Basketball from a fans perspective   

Monday through Friday

No moves

My Lakers are operating in a fog, not only can they not win on the court they cannot win at the trading table either. After talking to at least two teams the trade deadline came and went without a move by the Lakers. On Thursday morning we heard there was a possible trade in the works. The report had Talen-Horton Tucker and Kendrick Nunn leaving and Cam Reddish and Alec Burks arriving in their place. That story turned out to be just that…a story. Later we heard Russell Westbrook was headed back to the Rockets in exchange for John Wall. In this account it was reported the Rockets wanted a first-round draft pick and the Lakers turned them down.

So where does that leave the Lakers, exactly at the same stage they were 24-hours earlier. What occurs now and through the balance of the season for the Lakers? They must put on their Big Boy pants and play like the pros they are. Barring injury (which is always a consideration) LeBron and AD are on the floor they have enough talent to compete. The problem this remains a team game meaning the balance of the roster including Russell Westbrook must play at a premium level. At present the Lakers will be in the play-in tournament, they must play good enough for an 8 or 9 playoff slot, that is all. The ESPN NBA page contains a headline story, I didn’t bother reading it. “Trade deadline winners and losers”, I believe we know which side my Lakers landed.

How tall were you?

I believe in the 6^th grade I might have been about 5 foot 3 or maybe 5-4, there was only one other student shorter than me in our class. I had several classmates much taller than me although none certainly didn’t approach 6 foot in height. Erick Dampier Jr. who is in the 6^th grade stands an imposing 6 foot 5 inches, video of him in action on the basketball court is unbelievable. The youngster is able to dunk a basketball and with this height he towers over all his teammates; he might be taller than most game officials.

Unlike Jr. I had no genetic advantage that allowed me to grow to such a staggering height. Jr.’s dad is Erick Dampier; you might remember him as the 6-foot 11 265-pound Big Man who played for a number of NBA teams in his extensive career. We have no idea if Jr. progresses to the next level competing, this we are somewhat sure. Based on the height of his dad the son is not likely to cease his growth period for the next several years.

The Unicorn

We first heard the term “unicorn” applied to Kristaps Porzingis when he arrived in the NBA with the Knicks in 2015. His NBA journey has certainly had its difficulties, with the flurry of trades and especially the big one we almost missed the fact Porzingis was traded as well. The Wizards now become the third NBA team for Porzingis and many question why? His numbers with the Knicks and Mavs appear good but there is a brittle issue working. The 7-foot 3 240-pound power forward is unable to remain on the floor, in fact check this out.

The closest Porzingis came to playing a full season was his rookie year, with the Knicks that season he appeared in 72 games. At age 26 he should have years of play ahead for the Wizards if only he could beat that durability issue which affects his ability to remain on the floor. As for the term unicorn we provided the definition previously but will do once again. Other than the mythical creature when used to describe a person its “Someone amazing who is hard to catch, one of a kind.” It was easy to understand why the term might have been applied to Porzingis on his arrival and especially in New York City and playing for the Knicks at the time. My sources claim the main reason Porzingis was moved…Luka. In addition to injury Porzingis couldn’t fit his game together with Luka the Don.

We never got to see him play

Roger Brown is a name most today are unfamiliar with, Brown died at the early age of 54 of liver cancer in 1997. Brown was one of those players most of the nation had no opportunity to witness play because of an acquaintance. Brown a NYC guy was banned from the NBA by his connection to gambler Jack Molinas. Brown and Connie Hawkins knew this gambler and point fixer, although college basketball was struck by a point shaving scandal in 1960 of the two players were ever proven to have fixed games…it was guilt by association. Hawkins and Brown were given lifetime bans by the NBA although their guilt was never proven.

Banned by the NBA the newly formed American Basketball Association having no qualms about signing either player. Hawkins and Brown played to remarkable success. never proven. The 6-foot 5 Brown playing guard and forward was a 3X ABA Champion. Eventually the NBA would lift the ban however by this time Brown felt an allegiance to the ABA. Brown retired from basketball in 1975, he would be inducted into the Naismith Hall of Fame in 2013 after his death. As mentioned at the beginning Brown was an outstanding player few were able to see because his career was spent in the ABA. The league had no national television contract unlike the NBA so there was little exposure for Brown beyond local newspaper, radio and television.

No more characters

I told my friend Dave a story about the late Oklahoma coach Billy Tubbs. He was practically rolling on the floor with laughter. I then said, “The problem today, there are no more characters in sports.” He nodded his head in agreement and then said, “Players today are worried about getting fined accused of taunting.” I thought for a minute he’s probably correct, it was the NFL but just as easily could have been the NBA. Wide receiver Tyreek Hill of the Chiefs gave a peace sign to the defensive back chasing him as he crossed the goal line…the result Hill was fined. Tight end Travis Kelce whenever he catches a pass for a first down often signals it before the officials…isn’t that taunting?

Someone coined the phrase and I’m just repeating it, the NFL now stands for No Fun League. A comparable situation exists in the NBA of today, here are a number of examples. A player dunks the ball then gives the opposing player guarding him “The Look”, that’s considered taunting and is subject to a technical foul. On the other hand, this player dunks the ball and gives out a primal scream once he lands on the floor, shouldn’t that be considered taunting as well? This was mentioned in the past former player Rasheed Wallace once received a technical foul for looking at official Steve Javie. My friend Dave just might be correct, the possibility of a technical foul has likely dealt a blow to the characters that once were part of the game.