Basketball from a fans perspective

Published Monday, Wednesday, Friday, Saturday & Sunday

ROY

The NBA season is almost a month old but it’s far too early to determine. There are rookies playing while others bid their time on the bench behind a veteran. It’s been my belief sometimes it might be a good thing to be drafted by a “bad” team. Teams not playing up to par for a variety of reasons are able to slide a rookie into the lineup easier. By the time February rolls around there might be another rookie who comes to the forefront. The current leader is former Duke guard and Sixer Jared McCain, his numbers point out he is clearly in front.

McCain is 16.5 points, 2.7 assists and 48.4% shooting from the floor, good numbers for a guy picked at 16. I have written several times thus far about Dalton Knecht of the Lakers. He’s scoring at 11.7 points a game with a sizzling 52% shooting from the floor, he was chosen at 17. We also have the Hawks Zaccharie Risacher selected at the top of the draft along with Stephon Castle the 4th pick by the Spurs. Finally there is Big Man Zach Edey who was said at one time to not be draft worthy, he was number 9 by the Grizzlies. There is no guarantee the 2025 NBA Rookie of the Year will come from any of these names. What I find interesting those at the top McCain and Knecht were both drafted outside the lottery.

I have concerns

Mizzou won the Friday evening game Friday against Pacific, the final score 91-56. Despite the win I have concerns which I will share with you. From a recruiting standpoint Mizzou has an excellent 2024 recruiting class it was number 8 in the nation I believe, in addition the coach was able to fill up the balance of the roster with portal transfers but still I worry. Is it the competitive SEC that worries me…to a degree but it’s the other thing. Those returnees plus transfers are liable to receive the bulk of minutes on the court. For this outstanding freshman class will they be patient enough until it’s their turn.

This is different, these freshman have gone from being Mr. Big Shot on their high school team to finding a seat on the Mizzou bench. 247Sports projects Mizzou will need to win at least 20 games, that would place them with a 9 win 9 loss record in the SEC. KenPom ranks Mizzou at number 53 which says they could earn an NCAA berth. Despite what might be seen as a middle of the road season that is light years better than last season. Mizzou Nation remembers the horrible 8 win 24 loss record I can locate predictions for the season for days, the one that cannot be answered is who goes and who returns as a sophomore.   

This is an old subject

Kawhi Leonard’s name continues to appear in Off the Dribble for the wrong reasons. There is never any discussion of his play on the court, the dialogue in this blog is always focused on his health. There are rules in place that indicate the public should not be party to all of one’s medical condition. For professional athletes it is somewhat different, we the public expect teams to be forthright and honest with us regarding medical news.

In the case of Leonard he’s always been a man of few words so we must gain our information from those around him. Reading an ESPN report is not only enlightening but also concerning allow me to explain. His coach claimed everything was okay until Leonard suffered a setback while practicing with Team USA. It’s been mentioned he left the team and then the confusing statement from Clippers President Lawrence Frank at the time indicating “He (Leonard) was making progress.” The announcement October 17 just might be the beginning of the end of Leonard’s NBA career, Leonard is suffering inflammation in his surgically repaired right knee. Think about this a moment, he led two teams (Spurs, Raptors) to NBA championships and was twice voted the series MVP.

It’s unfair to compare sports but I’m going to do it anyway. The baseball Royals roster once contained we were told a super talented player. The only problem for Raul Mondesi it seemed he could never remain healthy, he would be placed on the IR numerous times during a season. Mondesi like Leonard missed major parts of the baseball season and that becomes the dilemma. How valuable are you as an athlete to your team if you are rarely able to play for extended periods? The Clippers are going on a 4-game road trip and the team announced Leonard will not travel with them. 

Bits n Pieces of Information

I gained this bit of information searching for a Bronny James update. The Clippers as with all NBA teams have a G-League affiliate. In the instance the affiliate of the Clippers is certainly unique they play out of San Diego which is a short 124 miles between the downtowns of both cities. The northern metro of Los Angeles might bump up against the northern metro of San Diego, in any event back to the subject. I located a box score for the South Bay Lakers who played the San Diego Clippers the previous night. Interesting, rather than a new name why not an old one a name depending on one’s age a number of folks in San Diego might be familiar with. The Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA called San Diego home from 1978-1984 before moving north.

I have a standing order with myself to not discuss player salaries…the reasoning is clear on my part. Although I’ve long believed everyone deserves a decent salary (your definition is____) I have believed for a time professional athletes earn far more income than might be due. Police, fire, emergency responders and educators should be paid more but that is a subject for another time and place. With that said how about the other side of the coin, you might have heard the term “pay it forward.” That’s exactly what the late Kobe Bryant once did, he encouraged James Harden to invest in a startup company that earn Bryant a huge amount of money. That same company has rewarded Harden in an identical manner, what does Harden he do? He indicates he mentioned a similar company to teammate Terrance Mann thus paying it forward.

His given name is Johnuel Fland although he is better known by his nickname Boogie. According to his bio when he was a baby he was always dancing so his family hung the name on him. This 6 foot 2 175 pound combo guard and McDonald’s All American had previously committed to Kentucky. Then this occurred, John Calipari left Kentucky for Arkansas and guess what…Boogie headed to Fayetteville. Boogie is from the Bronx in New York and played his high school basketball at Archbishop Stepinac in White Plains New York. His last year of school saw him score at a 19.2 point per game clip 6 rebounds and 3.6 assists a game. If Boogie is as good as advertised we might miss him at Arkansas, if his freshman year is as good as some believe the next stop will be the NBA.