Basketball from a fan’s perspective

I offer this proof

This is written ahead of the Thursday night match between the Nuggets and the Lakers. The Lakers find themselves 0-2 in the series, the Lakers unable to beat this team being losers in 10 consecutive games including playoffs. This from Anthony Davis, “We’ve also had stretches where we don’t know what we’re doing on both ends of the floor. And those are the ones that cost us.” Almost immediately after hearing that statemen Darvin Ham comes forward and contradicts his player.

We are captive to the media, we have no idea what occurs in practice, gametime, timeouts and more. This proves one fact to me, the players and the coach are not on the same page offensively and defensively. The Lakers cannot continue to change coaches every 3-4 years but it appears in this instance there is a disconnect somewhere. I’m in no position to terminate anybody but I believe short of winning an NBA championship Ham is gone. The coach is not completely at fault but I hesitate to focus on the front office, on the surface it appears they attempted to secure starting and reserve talent for Ham.   

Portsmouth Invitational Tournament

Some reading this are likely unfamiliar with this tournament. Every season a select number of basketball players are invited to Portsmouth Virginia, the purpose is to assess their ability to play in the NBA. My definition, guys who might fly beneath the radar, most play at major schools but likely to have received limited exposure. The NBA invited 64 players to the tournament and now that its complete we’ll check out a few names. Sean East II stands out for me having watched him play the past two seasons at Mizzou. Also attending was Jamarion Sharp at Ole Miss another familiar name, he was being recruited by Mizzou at a point. TJ Bickerstaff, his grandfather Bernie has held a number of jobs at various NBA stops.

This represents just a few familiar names to me, despite that fact you might have a question. Does this tournament provide any value to NBA teams? Although there are probably numerous instances one stands out for me that is DeMarre Carroll. He retired in 2020 having played for several NBA teams but his story is this. Carroll was not on a single teams radar prior to the 2009 draft, his outstanding play at Portsmouth that year was impressive to the Grizzlies who made him a late first round pick in the 2009 draft. Despite play as a reserve and occasional starter Carroll managed to carve out a long NBA career thanks in part to the Portsmouth tourney.

The best backcourt

I am quite sure pushback will occur with this account…I’m ready for it. Recently I read an article regarding two diametrically opposite guards coming together. This combo might be the best NBA backcourt, past and present day. These two were drafted in the same year although a trade would later place the two of them together. The names are Walt ‘Clyde’ Frazier and Earl ‘The Pearl’ Monroe, Frazier was made the 5th pick in the 1st round of the 1967 NBA draft, Monroe the 2nd pick in the first round of that draft. Frazier was chosen by the Knicks, as for Monroe it would be the Baltimore Bullets. These two would lead the Knicks to their last NBA championship in 1973 but what occurred prior to the championship? Frazier came into the NBA from Southern Illinois University which had just moved from Division II to Division I.

For Monroe it was HBCU Winston-Salem a Division II institution. Back them it was more important if you could play rather than where the play occurred. Although the two battled one another on the basketball court how did the mold of them playing in the backcourt begin? According to the record Monroe was displeased with the Bullets, through his agent he requested a trade to the Lakers, Bulls or Philadelphia his hometown. Monroe would find himself traded to the Knicks where this combo was referred to as “The Rolls-Royce” backcourt. The belief initially the ball-dominate Monroe would be unwilling to relinquish control of the basketball but that would not be the case. He and Frazier managed to shape their game to suit one another. How do we know it worked, well the proof might be the fact both are in the Naismith Hall of Fame.

“The next Victor Wembanyama”

I almost laughed out loud, the above is a portion of The Daily Mail online.com headline. The primary reason it’s so interesting is we remember back to last spring. Do you recall in the spring of 2023 most mock draft sites projected Wemby at the top? A few of us had the opportunity to see him in action at the time his Metropolitans92 team journeyed to Las Vegas. Wemby was in action in two games versus G-League Team Elite. A legion of NBA fans and former players claimed the 19-year-old was “overhyped” by much of the media. We know how his season turned out, 2024 NBA Rookie of the Year. Wemby might win or at least finish second in voting for Defensive Player of the Year. That was then, this is now and exactly who is the next Victor Wembanyama?

As the headline indicates he’s also from France, his name is Zaccharie Risacher and just like his fellow countryman was at draft time last year Risacher is also only 19-years of age. As for his stats Risacher stands 6 foot 10 and a slim 200 pounds. If we look at the numbers he posted they are certainly not eye-popping however Euroleague basketball is so much different from the NBA it’s a little difficult to make a judgment in that area. As for the mocks, it’s nbadraft.net placing him at the top, tankathon.com places him at number two on their site. The last one to check, nbadraftroom.com has Risacher as their number 7 choice. As you can see whatever position it turns out to be Risacher will certainly hear commissioner Silver say “With the _____pick in the 2024 NBA Draft the ________ select Zaccharie Risacher from Lyon France. He’s got some mighty big shoes to fill if he equals what was witnessed in Wemby’s first NBA season.