Basketball from a fans perspective
Published Monday through Friday
No Ball, no matter
Lakers won the championship of the Las Vegas portion of the Summer League. There was no Lonzo Ball to be seen he'd been sidelined with was later described as a low grade strain in his right leg. Despite Ball sitting on the sidelines the Lakers managed to defeat the Blazers 110-98. Kyle Kuzma led the way for these young Lakers scoring a team high 30 points and grabbing 10 rebounds. He was named Summer League Finals MVP.
We don’t know
The Mizzou faithful are anticipating improved play over that we witnessed last season. On second thought that might be an understatement based on Mizzou’s 8-23 record last season and 10-21 the previous season. One of the “missing” but committed players is Jontay Porter younger brother of Michael Jr. Jontay is the same height but a hefty 240 pounds.
The only remaining question is re-classification, does Jontay arrive on campus in 2018 or will it be 2019? Also in the same boat might be Marvin Bagley. The 6-11 220 pound Bagley is listed as the number one pick in the Class of 2018. Bagley is yet to make a commitment however it’s reported he might be headed to Arizona in the fall of 2017.
I might have an explanation
Thon Maker’s name was well known; we believed he was headed to college rather than the NBA. Why he arrived early in the NBA is another story this account revolves around the fact Maker’s name was not included on many scouting sights. It’s impossible to track the world’s basketball players and it’s my belief Rivals and other sights decided in favor of tracking players in the U.S. only.
Maker attended schools in Louisiana and Virginia and later transferred to Orangeville Prep in Orangeville Canada about 60 miles from Toronto. Now for the explanation the number one prospect in Rivals Class of 2019 is R.J. Barrett enrolled at Montverde Academy in Florida. Barrett is from Mississauga Ontario about 18 miles from Toronto. I believe Barrett is listed by Rivals (and others) because he’s attending high school in the U.S. it’s that simple.
Train ride nowhere
The 2016-17 it was believed the Knicks were on the road to success. Phil Jackson had brought in a number of players likely to aid them in becoming a better team. The season turned out to be a disaster and Phil Jackson took much of the blame for the lack of success. The Knicks (31-51) were not much better than the previous season when they finished 32-50. Based on a second look maybe Phil Jackson has been unfairly crucified by the media considering the roster he assembled at the beginning of last season. PJ brought in Joakim Noah and Derrick Rose from the Bulls and Courtney Lee from the Grizzlies.
They would join holdovers Carmelo Anthony and Kristaps Porzingis. Noah would only play 46 games and Rose played a few more (64) to be exact. Both former All Stars succumbed to injuries. Lee had a so-so season nothing to get excited about. As for the others Anthony had a fairly productive year however PJ mentioned on more than one occasion his desire to trade Anthony. As for Porzingis he played but 66 games however had good numbers in those he played. This train that looks as though it was headed down the tracks toward the playoffs was derailed once again. Is the problem Coach Jeff Hornacek and the Triangle Offense the problem? That well could be however it might be lack of talent and chemistry between roster members.
