Basketball from a fan perspective

Published Monday, Wednesday, Friday, and Sunday

Gonzaga wins

It’s somewhat unusual for highly ranked teams to meet this early in the season.  Gonzaga was ranked number one while Kansas was number six, a fan we believe of Kansas Nation had difficulty figuring out how Gonzaga was rated so highly.  At the time basketball ceased play in March 2020 Kansas was ranked number one in the nation, we assume this fan didn’t believe Gonzaga deserved its ranking.  We are unsure if this fan had an opportunity to see the game, on the other hand perhaps he might not admit he watched it.  The final score read Gonzaga 102 Kansas 90.   

NCAA Bubble

This college basketball season will be like no other in history except maybe during World War II.  Past accounts indicate play continued during wartime however large numbers of athletes were serving in the military which certainly must have impacted play to a degree.  This time rather than war it’s COVID-19 which is forcing the game into potentially strange waters.  As this was being compiled the Ivy League announced it was cancelling winter sports which includes basketball. 

Unlike the NBA the college game will not be played in a bubble, arenas will not be filled however fans will be present.  What occurs should a player test positive; games would be forfeited and a 1^st place team with no ability to practice might find itself sliding to 3^rd or 4^th place depending on forced lockdown and the schedule.  All this is speculation at this point, but we can look at college football and note several games were cancelled due to the pandemic. 

We shall see how this plays out, this is likely to occur, the NCAA is not going to cancel the tournament two seasons in a row.  As this account was being completed word came the NCAA was exploring the City of Indianapolis serving as host for the tournament.  Nothing is finalized as this is written however it makes sense considering the success the NBA experienced.  These are young men hopefully they realize the importance of wearing mask, socially distancing themselves and other precautions in this pandemic era. 

Who are they??

We are surprised, we no longer know the NBA Thunder Sam Presti has blown this team up.  The moves covered might not be in order but are covered here.  Chris Paul and his huge contract was traded to the Suns, two of the players received in trade have moved on to other teams.  Next up Dennis Schroder was traded to the Lakers, remember he was runner up in Sixth Man of the Year voting.  Danilo Gallinari left in free agency and later the Pelicans obtained Steven Adams in a trade.  There is other player movement not covered in this assessment, but it’s hoped you get the point.  

The names taking airline flights out of OKC comprised the bulk of scoring (and defense for that matter) for the Thunder.  The front office intends a complete rebuild of the team with the 100 draft picks they have.  Just kidding folks, they don’t have that many picks, but they certainly have a significant number, a number I cannot provide without research.  There is a good and bad in the 21^st Century NBA, it’s my belief attracting quality free agents might be more important than draft picks.  The reason is clear, drafted players no matter how good there is a period of adjustment required.  The Thunder won 44 games this past season, they are unlikely to approach that number in the 2020-21 season.  Fans in Thunder Nation will certainly require a program to identify new players.     

The grade

Almost any time a trade or draft occurs various websites will award a grade; the trade of Danny Green for Dennis Schroder was probably based on Rajon Rondo leaving in free agency.  It’s likely the Lakers desire to re-sign the veteran point guard although this is probably going to be a difficult task.  This Laker expressed his belief the trade was favorable to the team despite the hint that Rajon Rondo might leave in free agency (which he did).  Are you curious how various sites rate the Dennis Schroder-Danny Green trade, I sure am?  Below are just a few sites we located for your viewing. 

clutchPoints.com – A-

si.com/nba – B

espn.com/nba – C+

laker-lakerblogspot.com – B

reddit.com - C

Numbers are key to this analysis so we shall attempt an assessment, for the most part defense is somewhat difficult to discern.  Player to player we are even, Rondo is no better than Schroder and vice versa.  Intangibles goes to Rondo, his ability to see the entire floor as a pure point guard.  Schroder is more a combo guard although he certainly has point guard skills.  Along with others this writer applauded “Playoff Rondo”, it was stated the Lakers might have come up short if not for the contribution of the veteran point.   

That is the problem, Rondo’s play during the season was only average.  Part of that was due to the veteran point guard suffering injury however the same cannot be said for Schroder.  The record indicates reserve Schroder played in 65 games for the Thunder while reserve Rondo saw action in 48.  We mentioned Rondo’s sharp 3-point shooting in the playoffs, Schroder shot nearly the same number over the course of a regular season.  This comparison is made regarding the two-point guards, Danny Green was left out of the equation because he is a shooting guard/small forward.  So, there you have the assessment of Larry Laker.