Basketball from a fans perspective

He’s easy to hate

I initially intended to leave this story alone, but I noticed another blogger criticizing LeBron James. Some fans have expressed disapproval of LeBron James for confronting Stephen A. Smith before the Knicks game. It is believed that Smith was critical of Bronny James and the fact that LeBron appeared to be okay with his son sitting on the last seat of the bench. Smith explained on his ESPN program the next morning that it was a father defending his son, while some criticized LeBron for his actions. If the argument is that Bronny is on the Lakers due to nepotism, there may be some validity; however, it is important to look at what he is doing. Bronny is playing for the South Bay Lakers and occasionally for the parent club, mostly during "garbage time."

His G-League stats indicate that he is performing well in various aspects of the game. Regarding being the 55th pick, let's examine the past two draft classes. In the 2023 NBA Draft, the Pacers drafted Isaiah Wong, who played one game for the Pacers and 20 for the Hornets and is now playing for BC Zalgiris in the Lithuania League. In 2022, the Warriors made Gui Santos the number 55 pick, who has played a total of 23 games and is currently with the Santa Clara Warriors of the G-League. The point is guys who are drafted at this stage of the draft rarely see minutes. While it is likely that Bronny would have been drafted if not for his father, it is unclear why Stephen A. Smith feels it is his duty to question Bronny's abilities without a background in talent analysis himself. This provides us one more example why a player like Ant Man might decline on becoming the face of the NBA. Far too much social media coverage, as for SAS Kevin Durant has also expressed his displeasure with him.

It’s not Deja vu  

If you believe you’ve read this in the past you probably did, I wrote this for one of my social media pages. "Help, I've fallen and I can't get up!" Some of us might recall those television commercials from the past. This phrase now appears to encapsulate the current state of Mizzou basketball; they have stumbled and appear unable to recover. Multiple issues are contributing to their loss of focus, the latest setback was a home defeat to Kentucky, 91 to 83, which I believe they should have won. Remember what I wrote previously the other team manages to play slightly better leading to victory.

It should be noted that the Wildcats are ranked as the number 19 team in the nation, indicating their talent level. The Tigers, however, have encountered a slump and appear unable to regain their footing. It seems that no amount of coaching can rectify certain issues. For instance, years ago I was coaching sixth-grade boys, we were in a close game, and I called a timeout to diagram what I believed was a straightforward play. The official blew his whistle and handed the ball to my player. Despite the fact all five players indicated they understood the plan, they executed a play that bore no resemblance to my instructions. As a result, we lost the game by a margin of 2 or 3 points; the score escapes me now.  

Meanwhile…

Cooper Flagg and Duke have dominated the college basketball headlines this season. Despite that fact Auburn along with Johni Broome have played at a slightly higher level. Who is Broome some might ask, the first description he is the engine that drives the Auburn Tigers. He’s a 6 foot 10 235 pound power forward, his numbers will not wow anyone, 18 points and nearly 11 rebounds a game. To his detriment Flagg’s the name even casual basketball fans are familiar with, more are probably familiar with Auburn over Broome. With that I say I will be shocked if Broome wins College Player of the Year although he could.

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You may have forgotten the name Ben McCollum, he’d been a successful head coach at Northwest Missouri State a Division II program. He won 4 NCAA Division II championships at the Maryville, Missouri school. After last season Division I Drake hired him and in his first year in Des Moines his Bulldogs registered a 27-3 record and first place in the Missouri Valley Conference. Virginia lost its head coach when Tony Bennett decided to retire so the school will soon conduct a search for a head coach…hint, hint.

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Mark Cuban has finally issued a statement on the Luka trade. You might remember he’d retained 27% of the Mavericks but no longer holds a leadership role with the team. Paraphrasing his words, he expressed that the Mavericks should have received more in exchange for trading Luka Doncic. He concluded by acknowledging that what’s done is done, and there is no way to change the past. I continue to believe that if Cuban were still at the helm, the trade would not have occurred; and if it had, the Mavericks would have secured additional players or draft picks.

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Trey Jemison III is not widely known, serving as a reserve center for the Lakers. However, his story goes beyond this role. Following the nullification of the trade for Mark Williams, there was an ongoing need for a backup post player to support Jaxson Hayes. The Lakers considered themselves fortunate when Alex Len, initially set to sign with another team, chose to join them instead. Nevertheless, an unexpected turn occurred: the 6-foot-10-inch, 260-pound Jemison II has been fulfilling the backup role to Hayes, while Len has seen limited playing time since joining the Lakers. Jemison went undrafted in the 2023, he played at both Clemson and UAB. He spent limited time with three other NBA teams prior to the Lakers.

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Nikola Jokic achieved a remarkable feat on Friday evening, he recorded 31 points, 21 rebounds, and a career-high 22 assists. These numbers help lead his Nuggets team to a 149-141 overtime victory against the Suns, Jokic's performance was pivotal. While Russell Westbrook and Wilt Chamberlain have previously recorded 20-20-20 games, Jokic set an NBA record with this accomplishment. His game continues to amaze me, do you realize in the 2014 draft he was the 41st selection in the second round? There are first round players who are no longer in the NBA and Jokic almost missed being drafted period.