Basketball from a fan’s perspective

“Never mistake activity for achievement.”           John Wooden

I’m impressed

You ask, how can you be impressed the Lakers lost the game versus the Heat 110-104?  It was my first opportunity to witness new Laker Andre Drummond in action for an extended period.  He played little (14 minutes) in his first game with the Lakers; a toe injury suffered against the Bucks would sideline him for the next three games.  Drummond would play 27 minutes versus the Heat and managed to fill up the box score.     

This notoriously poor free throw shooter was 83% from the line, noteworthy but certainly not expected every time out.  Drummond shot nearly 56% from the floor, he also grabbed 12 rebounds along with 3 assists and 2 steals.  He scored 15 points although that is certainly not the area the Lakers needed most from him.  I am encouraged with the prospect of seeing a lineup of Anthony Davis at power forward, Andre Drummond Center and LeBron James small forward.   

Keep in mind I ain’t claiming no repeat championship here, I believe this will be quite a competitive team.  I thought early in his career except for free throw shooting Drummond possessed all the tools to be an outstanding NBA player.  The problem clearly was being shackled to poor teams, perhaps his time ever how long it is with the Lakers will provide us evidence of his talent and full potential.  Is he the second coming of Chamberlain, Abdul Jabbar and Shaq…hardly?  Drummond does fill a role long missing the last several years with the Lakers.  A large share of that, the reduced role of a traditional back to the basket center in the NBA. 

Top 25 under 25

Three ESPN.com writers voted on the Top 25 NBA players under age 25.  This list was quite interesting, if you are an ESPN Insider you can note all of them.  I’m going to cherry pick the list and reposition several players they listed, here goes.  They have Luka Doncic number one, there is no argument on my part there.  They list LaMelo Ball at 3 which I believe is far too high for the length of time he’s played in the NBA; he should be further down maybe 7 or 8.  Zion Williamson is a star however 2 in my view is not it, he needs to be moved down a bit. 

Devin Booker is 8 far too high for my taste he should be much lower 5 or perhaps 6.  Denver sharpshooter Jamal Murray is listed at 13 he should be that 7 or 8 mentioned earlier.  De’Aron Fox at 7 I question; I will admit I haven’t witnessed him in action much, but I believe he’s rated too high.  I imagine the same for Thunder point guard Shai Gilgeous-Alexander is 10 and it should be much lower 15 or 16.  Finally they list Lonzo Ball at 24, that’s far too high for the talent he is now fully displaying for us Ball should be 12-14.  Keep in mind these are opinions of ESPN guys and yours truly, they have their basis for the rating but so do I. 

He’s a winner

Montrezl Harrell is one of those guys you love to hate, hate him until he plays for your team.  That’s the case for me, while he played for the Clippers, I despised him (maybe it was the Clipper jersey).  Since he moved across the hall at Staples that’s all water under the bridge now.  This is an area I still don’t understand, so called experts continue to harp on what Harrell can’t do, how about emphasizing the things he can? 

Harrell is undersized for a backup center at 6 foot 8 however his 7-foot 4-inch wingspan aids him in playing against taller players.  The two words that come to mind for me in discussing him, High Energy.  Every time he emerges from the Laker bench that’s what he brings to the floor.  How valuable is he, well last season he was named Sixth Man of the Year in the NBA?  Runner up to him last season was Dennis Schroeder now a teammate.  Schroeder is out of the running this season since he’s now a starter, his only legitimate competition would be Lou Williams now a member of the Hawks.   

Did he lose the locker room?

John Brannen coach of the Cincinnati Bearcats has been suspended after 6 players decided to leave the program (he was fired prior to publication).  An investigation is underway at the school meanwhile Marcus and I held another conversation regarding Mizzou basketball.  He said and I quote; “Cuonzo Martin lost the locker room at some point; it seems after a date in February they played up and down.  They would win a game then lose 2 or 3.” 

Mizzou did lose 5 players to transfers but technically it was only 4, Mark Smith was a senior.  Smith could have returned to Mizzou if he desired, he preferred instead to attend Kansas State.  As for the coach losing the locker room we don’t know and probably will never have the answer.  It’s not just Mizzou and Cincinnati it’s occurring all over the nation, it should be of note despite winning the NIT coach Hardaway has witnessed 5 players leaving his Memphis program as well.  It appears transfers have become the new normal for many college basketball teams.