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Basketball from a fans perspective

You think they did okay?

The ESPN play-by-play guy for the Hornets-Lakers game mentioned this fact, “Kevin Durant and Steph Curry both shot 30% in Summer League play.” I believe both have managed darn good NBA careers, this certainly is a reminder for all. Don’t be so quick to judge any rookies shooting as a basis for determining their skill level in the NBA. As I’ve said over and over a complete regular NBA season is often not adequate enough time to determine whether a player is NBA ready.

It was a different time, much earlier than Durant and Curry was Kobe Bryant. I bet you hadn’t stopped to consider Bryant played very little his first two years in the league. In a 1997 playoff elimination game Kobe shot four, I repeat four air balls during a crucial portion of the game. The shots themselves were not a direct cause for the Lakers losing the game and playoff series but they provided motivation for Kobe to become a better player. So the reminder for all, delay your assessment of a player until we have unmistakable evidence they are lacking ability.

NBA expansion

I’ve surfed YouTube videos regarding NBA expansion, check them out if you care. The videos are opinions only and certainly don’t represent actual fact, one city appears in most videos…Mexico City. The NBA certainly wants to expand internationally and extending into Latin America would be just that I’m just not sure Mexico City is a go, despite negatives we often hear in the news our southern border neighbor has continued to grow economically. So if there is wealth plus an adequate population what’s the issue? Some might believe it’s a language problem I don’t believe that to be the case.

The chief culprit I think is the elevation of Mexico City over anything else I can outline. Consider this fact Denver’s elevation is 5,276 feet higher than every NBA city. I’ve never heard or read visiting baseball teams have had issues with the altitude, same for football. I’m unsure if I’ve ever heard anything regarding the NHL, the NBA is a far different matter. Visiting NBA teams have stated for years the difficulty of playing in mile high air, the constant sprints up and down the court can be detrimental for visiting teams. The elevation for Mexico City is 7,349 feet some 2,073 feet higher than Denver. So in my view Mexico City remains on the sidelines for now. Nothing says forever, the NBA probably desires 33-35 teams in the future. It’s likely the NBA will revisit this issue again at some future date. 

The Westbrook conundrum

Russell Westbrook and his Clipper play has seen plenty of positives from the media and a number of fans. Whoa, let’s place a period at the end of the sentence, this account is two-fold. Those singing the praises of Westbrook and his Clipper play fail to check out the team in the other locker room. The Lakers went on an extensive run post Westbrook, the run allowed them to gain a playoff berth when most of us thought they were dead in the water. Granted a portion of the improved play of the Lakers was the fact both LeBron James and Anthony Davis were in the lineup for the majority of this stretch run. I’m unsure about you but sometimes you see a problem but are not quite able to describe it in detail.

That is the case for me regarding Westbrook in the Laker lineup, as an example I can cite these notes for you. As swift as Westbrook is, the Lakers appeared even faster minus him in the lineup. Let’s check several numbers, Laker FG percentage .417 for the Clippers .489. Westbrook’s been notoriously bad from the 3-point line as most are aware, check this out. From the three-line Westbrook while a member of the Lakers shot .296 while in a Clippers jersey it improved to .356. In fairness we’ve got to consider he played 56 games for the Lakers while he was only in action for 21 games with the Clippers. Finally a number we cannot detail, was teammate LeBron James a contributing factor to his play? Whatever the case the Clippers saw fit to resign Westbrook, he will be working on a 2-year contract.

Bits n Pieces

You are aware by now the Spurs made the decision to sit Wemby down for the balance of summer league play. More than 5,555 fans (smile) have registered their complaint with this latest development. I’m one of the few NBA fans having no issue with the decision made by Spurs management. We know there is always the injury factor to consider for everyone playing the game at the NBA level. The Spurs have no desire to risk injury on such a highly valued rookie? So despite the large number of complaints by fans I’m okay with the move. I would bet money the majority of Spurs Nation are likely pleased with this as well, of course I could be wrong.

Could it work a second time, the reference is the “Austin Reaves” thing? You remember the story don’t you, Reaves informed NBA teams he preferred to not be drafted. Recently Reaves literally broke the bank signing a 4-year $56 million contract with the Lakers, not bad for a guy who wasn’t drafted. Of course there is more to the story, his talent plus the opportunity to play on a team he wanted. Could history repeat itself this upcoming season? The Lakers signed Colin Castleton to a two-way contract, the 6-foot 11-inch center/forward playing for the summer league team has demonstrated he’s got skill and talent. If he fails to earn a roster position expect to see him in action with the South Bay Lakers.

You might not remember the name Andy Katz but he’s one in the media who covers college basketball with a passion. For nearly 17 years he worked for ESPN, you might remember from his White House visits. All 8 years of the Obama administration Katz would meet with the former president who would list his bracket to Katz and the television audience. In 2017 Katz was one of a number of ESPN employees laid off, he went on to indicate it actually opened other opportunities for him. He is an analyst for the Big Ten Network and does free lance work. From time to time he even pops up on ESPN reporting a college basketball story.