Basketball from a fans perspective

Published daily except Tuesdays & Thursdays

En Fuego  

Mizzou sprinted out to an early lead against Mississippi State, because they were on the road I’d hoped the Tigers would get off to a smooth start, however the Bulldogs came back at a point and tied the game. The Bulldogs went ahead at the 12:36 mark taking a 13-12 lead. From that point until the final buzzer it was all Mizzou as the Tigers conducted a shooting clinic shooting 55% from the floor and a sizzling 46.9% from three. The Bulldogs made an effort but it was clear the Tigers were the better team. The keys to victory, the sharp shooting by the Tigers plus outrebounding the opposition were the keys to the 88-61 victory over the Bulldogs.

Caleb Grill emerged from the bench and led the Tigers in scoring, he’s become coach Gate’s secret weapon. It was Grill with 20 points, shooting 54.5% from three aiding the cause of these Tigers. What’s next you asked, how about a trip to the University of Tennessee? Whether we desire it or not we have another SEC powerhouse team to contend with. I must admit my surprise, there was no method ahead of time to believe Mizzou men’s would be this good. This has been my theory all season long, “Win all your home games and steal two or three on the road.” I believe this Mizzou win on the road could be considered a steal and it sure would be great for two or three more victories away from home. In closing I can say Mizzou played almost a perfect game from start to finish.

Wow

The Spurs smacked around the Bucks 144 to 118 on Friday evening, if you remember I don’t have NBA League Pass. In addition the game was not available on many of the NBA’s family of networks, what you about to read is based on the box score only. I should mention the highlights were available however I am prohibited from providing a link to them. On hearing the score it was a real shocker for a number of reasons, how in the world did the Bucks give up that many points was my initial thought?

Well for one thing it was the Doc Rivers factor, no forget that for now. It was Wemby and his teammates who subdued the Bucks, he led the way scoring 30 points however the other four starters scored double figures. In addition to that Keldon Johnson came off the Spurs bench contributing 24 points to his team’s victory. I know you tire of hearing this however Wemby had a monster game, 30 points 14 rebounds along with 6 blocked shots. We are watching this youngsters continued NBA growth right in front of us. As for my Rivers quote I continue to believe the Bucks coaching ability is highly overrated.

Too much basketball…but I love it!

Weekends especially Saturdays, I find games I want to see often play at the same time. If not the same time they often overlap the case for Baylor-Kansas. I was busy helping Mizzou beat Mississippi State, I changed channels on occasion checking on the score. The last time I checked I’m unsure of the number however Kansas appeared to be clearly in the lead. Perhaps based on that I “forgot” until an hour or so past the time the game should have ended.

I was shocked when I discovered the final score, realizing the game was home for Baylor they must have come storming back. The final score read Baylor 81 Kansas 70 but what occurred during the time I missed? The Jayhawks outshot the Baylor Bears however the rest of the story is quite interesting, consider this fact Baylor trailed 40-21 at the half. Kansas had a 19 point half-time lead how does a team lose that huge a lead? Amazingly easy apparently because they gave up 60 points to the Bears. This was a road game for number 11 Kansas so the loss is partially understandable. As for the inconsistent play once again the pre-season number one team in the nation provides us proof can you say it…overrated.   

What do you think

I saw a recent interview with Zion Williamson of the Pelicans, perhaps you may have seen it too. Williamson has a checkered NBA career in and out of the lineup routinely. He made the following statement “I could play in back-to-back games but I WORK for the Pelicans.” He went on to detail the front office view of his health and his statement landed in a strange place for me. It’s impossible to determine what someone might be thinking, of course I'm speaking for myself. 

If you have the ability to read moods so be it, the rest of us can only make a judgement by their words we hear from the person. Notice Williamson said I work for the Pelicans rather than I play for the Pelicans, for me one word signifies I am an employee the other word says I am part of something. Only Williamson knows for sure what he meant in his statement but to me it sure it sounded as if he was saying “I want out New Orleans.” On the other hand maybe I’m the guilty party, perhaps I’m trying to read between the lines. Williamson might not be where I’m projecting him…what are your thoughts?