Basketball from a fans perspective

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Should the party be planned?

I had never heard or read of Clipper Darrell before reading a recent account. He is a long-time dedicated super Clipper fan and he’s made an interesting pledge recently. Clipper Darrell said, “He would retire if the Lakers win another championship before the Clippers.” That’s quite an interesting take considering one very large impediment i.e., winning ONE.  Home for the Clippers has been Los Angeles since they left San Diego in 1984.

In their early days they were the laughingstock of the NBA however in the recent past they have been transformed into winners. The Clippers have registered 9 consecutive winning seasons but despite this fact they have never won a Western Division Championship let alone compete for an NBA Championship. With Kawhi Leonard likely missing the upcoming season what do you think? No one is stating the Lakers are 2022 NBA Champions however there is a question, who is more likely to win the Clippers or the Lakers? Should the retirement party for Clipper Darrell be in progress or is it yet too early?

A seismic shift in thought 

The world’s stopped turning, it is now going counterclockwise. The reason is simple yours agrees with a take expressed by Stephen A. Smith, I know that’s shocking however it’s the truth. Paraphrasing his thoughts, but they are mine too just expressed differently. He said, “With the Thunder Westbrook was taking shots many believed should go to Durant, later he became Mr. Triple Double with the Thunder. With Hardin and Beal as teammates the Rockets nor the Wizards were playoff worthy but never true contenders for a championship.” Those are Smith’s words these are mine; it is now time for Russell Westbrook to prove to all he can tailor his game to that of LeBron James and Anthony Davis.

There is no argument from me Westbrook brings it every night when he’s on the floor. I once had a marketing boss and she had a classic line, “We are moving so fast the wheels fall off the wagon.” For me that’s been my Russell Westbrook experience, there are periods when he should dial it back but doesn’t. That’s when the turnovers or careless shots seem to occur. At this point we are unsure how this conundrum plays out; in fact, the test will be May and June of 2022. At that time Westbrook will be awarded a pass/fail grade. Realize this might appear to be a harsh criticism that’s not the intent, it is up to Westbrook to prove he is a real collaborator and quit focusing on triple-doubles. Nothing wrong with triple-doubles if they occur within the context of the game. NOTE: It appears DeAndre Jordan will join the Lakers as soon as he clears waivers. More detail on this most recent move in the Monday edition of Off the Dribble.

The first 2022 commit

You might remember a post reading Mizzou and it’s lone senior returner. The Mizzou roster has guard Javon Pickett and that’s it, the balance of the roll consists of freshman, sophomores and juniors. Several incoming transfers have experience but remain underclassman. Based on a youthful team there was no reason to conduct a great deal of recruiting. Of course, there are several keys which must be taken into consideration, the roster must remain academic eligible, in addition they remain enrolled at Mizzou.

With that statement made adding a Class of 2022 athlete didn’t make for a great deal of news. Despite the lack of publicity, it did occur Mizzou received a commit. On July 2 6-foot 4 combo guard Christian Jones verbally committed to Mizzou. Jones is a senior at East St. Louis High School in East St. Louis Illinois. It should be noted Jones is from Coach Cuonzo Martin’s hometown East St. Louis, the coach continues to extensively recruit the Metro St. Louis area. 

Did he carry out this?

This from several weeks back, I ran across the story again online and thought it worthy to be published just in case you might have missed it the first time around. There are so many stories about Wilt Chamberlain, a number are true while others might be just that a story. I’m unsure where to place this one, it occurred March 18, 1968, his Sixers beat my Lakers 158 to 128. Chamberlain had a game like no other in NBA history or he didn’t. The box score says he scored 53 points pulled down 32 rebounds and had 14 assists. The box score does not list the reported 24 blocked shots and 11 steals, a quintuple double.

Chamberlain shot .828 from the floor but his usual poor free throw shooting (5 for 10) from the line. As for the blocked shots and steals the NBA did not begin recording them until after Chamberlain retired. For that tracking we must depend on the calculations of the late Harvey Pollack. Wikipedia reads: “was an American sports statistician, a journalist of sports and entertainment, a publicist, and long term director of statistical information for the Philadelphia 76ers.” Pollack was someone who perfected the art of record keeping. Is it possible he missed a block shot or Chamberlain had one more steal than given credit? The point, Pollack had no reason to produce a series of fake stats to back his claim. Chamberlain was not the only 7-foot player of that era but certainly the most productive.

Welcome back

In the 2021-22 NBA season the Warriors return to form, they become winners again. We are accustomed to them being near the top of NBA teams, but injuries severely affected the Warriors in the recent past. One of the keys is the return of sharpshooter Klay Thompson, he’s two years older but rest assured he can still shoot the basketball. It’s not just the return of this key contributor, it’s as my friend pointed out. “The Warriors are not going the same route as others (Lakers, Nets) they intend to compete by adding missing and other pieces.” One of those added is the 7^th pick in the first round of the 2021 NBA Draft Jonathan Kuminga, the 6-foot 6 inch forward spent last season with G-League Team Elite.

It will take a little while for Kuminga to adjust but it appears he’s got all the tools. Also added is the 14^th pick in the first-round 6-foot 5-inch shooting guard Moses Moody from Arkansas. Scouting reports indicate he is a capable athlete and willing learner. Last season’s rookie projected as a future star is James Wiseman, his season had highs and lows and then the injury. Wiseman was shut down and missed a major portion of the season. Is the 7-foot 1 inch Wiseman ready in his second year to occupy the center position, we believe that to be the case. We might also mention guard Jordan Poole who also displayed his talent at times during last season. This represents but a thumbnail sketch of the Warriors for 2021-22 and their future. Management along with the coaching staff appears to say, “Here we are, we intend to compete effectively going forward.”