Basketball from a fans perspective   

Published Monday through Friday

Say what?

More than a few might remember the story, a year or so ago veteran point guard Darren Collison expressed interest in coming out of retirement. If you remember he retired at the conclusion of the 2018-19 NBA season and with his announcement both Los Angeles teams expressed interest in signing Collison. The Clippers and Lakers believed Collison would add a valuable presence missing from both rosters. Later Collison would decide to remain retired but that was then, this is now.

Covid has muddied the picture in the NBA, its run through the league like the plague it is, teams are scrambling to sign replacement players. That was then, this in now in all this movement Collison decides again he wants to play in the NBA. The Lakers signed Collison to a 10-day contract and he’s ready to resume play. We might question if there is any gas left in the tank, he’s 34-years old now. The Darren Collison that played in 2018-19 showed good numbers and would appear a worthy addition to the Lakers roster, at this point we just don’t know.

A normal season, hardly

Is this a normal season in the NBA, I think not based on developments? We can say with certainty the 2021-22 season has been far from normal. The first story involves two players who are yet to play, and neither is hurt. The Warriors, Suns and Jazz have played exceptional basketball as for others that’s been a different story. Although the Nets have a winning record they are not where we expected them, more on that later. At the top of the list of disappointments are the Lakers, no need of going into detail there, as for the Clippers they are barely above .500. We have Kyrie Irving who is yet to make an appearance due to his stance on vaccination. The Nets are playing well however Kevin Durant is playing a great deal of minutes due to James “milk carton” Hardin’s absence. Oh, Hardin’s not injured remember how authorities would place photos of missing children on milk cartons, that’s Hardin? Have the anti-flopping rules hurt his game to this extent?

Even the Bucks have not played like defending NBA Champions, as they stand 22-13. Surprise teams, the Bulls must be that being nine games above .500. The addition of Lonzo Ball and Alex Caruso appears to have raised their level of play. Covid has ravaged the NBA thus far with players placed in health and safety protocol, in addition to that we’ve had games cancelled something that’s hardly ever occurred in the past. If the season were to end today, missing the playoffs in the Western Conference would be the Mavs and Nuggets in the Eastern Conference it would be the Knicks. As the great philosopher Forrest Gump once said, “My mom said life’s like a box of chocolates you never know what you gonna get.” With apologies to Mr. Gump and his mom, we are changing the quote slightly to read, “The NBA is like a box of chocolates you never know what you gonna get…until you open the season.” That might clearly apply to the 2021-22 NBA season.

How long are you given a free pass?

This from 2013 however still applies today. Colin Cowherd (formerly of ESPN) was discussing NFL football and its coaches one morning. He made the statement “how long does a coach receive a free pass when he’s no longer been on the sidelines?” Cowherd was referring to the fact at the time job openings occur the same few names always are mentioned. He pointed out two names always mentioned one of them being Jon Gruden. It was Cowherd’s belief winning a championship one time does not guarantee a life-time free pass. He pointed out Gruden and other television analysts had removed themselves from the coaching ranks.

I don’t believe Cowherd was picking on Gruden and neither am I however it’s been 5 years since he last served as head coach. It’s been even further for his Super Bowl win (2003). (Of course, we are aware of the demise of Gruden after less than spectacular years at the helm.) Cowherd’s discussion centered on the NFL however it could be the NBA too. The same issue exists whether it’s media driven or not in the NBA. Former Knicks and Rocket Coach Jeff Van Gundy’s name continues to crop up whenever a coaching position opens. There is a key difference in my view; Gruden did lead his team to a successful Super Bowl win. Van Gundy teams have played in one NBA finals over the course of his 11-year coaching career. NOTE: As we are aware since this was first written Gruden has been fired and Van Gundy continues to broadcast NBA games.

The National Basketball League

Australia and the NBL have become a destination for American players. The number includes former college player’s, but lately younger athletes have traveled to the Land Down Under. To date LaMelo Ball has been the best American prospect however native Aussies have been in the NBA for years. The first was Luc Longley, he was drafted by the Wolves in 1991 and played for two other teams. We remember him from the period he played center for those Michael Jordan Bulls Championship teams. Andrew Gaze was one of the early Aussies to play in the NBA along with Patty Mills, Andrew Bogut and Chris Anstey.

More recently the NBA’s added Joe Ingles along with Matthew Dellavedova and Aron Baynes. Although Kyrie Irving and Ben Simmons were born in Australia their parentage is different. Simmons mom is Aussie while his dad is American, he met his wife in the country while playing there. Both Irving parents are American, Kyrie too had a dad playing basketball in Australia. With the 6^th pick in the first round of the 2021 draft the Thunder chose 6-foot 8-point guard Josh Giddey. This is incomplete, there are Aussie players missing but it’s hoped you see the growing number playing the game in the NBL, in American colleges and the NBA.

You might have thought

After reading my “taps” edition on Thursday about the Lakers 2022 Championship hopes you might have come to the wrong conclusion. You might have believed I was deserting my post; I was turning in my Laker Nation ID card. You might have forgotten the length of time I’ve been a fan of this team. Far from it, you must have forgotten I survived the Jim Buss years of him running the franchise. If not for sister Jeannie Buss “firing” her brother, there is no telling where the franchise might be.

You might not like Frank Vogel, but I will take his coaching over that of Luke Walton, those Walton teams were unbearable to watch at times. The Lakers added talent every season however there was little upward movement by the franchise. How could that be, it must be the front office led by Buss. How about the D’Angelo Russell-Swaggy P. feud which had nothing to do with basketball? As I tried to explain yesterday, I’m disappointed because I expected better than what I’ve seen thus far. There might be a point even a veteran team becomes too old, that might be the case for the 2021-22 Lakers. The solution is easy develop a team rather than putting pieces together. If I were a betting person, I’d say the ABC Network had no clue, how could they possibly foresee a below .500 Laker team playing on Christmas when the schedule was proposed?