Basketball from a fan perspective

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It’s been confirmed---The Lakers will acquire point guard Dennis Schroder from the Thunder.  It’s being reported Danny Green and the Lakers 28^th point in the 2020 draft are the components of this trade.  The Lakers have acquired the speedy point guard to play a key role in defending the 2020 NBA Championship.  A few fans applauding the move mentioned their hope Rajon Rondo remains with the team and so do I.  There are several pluses in my view the acquisition of Schroder might be an upgrade regardless of Rondo’s decision.

We witnessed “Playoff Rondo” during the playoffs and this fact, the Lakers surely would not have won it all without his valuable play.  Rondo is a free agent, and he might leave if not compensated at the level he believes.  As for the differences Schroder is a much better shooter than Rondo, in addition he’s only 27-years old versus 35-year old Rondo.  It is too early to decide the role Schroder plays however Green was a starter, we guess he replaces him in the lineup although that’s not set in stone.  I really like this move for several reasons, chief being the Lakers have no plan to sit back and rest on their championship laurels. 

There are other moves planned by the front office we must wait and see how they develop.  As for this trade as a Laker fan I appreciate the role Green played in the team winning their first championship since 2010.  As for the draft on Wednesday any player chosen at 28 would not play major minutes for this team.  It remains possible for the Lakers to swing a deal in the second round although it is not critical, there remain on the roster youngsters Talen Horton-Tucker (age 19), Devontae Cacok (age 24) and Kostas Antetokounmpo (age 22).  The trio is yet to prove they are NBA ready however their youth is just as much a key to the future of the Lakers as Schroder and other possible additions.   

He’s the best yet since…you know who---Chris Livingston is entering his junior year at Western Reserve Academy in Hudson Ohio.  The city is located about 15 miles from his birthplace Akron, this 5-star prospect is considered the best prospect since you know who came on the scene from that city.  As a sophomore the 6-foot 6-inch Livingston averaged nearly 33 points and 12 rebounds a game, he’s rated the number three prospect in the Class of 2022 and a MaxPreps All American.  South Carolina, Ohio State and Florida are among the contenders for his services, there are five schools in total with offers and his junior season could see the number increase significantly.

“Were number one” ---We often hear that chant from college arenas across the nation.  How about the gigantic task of Matt Norlander cbssports.com?  Norlander decided to rank all 357 Division I basketball programs across the nation.  I frantically searched for my Mizzou Tigers on Norlanders list to determine what he thought of the 2020-21 program.  Well Mizzou is not number one on his list, but they are not 357 either. 

Norlander believes as I do with a veteran presence on the Mizzou roster, they should be improved over last season, but how much better?  Norlander placed them at 50 which is neither good nor bad, allow for a brief explanation.  At the end of the season the NCAA Committee invites 64 teams to the tournament, so it would appear Norlander believes Mizzou is possibly good enough to earn a berth that’s the good.  The bad, a high tournament seed might find them matched against a Gonzaga or Villanova early.

The asterisk is on you---Years later the always cerebral Phil Jackson claims it was all a joke.  He’d gone on record indicating the Spurs should have an asterisk next to their 1999 NBA Championship.  Due to a lockout the NBA season did not begin play until early February 1999; teams would play 50 games that season.  The 2019-20 season was played in two parts beginning in October 2019 and running to a March 2020 date when the pandemic struck in full force.  Once teams began play again in late July most concluded with either 72 or 73 games played prior to the playoffs. 

The 2020 playoffs were no different than any of the past, teams were required to play 4 rounds to determine a champion.  With all teams remaining in Orlando playing in The Bubble there were aspects which made these playoffs more competitive.  Chief among the positives no travel, we heard in the past of the travel factor and accompanying fatigue sometimes impacting play, we listen to none of that.  If the Heat, Celtics, Clippers or Rockets had emerged champion this account would be written no differently.  This next statement was made within a day or so of the Lakers win, we have no method to go back and change history.  As for the 1999 Spurs they were NBA Champions the same for the 2020 Lakers…sorry if you have an issue with this opinion.