February 13th, 2017
It’s not out of the question Laker fans. Jerry West could come back to the franchise. Reports surfaced out of the Bay Area last week, indicating that West could be intrigued by an offer from the Lakers Basketball Operations Department. This is the most exciting piece of Laker news I’ve heard since learning that Blaze Pizza had a concession stand at Staple Center. West is 78 years old, so let’s not get any crazy ideas that he would come back as a General Manager, or even Director of Basketball Operations. However, he would be an extremely valuable consultant for the Lakers, and would be instrumental in helping rebuild the franchise. If there’s one thing Jerry West is great at, it’s evaluating talent. The Lakers have reached a point where drafting is more important than anything else they do. With that being the case, his input would be critical. He rebuilt the Shaq-Kobe Lakers, the Memphis Grizzlies, and the Golden State Warriors, mostly through the draft. There’s no reason he can’t help do it one more time. With his son Ryan already in the front office, and good working relationships already with Mitch Kupchak, Jim Buss, Magic Johnson, and Jeanie Buss, there’s no reason this can’t work. The Lakers are going to need additional help, but that’s a great start.
For those of you complaining about Jim Buss and where the Lakers are, Buss looks like the greatest owner in sports when you compare him to James Dolan in New York. There is no tent big enough to hold the circus that is going on with the Knicks franchise. Dolan has completely washed his hands of the Carmelo Anthony drama, and when asked about it last week, he said it’s all up to Phil Jackson. The man doesn’t care, he just doesn’t want any of the blame. I guess that’s why he’s paying Jackson $12 million a year. I feel terrible for Carmelo, who’s been ripped by Jackson in the media, just to make him feel uncomfortable and ultimately waive his no-trade clause. Carmelo has done nothing but come to work everyday, he doesn’t complain, and by all accounts he’s a good guy and a good teammate. As if that didn’t create enough drama, Dolan then threw out former Knick legend Charles Oakley from Madison Square Garden late last week. Oakley was likely screaming obscenities, but Dolan handled the situation poorly, and made up stories about the former Knick. Dolan was so determined to win the battle of public perception that he even invited former Knick Latrell Sprewell, to sit next to him during yesterday’s game. Sprewell also has a very rocky history with the organization. I can’t wait to see where this high school drama goes next. The bottom line is that the Knicks do more fighting in the stands than on the court.
Despite the last two UCLA wins, I’ve been really skeptical about their tournament chances of late. However, there’s one thing that makes me think they could have a chance to go to the Final Four: Lonzo Ball. As the College Basketball season goes on, he keeps getting better and better. He totally dominated at both ends of the floor against Oregon, shutting down Dillon Brooks at one end, and taking over offensively at the other. Yesterday, he sparked the Bruins in the 2nd half to route Oregon State. Even when UCLA had a team with Russell Westbrook and Kevin Love, it wasn’t enough to overcome the likes of Derrick Rose, Joakim Noah, or Al Horford in the Final Four. It may very well be that UCLA has the most transcendent college player in the nation that puts them in National Championship contention. Still, the Bruins have to improve their defense, and Steve Alford needs to stop bitching about us criticizing him for it when they stink. Prior to playing the Oregon schools, the Bruins were ranked 117th out of 351 schools in adjusted defensive efficiency. That measures how many points teams give up per 100 possessions when accounting for level of competitions. Of the last 40 teams that made it to the Final Four, only two have had a ranking of 51 or higher. That’s bad news for UCLA hoops.
Speaking of UCLA, you probably heard about future Bruin recruit LaMelo Ball scoring 92 points in a game for Chino Hills High School last week. LaMelo is clearly one of the best high school basketball players in the country, and I can’t criticize a kid a teenager for doing something his coaches enabled him to do. Let’s give LaMelo credit for dedicating his performance to a very sick classmate who was having surgery as well. However, allowing someone to score 92 points in high school game is everything that wrong with high school and college basketball recruiting today. Chino Hills defeated Los Osos 146-123. A team with LaMelo Ball, one of the best high school players in the nation, is giving up 123 points? That’s because LaMelo spent most of the night cherry picking and not paying any attention to the defensive end. LaMelo and his brother LiAngelo are such great players, their parents and coaches should hold them accountable for playing great defense on every possession, and for getting their teammates high quality shots with regularity. It probably wouldn’t be a bad idea either to give some players minutes who don’t get to play a whole lot either.
Are the Kings actually going to make the playoffs? They’ve got 27 games left, and are clinging to the final playoff spot in the Western Conference. How LA has managed to make it this far is more confusing than the names of Michael Jackson’s kids. The Kings are 4th in goals allowed, but just 23rd in the league in goals scored. Even stranger is the fact that Anze Kopitar, their leading scorer for the last 9 seasons, has just six goals on the year. They also lost Jonathan Quick, one of the best goaltenders in hockey, to a groin injury in the 1st game of the season. Quick might return before the season is over, but it’s far from a guarantee. LA had the benefit of making an impact trade at the deadline in 2012 and 2014, which propelled them to Stanley Cup Championships. This time however, they probably don’t have the assets or the salary cap flexibility to make that type of trade. Meanwhile, the Ducks have found a way to get younger, yet they are still staying in playoff contention. Their offense isn’t overwhelming, but their defense and goaltending are solid, and they are a much grittier team than in years past. Whether that translates into playoff success remains to be seen however, in the crapshoot that is the NHL playoffs.
Nick Saban needs to start a reality show for fired USC coaches. When coaches look like their career is over, they go work for him, and then find themselves as useful candidates elsewhere. It was just months ago we felt like Steve Sarkisian’s career was over when he sued USC. It turns out that not only is he an NFL Offensive Coordinator for the Falcons now, but he could easily end up getting a chance to be a head coach in the league in a couple of seasons. Not bad for a guy that’s probably having a drink as you read this.
The Bachelor is getting crazy on ABC. In fact, it’s getting so crazy that Jasmine makes Corrine look totally normal. Nick is cutting girls like the federal budget. We’re down to six. It’s probably a good idea for most of the girls to take note that Nick doesn’t like to be choked, as Jasmine found out. Who the hell is Whitney? Did anybody actually know who she was before that horrible 2 on 1 date she had? It was like watching a bad job interview. These girls are getting very whiny, and I don’t blame Nick for starting to get over the whole process. Every one of them should be fortunate and excited they made it this far on the show, yet all they can do is just increase the amount of complaining they are doing because of the lack of attention they are getting. Vanessa in particular is the worst of these complainers, and I’m tired of her act. There’s no crying in volleyball ladies. If you played a drinking game where you had to take a shot every time Nick says “my heart is open”, you would be dead 30 minutes into the episode. Nick is also crazy for sending Danielle Lo home. At least she didn’t get left on the beach like Whitney.
The Walking Dead came back last night on AMC. We just can’t seem to escape politics can we? The show spent a full hour building coalitions against a totalitarian regime. Spoiler alert for those of you who have yet to see it. At least in this season premier we didn’t have to witness anybody get their skull crushed by a baseball bat.
Finally, it was Grammy night at Staples Center last night. The last two years all I heard from people was how little talent the artists had, and how most of them had some kind of sideshow personality with no real quality music. Last night definitely dispelled that notion, as plenty of talent was on display, and there were a number of excellent tributes to artists that had passed away recently. Adele’s blunder wasn’t that bad. Her expletive on live TV was unnecessary, but she collected herself quickly and gave a good performance after that. That same can’t be said for Mariah Carey, who spent five minutes complaining about the technical difficulties on live TV during New Years Eve. Then again, the Metallica microphone blunder seemed like a far worse mistake to me, but a lot of people might not have even realized their microphone wasn’t on anyway. A legendary band like Metallica deserves better than that though. Did anybody else think that Beyonce’s mom looked like Caitlyn Jenner? Speaking of Beyonce, she looked better with a baby than most women do without one.
