Basketball from a fan perspective

This is funny

There are times athletes’ film very entertaining television commercials, this is one of those occasions.  See if you enjoy the humor as much as I do, you know what to do with the link.  This should not be considered an endorsement of the company nor have I been financially compensated in any manner.

 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HBkwlRu54E

Kawhi Leonard is no leader!!

Careful what you read into the headline; this is not intended to offer criticism of Kawhi Leonard just an explanation.  The Clippers surrendered a large lead on Friday losing to the Warriors 115-105, after the game Kawhi said “We have to change.”  I guess he is referring to the Clippers propensity to lose leads and playoff series.  Oh, the leadership thing…Kawhi is extremely talented but NO leader.  That is not a criticism of him there are several talented athletes we could name who also lack leadership skills. 

If we looked at the NFL specifically the quarterback position.  What makes Aaron Rogers and Patrick Mahomes outstanding, it’s their leadership skills.  Several talented quarterbacks play in the NFL but lack the skill of a leader.  As for the NBA the history is rich with leaders, you could compile your own list.  Finally, this is revisionist history however I believe if Kawhi signs with the Lakers he would be “hidden” so to speak.  With the Clippers he’s the most visible player on the roster many expect him to lead for that alone.  Patrick Beverly despite his bulldog approach to defense is not my view of a point guard.  His 10-point rating for defense loses in other areas, we subtract 3 points for his lack of offense and another 2 for leadership, did someone say leader?  With 10 being the top Beverly is a 5 when we begin our subtraction. 

Knick-Knack   

At the time Shaq played for the Lakers he probably first used the term knick-knack; he would often use the term to describe an injury he might have suffered.  Despite the attempt to downplay injuries their impact is a serious matter especially with teams attempting to contend.  In this early NBA season, there are two factors working against the Lakers to repeat as champions.  The first is age which is aimed specifically at LeBron, the second is injuries. 

As this is written AD (Anthony Davis) is out with a right adductor strain and KCP (Kentavious Caldwell-Pope) is missing with a left ankle sprain.  Although he wasn’t injured reserve Alex Caruso was sidelined with COVID-19 protocol, he’s since returned to the lineup.  The coach has been forced to go to his reserves starting Kyle Kuzma in one game and Markieff Morris in another.  As a member of Laker Nation hopefully these injuries will not affect the team significantly during the season.    

“March to the beat”

If you are a certain age you might be familiar with the quote, it goes, “March to the beat of your own drum.”  To me it’s always meant a person who establishes his or her own direction whether it involves life or something else.  We’ve never questioned the physical skill of Kyrie Irving on the basketball court, he is unequally talented however it’s the other things.  On Thursday evening we read a tweet from Nets coach Steve Nash, the tweet indicated “Kyrie would not be available for the game, but he had no idea where the player was.”

Later the Nets front office indicated “he was taking time for personal issues.”  At the time of the Nash hiring came a strange note from Kyrie, he simply stated “The Nets technically don’t have a coach.”  Kyrie later indicated he wasn’t criticizing Nash just offering an opinion.  Much earlier came a flat earth statement from the player, several years ago he created a bit of debate indicating “He believed the earth was flat.”  Again, clarification on the part was made by Kyrie.  Perhaps we should be accustomed to these statements by Kyrie, but they cause us to shake our heads with wonder at times.