Basketball from a fans perspective

I waited and waited….

This is an opportunity at the beginning to stop reading, this will cover a subject some of you might find objectionable and maybe offensive. I’m writing this because I too was complicit in the past with accounts of a salacious nature. I know I wrote of Kyrie Irving when he was a member of the Nets, I did the same thing regarding Jae Morant. In this instance my ire is aimed at the media over that of the NBA. Reports have circulated for over a week Thunder guard Josh Giddey allegedly had a relationship with an underage female.

After time passed the NBA indicated it would undergo an investigation but that’s where my account begins. Several of the most vocal critics of NBA players at times were strangely silent while this news was circulating. Stephen A. Smith even went on the air later claiming he could have been sued if he’d discussed it. The threat of a potential suit didn’t stop him from commenting on Kyrie Irvin, Kevin Porter or Jae Morant. His co-worker Malika Andrews mentioned an incident at the time Celtics coach Joe Mazzulla was hired, Mazzulla had been arrested for domestic battery while in college. Why this member of the media decided to bring this up 14 years after his hire is beyond me. During the 2023 NBA Draft she believed this was the appropriate time to mention the tragedy of Brandon Miller and his part in the commission of a murder. After an investigation by Alabama law enforcement they reported there was no reason to include Miller’s name in this tragic event. As for Giddey this same media member was strangely silent until this past Monday, when Andrews read what sounded like a prepared script regarding the Thunder guard.

This is what I fail to understand, the media including the two mentioned to my knowledge never minced words when it came to the players named at the beginning of this account. Why are they so worried now about being sued when apparently that was not an issue in the past? I’m just not sure why these and other media members fail to do their job. As this is written I have no idea if Giddey is guilty or innocent, he may have allegedly committed a crime. This I believe is a story and should not be ignored in the manner Smith and Andrews two high profile ESPN media types and others have done.

Bits n Pieces

The medical staff has given Bronny James permission to begin working out. He will be reevaluated next week, if cleared he will be able to return to the USC court at a future date. This is the portion unclear and yet to be determined. Bronny returns at some point this season or waits until the 2024-25 season. I’ll keep track of his progress and give you an updates.    

My Lakers are improved record wise over last season, despite this fact they have not played as well as I would like but at least they are competing. I’m unsure how I would handle myself if I were a fan of the Detroit Pistons. It was pointed out they went THE ENTIRE MONTH OF NOVEMBER with 0 wins, 30 days with not a single win. An NBA team going a month without a win has only occurred 12 times in the leagues history…now it’s 13.

This is worth a visit, you might remember reading the route taken by Dr. J. to move from the ABA to the Sixers. It was mentioned that the doctor played in several exhibition games for the Hawks before a suit was filed prohibiting his play. On that Hawks team was also another legend Pete Maravich, the website points to the greatness of that team if Dr. J. had been able to remain with the Hawks. There is no method to determine the success however a team having two legends is certainly no guarantee of accomplishment on the court. Sacrifice of your game is required, ask the present-day Clippers.

Yesterday you read a brief bio regarding Warren Jabali because I always hope to encourage study of a subject additional information is provided for you. There are at least two books worthy of reading, they are available kindle, hardcover or paperback. “Thanks to You: Memories of Warren Edward Armstrong Jabali,” the author is widow Mary Alice Beasley. Another publication is “Jabali-A Kansas City Legend”, written by David Thomas PhD. There are other publications available however these two are the most highly rated in my view.

Load management…surely you can’t be serious

The headline above says it all, the late Randy Smith played an NBA record 906 consecutive games. His record has since been broken by A.C. Green, how about this bit of additional information? At Division II Buffalo State Smith was an All American in three sports, basketball, soccer and track. A pro in all three sports certainly might have been possible, he chose basketball over the other sports. In 1971 potential earnings in soccer and track was not as lucrative as they are today.

Although he was drafted maybe he might have been an afterthought there as well. Smith was chosen in the 7th round of the 1971 NBA Draft and would become the 104th player chosen that year. Because the Buffalo Braves were an expansion team he might have had a greater opportunity to demonstrate his talent over an established NBA team. He was a two-time NBA All Star, in 1978 he was NBA All Star game MVP. Smith managed a 12-year NBA career for several NBA teams and might have been the fastest player racing up and down the court. Randy Smith died in 2009 suffering a heart attack during a workout. He is a name from the past you should be familiar with.