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Basketball from a fans perspective

An ugly win

Yes, there is such a thing, your team wins despite what appears to be a lackluster effort. That was the Lakers-Suns Friday evening match. The Suns with their playoff effort secured started a lineup of reserves, as for the Lakers with positioning still an issue had all regulars on the floor. At the beginning of the game and much of the first half I thought Kevin Durant, Devin Booker, Chris Paul were on the floor. The Suns reserves were shooting, defending and executing play much sharper than the Lakers. They effort was so great the Suns had a slight half-time lead.

I am unsure who led the half-time pep talk because Laker play in the second half improved dramatically. D’Lo led the way with 24 points in fact they might have found themselves in a deeper hole without his shooting. AD didn’t shoot particularly well (14 points) but pulled down an amazing 21 rebounds. Austin Reaves with 21 points (and 5 assist) aided the victory as well, Malik Beasley emerged from the bench contributing 21 points. The other day a friend informed me, “I’m picking the Lakers as 2023 NBA Champions.” I quickly responded, “You are far braver soul than me, I’m not ready to make that kind of declaration.”

For me the Lakers remind me of that quote from the movie Forrest Gump, I’m going to take liberty and change it to a degree. “Life’s like The Lakers are like a box of chocolates; you never know what you’re going to get.” Win or lose I remain a fan I’m just unsure sometimes what I’m receiving. At the beginning this team was 0-5, then 2-5 and finally 2-10 at a point. They stumbled out of the gate like they had no clue how to play this game. The fact this Laker team will finish above .500 and make the playoffs despite today's outcome is certainly amazing in itself.

What a strange outcome

The Mavs were eliminated from the playoffs after losing to the Bulls 115-112. Unlike the game I just covered, the Mavs needed a win to remain in the hunt and they didn’t get it. What occurred was the strangest outcome I believe I’ve ever witnessed in all the years I’ve followed the NBA. The Mavs announced Friday morning 5 players would sit out the game including Kyrie Irving (foot injury recovery). Was it the playoffs or lottery protection, the culprit is certainly not Jason Kidd. Luka Doncic played 13 minutes in its entirety; he was reported to be injured as well suffering from a left thigh injury. In any event this assembly of reserves held their own for a period against the Bulls before losing. I’m unsure what happens now with Jason Kidd after his lackluster performance at the post-game press conference.

Asked about the game the coach indicated he was following the orders of owner Mark Cuban and GM Nico Harrison. As for sitting the players, Kidd indicated he was not involved in the decision, did he agree with the move? “Those are my bosses so yes.” This is the Mavs team that played in the Western Conference Finals last year and missed the playoffs this year. One of the keys for me…no Jalen Brunson although Cuban is claiming the players family was the decider. A number reading this might not be aware Brunson’s father played in the NBA for a time. After this crash landing if I were part of Mavs Nation, I might be a bit confused as to what the franchise is attempting. It would appear the lottery is more important than the playoffs it would appear.

What do you do?

This is strictly supposition on my part but what if were to occur? It’s some point 5-10 years from now. We have a 16 or 17-year-old high school phenom, athlete, he’s an admirer of the old school style of basketball of Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul Jabbar. The youngster stands 7 feet 2 and weight training has added 20 pounds to his frame and he’s now at 240 pounds. He’s got a variety of shots around the basket in addition to a hook shot, coaches have dubbed it sky hook II. No slouch speed wise he runs the floor with the swiftness of a much smaller player. In addition he’s begun to abuse the opposition around the basket and some claim he reminds them of Shaquille O’Neal down low. 

This pending star heads off to university near you, what do we suppose will occur going forward for this youngster? Does he become a perimeter player at the insistence of his coach and go away from his power game. The other scenario after high school he heads to Australia or the G-League because he wants an immediate opportunity to play in the NBA. The youngster is drafted by the _____ and what do we suppose occurs for his NBA future? In the era of “small ball” or emphasis on shooting the three what transpires for this youngster? Does his NBA coach insist he shoot the three as Big Men Joel Embiid and Nikola Jokic currently do? Will his coach move him away from his “station” around the basket? There are other aspects Big Men once displayed in the old school NBA, would the offense of the team change or the player be forced to change?

Bits n Pieces 

The mouth that roared is my reference to Charles Barkley TNT analyst. He’s pronounced Kawhi Leonard “King of Los Angeles,” my guess this is based on last Wednesday’s win over the Lakers plus their string of 9 or 10 victories in a row over the Lakers. Last time I checked regular season victories are important however championships tip the scale in the other direction. Let’s figure the score, it’s LeBron 1, Kawhi 0 in the number since both have been in Los Angeles. A one-to-one match up, Kawhi at age 31 has years on his side versus 38-year-old LeBron. I wonder if you can bestow a title on someone with only regular season victories as the basis. Win at least one championship and we can discuss who deserves King status. As they say, “I’m from Missouri, you’ve got to Show Me.”

College basketball play is officially over now, UConn becomes the winner the 5^th in the school’s history. Monday. This is not about the champion but the fact it’s over, no more college basketball until November. Summing up the season we witnessed Kansas State under Jerome Tang make a deep run in the NCAA Tournament. Across the State Line Dennis Gates was able to take the Mizzou Tigers from the basement to the penthouse and an NCAA berth. It appears early on both programs have made great hires. The Blue Bloods, Kentucky, Kansas, Duke and North Carolina came up short but don’t expect that to be the case in the future and always.

The history says, 16 years ago the President of the United States was George W. Bush what else might have occurred back then. The Spurs were NBA Champions that year winning over the LeBron Cavs, that Cavs team was led by Coach Mike Brown. Other NBA highlights, the NBA Rookie of the Year was Chris Paul. The top high school player in the nation then was a guy who made it to the NBA was Eric Gordon, enough of that. What’s the significance of the number 16, well 2007 was the last time we saw the Kings in the playoffs. Their 120 to 80 victory over the Blazers on Wednesday clinched a playoff spot for them. Interesting that same Mike Brown is now the Kings coach and has led the Kings out of the playoff drought.

The 1982 NCAA Championship saw a change in the basketball landscape. We didn’t realize it at the time but we’d soon discover the magic of Michael Jordan, he would hit the winning shot in that game. At that point he was Mike Jordan after hitting the shot he would become Michael Jordan and the balance of the story is basketball history. Do we know the story behind Michael Jordan, for one thing he was good but not great. In his sophomore year he was unable to earn a roster spot in high school. By the time his senior year came around an improvement in play saw scholarship offers from Duke, South Carolina, Syracuse, Virginia and North Carolina. We know the history he would choose North Carolina and in addition to going from Mike to Michael there was an additional event in his life. Who is the only one to hold Michael Jordan under 20 points a game, it was his coach Dean Smith?