Basketball from a fans perspective

Bits n Pieces   

This is what I wrote and published on Saturday morning December 30. “I believe over these 10 games the losing streak (Pistons) will be ended, against which one of these teams I have no idea. We shall see if my examination is correct.” On Saturday evening the longest losing streak in professional sports ended, the Pistons beat the Raptors 129-127. One or more of us might have correctly predicted the end of the losing streak. Several of us might have won $$$, I don’t believe Marcus won anything except to say I was right. After reading the Saturday edition of Off the Dribble he said, “Pistons win today book it!!!” I wonder if I can utilize his prognostication ability to provide me the winning Power Ball numbers.

I didn’t see the game but I am sure of one thing, a disputed three is not the difference between winning and losing a game. Saturday evening the Wolves beat the Lakers 108-106, a 3-point attempt by LeBron was ruled a 2-point basket even with video review. The shot would only have tied the game, it wouldn’t have been a game winner. In any event the basket caused the Lakers to come up two points short. Face it friends game officials are human, they miss calls, if it’s unclear in video replay it cannot be overturned. For me crying and moaning by LeBron does no good, if the Lakers had done other stuff during the course of the game there would be no requirement to complain on an after basis.

Why

In the recent past I wrote of my belief why the NBA will never return to San Diego. I’m sure the chamber of commerce didn’t appreciate my account so this could be considered retribution. This will provide the reasons why the NBA will never return to Kansas City as well. Without offering proof perhaps 10-15 years ago the NBA might have resumed play but it didn’t so all that’s gone. With a metro population approaching 2.5 million folks we have a smaller base than some other major cities across the nation. Let’s take a look at the top 4 reasons I believe the NBA will never return to my hometown. There could be a greater number however these are what I believe impact an NBA return.

1. The growth of soccer in the metro with Sporting Kansas City plus the Kansas City Current. The Current have the first purpose-built stadium for women’s soccer in the nation. 2. The NFL Chiefs have been solar hot the last several years always in the playoffs and three Super Bowl appearances two of those being Super Bowl Champions. 3. The Royals are in third place yet they also represent a major portion of the sports dollar to be divided. 4. Although these teams might represent a smaller number there are probably metro sports fans who spend money on Monarchs baseball, the ECHL hockey Mavericks plus Kansas Jayhawk basketball and football. It should be noted I failed to include Mizzou sports in this divided sports dollar picture due to a round-trip drive of 300 miles back and forth to Columbia from the metro.

I’m not too excited

The final score read Mizzou 92 Central Arkansas 59, the three game Mizzou losing streak came to an end. I’m not excited nor overly joyed this game was supposed to end in the manner it did. Central Arkansas arrived in Columbia with a 3-11 record so most of us would have been shocked if Mizzou failed to win. After assailing the Tigers for their mediocre play in an earlier account I wanted to offer praise for a portion of what I saw on Saturday afternoon. Rebound the ball-Mizzou managed to out rebound Central Arkansas 47-22, the Tigers hit the boards consistently especially the second half of the game.

Shooting-Poor selection led the team into taking bad shots during the losing streak, that wasn’t evident much in this game as the Tigers shot 53.7% from the floor. Big Man-No one will mistake 7 foot 5 Connor Vanover for the second coming of Kareem or Hakeem. The Mizzou Big Man came off the bench and scored in double figures with 11 points, in addition to the points was the intimidating factor. He only blocked one shot but I noted Central Arkansas players driving toward the basket and stopping once he loomed over them. Mizzou won a game they were expected to win, the SEC will prove far tougher. I see a glimmer of hope around the edges for this Mizzou basketball team, I hope my view is correct.

The return of the Big Man?

After reading the headline a number might say Big Man basketball surely you are joking, I’ve written over and over about the return of this once important component to basketball. It’s not a repeat of Wilt-Russell or Abdul Jabbar-Parrish nor Shaq-Olajuwon. The play has changed but not the player(s), guys still continue to grow in stature. Who is impacting playing style in the NBA this season, 7 foot 1 Chet Holmgren and 7-foot 4 Victor Wembanyama. 

In the college ranks its 7-foot 4 290-pound Zach Edey who plays at Purdue or 7 foot 2 Donovan Clingan who plays for the UConn Huskies. Also there is Duke’s Kyle Filipowski 7 foot 248 pounds and Hunter Dickinson of Kansas 7 foot 2 and 260 pounds. In their senior year of high school but headed to Florida and Mizzou respectively are 7-foot 5 295-pound Oliver Rioux and Peyton Marshall 7 foot and 300 pounds. There are far too many to list in a single account but take into consideration the number of legitimate Big Men playing the game. I haven’t seen all of them play surely there is probably a 3-point threat among those profiled but there is more. Yes the game has changed an offense with emphasis on shooting three’s dominates at present. At the same time if you’ve got a capable Big Man with the ability of pounding the ball inside why wouldn’t you utilize him in that role? Will all be successful especially those in college and high school, I have no idea but they certainly appear to have the potential. As we see the success of Holmgren and Wemby expect to see others follow suit. 

Some will play as hybrid centers (Holmgren/Wemby) while others take on the more traditional role we are accustomed to seeing. In closing it should also be noted there are several Euro Big Men on NBA mock draft sites, its unknown if they develop their game and make their way to the NBA or remain in Europe. Add the name of Alexandre Sarr 7 foot 1 205 from France and Zvonimir Ivisic to our list. Ivisic is playing for Kentucky, he stands 7 foot 2 235 and Ivisic is from Croatia.

How the Lakers arrived in Los Angeles

I discovered this bit of NBA history, I hope you find it as interesting as I did. As most are aware the original home for the team was Detroit, they were founded as the Gems but later sold to a group which moved the franchise to Minneapolis. In that move the team was renamed becoming the Lakers. This portion covers why the Lakers are in Southern California thanks to the late Abe Saperstein owner of the Globetrotters. This is how it began, Saperstein wanted an NBA franchise he believed he’d been promised. Then owner Bob Short wanted to move the Lakers from Minneapolis to Los Angeles but the league voted him down 7-1. League owners were concerned about the extra cost associated with travel to the west coast.

Keep in mind the NBA back then was mainly east coast with the St. Louis Hawks and Minneapolis Lakers the only franchises in the Central Time Zone, the others were Eastern Time cities. Saperstein upset with how he believed the NBA was treating him formed his own league, the American Basketball League with a team to be based in Los Angeles. Short went back to the owners and indicated Saperstein was going to start his league and place a franchise in Los Angeles. This prospect caused the mindset to change and in a second vote it was 8-0 in favor of the Laker move. So the brief story how the Globetrotters owner was indirectly responsible for the Lakers calling Los Angeles home. One additional note Saperstein’s American Basketball League is not to be confused with the American Basketball Association which came into existence 6 years later.