A fans perspective 

Published Monday, Wednesday, Friday & Saturday

The Lake Show

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect with the Lakers facing the Wolves for the first time. After all last season in the playoffs they demolished the Lakers, it wasn’t the playoffs but the outcome was far different. The Lakers were winners 128-110 as Luka led the way to the victory, his game was 60.9% shooting from the floor with 41.7% from three. It was 49 points 11 rebounds and 8 assists as he registered an outstanding second game for the season. I’m praising Luka but it was not him alone. He led the way but the win was a team effort by all in Purple and Gold.

Austin Reaves scored 25 points along with 11 assists, Rui Hachimura chipped in with 23 points, Deandre Ayton contributed 15 points on several lob dunks and pulled down 8 rebounds. Marcus Smart only scored 3 points but his contributions defensively cannot be overlooked. The win was a team effort as the Lakers shot nearly 60% from the floor and 41% from three, the Wolves out rebounded the Lakers but it was only by a slim 40-38 margin. Next up the Lakers head north to face the Kings on Sunday, this account is published ahead of the game so an update will be available in the Monday morning edition. The Lakers now appear ready to battle Western Conference foes in pursuit of a championship, maybe they will prove the cynics wrong this season.

Part Deux-The Los Angeles Lakers managed to win the second game of the season against the Minnesota T-Wolves. Luka Doncic had led the way to the victory with 49 points but then came the news on Sunday afternoon, Luka had suffered an injury in the game and would be out at least a week. That’s a double whammy, LeBron is gone until mid-November with a sciatic issue. The Lakers faced a daunting task in front of them, who takes the lead…someone needs to step up. Will at least against the Sacramento Kings Sunday evening several “someone’s stepped up.”

The Lakers were 127-120 winners over the Kings as guard Austin Reaves almost registered a triple-double with his 51 points, 11 rebounds and 9 assists a career high. Teammates Deandra Ayton scored 22 points and pulled down 15 rebounds, Rui Hachimura scored 18 points and Marcus Smart chipped in with 11. Scoring has been an issue for the Lakers but as a team they managed to shot nearly 49% from the floor and 32% from three. Zach LaVine led the way for the Kings with his 32 points, LaVine was capability assisted by DeMar DeRozen with his 21 points. The Lakers have a monumental task in front of them with LeBron and Luka out of the lineup at the same time. Next up the Portland Trail Blazers on Monday a home game which was followed by a match against the Wolves on the road this evening.

We are yet to begin play

College basketball play is about two weeks away, a number of teams have already played exhibition games as this is written. Naturally a look ahead for me is the NBA draft in June, I’m focused on the draft for one reason. The highly touted college prospects usually play but one year and they are on the way to the NBA, ask Cooper Flagg? I decided to check the mock draft sites and the usual suspects are in place in fact one site has Darryn Peterson, AJ Dybansta and Cameron Boozer projected as the top three. Guess what, all three are in their freshman year at their respective schools. As for the top pick in the 2026 draft the college season must be completed first however these names are at the top.

We check out tankathon.com which places Darryn Peterson as the number one pick, Peterson is a 6-foot 5 195 pound combo guard. Moving on to draftroom.com, they also have the Kansas guard as their top selection. If we move to nbadraft.net we find a different name as their choice, AJ Dybantsa 6-foot 9 210 pound small forward at BYU. I began this exercise by pointing to the fact the adjustment to the college game is vital for the player and not necessarily how they might impact a team. We need look no further than Rutgers as the example of that fact, the team finished the 2024-25 season with 15 wins and 17 losses. Despite the team’s poor record we saw guard Dylan Harper drafted second by the Spurs and later Harper’s teammate guard Ace Bailey was made the 5th pick by the Jazz. By the time the season ends its quite possible Boozer might move up and replace one or both…it’s occurred in the past.

Is he the best in the NBA

Victor Wembanyama missed half of his second year in the NBA due to injury, after surgery, rehab and traveling the globe this is what we discovered. This is not in order but from my memory, Wemby spent time in study with monks in the Shaolin Temple in China even shaving his head. He then worked out with former Rockets center Hakeem Olajuwon and Wolves power forward Kevin Garnett. With Olajuwon it was offensive work as for Garnett it was focus on mentality and on court leadership, he also took time to return home to Paris France as well. This world-wide travel was to prepare himself to perform at a high skill level in the 2025-26 NBA season. I pose the question in the headline, is he the best in the NBA in his third year? I ask the NBA fan, I can state my impressions however I’m only a party of one.

Let’s check the stats after Wemby’s third game of the season. He’s averaging nearly 33 points a game on 57% shooting from the floor with 36.4% from three for a 7-foot 5 center. It’s easy to detail the offensive part of Wemby, how about the “effort stats”? That’s my reference to the defensive portion of his game, it’s a 13.3 rebound average along with 6 blocked shots a game. Wemby is not leading the NBA in scoring in fact he’s tied for 6 place, SGA is the scoring leader, Wemby is not leading in field goal percentage that belongs to Giannis Antetokounmpo for now. The undefeated Spurs are tied in wins with the defending champion Thunder in the Western Conference, Wemby is playing at NBA All Pro level after the first three games of the season. I don’t ski but the phrase has caught my attention, “I don’t want to get in front of my ski’s.” I guess its meant to say don’t get ahead of yourself.

I’m a Duke fan

Most of us have a favorite NBA or college team we root for. For me In the NBA win or lose it’s the Lakers, a secondary team is the Spurs especially since the arrival of Wemby. As for the college game first and foremost it’s the Missouri Tigers, right behind them are the Duke Blue Devils. What I find most interesting Duke is one of those “hated” basketball programs, the one casual fans hope for a lost no matter who they might play. For me, this love affair with Duke basketball began long before Coach K. retired, it’s continued with Jon Scheyer. There are programs that brag about the number of players they have sent into the NBA, It might exist at Duke I’ve never been privy to it.

It’s not on the coaches, it’s not only the talent produced over the decades. The arena is also part of the mystique for me too. In the day of gigantic college arenas we have Cameron Indoor Stadium on the Duke campus. This arena opened its doors January 6, 1940, it seats 9,314 rabid fans which I’m sure has aided the winning at Duke. I’ve read opposing players expressed the belief that the student body is seated inches away from the court and that might indeed be the case. I’d written this previously but it is worth mentioning once again if a coach hired today had a similar record to Coach K. after three years they would be fired. In his first three seasons Duke won 38 games while losing 47, the record there after was unbelievably successful. Duke basketball one of the most successful programs in the nation and one I find easy to root for.