Basketball from a fans perspective

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The Western Conference mine field

The road leading out of the west to the NBA championship is spread far and wide with land mines. Most of the teams appear capable of emerging to face the Eastern Conference Champion. We begin this very short report with a report on the Clippers. Fans are excited with the addition of point guard John Wall, the belief he will allow them to Escape from Los Angeles. Should I point it out, okay the 1996 movie featuring Kurt Russell…okay enough of that. In addition to Wall, they see a healthy Kawhi Leonard return after missing last season along with Paul George provide many in Clipper Nation with happy thoughts. There is certainly no intent on my part to burst their bubble, they might have forgotten about the defending champion Warriors. Steph Curry and crew will be another year older but just as feisty as the previous season.

In Arizona we have the Suns, with an outstanding regular season they managed to come up a little short in the playoffs. The Suns return practically everyone who played a vital role in their 64-win season including Chris Paul and DeAndre Ayton. Laying in the weeds are the Grizzlies, Ja Morant and company, they came up a little short however they are ready for battle too. They really can’t hide this time around…we see you. In the southwest we cannot overlook the crew from Texas, Luka and the Mavs will be poised once again for a deep playoff run. Certainly, in the mix are the Jazz, Nuggets and Wolves, we remain unsure of their impact although all three should certainly be competitive. The experts claim the Lakers with no Kyrie will come up short this season. That well could occur however I have serious doubts if there is a healthy LeBron and AD in the lineup. They are younger but that may be a hinderance. This is certainly no attempt to shortchange the Eastern Conference, it will be just as competitive however my focus is almost always on the west.

Not this year but next

I know practically nothing about Jerome Tang except for one fact. We are looking ahead to the Class of 2023 recruiting in 247Sports.com and guess who is in the Top 10…Kansas State? To compound that news guess who is missing from the Top 10…the Kansas Jayhawks? Now all of us realize there is a vast difference between recruiting and a winning product on the court. Back to Tang, I know he was an assistant at Baylor, it’s claimed his recruiting led to many of the successful teams Baylor’s experienced in recent years.

As for the balance of school’s on the list Duke is currently number one which is kind of a shocker, athletes by now are aware Coach K. is no longer in place. Once play begins in the fall Duke will be led by Jon Scheyer. By no means is this list of teams complete, at the same time we have another year of high school action on the calendar. These committed and yet to be committed prospects have plenty of time to change their minds. Nevertheless, this remains an interesting report, Kansas State always in second place (sometimes third if we count Wichita State) in the hearts and minds of many in the state might be ready for a move.

Number 16

The Lakers announced jersey number 16 belonging to Pau Gasol will be retired next season. The date is March 7, 2023, his jersey will be hoisted on the wall next to all the Laker greats. Some have expressed their belief Gasol doesn’t deserve this honor, no me in that number. The Lakers acquire Gasol in a February 1, 2008, trade with the Grizzlies. He really had no time to practice with the team, his first game 5 days later would see Gasol score 20 points and pull down 12 rebounds. He and Kobe would become a duo almost instantly. Gasol playing alongside Kobe aided the cause in the Lakers three consecutive NBA Finals appearance. They won the grand prize, the 2009 and 2010 NBA Championship thanks in part to Gasol. Number 16 will be placed in the rafters of the arena beside those of other Laker greats. Just in case you wondered George Mikan’s 99 is not retired however he and others who played while the franchise was in Minneapolis are honored. Just in case you may have forgotten the names of those hanging in Crypto.com Arena they are:

Elgin Baylor

Kareem Abdul Jabbar

James Worthy

Kobe Bryant

Jerry West

Wilt Chamberlain  

Shaquille O’Neal

Magic Johnson

Gail Goodrich 

Jamal Wilkes.

Some are very good at their task

Despite my endless complaining there are some in the media who provide basketball insight I highly respect. They are not the yellers and screamers I hear routinely during any given week. These individuals are able to effectively communicate without making the story about them. Please note this is not in any order just my thought process. We kick off with Adrian Wojnarowski long-time senior NBA Insider, Woj knows his NBA basketball and can almost always be depended on to secure the story first and without all the drama of...never mind. This name might be unknown to many because unlike Woj he’s rarely visible.

Mike DeCourcy covers the college game and can be read in The Sporting News; on occasion he could pop up on talk sports radio during the season. DeCourcy while opinionated doesn’t beat you over the head with his belief. Jay Bilas of ESPN also provides vital information regarding the college game. He doubles by covering the NBA draft providing the commentators with information on many of the collegiate players. Fran Fraschilla a former coach works for ESPN and covers the college game included is extensive travel allows him to see numerous Euro players in action.

Fraschilla has added much to NBA draft night coverage with his knowledge of international basketball. There are two women I must include in this account, although they continue to work at their craft, I’m sure they have no reason to be singled out as female. ESPN’s Doris Burke and media member Jackie McMullen provide us globs of basketball knowledge and insight into the game. We close with Jon Rothstein college basketball insider for CBS Sports, he provides vital information on all aspects of the college game. So, there you have it media members I enjoy, if someone is missing from the list consider it an oversight of my memory.