Basketball from a fans perspective

Defense is always a winner

I’m guilty, I get caught up in individual point totals of players. What occurs when the shot’s not falling or the opposition is defensing you effectively? That’s what occurred Monday night as the Lakers faced the Rockets at home, the Lakers prevailed 104-98. The Lakers from the floor were 39.3% shooting from the floor, in addition to defense they were saved by precise shooting from reserves Gabe Vincent and Dorian Finney-Smith, each totaled 20 points.

The Rockets were not blistering from the floor however 41.6% is certainly much better than the shot making of the Lakers. The Laker win prevented the Rockets (49-27) from clinching a playoff berth and help them maintain their cushion over the Warriors and Clippers. Next up for the Lakers will be a game on Wednesday as they will face those hot Warriors at Crypto.com Arena. After playing sparkling defense during the win streak until Monday evening I could say it’s suffered to a degree. The Lakers managed to turn it up a notch, LeBron had a key block of an Alperen Sengun shot as time was winding down in the game.

He’s moved up

Although I cannot be completely certain, I believe my statement to be accurate. At the beginning of the college basketball season, Cooper Flagg's name was prominently featured at the top of all 2015 NBA Mock Draft sites. Initially absent from these lists was the name Khaman Maluach, a 7-foot-2, 250-pound freshman also from Duke. While I am unsure of the exact date, it is apparent that his performance has significantly improved, leading one site to list him as a lottery pick. The other two mock drafts project him as a guaranteed first-round draft pick which is quite interesting.

Having observed Maluach in numerous games, it is clear he is not primarily an offensive player, although he can score when required. His expertise lies in defense, where he excels in blocking shots and rebounding. His intimidating presence often causes opponents to miss shots they would typically make. Originally from South Sudan, Maluach now resides in Kawempe, Uganda. He brings to mind the late Dikembe Mutombo during his time at Georgetown University, who also had a limited offensive game that became even more focused on defense in the NBA. While I am not asserting that Maluach is the second coming of Mutombo, he appears to possess similar defensive capabilities.

It’s not for everyone

Everyone cannot coach, allow me to repeat myself…everyone cannot coach. It doesn’t matter if we are discussing the NBA, NFL, tennis or chess, the job is difficult. I told this story previously, my company hired a trainer who’d once been a track & field coach. He told us the story of this sprinter who was a natural, no training required just blazing speed. Frank informed us he began a training routine for the youngster and to Frank’s disappointment the time for 100 meters actually went downward.

Depending on your age some of you might remember the late Chuck Daley, he was head basketball coach for those Bad Boy Piston championship teams. Daley had a longtime assistant who was hired by another NBA team. This assistant lasted but two years on the job before he was fired. Whether it’s true or not a member of the media made this statement, “I don’t understand how _________ could sit so long next to Daley and learn so little.” Surely there was more to the story but you get the point, a coach or manager receives too much credit for a winning team and too much blame for a loser. That statement is not always correct however it sometimes can ring true. How did we arrive here, JJ Redick was hired by the Lakers with 0 head coaching experience. It was said at the time the Lakers are taking a chance hiring someone of his type. The Lakers have made changes since last season, the biggest of course the acquisition of Luka Doncic but this is the question. The Lakers were playing better basketball over last season without him in the lineup, what’s the difference?

I cannot be certain, Darvin Ham was reported to be a defensive minded coach yet the Lakers are playing better defense under Redick a former NBA shooter. It’s not Redick alone he assembled a capable staff of assistants Nate McMillian, Scott Brooks, both with head coaching experience. In addition there are Bob Beyer, Greg St. Jean and Lindsey Harding the first female assistant for the Lakers all have past coaching experience. Seems as though the Lakers did this in the past, once hiring broadcaster Pat Riley as head coach.

Meanwhile….

Whenever an NBA front office acts in an unusual manner I say, “Oh boy.” That is the case for Taylor Jenkins, the Grizzlies coach was fired with days remaining in the season. In addition to that fact they are a playoff contender, there are circumstances and information those of us outside Memphis are unaware. They have an interim coach Tuomas Lisalo to lead them into the playoffs. Lisalo has experience as a Euro player and coach, he is in his second season with the team and is a native of Helsinki Finland.

CBS Sports decided to point out the Final Four teams are from the Southern United States. Despite what they promoted on their .com site the location of these teams fails to impact anything in my view.     Houston, Duke, Auburn and Florida have proven to be the best remaining college basketball teams. It just so happens the best teams at least this year are from that portion of the nation. We always discuss location, location, in this instance it’s more the best teams over anything else.

Bob Pettit is 92-years old, I’m mentioning his name because somewhere in the history of the NBA his name is missing. He should be known because he was one of the many who led the minor league NBA to a major league. The 6-9 Pettit was an All American from LSU, he was made the second pick in the 1954 draft by the Milwaukee/St. Louis Hawks. Pettit was an NBA Champion in 1958 with the Hawks, he retired in 1965 and was the first NBA player to score 20,000 points during his career. He is enshrined in the Naismith and College Basketball Hall of Fame, there is more on Pettit check it out on other sources.