Basketball from a fans perspective
The Lakers are a work in progress, I make the disclaimer up
front after KP (wrong nickname; see below) did a number on them leading the way
to a 113-109 victory over my Lakers. Kristaps
Porzingis scored 37 points while shooting .538 from the floor. He scored but he also played solid defense
with 5 blocked shots and had 11 rebounds, I guess at 7-3 he’s got an
advantage. Every single time Porzingis
has one of these games I think about my friend Stephen A. Smith. His rant the morning after the 2015 draft and
the Knicks had chosen Porzingis. It’s
worth a look again, below is the link you know what to do. It’s always worth a laugh on my part, I never
get tired of seeing it over and over and over......
Porzingis is “The Unicorn” a nickname given him by Kevin Durant. Porzingis didn’t understand the meaning of the nickname and someone explained Durant was saying he was a unique player. After the explanation was made Porzingis accepted the nickname.
Part Deux
A single game fails to make a season, but I was
pleased. Not pleased that my Lakers lost
but Lonzo Ball was aggressive. I would
not expect the point guard to be the top scorer, but I would expect him to take
charge. Tuesday night against the Knicks
Lonzo took charge and it was more than the points it was all elements of his
game. He finished with 17 points 8
rebounds and 6 assists. This is
interesting, through his first 26 games Lonzo’s assist and rebound totals are
higher than LeBron James. This is not
intended to point to future success by Lonzo just pointing out a fact ESPN uncovered.
Overrated
I just read ESPN staff writer Jeff Borzello on the problem
regarding Kansas basketball after two losses. This is not a slap at his column
rather a response to fan letters. A
number pointed out their belief Kansas basketball is overrated at the beginning
of each season….but is it valid.
Borzello pointed to the fact Kansas is missing players who might prove
beneficial to their team but is that valid?
I could state Mizzou would be undefeated if not for the Michael Porter
Jr. injury. It’s always been difficult
for me to play the WHAT IF game, as football coach Herm Edwards says; “You play
to win the game.”
Kansas dominates the Big 12 conference every season the
Jayhawks are penciled in as champions, every year West Virginia, Iowa State or
Baylor make loud noises but fail to displace them. Part of the problem I believe instead of
Kansas being overrated its my belief the Big 12 conference might be the
culprit. Kansas won the NCAA Tournament
in 2008 has any conference member come close to winning it all? Every season the conference places seven or
eight schools in the tournament at the end nobody’s standing. The problem is deeper in my opinion than
Kansas it’s the entire conference which is overrated.
Can he play
An athlete always can prove he can play until he proves he can’t. That probably sounds like a strange statement
please allow me to explain further. The
disclaimer I haven’t seen Jahlil Okafor in action enough to state with
conviction he’s going to be an All-Pro.
We’ve continued to receive mix measures from several sources regarding
Okafor. The complaints; “He doesn’t
rebound enough for a 280-pound guy” or “He’s got an attitude problem.”
There are others but those are the criticisms we’ve heard the
most since he arrived in the NBA as the 3rd pick in the first round
of the 2015 draft. His rookie numbers
were above average not outstanding but good on a bad Sixers team. Nearly 18 points and 7 rebounds a game, we
must toss out last year and this year’s numbers to date. Beginning last season Okafor was reduced to a
back-up role on the Sixers. If Okafor
manages to play major minutes for the Nets, then all of us will be able to make
a proper judgement regarding his NBA future.
My case for the Sixers too
Reports circulated during the summer indicating Lebron
James was looking toward free-agency and the possibility of becoming a
Laker. These folks pointed to the fact
LeBron owns a home in the Los Angeles metro.
I wrote at the time I didn’t want him on a rebuilding Laker team. A story is circulating now the Sixers will
make a play for his services next year, I don’t want him on my second favorite
NBA team either.
The reasoning is like what I wrote regarding the
Lakers. The Sixers in a rebuilding frame
of mind are also a young team. The arrival
of LeBron would demand the addition of veteran players which delays the
development of young talent. All this
for a player with a 3-5-year timetable at the top of his game. LeBron will turn 33 at the end of December
that’s where I formulate my time frame.
The Sixers would be immediate winners with LeBron in the lineup, but
would it serve them over the long-haul?
You might not agree with me and that's okay too.
