A fans perspectives

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It was a good win

The Joker remained absent from the Denver Nuggets lineup, that may have indirectly led to the 115-107 victory by the Los Angeles Lakers. I’m giving the Lakers a B- letter grade because its clear there were some good things coming from this game. The first and most important they beat a playoff bound team despite Joker missing, the Lakers haven’t done too much of that recently. Truth is they have lost games to teams hovering around and below .500 that should make them feel embarrassed. LeBron James only scored 19 points but appeared to be revitalized with his 9 rebounds and 8 assists.

Luka ‘The’ Don led the way with his 5th triple double of the season, 38 points 13 rebounds and 10 assists but there were others. Deandre Ayton was poked in the eye (I hope not serious) and he missed the second half of the game, stepping up in his absence was Marcus Smart, Jaxson Hayes, Jarred Vanderbilt and Rui Hachimura. The Lakers outshot the Nuggets 51% to 45% and the real surprise shooting from three. The Lakers didn’t defend particularly well (41%) but managed to shoot 40% which is outstanding for them. Probably the most encouraging aspect of the Lakers, they won in Denver, which hasn’t occurred too often in recent years on the Nuggets home court. By the time this is read they will have continued the road trip playing the Los Angeles Clippers at the Intuit Dome.  

An enigma

Maybe I should contemplate a better term for this Mizzou Tiger team. They are a paradox, or conundrum…how about this less complex term puzzle. The last two games have witnessed them almost win both of them, despite that fact they haven’t allowed me to feel any better about this team. Friends, yelling and screaming at your television serves no practical purpose so in the future I will refrain myself. Oh, the final score was Georgia 74 Mizzou 72 in what I might describe an “ugly game.” Neither team at times appeared to have a will to win, turnovers…poor shot selection all were contributing factors to this game.

A 3-point basket at the end by Mizzou came up short however it wasn’t a clean shot and in my view didn’t come close enough to be tipped into the basket. The Achilles heel of Mizzou basketball poor free throw shooting failed to appear however it was replaced by offensive rebounds by Georgia. It seemed every miss by Georgia a rebound offered them a second and sometimes third attempt. I am stating this upfront, I love Dennis Gates…I love the fact he’s revitalized the basketball program however there remains an issue. This Mizzou team is yet to turn the corner where they become a repeat conference contender similar to Kentucky. I have no idea what occurs from this point going forward, the college season begin with such promise and is slowly descending into a downward trend.  Next up they face the Oklahoma Sooners on Saturday afternoon, I expect a win by Mizzou.

Meanwhile….

A writer used the term “losing a winnable game” several weeks ago while describing the outcome of a Mizzou game. It was his interpretation (not mine) Mizzou lost a game he believed they should have won, I thought, “I like the phrase.” Probably the first thought from you might be what is the definition behind the expression? You can arrive at your own conclusion and it will be correct as for me it’s not this occurrence. A half-court heave that finds the bottom of the net or a tip in basket that wins the game, also a crucial rebound that might seal a win, it’s none of those things. It’s a winning team losing to one with a losing record, for me it is simple playing down to the level of your competition, it doesn’t matter if we are talking a high school game, one played in college or the NBA. It could also be termed an “ugly” loss due to the fact it could have become a win with a little more effort.

As of mid-January, the college basketball season has been underway since November. Personally, I review NBA mock draft sites approximately four to five times before the season concludes. Typically, there is fluctuation in player rankings; as noted below, the mocks generally align with one another. Presented here is the projected Top Five NBA mock draft picks as of January 18. Despite intermittent absences due to recurring leg cramps, Kansas guard Darryn Peterson continues to hold the number one spot across all three mock draft sources. There has also been minimal movement for AJ Dybansta of BYU and Cameron Boozer, both wing players either up or down at their respective programs. An additional update is planned for you in February, between the middle and end of the month. It should be of note that our focus is always on the top portion of the draft. That fails to take into account their might be a Manu Ginobili, 57th pick in 1999 or Draymond Green, 35th pick in 2012. There is always hidden talent in a draft, the 2000 draft being the exception.

NBADraft.net                                        nbadraftroom.com                                                tankathon.com

Darryn Peterson                                      Darryn Peterson                                                      Darryn Peterson

AJ Dybansta                                             AJ Dybansta                                                          Cameron Boozer

Cameron Boozer                                     Cameron Boozer                                                    AJ Dybansta

Kingston Flemings                                  Caleb Wilson                                                         Caleb Wilson

Caleb Wilson                                           Kingston Flemings                                               Kingston Flemings

I cannot prove a portion of what you are about to read, its only my belief. A view that Victor Wembanyama wants to win NBA Defensive Player of the Year. He hinted as much with his comment recently regarding the NBA rule which stipulates the number of games played in order to be eligible for honors. As an example if he played more than the 28 games he’s played thus far he would be tied for second in the NBA in blocked shots. Currently Wemby is three games behind the minimum number to qualify for post season honors. Why did the NBA institute a games played rule you ask? In this day of “load management” it has become a requirement. A rule change shouldn’t have been necessary however the league must have believed it important enough to implement.