Basketball from a fan perspective

Brick City

We knew early Klay Thompson would be missing in action for the season. Despite half of the Splash Brothers absent we expected improved play by the Warriors over last season.  After all they had holdovers Andrew Wiggins, Kelly Oubre Jr., and Draymond Green.  Those veterans plus a bench would take up some of the slack with the absence of Thompson.  Top draft pick James Wiseman could be introduced slowly to NBA play and have adequate time to adjust. 

Oh well sometimes the best laid plans of mice and men often don’t work out as planned.  As an example, Wiggins and Oubre Jr. must have received building permits, we say this based on the number of bricks produced thus far.  Both might have an issue standing on a pier and tossing a pebble into San Francisco Bay based on their shooting percentage.  Veteran Green injured is yet to make an appearance and then Marquese Chriss too was lost for the season with an ankle injury.  We are left with Steph Curry and James Wiseman and the other guys to try and correct this ship listing to the port side. 

Throwback

Sunday evening the Lakers were rocking the 1960 throwback jerseys, they faced the Wolves minus KAT.  Karl-Anthony Towns with a dislocated left wrist injury was forced to miss the game.  It probably wouldn’t have mattered as the Lakers won the game easily 127-91.  Kyle Kuzma replaced Anthony Davis who was out of the lineup and he certainly made up for AD who was missing due to a calf injury. 

Kuzma must have hit his first 4 shots all 3-point baskets, from there it was all downhill for the Wolves.  How bad was it you ask; the Lakers had a 22-point lead at the half and LeBron had only scored 7 points?  The second half of the game witnessed the Lakers letting up on the gas and coasting to the victory.  LeBron sat down shortly before the end of the 3^rd quarter and would not play the balance of the game. 

Kuzma led the way in this game however others contributed to the victory, especially Marc Gasol.  Cynics indicated the Lakers might suffer with rim protection with no Dwight Howard or JaVale McGee.  Gasol might have curtailed that talk with a solid game of 12 points, 7 rebounds and 8 assists from the center position.  Oh, Gasol who can’t jump 2 inches had 4 blocked shots.  The remainder of the season will not be as easy for the Lakers as we witnessed Sunday evening.  In addition, injuries, and the specter of COVID loom over the Lakers and the rest of the NBA. 

A bump in the road

The case for misleading numbers, after two games Wizards guard Russell Westbrook is averaging a triple double.  He’s at 18 points, 13 rebounds and 13.5 assists per game but that’s only a portion of the story.  Westbrook is shooting 36.6% from the field and 0.00 behind the 3-point line, he’s missed all 6 of his attempts.  He is now 32-years of age with 12-years of wear and tear on his body, he’s no longer that 25-year-old athlete who could leap out of the gym. 

It’s often been pointed out Father Time remains undefeated.  What’s that you say, “LeBron James is older and has more mileage on his legs and body than Westbrook” no argument from me with that statement.  The difference is LeBron’s game is not hard driving 100% of the time, don’t misunderstand the statement allow me to elaborate.  The game for LeBron to me appears steady and methodical, he’s not trying to go 500 mph which Westbrook still operates like that now. 

“The more things change the more they stay the same”

The time is short, in 6 months the NBA Draft will be upon us once again.  Checking our usual sources, we see little change, at the top of most mock drafts a significant concentration of college freshman.  At this point we have no idea how the 2020-21 college season turns out, yet NBA scouts contend these young men are “ready for the rigors of NBA play.”  Just a few years ago, there were claims the D-League (now G-League) would negate one and done youngsters, turns out this never came to fruition. 

Then it was said the NBA Players Association would vote in favor of allowing high school players in the draft again, at least through 2020 that’s yet to occur.  Just this past summer the G-League selected a few highly touted high school seniors, these youngsters would form an elite team and better prepare them for the NBA.  The elite team is so new it’s difficult to determine its future impact regarding the NBA Draft.  Where does that leave us at the end of the year, right back where we began?  The upcoming draft will be comprised of a significant number of one and done prospects.  Will the landscape regarding the draft ever change, we just don’t know at this time?