Basketball from a fan’s perspective

"An unstoppable force meets an immovable object?”

It occurred Friday evening as the Lakers faced the Heat in American Airlines Arena.  The Lakers had a single road loss and technically it was in Staples.  Opening night, the Lakers were the visitors in their loss to the Clippers.  The Heat were undefeated at home, so that becomes the paradox.  In this instance the unstoppable force is the Lakers, the immovable object is the Heat, one team leave the arena with a loss. 

In this instance it was the Heat losing to the Lakers in a highly contested match 113-110.  The LeBron led team faced its most difficult road game to date.  AD had 33 points with 10 rebounds and 3 blocked shots, LeBron was 28 points 12 assists and 9 rebounds.  Kentavious Caldwell-Pope scored 15 points and Avery Bradley scored 10 off the bench.  Next Tuesday should provide another test as the Lakers face Giannis Antetokounmpo in Milwaukee. 

David Stern

The former NBA commissioner suffered a brain hemorrhage on Thursday.   Reports are the health crisis occurred while Stern was dining at a New York City restaurant, he was transported to a hospital where he immediately underwent surgery.  As this is reported there is no further update from the NBA office.  Stern became commissioner in 1984 and served in that role for 30 years.  He is generally given credit for much of the success enjoyed by the NBA. 

Is this a potential good hire?

Among the names mentioned to head the Knicks is Jeff Van Gundy.  No argument Van Gundy knows his basketball but is this a potential good hire?  Item 1.  Although certainly close to the game Van Gundy’s not coached in the NBA since 2007, that’s trike 1.  Item 2.  He walked away from the Knicks in the 2001-02 season after 14 games, the move was a surprise to management.  Would the Knicks be willing to hire him base on this?  Strike 2.  There is no strike 3 for this reason alone, although his salary is unknown (at least by this writer).  Van Gundy’s compensation is certainly far and above that of managing an NBA team. 

Never say never however in this instance let’s just say I’d be shocked if he took the job.  Also, in the mix as Knick coach is current Laker assistant Jason Kidd.  Kidd’s had two stops (Bucks & Nets) as a head coach.  Spurs assistant head coach Becky Hammond’s name has been mentioned however we remain skeptical how serious the Knicks might be hiring the first female head coach.  Finally, we hear the name Mark Jackson, Jackson’s been an ESPN/ABC broadcast analyst for several years.  He’s a former player and has served as a head coach in the past.  Mike Miller could make the case for him to have the interim tag removed from coach.   

They see this differently

I must admit I haven’t seen much college basketball to date.  One of the reasons is an issue raised earlier.  There are a group of good teams however in my estimation none appear outstanding. Don’t worry I’m prepared for the vitriol aimed at me from Kentucky, Kansas and North Carolina friends of the program.  We could even look back to last season when Virginia claimed the crown with only 3 losses all season. 

Remember the 2015 Kentucky team, they didn’t lose a game until the NCAA tournament and finished with a single loss.  The 1999 UConn Huskies lost but two games before claiming the championship.  Same for the 1992 UCLA Bruins who also lost but two games.  Much later you will read an account of NCAA champion teams with 5+ losses during the season.  That could be the case for the 2019-20 collegiate season.   

Could the NBA be the future?

There was twin NBA news about Mexico City Thursday evening.  The first, this city of 21 million plus souls will soon have a team in the G-League.  Commissioner Silver announced Capitanes an existing team in the Mexican pro league will be admitted for the 2020-21 season.  Thursday also saw the Detroit Pistons and Dallas Mavs battle one another in the Arena Ciudad De Mexico before 20,064 fans. 

Luka Doncic’s triple double (41-12-11) led the Mavs to a 122-111 victory over the Pistons.  The commissioner also indicated he ‘could see a day Mexico City could have an NBA team.’  He was quick to point out the NBA has no expansion plans for the foreseeable future.  Would the NBA entertain placing a franchise in Mexico prior to Seattle and maybe Kansas City?  That question remains that, just a question for now.