Basketball from a
fan’s perspective
Rivalries sometimes go back to school
This is funny, I forgot until audio surfaced during Game One caught the two of them on the sidelines. Warriors coach Steve Kerr was picked up talking to the Rockets James Harden.” These are the words, “I think Arizona is a better school than ASU.” Neither played at the same time however Kerr played at Arizona and much later Harden attended Arizona State University. Arizona and Arizona State Both compete against one another in the Pac-12 Conference.
He did it so quietly (and efficiently)
We knew ahead of his arrival in Toronto Kawhi Leonard was an NBA All-Pro. He provided us proof once more as he quietly almost silently helps lead his Raptors team to victory in Game 1. I’m not going to discount the effort of Pascal Siakam who scored 29 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. The battle of Cameroon was won by Siakam in this game, fellow countryman Joel Embiid came in second. The Raptors jumped out to a huge lead and my focus was on the 3-point bombs dropped by Siakam.
We knew ahead of his arrival in Toronto Kawhi Leonard was an NBA All-Pro. He provided us proof once more as he quietly almost silently helps lead his Raptors team to victory in Game 1. I’m not going to discount the effort of Pascal Siakam who scored 29 points and grabbed 7 rebounds. The battle of Cameroon was won by Siakam in this game, fellow countryman Joel Embiid came in second. The Raptors jumped out to a huge lead and my focus was on the 3-point bombs dropped by Siakam.
The game was moving at such a pace I didn’t
realize Leonard had scored 20+ points in the first half of the game and most
had gone unnoticed. He would go on to
score 45 points but with him it wasn’t just scoring, Leonard plays tough
hard-nosed defense evidenced by this game.
Leonard does damage to an opposing team so quietly it almost goes
unnoticed. No chest pounding, fist
pumping or any type of demonstration. He
just goes about destroying your team right in front of your eyes, broadcasters
often use the term “lunch pail guy”
meaning an athlete who comes to work every day and does all the things
necessary to win. I am anxiously waiting
for Game 2 action.
He knows
We heard a statement the morning after, “The world knows Russell Westbrook, fewer know Damian Lillard.” Although both play in smaller markets (Oklahoma City & Portland) the triple-doubles provide Westbrook an image Lillard fails to attain. Lillard minus the triple-doubles proves to be just as good as Westbrook but why the relative obscurity? Despite the smaller markets it might be the location of their college team. Westbrook arrived in the NBA from well-know basketball power UCLA.
We heard a statement the morning after, “The world knows Russell Westbrook, fewer know Damian Lillard.” Although both play in smaller markets (Oklahoma City & Portland) the triple-doubles provide Westbrook an image Lillard fails to attain. Lillard minus the triple-doubles proves to be just as good as Westbrook but why the relative obscurity? Despite the smaller markets it might be the location of their college team. Westbrook arrived in the NBA from well-know basketball power UCLA.
Westbrook was the 4th pick in the
first round by the Sonics in 2008, the franchise located to Oklahoma City for
his rookie year. As for Lillard it was
less well-known Weber State in Ogden Utah.
The Blazer point guard was also a lottery pick chosen as the 6th
pick in the first round of the 2012 draft.
Both have played in the NBA All-Star game; Westbrook has a league MVP,
but it was Lillard who was chosen Rookie of the Year. This is my belief; the more athletic
Westbrook probably gains more attention from fans than the “grounded” Lillard. Notice, nowhere did I state Westbrook was
better than Lillard, they are on the same plain.
“It must be the
shoes”
We are re-visiting a prior story, shoes. It’s being reported Lonzo Ball is likely to sign with Nike. The writer went on to point out “perhaps his ankle problems will be a thing of the past.” If we check Zion Williamson, we might state just wearing the Nike brand might not resolve all your ankle and knee issues. I solicited opinions and received input from several former active and past basketball players. Some points were valid however one view stuck with me. A respondent said, “Players today are playing basketball season end and season out.”
We are re-visiting a prior story, shoes. It’s being reported Lonzo Ball is likely to sign with Nike. The writer went on to point out “perhaps his ankle problems will be a thing of the past.” If we check Zion Williamson, we might state just wearing the Nike brand might not resolve all your ankle and knee issues. I solicited opinions and received input from several former active and past basketball players. Some points were valid however one view stuck with me. A respondent said, “Players today are playing basketball season end and season out.”
In other words, there is no off season, the
issue might be best stated as wear and tear on the body. This certainly is not intended to be the only
answer and the correct one. High school
football athletics experienced a rash of head injuries, concerns forced
manufacturers to re-design a safer and more effective helmet. Don’t get it wrong this is not to say
head-injuries have disappeared, they have been reduced. It was reported Nike conducted research to
determine why Zion Williamson’s shoe tore apart. Will this be a fix, only a band-aid if the
view expressed earlier is correct?
Basketball 12 months a year might be the issue. Mars Blackmon says in the Nike commercial “It must be the shoes”, perhaps that’s
not the total case?
Another name
You might remember I wrote the Lakers needed a big man. Veteran power forward/center Anthony Davis of the Pelicans might not be acquired in a trade so we must focus on the June draft. Charles Bassey of Western Kentucky was mentioned as a possibility, also Sekou Doumbouya from Guinea via the Euro League was another name.
While getting my haircut last week my barber suggested the Lakers needed to draft Bol Bol. The 7-foot 2 inch 235 Bol grew up in Olathe Kansas part of the Kansas City metro. An injury caused him to miss most Oregon’s games however his numbers while playing at Oregon were good, 21 points and nearly 10 rebounds a game. The upside, he’s certainly got more offensive game than his late dad Manute Bol. The downside, he’s extremely raw and must gain weight to play at the NBA level.
You might remember I wrote the Lakers needed a big man. Veteran power forward/center Anthony Davis of the Pelicans might not be acquired in a trade so we must focus on the June draft. Charles Bassey of Western Kentucky was mentioned as a possibility, also Sekou Doumbouya from Guinea via the Euro League was another name.
While getting my haircut last week my barber suggested the Lakers needed to draft Bol Bol. The 7-foot 2 inch 235 Bol grew up in Olathe Kansas part of the Kansas City metro. An injury caused him to miss most Oregon’s games however his numbers while playing at Oregon were good, 21 points and nearly 10 rebounds a game. The upside, he’s certainly got more offensive game than his late dad Manute Bol. The downside, he’s extremely raw and must gain weight to play at the NBA level.
