Basketball from a fan’s perspective

His ceiling

Gary is a member of Dub Nation, he updates me on Warriors stuff I might have missed. His latest disclosure to me, Jonathan Kuminga is playing outstanding basketball. Recently he sent me an email indicating Kuminga had gone 11-11 from the floor. “He became the first Warrior since Chris Mullin in 1990 to make at least 11 field goals without a miss.” That is certainly quite an accomplishment for the Warriors as they appear to be making changes to their lineup. A little background, Kuminga was born in the Democratic Republic of the Congo where he first began play.

After arriving on American shores Kuminga began play at several high schools before the 6-foot 7 225 pound forward eventually decided in favor of a pro career over playing in college. In July 2020 he signed a contract with NBA G-League Team Elite, in 2021 Kuminga was made the number 7 pick in the NBA draft. From fall on his playing time with the Warriors was spotty, Kuminga would travel back and forth between the Santa Cruz Warriors and the home team to gain time on the court. As proof his average the first two seasons for the parent club, in 16.9 minutes a game it was 9.3 points. The following season in 20.8 minutes he raised his scoring a notch to 9.9., as for this season it’s become a breakout year. Kuminga is averaging 14.3 points a game on 53% shooting from the floor along with 31.4% from three. With a nearly 7-foot wingspan he’s turned into a capable defender. I inform Gary of this, Kuminga provides us proof of two facts; athletes need time to develop their skill to play in the NBA.

The most critical part is my belief you cannot adjust to playing at this level without being on the court. Young players need an opportunity to be in the lineup on a consistent basis. This is nowhere close to the last of Steph Curry however Kuminga might be the beginning of a change in the future for these Warriors. He gives credit to Andre Iguodala and current teammate Draymond Green for their advice and Just a few of my thoughts, that certainly doesn’t say my assessment or observation is correct. I don’t believe Kuminga has reached his ceiling yet, there is more to see from him.

Words

Tanner Carlson is a baseball player, despite the fact the words are powerful. In addition to that they could just as easily be applied to the sport we follow:

One of the best things I have heard from a coach “My job is to find someone better than you. Your job is to make sure I can’t.” Might sound harsh but it’s true at most levels and in life.

Rebounds

Here’s the story, you discover your neighbor won the Power Ball several months ago. You begin questioning your wife, “Why is John still driving his 2012 Buick, he can afford a new car maybe a Lamborghini or maybe a Porshe or Corvette. I wonder why he’s still driving his old car when it’s clear he can afford better.” That’s a hypothetical story, it’s not the least bit true but bear with me a moment. We have no idea of John’s financial status, maybe he doesn’t want a new car.

Still yet John might have tons of bills and other obligations to pay before spending newly acquired wealth. The point to make is we have no idea of the internal workings of John which leads to this account. A fan wrote, “Victor Wembanyama should be averaging more than 10 rebounds a game.” This fan likely bases his belief on the fact the rookie stands 7 feet 4 inches in height. This fan should be aware that in order to rebound the basketball effectively a bunch of things must occur, the chief one being in position. It was unnecessary for Dennis Rodman to score, his specialty was to rebound the ball. Rodman played for several teams which had the luxury of using his work on the boards despite the fact he stood but 6 foot 7. It was said in practice Rodman would take in the angles the ball would bounce off the rim or backboard. Here’s another example, I hope this is not intended as a slam at Brook Lopez it’s just intended to detail information.

The veteran Big Man is quite effective shooting and often from distance, over the course of his career the most he’s averaged is 8.6 rebounds a game. Lopez stands 7 foot 1 and weighs 282 pounds, do we suppose our letter writing friend believes Lopez’s rebounding totals should be above the number just listed? The last item is positioning, I haven’t seen all the games Wemby’s played however I have seen a substantial number, generally he’s at the 3-point line or on the perimeter. It’s a little difficult to grab a rebound if you are 15-20 feet from the basket.

Conference play

You might not agree with my assessment but that’s okay, this seems to be a down year in the strength of most of the nation’s college basketball teams. Oh sure, most of the usual suspects are in place except what’s different this season they don’t appear as invincible as in past year’s. Usually by late January a Duke, Kentucky or Kansas would be undefeated headed into conference play. What’s different this time around is that Duke has a 14-4 record however there are 2 losses in the ACC already.

Kentucky’s record matches Duke with 2 conference losses. Kansas is 16-3 overall but also has 2 losses in the Big XII, while in the Big 10 Purdue is 18-2 but also has 2 conference losses. Good old UConn saves the day with their 17-2 and 7-1 record in the Big East. Don’t get this twisted, the teams named and several others are particularly good. The question raised, why are there no super teams as they generally are this time of the year? I certainly don’t have an answer although I will continue to ask the question in this collegiate season.