Basketball from a fan perspective

COVID impact

The Pelicans-Mavs, Celtics-Bulls games have been postponed on Monday due to COVID.  Over the weekend the NBA announced there would be no pause in play due to the pandemic.  The NBA schedule was built in two halves and maybe that was intentional realizing how COVID might impact play.  

Rim protection

The question is posed for you members of Laker Nation once again, are the Lakers lacking rim protection?  As this is written the question cannot easily be answered, you know me by now, I love to check stats.  Last season through games of 1/11/2019 the Lakers were averaging 6.3 blocked shots per game.  In 2020 to date the Lakers are down slightly over last season they are 6.2 per game.     

All aspects of the game could be improved but this is interesting, it was stated previously Marc Gasol is no shot blocker he does other things better.  With no JaVale McGee or Dwight Howard occupying the middle it appears for now at least the Lakers are not suffering in the block shot department.  As for possible help they have an open roster spot, if it looks as though they can sign a Big Man to play a reserve role should they desire.  If the belief is unnecessary this member of Laker Nation says okay let’s compete with the existing roster. 

Have you noticed?

We mentioned two franchises, the Lakers and Celtics have won almost half the NBA Championships.  Now keep in mind we are talking about 1946-2020 which is certainly not close to 100+ baseball and 100+ NFL football and NHL hockey.  Now and again the Rockets, Mavs, Warriors and even Knicks have won championships.  Several NBA teams haven’t come close to a championship in generations.  They change owners, front office personnel, roster members but never win. 

It’s not the fact these teams lose on purpose they compete they just don’t have the keys to winning.  These teams will earn a playoff berth on occasion, but we know they are not serious threats to win it all.  Who are they, how about the Wolves who always have a mix of young talent? The Wolves just don’t win with any regularity.  How about the Kings, they haven’t made the playoffs since 2006?  The last time they won it all was 1951 when the team was in Rochester (NY).  During the Dominque Wilkins/Tree Rollins era the Hawks were in the playoffs every season, their last visit to the playoffs was 2017. 

OKC is in the middle of a rebuild currently, the Thunder had a run while James Hardin, Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook were on the roster.  This team overachieved in the regular season but came up short always in the playoffs.  There are others but this will be concluded with a brief look at the Pistons, they were NBA Champions in 2004.  2008 was the last time the Pistons won a playoff series. Finally, we close with the Suns, back in the day many remember the Steve Nash Amare-Stoudemire team led by Coach Mike D’Antoni.  An injury one season to Nash was their downfall, the Suns continue to change coaches and rosters and little change is evident.  There are other teams M.I.A., this is just a brief look at many of the under achieving teams in the NBA.   Am I being too tough on these teams and others, I don’t think so they have difficulty competing successfully season after season?    

Pending decision

Chet Holmgren is rated the number 3 prospect in Rivals Class of 2021 while other sites list the 7-foot 1 power forward/center as number one.  As for the future Gonzaga is reported to have the inside track to his services however Georgetown, Memphis and Michigan are also high on his list.  Holmgren is a lean 190 pounds so wherever he heads in the fall we suspect he will spend quality time in the gym.  He needs to gain muscle over just adding pounds is more important to his continued improvement on the basketball court. 

Although he stands 7 feet tall Holmgren has demonstrated he’s got 3-point range and is quite skillful with the basketball.  In a televised game he dribbled the ball the length of the court for a slam dunk.  It will be interesting to discover which school Holmgren decides to attend.  Best guess at this point by me the Minnesota guy is likely to head west to play for Mark Few at Gonzaga.  I will try and remember to solicit your applause at the time he makes his decision.  I will also be prepared for you to laugh at me if he choses another school.