A fans perspectives

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It’s really simple

Once again Mizzou found itself on the short end of a winnable game. This time it was those other Tigers…the one’s with LSU on the front of their jerseys, final score LSU 78 Mizzou 70. LSU managed to grab 16 offensive rebounds and score on 21 second-chance points. Literally that is the end of the story although I have additional gripes, once again Mizzou snagged a defeat from a game they could have…should have won. In a manner of speaking the game was a shocker as Mizzou managed an outstanding 80% from the line as a team however a box score contains more than a single item.

LSU did a much better job in the TO department only committing 7 for the game, Mizzou had 12. The rebounds were just about even except Mizzou was beaten badly in the offensive rebound department a contributing factor to their loss. Leading scorer Mark Mitchell didn’t have a terrible game but only scored 13 point, LSU double and triple teamed him at times forcing him from his usual offensive output. I will mention this once again, this Mizzou Tigers team is an enigma to me. So far this season they have managed to beat several good teams but lose to lower ranked one’s. There are troubling issues that continue for this Mizzou team, I’m unsure if they will ever be firmly addressed.

Draft for need over potential

In this blog in the past we’ve discussed talent hits and misses along with the difficulty it presents. I came across this story but I intend to present an NFL perspective too. In 2017 the NFL Bears were faced with a choice, they had the second pick in the draft, do they choose Mitchell Trubisky or Patrick Mahomes? The Chiefs had traded to move up in the draft, after the Bears made their pick the Chiefs chose Mahomes. Wonder how that worked out for both teams? Now back to the NBA, in 2018 the New York Knicks were in need of a small forward, all winter and into the spring they were focused on Kentucky’s Kevin Knox. I have no numbers but I’m sure Knick scouts were in attendance at several Kentucky games and saw his teammate point guard Shai-Gilgeous Alexander in action as well.

When the June 2018 draft rolled around it witnessed the Knicks choosing Knox with the 9th pick in the first round. As for SGA the Clippers chose him with pick number 11, of course he would eventually be traded to the Thunder. So what occurred for Knox, he eventually moved from the Knicks to 4 other NBA teams and is now currently in the NBA G-League. As for SGA he would lead the Thunder to an NBA championship and be named league MVP. The Knicks certainly saw him in action but they were drafting for a position rather than potential talent. Back to the NFL for a moment, it was reported the old Dallas Cowboys drafted on talent (potential) rather than position. My guess is they have 6 linebackers on the roster, when their turn in the draft occurred if the most talented player available was a linebacker they would select him. They might pick that player but utilize him later in a trade. The point of this exercise drafting players is not an exact science, it’s actually a crap shoot. This is not intended as a criticism of the NFL Bears or NBA Knicks, they selected the player they believed would fulfill their need.

Play some defense

For the most part with the exception of reserves my Lakers can score baskets with anybody. The issue for them has been defense or the lack there of. For a variety of reasons focus for most basketball fans have been scoring and it’s easy to understand the why. If I told you Player A scored 45 points in the game you would be impressed especially if your team won. How can the defensive effort of Player A be detailed in order for you to see the important component of his game? We can see the defense played but rarely focus on that aspect of the game. There are a number of NBA players who made a career being able to play lockdown defense.

Probably one of the early pioneers was legendary Celtic center Bill Russell, although known more for his offense Wilt Chamberlain was a defensive wizard too. If we move forward in time we could add the names of Hakeem Olajuwon, Scottie Pippen, Dennis Rodman, Michael Cooper and Gary Payton to name just a few. If we look toward the present we could add the names of Kevin Durant, Draymond Green, Rudy Gobert and Kawhi Leonard. I hope you are not of the belief those named couldn’t score baskets, some could however they spent just as much time working on their defense as they did offense. The ‘eye’ of the television camera has been complacent with its focusing on scoring over defense.

The issue remains

We are revisiting an old topic however it continues to exist for a number of readers. One asked the question, “Why aren’t Dr. J’s ABA numbers not counted in the all-time stats?” The answer is simple, I have long contended there was no ABA-NBA merger similar to what occurred in the NFL. At the time of the football merger, all the teams in the American Football League moved into the expanded National Football League. That is not what occurred in basketball, the NBA ‘chose’ the teams they wanted. To be honest the ABA was about to go out of business, its long been my contention if NBA owners had waited 2-3 years there would have been no ABA to speak of.

In any event rather than merger I prefer to use the term expansion. Expansion because the Denver Nuggets, San Antonio Spurs, Indiana Pacers and New York Nets were the only former ABA teams allowed to move into the NBA. The Kentucky and St. Louis ABA franchises were disbanded with their owners being compensated and their players placed in a pool for draft dispersal into the NBA. The Virginia Squires had folded before the final merger agreement, the Baltimore, San Diego and Utah franchises had closed ahead of the ABA’s final season. If a league expands (as the NBA contends) there was no requirement to include records of any type established earlier. So there it is again the lookback at the American Basketball Association and the explanation why Dr. J. and Moses Malone (and several others) only have an NBA history.   

I hate Duke

Which is it, Coach K., Duke University or Duke players specifically Christian Laettner…I’m unsure how much hatred exists for each. The portion most interesting, Laettner’s been retired from the NBA since 2005 yet dare mention his name and the revulsion emerges. As for Coach K., he too is no longer patrolling the sidelines, he retired at the end of the 2022 season. There are plenty of NBA players past and present to hate. How about the Lakers coach, JJ Redick then we have Kyrie Irving, Grayson Allen, Jayson Tatum and Zion Williamson.

The names mentioned represent a small number connected with Duke who for a number of reasons are hated by fans. For unknown reasons much of the vitriol aimed at Duke players past and present are not evident whenever the name Grant Hill is mentioned…I have no answer why. I believe a portion of the hatred exist for fans due to Duke basketball being a continuous winning program. Perhaps part of this hatred exists due to the student body, it’s the schools’ prestige which is another reason. In addition the “Cameron Crazies,” the 9,000 capacity student body seated a few feet from the opposition is imposing. There is probably no single answer for the hatred other than the fact it’s simply the fact Duke is Duke.