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.