Musing About Refs & Other Gripes

 The NBA players cited recently that the referees are the #1 problem in the league.  Hey, guys, I'll tell you a secret, back when I played some decades ago, they were also the #1 problem in our minds. That's how long the problem has existed without any satisfactory remedy. Granted, being a ref in the NBA is a monstrously difficult job. The game is so fast and the skill-sets so refined and now that the game is being played so often in the air, I can't imagine refereees don't go home after games with migraines from trying to get it right. 

However, it seems to me that the league office has not done enough to clear up some of the most obvious problems. Three come to mind: 1) What is an allowable screen and what is a moving screen? 2) When driving to the basket when is the offense charging into the defender or when has the defender illegally blocked the offense?  And finally, 3) What kind of act or acts constitute a suspension? 

Let me begin by saying in the case of the second problem that it seems to me that the referees give the nod mostly to the offense. Still, I recognize that a defender can slide into the path of the offense in order to draw a foul. I also recognize how often the offense in the NBA simply thrusts himself at the defender to draw a foul. n both cases, it's a form of trickery that should be stopped. 

How does the league solve the first two problems? The answer is as simple and as complicated as SCHOOL. There should be a six month ro a year REFEREE ACADEMY for those men and women aspiring to be referees in the NBA. The league already has the G League where graduates of the ACADEMY can practice what they have learned. This ACADEMY must be taken seriously; there should be grades and expulsions like any other school. For existing referees, I suggest there should be required classes in refereeing that must be taken every four years like public school teacher are required to take in order to keep their credentials current. In the ACADEMY, one of the most important parts of the referees' curriculum would be classes taught by knowledgeable coaches as to the difference between moving screens and legal screens as well as classes in what is arecharges and what are blocks. I can imagine a lot of classes covering all aspects of the game of basketball taught by, for example, well known college coaches like Mike Krzyzewski. For working refs, there should be SUMMEER SCHOOL WORKSHOPS. Finally, referees' salaries should be raised and each referee should be graded at the end of every season, which is probably being done in some way now, but I wonder if it is done with the gravitas that it needs to be. I submit it is probably not. 

For the last problem: Suspensions. This is a league issue, not a referee issue. There are protocols already in place that seem reasonable to me. However, they have not been explained fully. The recent suspensions of Draymond Green and James Hardin and the non suspension of Joel Embid illustrate the point. It is essential that players, coaches, GMs, owners, media and fans know clearly that a HISTORY of flagrant fouls and acts detrimental to the NBA will be taken into account when determining a game or games suspension. Be careful Dillon Brooks

Postscript: I really don't know what to do about players constantly chirping to the refs. Possibly, the refs should be able to file complaints against egrigious offenders who can't keep their mouths shut. Besides, it's so undignified always complaining. And there is the story about Peter & the Wolf. Required reading? 

A few notes about the playoffs:  

The way Mikael Bridges is playing, the Suns might regret trading him for KD. Okay, I know it's KD, but we're talking about Bridges being young and sturdy and as it turns out one hell of an offensive threat. Ditto to a certain degree for Cam Johnson. He is one hell of a floor spacer and it looks like he's developing a handle. I like the Core the Nets have. Build on this core and the teams future looks bright. 

Did the Warriors look like THE WARRIORS this Thursday night as they defeated the Kings at Chase Arena convincingly? I was happy to see Moses Moody (clearly named after my grandson Moses) make a solid contribution. I've been a believer in Moody since the Warriors drafted him. He possesses all the components and mechanics that should make him a solid pro. Perhaps last night was a breakout game for him. Keeping my fingers crossed. And I'll say it again, LOONEY RULES.  And a big shout out for Donte DiV's hustle, energy, toughness and smarts. CURRY? What more can be said? 

It was not made clear enough that Claxton intentionally stepped over the fallen Embid. It was not a matter of Claxon's only way to depart his spot. He could have easily veered to his right. Bad ju jus, dude. It's what Lebron did to Draymond Green in 2016. You do that on the playground, you fight. 

I have never been a fan of James Harden. Until this season. He has become in my mind the total pro, having  given up some of his offense for the betterment of his team. He still knocks down long threes, but now he is a true point guard and a terrific model for upcoming, exciting Tyreese Maxey. 

Will the Clippers ever see Kawhi and Paul George on the court at the same time????? What's next? A teardown and a rebuild? The Clippers have a lot of solid players that teams will give up draft choices for. 

I love what the Kings have done this season. McNair for GM of the year to join Mike Brown's Coach of the Year. Last night, I saw a problem with the team that I hadn't really thought of before. Their success is too much dependent on Fox penetrating the paint. If you curtail that part of Fox's game, make him shoot from distance, it creates a problem for the Kings. They are still solid, but more exposed late in the game. 

The Suns can't win. Ayton is too soft. Chris Paul is not the trickster he used to be, and KD, although still instant offense, is not the wing defender he used to be. 

One last and hopefully my last word on Dillon Brooks' trash talk. He needs to think about the kind of rep he is going to be remembered for after he retires. If he keeps up this kind of childish trash talking, star denigrating, poking the bearl bull crap, he will not be remembered for the excellent two way basketball player he is , but for his big mouth. Dillon, you don't know how stupid you looked running down the court screaming and clapping your hands in Lebron's face. And just to get this straight, it has been observed and spoken of by other players and commentators that you weren't doing much trash talking the pervious night when the Lakers beat your team on your homecourt. You realize don't you, that in a playoffs, a 7 gane series, the Lakers did what was required, steal a game on the opponents' home court. Now we'll see what your Griz can do on the Lakers floor. 

When playoffs come around my thoughts often turn to the great players I played against in past playoffs, a time on the floor that is the most intense and the most enjoyable. Here's a poem I wrote for Elgin. Oh, my how dificult he was to guard. 

ELGIN BAYLOR

The first time I saw him play,
 a senior for Seattle U, he hovered

 like a bird, a moment in the air,

 throwing a pass from the baseline,
 the length of the court, not looking
 to a teammate sprinting past
 the mid-court stripe who scored
 unguarded. I was a senior
 playing basketball in high school,
 who knew what I was watching
 wasn’t possible, that it must have been
 my imagination, something my teachers
 said I had too much of, which was okay
 with me, because if I didn’t play well in college
 and never made it into the NBA,
 there were other careers I could aspire to
 where imagination would be helpful,
 although, at the time, I couldn’t imagine one.
 
                  
 

Playoffs & etc

 I'll make this quick:

FIRST ROUND OF WESTERN CONFERENCE:

All predictions have to be based on the fact that playoffs are a 7 game series. And in a 7 game series, it's the sustainable defense that will win the series.  So, let's get started. 

The SUNS lost too many key players that Durant, as marvelous as he is, can't make up for. Both Durant and Paul are a little long in the tooth over 7 games. They will miss the wing defense of Mikael Bridges tha most. Cam Johnson's 3 pts shootting stretching the floor, also will be missed. And there will be no Crowder like toughness as a point of attack defender.. First Round: The Suns will defeat the Clips

NUGGES: All things being equal, the Denver Nuggets have the all their their starters'positions covered and in place: power forwards, stretch 3's perimeter shooters and solid point guard. However, their bench is weak. With Jokic and a solid 4 make Devner the favorite. But not a shoo-in. Teams that can keep Jokic from triple double games has a chance, First Round: Denver defeats the TWolves.

The CLIPPERS can't do it without Paul George. Remember, this is a 7 game series. Lose to Suns in the first round. 

The GRIZZLIES have injuries to two of their importand Bigs and Jalen Jackson is foul prone. This make them primarily a small ball team. Bigs get very important in the playoffs. If Jackson can stay out of foul trouble, they will be touugh. However, and here I'm speculating: I don't like the FEEL of the team this season: Morant and Brooks have created some bad ju ju.  First Round, upset by Lakers. AD and LeBron play like they're 25 years old. 

SACRAMENTO KINGS. Hurrah to see the Kings in the 3 spot in the conference. Mike Brown has doen's great job. If tthe game was all about scoring, I'd say they could win the West. But we know that is not the case in the playoffs. I don't believe the Kings can defend the Warriors. First Round: Sorry Sacto fans. 

SECOND ROUND:

Denver vs LA. Denver wins

Warriors vs Suns. Warriors win.

THIRD ROUND;

Warriors win in 7 games. Wiggins, Patton Dos and DiV & Green are the difference. Remember this is a 7 game series its outcome very much dependant on the strongest Defense. Against Denver if you contain Murry and Harper Jr, and maintain against the Joker, you can win. I say they will. 

NBA CHAMPIONSHIP?

GOLDENSTATE WARRIORS vs BOSTON CELTICS

                                             You heard it here first. 

Woke up to beautiful weather that meant soon our tennis courts will be filled with players. I should have included a poem about bassketball, but decided on tennis. Here's one I wrote about playing against my good friend Peter Sears, one of the trickiest players I ever faced. 

Tennis Tournament in Chinatown 
    For Peter Sears
 
His first serve slices pencil thin
over the net and drops like a broken elbow,
skittering to the side out of reach,
and after his next serve curves like a new moon
to my forehand, then changes direction
like a scythe to my back-hand, I know
I’m in trouble. Forty-love, the first game
his, won on a squirrelly shot that, were it not
a ball, might well have been a squirrel.
 
My service, a hard one with top-spin
comes just in time to save me from disgrace,
or so I think. In the split second I see it
catch the corner, a certain winner, it returns
to me as a butterfly attaching itself to the silk
thread of the net, as delicate as a brushstroke,
before fluttering off where I can’t touch it.
 
I’m thinking this is not tennis but an ancient
form of art, disguised as tennis for the purpose
of torture, invented in the court of the Sung
Dynasty, and it is the sly Emperor Hui-Tang
himself on the other side of the net.
He is staring at me, crouched, his whites
gleaming in the sun, racket spinning in his hand,
waiting for me to decide how to paint
the rising peacock. Will I paint the left leg
or the right leg first? Meanwhile I’ve two balls
in my hand, confused, wondering which one
to serve and which one to place in my pocket.

Willis Reed & etc

 I did not know Willis Reed well, only as an opponent during my years playing for the Golden State Warriors and Seattle Sonics. But that was enough for me to gauge the man he was: a smart and ferocious competitor. Never dirty, but God, you never left the court after a Knicks games without some kind of bruise that Willis gave you like an unwelcome gift. Off the court, Willis Reed was a gentleman, as the word had developed out of two words: gentle and man. 

                                                                  Etc

It is a fact that a human being's brain does not reach full maturity until approximately 26 years of age. Ja Moratnt is 22. Since One-and-Done, the NBA is full of players whose brains are not fully developed. Now the NBA is going to allow 18 years old's to enter the draft. More must be done on the league level to better prepare these kids for life in the glamor of pro sports. One of the things the NBA could do that they may not being doing now, is provide workshops for the parents, older sibs, and close relatives of these young stars. 

Golden State Warriors: I'm not going to go into the worst road record in their history. What's done is done.  They just won two back to back road games. I'll savor the wins. I might be wrong, but in the last two games I thought I saw a strengthening of the rotation. Kerr's system is alive and well. I'm still of the belief that the Warriors, despite missing Andrew Wiggins terribly as well as Little Glove, are a very dangerous team in a 7 game series. Opponants beware!

Sure the Celtics handed it to the Kings a couple of nights ago, but I don't think there has been a team in the NBA this year that has been more fun to watch. How come Malik Monk is not in the discussion for Best Sixth Man??? And if Mike Brown is not The Coach of the Year, it will be criminal. Light the Beam!.

I'm tired of the analytics guys dissing on the two-point-shot. I think DeArron Fox of the Kings has proven that the two-point-shot at a particular time in the game can be the kind of dagger shot that wins games. Time and again, in crucial moments, mostly towards the end of games, he speed-dribbles into the paint and scores on a quick jumper. This is particularly important when a team is protecting a small lead. Just for instance: a team is not up by 2, now the team is up by 4. Depending on the minutes or seconds remaining in the game, One can argue that it would be a bigger advantage had he hit a 3. Granted. But if you have, for a lack of a better term, a 2 point specialist, such a KD, for example, Fox, or Derozen, or as quiet as it's kept Steph Curry, those kind of players who can deliver quick dagger makes, the result can be demoralizing. 

As for March Madness: My Gaels lost in the second round, but did a great job getting as far as they did. Proud of them. My brackets were busted in the first round. I should know better than to even try. But I'll be back with my pencil foolishly next season. It's addictive. 

WILLIS REED       By Tom Meschery

    Center for the New York Knicks 1977 NBA Championship

You limped onto the court
and made sports history. I limped
to the kitchen for a beer
feeling this pain not in my leg,
but in my heart. Only two years
out of the league and already
my body breaking down. A simple
maneuver with the lawnmower
and I heard my muscle tear. No
thanks to you, I’ll probably hear
somebody at work tomorrow
say, look at Willis, only one
good wheel and able to out play Wilt:
Horse-laughs, then the bright eyes
of h dandelions staring up at me 
from the lawn, daring me to return.

Once Again into the Breach

 The NBA went a long way to make the Saturday All Star event interesting and fun. The Future Stars game was perfect. Enough defense to add a smidgen of tension to the game so it wasn't a shooting and  dunking contest. The recreated skills-set competition featuring one Big was far more exciting. Note: it is time for the two Antetokounmpo brothers to retire. Keep Giannis and add people from the audience. I'm kidding about the audience. The 3 pt shooting contest, as usual was a success. And, glory be, the dunk contest was fabulous, not only because McClung gave it back some zing, but because the other contestants were legit sky walkers. Too bad some of the NBA "stars" with hops don't compete. MJ, Doctor J, and Vince Carter gave their fans the pleasure of seeing them fly high. Come on, Ja, King Fames, what? Your special? 

All that said, let's talk once again about the All Star game itself.  A complete stinker. I saw it as a cross between a 3 pt shooting contest and a dunking contest. Not an ounce of Defense, Not a half ounce. In my day this was called "matador" defense - show the cape and get out of the bulls way. Ole. 

I have attempted on several occasions in the past to suggest changes on my blog and a couple of times in letters sent to the NBA league office. On the outside of the envelope, I wrote Retired Warrior so they might consider reading it instead of dumping it into the round file. Perhaps the league honchos did read my suggestions and found them too radical. Maybe they are a little, but something has to change. The league can't keep presenting this margarine and keep calling it butter much longer 

So, here I go, once more into the breach: Continue the game divided into quarters. That was one solid idea. But in addition, make the Sunday game a true deep shooting contest with certain strategies that would not eliminate the midrange shot or the spectacular dunk. Here's how I see it, in general, allowing for people with better math and odds skils than mine to fine tune. 

1. 3 pt line remains the same. 

2. Dunks remain 2 pts, unless the are showtime dunks in which case they are worth 3.5.

3. Free throws remain the same, unless the shooter shoots it as a jumper, in which case it is 3.5.

4. Add a 4 pt line, 2 feet back of the 3 pt line.

5. On both corners directly in front of the half-court line, create two  4'x4' 5 pt shot boxes.

6. Color each of the shooting areas a vibrant color, easily identifiable by the audience.

7. Continue with winning quarters earning $ for charity. Made 5 pt shot could be a specific charity. 

8. Continue with present final score rule, although the total would have to be increased. 

9. Because of the enhanced scoring positions, a fourth referee would have to be added. 

10. In the event of a tie, a mid court shoot out competition would be exciting. 

Note: teams would have to strategize how and when to use the 5 box and who. The 4 pt line and 
          the 5 pt box would add a great deal of excitment and tension to the game. I'm sure that 
          statistic geeks could come up with all sorts of interesting combos and variations. Given 
          the additional court colors a light show might be fun to consider.  It works for rock groups. 

From my collection of Haikus about sports:

BOYS’ LOCKER ROOM

Fresh from the shower

    Towels poised ready to snap

Targeting rosy cheeks

A Familiar Story & NBA All Star Weekend

 I posted this after reading this morning Jason Jones moving story about Raymond Lewis entitled Raymond Lewis, the 76eer Draft Pick Who Never Played in the NBA. I offer my comment to you, my readers:

This is a familiar story. If anyone is curious, he or she should research a player by the name of Fred LaCour. Before Jason Kidd came along, Fred LaCour was the the greatest high school basketball player in Northern California history. He was also my best friend and 4-year rival from Saint Ignatius High. Unlike Raymond Lewis, Fred did get a chance to play in the NBA. He was drafted in the 2nd round by the Saint Louis Hawks. Raymond Lewis' problem was about his contract, and being lied to; Fred's problem was he was mixed race. The Hawks home in Saint Louis was in Missouri, a border state, not known for being racially friendly. The Hawks team had a few southern white guys on it. Fred dated white women. Oh, Horrors! In December of 1961 or was it January of 1962, Fred, a 6'5" point guard who could do it all, was playing lights out, then suddenly with no reason given, the lights went out completely and Fred was no longer on the Hawks. What happened? I'm sure I know. Fred did go on to play some professionally, but his heart was broken and like Raymond Lewis, depression followed. Fred died of cancer in 1972. My friend, Fred LaCour deserved better. So many black athletes from that time deserved better. 

I have always been a fan of NBA All Star Weekend, but I've never been much of a fan of the actual Sunday night All Star game. Far too often, it turns into a 3 pt shooting or dunking exhibition. The recent change of dividing the game into quarters with the winners of quarters earning $ for deserving charities has helped my negativity, but not really. The not really part has to do with a general lack of defense played in the game. I know no player wants to be injured playing in an All Star Game, but couldn't they just give it a little more effort than a bullfighters cape? Case in point, last night's Rising Stars Game. The kiddies played some D. They didn't go all out, but they made an effort, so the game was, at least, for a D guy like myself, reasonably enjoyable. In some cases as they scores tightened toward the end of he period, the players really dug in. It was a fun game to watch, and nobody got hurt. 

Note: I'm reasonably sure the best leapers in the NBA are not part of the dunk contest and haven't been for a long time. I'm also sure that the skills contest could be more creative. Randle in the 3-pt shooting contest? Really? And just a suggestion, why not add a 4 ball to the All Star Game, say from a 32 foot line. Tell me that wouldn't bring the crowd to its feet. 

Appropriate for the Raymond and Fred stories is this poem by the great poet John Updike

EX-BASKETBALL PLAYER

Pearl Avenue runs past the high school lot
Bends with the trolley tracks and stops, 

    cuts off
Before it has a chance to go two blocks.
At Colonel McComsky Plaza Berth's Garage
Is on the corner facing west, and there
most days, you'll find Flick Webb, 

     who helps Berth out.
   
Flick stands tall among the idiot pumps
Five on a side, the old bubble-head style,
Their rubber elbows hanging lose and low.
One's nostrils are two S's and his eyes
An E and O. And one is squat, without
A head at all - more of a football type.
Once Flick played for the high-school
   team, the Wizards.

He was good: in fact; the best. In '46
He bucketed three hundred-ninety points
A county record still. The ball loved Flick

I saw him rack up thirty-eight or forty
In one home game. His hands were like
    wild birds.
He never learned a trade, he just sells gas,
Checks oil, and changes flats. 

    Once in a while
As a gag, he dribbles an inner tube,
But most of us remember anyway,
His hands are fine and nervous on the 
    lug wrench.
It makes no difference to the lug wrench,
   though
Off work, he hangs around Mae's
      Luncheonette.
Grease-gray and kind of coiled, he  plays 
    pinball
Smokes those thin cigars, nurses lemon
    phosphates.
Flick seldom says a word to Mae, just 
    nods.
Beyond her face toward bright 
    applauding tiers
Of  Necco Waffers, Nibs and Juju Beads.