Basketball from a fans perspective

A Fractured Fairy Tale

Once upon a time in a land far, far away…. some called it The Big Apple others referred to it as Gotham. Most of those living there simply called it New York City. We heard this whopper of a tale but before I begin lets pause a moment for an information update. Pacer guard Tyrese Haliburton is blowing up the NBA, he’s the 4th leading scorer in the league so far, his numbers are 26.9 points and 11.9 assists a game. We now return to the fairy tale and its aftermath, one of the characters was a wanna be wizard this is what he did recently. He went on television proclaiming his prowess with this, “I called a certain member of the Knicks and told him you need to draft this dude (Haliburton). You’d have him to pair with Randle. This person won’t acknowledge the fact I called him.”

Let’s take another pause for clarification, Haliburton was drafted by the Kings in 2020 and was made the 12th pick in the first round that year. Mid-season 2022 Haliburton along with a host of players was traded to the Pacers. Given more playing time his numbers across the board increased in successive years until the beginning of this season when he begin knocking it out of the park. Back to the wizard a moment, I don’t pay a great deal of attention to him but maybe you do. Think back to 2020, do you remember anytime the wizard claiming the Knicks should draft Haliburton? Do you remember in the last three years other than this week such a statement being made by the wizard? Anytime I mention a scenario similar to this Keenan's response is simple, “If it’s not on video it didn’t occur.”

What a difference a year makes

We always get into the argument it’s the coach that makes a team. Others argue it’s the talent a coach might have especially if we are discussing the NBA. Is it the coach or the players, check this out for reference. November 2022 the Suns then led by Monty Williams finished the month with a perfect record. They played 16 games winning all of them, now contrast that with November 2023. 

Williams was fired after last season by the Suns and was later hired by the Pistons. We just finished the month of November and the Pistons joined an exclusive club. They won 0 games in the month of November going 0-15. A coach being fired is not the solution to a problem in all instances, I happen to believe Williams is a good coach. In this instance this outside observer believes the problem is personnel rather than a coaching issue.

An old rivalry

The headline is a bit misleading, I’m unsure if a rivalry still exists between Kansas and Mizzou basketball. It evaporated when Mizzou departed the Big XII for the SEC in 2012. Some contend this rivalry has only a small connection to do with basketball or football but extends as far back as the American Civil War (1861-1865). That’s another story for another time for those of you who are history buffs. As for the all-time record its heavily in favor of Kansas, the two schools have met 146 times through last season with Kansas winning 94 times versus 52 losses.

Once Mizzou left the conference for the SEC I’m unsure how much of the rivalry remains. As for the history, the first meeting between the schools occurred in the 1906-07 season with Mizzou winning 34-31. Play was begun again in the 2021-22 season with Kansas winning 102-65 in Lawrence. In Columbia last season Kansas was a winner again this time it was a 95-67 victory. I’m getting ahead of myself however this explanation because the schools are now in two different conferences they signed a six-year agreement to play. The first year the covid pandemic forced the game to be cancelled, it’s unknown as this is written if the “covid” game will be added at the end of the contract. 

Why San Diego?

Is this SoCal city ready for professional basketball is the question? I’m unsure if there’s been an overwhelming desire for several reasons. The top one might be depending on where you live in San Diego a drive to Los Angeles is about a 4–5-hour drive. A weekend game and you might be able to catch a Laker or Clipper game. Whenever expansion is mentioned San Diego is on someone’s list. There was NBA basketball at one time in San Diego what happened might be the question? San Diego was granted an expansion team that began play in 1967, the franchise moved to Houston in 1971 after four losing seasons. The history indicates the team’s poor record was a contributing factor in attracting fans to see Rocket Games.

The second time around would witness the Buffalo Braves moving to San Diego after the 1977-78 season. San Diego would remain home until the spring of 1984, that’s when the owner Donald Sterling decided the pasture must be greener in Los Angeles. Sterling clearly wanted Los Angeles, he wanted it so badly he moved his team without league permission. The Clippers would play the 1984-85 season in their new home end of story. I’m not nitpicking with the City of San Diego however twice now it’s NBA franchises have move to other locales. We could include the NFL Chargers in the conversation as well, after first beginning play in Los Angeles they moved to San Diego where they played for years. There were issues which will not be detailed here, whatever the case the NFL Chargers returned to Los Angeles in 2017. My scale indicates the NBA should remain opposed to granting San Diego another NBA franchise. No disrespect to San Diego I'm just trying to keep it real, the NBA will never return to my hometown Kansas City either.