TERRY MOSHER
TOP OF THE TOWN - I am not the only one noticing how much the pro basketball game has changed. It has become faster, quicker and more acrobatic. The NBA is like watching a tennis match at the highest level. The ball is moving faster than a bullet train. A basket is scored at one end and before you can blink twice, the opponent is scoring at the other end. Players score on no-look over the shoulder bank shots, driving reverse layins and four dribbles and 3-point baskets from a nearby zip code. I have seen 10-point deficits erased in under a minute. It’s not a 6-foot-quard that is challenging speed records. Seven-foot centers rip the ball down off the glass and within seconds have dribbled to the other basket and scored on a 5-footer or a slam dunk. I was a good basketball player as a pre-teen, but I wouldn’t be allowed within 10 miles of a court these days if I was still that pre-teen. The game has changed so much I couldn’t even be the ball-boy. There are a lot of great players in the NBA now and the best of the best is now the 6-foot-4, 22-year-old Anthony Edwards of the Minnesota Timberwolves. The is so good he’s being double-teamed, yet still scores almost at will. He has two speeds – fast and extremely fast. He sees the slightest of openings and he’s gone in the blink of an eye. He’s got a great three-point shot, passes, defends and rebounds well. He’s also good looking, if that counts for something. One sports jock talking head did the unthinkable the other day. He said Edwards is as good as Michael Jordan in his prime. I wouldn’t argue. Jordan maybe has the edge in nastiness. Challenged, Jordan could tear your head off, his competitiveness and wiliness to win is beyond anything we have ever seen. But Edward is no slacker. He is nearly unstoppable. It’s why the Timberwolves are giving the defending champion Nuggets all they can handle. That’s enough for today. Stay safe.
Be well pal.
Be careful out there.
Have a great day.
You are loved.