BEWARE REDUX

 This is not exactly time for the NBA to panic, but it's time for the league to listen more carefully to the grumbling of dissatisfaction with the game and players. I follow The Athletic and read comments about players, teams and league. More and more I'm reading about spoiled players, high ticket prices, absent superstars, and, what bothers me the most, boredom with the game itself. 

This is the high flying, acrobatic game that back in the early 21st century that made me happy to watch, a reminder that the fundamental pleasure of playing basketball was really based on its playground roots. This is no longer the case anymore, or more to the point I should say the game has left the playground and become a racetrack. 

I don't believe I'm alone. I've talked to NBA fans and an unsettling number of guys and gals experience boredom: Too much mad dashes full court and to score or kick to open three point shooters, too much dribble drives and kick, too much pick and roll and pop and drive and kick to open threes. Iso and kick to three point shooters. Predictable, predictable. The game remains exciting to a certain physical extent, but it's losing it's relationship with its fans. Losing, NOT lost. Not yet, So, I'm playing the role of Nostradamus. Beware NBA! 

Too much of the same-o-some-o, like too much seasoning can ruin the stew, or two little leaves it bland, there is a fine line between the amazing athleticism of the NBA game and too much athleticism. High flying dunking and three point shooting has become commonplace. There are team that play a decentr brand of motion offense, but it, in my opinion, the reads don't have enough time to avoid the predictability of its reliance on athleticism, the drive into the paint and kick to the open three point shooter. Not yet, but there is a growing ho hum. 

Perhaps, I'm not in tune with what the public wants to see in an NBA game. Perhaps, but it's not the vibe I'm getting. So, I've asked myself, what does the NBA need to do to retrieve its fan base that is slowly slipping away as the TV ratings suggest? I'll just mention a couple of possibilities:

1. Ticket prices have got to come DOWN, or in some way make the games more affordable for fans. 

2. A SHORTER season. That would help with the injuries to players as well as reducing boredom.

3. The 24-second clock must become a 30-second clock in order for teams to develop offense more.

4. Increase the LENGTH and WIDTH of the court. Lengthening the court would make the Mad Dash less           frequent. Widening the court would bring the easier corner three in compliance with the normal three     point distance. 

5. Increase the distance of the three point line to 26-feet. It would help to bring back the importance of          the mid range shot. 

6. Now, the most controversial of my suggestions: the first part of the season must have greater meaning. The Cup was not a bad idea, but it really is a Band Aid fix. The league should consider changing the way the final standiings work from a simple wins and losess to a point system based on quarter points. The winners of each quarter should earn a certain number of points. The winner of each game shoudl win an addition number of points, in a sense this turns the game into four separate games of 12 minutes, or perhaps, consider lowering to 10 minute-quarters, which could reduce the time on the court and thus reduc the possibilites of injuries to some degree. Owners and players need to readust their profit margins for the good of the overall game. In today's world TV ratings are essential. The league need to look beyopnd this present windfall tv contract to the next one. I know all this sounds drastic, but it should be given some real THINK.

Finally, I guess what I'm suggesting is to slow the game down a notch. Give the fans a chance to breathe a little between spectacles of athleticism. I leave you with this; What's attractive about the NFL game from the fans' point of view is that between downs and changes from offense to defense, fans have time to contemplate, make guesses, become part of what they are watching. 

It's winter and that means in parts of our country, Curling is on its way. Fans growing as I write. 

CURLING      by Tom Meschery

Let’s hear it for curling, a sport in which
two brooms, like blockers in the NFL
(I’m thinking Packers, Greenbay in the snow)
lead the running back, a guy named Stone
(not exceptionally fast, but relentless)
down the icy field: masked fans in parkas,
sipping from flasks. They’re watching curling
on local ice, while I’m enjoying building
this extended metaphor, thinking that Milton,
had he a sense of humor, which there’s no
evidence he possessed, might have appreciated.
 
My wife also enjoys curling. “What’s not to like
about a sport played with brooms?” she asks.
“The ice needs cleaning, and the players
are only doing what any good wife would do.”
She’s talking to me while dusting,
which comes before vacuuming, a rule
in her sport that must never be broken. 

NBA BEWARE

 Before I get to the BEWARE part, first let me congratulate the Warriors for getting back to playing like the Dubs. They smacked the a 76ers team, complete with their big three, Embid, George & Masey on the court at the same time  by 30 plus points. The ball moved fast and acurately. The defense was steady and there were few turnovers. Everybody contributed, and yes, Step Curry was brilliant. He did something he's never done in his storied career; he went 8 for 8 from three. Nine would have broken the league recored. In the post game, Curry quipped, "the season ain't over." What a glorious Warrior start for the New Year. 

Okay, I've changed my mind. I feel so good after watching Curry and company play last night that I don't have the heart to do my impression of Nostodamus. I'll save it for my next Blog. Tune in. 

AULD LANGSYNE by Scottish poet Robert Burns

Should auld acquaintnce be forgot

and never brought to mind?

Let's not forget our loved ones as we move into this coming year Sing with gusto. 

HAPPY NEW YEAR AND GO WARRIORS. 

 pop? well, so be it. Certain Bigs shoot threes these days. I also bored because I sense that the players for the early going of the season

SOME THOUGHTS ON THE WARRIORS DISASTER.

For an old Warrior, it was excruciating to watch my Warriors get beat down they way they were by the mountain Griz -  7'4 Eddy and 6'11 Jackson & company. The Warriors addition of Denis Schroder didn't improve the recent Warriors' skid  = 2 out of 11. Coach Kerr is a patient and intelligent man, so I was not surprised when he did not fall on his sword after the game. However, he must be wondering. The initial idea of surrounding Steph Curry with a group of solid veteran players seemed to work at first, but in the last 14 games, it is not proving to be as effective as it did earlier in the season. I suspect this has a lot to do with opposing coaches figuring out defenses to challenge that group-win strategy. It seems to me the Dubs' hierarchy are back to the drawing board, or should be. 

These are their options going forward as I see them:  

1) They can continue to tinker. Schroeder is a good pickup. Put Kuminga back as a starter. (He appears to have a "starters ego," Perhaps they should bring in another 3 point shooter? God knows, the NBA is 3 point shooting game these days. Then hope last years' talented draft choices, who had such successful freshman seasons, perk up the rest of their sophomore year. Does that get them to the conference finals?

2) Trade your rising stars for a couple of veteran all-stars such as Jimmy Butler or Branden Ingram, who seem to possibly be available. Add to that another big like the Bulls' Vucevic or a banger like Wizards' Valancuinas. Do either of these possibilities guarantee the Dubs can get to the conference finals?  Perhaps with either Butler or Ingram. But obtaining either of these two players is going to require the Warriors give up their young core and I suspect first round draft choices as well. Giving up first round draft choices is totally risky for a team with its stars close to retirement. 

So, what's the third option?

 3) The Warriors would have to make a very, very tough decision to strategize for the future: Trade their stars while they are still valuable for first-round draft choices and/or first year and second year players with potential or both. If you out there in hoop-land ask me, do I mean Steph Curry? I'm afraid I am saying exactly that. Curry is the one major guaranteed asset the Warriors have. Imagine what teams would give up to have a star like Steph on their team, even for only a couple of years. Then ask yourself what you could get for Draymond and Wiggins? Enough said, I'm hearing the slings and arrows coming my way. I'm only pointing out options. Frankly, I'm not sure Curry would be that upset. Steph knows basketball, and growing up in an NBA family understands the league. He is a realist. I'm reminded of the Godfather l scene when Michael Corleone is speaking to his brother, "It's not personal, Sonny, it's business." 

I don't see a fourth option.  Maybe there are other players like Butler and Ingram, that are game changers. I can't think of any. Am I being disloyal suggesting the third option? I don't think I am. As much as I adore Curry and understand what he has done for the Warriors.  My loyalty is for the team I played for and that honored my number by retiring it and placing it in the rafters. I remember back in my playing days, at the height of my career, Coach Alex Hannum, whom I greatly admired, saying to me, "Tom, you know I love your game and think highly of you, but make no mistake, if I could make my team a contender for a championship by trading you, I would do it." I was certainly startled, but after thinking about it, it made perfect sense. Team is Everything. 

REMEMBERING STEPH CURRY   by Tom Meschery

One small change and the line begins: Good luck,
Timing, and the stars. This morning I’m still seeing
Curry’s three float through the sky of the arena
Reminding me of a lesson in geometry:
An arc is a segment of the circumference
Of the circle – from foot (the flat plane of release)
That travels in silent degrees over the moon.
That it drops into the hoop is a matter
Both of mathematics and imagination.

Imagine that, both sides of the brain in tandem,

And we in the stands, fans, marveling, marveling.  

 

MISSING THE POINT and etc.

 Today's The Athletic featured an article about the Cleveland Cavs building a "state of the art" player and team practice center overlooking the Cuyahoga River, you know the river of kept on burning fane, All right, I admit to a bit of snarkiness. Cleveland did a great job cleaning the river and good for them. Snarky, however, has a lot more to do with the planned facility. The ground-breaking occurred recently with gold played shovels. The center  will cost beaucoup gold. Once finished, it will house two courts, a player fitness center, player and employees restaurant and on and on and on. The Cavs are not the first to build such extravagant stand alone facilities. They are just the most recent, and they claim they will be the creme-de-la-creme of all such structures. The way I read the article, most of the emphasis was on how wonderful such structures were in general, with little WOW factor about the actually on the physical fitness aspect except to say all of the latest gadgets like ice baths, X-ray and MRI machines, etc. will be available to help players stay on the court. It does make it clear to me that such buildings have less to do with sports and more to do with making the ownership money. This is missing the point comes in. As far as I can tell, such facilities, many already in place, have done little to keep players from suffering injuries in a league that courts injuries by its high flying style of play. I want to hear is how these new fitness centers will keep players on the court. This morning i read Franz Wagnor is out with an oblique tear. The Magic's other super star Paolo Banchero has been out for the last three weeks and is not expected back soon. Emid, George, Kawhi, Haliburton, Zion, Podzingis, Jamal Murry, Scottie Barnes, and now Brandon Ingram, the list of capable injured reserves goes on. Chis Middleton has been out a full year and just returning. We'll see how long that lasts? Games lost to injuries this early in he season has increased dramatically. This increase caused one wit to ask if older players shouldn't have a "Sell By Date?" But such wits are missing the point. Injuries are increasingly affecting the younger players as well. I have been expressing my opinion that the league begin exploring more creative forms of physical fitness training. I have suggested the league look into the training martial artists and ballet dancers go through. For example, ballet dancers focus a lot of their training on flexibility, balance, ballet dancing techniques and plyometrics rather than isometric exercises. Plyometrics is characterized by short intense burst of activity that target fast-twitch movement in the lower body. It is very helpful for agility and the take off and landings so common to ballet dancers, and I might add to the modern day basketball player. I have also suggested that NBA trainers and league look to other sports world wide for more creative techniques to help keep the NBA players on the court. It strikes me that any eyeball test would result in the conclusion that Joel Embid's running gait is clumsy. I'd bet an orthopedic doctor would tell Joel Emid that he does not run with his body properly situated over his hips. I might be wrong, but Embid always looks to me when he runs that he is going to fall forward. All right, enough said. You all get my drift: Enough with "State of the art" and more about "state of the athlete." 

Here's a little something about life. I don't know if you, my readers, are as annoyed as I asm of pop-ups as I am,  but I'm wondering if there isn't a class action suit that could be brought against whatever inter net company that controls these nuisances. 

ETC.

Speaking of eyeball tests, it seem to me it is time the Warriors start Kuminga and let him prove what he can contribute as a consistent starter, at least until All-Star break. Kuminag is the Warriors best pure athlete in a league that is clearly dependent on athleticism. But, let's also be clear that,  Kuminnga or no Kuminga, without Curry, Green and Wiggins on the court all season long that the Dubs have little chance of competing in the West. 

AT 85    by Tom Meschery

My doc says my spine 
is a curve ball that drops
like a sinker. My doc
believes he's a comedian,
In dark humor, I tell him. 

LITTER LESS SPORTS AND MORE ABOUT LIFE

 The title to my Blog is: Meschery's Musing on Sports, Literature & Life. I cover the basketball part and the poetry part reasonably well, I think. The life part recently has been consumed by the election and was toatlly stressful.  So much so that I've given up all news except PBS and not always their news regularly. 

But life goes on and considering it is part of my Blog, I too go on with life. 

Often sports and life come together as in this example of total idiocy. The Pelican management is allowing Zion to play at 295 lbs. Are you kidding me? Zion is 6'5". With his history of inuries, this weight is rediculous.. Zion should not weight more than 250. You don't need to be an orthopedic doc to know that. Zion's problem only magnifies an ongoing problem facing the NBA - INJIURIES, not only to stars but to rfeserves as well. One obvious way to help reduce injuries is to reduce the number of games played per season. But, since this will cost the NBA and owners too much money, this is a "mute" solution. 

That said, the other possibility is drastically improving the physical training that NBA players go through. Without giving up these tradional methods, the NBA needs to research outside the box to see what other foms of physical fitness strategies are being used around the world. What do professional dancers do? What about martial artists? Circus acrobats? Contortionists? I can't be sure, but I'm betting not enough emphasis is placed on flexibility. Has enough attention been paid to diet? 

In the meantime, I'm curious why owners are willing to pay huge max or close to max contracts to stars with injury history. 

Here's a small thing that falls into the Life/ Sports category: Dark basketball court floors for the NBA cup don't work as it is difficult to see the ball. 

Another small gripe. Peacock NFL games freeze in the middle of plays. It happened last season and it is still happening. When is this problem going to be fixed?