Basketball from a fans perspective

Provocateur-in-Chief

I apologize for taking up your valuable time, but I must express my thoughts. I do not dislike Stephen A. Smith of ESPN; in fact, I admire his achievements to some extent. He has secured a position where ESPN relies heavily on him and compensates him generously under his new contract extension. His role at ESPN entails observing and commenting on a wide range of sports, though I generally disregard his comments on the NFL, college football, and MLB.

However, his commentary on the NBA, college basketball and its players often affects me negatively. His sports arguments frequently give me the impression that he believes his perspective is correct and that everyone should agree with him. We can debate the value of Kristaps Porzingis, I am mentioning the Celtic Big Man for a single reason. In 2012 SAS trashed his Knicks for making Porzingis their pick who went on to be named to the NBA All Rookie First Team. In addition he finished second to Karl-Anthony Towns in Rookie of the Year voting. I wish to clarify that I do not harbor strong negative feelings towards SAS. It is more accurate to say that we often have differing views on NBA discussions.

Are they legitimate

To no one’s surprise after the Auburn loss Duke moved into the top slot on the weekly Top 25 polls. If someone were to ask you the question is this justified, i.e., Duke rising to the top my response would be an emphatic yes, that would be at least until tournament time. The Blue Devils have advanced through the season with only 3 losses, Kentucky and Kansas early in the season. More recently it was to Clemson, they have won 28 times proving they are a darn good team.

Naturally the focus for Duke basketball is on Cooper Flagg, every mock draft site anoints him the top draft pick in the June NBA Draft. He’s a vital member of the team but there are others. Jon Scheyer runs a 3-guard offense consisting of 6-7 Kon Knueppel along with 6-6 Tyrese Proctor and 6-6 Sion James. 7-2 center Khaman Maluach rounds out the starters for this team. The coach isn’t afraid to utilize his bench receiving valuable play from his reserves. Duke basketball this season is more than Cooper Flagg although he manages to draw a great deal of attention.

2025 NBA Rookie of the Year

Typically, the top pick of each season’s draft is named Rookie of the Year (ROY), as was seen with Victor Wembanyama in 2023. Zaccharie Risacher, the first pick of the 2024 draft was chosen by the Hawks, he is having a decent season but likely won’t be ROY. At the end of each season a candidate’s debut is superior to other rookies, generally we think of that top pick being named ROY. My choice for 2025 ROY is Stephon Castle, what has significantly contributed to the Spurs’ improve record despite being a part-time starter until recently.

That’s what occurred in the 2023 draft, Victor Wembanyama was named NBA Rookie of the Year and he was the top pick in the June draft. The number one pick in the June 2024 draft was Zaccharie Risacher from France chosen by the Hawks. Risacher is experiencing a decent season for the Hawks however it’s highly unlikely he is named ROY for 2025. With the addition of De’Aaron Fox, Castle may shift from his role as a combo guard to shooting guard. Though Chris Paul’s future remains uncertain, Castle shows great promise, especially if he can enhance his three-point shooting. He certainly possesses the tools to be a key contributor as the Spurs franchise continues to build for the future. San Antonio should become a destination for free agents with this assemblage of talent.

Rare as it is it could occur

The two major polls, the AP and Coaches' Poll, concluded week 19 without the Kansas Jayhawks listed in the Top 25. This is an uncommon situation for Kansas to be unranked. Interestingly, there are two additional polls pending: one will be compiled after Selection Sunday and the other after the NCAA Champion is crowned. It raises the question of whether Kansas basketball might not make it into the Top 25 at all.

Based on research, this situation has not occurred in the past since polling began. No Kansas team under head coaches Bill Self, Roy Williams, Larry Brown, Ted Owens, Dick Harp, and Forrest “Phog” Allen has finished a season unranked. This streak dates back to the 1949-50 basketball season. While other programs such as Kentucky, North Carolina, Duke, Indiana, and Louisville have had successful runs, none match this specific unranked record. It is worth considering whether biases by official may have played a role, but the historical record remains significant.

sports-reference.com/cbb/schools/kansas/men/polls.html

Surely, you’ve noticed 

It doesn’t matter the team sport, surely, you’ve noticed them. The teams that hover around the bottom of the standings, for this purpose we’ll concentrate on the NBA. What causes a team to lose its place…everyone is taught to win since they first began to play basketball. There are a number of factors that probably contribute to a winning culture, all will not be detailed here but hopefully a few will. A front office including a head coach adept at drafting players and signing free agents, let’s look at them individually.

How do you project an 18 or 19 year old as an NBA player, it sure ain’t easy but I’m certain there are aspects of the game scouts and the front office are scrutinizing. For years it was my belief that the Lakers had one of the best collaboration between the front office and scouting staff, however I don’t believe that exists any longer. In the NFL I could point to the success of the Kansas City Chiefs over the last 10 years. A co-op effort between GM Brett Veach, scouts and coach Andy Reid have been key contributing factors. Have the Chiefs missed on some players, of course however there’s been more upside than down. In the NBA in order to complete a trade salaries must match between the teams, this is where front office skill is a prerequisite.

There are occasions when a third party is involved in order to make a trade successful, this is often an area a number of NBA fans fail to understand. Both teams must be satisfied in their effort to improve their respective team. Who are the teams that seem to never improve from year to year, they are the Pelicans, Wizards, Hornets, Kings and in recent years the Jazz. I am not…I repeat I am not calling out these teams as losers. I can simply state whatever the issues they never ever seem to improve, maybe one or more of the concerns raised is the basis for continued poor play.