Basketball from a fan’s perspective

A block party   

We often don’t provide a great deal of coverage of defense in Words eye view; that changes now based on the result Sunday evening, protecting the basket was on display in the Lakers-Piston game.  The Lakers lead the NBA in blocked shots with 7.4 a game and Sunday night they provided evidence why.  The Lakers recorded 20 blocked shots in their 106-99 victory over the Pistons. 

Anthony Davis led the way in blocks with 8, JaVale McGee had 6.  Reserve Dwight Howard registered 5 followed by Avery Bradley with one. The Raptors were the last team in 2001 to total 20 or more blocks in a game, as for the Lakers their mark was one short of their 1998 team record.  AD also managed to add 24 points and 11 rebounds.  LeBron came up with another triple double 21 points, 14 rebounds and 11 assists. 

What Ballmer wants, Ballmer eventually acquires
This is an addendum to one written earlier.  I decided to check on one of the statements of owner Steve Ballmer made in the recent past.  “When I bought the team, I thought it was great we didn’t need to build an arena,” Ballmer told The Times. “But as we looked forward, we were at some disadvantages in Staples Center.  The Inglewood arena, he added, “is a way for us to define our own identity. … People, I think, will say, we play in the Lakers’ building. We’d like to play in the Clippers’ building. That’s what we’re working on.” *.  As you can see by the Ballmer statement, he wants the Clippers to establish a separate identity from that of the Lakers. 

As a long-time Laker fan, I question whether this will ever occur, the Clippers have called Los Angeles home since moving from San Diego in 1984.  You ask a New Yorker his favorite baseball or football team several will say Yankees while others might say Mets.  As for football it’s a battle between Giants and Jets fans.  You might have read the past comment from rapper turned actor and long-time Laker fan Ice Cube.  “The Clippers don’t have a chance to take the city. I’ve been saying this since ‘84. They need to just go, and I think Seattle really loves basketball... We have too many teams. That’s how I feel, no disrespect.”

*Los Angeles Times

https://arenadigest.com/2019/07/26/new-l-a-clippers-arena-plans-unveiled/

Chris Paul is a talent

With the death of David Stern several (including me) mentioned him voiding the Chris Paul trade.  If we return to 2011 consider this fact the NBA ran the New Orleans franchise while awaiting a buyer.  The Hornets (Pelicans) traded Paul to the Lakers on December 8, Stern acting as “owner” voided the trade stating in the best interest of the franchise Paul should remain in New Orleans.  On December 12 Paul was traded to the Clippers, since that time it was the Rockets and now the Thunder. 

As a Laker fan I was hot, I thought it was ridiculous for the commissioner to intervene in the trade.  Since then I’ve mellowed and consider this one fact, Paul’s had difficulty remaining on the court.  He’s only had one season since the trade he’s managed to play 82 games.  Would he remain healthy enough to keep the Lakers from “driving off the cliff?”  We cannot answer that question however my anger has lessened toward Stern over the years.  Several Laker fans still hold a grudge against the former commissioner, as for me it's not forgotten but it's been forgiven.   

Thanks to television (and ESPN) 

We’ve had the ability to witness a few talented players while still in high school.  This is discounting the McDonald’s and Jordan Classic games; the reference is real game action from a high school.  The most recent example of this might be Zion Williamson, a guy like me sitting in Kansas City saw him play a year prior to sporting a Duke jersey and two years prior to New Orleans.  Thanks to ESPN we witnessed play he was enrolled at Spartanburg Day School in South Carolina. 

We turned on our television and changed the channel to ESPN earlier and saw a young LeBron James play for St. Vincent-St. Mary’s High School in Akron (OH).  There are others who might have been overlooked, those are the first two that come to mind when compiling this account.  The ESPN schedule is probably not complete as this is written, besides the fact Emoni Bates is only a high school sophomore.  Bates from Ypsilanti Michigan is projected to be the top draft pick in 2022. 

By that time, it’s believed the NBA will have lifted its restriction on high school entry.  Once upon a time practically every athlete attended college four years, we had no opportunity to see a youthful Wilt Chamberlain or Michael Jordan.  Television existed then however the three broadcast networks probably had no desire to telecast high school basketball.  Even Saturday afternoons saw college basketball the top option.