A basketball fans perspective

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It’s over

The Lakers were able to win their first round playoff series against the Rockets despite what the cynics either stated or wrote. You remember they said, “No Luka, no AR-15 no chance” or something quite similar. Now comes the more difficult part, playing the defending champion Thunder and the ability of the Lakers to win a game let alone a series against the ballyhooed Oklahoma City Thunder. Nothing to do here except attempt to figure out the final score, should the Lakers even bother showing up for Game One?

After all the pundits claimed they didn’t stand a chance against the Rockets, they said this with the view and it’s worth repeating, the Lakers with no Luka and no Austin Reaves didn’t stand a chance. Might as well “mail this one in, why bother with showing up to be embarrassed on the basketball court. After all during the regular season that’s what occurred, the Lakers were trounced by the Thunder in Oklahoma City and Crypto.com arena four times. So what are we to do, I can’t speak for you….I intend to sit in front of my television with my crying towel as the Thunder slowly (or it could come quickly) dismantle my Lakers. In between time I will wait on the draft/free agency for them to get them over the hump and win another championship.

This is different

Jon Scheyer has managed to establish himself as a highly effective recruiter and winning coach at Duke, he’s continued the legacy of his former coach and predecessor, Coach K. Rivals.com currently ranks Duke as the top recruiting program in the nation for the 2026-27 college basketball season. Notably, for the first time, the roster will feature a five-star prospect who will not be eligible to declare for the June 2027 NBA draft due to age restrictions.

Joaquim Boumtje-Boumtje, who is 16 years old and will turn 17 this month on the 30th, must remain in school as he is not yet eligible for the draft. Although he’s played competitive basketball he will require further development, his youth precludes him from entering the 2027 draft. Standing 7 feet tall and weighing 230 pounds, Boumtje-Boumtje joins Duke from FC Barcelona in Spain; originally from St. Petersburg, Florida, he relocated to Spain as a teenager. His father is Reuben Boumtje-Boumtje who played for Georgetown and had a brief few years in the NBA playing for the Blazers.

More than 7

There are 7 days in a week, I concluded there were 7 reasons why the Kings departed Kansas City for Sacramento. I began this account by stating there may have been more than 7 and there are. Alex a friend of mine, after reading my account, contacted me with his observation of the time. Although I am not going to detail everything we discussed It’s my intention to credit him with directing me to this article I located online. This commentary provided detail on managements relationship with the city and how ownership misled the city and Kansas City fans, check this out:

“A month after the purchase, a Kansas City councilman named Frank Palermo claimed that the Kings owners were formulating plans to build a temporary arena in Sacramento, so the Kings could move as soon as their Kemper Arena lease ran out after the 1984-85 season. Kings executives vehemently denied the report, with president and GM Joe Axelson offering to the Associated Press what could have been taken as a threat: “It’s unfortunate that someone who shoots from the hip as Palermo does would be the City Council's sports committee chairman. I am disappointed that I am forced to refute irresponsible statements made by Palermo in this second handed way. People like Palermo who sit back and say the Kings are leaving will find it a self-fulfilling prophecy if they don't wise up and try to help us instead of hurt us."

So as you might note by this Deadspin.com article Gregg Lukenbill Kings owner and GM Joe Axelson were less than honest with the city and fans of the team. Most in the city discovered the Kings were leaving during a halftime television interview featuring Axelson. It is clear owner Greg Lukenbill living at the time in Sacramento had no intention of maintaining the team in Kansas City. Might there have been a different outcome….that’s possible. The Kings had local ownership, locals wanted to locate a buyer for the team however there was a problem. At the time the For Sale sign was attached to the baseball Royals John Sherman stepped up to purchase the Royals, in 1984 no one said; “Here I am, I will buy the Kings.    

deadspin.com January 23, 2013

This is an unusual request

A quick turnaround, the Knicks-Sixers series began yesterday. Since this is written Monday morning I have no idea who won Game One, what I do know….this is an unusual request. In the post-game press conference after the Sixers victory over the Celtics this was heard. Joel Embiid expressed a request of Sixer fans, “Don’t sell your tickets to Knicks fans, our arena became Madison Square Garden East. I will reimburse you for your tickets” The quote is close to Embiid’s words however since Philadelphia is west of New York Embiid was slightly off with his directions.

Embiid is not far off base, I remember the last time the teams faced one another, the cheering in Philadelphia was almost as clamorous for the Knicks as they were for the home team. It is being reported tickets for the games in Philadelphia would only be authorized for those with zip codes in and around the city. A major portion of the issue is the distance, Google maps indicate city limit to city limit there exists only “94 miles between New York City and Philadelphia.” Games in Madison Square Garden saw a bevy of entertainment and sports stars in attendance and rest assured that might be the chief issue for Embiid and perhaps other Sixers….he voiced an opinion what most of his teammates wouldn’t say.