Basketball from a fan perspective
Published Monday, Wednesday,
Friday, and Sunday
Laker
for life
I’m not going to do the
$$$ because as I’ve often stated professional athletes no matter the sport or
way overpaid. Despite me being
double-minded I love some NFL Chiefs football, Mizzou, and Laker
basketball. In this instance we are
discussing Laker basketball, back to the subject at hand, LeBron James will
retire a Laker. More than likely that
will be the case for Anthony Davis too, just in case you didn’t receive the word
this is news from Wednesday and Thursday.
LeBron signed a two-year extension to his present contract; AD signed one
of 5-years.
With that out of the way what about the return of a former Laker i.e. Pau Gasol? Laker Nation what do you think, would you be okay with 40-year old Gasol rejoining the Lakers? In this instance he returns as the backup center to brother Marc. Brother could serve a valued role, always a skilled passer he certainly helps in that area, not playing major minutes might provide Pau an opportunity to display his scoring ability. We realize the NBA is a business and should be viewed in that manner, despite this observation it's my belief Pau departed the Lakers on less than ideal conditions.
A
quality win
We who follow the Mizzou basketball program had no idea what to expect of this Mizzou team, sure they won their first game versus Oral Roberts, but we expected as much. They return a veteran team to Mizzou Arena, so expectations for the 2020-21 season were cautiously exciting. Oregon would be a totally different matter; Mizzou was originally scheduled to play Boston College on Wednesday evening, but the game was cancelled. Mizzou was the culprit having pulled out of the Mohegan Sun Tournament unsure of who would be playing besides Boston College.
As for Oregon they were ranked number 21 in the nation but again so early in the season…. we really didn’t know what to expect of Oregon either. Mizzou won 83-75, they played tough hard-nosed defense and with balanced team scoring beat a competitive Oregon team. Oregon will be seen in the spring at the NCAA Tournament hopefully the Mizzou Tigers will make an appearance as well. What might appear an excuse but here goes, Cuonzo Martin says key Tiger players have missed 134 games in his first three seasons in Columbia.
He’s
number one
We saw an ESPN interview
with Anthony Edwards prior to the draft.
Among the questions asked of him how important he believed it was to be
the top pick in the 2020 NBA Draft. He
considered it significant, but it can only be from a prestige standpoint. As you are aware, he was chosen number one by
the Wolves, by the way several number one’s have had less than stellar NBA
careers, those suffering injury are excluded from this account. Elvin Hayes, Lew Alcindor, and Bob Lanier
experienced NBA (and college careers) which led to honors in both Halls of
Fame.
In 1972 the Blazers
chose LaRue Martin whose career off the court was certainly more successful
than in the NBA. In 1977 center Kent
Benson from Indiana was picked number one by the Bucks and went on to less than
star-studded NBA career. Pervis “Never
Nervous” Ellison had an outstanding collegiate career at Louisville. Drafted by the Kings in 1989 he never lived
up to the projections many believed, his 11-year career turned out to be rather
unexciting.
In 1998 the Clippers
drafted Michael Olowokandi a.k.a. The Kandi Man. Near the end of his basketball career it was
injuries, early on it was his head, you might believe receiving coaching
from Kareem Abdul Jabbar important. The
Kandi Man said at one point, “I’ve learned all I can” look up his
career stats and compare them to Kareem.
In 2013 Anthony Bennett was a man of mystery, many believed he could
play when the Cavs drafted him number one.
It turns out he was not ready to play at the NBA level, there you have
it just a few top picks who turned to have less than impressive NBA
careers. Is it important to be drafted
number one, only for one’s ego?
We
know the plight of the Knicks
It seems the Knicks have
been stumbling and bumbling (wording courtesy of Walt Frazier)
for several years. Poor draft picks,
poor trades, no free agents headed their way and head coaching hired then gone. A new regime is now in place, given time they
may be able to rectify many of the past misdeeds. This is where the account turns to the media
more specifically one Stephen A. Smith. Remember
2015 when Smith went berserk with the Kristaps Porzingis pick, I do, and it’s
provided below.
Well he’s done it again;
I think the guy needs to be nominated for an Academy Award. Check out Smith’s take on the Knicks
selection of Obi Topping, it should be of note Topping a NYC guy wants the
Knicks. To be fair Porzingis since
traded to the Mavs has not played at the level of his rookie year, injuries
have curtailed his game significantly.
The point Smith has no clue who can play versus who can’t, he knows no
more about analyzing talent than us. As
for Topping I’m unsure if it’s the place he was drafted or Smith’s judgement of
his potential, in any event Smith should leave scouting to those who are paid
for it.
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