A basketball fans outlook

Sunday & Monday-Wednesday-Friday & Saturday

65

The number 65 applies to the amount of games played for an NBA competitor to be measured for post-season recognition. The rule went into effect for the 2023-24 season and there was a basis for it being implemented. It was hoped it would curb load management a term added to our vocabulary in recent years. Players who were not injured or sick, they were simply “resting.” Now I happen to be a fan of the Pistons Cade Cunningham, his season to date says all-pro but there is an issue. Recently Cunningham suffered a collapsed lung which sidelines him for the last few weeks of the regular season. By all indications he should be primed and ready for playoff basketball but that’s not the main issue.

 After the NBAPA agreed to the 65 rule now they want to toss it out the window. Of course this is being done primarily for Cunningham and maybe Victor Wembanyama. Wemby at least for now is in better shape, he missed a number of games during the winter and cannot miss one additional game based on the Spurs schedule. In this instance Cunningham and to a lesser degree Wemby are impacted by a decision made by the players association and NBA management. Now the NBAPA is claiming the 65 game played rule should be abolished or reformed. My view it should be reformed not abolished, ol skool players had no minimum game rule in place. The season began they played the games less injuries or illness, there is more travel today and more teams but that should be no basis for abolishing the 65 game rule.

March Sadness

The Missouri and Kansas basketball programs share a common heartbreaking loss. For Missouri it was 1995 and in the NCAA Tournament they held a one point lead over UCLA with 4.8 seconds remaining but the ball belonging to UCLA. Guard Tyus Edney dribbled the length of the floor and managed to hoist a shot over the 6-foot 9 Derek Grimm which found the bottom of the basket. Missouri was a loser 75-74 and eliminated from tourney contention.

Now, fast forward to 2026 and we find a somewhat similar situation, Kansas after being behind most of the game came roaring back and managed a late tie with seconds remaining in the game. Surely history cannot repeat itself can it? With a tie game most probably figured St. John’s would take a shot but miss and the game goes into overtime, that was not the outcome. The ball was inbound to St. John’s guard Dylan Darling at half-court. With 3.9 seconds remaining Dylan dribbled the ball toward the basket and laid the ball on the backboard. The ball managed to find the bottom of the net, the result was a final score of St. John’s 67 Kansas 65. Kansas was also eliminated from tourney contention.

Analytics be Damned

Former NBA player turned media member Charles Barkley and I butt heads on a number of subjects. We have an area of agreement….an area probably the majority of you probably approve, its analytics. This is the problem, does the use of it paint a true picture? This past Saturday we witnessed Luke Kennard in a reserve role score the winning basket for the Lakers over the Magic. His numbers for the season with the Lakers, in this game he scored 13 points. Overall he’s scoring 8-9 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists in 20-23 minutes a game. Kennard is shooting over 50% from the floor and 50% from the 3-point line providing significant floor spacing.

I’m going to title the portion you just read as the good Luke Kennard. Now for the bad Luke Kennard, I read an account that claims the Lakers give up about 5 more points a game while he’s on the floor. We are able to see Kennard’s offensive game but his defense is somewhat more difficult to make a judgement. Here the name Dalton Knecht is inserted, if you remember the story he was expected to fill the role that now belongs to Kennard. Could he be a better defender, that is an unanswerable question for now. As for me I’m going to take the offense Kennard provides because that’s what the Lakers wanted when they acquired him, analytics be damned.

Mizzou basketball

The positives are highly visible, Dennis Gates arrived in Columbia and immediately turned the basketball around. The team had tasted success in the past but under the coach Gates’ replaced the program had gone in the toilet and remained in place. As mentioned the recruiting improved and even the winning, there was one off year but in his four years the Missouri Tigers were in the NCAA Tournament three of them.

As mentioned most recently the Class of 2026 will be the best ever for Missouri, Jason Crowe Jr. arrives in the fall. The top high school player in the nation plus two other high profile recruits makes this the best ever recruited class for Missouri basketball. You have just read the GOOD which does speak in a positive tone regarding the program. Now the concern by this member of Mizzou Nation writing for a number of others when do we move up? By the term I’m simply stating when does Missouri win the SEC regular or post season? At what point does Missouri advance deep into the NCAA Tournament? I can only look at this most recent team and point toward the flaws I witnessed as a fan. Although this team was taller than most of its opponents they experienced great difficulty rebounding the ball. Offensive rebounding was troubling, I consider those hustle rebounds. Another area of concern free-throw shooting, this area of the game should never be subpar. For me there should be no one shooting below 75% from the line. This most recent team commenced several games with below par starts and never seemed to recover.

Finally the X’s and O’s of the game, this falls on the shoulders of Dennis Gates and staff. IT SEEMED, noticed I placed that in caps it appeared there was little in-game adjustments. I believed there were games the Missouri staff were simply outcoached…there I said it. I cannot predict the future, however, should next season’s team flame out in a similar manner the coach might be looking for employment elsewhere.