No Words eye view
The last edition of Words was published Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon my cable along with my internet crashed. A massive snowstorm was the issue, early Tuesday morning the power company was able to re-connect cable/internet in my neighborhood.
The last edition of Words was published Saturday morning, Saturday afternoon my cable along with my internet crashed. A massive snowstorm was the issue, early Tuesday morning the power company was able to re-connect cable/internet in my neighborhood.
I don’t hate Luke Walton
From all apparent indications Luke Walton is a good guy, former Laker player and now head coach. Despite these facts I believe it is time for him to be relieved of his duties, not after the season the action should occur immediately. It’s my belief he’s lost control of this team; the proof is the recent loss to the Knicks and the Sunday evening loss to the Cavs. You cannot beat the Warriors (which they did) and lose games to the two worst teams in the NBA. To be fair I believe LeBron was in the lineup at the time they beat the Warriors as for the Cavs they arrived in “friendly” Staples Center on a 12-game losing streak. I’m reminded once again my friend and fellow Laker fan’s assessment from last August.
From all apparent indications Luke Walton is a good guy, former Laker player and now head coach. Despite these facts I believe it is time for him to be relieved of his duties, not after the season the action should occur immediately. It’s my belief he’s lost control of this team; the proof is the recent loss to the Knicks and the Sunday evening loss to the Cavs. You cannot beat the Warriors (which they did) and lose games to the two worst teams in the NBA. To be fair I believe LeBron was in the lineup at the time they beat the Warriors as for the Cavs they arrived in “friendly” Staples Center on a 12-game losing streak. I’m reminded once again my friend and fellow Laker fan’s assessment from last August.
My friend informed me at the time he
didn’t believe Walton was the coach to turn this team into a champion even with
LeBron in the lineup. I’m not going to
do the math that’s up to you, the Lakers must really scramble over the last
half of the season to win 50 games and possibly earn a playoff spot. The Laker season so promising at kick off is
now being described in less optimistic tones by this fan. We are reading letters of complaint regarding
Magic Johnson and his apparent mis-managed of the front-office. For the immediate time-being he and Rob
Pelinka get a pass both have only been on the job less than a year. How long has Walton been at the helm of the
team? In closing “I don’t hate Luke Walton” he just might not be the NBA champion
coach this Laker team requires.
Two-part account
Part I Champaign Illinois and Lawrence Kansas are 433 road miles apart, despite the distance there was a highly unusual event impacting both schools. Rivals 5-star recruit Kofi Cockburn from Oak Hill Academy made a verbal commit to attend Illinois recently. The 6 foot 10-inch 280-pound center was being recruited by several major schools including Kansas. I’m the King of Speculation so here goes, Cockburn indicated his decision to attend Illinois was based on a relationship with the Illinois coaching staff…..really? How about the two school’s won loss record or maybe something else. As this is written Kansas is 12-2 and the number 7 team in the nation, Illinois is 4-12 and last place in the Big 10.
Part I Champaign Illinois and Lawrence Kansas are 433 road miles apart, despite the distance there was a highly unusual event impacting both schools. Rivals 5-star recruit Kofi Cockburn from Oak Hill Academy made a verbal commit to attend Illinois recently. The 6 foot 10-inch 280-pound center was being recruited by several major schools including Kansas. I’m the King of Speculation so here goes, Cockburn indicated his decision to attend Illinois was based on a relationship with the Illinois coaching staff…..really? How about the two school’s won loss record or maybe something else. As this is written Kansas is 12-2 and the number 7 team in the nation, Illinois is 4-12 and last place in the Big 10.
Part II We now focus on Kansas
and it’s “Invisible Man” Silvio De Sousa,
I’ve given him that title although enrolled on a basketball scholarship he’s
yet to appear on court this season. He’s
not injured however there is a “pay for play” issue hanging over his head. De Sousa one of several players and assistant
coaches implemented in the Adidas trial, this is not to point a finger at him
or the coach. Both testified they were
unaware of any payments made to deliver De Sousa to Kansas. The NCAA moving at its usual snail’s pace
indicated a judgement would be rendered after the 2018-19 season was
complete. Is it possible a potential
talent such as Cockburn and maybe others might avoid a commitment fearing sanctions
might be imposed on Kansas? We must wait
for an NCAA decision to determine if Kansas will be named.
The legend
No, this isn’t a reference to Michael Jordan, George Mikan, Magic or Kobe. This is Yao Ming, 7-foot 6-inch big man who arrived on our shores from China in 2002. He only played 9 years in the NBA how can he be considered a legend? Yao wasn’t the first Chinese player in the association what qualifies him to be considered a legend? Who knows, if injuries had not impacted his career, we’d be discussing him in the same manner as those above. Charles Barkley made a ridiculous bet with Kenny Smith on TNT, Barkely said, “If Yao Ming scores 19 points in his rookie year I’ll kiss your blank, blank, blank.”
No, this isn’t a reference to Michael Jordan, George Mikan, Magic or Kobe. This is Yao Ming, 7-foot 6-inch big man who arrived on our shores from China in 2002. He only played 9 years in the NBA how can he be considered a legend? Yao wasn’t the first Chinese player in the association what qualifies him to be considered a legend? Who knows, if injuries had not impacted his career, we’d be discussing him in the same manner as those above. Charles Barkley made a ridiculous bet with Kenny Smith on TNT, Barkely said, “If Yao Ming scores 19 points in his rookie year I’ll kiss your blank, blank, blank.”
Of course, the big man accomplished the
feat and Barkley had to pay the wager.
You see why I only listen to about half the things Barkley says on
TNT. Probably one of the funniest quotes
we heard was from Shaquille O’Neal. He
said, “There have been few players I had
to look up to, they say he was 7-6 I say he was like the store 7-11.” A small number of Chinese players have played
in the NBA over the years but to date none approaching the greatness of Yao
Ming. NOTE: The Lakers and Nets are headed to China in the fall, they
will play in Shanghai on October 10 and Shenzhen October 12. This continues the practice the NBA has
establish scheduling games in China every season.
