Basketball from a fans perspective

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Connect 4 or is it Knecht 4?

One of the issues my buddy says, “You get caught up sometimes in the scoring numbers.” He’s correct, scoring especially that of the efficient variety impresses me. What about Dalton Knecht’s defense and other parts of his game, I’m going to plead guilty at least for now…I don’t have a clue. As for the offensive portion I am quite impressed, I’ve not witnessed a Laker rookie score at this level since Kyle Kuzma. The difference clearly Kuzma was not the proficient shooter Knecht is. To borrow the old Dan Patrick term from his days at ESPN, Knecht was en Fuego against the Jazz on Tuesday night.

Knecht would lead the way to the Lakers 124-118 victory with his prolific shooting, 37 points with most of it 9-12 from the 3P line. Has LeBron James taken a back seat to a rookie, maybe someone else must provide me that information. In any event the Lakers find themselves with a 10 win 4 loss season thus far. I remain cautious, cautious regarding the team, injuries, Knecht and the competition. For Knecht it’s the “rookie wall,” just in case you are unfamiliar with the term its applied to rookies in the NBA. By mid to late January generally they have played the same number of games as in college, they run out of gas. Those are the factors that are the foundation of my concern for the 2024-25 Laker season. If they are able to secure a veteran Big Man and defensive specialist Jerrod Vanderbilt is able to return from injury…well I just don’t know.

It’s my prerogative

Bobby Brown recorded an R&B hit tune with the above title in 1988. You can lay claim to almost anything if you wish, folks can disagree if they desire which is exactly what I’m doing in this case. In these parts with a winning Royals baseball team and Super Bowl Champion Chiefs those topics would dominate sports talk radio. Last winter one of the locals was asking all his guest a similar question. “Don’t you think it would be better if college basketball started in January over November?” A funny thing occurred, not one single guest I heard agreed with this host. His explanation for the change was based of all things football.

This is what he said, “With the Chiefs playing into January every season our concentration is on them rather than college basketball.” That was then, this is now…one of the broadcasters for Kansas football and basketball was his guest Tuesday afternoon. At the end of the interview he proposed this same January basketball start, once again this person failed to agree with him. Friends I am not opposed to change, over my youth and into adulthood I’ve witnessed a number of changes in basketball college and the NBA. The changes (good or bad) were an attempt to enhance the game, they were not made to aid the viewership or following of another sport. I guess he’s never going to give up his pursuit of a change he believes enhances the game, I guess like Bobby Brown he’s saying, “It’s my prerogative.”

I applaud him

All of us realize by now the Lakers continue playing their games in Crypto.com arena, in the meantime the Clippers are in the brand new Intuit Dome. Two arenas for two NBA teams which is what it should have been all along. At the time the Nets moved from New Jersey to Brooklyn they didn’t share Madison Square Garden, they had Barclays Center constructed. At one time the Lakers and Clippers played in different arenas located over the Greater Los Angeles metro.  

Prior to Crypto Laker games were played in the Forum and the Clippers at a number of locations in the Greater Los Angeles metro. With two basketball teams and an NHL team sharing an arena someone had to be placed behind the others. I’m unsure if the Lakers were 1a and 1b or which number the Kings held. I know who was number 2 it was the Clippers. How do I know because they complained about their place in the pecking order? Along came owner Steve Ballmer who would change that, spending his own money the Intuit Dome was built with an October NBA opening. Now the scheduling issue should be resolved now and into the future.

Has he reached his peak

Most of you reading this were probably unfamiliar with the name Scoot Henderson before Wemby. You might remember prior to the 2023 NBA draft Wemby’s Metropolitans 92 team journeyed to Las Vegas to play G-Team Elite and Scoot Henderson. At some point after the two games Henderson announced he should be the top pick in the 2023 draft, that would not occur however the Blazers chose him at three. Is Henderson talented enough to just play in the NBA, by my statement I am indicating a slightly above average player.

Allow me to explain further, the numbers Henderson produced were good but certainly not outstanding. The truth is the rookie numbers closely paralleled his last season in the G-League. Keep in mind this is written without me having the opportunity to witness his play, the 2024-25 numbers are slightly higher than his rookie season. Will Henderson’s NBA career be that of an above average but not outstanding player? This might be a case of what is considered success, I can think of at least two players who appear to have parlayed themselves into financial solvency well past their NBA careers. In conclusion success must be defined by the individual in question not by me or anyone else.