Basketball from a fan perspective

“Timing is everything”

You might have heard the adage above, that might be the case for Words eye view.  You may have read in yesterday’s edition a look at Mavs guard Luka Doncic.  The timing could not have been better, on Saturday Doncic had in our estimation one of the best games in the NBA re-start.  The second-year man led the way in a double OT victory over the Bucks 136-132.  Doncic filled up the box score with his 36 points, 14 rebounds and 19 assists.  If you did not have an opportunity to witness the game this was not a case of Doncic just chunking up shots. 

He was 50% from the floor, 33% from the 3-point line and 90% from the free-throw line, that my friends certainly provides proof of Doncic’s outstanding game.  We might hesitate to consider him superstar because as mentioned this is only year two.  Might we just state he is on the road to that level of play.  What does the competition think this from Giannis Antekonopumo, “One of the most talented guys I’ve played against.”  Mavs Coach Rick Carlisle takes it one step further, “Doncic has the court vision of Larry Bird.”  Carlisle should know he was a teammate of Bird from 1984-1987 and had plenty of opportunity to witness Bird in action.  

He will do what serves him best

Aminu Mohammed is a Rivals 5-star prospect in the Class of 2021, Mohammed’s a 6-foot 4-inch 175-pound shooting guard out of Springfield Missouri.  Columbia is a little more than a 2-hour drive northeast from Springfield, in Columbia is the University of Missouri or Mizzou.  As this is written the list fails to indicate if one school is rated higher than another in Mohammed’s eyes.  He could easily remain at home; his high school Greenwood Laboratory Academy is located on the campus of Missouri State University.  The Bears are members of the Missouri Valley Conference a Division I school, Mizzou faces competition from his hometown.    

This next statement we could say might apply wherever he chose to attend school but let us do Mizzou for now.  There are occasions a program has one or two athletes who become catalyst in turning a program from run of the mill to exceptional.  That might have been the belief when Michael Porter Jr. first arrived at Mizzou, of course an injury prevented him from displaying the talent many believed he had.  As for Mohammed I have never witnessed his play however if he is good as advertised, he could just be that athlete.  In the end Mohammed will do what serves him best we can rest assured of that fact. 

New York City basketball

The city has no monopoly on basketball talent, despite this fact over time several of the best first honed their skills in one of the boroughs or the immediate surrounding area.  How far back in time do we travel, let us begin in 1950 and move forward.  Several names mentioned we must consult the history books having little opportunity to witness their play.  Keep in mind this is high school only, we omit college and any professional career.

*Lew Alcindor (Kareem Abdul Jabbar) Power Memorial 1961-1965

*Kenny Anderson Archbishop Molloy 1985-1989

*Connie Hawkins Boys HS 1956-1960

*Felipe Lopez Rice HS 1990-1994

*Stephon Marbury Lincoln HS 1991-1995

*Chris Mullen Power Memorial & Xaverian 1978-1982

*Tiny Archibald DeWitt Clinton HS 1962-1966

*Roger Brown George Wingate HS 1956-1960

*Bernard King Fort Hamilton HS 1970-1974

*Billy Cunningham Erasmus Hall 1957-1961

As with any list there are always missing names, several outstanding high school athletes we could include in the list.  Just a few we might mention Sebastian Telfair, Ron Artest, Walter Berry and Lloyd B. Free outstanding high school talent who just missed making the cut on my list.

We are in the now

The season remains unclear for the Lakers but a brief look into the future.  We cannot factor in certain aspects; the NBA Draft is yet to be held.  Free agency also might impact the team, so we are in the now, that is our starting point.  Can they play, we speak of Giannis’s younger brother Kostas Antetokounmpo.  He is nearly the same height of his brother (6-10) however the skill set is still under development, at this point his future is an unknown.  Next up is Devontae Cacok, he is listed as a 6-foot 8-inch 240-pound center. 

At the collegiate level Cacok was a rebounding phenom however there are serious doubts he remains a center in the NBA.  We end this assessment with a look at Talen Horton-Tucker a 6-foot 4-inch 235-pound shooting guard late of Iowa State.  The Lakers are high on his ability, with little playing time available at Staples he is spent the greater portion of the season with the teams G-League affiliate.  We do not know if all three eventually earn major minutes in the future, this we know it will take more than three athletes to champion a winning team.