This statement is official, Jokic was the 41st player chosen in the second round, most years there are only 60 players selected. As you surmise it would have been late night especially those in the east.

The Jokic account is the second portion of the story, memory says the draft begins 6:30 p.m. Central 7:30 on the east coast. It might be a late night for viewers on the east coast if they watch it through completion. The other consideration is diligence, teams are allowed 5 minutes between choices in the first round, once the second round begins there are only 2 minutes between selections. Are teams “rushed” in the second round, I have no idea however that’s the contention? Will this proposed change work, I see no reason why it wouldn’t. I’m unsure of the number however the NFL holds its draft over 2-3 days, a portion due to the number of players selected. Look for the 2-night draft to begin in 2024.