A basketball fans perspective

Monday, Wednesday & Friday

Fast & Furious

This has nothing to do with the movie series rather it involves the fast & furious moves of the Lakers. Allow me to explain it in this manner, day one of free agency not a peep from them. There was plenty of media talk but nothing substantial emanating from the Lakers camp. On day two mid-morning central time ……BAM! First came this report, Walker Kessler had been obtained in a sign and trade deal with the Jazz. Although Deandre Ayton remains on the team the 7-foot 2 245 pound Kessler is expected to supplant Ayton in the post.

Kessler is a rim-protector rebounder and lob threat, reports indicate Ayton might be a better defender than Kessler although in and around the basket Kessler is the better custodian. As for the further moves in quick succession it was reported Sandro Mamukelashvili power forward/center would be signed along with Quentin Grimes shooting guard/small forward and Collin Sexton combo guard. With the exception of Kessler all three are expected to take on reserve roles with the Lakers. The key of course to these moves is the health of Luka Doncic, he must be on the floor however the minutes might have taken a toll on his body in the past. Optimistically, Austin Reaves along with Collin Sexton can reduce the length of time Luka spends on the court.

Meanwhile….

I checked ESPN’s NBA page on Wednesday, I was curious how the Blazers depth chart would appear after the arrival of Ja Morant. Here goes, Scoot Henderson is listed at the point, Jrue Holiday at shooting guard, backing Henderson is Morant. Dame Lillard’s name was not listed anywhere, perhaps that’s due to him coming off an injury however he’s got to play somewhere don’t you think? I certainly have no intention of trimming the Blazers backcourt that is the responsibility of the Blazer coaching staff, despite my statement it appears the team is operating with more guards than required if other reserves are included in the count, its overload. Of course newly acquired Morant will play and most likely Henderson too so that leaves Dame and Henderson questionable for some sort of role with the team.

I know, there is no reason to remind me….they don’t play basketball games on paper, in addition if you are not from around here the significance will be lost. ESPN’s Way-Too-Early Top 25 teams was checked, listed as the number 21 team in the nation Missouri’s Tigers. At 23 we find the Kansas Jayhawks, in the past Mizzou has not been as highly rated in any preseason poll as Kansas basketball. There is no requirement to detail the why. The rating is earned on the basis of the talent ESPN believes Mizzou will place on the court, this despite the fact Kansas will have the number one high school prospect in the nation Tyran Stokes.  

We have questions, okay maybe it’s only me with questions I can’t really speak for you. The prospect of NBA Europe brought about numerous reservations on my part, the chief one. How will the Euroleague adapt to having an NBA team “next door” instead of a continent away? Apparently much better than I first thought, according to ESPN the NBA has received over 20 groups vying to own a team. “Multiple bids exceeded $1 billion” according to the report which to me is much stronger evidence than I believed at a point in time. Where would these 12 teams play might be your next question and currently these are the cities. London, Paris, Madrid, Berlin, Munich, Milan, Rome and Istanbul. Also Barcelona, Manchester England and Lyon France and Athens Greece, NBA Europe is prepped to begin play in October 2027.

The Kobe Stopper

The headline, that’s the nicknamed Reuben Patterson daubed himself. I’m sure many you reading never witnessed Kobe Bryant’s play, you are stuck with YouTube videos and discussions of this type by those who saw him in action. He certainly was the real deal and many opposing players did their best to hinder his scoring, one of them being Reuben Patterson. He actually began his NBA career with the Lakers after they drafted him in 1998, he would only spend his rookie year with them. From their it was the Sonics, Blazers and several other NBA teams, I believe this occurred while Patterson was with the Sonics, he proclaimed himself “The Kobe Stopper.”

Friends, Kobe Bryant didn’t score 81 points every time he walked onto a basketball court, despite his declaration Patterson managed to do very little stopping as evidence by this. During the course of his career in 23 games Kobe averaged 29.3 points, 6.7 rebounds and 4.8 assists. The main reason I bring this ancient story to light was a Mavs website. They wrote and I paraphrase: “We have the Wemby Stopper” a reference to Dereck Lively II, in the article the writer alluded to the success Lively II experienced against Victor Wembanyama. This is not an argument claiming the Mavs center didn’t perform in the manner mentioned its simply the age old argument….in the NBA no one is really a stopper. Defending an opposing player you attempt to make him work harder or the shots he takes more difficult. At this level no one truly stops anyone from scoring but what do I know….I’m just a basketball fan.