Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Could they, would they?

After the Pacers 116-103 victory over the Knicks the teams return to MSG for Game 7 today. What occurs in this elimination game, will the home team prevail or will the visitors snatch victory from the Knicks. This has continued to be a back-and-forth series with both teams capable of winning. This is written Saturday morning so again I have no final score for the match. By the time you read this the Mavs will be victorious ending the series over the Thunder. On the other hand the Thunder could prevail setting up another Game 7 collision. I’m unsure which series has been the most entertaining for me personally.

The Nova three (Brunson, Hart & DiVincenzo) have certainly played hard-nosed defense for the Knicks. I have a co-worker from the NYC area, he said to me on Thursday. “The Knicks don’t need (Julius) Randle as long as they have the trio, they play defense.” As for Mavs-Thunder Luka is beat up, does he have enough in his tank to lead the Mavs to victory? On the other hand SGA continues to play outstanding basketball for the Thunder. One of these teams must lose but I certainly make no announcement which one I believe is moving on. Maybe this is a sign of my old age, I cannot remember back to last season. The 2024 playoffs have exceeded the play of last year in my opinion.

They were a few good ones

At the time the Kings franchise called KC home they were pathetic losers (1972-1985). There were a few bright spots for them, I’m unsure without research if it was the draft or trades but the 1975 team was good. They finished in second place in the Midwest Division with a 44-38 record this would be one of the four times the franchise finished above .500 while in KC. They had Tiny Archibald at the point and Scott Wedman at small forward.

Both would later unite on the Celtics aiding them in winning an NBA Championship. Of course you are aware Tiny remains the only NBA player in history to lead the league in scoring and assists in the same season. Wedman returned to KC after his playing days, I had an opportunity as a fan to pick his brain. What a great unassuming guy who could play the game. That team, also had Sam Lacey at center, excellent Big Man passer. For unexplained reasons Lacey gave Kareem Abdul Jabbar fits whenever the teams played one another. This should also be of interest to you that 1975 team had two future NBA coaches on the roster. The Kings hired 32-year-old Phil Johnson as head coach, previously he’d served as an assistant to Dick Motta Bulls coach at the time.  

Even more interesting both were reserve players…who were they? One was Mike D’Antoni, over the years he’s had a number of coaching stops in addition he’s a +.500 coach. I could make the same statement regarding Rick Adelman, neither is coaching at the present time however the groundwork for their later pursuit might have come in Kansas City who knows. It should be of note the 1979 and 1980 KC teams compiled a better regular season record however they lost in the playoffs both years.

A voice of reason

The two-night NBA draft will be held Wednesday June 26 and Thursday the 27, it will occur in a short space of time. There are several members of the media I value their opinion, it’s been mentioned in the past but one of those names is Jay Bilas. Bilas is a former Duke player and has worked for ESPN covering college basketball for years. Recently he was interviewed on a program and the subject of Zach Edey being drafted was the topic. You remember the 7-foot 4 300-pound former Purdue post player. The host mentioned reports he read indicating Edey wouldn’t be drafted.

Bilas immediately put that to rest stating what I’ve believed all along, teams are not going to suddenly develop a downlow game for him to strive. Edey must adjust to play in the NBA today, the guy was two times college player of the year…the words of Bilas. The analyst took this one step further indicating Edey will have a long NBA career. Bilas said this and I saw it too, last season mock drafts stated he wouldn’t be drafted at all just check out how far Edey’s come since then. For your information two of the three mocks I follow indicate Edey’s likely drafted in the first round, the other one claims it will be early second round.

This is amazing

I had to look up the term, it’s nonagenarian…the phrase used for a person 90-99 years of age. I came across an account indicating ESPN analyst Hubie Brown is 90-years of age, who works a full-time job at this age? Shouldn’t he be retired, probably so however there are few like Brown. Of course you’ve seen and heard him on ESPN’s NBA telecasts as an analyst but wait there’s more. How about this jewel, Brown was named NBA Coach of the Year twice, 26 years occurred between his first and second selection because he did “retire” at a point and was drafted again to coach an NBA team.

After a brief playing career he became head coach at several high schools and then an assistant at William & Mary and then Duke. From 1972-1974 he was an assistant for the Bucks of the NBA. From there Brown was a head coach in the ABA and NBA from 1971 through 1987. As for the twice awards as coach of the year the first occurred in 1978 and again in 2004. Brown still active has been honored having been enshrined in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame. Despite the fact Brown is old enough to be the grandfather or great-grandfather of all present-day NBA players he continues to remain relevant in analyzing the game we are seeing broadcast by ESPN. Who says you must retire when you reach a certain age, as long as your health and mental faculties allow do what is important and rewarding to you?