Basketball from a fans perspective   

Published Monday through Friday

We are unsure

Who rates high school prospects, we are unsure who is responsible? It might be one or more groups of folks but consider this fact. Rivals.com, 247Sports.com and others award 5 stars to the highest rated prospect while a prospect could go unrated, the question is this a true evaluation of that athlete? Of course not, awarding stars (or no stars) is just a measurement it has nothing to do with the ability only a projection of his or her future. There have been 5-star prospects who lack that something a coach first saw, on the other hand a prospect could be a late developer.

We could use the Lakers Anthony Davis as an example, AD was a 6-foot 3-inch point guard in high school. He’s grown to a 6-foot 10 253-pound power forward in the NBA, he showed enough talent to be awarded a scholarship to Kentucky. Did John Calipari or the coaching staff have any idea of his ultimate potential, of course they didn’t have a clue? A prospect site awarding stars doesn’t mean beans it is just a point of measurement. The two areas hidden from sight for all of us is the brain and heart of that athlete. The most critical part, can the prospect take in coaching, and is he capable of playing the game at a high skill level? What does the second part detail, his motor and desire which is impossible to measure.

AD

The date is still unknown, but we tried to point to a belief. We said the key to this season for the Lakers is not LeBron although his value to the team is certainly key. Although new to the Lakers Russell Westbrook has begun to “tame” his game to fit in with the Lakers. There are others Carmelo Anthony, Dwight Howard and Trevor Ariza when he returns. Anthony Davis or AD is the key to Laker success going forward, if only he can avoid the knick-knack injuries. If we check out the numbers by AD, they are acceptable, but they could be improved. It appears (notice the word) he is playing at half speed…which is troubling to Laker Nation.

Physically AD resembles “The Kid” otherwise known as Kevin Garnett but it ends there. Apart from his first year with the Lakers the fire appears missing. Notice the statement, nowhere was there mentioned he was lacking talent. This is the part that might be unfair to AD if you remember Amos Otis. The former Royals outfielder was said to be lacking hustle because he wouldn’t run into fences to catch the baseball. In addition, his effort with the bat and in the outfield appeared to the masses he was coasting. Perhaps that is the issue with our view of AD, he is doing all the things needed from him. Injuries aside we miss portions of his contributions. Is this true, perhaps a part but certainly not all of it.

Corporate names on the front

It will always be Staples Center to me, sorry crypto folks I don’t like the name. Far be it for me to rock this boat but when did this whole corporate thing first begin? I’m glad you ask the question; it might be Los Angeles and Dr. Buss? The Forum built by former owner Jack Kent Cooke opened as “The Forum” in 1967. In 1988 now the owner of the franchise Dr. Buss sold the naming rights to Great Western Savings & Loan and from that point on the arena became known as the Great Western Forum. After this move arenas and stadiums all over the nation began to pay naming right fees to attach their corporate name. Next up were the Bulls with Chicago Stadium being replaced by the United Center in 1995. The Gund Arena named after the owner brothers of the team would become Quicken Loans Arena in 2006.

As we move forward, we discover there are arenas now working with a second corporate name. In Denver, the arena opened as the Pepsi Center, it’s now the Ball Arena (no, not LaVar). Venerable Boston Garden was replaced by the brand-new Fleet Center in 1995 and in 2005 it was rebranded as the TD Garden. We have Barclays Center, American Airlines Center, Wells Fargo Center and a host of other corporate names on the front of these arenas. If you check you will discover Madison Square Garden is the only NBA arena working without a corporate name although Cablevision owns MSG. By the way, the original MSG goes back to the 19^th Century and the present arena opened in 1968 is the 4^th building under that name. As for our beginning the arena in Los Angeles will forever remain Staples Center, Crypto.com arena just doesn’t flow easily to me.

Hey Dave, did you know this?

I bet my friend David originally from Denver might not have read this earlier account. It is repeated for him and others who might not have read it or familiar with the history. Bet you didn’t realize Denver has the NBA franchise that belongs to Kansas City. Well, this is kinda true based on the history, when the American Basketball Association came into existence in 1967 Denver was not among the cities awarded a franchise, but Kansas City was. For unknown reasons, the Kansas City franchise was unable to secure a location to play (or at least that’s the report). This seems strange now considering Municipal Auditorium had served as host for a considerable number of NCAA and NAIA Championship Tournaments.

In addition, the arena was home for the short-lived American Basketball League Steers. As the countdown continued it became clear the Kansas City team had no place to play. The franchise was awarded to Denver and the Larks became the Rockets who would later become the Nuggets. When the ABA-NBA merger occurred in 1976 Denver was one of only four ABA teams that moved into the NBA. One more note, the Rockets became the Nuggets because the Houston Rockets were already in existence and the NBA didn’t want two teams with the same name. There you have the compacted version of how Denver got the franchise originally awarded to Kansas City, just kidding Dave, the Nuggets belong to Denver.