Basketball from a fans perspective

He’s confused
The Clippers announced Blake Griffin will be suspended four games w/o pay for his fight with the team equipment manager.  You might remember the two men got into an argument while at a restaurant and Griffin became agitated to the point of throwing at least two punches.  As for the suspension will go into effect once Griffin returns from the injury list.

This issue must have confused Marcellus Wiley of ESPN based on his response.  When questioned on Sportsnation Wiley said “Griffin should complete his suspension while recovering from injury” or words to that effect.  It’s clear he did not read the memo issued by the Clippers it read; “The suspension will begin once Griffin is healthy. “  In other words Mr. Wiley Griffin cannot serve his suspension while on the injured list.  

Fab Two
The headline is not a mistake; you might be thinking “Fab Five”.  In 1991 the University of Michigan placed five freshmen on the floor at the same time.  The five almost won an NCAA Championship a feat never accomplished by such a young starting five.  Two of the five were Jalen Rose and Chris Webber and both moved into the television broadcast field after their NBA careers were completed.  Rose went to work as a basketball analyst for ABC/ESPN.  Webber is serving in the same capacity and can been seen on TNT and NBA TV.

The Triangle offense
Is Phil Jackson out of step with today’s NBA?  That is the question posed by many in the media as the Knicks begin their search for a new head coach.  PJ believes the triangle offense can still work in the NBA of today the only problem there is no definitive proof.  The triangle was effective with the Bulls who had Jordan/Pippen/Grant/Rodman and others. It was successful with the Lakers with Kobe/Shaq/Gasol/Ariza.  It didn’t work for Brian Shaw with the Nuggets; it didn’t work for Kurt Rambis while he was head coach of the Wolves.  The triangle appears to be ineffective with the Knicks although this was only year two running it.    

There might be other instances the triangle was utilized Denver and Minnesota are the locattions first come to mind.  By the way those instances of successful triangle teams also had Phil Jackson as coach.  I can offer no proof however it appears a team needs quality players at most positions on the floor in order to attain success.  I believe in Phil Jackson so I believe the triangle can still work provided you have the personal to run it efficiently.  Derek Fisher was running the triangle; can Phil Jackson locate the coach he wants in order to run the offense is the question?

NBA Draft 101
We are a ways off from June but when your team is the Lakers you must look toward the NBA Draft.  I pointed out the owner of the NFL Cowboys prior to Jerry Jones approached the NFL draft differently from other teams.  As an example they would draft a linebacker although they might have a surplus at that position.  They believed they could trade this players draft rights for a player in a position they needed a starter or depth.  As this is being composed we are still unsure what the 76ers are trying to accomplish in their draft history.  

Should the Lakers consider the “Cowboy method” to rebuild the team?  I posed the question because of NBA Draft.net’s mock draft.  Although he might be slight of weight the site has them choosing James Webb from Gonzaga in the second round.  The pressing need (in my view) for the Lakers is small forward not a power forward; do they draft Webb for trade bait?  As for others how about the Celtics, they appear to be stockpiling draft choices with eight picks in round one and two.  As for the 76ers they have “only” four selections in both rounds.