Basketball from a fan’s perspective

They did it

Patrick Ewing did it, so did Fred Hoiberg and Penny Hardaway, Chris Mullin also returned for a period.  There are others those come to mine first, they are now joined by Juwan Howard.  Ewing is still on the job while Hoiberg and Mullin are no longer at Iowa State and St. John’s respectively.  Juwan Howard former Michigan player has been hired as head coach at the University of Michigan.  Howard was a member of the Fab Five and had an extensive NBA career, he’s been an assistant coach with the NBA Heat since 2013. 

It’s spelled d y s f u n c t i o n a l
Allow me to state up front I had concerns regarding Rob Pelinka, my uneasiness was his lack of experience as a GM.  I still have those concerns now that it appears, he’s one of the deciders.  On Monday Magic Johnson tossed several “hand grenades” in the direction of the Lakers organization, the resulting explosions have been devastating.  According to Merriam-Webster the term dysfunctional has several definitions just a few, “not functioning properly, marked by impaired or abnormal functioning.” 

There are a few more definitions but I’m sure you get the direction of this rant.  I believe the word might provide us a photo of the Lakers front office according to Magic Johnson.  Words are power, if I made statements like Magic few are likely to pay attention.  The first response, “He’s just a fan” (which is true) on the other hand people listen to Magic.  I’m not going to attempt to get inside Magic’s head let’s just say as a Laker fan and especially of Magic I’m disappointed.  Can the “sinking” ship be saved, of course it can however the damage sustained will be long lasting in my opinion. 

Bits n Pieces
I didn’t realize until the evening of the draft lottery the process was changed.  The bottom three teams all had a 14% chance to acquire the number one pick in June.  The NBA probably hopes this change will curtail talk of NBA teams tanking; on the other hand, we can be assured some other conspiracy is being contemplated as this report is being completed.  

We discussed the 2019 NBA All-Rookie first team and its 1985 comparison.  A fan reminded us 3 of the 5 in that 1985 class are in the Naismith Hall of Fame.  They are Michael Jordan, Hakeem Olajuwon and Charles Barkley, that’s quite noteworthy.  It’s early but do we have potential HOF candidates with these 2019 rookies?

Did they know something I didn’t?  Remember me wanting to draft Oregon center Bol Bol for the Lakers?  Although he was rehabbing from injury the entire season the latest is not good news.  Last season he checked in at 234 pounds, it is being reported he’s at 208 now.  Taken into consideration he’s 7-2 that’s a worry, too little weight on such a tall frame.     

I missed the McDonald’s All-America game, if you saw the game you might be aware of this bit of information.  In the game 6-foot 9-inch Precious Achiuwa was matched against 7-foot James Wiseman, Achiuwa bested Wiseman pointwise during the game.  All that’s in the rear-view mirror now, with the commitment of Achiuwa the two will now become teammates at Memphis.  Now if coach Penny can blend the two and the balance of the roster into a cohesive unit. 

Several times we mentioned the Warriors moving to a new home next season.  Oracle’s been the arena with the longest tenure, check below and you will discover the Warriors have played in several arenas in the bay area plus Southern California in the ‘70’s.      

Cow Palace (1962-1964, 1966-1971)
Civic Auditorium (1964-1966)
USF War Memorial Gymnasium (1964-1966)
San Diego Sports Arena (1971-1972-six games)
San Jose Arena (1966-1997)
Oracle (1966-1967, 1971-present)