Basketball from a fans perspective

Dreadful 3rd quarter

The Lakers might not have beaten the Celtics at TD Boston Garden, a dreadful 3rd quarter by them certainly didn’t help…they scored but 13 points. The Celtics Jaylin Brown had an outstanding game scoring 40 points but a closer look at the box score tells a different story. The teams were pretty much even across the board in the majority of numbers. Of course the ability to quantify the defense of both teams is difficult to evaluate from where I sit, the final score read Celtics 111-Lakers-101.

After winning 8 games in a row I thought at some point the streak would end however my hope was it wouldn’t be against their historic rival Celtics. Jaxson Hayes missed the game due to injury, Rui Hachimura remained out of the lineup. This game saw LeBron exit in the 4th quarter with a groin injury. It’s difficult to maintain winning with a running list of injuries—ask the Mavs about that. I’m the one that always says, “You can’t take one facet out of a game and determine the why for the loss.” Despite that I’m looking at LeBron exiting the game with an injury over that dreadful 3rd quarter.  

Mr. Anonymous

If you were asked to name UConn’s coach without hesitation, you’d name Dan Hurley. If the question were who is the coach at Kansas, Bill Self’s name would be mentioned quickly. As for Missouri’s coach, Dennis Gates remains relatively unknown to most fans, potentially even coaches in other conferences. SEC coaches, however, have become quite familiar with Dennis Gates over the last three seasons. Where did it begin, as a baller himself at Whitney Young High School in Chicago. From Chicago he played at Cal, where he was twice a member of the All-American Academic team. Graduating in three years, he was also a master’s degree candidate.

From there, Gates transitioned into coaching at several schools before Leonard Hamilton hired him at Florida State. He served as an assistant at FSU for 8 years before accepting the head coach position at Cleveland State. His first year, the school finished below .500, but the next two seasons saw NCAA and NIT invites. After three seasons at Cleveland State, there were questions when Gates was hired at Missouri. These were addressed in his second year despite a challenging season when the team performed poorly. Gates noted, “I don’t know of an 0-18 coach that ain’t got fired,” but he was retained and has since led the team successfully into the 2024-25 season. There are hints that Missouri should secure Gates with a long-term contract to maintain stability and create a winning tradition at the school which has been lacking at times under previous coaches. 

It’s his opinion

Former NBA player and current TNT analyst Charles Barkley is known for his unique approach to the NBA and life in general. Many people, including those who do not follow the NBA closely, appreciate his outspokenness. However, some find his candid comments problematic as I do. Recently, he went on the record criticizing ESPN for focusing more on the Lakers and Warriors especially analyst Kendrick Perkins. He indicated they covered these two teams while neglecting coverage of the Cavaliers and Thunder both with better won-loss records. Barkley's viewpoint differ from mine so it might be useful to explain a bit of history to Mr. Barkley.

The Lakers, despite their recent lack of championships, are a historic franchise with 16 NBA Championships won. In addition the Lakers have generational talent LeBron James and ascending Luka Dončić. As for the Warriors they too have several championships on their resume and are led by Stephen Curry, they have gained renewed attention with the arrival of Jimmy Butler. While the Cavaliers and Thunder have strong records, they do not capture the same level of widespread interest. If either team wins an NBA Championship, it would indeed be significant. Barkley, given his years of experience in the entertainment industry, likely fails to understand the nature of media focus. Major television markets count, we heard far more stories about the Jets and Aaron Rodgers than the Super Bowl Champion Eagles, must I explain it further to Mr. Barkley.

Meanwhile…

Last season Kevin Keatts led North Carolina State to an improbable Final Four run, this season he’s got no job. The school made the announcement Keatts had been fired on Sunday, the Wolfpack finished with a 12-19 record. In his 8 years at the helm the coach had one other losing season, overall his teams were 151-113. A contributing factor to his firing may have been a losing ACC record of 69 wins and 84 losses. With no official explanation his firing must be based in part on his losing conference record.

I’ve had plenty of opportunities to see Cooper Flagg in action. It’s been on television so keep that in mind on what you are about to read, I keep hearing stories “About dominating the NBA.” Anyone talking that language either hasn’t seen him play or plain don’t know basketball. I’m borrowing a term from another said, “Flagg is a complementary player.” That doesn’t entail less talent, for me it simply states Flagg is going to do his darndest to pass the ball, rebound, or block a shot. Also to take a charge, the shooting (although good) is last among those things mentioned. NFL guy believes because Flagg is the projected top pick he is suppose to arrive in the NBA ready to dominate, it doesn’t work that way.

Missouri State University, located in Springfield, is the second largest university in terms of student enrollment in the state. The school announced that it has received and accepted an invitation from Conference USA to join their ranks. Consequently, the Bears will be departing the Missouri Valley Conference, where they have been members since 1992. Conference USA competes at the highest level of Division I football, the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). Bears basketball should be able to compete against Liberty, Middle Tennessee and other members.

Most of us are aware the Lakers lack front court depth, they thought the problem might have been resolved with the trade for Mark Williams but that was declared null and void. It would appear the Lakers will be joined by the Sixers as both teams are looking toward the 2025 NBA Draft. Joel Embiid has been shut down for the season, the long term plan for the Sixers is to replace Embiid so that entails both teams looking for help in the post.