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Basketball from a fans perspective

Are you ready for the football season?

A co-worker asked the question above, I hesitated for a moment before answering him. “Yes” was my response but was I actually being honest, allow me to explain further. I follow the NFL Chiefs and the baseball Royals for sports other than basketball. I am familiar with the names of most quarterbacks in the NFL but that’s about it for my knowledge in that area. I know Tyreek Hill for the Dolphins because he once played for the Chiefs, no other Miami Dolphin comes to mind except their quarterback. Most Royals players are known to me, as for the balance of major league baseball it’s even worse than football. It’s Aaron Judge, Mike Trout and Shohei Ohtani, that’s it.

A look ahead for the Lakers

The Lakers got the man they wanted, Christian Wood’s been signed to a two-year contract. Wood becomes the latest player added to the roster since the summer signing period. I believe I’m the lone member of Laker Nation who’s adopted a lukewarm response to the Wood acquisition. Based on my concerns regarding this latest addition I want to adopt a pro con approach toward him, with that here goes. Pro: His offensive numbers for the Rockets and this past season for the Mavs are quite good.

With the Lakers there is no requirement for him to score however the ability he’s demonstrated in the past is certainly noteworthy. I might add his shot from the 3-line is outstanding for a player standing 6 foot 10 or taller. Pro: For a guy reported to be 214 pounds he rebounds the basketball quite well, the last two seasons saw him register 10.1 and 7.3 rebounds a game. Con: Reports indicate Wood has a tendency at times to not be fully engaged in the game. As one might say he wasn’t fully focused on the game in front of him. Con: Over the years I’ve read either you have a work ethic or you don’t. Say what you might about LeBron James he’s got it, no one could play at his level without it. This is actually the second part of what I just wrote, can coach Ham, LeBron and others convince Wood it’s in his best interest to play at a high level?

Con: This might be the greatest red flag for me, the Lakers become team number 8 for Wood. He went undrafted in 2015 and perhaps that enters into the picture plus four years spent with several G-League teams. I’m sure there is an area or two I missed, these recorded stand out for me. In closing motivated Wood might be the player to aid the Lakers to a championship however I intend to adopt a wait and see attitude on his possible impact with the Lakers.

Something to think about

In the Big Picture is a name change important, that’s a possibility let’s explore. In the NBA if we think Pacific Division it’s those teams playing somewhat close to the Pacific Ocean. That would be the Lakers, Clippers, Warriors and others. On the other side of the nation we say Atlantic Division and it’s the Knicks, Celtics and Sixers plus others. In the college ranks among other conferences is the ACC or Atlantic Coast Conference. Who are the members, North Carolina, Duke, Maryland are among several teams.

As for the future the conference has invited Stanford and Cal both located in California and SMU in Texas, two Pacific Time and one Central Time Zone team. In addition consider this fact, Mizzou in the middle of the nation is closer to the Atlantic Ocean than all three of these pending ACC teams. The big question, should the conference undergo a name change? If we wish to become technical we could state soon arriving Texas and Oklahoma plus Mizzou are certainly not south although they all lie below the Mason-Dixon Line. The Mason-Dixon is the division between the northern states and southern but this harkens back to the days of the Civil War. In closing is a name change necessary, for me it would only be cosmetic. 

A little surprising

Lithuania beat Team USA earlier this week, they were likely on top of the world. What about a follow up, would they be on the road to the FIBA championship? In what turned out to be a surprise (at least to me) Lithuania lost their game against Serbia 87-68 in the quarterfinals. Team members of Lithuania insist the victory over Team USA 48 hours previously was not on their minds. In Group I Serbia is now 5-1, Group J finds Lithuania and Team USA also with 5-1 records, Group K Germany is undefeated 6-0. As for the others all have 2 or more losses with the exception of Canada in Group L, as this is written they have only one loss too. In closing according to what we read Lithuania has tasted success early but in the Olympics it’s been quite a different matter.

Him

I informed all the other day, I’d fixed my news feed. No longer would I receive the declarations of one Stephen A. Smith, based on this why am I writing about him? A discussion of sports and I mentioned to a co-worker “I’m not a fan of Smith.” His response was “I kinda like him, why don’t you?” I really, really wanted to avoid this conversation/discussion but had painted myself into a corner. I told James this, “I’ve had a problem all my life with people who must inform you how much money they earn, that’s just not cool to me and has never been.”

Several people (not me) criticized Smith on social media, his response, announce how much money he was earning from ESPN and his podcast, far too much braggadocious for me. The other Smith issue for me, the loud brash and pontificating side that almost always presents itself. There is no requirement to be the loudest voice in the room, state your view and leave it there. The last point, “I have much love for the brother, no disrespect intended.” After making this statement quite often Smith moves into attack mode on the athlete for whatever it is they may have done or stated. I’ve said this on more than one occasion and I’m quite sure Smith’s family loves him and that’s good, this bias doesn’t extend to me.