A fans perspective

Published Monday, Wednesday and Friday through Sunday

I listen

There are numerous times I have been critical of the ‘talking heads,’ these are members of the media who cover the sport. Often they appear to be listening to the sound of their voice especially those on television. I have no issue with opinion as long as the individual is providing information. My statement has always been, tell me what you know not what you think. As basketball fans we often have friendly arguments where our opinions are expressed. Nothing in the world wrong with that until you decide your friend is incorrect because he doesn’t agree with your take. Now for the ‘meat and potatoes’ of my take, the Spurs-Thunder and a comment made without the hype of some members of the media.

The Christmas Day game was the only one of the three Spurs-Thunder games I was able to see in its entirety, the other two only clips of the win by the Spurs. On Friday after reviewing video of the Thursday game I listened to the question posed by NBA TV host MJ Acosta-Ruiz made toward former coach David Fizdale his thoughts on the Spurs win. For those who might be unfamiliar with Fizdale there have been stops as an assistant coach for several franchises, in addition he’s served as head coach of the Memphis Grizzlies and the New York Knicks for a time. I’m going to paraphrase the comment made by Fizdale, “They are a match up problem for the Thunder. They have speed at every position plus they have Wemby.” I’m sure there are others in the media with opinions however Fizdale is the first I’ve heard detail his view on the Spurs advantage (if there is one) over the Thunder.

He’s the real deal

Did I mention the number of games NBA and college on television, just in case I didn’t know now you do? Because BYU games are in the Mountain Time Zone I have yet to see AJ Dybantsa in action. BYU is a member of the Big 12 and with the conference race soon beginning I should have several opportunities to see him in action. I am making that statement because there is no doubt in my mind his name will be among the top three Adam Silver declares in the June NBA draft. I am sure without confirmation NBA scouts have followed his progress so far in Provo Utah and whenever BYU is on the road.

Recently Dybansta at age 18 became the youngest player in NCAA history to register a 30+ point triple-double. In 36 minutes of action the 6-foot 8 Dybansta scored 33 points 10 assists and 10 rebounds against Eastern Washington in the 109-81 victory. If the season ended as this is written let’s check the websites, nbadraft.net has the Atlanta Hawks with the first pick in the 2026 NBA draft. They have Dybansta with the first pick. As for others tankathon.com place him at three with the Kings choosing him. Finally nbadraftroom.com has him second and chosen by the Hawks. The draft position of each team will change over time, in addition its possible Dybansta could wind up number one on all three mock sites.

Plus/minus

I acknowledge that when I write about players, I tend to focus mainly on points. Depending on the player's position, I also discuss rebounds, blocked shots, assists, or steals. Most of you, I believe, are aware ESPN and other sources include a plus/minus number after a player's name. I attempted an explanation previously and thought it might be a good idea to write about this tool once again. Now, let's look at an AI Overview:

NBA Plus/Minus (+/-) in a box score shows your team's score difference while a player is on the court; a "+5" means the team outscored opponents by 5 points with them in, a "-3" means they were outscored by 3, reflecting on-court impact beyond points, assists, and rebounds, but it's affected by teammates/opponents and can be noisy, though advanced stats like Box Plus/Minus (BPM) refine it using regression to estimate overall value.”

Most times I fail to mention this information because it remains somewhat confusing to me. I intend to use this as an example, Michael Porter Jr. and Noah Clowney of the Nets and their 114-106 victory over the Sixers. MPJ led the way for the Nets with 29 points but registered a +7, as for Clowney it was 13 points but he exceeded MPJ with a +10. If we travel down the roster we discover Day’ Ron Sharpe came off the Nets bench scoring 9 points and 11 rebounds with a +16 number. If you believe this tool to be important continue to utilize it, as for me I intend to utilize it occasionally but certainly not on a regular basis.

Arena Status Update

I thought it time to check the progress on planned arenas around the NBA, the shorten version of the story it would appear the Oklahoma City project is the only proposal that’s moving smoothly. The city plans a February groundbreaking ceremony with a 2028 opening. MANCIA Architecture a Kansas City based firm has been hired as the designer of the arena, the projected cost $900 million. It should be noted this arena will seat 17,000 fans which makes it slightly smaller than the existing Paycom Arena. As an outside observer it would appear the new arena for the Thunder is moving along at a steady pace. The arena for the San Antonio Spurs part of Project Marvel is moving but much slower than earlier in the year.

Again from my position it will get done for at least one reason…competition. I’ve read there are some who are concerned about the possibility of the Spurs moving to Austin if this arena project is not accomplished. Las Vegas doesn’t have an NBA team however league expansion has been discussed and Seattle and Las Vegas are the two cities mentioned. Seattle is already done, a new Sonics team would play in refurbished Climate Pledge Arena the former Key Arena. Back to Las Vegas, although the NBA utilizes T-Mobile and Thomas & Mack Arena two groups are discussing building arenas which is a slight bit confusing. We conclude with Dallas and the Mavericks, the new owners have expressed a desire for an arena to replace American Airlines Center who’s lease expires in 2031. Ownership desires a site inside Dallas and a target date of early 2026 is reported.   

NCAA has gone full circle

The manner of operations by the ‘old’ NCAA was dictatorial in nature in my view. Once NIL and some of the other changes have been implemented its gone completely the opposite direction…anything goes. I believe all of us realize the distance between amateur and pro has narrowed over time. The Olympics as an example, once upon a time participants had to maintain a strict status as an amateur athlete there was no way of getting around that. The NCAA was in the forefront of this operation and then BAM all that changed not overnight but it was rather quick considering. What was done at one time is almost cartoonish by today’s standards, I can cite a few examples.

Bo Jackson was declared ineligible by the NCAA to participate in baseball during his senior year at Auburn University due to his visit to the NFL's Tampa Bay team, with the team covering his travel expenses. I’ve mentioned in the past the two Mizzou basketball transfers, both enrolled at nearly the same time, one was declared eligible to play the other had to sit out a semester. Those are but two examples of the autocratic rule of the NCAA that existed at one time. I just wrote the other day regarding James Nnaji enrolled at Baylor recently and added to the roster. Nnaji has played four years of Euro ball been drafted into the NBA and even played Summer League. He’s never signed an NBA contract which technically makes him a pro. So what does the NCAA do…allows him to play despite his basketball history.