Monday Morning Coffee

February 22, 2021

Sometimes I really wonder if some of you are really under the impression the Lakers are going to win every single game. I also have come to the conclusion that if they don’t, you think the team needs major changes. Relax folks. The Lakers have been missing two of their three best players, and they have looked tired and disinterested in playing over the last few weeks. That’s understandable for a defending champion with the shortest off-season in league history. I know they are now losing to teams who wear Rainbow Bright pajamas, but they are still tied for the 2nd best record in the league. The Lakers didn’t just lose the ability to shoot all of a sudden. They are tired, and they’ll get their shooting legs back in time. However, they do need help at center. Andre Drummond would be ideal, but probably is not realistic. DeMarcus Cousins is however, and can still be effective. In any case, there’s no need to jump off the Santa Monica pier because the Lakers lost two in a row.

Meanwhile, the Clippers are getting healthy, but some questions are coming up after last night’s loss to the Nets. If you know that Paul George is on a minutes restriction, how do you not save some of his minutes for the last two critical minutes of the game? Did Ty Lue just do the math wrong on his minutes count and forget to carry the one? Also, great challenge by Ty Lue when Beverley practically stabbed Jeff Green in the back, instead of saving it for that bad offensive foul call on Kawhi in the final seconds. Paul George and Kawhi Leonard are playing at a higher level together this season, but their depth isn’t as good as it was last year. Lou Williams has become unplayable in crunch time, Patrick Beverley might get hurt trying to get his uniform on, and Luke Kennard can’t even crack the rotation on a $64 million contract. The Clips are doing fine, but they need more help in the backcourt. I’m just not sure how they are going to get it between now and playoff time.

To baseball where pitchers and catchers reported to Spring Training last week. That means that by the time the season starts, David Price will be pitching for the first time in 19 months. When you come back from a two-week vacation, it takes you a few days to get back to being sharp at your job. Imagine coming back from 19 months off? Does this dude even remember how to pitch? He was one of the best pitchers in baseball for nearly a decade, and injuries took a toll on his performance the last few years we saw him. That means the 19 months off will either be the best thing for his career and extend it, or it will be the death of his career. Speaking of pitchers, Trevor Bauer is at it again on Twitter, this time having a Twitter beef with Mets pitcher Noah Syndergaard. I’m fine with the back and forth with other players, as it makes the game more entertaining. However, hopefully Bauer’s antics are limited to what you see below. Otherwise, somebody take this man’s phone away.




As for the Angels, here we are again. We’re starting spring training and asking the same questions we usually do. Will this team have enough pitching to make the playoffs? Can Shohei Ohtani stay healthy and emerge as an elite starting pitcher? Will Mike Trout have enough help around him? We’ve seen this movie multiple times before and we know how it ends, so I don’t know why we expect the results to be different. It’s like watching the opening scene in all the Jaws movies. You know someone is going to get eaten, just like you know the answers to all the questions above are no. I look forward to us pretending like the results will be different for at least the first month of the season.

UCLA basketball was sloppier than Tom Brady during a championship parade on Saturday night. It didn’t matter though. They played 35 bad minutes, 4 good minutes, and 1 perfect minute to defeat Arizona State. That put them back into a 1st place tie in the Pac-12 with USC. I can’t believe the Bruins were awarded free throws with one second left in the game on a late foul. That’s a surprising call, even for Pac-12 officials. However, perhaps the best news of the week is that UCLA got a commitment from the #1 shooting guard recruit in the country, Amari Bailey. I say perhaps because Bailey de-committed and then re-committed to UCLA. Unfortunately, there’s still time for him to change his mind two or three more times.

Finally, the Bachelor is back on ABC tonight after another eventful episode last week. I’m sorry you didn’t get to leave sooner Serena C. Heather’s time on the show lasted about as long as Ted Cruz’s visit to Cancun. Kit thought she and Matt could definitely get married, but she probably still needs to take her finals and get a permission slip signed by her parents. Props to her though because she could probably teach a class on how to be contestant just long enough to be an influencer. I’m glad we won’t have to see a “socialite” hometown date though. Way to go Matt…..Bri gives up her job for you and all you have to say is “thanks for sharing”. On the other hand, you gave Rachel a rose for God knows what reason. He is really meeting Rachel’s family next week? Is this going to be the sequel to the movie “Get Out”? I’ll never understand why people keep picking up the Rose just to send people home. After Matt sent Abigail home, I’m thinking he probably deserved Victoria. Feels like anybody getting sent home at this point is the real winner compared to all the duds that are left. You should play a drinking game where you take a shot every time Matt says “thank you for sharing that.” You would be drunk really fast. Let’s just have Katie come back to replace Chris Harrison for the final two episodes of the season. Either that or make her the next Bachelorette.

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