Published Monday thru Friday    

Basketball from a fans perspective

Is this MMA or basketball?

I’m no fan of MMA although I understand portions of it. The idea is to beat the crap out of your opponent by any means necessary, that might go for MMA but not the NBA. On the other hand maybe it does, by now I’m sure you saw the video from the Kings-Warriors game. The Kings Domantas Sabonis found himself on the floor jostling for a loose ball. Sabonis appears to grab the leg of Warrior forward Draymond Green.

Green, trying to extricate himself, plants a number 14 (I have no idea of his shoe size) in the chest of Sabonis before heading back down the court. Shortly thereafter game officials stop the action and head over to the monitors. Based on their review Sabonis was given a technical foul and Green awarded two which meant ejection. I have no intention to debate who was right or who was wrong but that appears to be the case for the Kings. In addition to winning the game Green will receive a suspension for one game.

“Get outta my building”

The time has become shorter and shorter, I’ve written on more than one occasion the Clippers will have their own arena. Construction is moving at a steady pace on the arena in Inglewood at the intersection of Century Boulevard and Prairie Avenue. Intuit Dome will be ready for the start of the Clippers 2024-25 season which is not that far away. This state-of-the-art basketball arena will seat 18,000 Clipper fans and much more for concerts and other events. You might ask the question why the Clippers and Lakers share the same arena. For that content we must return briefly to the past to uncover the why of that question.  At the time Staples Center (Crypto.com) was in the planning and construction phase the Lakers plus the NHL Kings signed contracts as tenants.

The Lakers and Kings indicating they intended to share dates and become tenants in the building. Both teams would move from the Great Western Forum to this arena when it opened in 1999. The Clippers began playing in 1994 at the Honda Center in Anaheim, for unknown reasons some months before the October opening the Clippers decided they would join the other Los Angeles pro teams in Staples Center. The arena remains the only one shared by two NBA teams; if we check on the east coast no such situation exists. Venerable Madison Square Garden continues as the home of the Knicks, in 2012 after calling several arenas home moved into Brooklyn and Barclays Center. A brief account of why one city has an arena shared by two NBA franchises. Laker fans are looking to the day and probably saying out loud, “Get outta my building.”

Bits n Pieces

We expect players at the NBA level to be confident in their abilities. With that said what do we expect from the Grizzlies except that exhibited, on the basketball court rather than the media. The Grizzlies have several players who love to talk smack. I thought it was just Dillion Brooks issuing a challenge “I want to guard LeBron” or something similar prior to Game one. Later we heard from Desmond Banes who said, “Lets see if Rui Hachimura has a second game (29 points) like his first game.”

A players health is the prime consideration once we are into the playoffs. Laker Nation holds its breath every time AD has a pained look on his face, is it his ankle or knee or something else? The Bucks Giannis Antetokounmpo went down on Sunday and never returned to action. As this is written there are no reports if he will be able to return to action soon. In the Lakers-Grizzlies game, Ja Morant landed on an already injured hand, he immediately left the game for the locker room. He was later spotted sitting on the bench but announced an uncertainty if he’d be able to play on Wednesday.

I watched Sunday night as Kawhi Leonard provided us proof he’s still got game. He went up, over and around Suns defenders as he scored 38 points in 42 minutes. What I saw was Leonard moving smoothly almost without looking as if he broke a sweat glide over the court leading to the 115-110 win. Unless the Suns get their act together this might be a miss again despite the addition of Kevin Durant.

Dink Pate a 6-foot 7 shooting guard from Dallas Pinkston High School is headed to the G-League. Pate, a 5-star prospect is in the Class of 2024 but is reclassifying to 2023. This from ESPN.com, “The whole idea of why I started playing basketball was to be a pro. G-League Ignite brings me one step closer to my dream.” Pate just turned 17 in March so once he begins play, he will be the youngest pro player in G-League history.

Are we about to see a change in the NBA? The Warriors are in a 0-2 deficit not impossible but certainly in a perilous position. Monday’s 114-106 win by the Kings places them in an advantageous position. Keep in mind I haven’t seen every minute of the two games but one thing is evident. I’m unsure if its Sacramento or something else, the Kings sure look much faster than the Warriors. They are running the legs off the Warriors in these first two games. Steve Kerr better figure out a method to slow the Kings down before this thing is over quickly.