meta name=”robots” content=”index, follow” Meschery's Musings of Sports, Literature, and Life Meschery's Musings on Sports, Literature and Life: Post First Basketball Doesn't Work Anymore

What my musings are all about...

Blogging might well be the 21st century's form of journaling. As a writing teacher, I have always advised my students to keep a daily journal as a way of organizing their thoughts for future writing projects, a discipline I have unfortunately never consistently practiced myself. By blogging, I might finally be able to follow my own good advice.

The difference between journaling and blogging is that the blogger opens his or her writing to the public, something journal- writers are usually reluctant to do. I am not so reticent.

The trick for me will be to avoid cluttering the internet with more blather, something none of us need more of. If I stick to subjects I know: sports and literature, I believe I can avoid that pitfall. I can't promise that I'll not stray from time to time to comment on ancillary subjects, but I will make every attempt to be interesting and perhaps even insightful.

Tuesday, December 20, 2016

Post First Basketball Doesn't Work Anymore

If you haven't noticed, the NBA is no longer a post first league that way it was in the Sixties and Seventies. The last big that was called upon to provide essential scoring was Shaquille O'Neil.
It's not that the bigs are not needed in today's game. They are still crucial as shot blockers, rebounders, and paint protectors. The best example of this was Andrew Bogut of the Warriors' championship team. Anther example is the great shoot blockers Hassan Whiteside and DeAndre Jordan.

Very few teams today rely on their centers for big point production. Towns for the Timberwolves, Gasol for the Griz, Anthony Davis for the Pelicans (but I don't consider him a center in the strict sense of the word; ditto Porzingis of the Knicks.) Joel Embiid, still a ? but looking like a stud. The Sacramento Kings, as far as I can determine, is the only team that if their Big doesn't score, there is no way they can win. 

It used to be a team acquired a great center and built a team around him. Doesn't work anymore. Game is too fast and too fluid. Without a solid point guard (one that can score) a team in the NBA today is lost. Without three point shooters, a team in the NBA is lost. It is a bonus if your Big can score, but that's not where the emphasis is anymore.

This is a problem the Kings have not been able to figure out, although it's been staring them in the face for the last four years. 

Got to love seeing Villanova and the Bruins one two in the college basketball standings and not any of the usual suspects: Duke, Kentucky, and N. Carolina. Shades of Rollie Massimino.


Does anybody see any signs of energy coming from the 49ers? Owner, GM, and coach got to go. Why owner? Because this  York kid has no idea what constitutes a GM who knows how to build a team. Maybe if the dad took over???? How about Walsh back from the grave?

Instead of a poem, here's another tribute to Bill King, sports broadcaster extraordinaire in honor of him being inducted into Baseball's Hall of Fame.

A quote by Dave Henderson  (A's player from 1988 -1993, who grew up in the San Joaquin Valley town of Dos Palos.) It has a sort of Jack Kerouac feel to it.

   Down in the valley, remember, these were farmers and workers that didn't have the money to go to games, so they listened on the radio. They equated Oakland A's baseball with Bill King. If they heard his voice, baseball was going on and it was summertime and everything was rosy. He gave everybody that feeling that everything was okay, Bill was on the radio, nice warm day, baseball was going, everything was fine in the world. 
   
   




2 comments:

mofessor said...

Hi Tom. My 7-year-old son and I are about to see the Warriors game tonight and I just heard they are honoring you at tonight's game. Although it is unlikely we'll run into you, I'm crossing my fingers that we do.

Brent Busboom

p.s. in a completely random coincidence, my son is wearing a Warriors jersey tonight. It's custom designed, and when we were able to choose a number, we chose yours--#14.

mofessor said...

My contact info is

775-815-2721

bbusboom@washoeschools.net