Basketball from a fans perspective

This is not difficult

As this is written the Finals will be the Eastern Conference Boston Celtics facing the Western Conference Dallas Mavs. As this is written the Mavs are yet to close out the Wolves, even if that doesn’t occur on Tuesday or whenever I have no doubt they will prevail. As for rooting for the winner that’s easy, I have no connection to the Mavs but I will be rooting for them in this series. I have more than one reason why I want the Mavs to win. As a long-long card-carrying member of Laker Nation someone must twist my arm violently in order for this Laker fan to root for a Celtic team.

My dislike for the Celtics runs quite aways back and over the years has not mellowed. As for those in Green I have no issues with any of the players. I like Jayson Tatum and Jaylin Brown…it’s too bad they wear the wrong jerseys. The secondary reason I’m rooting for the Mavs is NBA Championship history. The Lakers and Celtics are tied for the most championships in the leagues history, I cannot have the Celtics eclipse my Lakers in that department. If you say I’m hatin’ on the Celtics I am going to agree with you. Mine has validity although I am sure some will disagree with my take on this matter. In any event enjoy the Finals as I will.

We didn’t know

I came across the name Bill Jones while researching an unconnected story. Allow me to set the stage for this narrative, America in the 1940’s had strict rules in place regarding race. At that time baseball was the most popular sport in the nation, in 1947 Branch Rickey decided Jackie Robinson would be the ideal black man to break the racial divide that existed in baseball. Larry Doby would soon follow in the American League. In the minds of most American professional basketball ranked behind other sports of the era, a black man playing the game would cause little of the fanfare and notoriety of a Jackie Robinson or Larry Doby. In 1950 Earl Lloyd became the first black player in the NBA when he began play for the Washington Capitols, Chuck Cooper became the first player to be drafted when the Celtics chose him April 25, 1950.

That same year the Knicks signed Nate ‘Sweetwater’ Clifton to a contract. I’ve given you the history behind several names but excluded Bill Jones mentioned earlier. Jones holds a unique distinction, he actually preceded all of them in breaking down the color barrier. He’d played his college basketball at Toledo University, the 1942-43 season Jones would began play for the Toledo Jim White Chevrolets of the National Basketball League. Of course you know the history the National Basketball League and Basketball Association of America merged in 1949 becoming the NBA we are familiar with today. The Toledo Jim White Chevrolets didn’t last exceptionally long, the team disbanded early in the season. There is little information as to his career after the Toledo NBL team broke up except mention of his play for barnstorming teams and the Harlem Globetrotters. Jones died in 2006 at the age of 92, most of us have no idea of his mark on professional basketball history.

What does it appear

I have accentuated this in the past, Top 25 teams are really a beauty contest. The season ending record doesn’t usually follow the path laid out yet it’s exciting to look ahead to the 2024-25 college basketball season. We take a look at a few polls, the first one is ESPN. They list Kansas at 1., Houston 2., Gonzaga 3., Baylor 4. and Iowa State 5. Four of ESPN’s list contains 4 members of the Big XII so that certainly should make for a wild and entertaining conference race.

The CBS poll has Kansas at 1., Houston 2., North Carolina 3., UConn 4., and Iowa State 5. Yardbarker.com places Duke in its top slot followed by Houston, Iowa State, Kansas and Gonzaga. Although placement varies we note the same college teams in somewhat similar positions. The dust has settled, the coaching merry-go-round has come to a stop. The teams including those mentioned above have finalized their roster, more than likely there will be little if any change occur between now and the start of the season. I’ve talked to both groups, those fans who claim they only follow the NBA and those who gravitate to the college game. For me, I am a fan of both I anxiously await the start of both.

Bits n Pieces

There is one pleased individual in Clipperland, that would be coach Ty Lue. The Clippers signed him to a contract extension on Wednesday which takes him through the 2028-29 season. As usual I’m not mentioning $$$ because they sometimes color our view of a situation or issue. The downside of this issue and strictly my opinion, Lue has only ‘touched’ on his skill with this Clipper team. Whether it’s injury or something else this team has underachieved. We can only conclude management is pleased with the performance they see thus far from Lue.

Almost any time a player chooses a number there is always a story behind it. That is the case here and why Mavs guard Luka Doncic’ wears number 77. Doncic’s favorite player while playing in Europe was Vassilis Spanoulis, the Greek baller wore number 7. In 2018 when drafted by the Mavs Doncic intended to wear the number 7 of his hero Spanoulis until he discovered Dwight Powell already wore it. The 7 worn by Spanoulis and the 7 worn by Powell became 77, unusual story of how this became Doncic’s number.

Basketball from a fans perspective

Not shocking or even surprising

News outlets were informed on Wednesday that Bronny James Jr. would forego college and remain in the NBA draft. I hope he proves me wrong so many of you can laugh at me, laugh for this reason alone. I don’t believe Bronny is ready for the rigors of NBA play despite having an all-time great for a father. I would feel a degree more comfortable if he’s played significant minutes during his freshman season. We are aware why Bronny was on a minutes restriction and a reserve.

I remember back to Kyrie Irving, he’d played but 9 games for Duke before declaring himself ready for the 2012 NBA draft. Not only did Kyrie prove me wrong by having an outstanding rookie season he was named 2012 NBA Rookie of the Year. Kyrie got me twice, maybe that will be the case for Bronny as well. Please note one issue before I close, in 2011 I didn’t claim Kyrie had no talent. I can make the same statement in 2024, Bronny is certainly talented and may indeed prove me wrong. In any event the closer we arrive at the draft the more liquid it becomes. Some sites indicate Bronny will be a lottery pick while others claim it’s the second round.

Is it true

Many in the media now claim recruiting is not as important as it once was. They maintain the transfer portal has allowed non-competitive teams to register immediate improvement. On the surface it certainly makes sense your school recruits an athlete who is well acquainted with basketball at this level. That fuzzy faced freshman might be a McDonald’s All American but he’s got no idea what is required at the collegiate level. While that last statement might be true I continue to believe vital recruiting must occur in both areas, HS seniors and in the portal.

With that said we’ll look at both areas as described by media sources. Sidebar here, now you see why I’m so excited about the outlook for Mizzou basketball in 2024-25. The basketball program was never ranked very highly in recruiting going back years. The legendary Norm Stewart (1967-1999) was once asked, “Does Missouri have any McDonald’s All American’s?” The coach responded, “No but we eat at McDonald’s.” There may not be immediate improvement however it’s exciting for Mizzou Nation to see the basketball team this highly rated on both polls. These might have changed by the time this is read however not substantially, 247Sports ranks the best incoming classes in this order:

  1. Duke

  2. Alabama

  3. Arizona

  4. Rutgers

  5. Mizzou

On the other hand using the same source 247Sports the following are the Top 5 transfer portal classes plus one:

  1. Arkansas

  2. Indiana

  3. St John’s

  4. West Virginia

  5. Kentucky

12. Mizzou

Maturity or something else

Some of you remember what occurred, Kyrie Irving and LeBron James were able to blend their talent and produce an NBA championship for the Cavs. It seemed like shortly after Kyrie said something to this effect, “I want to build (or play) for an NBA champion I am the leader” or similar words. He would depart for the Celtics but encountered issues there, next up the Nets but they were found wanting as well. This basketball journey took him in a trade last season to the Mavs. My first thought “boy I hope he is able to adjust in Dallas after all this was Luka’s team and not his.”

With ball dominate Luka Doncic’ how would this blending of talent work out was questioned by everyone including yours truly. There were a few bumps in the road last season but the 2023-24 season has been a completely different version. Although the Mavs were losers on Tuesday evening against the Wolves they will eventually play for the NBA Championship. A portion of this can be attributed to Kyrie adjusting his game and no longer believing he must dominate the ball. At age 32 Kyrie still has plenty of gas in the tank and its hoped by Mavs fan’s he will help the team to win another championship. As for the headline, Kyrie has always marched to the beat of a different drummer, I’m going to attribute his basketball growth to maturity and just leave it there.

I wrote it

Sometimes your memory might betray you, I’m unsure if that’s the case however this is fact. The Nets are an afterthought for most of New York City and there is a reason why. The franchise began life as an American Basketball Association team, they have moved quite a bit. They began life as the New Jersey Nets and the dates and moves follow:

New Jersey Nets 1967-1968 Teaneck NJ

New York Nets 1968-1976 (ABA) Long Island NY

New York Nets 1976-1977 (NBA) Long Island NY

New Jersey Nets 1977-2012 East Rutherford NJ & Newark NJ

Brooklyn Nets 2012-present

I was almost correct, the team remained in the NYC Metro however over the years the Nets franchise has made 5 moves playing in a number of different arenas around New Jersey and New York City. Barclays Center in Brooklyn their current home is perhaps the most superb arena the team’s called home in its nearly 60-year history of existence.

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Sometimes stuff happens

The Sunday edition of Off the Dribble was late, in fact it wasn’t posted until late Sunday afternoon. The story is simple, we had a tremendous wind and thunderstorm hit the metro Kansas City area. Power was out along with internet service. My family was fortunate we didn’t lose our power however with no internet I couldn’t publish. I couldn’t publish despite the fact the Sunday edition was ready and in place to be issued. I could have waited until Monday and publish however I felt an obligation to you the reader. You were treated to two editions in the space of 12 hours or so and the explanation is simple, sometimes stuff happens you have no control over, that was the weekend for me.

Sometimes you hear stuff that’s difficult to believe

I’m driving to work this morning and the hosts are discussing the death of Bill Walton. Both acknowledge the fact they don’t remember seeing him as a player, I thought okay taking into consideration their age. The part I failed to understand was the wow factor of Walton’s life based on the numbers of players, coaches and media people making comments about him. One of the host seemed to marvel with the fact “President Obama made a comment on the passing of Walton.” The two went on and on and on how they had no idea the depth of followers of Walton.

Just a couple more comments on Walton, former Laker James Worthy said Walton took him to breakfast when he was a rookie. Worthy said they talked love, life, happiness and peace and the conversation didn’t touch basketball. Walton always had a social conscience which began quite early, he was arrested while in college protesting the Vietnam War. I’m sure his arrest did not sit well with coach John Wooden. Although the Pac-12 has ceased to exist during his telecast Walton was always promoting the conference. It would really be worthwhile if these talk radio sports guys would spend a little more time researching a subject rather than discussing something you are clearly out of your league.

It certainly didn’t hurt

Celtic fans will read this and say, “You hatin’ on my team,” that is not the case I’m simply pointing out the series events that occurred in the three series leading to the Finals. The Celtics faced the Heat with no Jimmy Butler available, next up it would be the Cavs and Donovan Mitchell would be missing. Finally it was the Pacers and no Tyrese Haliburton available. I realize, the Celtics had to play the games but with these valued team members missing or playing limited minutes, it certainly didn’t hurt.

Another draft story

There is an issue which requires a fix but who performs it, the subject is identifying potential talent of Euro players in the NBA draft. Unless your name is Kristaps Porzingis, Luka Doncic or maybe Victor Wembanyama we don’t know you. Those are the names of the most identified Euro players in recent years, their names came to us prior to the draft but little else from a scouting standpoint. For Wemby it was totally different, although he was not universally known he played in the states prior to the 2023 draft. The other question is the assessment issue, as an example we are able to view scouting ratings for college and G-League talent.

That fails to take place for the majority of Euro players. Zaccharie Risacher is generally believed to be the top choice in the 2024 NBA Draft, nbadraft.net provides us a scouts view of his potential impact on the NBA. On their big board they give Risacher a 96, I believe 100 is the maximum score a prospect can achieve. Alexandre Sarr also from France is listed as the number 2 draft prospect and is awarded a 94. Several other potential first round picks are also awarded a number but as we move into the second round that becomes less and less prevalent. I would imagine by now you are saying, “Is this really an issue of importance?” It depends on your perspective, it is for me but maybe not for you. There are American players we had a “500-page novel” written and they failed to earn a roster position in the NBA.

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

He was more than basketball

Late Sunday afternoon I read a Yahoo news story indicating Bill Walton died. They once called him the redhead but the hair had turned gray he was after all 71-years old. The report indicated Walton had died of cancer, few of us were aware of his condition. We noticed his absence from ESPN’s college coverage this past season. It’s difficult to describe his role as an analyst, let’s just say there was no other like him. It’s a shame a generation or two only remember him as this over-the-top basketball analyst but he was more.

A friend of mine described Walton in this manner, “I’ve always thought of Bill as the NBA’s Renaissance man.” A 3-time All American at UCLA, drafted by the Blazers he managed to lead them to the 1977 NBA Championship their only one to date. They beat an exceptionally talented Sixer team who in my opinion believed they would “mail the championship” ahead of time. It’s unfortunate, injuries would limit and shorten his NBA career. In 1986 he was named Sixth Man of the Year while playing for the Celtics. His inspirational play off the bench was a key factor in a Celtic championship. This short soliloquy does him no true justice, Bill Walton is that special person that is born to distinguish himself in something (basketball) but there was more to the man than the game of basketball.

Scholarship math

I suppose if a ‘Kobe Bryant’ or some other phenom indicated a desire to attend Mizzou he would be added somehow to the existing roster. That statement is made despite the fact the cupboard is full, there are 18 roster members on the basketball team who will arrive on campus in August. The composition of this Mizzou team is 5 graduate seniors, 2 seniors, 2 juniors, 4 sophomores and 5 freshman. This is written in late May, at this point it would appear only freshman Annor Boateng is likely to see time on the court.

On the other hand should the 5 graduate seniors and the bulk of the roster develop in a cohesive manner Mizzou will not suffer a repeat of the horrible last season. My chief concern is the underclassmen, will they be disappointed in the lack of playing time? It’s easy for me to sit here and claim patience your day will come. There are two concerns at this point, the Mizzou won-loss record improves in 2024-25 and the underclassmen have patience. As for the latter, we are in rarified air, according to 247Sports Mizzou is in 5th place nationwide in its recruiting class.

Build the team in this method

My view on building a championship NBA team has changed over time, if you have a ‘LeBron James’ who decides he wants to join your team you sign him. Other than an athlete of his caliber I continue to believe in constructing a team through the draft. As an example the Thunder have been eliminated but check out the composition of the team, other than SGA the roster is draft picks. I could make the same statement regarding the Celtics, Jrue Holiday has been an outstanding addition. Despite this fact Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown are the foundation of the team and clearly the leadership.

Although the Pacers are 0-3 in their series against the Celtics the foundation of the team was built through the draft. We could make the same statement about the Wolves, other than Rudy Gobert and Mike Conley they have been built through the NBA draft as well. The Nuggets 2023 NBA Champions have also been built through the draft with the exception of KCP. This exercise offers no proof, of all the teams named the Nuggets are the lone championship. As for an example of how to not build a championship we can look at the example of the Los Angeles Clippers. Kawhi Leonard, Paul George along with Russell Westbrook are free agent signees while James Harden was acquired in a trade. Creating through the draft might be the protracted manner to build a championship team it might still be the best method.

He’s how old?

A few of you may have seen the video circulating of Dabone Mohamed Samsoundine floating around. The headline of the video claims Mohamed is “12-years old”, friends I didn’t fall out of bed and bump my head. After seeing him in action in and around the basket I said to myself “This is no 12-year-old.” I repeated this later to a friend who sent me the video. “There is no way this youngster is that young so I decided to conduct a little research. This is what I discovered on a FIBA website, Mohamed is actually 16-years old he’s from the West African nation of Togo. Just because something is out there doesn’t always make for accuracy or the truth.

Nobody remembers

The 1976-77 Minnesota Gophers team finished the regular season with a 24-3 record. There was no post season for them because they were on probation, the record is listed as 0-27 if you check the NCAA archives. How good were they, they had a junior center Mychal Thompson (father of Klay). Thompson led them in scoring with 22.9 points and 8.9 rebounds a game, he would later be drafted by the NBA Blazers. It was with the Lakers Thompson would distinguish himself aiding the team to win championships during the Showtime era.

Also in the starting lineup for that team was the late Ray Williams, he would be drafted by the Knicks and for a time play for the KC Kings. The team had a freshman forward named Kevin McHale who later played for the Celtics, he’s now in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame. The starting point guard on that team was the late Flip Saunders, Saunders had no NBA career as a player but was a longtime coach of the NBA Wolves. Here’s the interesting part, Mark Landsberger and Mark Olberding aware Minnesota was going on probation left school early, both players had extensive NBA careers. The team nobody remembers although it certainly contained a number of players who distinguished themselves later in the NBA.

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

He still has a fight going on (in his mind)

Nuggets coach Mike Malone is one person I show no favor, I don’t like or dislike him. Despite his rating by me there is an issue he’s raised I’d like to address. It’s clear to all he’s got a problem with LeBron James and the Lakers and this is the part I fail to understand. Anytime you are on the winning side as Malone has been in the recent past why is it necessary to continually stoke the fact you beat the Lakers. On the other hand is there something else going on we fail to realize. Understand this, his Nuggets swept the Lakers in last season’s playoffs, a few weeks ago in the playoffs they met again this time the Lakers were able to win one game.   

With that record he’s clearly proved for his team is better yet there is a question why the Lakers remain in the hippocampus temporal lobe of Malone’s brain. If you remember in the Nuggets series against the Wolves Michael Porter Jr. had a terrible series against them. MPJ must have mentioned his poor play on social media, at that point Malone’s got his back. The coach claimed if MPJ hadn’t played so well against the Lakers the Nuggets would have not been…blaa…blaa…blaa…blaa…blaa. Malone’s propping up his player (which is okay) but using the Lakers as the example is a stretch for me. Defend your player Mike without allowing LeBron and the example…we all know what occurred in that series. On the other hand it could be the enemy occupies plenty of space in your mind.

It's over

You might remember I argued Victor Wembanyama should be named NBA Defensive Player of the Year despite the fact this past season was his rookie year. I only did this after checking the numbers he registered during his apprentice season in the NBA. I have no vote only an opinion which I shared with you. Rudy Gobert’s Wolves team registered a better record over Wemby’s Spurs. If we checked the regular season numbers between the two they were pretty darn close. It’s been pointed out Wemby led the NBA in blocked shots the second rookie behind Manute Bol in 1985-86. The NBA did not track blocked shots with the arrival of Bill Russell and Wilt Chamberlain. One or both could have accomplished the feat in their rookie NBA season.

In any event back to the subject, seeing Gobert and Wemby in action who do you believe to be the better defender? On May 7 Gobert was named NBA Defensive Player of the Year for 2024, this would become his 4th time winning the award. I said, okay and accepted the fact Gobert was the winner. I found someone on my side, former NBA Defensive Player of the Year and Naismith Hall honoree Kevin Garnett. Garnett nicknamed ‘The Big Ticket’ agrees with my take, he lists a number of reasons why the award should have gone to Wemby. Wemby led the league with 3.6 blocks a game, Garnett said, “And we ain’t seen that kind of effect on defensive end since, who? David Robinson, Dikembe (Mutombo). Man who guards-Dream (Hakeem Olajuwon)? Who guards the rim like that bro?” Of course he is referencing Wemby, his comments alone don’t make it so however its clear Garnett believes DPOY should not have been awarded to Gobert.

It’s difficult to examine the play of an individual such as Gobert in a playoff series such as this. Despite this fact I’ve got to believe the NBA should immediately begin an investigation, the league needs to determine how Gobert was awarded the DPOY, it’s now become a mystery to me. Does Gobert have one blocked shot in this series, that I’m unsure of. A quick research project and this is presented for your reading, I cannot account for the accuracy having received this from another site. It’s claimed the Mavs shot 55% in the paint when Gobert was on the floor in Game 3.

Z Man

I located information on Zach Edey I wish to share, it was mentioned after his junior year at Purdue he was unlikely to be drafted. His play during the season and Purdue’s NCAA play improved his stock, he went from never being drafted to likely. His work out and play during the NBA Draft Combine saw his stock rise even more, just a few stats to provide you. Purdue listed Edey at 7 foot 4, measured at the combine in shoes he stands 7 foot 5 and weighs 299 pounds.

Three mock draft sites, one places Edey as the number 13 choice the other at 30 in the first round, the last one has him 35 in the second round. It’s always been my contention and I will repeat it again, mock draft sites are projections. Information is being accumulated by scouts, front office and media members, it is not intended to be 100% accurate. Despite the disclaimer this I find most interesting, Edey has progressed tremendously between his junior season at Purdue and now. I believe he will be drafted however it’s likely to be a surprise team…one we don’t expect.

I’ve grown tired of implied threats

This is a football/baseball account but could easily be basketball because of history. Kansas City undertook building Sprint Center (now T-Mobile) without an NBA or NHL franchise in place, it was hoped at least one would be forthcoming. That didn’t pan out in the manner hoped and today the arena sees more college basketball than of the NBA variety. The purpose of this exercise is to report a blackmail attempt, owners of the Royals and Chiefs twisting the arms of Jackson County citizens to build a downtown baseball stadium and a refurbished design for Arrowhead. Needless to say this “flawed” proposal was placed on the ballot, it was overwhelmingly rejected by those who voted in the election…the vote wasn’t remotely close to being passed.   

After the defeat of the people what do the Royals and Chiefs do, they appear resolved to the fact “They must move somewhere other than Jackson County.” Reports indicate a location in adjacent Kansas City Kansas, Nashville, San Antonio and St. Louis have been mentioned as possible new homes for the Royals and Chiefs. This is the portion I fail to understand, rather than all parties coming together and working on a revised plan they have allowed these reported moves to be mentioned often in the media. We have one idiot local talk radio sports guy who continues to fan the flames with his “sky is falling” approach to the issue. To my knowledge he’s yet to mention the county and sports ownership work on a revised package. There you have it, most sports fans want the Chiefs and Royals to remain here but not at the expense of voting for a flawed tax incentive. Other portions of the country have been more developmental in their attempt to build a new arena or stadium over here in Kansas City.

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

109-108 Dallas

Despite having home court advantage the Wolves now find themselves down 0-2. Once again the Wolves managed to “snatch defeat from the jaws of victory.” The final score appears close but it was more to the game than the score, the Wolves after clearly demonstrating they were the better team over the Nuggets have laid an egg. They managed once again to lose a game they could have won, not easily but a win. Luka Doncic of the walking wounded, there were apparently aches and pains all over his body.

At a point, the television camera caught him walking like a 70-year-old man during a time out. Despite the achiness of his body Luka would take a clutch 3-point shot which turned out to be the game winner. What I find most interesting with seconds remaining in the game this was the strategy. The Wolves decided in favor of having the 7-foot Defensive Player of the Year Rudy Gobert guard Luka. Luka took a few jab steps and then took the shot from the top of the key. The shot didn’t hit the rim and roll in, it didn’t bounce around and then drop. As they might say the shot was nothing but net. “He’s long (Gobert). He can’t move. I can’t move fast, but I can move faster than him.”

The Wolves Naz Reid emerged from the bench and played a brilliant game, despite this fact his desperation 3-point shot missed as time expired. As for Luka of the walking wounded it was 32 points, 13 assists and 10 rebounds as he “willed his Mavs team to the win.” This series is clearly not over but I am stunned, headed into the series I expressed my belief the Wolves were the better team. This was based on their performance against the Nuggets. At this point I am not so sure they are the better team.

I told you I was a bit confused

The landmark agreement reached late last week between the NCAA and the Power 5 Conferences. Rather than student/athletes the role will become that of an employee and employer. The portion most confusing to me the agreement was reached with the Power 5 Conferences. This is The Big Ten, SEC, Pac-12, Big 12 and ACC, the additional question does the Pac-12 actually exist? In any event the continued confusion for me, an athlete attending Ohio University or Montana State fails to qualify?

Those schools named and dozens of others are Division I programs however they don’t compete in Power 5 Conference programs. I will await “additional dust to settle” before I can comprehend how this works beyond the Big Boys and how Division II sports are impacted. I believe this next portion to be correct, Division III programs offer no scholarships so the guess is they may not be included in this agreement. The question is also asked regarding NAIA programs which do offer scholarships. Some of you will miss this next portion Google it, as Vinny Barbarino once said, “I’m so confused.”   

What

I’m sure there are folks who claim I’m a little weird, they haven’t made the statement directly to me but I’m sure it’s occurred. Allow me to touch on an issue I heard a local radio sports talk host admit recently. The discussion centered on Inside the NBA on TNT going away after the new television contract was in place. This proved quite interesting in more ways than one, rarely do I hear the NBA being discussed locally. That’s okay we don’t have an NBA team so it’s understandable. What the co-host next stated almost caused me to lose the grip on my steering wheel and drive upon the sidewalk. “I don’t watch the NBA but almost always watch Inside the NBA,” he went on to discuss the entertainment value of Barkley and crew.

All this time the wheels are turning for me, “He doesn’t watch the NBA yet admits he tunes into Inside the NBA, what is that all about? The program is a critique of the recently played game and the crew make it interesting BUT! How can he be entertained regarding something he didn’t see? The basis for Inside the NBA is due to its emphasis on basketball and the game just completed. I’ve seen it because my wife has turned to it while I was in the room. Entertainer Andy Cohen interviewing Real Housewives members, discussions are held regarding aspect of past programs including video. I’m listening to the debate and seeing video and am not quite sure what may have occurred. The same goes for Inside the NBA, how can you be entertained without being aware of all of the details of a subject?

The Lakers need a center

Anthony Davis made it known, he’d prefer to avoid playing center. If pressed by the coach he would do it although he’d rather not, this leaves me at a point of confusion. In 2021 the Lakers acquired Andre Drummond, 6 foot 11 and 279 pounds, they didn’t need him to score the basketball they had guys for that. They need a center to grab a few rebounds and play defense especially on Jokic. This would occur later, AD made it known Drummond inhibited his movement around the paint. Could these issues have been worked out in training camp, possibly but we never got the chance as Drummond was a free agent and left later in the summer.

The Lakers need a Jokic Stopper, someone who can bang with the Nuggets center and that ain’t AD. AD contributes to the Lakers in other areas, so how is this issue addressed? Look inward first, determine if present roster members are capable. On the roster as this is written is 6-foot 10 250-pound Colin Castleton, 7-foot 220-pound Jaxson Hayes. The Lakers staff needs to determine if either is capable of battling Jokic full time. There are a number of potential centers in the 2024 NBA draft, naturally the Lakers will not be in a position to draft all of them however the following are just a few names. The downside to drafting any name below requires time, they must become accustomed to the rugged play in the NBA.

Oso Ighoudaro 6-11 235 Marquette

N’Faly Dante 6-11 265 Oregon

Adem Bona 6-10 245 UCLA

Yves Missi 7-0 235 Baylor

Ulrich Chomehe 6-11 225 Cameroon

Zach Edey 7-4 300 Purdue  

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

There is no FOR SALE sign in the window

The NCAA is not going out of business, there is far too much money to be made. Beginning now the sports landscape continues to shift, in this instance it moves away from the antiquated hand of the NCAA. This landmark event says college and universities can begin paying athletes as employees, that is the underlying theme. What I read indicates athletes could earn a minimum of $20,000 year. That sum might not seem like a great deal of money but to an 18–22-year-old athlete it is far different.

Most athletes are not beneficiaries of NIL, with little income, that’s a great deal of money. Making that statement I’m sure there are others earning 10 times or more of that amount from NIL deals. The key difference is this latest change will benefit all athletes not just basketball and football players. This breaking news is just that, its breaking…I don’t have all the details but neither does everyone else including the athletes themselves. This is a continuing developing story as additional detail is provided, I will attempt to cover it as best possible.

Prove it

I can only speak for myself, I read a story recently and this is it’s basis, “UCLA’s John Wooden and other coaches of that era cheated.” If the writer were seated in front of me I’d ask them “how do you know this existed, are you prepared to offer me and others proof of your claim? Opinions are one thing actual proof is a far different matter. You don’t know my co-worker Keenan, he’s only 23-years old but this is generally his response to this account. “If no video exists it didn’t occur.”

In some instances, there is film/video in existence however I continue to question the WHY. Arguments about Jordan v Kobe could be discussed for days, those bother me but not nearly as much. There is a reason, are these cynics ready to provide us proof or is this just loose talk? Someone might claim I’m attempting to inhibit free speech, that is far from the case. Once again, I don’t like arguments like Kareem and Shaq, but they are easier for me to comprehend. How do you determine if someone cheated or conducted themselves in a nefarious manner without offering the reader or listener any proof?

Sorry I missed it

On Friday, a story was published regarding the NBA and its upcoming television package. I’m not a fan but a sizable portion of the viewing audience of TNT is upset. Inside the NBA with host Ernie Johnson has been on the air since 1990, he’s been joined by analyst Kenny ‘The Jet’ Smith (1998), Charles Barkley (2000) and Shaquille O’Neal (2011) discussing the NBA game to be viewed before and after. From time-to-time other former NBA and WNBA players have sat on the podium with Ernie however the three former players make up the cast the majority of time. Based on time you can see Inside the NBA has been a long running staple of TNT broadcasts.

The chief description which probably fits most fans is for Inside the NBA to become independent, i.e., not affiliated with any planned future network. In a manner similar to the past the crew would appear before and after the game. That would seem to be a solution but is it workable? I would imagine should the deal transpire NBC and ESPN might desire their own group to operate this type of program. On the other hand realizing the tremendous following generated of Inside the NBA might create an appeal to continue the program in its present manner. In any event the television deal might be announced soon however none of this will take place before the end of the 2024-25 NBA season. I will attempt to provide updates on this and other stories as they occur.

He’s been cleared

Last January I failed to write on Josh Giddey OKC guard, you might remember he’d been accused of an improper relationship with an underage female. The incident occurred in California and after an investigation the Long Beach Police Department declined to pursue the charge. This week the NBA cleared Giddey so all is well I would suppose. That is not quite the case on the court, Giddey’s game regressed this past season. Every one of his numbers registered below the previous year but there is a question in my mind.

Was the prospect of litigation hanging over his head impacting his game or was it something else? It was said by more than one media member this occurred, SGA’s game was on an upward trend and with less playing time caused the decline of Giddey’s on court time. It was the fact Giddey apparently couldn’t play SGA’s game that brought more to the table and the coach decided to go with SGA. This can be partially traced to the improved record the Thunder experienced. With that said what does the future hold for Giddey? Plenty in my view the Australian guard remains a valuable commodity at the age of 21 with three NBA years under his belt. The Thunder could possibly explore a trade and they would be looking toward addressing a need they came up short. I know the Thunder would refuse a trade to my Lakers, but I would take Giddey in a heartbeat.

Let’s fix the Spurs

Here we are a few weeks prior to the draft I have no idea if there are any proposed trades or free agents headed to San Antonio. Let’s fix the Spurs the best way we can with the 2024 NBA Draft, that works for me and I’m sure you as well. As you might be aware the Spurs have the 4th and 8th pick in this draft, with that in mind one of the players on this list might have been selected prior to the Spurs. Based on that fact these are the names who could be available when it’s time to make their selection:

Stephon Castle 6-foot 6-inch 215-pound combo guard UConn

Rob Dillingham 6-foot 3-inch 175-pound point guard UConn

Ron Holland 6-foot 8-inch 205-pound small forward G-League

Nikola Topic 6-foot 6-inch 200-pound point guard Serbia

Cody Williams 6-foot 8-inch 190-pound small forward Colorado 

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

What is going on

I’ve held off covering the NBA television issue because I wasn’t sure of the outcome. It’s still not resolved yet everyone is writing about the dramatic change the NBA is about to undertake with its broadcast. I’m not going to approach the dollars because that too appears fluid at this time. This is my belief, the ABC Network and TNT will no longer have the NBA broadcast. A deal is reported to be in place that will see the NBA aligned with NBC Network, Amazon and ESPN and this is the part I truly don’t understand. Disney owns ESPN and ABC, so they intend to remove one of their broadcast arms if this is indeed the case. Listen friends, I tried to hold off on this as long as possible. I did this with the hope some of the confusion would clear up but that apparently is not the case. Will the NBC portion be over the air or a streaming service? That’s just one of many unanswered questions.

Two years in a row

This is a re-visit of an earlier account, we are weeks ahead of the 2024 NBA draft. Will the nation of France lead the way again having the top pick in the draft class is the question? I mentioned his name previously, as a reminder he is Zaccharie Risacher another French youngster aged 18. Risacher is a 6-foot 9 200-pound small forward who currently plays for JL Bourg in the city of Bourg-en-Bresse. He’s got a 6 foot 10 ½ in wingspan, it should also be of note he turns 19 in April.

Just in case you wish to know the city is reported to be 70 km northeast of Lyon. The only question might be does Risacher believe he’s ready for the stiff competition the NBA will provide him? It would appear the mock draft sites think he’s ready, his name is listed on the three I use for insight especially with international players. Don’t be surprised to hear his name announced in June by commissioner Silver, if drafted all indications he’s a first-round choice. This becomes more evidence of the growth of the game internationally.

Do you want a job…well maybe

I cannot speak to the NHL because I am unfamiliar with how the league operates. As for baseball and the NFL and NBA the job of head coach/manager can be difficult. The first difficulty…the money, you are often called on to lead, cajole athletes earning three or four times the salary you earn. The second most difficult piece, convincing the roster to follow the plan you’ve laid out for them. In high school and college it’s a different manner, generally the teams going to follow the coaches’ lead no matter the circumstances. In the NBA that might not always be the case.

It was said Darvin Ham lost the Laker clubhouse, I don’t know that to be a fact but once players turn a coach or manager off there is no return. Not only must you please your roster members it’s the front office too. The Bucks fired Adrian Griffin despite the fact the team was over .500 in their performance, he was replaced by Doc Rivers. The Bucks finished two games below .500 and were quickly eliminated in the playoffs. The Bucks did face injuries to key players but that becomes an excuse for not succeeding. What’s most interesting, despite the negatives I’ve laid out and others overlook there is a line. There are always those seeking to become a head coach in the NBA so perhaps the financial reward makes up for the other stuff who knows.

No basketball here

Can you believe it, at one time the State of Missouri had two NBA teams. The Hawks arrived in St. Louis and departed prior to the Kings moving to Kansas City. The Hawks moved from Milwaukee to St. Louis in 1955, they were successful even winning the 1958 NBA Championship and then it all came crashing down. The baseball Cardinals had always called the city home, we had teams playing a summer schedule (Cardinals) and one a winter (Hawks). That would change in 1960 with the arrival of the NFL Cardinals from Chicago, it didn’t stop there in 1967 the expansion NHL Blues arrived on the scene the sports dollar shrinking even further.

Ben Kerner owner of the team at that time saw the handwriting on the wall, although the Hawks were a good team their attendance suffered. Kerner later indicated he attempted to find a local owner to sell the team but failed to locate one. He then sold the franchise to an Atlanta group in 1968 and the Hawks left St. Louis for Atlanta. Even more interesting the other sports franchises, since that time, the Cardinals left for Arizona and the NFL Rams arrived from Los Angeles but several years later returned to California. I’ve always maintained hockey fans are not basketball fans and vice versa. Did the arrival of the Blues signal the end for the St. Louis Hawks… perhaps not but the competition for the sports dollar shrunk considerably. The city has lost a sizable portion of its population however the metro contains 2.8 million persons. Could St. Louis support an NBA team today, with the right set of circumstances I believe that to be the case.

From basketball to actor  

It’s common for a few retired athletes to move into the realm of entertainment. This move could cover a wide range in that industry news, television or movies just to name a few. If the names are unfamiliar to you no worry, they long ago left the gridiron or basketball court. The late Jim Brown former running back for the NFL Cleveland Browns heard the call of Hollywood. Ed Marinaro spent his most productive NFL years running the football for the Vikings, after retirement he moved into television becoming an actor. Of course most of you are familiar with Dwayne ‘The Rock’ Johnson, the former wrestling star who is now a movie star. Depending on your age you might be more familiar with the son over the father…more on that later. His name is Mike Warren, he was the point guard on those Lew Alcindor UCLA teams.

Warren was much of a scorer however he led the Bruins from the point guard position as directed by his legendary coach John Wooden. He was a member of two national title teams 1967, 1968. Apparently the NBA was never in his plans although he played at UCLA four years, instead of heading off to an NBA team he began attending casting roles hoping to break into a television role. Warren did just that, he landed the role of a police officer on the television series Hill Street Blues (1987-1981) portraying officer Bobby Hill. Although retired now Warren had several television roles over the years his last was Anderson’s Cross where he played the father of the lead character. Mike Warren never had a professional sports career as the others, apparently there was no desire on his part for an NBA career. The relative is Cash Warren his son who is a film and television producer.

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Is there a deal in place

You might remember I wrote former Yankee and prospective Wolves owner A-Rod was captured more than once by the television camera recently. He was shown rooting for the Wolves to advance over the Nuggets in their playoff series. The first part is complete the Wolves beat the Nuggets and have advanced to the next round, the second round will be a slight bit more difficult. The second round is action off the court rather than on it.

 After an agreement was reached Wolves owner Glen Taylor claimed A-Rod and Marc Lore failed to meet the deadline for the final payment about $600 million to acquire the team. Taylor insisted the sale was off but apparently that is not quite the case. There is pending court arbitration to resolve the issue, my guess A-Rod will continue to appear at Wolves games until the “owner” of the team is determined. As you are aware I ain’t no attorney, I took shortcuts on this story in order to publish it for your consumption. I am sure there are media sources that go into far more detail than I did…seek them out for additional elements not covered here.

The "old" man

Kyrie Irving of the Mavs is 32-years old, without checking I’m sure he’s not the oldest player active in the playoffs. This however is a factor, Irving is the only remaining 30+ All Star caliber player remaining active at this stage, as for the others. Irving’s teammate and the clear leader of the team is Luka Doncic, he’s 25-years old. What about the Wolves, there is Ant Man 22 years of age and his teammate Karl-Anthony Towns 28 years old.

In the east we have the Pacers with 24-year-old Tyrese Haliburton at the point, Myles Turner with birthday 28 in March. As for the Celtics Jayson Tatum 26-years and Jaylen Brown 27 years old are the clear leaders of the Beantown crew. All four of the remaining teams have roster members past the age of 30, the exciting portion of this NBA playoff is seeing the youngsters take charge. Have we seen a changing of the guard in the playoffs? No LeBron or Steph sighting nor is there a Kawhi or Draymond to be found except at home.

Say what

I truly hope this is not me at any time, this is an actual headline I read. “The Wolves were built to beat the Nuggets,” my first thought was really, they were built to win. They were able to beat the Nuggets, which certainly was the case, to state the manner of the team’s construction was built for a specific team is ridiculous. The Wolves were built through draft choices and trades in the same vein of any other NBA team. Chris Finch was hired he assembled his staff and they began plans on becoming a winning team.

The intent was always to overcome the team in front of them. Once the playoffs began it became beating the Suns, it then became the Nuggets. There was no magic involved, win the game…win the series. Once again the Wolves were built to win, regardless of what occurs the balance of the playoffs keep that in mind. I don’t wish to “beat up” members of the media but sometimes I understand why coaches and players get upset. There are occasions when dumb statements or questions are asked of the media. The one below remains my all time favorite all these years later.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atr60tR7Emo

“What do you want…what do you want?”

The headline is a sample of a conversation between my wife and me. It occurs at those times when deciding what to eat or where. In a similar vein that’s what’s occurred for me with you, I’ve said who I didn’t want as the next Laker coach without providing you names. Before I began naming names allow this brief departure, if we look at Darvin Ham he might have been a good hire initially however his first head coaching job saw him fall a bit short. That’s my reluctance with hiring a JJ Redick (no coaching experience) versus a Sam Cassell (assistant experience).

Redick and Cassell former NBA players come up short in my book, the list of impossible candidates include Pat Riley, Phil Jackson and Tyronn Lue. Any of the three named would be satisfactory however NONE are willing or able to assume the reigns as head coach. Who remains, how about Kenny Atkinson, Terry Stotts, Dave Joerger or James Borrego? Each of those named has spent time as a head coach although there might be questions on their resume they should be able to perform the task. There are other guys out there with extensive time as an NBA head coach. I wouldn’t hire Mike D’Antoni or George Karl, to me neither represents the future. They certainly had past success in the NBA but the game has probably passed them.

Bits n Pieces

Allow me to inform you of something that will not occur at least in the next few years. We have experienced a number of college teams changing conference affiliation over the last two years or so. Recently it was reported there was consideration for the Kansas Jayhawks to move into the SEC. Allow me to call that strictly a rumor for a key reason…football. SEC teams similar to others across the nation sometimes experience down years for their football programs. This is a basketball driven blog however the focus regarding this story involves football which pays for everything. Kansas finished with a 9-win season in 2023, prior to that it was 2008 the last time the school experienced a winning season. This story reminds me of a Big 10 one, it was rumored at one time the Big 10 also wanted Kansas too but passed due to their football program.

You are going to find this difficult to believe but it was true, if you’ve read this blog any length of time you are aware of bits of NBA history. Back then the NBA was a major league in name only, part of this was based on drug and racial issues in existence at the time. Between 1979-1981 the CBS Network the broadcast partner decided in favor of no weeknight playoff games in prime time. If a game were played at 7:30 or 8:00 p.m. it would be broadcast on a tape delay basis. Weekend games were a different matter, they were broadcast Saturday or Sunday afternoons. As for the weeknight games they were broadcast tape delayed after the nightly news and be shown 11:30 Eastern 10:30 p.m. Central Time.

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Celtic green

ESPN NBA analyst Tim Legler is correct in my view too. Legs indicates this is the year of the Celtics, the only team they had issues with during the regular season was the Nuggets. The Nuggets are in Cancun so there is no worry there, I realize the Celtics are missing Kristaps Porzingis but he alone will not be responsible for an NBA Championship eluding them. The Celtics must demonstrate their ability on the court whether it’s the Mavs, Wolves or Pacers no team is going to simply allow them to pass without a fight. The Pacers look really good, can they get by the Celtics perhaps?

In a series with or without Porzingis the Celtics have got to be favored. The Western Conference foe is a little more difficult to predict, because of their defense I’ve got to believe the Wolves have an advantage over the Mavs. Now we have the matchup on paper projected by yours truly. If the Celtics win they will break the tie, currently the Celtics and Lakers are tied with 17 NBA championships apiece. I favor the Wolves if it comes down between the two teams, as a Laker fan I cannot in my right mind root for a team from Boston. Who knows, this Finals round might not turn out as I have projected, we could have a Pacers-Mavs championship series. Last season I watched the championship with little connection, this time it’s a little different.

The Big Man arrives

Mizzou Nation continued to read and hear reports coach Gates wanted to add a Big Man through the transfer portal. It appeared that might not occur as prospect after prospect chose a school other than Mizzou to attend. On Monday came this announcement, arriving on campus from South Carolina comes 6-foot 11 255-pound Josh Gray. He played at SC four years so one season of eligibility remains for Gray at Mizzou.

I must be honest other than his one remaining season this is a headscratcher for me. Gray was a reserve player during his tenure at SC so I’m going to go with the coach on this move. It is clear Gates sees a role with Mizzou he believes is missing in his team and believes Gray can fill that role. With the addition of the former SC Big Man Mizzou has managed to add 5 players in the transfer portal…a starting team. It’s probably hoped the incoming freshman will bid their time while adjusting to Division I play.

He continues to make history

I’ve got to come up with another nickname besides Wemby, I don’t have any desire to use the term alien. That was the tag given him by LeBron James on seeing him play for the first time. I realize Victor Wembanyama has done some amazing feats in his first year in the NBA. Prepare yourself for one more thing that’s never occurred previously for a rookie in the NBA. Briefly we travel back in time to the 1968-69 season, that was the first year the NBA disclosed its first All-Defensive Team honors.

In all this time 55 years to be exact a rookie had never earned NBA All Defensive honors until now. Allow me to introduce you to Victor Wembanyama the first rookie accorded this honor in the history of the NBA. By now you are probably asking what he does for his sophomore season, in truth I have no idea. This I believe will occur, barring injury we’ll see the 7-foot 4 youngster go to a level no other NBA players ever reached. Part of this is based on Wemby’s adjustment to the NBA and an improved Spurs team, both will allow us to see Wemby astound us even more.

The gift that keeps on giving

I had to check, it seemed like forever since the Lakers had a first-round draft pick. I’d forgotten that quickly about Jalen Hood-Schifino taken with pick 17 in 2023, prior to that it was 2018 when they chose Moe Wagner with pick 28. We must return to 2017 and Lonzo Ball to discover a draft choice who managed to impact the Lakers won-loss record appreciably. The primary reason for the headline is Anthony Davis, in addition to the bodies traded the Lakers gave up a number of draft choices to acquire the Big Man from the Pelicans. Unless there is a trade (which is possible) the Lakers must once again look toward the second round to add talent to the roster. Just because a player is drafted in the second round can sometimes appear talentless but that is not always the case.

A team must be able to do extensive scouting and be able to assess a player at the college, G-League or Euro level. Let’s check a few 2nd round picks to see who would become outstanding, history first. Manu Ginobili is now in the Naismith Hall of Fame that certainly provides us an idea of his basketball prowess. How about Dennis ‘The Worm’ Rodman also in the Naismith Hall of Fame. More recently we could name Nikola ‘The Joker’ Jokic who owns the NBA MVP Trophy, I would say Draymond Green has been one of the keys to Warrior success the last few years. Khris Middleton has been just as valuable to the success of the Bucks as Giannis Antetokounmpo. There are others omitted from this account but simply stated there are gems in the 2nd round a Laker team must find them and groom them for inclusion to the roster.

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

15

Never give up the fight, that certainly could be the cry of the Wolves. They were down 15 points at the half, with 10:45 in the 3rd quarter the score read Nuggets 58 Wolves 38. Ant Man didn’t have a good shooting game (6 for 24) with his 16 points however his play was a contributing factor to the Wolves victory. Interesting the Nuggets outshot the Wolves from the floor 41% to 39.2% neither team shot particularly well from three.

A portion of the poor shooting by both teams can be directly attributed to the lockdown defense by both teams. The Wolves win the series 4 games to 3, they now face the Mavs for the Western Conference championship. Jamal Murray with 35 points and The Joker with 34 led the way in scoring, not a single player scored in double figures. Contrast that with the Wolves having all 5 starters in double figures and Naz Reid off the bench with 11 points. Beginning Wednesday at the Target Center will see the Mavs in action against the Wolves. This will be an interesting match on several levels, who guards Luka? The teams appear to be about the same height however the Wolves might have a slight advantage.

The outcome of this series will be determined by which team plays the best defense. Prior to the first game of the conference championship being played I would rate the Wolves a slight favorite in that area. The Wolves Karl-Anthony Towns with his 23 points and 12 rebounds was vital in the victory. 6 foot 36-year-old Mike Conley had 8 rebounds for the Wolves while 6 foot 10 Michael Porter Jr. had 9 rebounds for the Nuggets.

Stop reading if you heard this!

Have you ever wondered where the basketball shoe trend first began? Although Nike was in the shoe business already it was a bold move they decided to make which changed the basketball landscape. Nike’s gamble on the first Air Jordan’s was quite successful, at the time the original Air Jordan’s were introduced the NBA had a rule in effect. Basketball shoes had to be all black or at least 51% white, of course the white, black and red Air Jordan’s violated the rule so what ensued? The NBA fined Michael Jordan $5,000 a game which totaled $410,000 for the season.

Nike embracing the controversy surrounding the shoe eagerly agreed to pay the fine for Jordan. he paid not a penny. Prior to placing the shoe on the market   Nike projected it to earn in the neighborhood of $3 million in its first three years, it grossed an amazing $126 million in its first year. Nowadays it is not unusual to see NBA players decked out in multi-colored shoes. I’ve seen games (and maybe you have too) where a player could have assorted color shoe wear on each foot. Since that initial roll out back in 1985 the Air Jordan brand has separated itself from Nike although it is actually in name only, it remains one company. One player (Michael Jordan) and one company (Nike) are solely responsible for the change in basketball shoe wear.

What could have been

The Claw, that’s the nickname given Clipper forward Kawhi Leonard and here’s the reason. Although he stands 6 foot 7 he’s got a 7-foot 3-inch wingspan, there are players with greater wingspans however they are much taller than Kawhi. In addition its reported he’s got 11-inch hands, imagine as an opposing player trying to shoot over or drive around a defender with those tools. A quick check on my part, I discovered only Dr. J., Wilt Chamberlain and Connie Hawkins were reported to have larger hands than Kawhi. With this, there’s been a key difficulty the last few years, more has been written about Kawhi’s stats than we’ve actually witnessed play on the floor.

I don’t believe there’s ever been an argument on how good a player he is especially defensively. It becomes more and more difficult to defend him as a premier player when he is missing so many key games. I’m am unsure if this is true but I believe it to be so, the term “load management” became part of the NBA’s lingo due to Kawhi. Once I checked the number of missing games especially his time with the Clippers. I will not do that this time, I will say this, I doubt the Clippers are ever going to the promised land they believed when first signing Kawhi. I’ve said this before and will repeat it, Kawhi Leonard might be mentioned in the same breath of Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant or some other similar player. He will never reach their level and it’s certainly not for lack of talent, it’s his inability to remain healthy during his NBA career.

Three arenas? 

The NHL Las Vegas Golden Knights play their matches exclusively in the T-Mobile Center, the multi-purpose arena opened in 2016 so you can see it’s fairly new. Although the NBA Summer League is played annually in Las Vegas the NBA has never utilized T-Mobile to my knowledge. The Thomas & Mack Center and the Cox Pavilion are the locations for NBA Summer League play. AAU Tournaments are held at sites throughout the greater Las Vegas metro.

You might remember the other day I wrote of two competing groups attempting to build arenas for a Las Vegas NBA team along with ancillary amenities. Three arenas and one planned NBA team, are we not going a little overboard with this effort? I have no desire to place myself in front of someone or a group spending their own money it just seems strange how we’ve arrived at this place in time. It’s my understanding that no taxpayer funds are to be used by either group however it still remains highly unusual to me, what do you think?

The All-Rookie Team

There are elements of the NBA of today that distress me, I suppose we could make that same comment about football and baseball. They like the NBA are always exploring methods to improve the game, with that out of the way allow me to point toward the future success of the NBA…the associations youngsters. The NBA announced its All-Rookie first and second team, there were no surprises:

NBA All Rookie First Team

Victor Wembanyama Spurs

Chet Holmgren Thunder

Brandon Miller Hornets

Jaime Jaquez Heat

Brandin Podziemski Warriors

NBA All Rookie Second Team

Dereck Lively Mavs

Amen Thompson Rockets

Keyonte George Jazz

Cason Wallace Thunder

CG Jackson Grizzlies 

Basketball from a fan’s perspective

130-109

The headline above represents the final score as the Pacers at MSG smoked the Knicks. My friend was wrong on Thursday, the Knicks definitely needed more than the trio from Villanova. All 5 starters for the Pacers scored in double figures with Miles Turner being the low man with his 17 points. The visitors shot a sizzling 67.1% from the floor and a scorching 68.8% from the three line. The only downside for the Pacers the anemic 68.8% they shot from the free throw line.

The poor shooting from the line is the only negative that can be communicated about the Pacers and their effort in this game. As for the Knicks prepare yourself for the aftermath. New York City being the media capital of the world we’ll hear plenty of wailing and gnashing of teeth for the next 2-3 weeks. He who shall not be named will be the leader of the pack, he will call for everyone associated with the front office be fired, he will have several players traded and will name their replacements. In any event the Pacer organization, the coach and players are to be congratulated for their hard-fought victory over the Knicks. They must now prepare to face Jayson Tatum and the Celtics for the Eastern Conference crown.

They are knocking on the door

Rest assured fans of the Thunder awoke Sunday morning with a playoff “hangover.” They were disappointed their team came up short in the game against the Mavs. On Saturday they lost against the Mavs 117-116 and the series 4 games to 2 just about as close as can be. I certainly cannot guarantee anything however “The Future Looks So Bright, I Gotta Wear Shades.” My apologies I had to use the line from the 1986 rock classic by TImbuck 3 but everything looks good in OKC.

They have the 2024 NBA Coach of the Year in Mark Daigneault, the leadership of SGA, Chet Holmgren and a host of other positives Thunder fans can point toward. GM Sam Presti remains in place, he the assembler of talent through the draft or trade. The past problem for the Thunder has been retaining the talent acquired. In addition there is a new arena on the horizon for the team, it will not be completed by next season yet is closer now than it was a short 7-9 months ago. Yes, the future does appear quite bright in OKC if the Thunder can only close the door on the slight draft that exists.

Do they require two arenas?

Once the NBA expands to Las Vegas only one arena will be required. Despite my statement there are now two proposals in the works and both call for a 20,000-seat arena. I’m not going to go into detail however Oak View Group with Tim Leiweke steering the “ship” had the first proposal. At the end of April 2024 LXVP announced it would be offering its “NBA arena” for the citizens of Las Vegas. Even more interesting with the proposed arena construction currently in use is T-Mobile Stadium.

This multi-purpose arena can also seat 20,000 fans for basketball, it presently serves as home for the NHL Las Vegas Golden Knights. It should be of note T-Mobile was opened in April of 2016. This next portion is speculation on my part, why is it necessary to build an arena when there is one in operation the NBA has utilized in the past? Is this an effort simply to define which group becomes the owner or owners of the Las Vegas franchise? The details with the Oak View Group and LXVP is more involved than simply an arena there are casino’s and hotels part of the packages.

Perfect timing

Some might disagree with the headline regarding Chet Holmgren. Drafted by the Thunder, injured during summer league play and forced to sit out the 2022-23 season. He would have been Rookie of the Year with the numbers he displayed in the recently completed NBA season. This was the year of the alien, there was nobody within 100 feet of Wemby to challenge him. 16.5 points, 7.9 rebounds on 53% shooting plus the block shots informs all Holmgren had an outstanding rookie year. The principal reason I say this was perfect timing is the team, he arrived on a youthful-veteran team if I can use that term. The Thunder were ascending their play and Holmgren arrived just in time to move into the lineup for them.

Unlike his counterpart in San Antonio there was no requirement for him to take the lead, the Thunder just had to infuse him into the existing lineup. A funny thought, Holmgren arrived in the NBA at 195 pounds not bad. If you stand 7 foot 1 as he does a large contingent of people point to you being too thin. By his rookie year Holmgren “bulked up” to 208 pounds still thin however his play negated any talk of his weight. As he matures I’m sure Holmgren, like other players, will acquire poundage. The only negative is to ensure his footspeed remains near the same level. The profile of Chet Holmgren, as I indicated any other season he’d be Rookie of the Year.