The NBA season has started, and the Houston Rockets began with a nice win over the Golden State Warriors. Of course, a win in the first game of the season doesn't count for much in the long run, but it's nice to see the team working well together and adjusting to having Chris Paul and James Harden on the same roster. I imagine they'll be good enough to make a run in the postseason, and probably get into the Conference finals, but I can't see them getting into the Finals or winning it all unless some of the other super-teams fall apart or have injury problems.
This card doesn't have anything to do with the Rockets, but I don't really chase cards of current Rockets these days, and Manute Bol is the only retired guy I collect who still appears in a lot of sets outside of Hakeem Olajuwon. Bol doesn't get a zillion cards a year, but he gets a couple. I pick them up when I can. This Heroes Materials relic card comes from 2016-17 Panini Absolute Basketball, and was an eBay buy. It's got a swatch of fabric and is serially-numbered # 17 / 99.
The back of the card uses a zoomed-out version of the front image, and talks about Bol's height and his shot-blocking prowess. The days of towering shot-blocking specialists are pretty much over, but I'll still collect cards of guys like Bol, Gheorghe Muresan, and maybe Shawn Bradley as long as I can find new ones to get.
As I write this, the Houston Astros are down 2-0 to the Yankees in the 4th inning, so I'm off to watch and hope that they can pull out a comeback and at least bring the ALCS back to Houston with a 3-2 lead. With the way things have gone the last couple of days, though, I'm worried about their chances.
It's nice to see Manute still being included in some of the newer sets from time to time.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I like to see players who were popular but not necessarily superstars included on checklists. Kind of like the Topps Archives Fan Favorites checklists.
DeleteNice to see Manute in his Bullets uniform. BTW the Wizards won their game 1 of the season. Yeah OK it was against the 76ers so no big deal.
ReplyDeleteSometimes I wonder if the 76ers 'Process' will amount to anything in the end. It seems to me like they take a step back for every step forward they take.
DeleteI just can't get into basketball with all of these super teams... but I'm sure it'll make the NBA Finals entertaining next year. As for baseball... I'm praying to the baseball gods that the Astros can find a way to bounce back. Someone needs to start hitting... and I'm hoping it's Altuve.
ReplyDeleteThe super teams are hurting my interest in the NBA as well, but I imagine there are other people who like to see the stars playing together on the same rosters. Eventually the money will probably work out to where super teams can't stay together, but it might take a while, especially if players show a willingness to take lower pay in exchange for a chance at a trophy.
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