Basketball from a fans perspective

Published Tuesday, Thursday plus Saturday & Sunday 

They finally succeeded

The Knicks finally showed up in Game Five winning 111-94, I guess the “home cooking” aided the cause. They shot nearly 50% from the floor with Jalen Brunson leading the way scoring 32 points. KAT contributed 24 points along with 13 rebounds despite reported right knee pain. Tyrese Haliburton had an unlike “Tyrese Haliburton” game scoring but 8 points and dishing out 6 assists, as most reading this are aware he is key to the success of the Pacers. Pascal Siakam led the way in scoring for the Pacers with 15 points as the team managed to only shoot 41%.

This series returns to Indiana for Game Six, what occurs in this evening’s game? Will the Knicks tie this series up or will the Pacers get back on track and end this thing tonight? Despite the Knicks win on Thursday I have several concerns about Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau and his rotation policy. It appears in this playoff series its often been the Knicks with 6 or 7 players versus the Pacers with 8-10. On the other hand I could be off base, moving Mitchell Robinson into the starting lineup proved beneficial at least in this game. Other than Robinson the Knicks don’t appeared as lockdown defenders. Has this plus the shorten bench been a problem for the Knicks, have they run out of “gas” at points in the series? Of course I could be off base, I’m only a basketball fan not a coach.

There is no report

99% of the time a write up by yours truly would be as I see it. The close out game for the Wolves-Thunder is incomplete, sure the game was played but at the half I changed the channel to another program. Final score Thunder 124 Wolves 94 which indicates a 30 point victory but it was more to it. The Wolves scored but 9 points in the first quarter…allow me to repeat that…9 points. Meanwhile the Thunder placed 26 points on the score board. In the second the Wolves scored 23 points but gave up 39, halftime score read Wolves 32 Thunder 62. With such a huge lead the outcome was determined well in advance the remaining question would be the final score.

The Thunder with a combination of shooting and outstanding defense vanquished the Wolves most of whom are headed to Cancun as you read this. By now you either watched the game live or read the writeup in various publications. So there you have it, the Thunder Western Conference Champions for the second time in their history. They will face the winner of the Knicks-Pacer series, in all likelihood it will be the Pacers. I’ll repeat my earlier statement, the Thunder have the best defense in the NBA versus the Pacers with the best offense. They say (whoever they are) claim defense always wins over offense, we shall see how this plays out in the end. Will the Thunder be able to win their first NBA Championship or will the Pacers with ABA titles in their past win their first title in the NBA.

A new arena

We’ve profiled pending NBA arenas in Oklahoma City, San Antonio and Philadelphia. Although not a shovel full of dirt has been turned over yet I could state the arena in Oklahoma City has progressed the furthest. Construction is expected to begin in Oklahoma City in 2026. San Antonio’s plan for a new arena has been approved by the city council, In Philadelphia the Sixers will move to a new arena but not adjacent to the Chinatown neighborhood originally planned. Now come news of another arena, the Mavs desire a new home as well.

American Airlines Arena longtime home of the Mavs will be replaced and there is a planned opening for the 2031-32 NBA season. The location is unclear at this time however Dallas sites will be given priority. If this effort fails a site will be selected within the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex. One site, although certainly not finalized is the old Texas Stadium location, the now demolished stadium was home for the NFL Cowboys from 1971 through the 2008 season. This new Mavs arena will be basketball exclusively, currently in the American Airlines the Mavs share dates with the NHL Stars. It should also be noted the arena will serve as host to concerts.

Your decision

What is your plan, you are part of the Spurs brain trust which includes GM Brian Wright and coach Mitch Johnson. Your team has the second pick in the 2015 NBA Draft, 98% of the mock draft sites claim that pick should be Dylan Harper who played at Rutgers. Harper is a big guard standing at 6-foot-6 and 220 pounds, consider the present Spurs backcourt. The old man, point guard Chris Paul is still around although his minutes could be curtailed in the 2025-26 season.

They acquired DeAaron Fox from the Kings at the trade deadline, he’s 27 years old. We can add Stephen Castle who was named 2025 NBA Rookie of the Year. Do the Spurs add another guard (Harper) to that crowded backcourt or do they trade the pick? As the Spurs chief scout what is your recommendation to Wright and Johnson? Now I am going to provide you help, some are aware…the Spurs have another pick in the first round. They have the 14th pick, will that influence whatever decision you make? Currently nbadraft.net claims that pick could be Thomas Sorber Georgetown Big Man or Carter Bryant Arizona forward.

I didn’t know

The family name probably fails to register with most of you reading this…allow a further explanation. We have Rudolf Dassler (1898-1974) and Adolph Dassler (1900-1978), theses brothers from Germany founded a shoe company in 1924 which was successful. Despite the accomplishment that came to an end in 1948, the brothers began a feud. All I was able to uncover there were differences in leadership style and business philosophies and personal misunderstandings. The disagreement was so severe it caused the brothers to dissolve their business relationship.

So what occurred after the breakup, both went their separate ways but formed new shoe companies. Rudolf began manufacturing his shoe line under the Puma brand name while younger brother Adolph’s brand would be named Adidas. I’ve not read any numbers recently however the Adidas brand is quite prevalent in many major schools across the nation. As for Puma after not being visible for a time they have begun aggressively marketing their brand. Nike is the most popular sneaker brand in the U.S. followed by Adidas and Converse. I could locate no figures for Puma however it is not too far down the line from the leaders.