Basketball from a fans perspective

Naismith

Despite what might be perceived as a negative commentary yesterday this bit of news. I mentioned Chris Paul had piled up frequent flyer miles with the number of NBA stops during his career. There is one more flight and stop required, this one takes him to Springfield Mass and the Naismith Hall of Fame. For me there is nothing to prevent Paul from being enshrined. The only question is timing, will the clock on his entry begin at the end of the 2025 season or the following?

That is unclear at this point the desire to excel clearly still burns in CP3 at age 39. I can’t speak for you but I find this certainly interesting, anytime conversation surrounds LeBron James his age is always mentioned. Don’t you think it’s unusual the same mention is not made of CP3? When he arrived in the NBA from Wake Forest in 2005 did we have any idea he would still be rocking it this late in his career? There might have been skepticism at the time if he was a legitimate NBA talent at 6 foot and 175 pounds. All these years later he’s proven all who doubted him of his ability and especially his drive.

Disappointed  

Mychal Thompson is the color analyst for Laker broadcast radio, he’s held this job for a number of years. Most of you are aware he is the father of former Warriors guard Klay but there is more to the story. The elder Thompson spoke of his disappointment when his son decided in favor of the Mavs over the Lakers. It’s more to the story, briefly the father played 5 years as a member of the Showtime Lakers. Mychal was a key figure in two Laker championships (1987, 1988) won during the period he played for them. Originally Mychal was made the first pick in the 1978 NBA draft by the Blazers.

In 1987 the Blazers traded Mychal to the Spurs where he only played half the season before he was traded again…this time to the Lakers. Back to son Klay, he’s been a major contributor to several Warrior NBA championships. A key member of the Splash Brothers as he and Steph Curry were nicknamed. A series of injuries certainly impacted his career over the last few years and perhaps that might have been a factor. The Warriors certainly wanted him back but not at the reported figure required. Klay instead decided to head to Texas over Southern California. We read the Warriors intend to retire Thompson’s number 11 as well they should. At this point, the ceremony will probably not occur until he retires from the game. I will keep you posted on the date for the jersey retirement.

Patience is required 

I was talking to a friend the other day…a Kansas graduate no less. I said to him, “I realize we are coming up on football but I can hardly wait for basketball.” He said, “Yes Missouri is going to have a good football team.” I quickly interjected “No its basketball I’m waiting to begin.” He almost fell over with laughter giving me the rundown on the 2023-24 basketball season for Mizzou, that was then, this is now. This is a beauty contest until real play begins but the conversation I held was one of a serious nature. I expect Mizzou to improve this coming season and be even better the following year and this is why. Dennis Gates and staff are recruiting talent from all over the nation. This might not play out but currently 247Sports.com indicates Mizzou has the 5th best freshman class in the nation for 2024.

The 2025 rankings are also out and this same website places Mizzou number 12. Mizzou basketball has a huge concern…it’s related to who is on the basketball court. Not only who but will THEY be patient. Mizzou basketball finds itself in rarified air for certainly the first time in history maybe back to the Norm Stewart days. As for who is on the court speculative wise that would be Annor Boateng, this 6-5 wing is reported to be a plug in and play guy. It would certainly be outstanding if one or more of the talented incoming freshman is on the court for major minutes. I’m not going to count on that for a major reason, despite losing 3 players to graduation Mizzou returns 7 players from last season. The outlook for 2024-25 looks good with reservations, I’m not expecting as SEC crown but improved play.

Moving & Shaking

The NBA draft has concluded, the same statement could be made regarding free agency. There’s been a great deal of moving and shaking going on in the NBA. As for the aftermath it would appear the Celtics are facing contention in July. The NBA season is several months away however the Knicks and Sixers indicate they are in it to win it. The check is the crew from The Big Apple first, Mitchell Robinson was lost for the season. At that point Isaiah Hartenstein stepped into the starters role and performed admirably in place of Robinson. Free agency saw the center change addresses, he signed with the Thunder, the Knicks will miss him.

There is no question regarding Robinson other than staying healthy, they are not looking for offense from Robinson it’s the other things he does reasonably well. Hopefully, Robinson can remain healthy in 2024-2025. At the end of the Knicks playoff run it was clear Jalen Brunson had “run out of gas.” Help has arrived from several directions to aid the cause. A trade with the Nets brought them Mikal Bridges at shooting guard, small forward OG Anunoby signed so he too returns. Also returning to the lineup from injury is power forward Julius Randle. The question remains will the “Temple Connection” of Brunson, Hart, Bridges and DiVincenzo be able to help lead the Knicks past the Celtics? Of course that question remains unanswered for now, stay connected.