June 16, 2023
GOD BLESS UKRAINE AND THE USA!!!!
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FINE IDEAS
Just about all my friends do not follow the NBA and, thus, were not watching the 2022-23 NBA Finals. I could not find a buddy in Baton Rouge to watch the matchup between the Denver Nuggets and the Miami Heat.
To me, these Finals represented everything that is right about Basketball. Both teams played exceptional team offense, willingly passing to the open man. Certainly, the superstars in the series would often go one-on-one. But also quite often, Nikola Jokic and Jamal Murray of the Nuggets and Jimmy Butler of the Heat, when trying to capitalize on a matchup advantage while being guarded by a single defender, would attract a double-team or even a subtle step or 2 by a non-guarding defensive player in their direction, and then invariably deliver a “Did you see that?”-Eyes out of the back of their heads incredible pass to a teammate for an easy bucket—especially point center Jokic, my present—non-MJ--GOAT****. Plus, there was great defense and many hustle plays, with players diving to the floor with reckless abandon for loose balls. And, both teams were mostly humble— not the norm in 21st century college and pro sports.
I implored several friends to just watch a quarter of the Finals with an open mind. There were no takers. I do not get it.
Another thing I do not get is play-by-play announcer Mike Breen mentioning several times that this was the Nuggets first trip to “the Finals”. Not “the NBA Finals”, but “the Finals”. Maybe I am parsing semantics, but this was, in fact, the Nuggets second trip to the Finals. The first one was in the 1975-76 season. That would be when they were in the American Basketball Association (ABA) Finals! I am sure there were other geriatric fans watching the NBA Finals this year that made note of this distinction.
There is an important caveat that needs to be stated. I think Breen is brilliant. He is the consummate play-by-play announcer and is a perfect complement to terrific commentators Jeff Van Gundy and Mark Jackson. The trio finds just the right combination of information and levity to make a great announcing team and the NBA Finals a pleasure to watch.
The 1975-76 ABA Finals featured the Nuggets facing the New York Nets. Denver had the best record in the ABA at 60-24. The Nets finished in second place, at 55-29, 5 games behind the Nuggets. What bolstered the Nuggets from favorite to prohibitive favorite in this series was that they had gone 39-3 in the regular season at McNichols Arena in Denver, and enjoyed home court advantage in the series. The Nuggets had 17,000+ rabid home fans thirsting for the city’s first championship in any pro sport. Plus, the elevated altitude in Denver was thought to give Denver a pronounced home city advantage.
The Nets were coached by the man who made drawing a technical foul an art form, Kevin Loughery. Their superstar was the incandescent Dr J, Julius Erving. The Nuggets were led by spectacular rookie DT, David Thompson. Other Pro Basketball Hall of Famers on the Nuggets were Dan Issel and Bobby Jones, along with their coach Larry Brown.
The Nets would seize home court advantage with a 120-118 win in Game 1 at McNichols—perhaps the key to the series. Games 2—5 saw both teams hold serve at home. So, after 5 games, the Nets led the series 3 games to 2. Game 6, at New York, was viewed by many as a “must win” for the Nets if they wanted to win the Series. Going back to Denver, with its mile-high altitude, for a Game 7, was a trip the Nets desperately wanted to avoid.
The Nuggets took a 22-point lead in the second half of Game 6 at Nassau Coliseum and it looked like the Nuggets would coast to a victory and for all intent and purposes an ABA Title. At that point, it was not Dr. J, but a man known as “Super John” or “Soup,” John Williamson, who took control of the game for the Nets. Williamson scored 16 of his 28 points in the 4th quarter and the Nets came back to win 112-106 and were the last ABA champions.
Prior to the next season, the ABA would fold, with the NBA absorbing 4 of its teams: the Nets, the Nuggets, the Indiana Pacers, and the San Antonio Spurs.
THE WIZARDRY OF OS
A month ago, LSU baseball fans (and I am sure the team itself) had a lot of questions. Fortunately, with a load of talent and excellent coaching the LSU baseball team had answers.
The first question was whether the bullpen could settle down, throw strikes, and avoid allowing crooked numbers. While the bullpen has been good in the postseason, the reality is that the bullpen has not been stretched. By losing the second and third games of the SEC tournament, LSU only played 3 total games.
By winning every game in the Baton Rouge Regional and Super Regional, LSU has only played 5 games in the NCAA tournament. In Omaha, LSU will have to win at least 5 games in 8-9 days to win it all. Obviously, pitchers that have yet to pitch in the NCAA tournament will have to perform well in Omaha for LSU to make a championship run.
The next question was who would be the third starter. Thatcher Hurd is that guy and that is good news for a number of reasons. As long as LSU wins one of their first two games, LSU will need a third starter in the CWS. Additionally, the LSU baseball program needs a starting pitcher to anchor their staff next year. Skenes and Floyd will be gone next year and Hurd needs to be the Friday or Saturday guy next year.
As a LSU fan from the late 80s, it is hard to fathom all that has happened in college baseball and the world since LSU last played in Omaha. Most importantly, the extended format with the championship series remains, but the time period has been condensed. As a result, any team that loses before the championship series will need to use a fourth starter. With the great offenses in this field, I doubt any team is well suited to manage their pitching staff in that situation. By reputation, Wake Forest, Tennessee, and Florida would be the only teams that might have the arms to survive that scenario.
If you are wondering what to cheer for as an LSU fan, cheer hard for Stanford. The Cardinal have an ace pitcher that has been used in a way that pitchers haven’t been used in 30 years. If he has any gas left in his tank, he will challenge a Wake Forest team that has been crushing the baseball in the NCAA Tournament. If he beats Wake Forest and LSU beats Tennessee, the pitching matchup will be much more favorable in the second game for LSU against Stanford than Wake Forest. The Demon Deacons have two aces and the best pitching staff of the teams remaining. Also, the likely starter in Game 2 for Wake Forest is a lefty.
6 of the 8 teams in the CWS slugged to Super Regional victories at home. Only Oral Roberts and Tennessee had to win on the road. Oral Roberts outscored Oregon and Tennessee shut down Southern Miss’ offense.
Charles Schwab Field plays more like the Hoover Met, which hosts the SEC Tournament, than any of the fields where Super Regionals were played. LSU, Wake Forest, Tennessee, Stanford and Florida hit a ton of home runs this year (all over 117 total). Oral Roberts hit 95. TCU has 88, while Virginia has 82. Can anyone stay so hot that they hit enough bombs to win a title? Probably not. That being said, there is certainly an advantage to any team that can hit timely home runs (with runners on base).
So the final question is what will LSU need to do to win it all? Stay in the winner’s bracket at all costs. Skenes will have to continue to dominate to beat the other aces out there and save the pitching staff. As with all the other national championship teams at LSU, one or two guys that have not been making noise will need to play well and that will most likely come from the bullpen. Coleman and Herring are two pitchers that have not pitched in the NCAA Tournament as of yet and are good candidates to be called on at some point.
The offense must put together quality at bats to get past some of these great starting pitchers and attack bullpens. Josh Pearson has been a key because he gives Dylan Crews someone to drive in and forces other teams to pitch to Crews.
There are a number of factors that are not in LSU’s favor. First, LSU’s side of the bracket is LOADED! There are 129 baseball polls, but LSU, Wake, Tennessee, and Stanford will top 10 in all of them. In the D1 poll, LSU was #1, Tennessee was 2nd, Stanford 3rd, and Wake 6th. Meanwhile, the other side of the bracket sets up really well for Florida to come through without having to tax their pitching staff, and the Gators are as talented as anyone.
One thing is for certain, whoever does win the CWS will have certainly earned the title of national champion.
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