Basketball
from a fan’s perspective
Laker Nation can
only hope
The Lakers worked
out guards J.R. Smith and Dion Waiters intending to sign one. Both veterans have baggage in their past and
Laker Nation can only hope this move works out.
Thursday evening the team announced Waiters has been signed through the
end of the season. Now they have a
backup at the power forward position (Markieff Morris) and shooting guard. Hopefully LeBron and the gang had an enlightening
conversation with Waiters. They
explained the possibility of a championship and the fact he wasn’t added to the
team just because they “like” him. Is there a clause in his contract similar to Dwight Howard, you cut up you are history?
Is the time now?
Spike Lee’s problems
with James Dolan and Knicks management made its way to Charles
Oakley. You might remember the former
Knicks power forward Ohad his own run in with owner Dolan back in 2017, to take this one step further Oakley wants the NBA to force owner Dolan out. t’s been the
belief of many inside and outside the NBA the Knicks have been in a free fall
for years. The Knicks have not finished above .500 since the 2012-13 season, there have been only two other winning seasons since 2000-01.
Bad NBA ownership has
occurred on at least two occasions in the past.
Former Cavs owner Ted Stepien might have been the first instance, in his
case the NBA “suggested” it might be a good idea if he sold the team. One publication wrote a piece titled Stepien
“The worst owner in the NBA” little did the writer realize Stepien would
eventually have company. More recently
Commissioner Silver first suspended Clippers owner Donald Sterling and then
forced the sale of the franchise.
Is Dolan enough of
an embarrassment to the NBA to force a sale of the Knicks? On Wednesday evening several fans were
confronted by MSG security for chanting “Sell the team”, Knicks management
denies this incident occurred. This is a
follow up to the teenage son of a season ticket holder a few weeks back, he was
escorted out of MSG for the same chant. It
appears the time is now for action by the NBA, exactly what that entails are
questionable at this point.
Luka versus Zion
That’s the way ESPN advertised the game, we know games are
not mano-a-mano it remains a team game. The
game had a playoff atmosphere as the Mavs and Pelicans battled back and forth throughout
the evening. The game went into OT with
the Mavs prevailing 127-123, Luka and Zion played outstanding although early
Zion had some issues.
It appeared the height of Porzingis and Luka guarding him at
times unsettled the 6-foot 6-inch Zion.
In the end Luka’s triple double (30 pts, 17 rebs and 10 assists) were
key factors in the Mavs win. As for Zion
he was not the Pelicans top scorer, that was Brandon Ingram with 27 points and Lonzo
Ball scoring 25. Zion had 21 points
along with 6 rebounds and 50% from the floor.
The Pelicans might have a tough reminder of the season to earn a playoff
berth.
Bits n Pieces
Troy Daniels released by the Lakers is working on a deal with
the Nuggets. Although he played little, he
wore Purple and Gold and the hope is the best for him. No need to do this for Boogie Cousins, its
likely he comes back to the Lakers once he completes rehab.
No surprise here, Kansas beat TCU 75-66, Udoka Azubuike
played and after suffering an injury last week led the team to victory. The Kansas Big Man had 31 points 14 rebounds
and 5 blocked shots in the win. This is the
15th straight victory for the Jayhawks, perhaps they are peaking at
the right time of the season.
College coaches on the hot seat, at least one coach has
already been fired. Shaka Smart at Texas
and Mizzou’s Cuonzo Martin probably lead the way. There certainly are others but let’s check
these two first. Smart knows how to
coach but since his arrival in Austin the program’s never risen to the level
many expected. In Columbia, despite the
comments of KC media Martin appears to be safe for now. The 2020-21 season is
the breaking point, if Mizzou plays at this same level his future is uncertain
at the university.
