Basketball from a fans perspective

Published daily except Tuesdays & Thursdays

First you are ejected…then you’re not?

The final score read Sixers 111 Spurs 106, in between there was a strange mixture of basketball. Sixer Andre Drummond was given a second tech and ejection, then it was determined Wemby had flopped and he was accessed the tech. The second tech on Drummond was rescinded and after headed to the locker room he was allowed to return to the game. Later Sixer Joel Embiid was ejected after a second technical foul call, he went after the official although there is a question whether he bumped him. The final saw Tyrese Maxey lead the way to victory for the Sixers scoring 32 points along with 10 rebounds and 8 assists securing the win. As for Wemby his box saw 26 points 9 rebounds, 4 assists and 8 blocked shots. Wemby ended the game shooting 48.3% from the floor with 39.2% from three.

In all my years of following NBA action this was beyond a doubt the strangest incident in a game I’ve ever witnessed. In closing I’m going to take a stand on an issue after reading a letter written by a fan. He wrote quite emphatically that “Women shouldn’t officiate men’s games,” he went on to explain the why which is not included, a secondary male wrote in agreement. We have traveled so far to arrive near the same place, this is my response to both. I don’t often seen Jurassic age thinking expressed in this manner in 2024. If we take the views of these two there are few instances a female should be in charge. As for Wemby over his last five games he’s got 31 blocked shots for a 6.2 per game average. If Wemby continues at his present pace there is no way he will be denied Defensive Player of the Year this time around.

The explanation 

I am sure by now some of you who read a portion of Monday’s Off the Dribble are questioning, “Why is he so upset with Barkley and Arenas?” While both played in the NBA they did some outrageous stuff, without detailing what they did my statement is certainly factual. Is it necessary to burden yourself with issues or problems one might have faced in the past…of course not. I happen to believe these two and others seem to be preoccupied with airing dirty laundry regarding the NBA.

Listen, I could point toward 25-30 things wrong with today’s NBA in my opinion. The question might be is anything going to be accomplished, will Adam Silver make changes because I complain about an issue?  I have serious doubts anything will be done about my complaint, Barkley’s or Arenas. I have discovered a strange fact, NFL radio guys in KC love Barkley. This was mentioned in the past, there is little if any NBA talk here which is not a complaint. We have no NBA team there is no requirement for lengthy discussions on sports talk radio. Despite this fact at the time Inside the NBA appeared to be scuttled with TNT no longer being in the NBA family this is what I heard. “How insightful Barkley is and I am going to miss him. I tune into the program to hear his take on a matter. When the game begins I turn off the television or change channels.” How about that for a statement from someone in sports media, they watch a specific program but not the game which is generally the topic of discussion.

My question to radio guy, how the heck do you know what Barkley is talking about 75% of the time if you don’t keep up with what is going on in the NBA? I have concluded sports talk radio and Inside the NBA and other programs have become more about clicks than content. I raised the issue, am I being too critical of sports media today…that might be the case you are the judge.  One of the things I’ve always attempted to do was balance the content of this publication, I’m unsure if that is the current state of affairs in much of sports media.

I am in agreement

We are often on opposite sides, I speak of former NBA player and current analyst Charles Barkley. There is one area we find common ground…. analytics. Barkley has often been quoted “I hate analytics” and I agree with him, what exactly are we discussing? This is what I located on the world wide web, “Analytics is the process of discovering, interpreting, and communicating significant patterns in the data. Quite simply, analytics helps up see insights and meaningful data that we might not otherwise detect.” Taking this one step further we have:

Types of Data Analytics

Descriptive analytics: This describes what has happened over a given period of time.

Diagnostic analytics: This focuses more on why something happened.

Predictive analytics: This moves to what is likely going to happen in the near term.

Prescriptive analytics: This suggests a course of action.”

Kenpom.com-Dec 23

  1.Auburn

  2.Duke

  3.Tennessee

  4.Houston

  5.Iowa State  

  6.Gonzaga

  7.Florida

  8.Kansas

  9.Alabama

10.Marquette

You remember him…don’t you?

I turned on the television Friday afternoon and changed to the NBA TV channel. Before me was a G-League game between the Salt Lake City Stars and the Cleveland Charge. Because I didn’t see the game from the beginning I immediately began a search for Emoni Bates, you remember him I hope. This has been an unusual journey for Bates as he hopes for an NBA career. Bates was Gatorade High School Player of the Year while enrolled at Lincoln HS in Ypsilanti Michigan, from there it was Ypsilanti Prep and onto Memphis to play for coach Penny Hardaway.

After a year he transferred to Eastern Michigan, Bates declared for the NBA draft and was made a second round choice by the Cavs in 2023. Since the draft he’s spent more time with the Charge over the parent club Cavs. When inserted in the lineup he’s shown occasional flashes of the talent many believed he possessed. Bates now in his second year in the G-League appears light years from the promise once shown. An NBA scout declared him ready for the NBA if the league still allowed high school talent. Never say never but the NBA dream of Bates just might be a dream deferred. He possesses enough talent to earn a considerable income in the G-League or Europe, an income far above most but I don’t believe it will be from play in the NBA.