Basketball from a fan’s perspective

To be the best you’ve got to beat the best

I’m going to revisit the Lakers-Pelicans and ESPN's Mike Greenberg one more time. I pose the question what good would it be if the Lakers had lost to the Pelicans and wind up facing the Nuggets at a point? What I always hope for is a Laker win, this one I wanted more than the average because of the question Greenberg and others raised. We are full of conspiracy theories in this day and age, if the Lakers had lost the game it would have been all over the web.

“The Lakers were losers on purpose thus they avoid facing the Nuggets” the headline would have read. I hope we’ve heard the last of that type of talk, it’s not good for the team and it certainly is not good for the NBA. As for the future I will continue viewing and listening to Greenberg however going forward it will be with caution. The headline is a statement I heard a long time ago, an individual or team must beat the best in order to be the best. If that entails the Lakers facing the Nuggets sooner rather than later so be it, they would be forced at some point to eventually play them anyway. There is no guarantee someone else beats them for the Lakers. 

It’s not a talent issue

You might remember reading I once wrote on which player(s) would become the future face of the NBA, I profiled Steph Curry and LeBron James at 35+ as representative of the past. I attempted to point out they would move over to accept a new group. Recently I saw another site which listed a third player, they named the two I mentioned plus they added Kevin Durant. The slim power forward will be 36 before next season begins so the question might be why did I leave him off my list?

It’s not a talent issue for me because KD can do almost anything he desires on the basketball court, the question I hope to answer is the WHY. He was drafted by the Seattle Sonics, of course it was the last year the franchise was located there. Since then it’s been the Thunder, Warriors, Nets and the Suns his present team. I don’t dislike KD but maybe the problem for me is the number of zip codes he’s had over his NBA career. Perhaps he is more representative of the NBA players of today, nobody remains with one team for the duration of their time in the NBA. Don’t worry, I have no say-so with the Naismith Hall Committee KD will be enshrined one day as soon as he’s eligible.

Mizzou requires shooters (and rebounders)

After the horrific season Mizzou suffered hopefully help is on the way. The incoming freshman class is one of the best in the nation, however there is danger there. I’ve learned to not depend on youngsters adjusting from the high school game to Division I basketball. Mizzou suffered greatly this past season, I’m unsure which was worst, shooting the ball or rebounding. Hopefully with portal transfers and incoming freshmen both areas should see improved play in the fall and winter it’s hoped by Mizzou Nation. 

One of our local talking heads said "I'm surprised Missouri was able to attract players despite their past record." I guess it details for us how much this guy knows about college basketball. Gates and his coaching staff have been working the portal diligently in an effort to boost the team, Mizzou lost Sean East II the best true scorer to graduation. There was a degree of offensive help for East II, it wasn’t him alone. Coming on late in the season was Indiana transfer and Kansas City youngster Tamar Bates, these two represented 85-95% of the offense for the Tigers. Shooters, shooters and more shooters arrive in the fall for Mizzou beginning with wing player Jacob Crews UT-Martin and guards, Tony Perkins from Iowa and Marques Warrick from Northern Kentucky, all three were high volume scorers for their former schools. I am not technical enough to provide you the percentage of their shooting only their scoring average. 

Now that scoring is out of the way how about rebounding the basketball, it seems that issue should be resolved too. In the fall will be a returning 7-foot power forward along with a freshman who is 7-1 and 300-pounds plus an additional 7-1 power forward. That says to me even rebounding the ball should be improved over last season. I hope this is not too optimistic an April view, after all injuries played a key role in the underwhelming performance of last season’s portal group.

NBA draft

I always follow the NBA draft be it good or bad, in this instance it might be bad. It’s being reported that the 2024 draft will be a weak one. That’s not to say quality players will not emerge from this draft it’s just unlikely, despite that fact that is not always the case. Look him up if you don’t remember the name, Ben Wallace spent most of his NBA career as a member of the Pistons. Wallace from HBCU Virginia Union went undrafted in 1996, he’s now in the Naismith Hall of Fame. Avery Johnson’s had a second career as a college and NBA coach. He arrived in the NBA in 1988 from HBCU Southern University, playing the point he was a valued professional for several successful Spurs championship teams. You are probably saying that’s well and good, “How about a list of current NBA players who began play without the draft?”

Okay check out my Lakers first, there is Alex Caruso who arrived as a free agent in 2017. He would later sign a free agent contract with the Bulls in 2021 where he remains to date. We also have Austin Reaves who chose to pick his team which turned out to be the Lakers in 2021. After play first as a reserve he’s now become the starter at shooting guard. In the 2016 draft Fred VanVleet went undrafted but later signed a free agent contract with the Raptors, he played a significant role for the Raptors until last year when he became a member of the Rockets having signed a free agent contract with the team. The significant point, it doesn’t matter where you start the more critical issue is where you land. In the instant of those named and others omitted they offer us proof. Is there really such a thing as a weak draft, we just often have no idea who emerges sometimes until a few years down the road?