Basketball from a fans perspective

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An ugly game

Despite the headline, there were positive outcomes as the Lakers secured another victory over their cross-town rivals with a score of 106-102. It is noteworthy that since January 15, the Lakers have achieved the best won-loss record in the NBA, which is certainly notable. This game became the 5th consecutive win and the Lakers have now won 8 out of their last 10 games. Rui Hachimura was sidelined and did not play, while Austin Reaves managed only nine minutes before exiting due to a calf injury. As a result, it was left to Dorian Finney-Smith, Jarred Vanderbilt, and others to lead the team to victory.

Although Luka had a poor shooting performance, he still managed to score 31 points, contributing significantly to the win. LeBron James continues to defy age, delivering an outstanding performance with 28 points and 13 rebounds, a remarkable feat for a 40-year-old athlete. On the Clippers' side, Kawhi Leonard, Ivica Zubac, and James Harden led the way for them. The first game between these teams on January 19 saw the Clippers victorious, but the Lakers have now won the last two encounters. The two teams are set to face each other again tonight, with hopes that Rui Hachimura and Austin Reaves will be available to play for the Lakers.

This is more in the form of a question

The transfer portal has changed the basketball landscape in America, also included in this variation is Name, Image & Likeness. High school recruiting has been knocked down a couple of rungs on the recruiting ladder. I am probably old fashion but I continue to believe adding high school talent remains viable for the majority of teams. Last year Missouri had the highest recruited class in its history, due to the sizable number of portal transfers on court appearances for Missouri’s freshman has been limited this season.

Based on this factor alone I checked the 2025 recruiting and the ranking is not as high as 2024 and its clear why. They have yet to prove themselves however depending on the site Missouri’s recruiting class was ranked 7-10 in the nation. For 2025 the numbers are different, Rivals places the Tigers at number 36 in the nation while On3 list them at 41. The last one mentioned is 247Sports which positions Missouri at 50 which is still good, it’s my belief that anytime a school (or individual) is Top 50 in the nation that’s a good thing. What are your thoughts, do you believe high school recruiting remains valid or have transfer portal players become the priority?

Black hole

What is it, this is the book definition not mine: “A black hole is a massive, compact astronomical object so dense that its gravity prevents anything from escaping, even light.” That’s what occurs for head college coaches moving to the NBA, the basketball bounces the same but the game is far different. Everyone has a starting point, even for these coaches, it could be similar to Pat Riley. After playing in the NBA he went from play by play analyst to assistant coach to head coach.

Jason Kidd and JJ Redick did it quite different, they had no head coaching experience prior to becoming one. This exercise is based on comments made by a local radio guy, he seems to believe Bill Self could become a successful coach in the NBA. I’d wait prior to assuming something of an enigma, truth is college coaches in the NBA have disappeared into the Black hole. Larry Brown is the exception, this is not in any order but he’s coached the Sixers, Pistons, UCLA, Kansas and SMU. He won an NBA Championship with the Pistons and an NCAA Championship with Kansas, no one has ever done that. What do we use as a guideline of success, it might vary from team to team. Currently Billy Donovan is coaching the Bulls and Quin Snyder the Hawks, how do we wish to grade them? Without checking the balance of coaches were either assistants or head coaches with other NBA teams.

As you might surmise the NBA rarely looks outside its circle of names and the reason is clear, although the components are the same the NBA game is almost totally different from that played in college. Could Self coach successfully in the NBA, I have no clue and the only true test is for him to be hired. Even that might be an issue at 62 years of age. I just looked this up, the average age of NBA coaches is between 49-52 so as you can see Self would be over the age of most coaches at the beginning of his NBA debut.