Basketball from a fan’s perspective

News none of us wanted hear

Yesterday the NBA announced former Mizzou Tiger Jontay Porter and a member of the Raptors has received a lifetime ban by the league. Porter was given this severe punishment due to his involvement in gambling. As this is written It’s been reported he “disclosed confidential information to sports bettors and wagered on games.” As for the history of lifetime bans all the players involved in the 1951 college betting scandal were never able to play in the NBA, all have since died.

In the 1960 college basketball scandal only Doug Moe is still alive, he finished his playing career in the ABA and would later become a head coach for the Spurs, Nuggets and Sixers. After 1986 up through yesterday a total of 8 received suspensions but later would be cleared to play. O.J. Mayo, Tyreke Evans and Jalen Harris were re-instated but as this is written have never returned to the NBA. Donald Sterling former owner of the Clippers has also received a lifetime NBA ban. As for Porter he is likely to resume playing basketball overseas, that was the route many of those in the past were able to accomplish.

I’m guilty

Why not just ignore dumb stuff, if I write about it I provide the originator visibility. Oh well, here goes anyway, the culprit this time is Mike Greenberg longtime ESPN media guy. Tuesday morning this was his proposal, the Lakers loose “on purpose” in their game against the Pelicans, this was his reasoning. As most of you are aware the Nuggets have been Kryptonite to the Lakers over the last year and a half. With the Lakers losing against the Pelicans they wouldn’t be forced to face the Nuggets, the Nuggets would then lose to another team.

This scenario would allow the Lakers a clear path to another NBA championship. As a member of Laker Nation I’d love for the team to win another chip however isn’t this beyond a doubt one of the dumbest statements made in NBA history. I get it, the media must provide talking points and this certainly qualifies in this area however I’d like to pose this question for you. If you were made aware your favorite team had an opportunity to close out a game and didn’t wouldn’t you be a little bit suspect of them? I don’t have an X account but if I did Greenberg would certainly receive a counter argument to his proposal from me.

A voice from the past

It’s been quite a time since we’ve heard from LaVar Ball father of the clan. Before I delve into his complaint allow me to state this up front, the family has been well compensated. Both Lonzo and LaMelo have been rewarded with huge NBA contracts, with that out of the way allow me to focus on this report. I didn’t check the author however based on my observation it sounds about right. It’s claimed “Lonzo has missed 56% of his career NBA games while brother Melo’s number is 44%.”

Those are extensive numbers for athletes at the beginning of their career. The father decides to attack the shoe company (in this instance it’s Puma). He’s trained his offspring since they were toddlers but that fails to take into consideration he is aware of all there is in the world of keeping fit or kinesiology. LaVar’s explanation, “The reason they hurt is because they got away from me,” we are led to believe the plethora of injuries have occurred because he’s no longer involved in his son’s training. Check it out rather than just take my word for his view, it’s available somewhere online.

They are teammates now

The Nike Summit game over the weekend saw incoming Duke wunderkind Cooper Flagg lead the way in Team USA’s victory over Team World 98 to 75. Flagg scored 19 points pulling down 11 rebounds, wearing the jersey of Team World was Khaman Maluach. Maluach only scored 2 points, he stands 7 foot 1, 250 pounds and has a 9-foot 6-inch standing reach, he also has a 7-foot 6 wingspan. Maluach who hails from South Sudan chose Duke over a number of other schools.

Despite the potential my guess, his appearance at the same time of Flagg might be rare. Maluach is considered a project however he must have a tremendous upside based on his choice of a school and the fact Duke basketball doesn’t just add anyone to their roster. He reminds me of another large player from the African continent, Hakeem Olajuwon. Olajuwon arrived at Houston as a raw basketball project, he’s now in the Naismith Hall of Fame. Don’t misunderstand my statement there is no claim Maluach will reach the level of Olajuwon however the potential might certainly exist, check him out in the fall at Duke.

King of the hill

By now you are aware the National Football League decided to schedule games on Christmas Day. This is not offered as a criticism rather it’s to ask the question…why? December 25 doesn’t belong exclusively to the NBA although an increasing number of games have been scheduled over the years. The advent of cable and streaming services has allowed the NBA to have a “captive” viewing audience for years. The greater majority of sports fans in the U.S. when asked what sport they follow will likely admit they follow the NFL. A lesser number will name a mixture of sports, some will claim allegiance to the NBA game.

The NBA holds no monopoly on Christmas sports telecasts, however once again the question is posed why? I’ve not read how this arrangement will work, you might have more information than me. The NFL is a weekly sport for the most part, I can guess the team playing the Monday Night game wouldn’t play on Wednesday. The speculation is the teams could play on Sunday and play three days later, with the short schedule why? NFL football is more physical than the NBA, why would this league risk injury to its athletes with such a short turnaround? I intend to follow this development over the next few months, I am vitally interested in an NFL explanation.