Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Can they do that

The answer to the headline is clearly yes, what am I referring too? Among the morning headline story’s on the Wednesday edition of the Today Show was one titled “Mr. Bigshot.” It was referencing the critical 3-point basket sunk by Luka Doncic late in their game versus the Clippers. The basket of course turned out to be the game winner but what about the headline? I thought the term “Mr. Bigshot” belonged exclusively to former Piston guard and current Blazer coach Chauncey Billups. Oh well, I guess if Billups didn’t do anything legally with the phrase anyone can use it.

Anthony Davis with a pronounced unibrow 11 years ago trademarked the phrases “Fear The Brow” and “Raise The Brow.” How about the term 3-peat, this from the archives of basketball. From Wikipedia, “In 1989, Riles & Co. (Pat Riley) successfully registered the trademark under U.S. Registration Number 1552980. The Lakers did not win a third consecutive NBA championship in 1989, but the Chicago Bulls did in 1993, and Riles & Co. collected royalties from sports apparel makers who licensed the phrase for us on merchandise commemorating that accomplishment.” As you can see Billups certainly missed an opportunity to gain additional income for use of a term or phrase.

This is interesting

The transfer portal has proven beneficial to Mizzou if we check the most recent 247Sports rating. Earlier I’d indicated the .com site listed Mizzou number 13 in the nation, they have now moved up to number 6. A brief check for the basis of the move up, the addition of Iowa’s Tony Perkins, Northern Kentucky Marques Warrick plus UT Martin’s Jacob Crews. 6-foot 9 Mark Mitchell arriving from Duke is the latest athlete headed to Columbia in the fall. Although there is lack of depth at two positions the roster appears complete although there could be subtractions over the next couple of weeks.

What I found most interesting the Duke fan website seemed confused regarding Mitchell’s departure. They questioned why Mitchell would leave Duke for an 8 win 24 loss Mizzou team. I have become a Gates disciple, it’s been my belief that what I witnessed this past season was an anomaly. Most of Mizzou Nation were ready to run the coach out of town despite the fact his prior team had registered a 24-9 won-loss record. My issue with some in Mizzou Nation deciding to “fire” Gates after but one season, I could be wrong but its expected the record will improve. Will Mizzou win the SEC, I’m not willing to go there however the basketball will be much improved over this past season.

No revisionist history

Recently I was made aware the Kansas City version of the Kings attempted to draft Magic Johnson after his Michigan State freshman year. This account follows on the heels of the teams failure to acquire Moses Malone in the ABA/NBA dispersal draft. Two players who might have been the driving force in producing a consistent winning NBA team in Kansas City. Based on this I decided to check the number one picks the Kings made from 1973-1984 the period this city was their home base. In 1974 the Kings drafted University of Colorado forward Scott Wedman, although Wedman failed to finish his career in Kansas City his role with the Kings and later Celtics was outstanding. 1977 saw the Kings draft Otis Birdsong from the University of Houston another good decision.

The following year witnessed the team drafting Phil Ford from North Carolina, of all the choices the Kings made during their tenure in Kansas City he was the best. Ford was the 1979 NBA Rookie of the Year he was that good. A devastating eye injury caused his career to flounder and he ended his time playing for New Jersey, Milwaukee and Houston. Ford was never able to recover his Rookie of the Year form, that about sums it up, the Kings departed for Sacramento after the 1985 season. The players drafted after Ford and the team’s leaving the city were only average, not terrible but certainly nowhere close to his level of play. This was a period prior to much of what we see as free agency frenzy, the draft (or trade) was the only method to acquire talent, the Kings front office in my opinion was below par in acquiring talent. At this point in time I question if there were financial considerations or something else at work.

Some hate it, others love it 

The transfer portal…this change, is it good, is it bad or perhaps its someplace in between? One of the negatives at least in the eyes of some…no limit on transfers. “The NCAA will no longer regulate the amount of times that athletes can transfer schools. The only requirement is the athlete be academically proficient to begin class at the new institution.” This is the issue that upsets many who follow the college game, player A. uses the portal to join school A. After a semester player A. decides this is not a good fit for him and transfers to school B. and this easy peasey transfer method upsets a number of fans.

Now for the positive, most coaches have longed for that freshman who will arrive on campus and turn the basketball program around. That hope is sometimes unrealized, there is a large chasm between even the best high school basketball program and Division I basketball. The portal player has been through the “wars” of college basketball, he must adjust to new teammates and maybe the conference but he is no novice. Mizzou’s Coach Dennis Gates used the portal to full effect in the 2022-23 season, arriving from a spring hire and a depleted roster the coach was able to strike the motherlode and the result was an NCAA Tournament appearance after Mizzou teams hadn’t sniffed the tournament. Like it or not the portal is in full effect and will be for the next several years.

Who needs to win it all

Probably all the playoff teams, on a serious note there can be only one NBA champion crowned in June. Let’s check out a few teams on the clock to win it all, the Nuggets are under no pressure at all. Seriously they won it all last season, if they lose it will be “They were unable to repeat their effort of last season.” As for a few of the others there are far more serious issues to address. Let’s check out the Clippers first, is this the last hurrah for Donald Sterling team before the move to the Intuit Dome? Paul George is solid however he needs assistance, that falls to Kawhi Leonard who remains a talent but has a history of injury. If they don’t do it on this run does it ever occur?

Next up the Bucks who certainly have talent but appear to miss the mark, they have been hot and cold all season despite a coaching change to Doc Rivers. Even with questions regarding Dame Time it’s Giannis who remains the key to a successful run. The Wolves have played extraordinary basketball for much of the season maybe the best since Kevin Garnett wore a Wolves jersey. The Thunder are quite talented and quite young, they will face playoff basketball for the first time, can they continue their winning ways right into the playoffs? How about my Lakers, if they fail to win in 2024 this is likely the last time we see LeBron James as an NBA champion. Somehow the Suns roster, although talented it’s my belief they appear to be lacking a deep playoff run. There are other contenders omitted in this brief look at the playoff picture, what do you think? Am I off base in my assessment?