Basketball from a fan’s perspective

“Dig up all the information you can, then go with your instincts.”  

 Gen Colin Powell

Sport is….

An escape for most of us from the routine of daily life, in basketball we love the 3-point shot, the driving basket or the dunk.  We can entertain ourselves by deciding which player should be playing more or which one is the better player.  An area I only venture on occasion is salary but even that’s fair game in a discussion for you and others.  As for what a player does with his life it’s not my decision, yours or the media what a player does.  Allow me to provide you an example, we’ve discussed the idea by a few in sports media Dame Lillard and Zion Williamson should be playing for major market teams. 

Is that really the call of the media or is that a decision for the individual to make?  The answer is easy for me it is the players responsibility, until Dame or Zion desire a change of scenery it’s not up to Stephen A. Smith or anyone else to plan or even suggest a move.  I’ve discussed this matter with two of my younger co-workers and they see no problem with this type of sports journalism.  I believe it was Ben Simmons who said, “ESPN is not on any television in my house.”  The explanation might be clear if we read between the lines, the “Talking Heads.” 

Simmons approach might be extreme but, in several instances, I believe we can understand why.  Just because they say it or write about it doesn’t make it so, the same applies for anything read in Words eye view.  There is no intent to indicate this is the only interpretation what is read and reported, always seek out several sources if available.  Most of all remember Stephen A. Smith, Skip Bayless, Jason Whitlock and others are actors, their opinions for the most part are scripted.  I wonder if this trio and others believe it’s okay for us the public to critique on their career pursuits. 

They came up short

Laker Nation was eager, they would witness the return of Anthony Davis to the lineup, he'd been missing in action since the end of February.  Although AD-1 was on a minutes restriction he was in the starting lineup.  From the beginning we could see he was extremely rusty offensively; he missed his first 5 shots before sinking the first jumper.  AD-1 would finish the game with 8 points in 17 minutes of action, and we shall see on Saturday evening if his minutes are increased.  Oh, the game, the Lakers came up short to the Mavs 115-110 as Luka Doncic led them in scoring with 30 points 8 assists and 9 rebounds.

The Lakers backcourt of Dennis Schroeder and KCP would score 25 and 29 points, respectively.  Critics continue to disparage the Laker point guard because he doesn’t do everything well.  Not in this corner, 13 assists in this game indicates to me Schroeder can play.  I forget, AD-2, Andre Drummond had the type of game we expected with AD-1 and eventually LeBron in the lineup.  His numbers were 14 rebounds, 19 assists and 3 blocked shots as he continues to adjust to his teammates.  I’m going on record April 23, 2021, I believe IF LeBron returns healthy and AD-1 returns to his form prior to injury and they are injury free the Lakers will be crowned 2021 NBA Champions, remember where you heard this declaration. 

Mac

In the immortal words of outlaw Taggert from the movie Blazing Saddles, “What in the wide, wide world of sports is a going on here?”  You remember on Tuesday I wrote “The Saga of Mac McClung” which dealt with his history.  Georgetown, then Texas Tech and the latest report had him exploring a transfer to another school.  This effort was made to enhance his determination toward an NBA career.  On Thursday McClung announced he was no longer in the transfer portal.  At this point we are left to guess he returns to Texas Tech to continue his college studies and basketball development, we hope McClung manages to find himself. 

Correction

You might have read in Word's eye view I stated ESPN.com indicated Mizzou had a Top 40 Recruiting Class for 2021.  That’s not correct, I mixed the research information uncovered with several others, you must be an ESPN.com Insider to read content on their website.  As for the others what do they think, well 247Sports.com ranks Mizzou number 40 while Rivals.com list them at 38. 

It’s likely Mizzou is probably somewhere around that figure with ESPN.com too, but the question becomes what does this information prove?  0, nada, nothing… it simply details for the reader a university has several prospects headed to the school in the fall.  As for Mizzou unless one of these prospects is the second coming of Michael Jordan or Kobe Bryant adjustment is required.  There is a vast difference between high-level high school basketball and Division I, the hope each of the incoming crop have a small learning curve and can adapt to this level of basketball.