Basketball from a
fans perspective
BULLETIN
As this edition was about to published the Lakers made a trade. They acquired the 39th
pick in the the 2018 draft. The Lakers traded their 2019 second round pick via the Bulls
along with cash. The team now has the 25th, 39th and 47th pick in tonight's draft.
Another point
A friend read my column on the Warriors and offered his view of the future for the Warriors. You might remember I mentioned a Bay Area beat writer claimed the Warriors have a two-year window remaining on this championship run. He says their core players are age 28-30. I added another consideration; the Warriors have played into the middle of June the last past four seasons.
My friend pointed out other
teams will rise (Sixers, Celtics in the east and the Rockets in the west) to
play at or near the level of the Warriors.
Even more interesting is the possibility LeBron remains. If that should occur, he said the Cavs could
be just as dangerous as the last 3-4 years.
This is funny, he pointed out the Lakers could have a lineup that sounds
as if it might be a law firm, James, George and Leonard. So, there you have it, a different view of
the same account.
The mystery man
Michael Porter Jr. isn’t really a mystery man, I use the term because he might be the least discussed athlete in the lottery portion of the draft. As most are aware he only played 3 games at Mizzou, Luka Doncic has been more a topic of conversation than MJP. At the dawn of the collegiate season MJP was the top choice on most of the mock draft sites. If he’d been able to play last season no doubt he would have been the top pick over DeAndre Ayton of Arizona.
The mystery man
Michael Porter Jr. isn’t really a mystery man, I use the term because he might be the least discussed athlete in the lottery portion of the draft. As most are aware he only played 3 games at Mizzou, Luka Doncic has been more a topic of conversation than MJP. At the dawn of the collegiate season MJP was the top choice on most of the mock draft sites. If he’d been able to play last season no doubt he would have been the top pick over DeAndre Ayton of Arizona.
MJP now measures 6 feet 11
inches and 211 pounds comparable to Kevin Durant when he first arrived in the
NBA. I’m not saying he’s the second
coming his measurements are similar. His
back and the resulting surgery cast a shadow over him in the eyes of many, but
I say nonsense. If he’s cleared
medically to play he’s ready for the rigors of the NBA. MJP goes to the Bulls, Cavs or Knicks, I
don’t believe he falls any further than the 9th pick.
Come fly with me
NFL teams fly to the opposition city usually Friday before a scheduled Sunday game. Major league baseball teams often arrived the night before a game however teams are usually in a city for three to four days. An NBA team could play in Dallas one evening and the next night in San Antonio. Naturally this great amount of travel causes weariness and jet lag with players often moving through three-time zones. The early days of the NBA witnessed much smaller travel numbers with most of the teams located on the east coach teams in the 1940’s it was via train and later flew commercial airlines.
NFL teams fly to the opposition city usually Friday before a scheduled Sunday game. Major league baseball teams often arrived the night before a game however teams are usually in a city for three to four days. An NBA team could play in Dallas one evening and the next night in San Antonio. Naturally this great amount of travel causes weariness and jet lag with players often moving through three-time zones. The early days of the NBA witnessed much smaller travel numbers with most of the teams located on the east coach teams in the 1940’s it was via train and later flew commercial airlines.
As the league and especially
players grew the travel issue demanded charter flights for teams. Teams had a head coach and that was it, today
NBA teams can have 4-6 coaches. This change
to charters allowed for more spacious accommodations for the growing number of
7-foot players. The Pistons flew to out
of town games in “Roundball One” a
modified MD-83. 2016 was the last season
for the aircraft the Pistons now travel charter as well. The Mavs might be the only team owners flying
their own aircraft currently, they have a Boeing 757 thanks to owner Mark
Cuban.
Big men still
apply
The June 16 edition of NBADraft.net contains interesting numbers. They list the first six picks height, 7 feet, 6 feet 11 inches, 6 feet 2 inches, 6 feet 11 inches, 6 feet 6 inches and 7 feet. Apart from two all could all be considered centers, not in the sense of a Kareem or Wilt. These big men have range in some instances out to the 3-point line. Don’t allow this talk of small ball to fool you there remains a requirement for a quality big man in the game. It’s likely several in this number might wind up playing power forward in the NBA of today, 10-15 years ago they all would be centers. The advent of small ball has impacted play for centers, Bill Walton coined a phrase Throw it down Big Man.
The June 16 edition of NBADraft.net contains interesting numbers. They list the first six picks height, 7 feet, 6 feet 11 inches, 6 feet 2 inches, 6 feet 11 inches, 6 feet 6 inches and 7 feet. Apart from two all could all be considered centers, not in the sense of a Kareem or Wilt. These big men have range in some instances out to the 3-point line. Don’t allow this talk of small ball to fool you there remains a requirement for a quality big man in the game. It’s likely several in this number might wind up playing power forward in the NBA of today, 10-15 years ago they all would be centers. The advent of small ball has impacted play for centers, Bill Walton coined a phrase Throw it down Big Man.
Once the ball was passed
into the middle this former center wanted a dunk, nowadays the ball might go
into the middle but its just as likely to be passed out to a Steph Curry taking
a shoot from the 3-point line. Despite
the evolution of the game there remains a requirement for a quality big man, do
we have one or more in this draft? We
have the developing talent of Joel Embiid but he’s not the only big man. We have DeMarcus Cousins, Anthony Davis and
DeAndre Jordan along with Andrew Drummond.
Big men still exist I the game however the low post game no longer
exists as it once did.
Missed this one
I didn’t consider this possibility, LeBron James would not sign with the Lakers without assistance in mind. In this instance the assist might come in the form of his friend Chris Paul. I hadn’t considered that Paul will also become a free-agent July 1, this scenario could very easily occur. The Lakers with plenty of cap space sign both LeBron James and Chris Paul. Lonzo Ball is traded, and LaVar Ball has a meltdown, he deems the Lakers the worst franchise in the NBA. Will this play out as laid out, I don’t know pure speculation on my report.
Missed this one
I didn’t consider this possibility, LeBron James would not sign with the Lakers without assistance in mind. In this instance the assist might come in the form of his friend Chris Paul. I hadn’t considered that Paul will also become a free-agent July 1, this scenario could very easily occur. The Lakers with plenty of cap space sign both LeBron James and Chris Paul. Lonzo Ball is traded, and LaVar Ball has a meltdown, he deems the Lakers the worst franchise in the NBA. Will this play out as laid out, I don’t know pure speculation on my report.
