BASKETBALL FROM A FANS PERSPECTIVE

The return 
Kristaps Porzingis a.k.a. The Unicorn is on his way back, he’s working out with no anticipated return date back to the court.  I watched the Knicks Monday night on NBA TV and Porzingis   missing in action was quite apparent.  If you remember the youngster went down with a torn ACL last February, he would miss the balance of the season.  There was a time in sport this injury would have been career ending, advances in medical science has seen several athletes return to success from this type of devastating injury. 

Porzingis is 23-years old certainly young enough to re-gain his health, the 2017-18 season saw his number on the rise again.  It’s no telling what he might have accomplished if he’d been able to finish the season.  I’m sure this next statement will cause some to winch, I believe Porzingis was on the road to NBA superstardom.  Phil Jackson certainly had a mixed record in leading the Knicks front-office, we can point to little success on the court with one exception.  Jackson will forever be linked to the 7-foot 3-inch power forward, PJ was primarily responsible for the Knicks drafting the Latvian youngster.   

 One game 
We realize Summer League play is totally different from exhibition or regular season, we   witnessed the Suns DeAndre Ayton in action during the summer.  Summer basketball we see mostly rookies and a few second-year players.  Monday night versus the Warriors we saw Ayton matched against a team with a veteran presence.  Sure, it was an exhibition game several key Warrior veterans were missing, with the season less than a week away no need for possible injury to a few players. 

This is my takeaway from the game, the 7-foot Ayton didn’t need to dominate the ball, he scored but 18 points.  The noteworthy part he appears to play an all-around game, skillfully passing the ball, rebounding and playing defense.  Sixer Joel Embiid must feel threatened, I ask the question because I’m unsure who started the twitter war with Ayton and what is the origin.  I hope the first matchup between Embiid and Ayton is available, it might be considered MUST TV.  We held a discussion regarding the best centers in today’s NBA it just might be possible we include Ayton’s name one day.  I certainly don’t wish to get ahead of myself our witnessing Monday evening was just an exhibition game.      

Tradition
I offer no proof just a belief, the programs at North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky and Kansas and others have been quite successful over the years.  Winning certainly is a key ingredient, the other issue is a connection.  Players from different eras unofficially aid the recruiting process, I listened to former Mizzou player Jarrett Sutton’s podcast the other day.  Sutton reported on coach Cuonzo Martin’s golf outing and gathering of former Mizzou players.  He indicated many of the former athletes dated back to the days of Norm Stewart.  Remember I’d mention previously I believed the coach was attempting to change the culture at Mizzou.  I offer this tidbit of information as proof of that change.   

Because he’s LeBron
I attempt to keep my cheering under control, there’s been a great deal of talk regarding LeBron’s impact this season on the Lakers.  I’m only expecting him to do what he do, I know that diction is not correct, but I hope you get my point.  There are all kinds of expectations regarding LeBron, chief among them is this theme. 

He’s got a record 8 or 9 straight NBA championship appearances, how is he going to react if he doesn’t make it in his first Laker season?  I believe he’ll be just fine, I don’t know the personality of LeBron as I did that of Kobe, but I believe my assessment to be correct.  The move to Los Angeles was made with more than basketball in mind.  I’m sure Laker and LeBron fans will not be pleased if he fails to win a championship but I’m okay.  I believe he will raise the level of play significantly over that of previous years.