Basketball from a fan’s perspective

This is no rivalry

The Lakers find themselves losers once again, Game three saw this number Nuggets 112 Lakers 105. Some could conclude “They can’t beat their rivals,” that is not the case here. This quote is attributed to former boxing champion Mike Tyson, he once said “Everyone has a game plan until they are smacked in the mouth.” The Lakers have now lost 11 games in a row 7 of them of the playoff variety. You cannot have a rivalry when you never beat the other guy. This series is over, the Lakers could win the next game but still find themselves in a gigantic hold. One of the keys that continues to haunt me is the inability of the Lakers to sustain a lead, perhaps a few reading this are aware of this fact.

The Lakers have a lead at the half in all three games yet find themselves on the road to elimination. Despite having future Hall of Fame athlete LeBron James, despite having the talented Anthony Davis the Lakers once again face removal from the playoff race. Maybe the problem is LeBron, despite the talent he’s exhibited throughout his NBA career, he could be a difficult teammate. We read something along those lines regarding Kobe Bryant, he was not good if a player didn’t have a good work ethic. As I’ve said over and over again Darvin Ham doesn’t shoot the ball nor rebound it. He doesn’t defend the paint or contest the 3-point line. Ham doesn’t perform any of those tasks however it is his responsibility as a head coach to lay out a game plan and make adjustments to it. It’s not totally fair but I look at the Chiefs Andy Reid, the game plan is laid out. If the Chiefs or behind or ineffective he always manages to implement adjustments. Back to the Lakers, maybe Ham is doing just that…he’s changing stuff around and the Lakers are simply not adapting. Fool that I am, there is a refusal on my part to believe the Nuggets are 11 games in a row better than the Lakers. The Nuggets are simply better at this period of time…certainly not all-time.

If that is truly the situation a case could be made for a change at the first chair. If you are now asking who replaces Ham, I haven’t a clue its someone with a clear ability to lead an NBA team. A coach with the cerebral ability of Phil Jackson, the strategic aptitude of Mike Malone and leadership exhibited by Erick Spoelstra. The coach I’m building doesn’t exist, there is no one I believe capable of combining all the coaching skills I just cited. At best that good coach might have elements in all areas plus qualities unmentioned (or unknown by me). In closing I continue to remain a member of Laker Nation, although a rather disappointed member of the group.

How to be a fan

If you believed I would provide you a step-by-step instruction on how to be a fan you can stop reading at this point. I listen to the local drive time guy on occasion but his take is often quite different from mine. Imagine my shock recently when he said, “I’m a Laker fan.” He then goes on to say, “The Showtime Lakers, Magic, Kareem and others.” My first thought, you call yourself a Laker fan…those guys retired from play a number of years ago. The measurement of an ardent fan is someone who is not just a fan while the team is a winner.

The Lakers suffered several losing seasons before the 2020 championship, this guy wasn’t a fan of that team. How about the Chiefs and Royals, the NFL Chiefs were terrible between 1995 and 2003 the team had two winning seasons. As for the Royals their won-loss record was even worse, after winning it all in 1985 it was 2015 before they won again. In between those years can I say for the most part it was difficult being a fan yet many remained. Hey radio guy, it appears you adopt a team based on whether they are winning or losing. As I often say it’s easy to be a fan of a winning program, how are you with the team during down times?

Bits n Pieces 

The entire world is growing at a rapid pace, that sure appears to be the case. Research continues to uncover potential Big Man talent, in this instance it’s a youthful member. Guess what, he’s just as tall as Victor Wembanyama, from his photo it appears he’s the same height. Second to that Jongkuh Machi might be even skinnier than Wemby. I also must add he’s only 16 years old and certainly has time to gain additional poundage which will be a needed asset. Originally from South Sudan Machi plays for the Perth Wildcats in Australia. The future is unknown at this time due to the various routes he could take, store his name for future reference.

I have no issues with social media unless it paints an inaccurate portrait of an issue. Allow me to share two separate story’s I read and heard over the past few weeks. In one instance an individual produced a podcast, the rejection of the Jackson County stadium vote was his focus, this paraphrases what he said. “The Chiefs will move to Dallas their original home, Clark Hunt has approached Dallas sources.” Two errors, an owner such as Hunt can request a change if he so desires however the NFL must be contacted first. Nowhere in the report did this individual claim the NFL offices had been contacted regarding a move. The second account involved Victor Wembanyama and his dating habits. The young Frenchman was reported to have made derogatory remarks about American women…my research indicates the story had no validity.

It’s always been stated we must allow a freshman athlete time to make the adjustment to Division I basketball. From what I’ve read coaches who scouted him indicate Mizzou has snagged a good one in Rivals 4-star prospect Kwasi Annor Boateng although he prefers to be called Annor. Boateng is a 6-foot 5 205-pound shooting guard who attends Central High School, from what I read don’t be shocked to see Boateng in Mizzou’s starting lineup day one. Boateng was born and grew up in Little Rock Arkansas, his parents are originally from Ghana.