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.