A Fan’s View of Basketball

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Who is it that wears Celtic green in the post

A salary dump saw Kristaps Porzingis traded to the Hawks and Jrue Holliday sent to the Blazers. Reports are this was done regarding the new owner taking over the Celtics. Of course it’s the post position that’s become most intriguing, Luke Kornet left for the Spurs in a free agent deal and they are unlikely to re-sign Al Horford. The question becomes who remains to man the post position for the Celtics?  Neither Chris Boucher nor Luka Garza have extensive play in the post.

The leading candidate to play major minutes also has limited play, his name is Neemias Queta. He played 62 games last season for the Celtics averaging about 14 minutes a game primarily subbing for Porzingis. Although he’s raw Queta at 7-foot and 250 pounds has the bulk to play in the post, although he shot the ball infrequently he was a 65% shooter. His numbers while playing at Utah State were decent so apparently he’s got a bit of skill playing in the post, just in case you wondered the Celtic Big Man was born in Lisbon, Portugal. This is written weeks ahead of training camp, perhaps in desperation they decide to re-sign Horford. He’s familiar with the Celtic playbook so it's certainly possible. 

Shut down

Once again we hear podcast drama, this time Larry Bird and Kevin Durant are the subject for Patrick Beverley. Larry Legend is long since retired, in addition Durant is closing out a hall of fame career. Despite the passage of time Beverley decided now would be a good time to compare the two on his podcast. This from Beverley; “Durant was the superior player to Bird and would have averaged 50 points a game if he played back then.” His statement didn’t rest comfortably with a former player of the Bird era Eddie Johnson. Johnson had a 17 year NBA career and played during the Bird era so he should have firsthand knowledge of Larry Legend. Clearly Johnson Former Sixth Man of the Year took offense to the Beverly podcast and felt a response was required.

“You have zero clue how good Larry Bird was,” which preceded his testimonial on X. “And I will go on record and say you (Beverly) would have been in the Continental Basketball Association in the NBA in the 80’s.” The Continental Basketball Association preceded the G-League, players would hone their skills in the CBA in hopes of landing an NBA job. As you are aware this blog is written from the perspective of a fan so here goes, could Beverly have played in the NBA back then? I actually have no idea, in this instance the word of Johnson must be taken into consideration. As for witnessing his play on a number of teams including my Lakers I have never been a fan of Pat Bev, as the old saying goes, “His bark is worse than his bite.” I am guessing Pat Bev, Gilbert Arenas and others must have a daily hook to appeal to the public.   

She’s a winner

Dawn Staley’s been a winner throughout her career, first as a high school player and later at the University of Virginia and later in the WNBA. Once she became a head coach it’s my belief she’s been far more successful in this career over playing the game. Her South Carolina teams have won three NCAA championships, three Final Fours and one Runner Up. That represents just a small portion of her coaching accomplishments at South Carolina. She first tasted success while coaching at Temple where her teams compiled 172 wins versus 80 losses. Her winning basketball teams in the women’s basketball program at Temple and South Carolina has not gone unnoticed.

The Knicks decided to replace Tom Thibodeau as head coach and a search was conducted throughout the basketball world. Eventually the Knicks decided on veteran coach Mike Brown as head coach. This week Staley announced she had been interviewed for the head coaching position, despite not being hired she spoke enthusiastically regarding the opportunity. From CBS News: “Dawn Staley would have left South Carolina for New York Knicks head coaching job, she says.” Although there are several female assistant coaches none have been elevated to the first chair. The first female coach in the NBA might not be Staley however it will occur at some future date, it most certainly will occur before the first female NFL coach and MLB manager is hired. 

They listened to all the caw-caw

Some fans expressed ongoing dissatisfaction with the broadcast team, which likely influenced ABC/ESPN’s decision to reassign Doris Burke from her role as a lead broadcast analyst. She will likely team with Mark Jones or another commentator on the network’s secondary team. Former NBA player and analyst Tim Legler will move up to work alongside Mike Breen and Richard Jefferson. The exact reason for Burke’s reassignment is unclear, however, there has been speculation regarding its motivations.

I’d mentioned this previously my issues with Jeff Van Gundy’s commentary style, particularly his tendency to deviate from game analysis. For instance I remember one Laker game in particular, Van Gundy discussed the appropriateness of displaying certain championship banners in Crypto.com rather than focusing on the live action. Regardless, the network has made its decision---Burke remains employed, but some view like me view this change as less than favorable. Before you come to the wrong conclusion I like Tim Legler, he’s informative without becoming too technical in his explanation. I believe Burke was as well however it didn’t work for her. Am I going to quite watching NBA games on the network, of course not?