Carmelo Anthony of the Knicks has been around forever yet like Karl Malone and Michael Jordan, continues to score. Anthony will never be considered a great defender or the Lou Gehrig of basketball but the Knicks are paying him a lot so it’s nice to see him attempting to earn it.
The Knicks signed him to a nice deal for him a few off-seasons ago and they’ve mostly been not very good since. Phil Jackson, master of psychological warfare and possibly the next Jerry West of the front office, drafted Kristaps Porzingis in 2015 and he has been a revelation. He is a scorer and gives Anthony and long suffering Knicks’ fans some hope. The Knicks won’t do serious damage this season but maybe next season. More than the wisest say about the Sacramento Kings.
The Kings are led by head case super talented big man DeMarcus Cousins. Cousins has a very nice mostly below the rim offensive game and can shoot a nice jump shot though he doesn’t jump much. He can basically score at will but his team is so bad and he is such a killjoy only diehards and fantasy players care. DeMarcus has the leadership skills and intangibles of a dead snail and the Kings are either stuck with building around this pillar of oatmeal or trading him and becoming even worse in the short term. Watching the situation unfold will probably be painful unless you like long, drawn out tragedies.
Draymond Green and Blake Griffin are also very talented head cases. Blake, when healthy and not suspended, is one of the 10 best players in the world. Green is multifaceted but his self destruction played no small part in the Warriors’ choke job against the Cavs. Griffin’s constant unreliability has helped cause many to accurately label the Clippers as soft. These two are newsworthy because of their skills and because their teams are two of the best three in the NBA. Both teams play, when on, ferocious, modern basketball at a breathtaking level.
Smart people have no hate for either man. Basketball lovers yearn for them and even the completely unlikable Cousins to mature and actually earn the fortunes they make. We will all be better off if that happens.
Reggie Miller was a phenomenal player and is an excellent TV game analyst. He’s calm enough and well spoken. Klay Thompson has playing skills similar to Miller’s and has a ring Miller never got. Miller played his whole career with the Pacers and that’s laudable. He is a treat and we are fortunate to have been able and are able to watch him work.
This piece was written by Jim Swigart. Jim has been seriously writing for at least eight years and previously wrote about music for a now defunct online magazine for about two years. Jim briefly blogged about sports for an online site and currently blogs weekly about sports on his own site.
His academic background is in business and math. He has done numerous work tasks besides writing. My interests include exercise, sports, music, and politics.
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