A fans perspective

Published Monday, Wednesday plus Friday through Sunday

What’s his difficulty

The headline is asking the question regarding the Suns Dillon Brooks, the final score read Los Angeles Lakers 116 Phoenix Suns 114. At one point the Lakers held a huge lead and saw a run by the home team evaporate, as for Brooks the final score was revealed either from the radio account or a teammate. You see, Brooks wasn’t around for the end having been assessed a second technical for chest-bumping LeBron James. Allow me to say for some of you, Brooks has had a long running feud with LeBron and a number of other players throughout the NBA.

Brooks raised concerns with game officials prior to receiving his second technical foul. Although video evidence is inconclusive, it appears that LeBron may have initiated the contact. The officials did not call a foul for this incident, as they only observed Brooks making chest-to-chest contact with LeBron. Brooks is a capable defender; however, his approach to defense has been subject to criticism among some NBA fans. If I said fight to win the game that is a “play on words.” It simply describes whatever the endeavor you are attempting ensure it is your top effort. Enough on Brooks as for the game it was a scramble at the end, the Lakers held a 20 point lead before the Suns came roaring back. With no Austin Reaves who would step up offensively, how about Deandre Ayton and Jaxson Hayes Laker centers? Ayton scored 20 points on 10 for 11 shooting from the floor, in addition he pulled down 13 rebounds. I have been rather tough on Hayes in the past but Sunday night he came through relieving Ayton, he scored 12 points along with 9 rebounds.

Luka Doncic didn’t shoot particularly well but led the way for the Lakers with 29 points along with 6 assists, LeBron had 26 points. As for the Suns Devin Booker led the way with 27 points, Mark Williams scored 20 and Brooks in his Dennis Rodman imitation would total 18 points. Did Brooks antics affect the outcome of the game…that could be a yes or no answer on this question. Regardless this represented a good win for the Lakers for a single reason, the Suns could have…maybe they should have won however the Lakers prevailed. The Lakers may not be the better team however they were Sunday night in Phoenix.

He’s changed his tune

Unlike his co-host partner Charles Barkley it should be of note that Shaquille O’Neal appears to change his position. He was somewhat critical of Victor Wembanyama early on. I am not going to attempt to quote him but Shaq expressed concern about the lack of an inside game by the 7-foot 5 Wemby. Shaq was critical of the number of three point shots Wemby took during the course of a game. It’s been reported previously how the off season was spent including a time spent with Hakeem Olajuwon learning we assume the inside game. Once the 2024-25 season began we saw a different Wemby which was evident until he suffered the calf injury which sidelined him for 12 games.

Shaq was quoted claiming Wemby could learn more from tutoring by Olajuwon than he could from him. The Spurs being on the cautious side probably kept him on the injured list for an extended time hoping to prevent further aggravation of the calf. A stat check is required however I believe prior to being sidelined Wemby had taken fewer three point attempts over his first two seasons. It was noted at the beginning of the season Wemby was up to 236 pounds a huge increase over his rookie season 2023-24. Wemby appears to have his ‘head’ in the game and wants to improve his play, as long as he maintains this mindset the sky is the limit on his NBA potential. How do I reason he will continue this growth, I’m sure he’s read what Shaq’s said about him and rest assured he takes it to heart.

An accomplished athlete

The late Bob Gibson was profiled previously but his name continues to pop up during my research. If you are familiar with baseball you are aware this Hall of Fame pitcher spent his entire career with the St. Louis Cardinals. From 1959 to 1975 he was one of the most competitive athletes in the game, he finished with exceptional numbers. 251 victories, 3,117 strikeouts, and a 2.91 earned run average over his 17-years in the major leagues. By now you are wondering why all this baseball stuff, this is a basketball blog…indeed it is and I am coming to that part. Prior to the Cardinals Gibson, played baseball and basketball at Creighton University in Omaha Nebraska. Despite the fact Gibson stood only 6-foot 1 he was an outstanding athlete in basketball as well.

How good was he at basketball, although he concluded college in 1957 his name is still listed as one of the school’s all-time greats in a sport that few realize he even played. Despite the passage of time Gibson is ranked 21st in all-time scoring in Creighton’s Basketball Hall of Fame. He also holds a place in the top five for free throws made, free throw attempts, and maintains an impressive career scoring average of 20.19 points per game. For a time he played both sports, minor league baseball for the Cardinals and basketball with the Harlem Globetrotters. Gibson would give up play with the Globetrotters believing the game he wanted was more competitive than what he saw. He was never drafted by any NBA team however there is a report indicating the Minneapolis Lakers were interested in him. Could Gibson have played professionally, there is no doubt in my mind.

Is it time to blow up this team

Has panic set in for Clipper Nation, maybe not yet but it might soon be on the horizon for many. On Monday, the Memphis Grizzlies dealt the Los Angeles Clippers a 121-103 defeat, this left the Clippers with their 20th loss of the season. Check this out, in their last 10 games they have only managed one win. You might remember a week or so ago I noted the season was still young, teams in front of the Clippers could begin losing. In addition to that the win record would increase allowing the Clippers to leap ahead in the standings over others, this would allow them to earn a playoff berth.

That was then, this is now…I am not exactly sure that scenario will play itself out. Last season loss number 20 occurred January 27, this is written December 16 for a comparison. Perhaps members of the team are distracted by all the non-basketball activity, example the recent release of Chris Paul and the controversy surrounding Kawhi Leonard. Despite the questions surrounding Leonard he is in the lineup, the poor play by his Clippers certainly cannot all be laid at his feet. What about my home boy Tyronn Lue, the coach has got to be frustrated based on the play he’s witnessed thus far. I posed the question earlier, is it too late for change? The quick answer is NO, however, someone has got to decide to lay out the future for this Clippers team, if not there could be early vacations for all.