A basketball fans perspective

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You can’t get here from there

After losing in double overtime in Game one the Thunder would be “breathing fire” on Wednesday. That was indeed the case, as a team they played a much improved game. The final score read Thunder 122 Spurs 113 and it says the turnovers committed by the Spurs certainly impacted the final outcome. SGA led the way for the Thunder with 30 points and shot the ball much better than in Game one. Isiah Hartenstein played more minutes in an attempt to limit Wemby’s game, he scored but 10 points but contributed 13 boards to the Thunder effort. Once again Alex Caruso emerged from the bench, he scored 17 points along with 5 assists. Stephon Castle led for the Spurs with 25 points but had 9 TOs which certainly aided the cause for the Thunder, by his standards Wemby had a modest game.

He contributed 21 points scored along with 17 rebounds and 6 assists. Near the end it was a slight bit closer than expected if we just check the numbers. The winning Thunder shot 48% from the floor and 36% from three, and 41 rebounds. The Spurs outshot them 49% from the field and were able to shoot 40% from distance, they also had 44 team rebounds. That provides evidence why the 21 TOs (9 by Castle) were so critical to the Spurs in the loss. The Spurs Dylan Harper left the game with a hammy issue, for the Thunder it was Jaylen Williams with a similar injury. As this is being completed I have no idea if either plays in tonight’s game, DeAaron Fox for the Spurs is still sidelined and his status is also unclear. A few of my co-workers have claimed “This Western Conference series between the Thunder and Spurs is the NBA Finals.” As for the headline, the Spurs cannot hope to win an NBA championship unless they play better.

Mike Brown

The Knicks coach did not sink a single basket, he didn’t defend actual Cavs player. Brown failed to grab a crucial rebound, I could go on but I hope you understand the general direction. This becomes evident of the difference over last season, unlike Tom Thibodeau this coach utilizes his bench effectively. It’s difficult to conceive the Knicks fell behind by 22 or more points at a stage. The contributing factors could have been many including the layoff waiting for the Cavs-Pistons series to conclude. In any event the Knicks turning up the defense operating the bench plus poor shooting by the Cavs saw this occur in the 4th quarter, 32 points by the Knicks to the Cavs 18. This led them to tie the game and force an OT, once that began it was a matter of how much would the Knicks score in the win.

In the OT, the Knicks recorded 14 points to 3 for the Cavs….imagine that in an OT the Cavs could only score 3 points in 5 minutes of play. Singled out for exceptional play point guard Jalen Brunson along with Mikal Bridges who came to life in the second half. Did I mention the bench, there was Jordan Clarkson and the guy whose shot  tied the game basically forcing the OT was hometown guy (Kansas City, MO) Landry Shamet. He too emerged from the Knick bench and sunk the shot that tied the game, he would go on to score only 9 points but they were key to the victory for the Knicks. In closing I must admit there was a point where I believed this match was over and the Cavs would be winner in Game one. The Knicks informed me and everyone else no matter the location, “It ain’t over till it’s over.”

“If you ain’t cheating, you ain’t tryin”

The headline is one that I’ve read recently, a statement of that type is certainly a concern. We had a story break locally, the Kansas City metro is no different from any other part of the nation. Recently a story broke indicating a high school had fired their entire football coaching staff. The report claimed students resident addresses didn’t match one’s submitted to the school, this is an ongoing investigation with no closure yet. The rules regarding recruiting have always been unique to private schools, they had the ability to recruit all over. As for public schools they operate totally different. This was a football story however a similar situation exists for high school basketball as well. A basketball player attended a public high school and later a parochial one, there were two more prep schools on his bio prior to him heading off to college and later the NBA.

This is a public record, when contacted by the local newspaper his coach was unaware the athlete had withdrawn and enrolled at an out of state prep school. In another instance we had a basketball player who attended a metro high school yet his home of record was 90 miles away. Was he living with a relative or was this another case of a fake address? This next athlete is no longer in the NBA, Willie Cauley-Stein lived in Spearville Kansas over 300 miles from the Kansas City metro. Desiring to play against better competition the AAU team he played on contained a roster member who lived locally. So Cauley-Stein moved in with his teammates family and played the balance of his high school basketball prior to briefly at Kentucky. He continues to play professional basketball however he’s no longer in the NBA. This is just a brief look at an issue that’s been evident for quite a time now, I have no suggestion how to address this effectively, this is simply a report.

His name continues to be reappear

There are some names of basketball greats of the past that continue being discussed, that is the case here. The late Nate Thurmond was Akron Ohio long before LeBron James, Thurmond was born July 25, 1941, he later played his college game at Bowling Green. The 6-foot 11 Thurmond was drafted in 1963 by the San Francisco Warriors, after being the starting center in college he became a backup to Wilt Chamberlain then starting center for the Warriors. On occasion he played alongside Chamberlain becoming the first twin towers in basketball history. In January 1965, the Warriors traded Chamberlain to the Sixers and Thurmond became the starter at center. Once he became the starter Thurmond began to develop and demonstrate his NBA talent.

Although he could score baskets his focus became defense, at least two players of that period attest to his prowess. Thurmond was an NBA All-Star 7 times, twice he was named All Defensive First Team. Three times it was All Defensive Second Team, Defensive Player of the Year was not established until the 1982-83 season. There is no doubt he would have won the award numerous times during his career if it had been featured. Although the Warriors drafted him Thurmond spent time with the Bulls and Cavs retiring after the 1977 season. Two giants of the game, Kareem Abdul Jabbar and Wilt Chamberlain are witnesses to his defensive proficiency. In addition Thurmond was named to the 50th and 75th Anniversary NBA team, he is enshrined in the Naismith and College Basketball Halls of Fame. In 2016 at the age of 74 Thurmond passed after a short battle with leukemia.