Basketball from a fan’s perspective

Does the NBA remain  

You might recall the name Emoni Bates don’t you? He was projected to be a budding NBA superstar while in high school however there might be questions regarding that belief now. Bates was a surprise late second round draft choice by the Cavs in 2023. Once drafted he played fairly well in Summer League for the Cavs but management believed he needed seasoning, Bates spent the balance of the season in the G-League. He averaged 19.8 ppg which detailed his talent, the 38.7% shooting from the floor told another story. Shooting at that level indicates Bates has difficulty deciding what’s a good shot versus a bad one.

Let’s go back to the early days, the youngster was anointed a genuine talent as a high school freshman, his numbers had many comparing him to past and present NBA greats. They made this comparison despite the fact Bates was still in high school. Gatorade Player of the Year as a high school sophomore everything in life was on an upward trend until a number of obstacles presented themselves. The first, his father decided to pull his son from public school to play in a prep school he help found. At the end of the year he reclassified graduating high school one year early. He announced Michigan State then it wasn’t, later it was Memphis and his freshman year was full of further obstacles including an injury which sidelined him for a time. Bates then decided to return home and enroll at Eastern Michigan, this would prove to be a good move on his part, to a degree he returned to the form witnessed from his high school days.

Despite the positives Bates game remained a work in progress, there were elements requiring a fix. With an ESPN+ subscription I managed to see practically all his games at Eastern Michigan. I concluded Bates should remain in school at least another year but that was my view and me Bates. He declared for the NBA draft, evidently he was impressive enough at the NBA Draft Combine for the Cavs to decide to take a chance. They would make Bates a second-round pick, it is clear he’s at a crossroads in his professional career. He must improve his work ethic according to scouts and be able to effectively identify a good shot. Finally the question is asked, does the NBA remain in his future?

The shoes

Recently I wrote of Victor Wembanyama’s first shoe made by Nike on the market. I also mentioned the price tag of $170, despite the huge price the shoe sold out within minutes of being placed on the market. Also mentioned in the past was Michael Jordan and the Air Jordan brand, I noticed an original model selling for $92 on Amazon. As for other models of the popular brand they sell for a much higher amount. You might wonder where this is headed, it’s on the way to economically priced basketball shoes and the story of Shaquille O’Neal.

You are familiar with The Big Aristotle however maybe not his shoe history. Shaq’s first shoe was manufactured by Reebok and this is the reported story. He indicates a mom caught him in a store one time and begin to criticize him over the high-priced shoes Reebok produced under his name. He claims in 1998 he cut ties with Reebok and had his shoes produced by another manufacturer. In addition to this move his shoes would be priced more moderately and be available at Wal Mart. I cannot vouch for anything related to the shoes, in addition I have no clue how these shoes compare to Nike, Air Jordan and other manufacturers. Shaq is giving back to the community a promise he made to his mom.

1976

After sharing my thoughts with a few others I have gained a unique perspective. 1976 is the year the Nuggets, Spurs, Pacers and Nets moved from the ABA into the NBA. History says it was a merger but as I’ve pointed out it was never a merger, the proper term would be “expansion.” The basis for expansion was economics over anything else. Far too many years have evolved to check the journals to discover the truth but this is what I believe. The more teams and players added the more the finances must be divided. “If we add the most financially secure teams and their rosters there will be far less money to be split.

In addition the expansion teams will pay an indemnity fee to join the NBA.” The conversation just read was certainly more detailed than just presented for you but rest assured it went somewhat along those lines. While the majority of ABA teams were in dire financial straits at least two franchises were financially sound. That would be the Kentucky Colonels and the Spirits of St. Louis, what occurred for them? Both teams went out of business with only broken dreams of joining the NBA. As per usual economics were the decider for the NBA and would become the winner. All of what you read could be termed fiction, I have no method to document it as the truth however it sounds somewhat correct based on what I was able to uncover.

Who are you

Growing up I would often become my favorite basketball player on the court. I really can’t say I copied their moves or even their game I just became them. I’m sure this story played out in the minds of every little kid and still does today. Youth of today emulate Steph Curry, Ant Man and others I might fail to mention. The player they don’t emulate is the three-time NBA MVP Nikola Jokic, he doesn’t fit the mold of many. Jokic is “mechanical” in his moves around the basket, this even extends to his unorthodox shooting style with the exception of his 3-point shot.

The two areas his game resembles and often exceeds others is rebounding the basketball and dishing out assists. He is quite adept at dishing out assists to cutting teammates or those who might be streaking down the court. There is almost a guarantee the ball will be delivered precisely by Jokic to that teammate. I’m sure there are kids in Serbia who become Jokic on the basketball court, meanwhile in America there is a smaller number willing to make that claim. If this appears as a negative toward Jokic that is not the intent, he’s a guy who manages to get the job done no matter how unconventional he might look at times on the court.