Basketball from a fan’s perspective

The best trade…

ESPN’s Adrian Wojnarowski said, “Maybe the best trade is the one not made.”  He went on to state simply giving up second round draft choices might not benefit in the end.  We can debate whether Woj is correct or not, but this is the news.  Mid-morning Ric Bucher of Fox Sports said, “Kyle Kuzma and Danny Green would be traded to the Knicks for Marcus Morris.  It turns out Bucher had the wrong NBA team it was the Clippers who obtained Morris. 

The Laker win on Tuesday evening resulted in one more win than last season.  This present team has now won more games than any Laker team in the last five seasons.  What this win total entails for the future remains an unknown however it is encouraging.  All sorts of proposed moves are envisioned by the media for the Lakers to improve this championship run.  Although this team might be deficient in an area many in the media are doing the same thing as us, speculating. 

They have no more insight into the thought process of Rob Pelinka and Frank Vogel than we do.  This season championship or bust will depend on the roster the Lakers have assembled to this point.  They did not make the trade many in the media speculated so be it, there might not be the requirement believed.  In closing I’m certainly not holding my breath, but Darren Collison remains out there, in addition Jamal Crawford as well.  If the Lakers can sign either there is no requirement to “give up a player.”  NOTE:  As this was being completed it’s been reported the Lakers will bring in JR Smith for a workout. 

Give him time

Tuesday evening may have been Zion Williamson’s worst night in the NBA to date.  If we simply look at the scoring totals, they indicate a slightly above average game.  Closer inspection indicates Zion shot 27% from the floor totaling 20 points along with 7 rebounds and 5 assists.  The box score indicates Zion registered four turnovers although it seemed there were more.

6-foot 11-inch Giannis Antetokounmpo was often matched up against the 6-foot 6-inch Zion which certainly caused problems for the youngster.  Truth is the length of the Bucks period bothered Zion, the 7-foot Lopez brothers and 6-foot 9-inch Erasin Iluasova.  Despite the length issue Giannis spoke highly of the rookie after the game.    

It’s not the same

Prior to placing words on the page, a degree of research was required on ACL injuries and Kristaps Porzingis.  If you are a certain age you remember once upon a time an ACL tear was career ending, players were forced into retirement.  In recent years several basketball players have undergone that type of surgery and thanks to medical advancements have been able to return successfully to the court.  Kobe Bryant returned but was never the player he was previously.  Part of his problem was experiencing the injury at such a late age in his career.  Just a few of the active players who tore an ACL and returned to play.  

Jabari Parker

Zach LaVine

Dante Exum

Spencer Dinwiddie

Ricky Rubio

Derrick Rose

The chief area requiring healing cannot be surgically repaired…the brain.  Face it there is an adjustment period after healing.  The player hesitates to make the cuts they once did for fear of another tear.  Although it was football and not ACL, I remember reading of Gayle Sayers great Bears running back.  After he returned to action a teammate pulled him aside and informed him, he was “tiptoeing” when approaching the offensive line rather than making the cuts required.  Given time Porzingis will return but don’t expect the same version many witnessed while a member of the Knicks. 

We cannot prepare for what we don’t know

I admit as part of Laker Nation I’m looking across Staples Center at the other tenant the Clippers.  The highly anticipated season expected by the Clippers has materialized.  This despite Kawhi Leonard and Paul George being in and out of the lineup for periods.  The Clippers have been the number 2 or 3 playoff seed all season long.  In addition to playing competitive basketball they have beaten my Lakers twice which is a concern.  We are not close to the playoffs, but we cannot prepare for what we don’t know.  The playoff run of the NFL Super Bowl Chiefs should be are a source to check out. 

The Baltimore Ravens appeared favorite to advance in the playoff scenario; Chiefs fans were concerned with facing them.  The Ravens suffered a playoff loss and the Chiefs didn’t have to meet them.  The rest of the story is history the Chiefs are 2020 Super Bowl Champions.  Unless positioning changes drastically between now and April my Lakers won’t face the Clippers early in the playoffs.  Who knows the Lakers could get knocked off (I hope not) or the Clippers might, thus neither team plays for the conference championship?  We cannot prepare for what we don’t know in some instances, we just don’t know.  We must compete based on who or what is in front of us.