Basketball from a fans perspective

Congratulations

The Celtics are 2024 NBA champions, congratulations are due the team, coach Joe Mazzulla and Brad Stevens president of basketball operations. They took care of business on Monday evening beating the Mavs 106-88 to secure the championship. There were several keys to the Celtic victory but especially leading the way was Jayson Tatum and Jaylen Brown. Brown also secured the series MVP award and both are rewarding to him.

Immediately after the win he tweeted this out, a teacher said; “I’ll see you in the Cobb County Jail in 5 years.” Brown provided us no background on the tweet but it proves a fact, none of us are gifted enough to see the future in its entirety. I almost missed this one until a reminder came across my desk, congratulations are also due Al Horford of the Celtics. His play at the age of 38 and with 17 NBA seasons behind provided stuff that doesn’t always show up in the box score. This is his second tour with the Celtics having played with them from 2016-2019. Horford’s also played for the Hawks, Sixers and Thunder.

Okay with one but not the other

As this is written it appears JJ Redick will soon be named Lakers head coach. I’m not as excited this time around as I was at the time Darvin Ham was retired two years ago I felt differently. I was aware Ham had experience as a player, an assistant coach and an NBA championship winning assistant coach. Bottom line, although there was little basis for a positive outlook I felt differently than 2024. Redick played college ball for one of my favorite coaches, he learned the game from coach K.

As for the NBA that was a different matter as he played for good ones, some average and at least one I question his credibility as a good coach. Some have compared Redick to Pat Riley, he arrived at the helm with a limited coaching background yet Riley was the co-architect of Showtime on the court. The late Jerry West was the co-architect in the front office. Redick might be okay as a coach the only problem he’s got no track record. In conclusion I must remind you of my standard line, “I’m from Missouri, (Redick’s) Got to Show Me.”

The Philippines

The late Jerry West tells the story, he provided no time this event occurred. It surely must have been a period when NBA television coverage is not what it is today. West indicated he’d been invited to be a judge at the Miss Universe contest to be held in the Philippines. He stated NBA games were on television however they were delayed a month, West believed he could walk around as just another American tourist. That was not the case, he discovered as you will the NBA and basketball are quite popular in this southwest Pacific island nation. The sport was brought to the Philippines by Americans during its colonial period but unlike other games basketball rose to the top.

A Filipino writer claims “People in the Philippines love the game so much they are willing to play in bare flip-flops, with nothing to protect their feet and no ankle support to save their ligaments on hard concrete or dirt courts.” Can you say that’s a real love of basketball? Following the NBA in the Philippines today is much easier than the period West describes. Rest assured a time issue exists however live games are available on TV5, One Sports and NBA TV Philippines. There is a 12-hour time difference, as an example an 8:00 p.m. Friday game in New York would be live aired at 4:00 a.m. Saturday morning in the Philippines. I also discovered there are a number of basketball leagues in the nation in competition with one another. A small number of Filipino players those from the nation and others growing up in the U.S. have managed to play in the NBA. Jordan Clarkson who played at Mizzou is now with the Utah Jazz, he’s shares American and Filipino heritage.

Recruiting

This is interesting news, 247Sports.com’s Class of 2024 has arrived on campus at Columbia and comes in as the number 5 team in the nation. But wait there is more news, 247Sports has compiled its list for 2025 and they place Mizzou at number 10. The exciting portion of this latest news Mizzou has only one player verbally committed as this is written. I expect the rating to rise over the course of the next 9-12 months, we’ve discussed the transfer portal and its impact on college basketball. It’s become a vital part of recruiting but instead of one component there are now three keys to effective enticement.

The third component is Name, Image and Likeness or NIL, it’s become just as important to effective recruiting as the other two. Dennis Gates and staff is one of the exceptions, they must travel far and wide to attract talent to Columbia Missouri. There are other coaches able to do this by their name alone, I place John Calipari in this group. Some might state its “easy” to attract talent to storied basketball Kentucky, it’s not but we can say that. It’s yet to be proven however I believe this process will follow Cal to Arkansas. Other coaches able to recruit on their name, Bill Self at Kansas and certainly Dan Hurley UConn’s coach. Gonzaga’s Mark Few, Rick Barnes along with Bruce Pearl Auburn are also “name” coaches. There are others left off the list but you understand the premise I trust.

Question…how many is too many?

The NBA is talking expansion and Las Vegas is one of the locations mentioned. An NBA team needs an arena but you think four might be a little over the top? Let’s count them, we have Thomas & Mack Arena, it opened in 1983 so it’s the oldest arena in use. Thomas & Mack is home court for UNLV basketball, in addition it’s the site for NBA Summer League play, it becomes arena number one. In 2016 T-Mobile Arena opened, this building is home for the Vegas Golden Knights of the NHL, it’s arena number two.

There are two groups working on proposals for the NBA that will represent Las Vegas once the league expands, they are placed number three and number four. Keep in mind there is no guarantee either arena three or four comes to fruition. It appears the Golden Knights undoubtedly prefer to avoid sharing play dates with an NBA team. It also might be the case the NBA desires to avoid an arena opened in 1983 fearing it’s too old. What does the future hold for Las Vegas, the detail for both projects indicates no taxpayer financing will be involved so that becomes a non-issue. It’s common for a large metropolitan area to hold more than one arena but two new one’s is certainly a different matter.