Bob's Corners: Mills still a boon for Nets
TweetBOB'S CORNERS: While I've been out of commission (link), our man in the USA, Bob Craven has not, filing regular stories and updates. Today he filed about our own Boomers superstar Patty Mills sticking 29 points for Brooklyn against OKC. But there's been so much more from Bob...
THE Brooklyn Nets tonight crushed Oklahoma City Thunder 120-96, led as usual by Kevin Durant with 33. But right behind him with 29 points in 31 minutes was Aussie Patty Mills, including shooting 9-of-12 from behind the arc.
Mills had to play extended minutes as Joe Harris, who plays small forward or off-guard for the Nets was forced to leave the game in the second quarter with what appeared a serious ankle injury.
Josh Giddey started for the Thunder but, unfortunately for them, continued his recent run of games were he shot poorly — tonight he was 2-of-10 from the floor in 25 minutes.
November 12
NICE but unusual stat night last night for Josh Giddey in a win by the Thunder over the Pelicans.
In 31 minutes, he had 7 points (only 3-of-10 from the field), but 12 boards (5 of them offensive), 9 assists and a steal. Unfortunately, he also racked up 5 turnovers.
He seems to be doing really well and has started all but the first one or two games — obviously, he belongs in the league.
November 10
LAST season’s #1 high school player in the US, Chet Holmgren (the 7-foot 19-year-old first year player for Gonzaga), had a very nice game in the Zags’ first meaningful game of the season.
It was an easy win at home by 30+ points, but he definitely stood out (pun intended) with his line: 28 minutes, 14 points (on 4-of- 6 from the floor), 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 7 blocks.
November 6
WHILE Ben Simmons has had no issues with doing individual workouts with players at the team facilities and also has had no issues with using team health care people and facilities for his ailing back, according to ESPN and other sources, he has refused to provide basic details of his course of mental health meetings, evaluations or treatments, or to accept consultation with any specialists arranged by the team.
Big Ben previously stated his need for mental health assistance, but according to media reports he has only been working with mental health professionals via the NBA Players Association. He has been unwilling to share with the team any information on his course of action in pursuing mental health treatment.
As a result, effective with their most recent game, the team has resumed fining him his US$360,000 per game salary until he cooperates with team physicians on his mental health and fulfills other basketball-related obligations, such as strength training, film study and some kind of presence at team practices and game-day shootarounds.
Earlier, Simmons incurred US$2million in penalties for a training camp holdout and limited return to the team. The team put any fines withheld into escrow, but they stopped fining him two weeks and released the monies held in escrow when he told them he wasn’t mentally prepared to play and planned to seek professional help.
The new per game fine and any other fines levied will again be put into escrow until there is new news on all of this.
I find it interesting and potentially very telling that, despite Simmons’ absence and with starter Tobias Harris out for three wins due to Covid-19 restrictions, after their first nine games, the Sixers are 7-2.
November 9
Big Ben, in a complete about face from yesterday, is now meeting with the Sixers’ mental health guys. This whole situation is looking to me more and more like a train wreck and/or a soap opera.
Elsewhere in the NBA, a few interesting thoughts on results for the season so far: last year’s champion Milwaukee Bucks are at 4-6 after 10 games; everyone’s odds-on favorites to win it all this year, the Brooklyn Nets who, like the Bucks, have been playing several players short, are at 7-3; the Philadelphia Sixers, even with all the Simmons’ distractions and without him on the floor, are at 8-2; and the Golden State Warriors, who have played without all-star Klay Thompson for the last two years, and without all-universe Steph Curry for the last few games, are at 8-1.
And in NCAA Division 1 news, the almost-unanimous preseason favorites to win this year’s title, the Gonzaga Bulldogs (losers of last year's title game) are going to be hard to beat if everything works out for them.
They are a very young team, unusual for them, with six new players. Post player All-American Drew Timme (208cm) surprised everyone by returning for a third season, rather than moving on to the NBA. He’ll be joined up front by last year’s #1 high school player in the US, Chet Holmgren.
ESPN’s Director of National Recruiting calls Holmgren “the most unique (college) prospect (I’ve seen) in my 13 years at ESPN. He’s a unicorn…” with a unique skill set for a kid that size. He’s very thin at only 89 kilos, but he’s 213cm tall and has a wingspan of 228cm.
He is not a “seal’em off” low post player (like Timme), he plays more outside. He’s a good passer, handles the ball well, can take it to the rim, and can shoot outside, as well as go over the top of people from down low. He has world-class shot-blocking ability. The Timme-Holmgren combo will be problematic for opponents, as they should be able to do a lot of feeding each other in high-low post play.
Given that the Zags are a young team, their very tough early-season schedule doesn’t give them much time to mesh together. In the first month of the season, they will play #5 Texas, #2 UCLA, #9 Duke and #14 Alabama. Only one of those games is at home in Spokane, Washington (Texas), although the Alabama game will be played in Seattle, Washington, which will almost be the same as a home game.
November 3
LAST night, November 1, in a specially scheduled NBA game in New York, the Toronto Raptors won their fourth straight game of the young season, beating the NY Knicks 113-104.
It was the 75th anniversary of the NBA’s very first game. In that game, the Knicks beat the Toronto Huskies, 68-66, at Maple Leaf Gardens in Toronto. This 75th anniversary game had to be played in New York, rather than Toronto, due to the Covid-19 travel restrictions in place in both the US and Canada.
Speaking of NBA anniversaries, 31 years ago today in Denver, Colorado, the Golden State Warriors defeated the Denver Nuggets 162-158 in a game that must have been played using (to quote Rick Barry) the “Matador Defense” (Olé!).
The 320 points set an NBA record for the most points scored by two teams in a non-overtime game.
November 1
THE defending champ Milwaukee Bucks are struggling a bit to start the season: after seven games, the are 3-4, including losses in their last 3 games.
They do have a bit of an excuse as they are missing four players due to injury or illness, three of them starters: Jrue Holiday, Brooke Lopez, and Khris Middleton.
The Utah Jazz with Joe Ingles provided them with their most recent defeat, 107-95, and in Milwaukee, no less. Those three consecutive losses (and counting) have come in the last five nights, and they’re shooting just 27% from beyond the arc in those three games.
James Harden helped the Brooklyn Nets to a win last night with an 18-10-12 triple-double. He is the Nets’ career leader in that category, and last night's effort gave him 59 for his career, tying him with Larry Bird for seventh on the all-time NBA list.
Last night also saw Dallas’ Luka Doncic do a Luka Doncic and blunt a late rally by the Sacramento Kings. He hit a 3-point bomb from a step inside the large centre-court logo—about an 11-metre shot—with two seconds left to give Dallas the home win 105-99.
And the college season is just beginning to start now, mostly with the big schools playing “exhibition” games—basically up to two games against much smaller schools that do not count as regular season games. As an example, the overwhelming favorite to win the next NCAA Division One title, our local Gonzaga Bulldogs, defeated Eastern Oregon College 115-62.
The Gonzaga assistant head coach led the team in that game and will also do the same for the next exhibition game and the first regular season game, as long-time head coach, Mark Few, sits out a university-imposed suspension for a late-summer DUI conviction.
October 31
WHEN the Brooklyn Nets signed Patty Mills earlier this year, he was seen as insurance and a luxury for them, since they already had all-pro types Kyrie Irving and James “The Beard” Harden starting for them up top.
He was also listed by some pundits as “the steal of the season”, since the Nets signed him to a 2-years deal worth US$12 million, less than half the US$13.5 million that he made last year alone with the San Antonio Spurs.
But he quickly became a necessity for the Nets, as Irving cannot play nor practice with them until he is fully vaccinated for Covid-19, which he has so far refused to do. Harden, coming back from injury, is trying to play his way back into form and it has been slow going--he’s shooting only about 35% from the floor so far.
Mills, on the other hand, through the first six games, is averaging 11.2 points, 2.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game in 27.5 minutes. His minutes per game and rebound average are both career highs in this, his 13th season in the NBA. He’s shooting 44.4% overall from the field and 51.3% from 3-point land. He made his first 10 3-point attempts to start this season, the most to start a season by anyone in NBA history. The steal of the season indeed.
October 29
ONE thing I have noted is how well Josh Giddey is doing for the Oklahoma City Thunder as a 19-year-old rookie.
The Thunder are not the strongest team in the NBA by a long shot—after four losses to open the season, they finally got the win in their most recent game, but he has been one of their bright spots so far.
After coming off the bench in the season opener, I believe he’s been a starter in the other four games. He’s definitely showed he can play at the NBA level, averaging almost 11 points per game, 6.2 rebounds and 5.6 assists. He’s also added 1.4 steals into the mix.
He’s had one game with double figures in rebounds and another with double figures in assists.
One report I saw noted that he plays off the ball more than almost any other player in the league, which to me indicates that he’s even more effective than most. I have no idea who even comes up with arcane stats like that, but I think his stats are great for someone who isn’t around the ball as much as his peers. Especially, a very young guy like that who is just starting out. To me it shows that he’s pretty active and isn’t afraid of the competition at this level.
I’m more surprised that, given how well he’s doing so far in the NBA, that he didn’t just tear up the NBL this past season.