Basketball from a fans perspective   

Published Monday through Friday

Why didn’t it work?

Russell Westbrook alone is not responsible for the implosion of the Lakers; despite this statement he is accountable for a significant percentage. August of 2021, they made a trade for the point guard giving up Kentavious Caldwell-Pope, Kyle Kuzma, Montrezl Harrell and draft rights to Isaiah Jackson. My immediate thought at the time was one of panic, Westbrook was the NBA’s All-Time leader in triple-doubles plus the leagues 2017 MVP. Despite these honors just mentioned I believed there would be a problem molding his game to that of LeBron James and Anthony Davis. The season began and the eclectic point guard began a rather shaky start after being inserted in the starting lineup.

At one point in December or January I wrote my belief Westbrook would tailor his game to that of LBJ and AD or at least that was my belief. I reasoned at age 33 this might be his last chance to win an NBA championship, he would adjust his game. That was then, this is now, we read and hear reports Westbrook wants out. The Laker franchise has done a nosedive in recent weeks especially with AD out of the lineup. At this point they might forget about the play in, the team might miss the playoffs all together. There is no argument from this corner Westbrook is a talented athlete but even that only goes so far.

Hall of Fame player Rick Barry made this statement, “You take the athlete, give me the guy that knows how to play.” Westbrook “knows” how to play he just is unwilling or unable to adapt his game. If we look at his season numbers with the Lakers, they look good but “beauty is only skin deep”, look beneath the surface. As this was completed for Monday’s edition came this. Surely this must have been a misquote, I hope that is the case. Westbrook said, “Still figuring out role.” Man, we are in early March we can count several exhibition games plus 62 regular season games and he makes this type of statement. No wonder the Lakers are in such trouble, in addition to AD missing for a major portion of the season we’ve had an “absent” Westbrook too.

It was 1975

Coach John Wooden at UCLA announced ahead of the 1974-75 college season it would be his last at the helm, he was retiring. We are unsure if they were the odds-on favorite to win the NCAA Championship that season, but they did. Finishing with a 28-3 record they beat Kentucky 92-85, although many past     UCLA teams had been stacked top to bottom this one was only ordinary. Marques Johnson was a standout forward for this team and later in the NBA. Others on the team included Andre McCarter, Richard Washington and we might say “they had a cup of coffee in the NBA.”

So, this 1975 UCLA team unlike others that contained Lew Alcindor, Bill Walton, Keith Wilkes, Gail Goodrich, Lucius Allen and several others was only average. What made this team different from the others, this team was aware they would be the last UCLA team coached by the legend. Back then the tournament contained a smaller number of schools over today, there were only 32 teams competing for the championship. Despite this fact there was no reason to believe the road to this championship was any less perilous. The 2022 tournament will also contain a legend Coach K., will his Blue Devils rise to the occasion and duplicate the UCLA effort? That is yet to be determined.

The best few recognize

Playing at LSU Chris Jackson was a teammate of Shaquille O’Neal. Once Jackson was drafted in the NBA, he became a Muslim and changed his name to Mahmoud Abdul-Rauf. Standing 6 foot 1 and 162 pounds might indicate he was a point guard, a lights out shooter said combo guard before the term became popular. Abdul-Rauf was made the 3^rd pick by the Nuggets in the first round of the 1990 draft. Abdul-Rauf could get his shot off quicker than any player back then and maybe even today. From his draft date up through 1996 he distinguished himself daily for the Nuggets until the controversy. What controversy was that Abdul-Rauf created a problem because he refused to stand for the national anthem before Nuggets games? As a concession he was allowed to remain in the locker room and would come to the court at the start of the game.

Even this measure became a problem for Nuggets, their fans and in visiting arenas. Abdul-Rauf was protesting his belief there existed oppression and the flag was that symbol. Despite his stellar NBA career, he would move to the Kings and Grizzlies then located in Vancouver. From there his NBA career was over, Abdul-Rauf would go on to play for a number of teams in Europe. Can he still play, apparently that is the case at age 52 he continues to lace up his shoes playing for Big3 basketball team Three Headed Monsters? Despite the age the smooth stroke and prolific scoring ability remains. We have no idea how far Abdul-Rauf might have traveled if not for his issue with the national anthem. Years later NFL quarterback Colin Kaepernick would kneel at the national anthem, and he too was ostracized by the league. Unlike the aforementioned Kaepernick few remember or might be possibly aware of Abdul-Rauf and how and why he left the NBA as such an early age.

Bits n Pieces 

There are NBA players who are downright irritating, Patrick Beverley is one of them. He’s always got a shocked look on his face whenever an official whistles him for a foul. At the same time, he can make the following statement with a straight face. “Call the foul on Joel Embiid. It’s okay. He not a champion and he got no MVP’s.” The king of the flop calling out game officials for an oversight, Beverley has the right to speak freely however after reading his comment I almost fell out of my chair with laughter.

Sometimes video is more important than spoken words on a page, that might be the case here. Steven Adams Grizzlies Big Man might be the funniest going with some of his comments. This is an example of a post-game press conference, check it out.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=43IEboKTOmc

We love nicknames for athletes and teams…sometimes it appears we attempt to compose the cleverest name we can think of. There are a number of examples starting with the Dubs, The Stilt, Dr. J, Chocolate Thunder, The Beard and other names. We have a brand-new name added to our sports lexicon, how about this one; “Embeard”? James Harden’s been wearing The Beard as a nickname for years, Joel Embiid has no nickname but with a new teammate the two names have been merged. The Nets-Sixer trade has combined the two players thus Embeard is added to our lexicon.