Basketball from a fan’s perspective

It was the location

This is pure speculation and no proof is offered, the untimely death of former Laker Kobe Bryant stunned the world especially the NBA.  As you might be aware the Tuesday Laker-Clippers game was postponed, it will be played later.  It’s my belief if the Lakers had been on the road and the Clippers at home the game would have still been postponed. 

Kobe spent all 20 years of his brilliant NBA as a member of the Lakers however he reigned over Los Angeles and Southern California sports.  The game could have been played although it clearly would have been difficult so soon after Sunday.  In connection with this story we read the NBA received a degree of criticism for playing games Sunday evening.  This member of Laker Nation finds no fault with the NBA regarding this matter.   

My hope

In life we often never receive our desires, sometimes they are too grandiose.  This desire is not beyond the realm of possibilities.  There’s a McDonald’s All-American basketball player from Lakewood in Los Angeles County.  The players name is Josh Christopher and he’s a 6-foot 4-inch shooting guard.  Rivals awards Christopher 5 stars and rates him the number 11 prospect in the nation in the Class of 2020. 

The youngster has several schools with offers on the table, one of those schools is Mizzou.  Two rare occurrences, an eclipse and Mizzou recruiting a 5-star prospect.  Well that’s not quite correct, Michael Porter Jr. did arrive at Mizzou although his time was brief.  Football is so complex you must have outstanding talent in several key positions, basketball is totally different at least at the collegiate level.  An outstanding prospect or two coming on board and quality reserves can lead to a successful season.   

The change 

“The new system will level the odds at the top of the NBA Draft Lottery so that the teams with the three worst regular-season records will each have a 14 percent chance of winning the lottery. ... The odds for the remaining participants in the 14-team lottery will be reduced gradually after the top three.” *  This change occurred in the 2019 NBA draft and will be the basis going forward.  As for our current time frame there are no pending changes planned

*nba.com-draft-lottery-explainer

An enigma  
Tuesday evening provided another example of why Mizzou basketball is an enigma to me.  On paper Georgia didn’t appear to be much better than Mizzou I thought.  They had the top mock draft pick in Anthony Edwards in their lineup however the balance of the Bulldogs appeared to be on the same level as Mizzou.  Once Mizzou fell 20 points behind in the first half I thought “Okay here we go again.” 

Cuonzo Martin must have done some serious $%&* in the locker room at half time.  In the second half Mizzou came roaring back led mostly by reserve guard Xavier Pinson.  Mizzou briefly took the lead only to have Georgia move ahead by a single point.  Once ahead Mizzou held on by their fingernails, a block by center Reed Nikko proved to be the key to the win.  Final score Mizzou 72 Georgia 69, Nikko had 13 points and 5 rebounds, he was one of four other players who scored in double figures.  Pinson would score 16 points after he was inserted into the game for Mizzou.   

Do we know

Every time LeBron James takes a seat on the Laker bench, he sits next to Boogie Cousins.  We almost forgot the Big Man was on the team, the torn ACL in his left knee sidelined him prior to the season.  Nothing is ever set in stone however we continue to read and hear reports Cousins will return before the end of the season.  If the 6-11 Cousins returns and can play effectively that can only enhance the Lakers strength.  The Lakers as structured have a tall team, they might have the tallest front line in the NBA with the addition of Cousins to the rotation.

6-10 Anthony Davis

6-10 Dwight Howard

6-11 Boogie Cousins

7-0 JaVale McGee

6-9 LeBron James

6-8 Kyle Kuzma

6-8 DeVontae Cacok