FanNation

It Wasn't An Option

I've been a Golden State Warriors fan longer than I care to remember.  In '75  with a regular season record of 48-34,  they swept the heavily favored Washington Bullets featuring Elvin Hayes and Wes Unseld 4-0 to win it all.  Rick Barry was the series MVP, supported by Keith Wilkes,  (he would become Jamaal later) Clifford Ray, and Phill Smith. The reason I wax nostalgic about this point in time, is because Warrior fans have been waiting for a repeat performance for 33 years now.  Imagine my feelings of good fortune when they acquired one of my favorite players in Baron Davis. They also brought in Don Nelson, who tailored the offense to Davis' uptempo style.  This was it.  The difference maker.  All we needed now was a force in the low post.  Last years playoffs was just a sample of what was to come.  The dunk over Kirilenko was a mission statement.

They're Going To Blow It Again

Jerry Colangelo was once asked the difference between the Los Angeles Lakers and his Phoenix Suns. Colangelo's answer was, "21 Feet."  21 feet represents the combined height of the of the Lakers 2 previous centers at the time, Wilt Chamberlain and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, as well as the then current , Shaquille O'neal. The point was that to be successful in the NBA, you must have a low post threat.  What do Dallas, Golden State, Minnesota, New Jersey, Philadelphia, and Sacramento all have in common? Right! No man in the middle. These aren't the only ones, but you get the point. Where was Atlanta before Horford? Do you think the Lakers would be playing in the Western Conference Finals without Gasol? I'd say their success grew exponentially by another 7 feet.

You Just Had To Be There

Raymond Lewis is regarded by many to be one of the greatest basketball players that ever lived. Certainly without exception, the best to ever come out of Los Angeles. Lewis, a 6-foot-1-inch guard with unlimited shooting range, led his high school team to an 84-4 record and 3 straight CIF (California Interscholastic Federation) titles in '69, 70, and '71. Now back in the day there was no developmental league, but NBA coaches routinely sent players to LA to play in the "Summer League." Everybody who was anybody would play in that league every year. Lewis dropped 52 on a group of Los Angeles Lakers, while still in high school. He was offered 250 scholarships nationwide before deciding to attend Cal State LA.  As a freshman he set all kinds of scoring records, and led the nation in scoring averaging 39 points a game, while shooting 60% from the floor-- an incredible feat for a guard who rarely shoots anything but jumpshots. Once scored 73 against UC Santa Barbara, hitting 30 of 40 from the floor. As a sophmore, the Lewis led Cal State team defeated number 3 ranked Long Beach State coached by Jerry Tarkanian. Lewis scored 53 in the double-overtime game. Four of the five players from that Long Beach State team would go to the NBA. He was the NCAA's second leading scorer averaging 32.9 points a game.

Why I Hate The Lakers

It is no secret among the regular visitors to this site that Hllywd hates the Los Angeles Lakers. I've been asked many times why. Until now I never thought about trying to justify it, or explain it. It's been this way so long, it feels natural to me. It is what it is. At the risk of being vilified by Laker Nation however, I will attempt to break it down for you.

Growing up in Los Angeles it was basketball that fueled the fire within. It was only natural after accepting the fact that the pro game wasn't going to be a career option, that I would adopt a team in my heart. At this time Laker tickets were very scarse and very expensive, but Los Angeles had an ABA franchise. During this time the league began trying to compete with the NBA by acquiring some of the marquee players from college. George Gervin, Larry Keenan, Artis Gilmore, David Thompson, Connie Hawkins,  Moses Malone and others started their pro careers in the ABA. One night after a game, a friend calls and says she's been given tickets to a Virginia Squires game.  That night I was treated to basketball like I had never seen it before. The league was not as fundamentally sound as the NBA, but they sure were more fun to watch. That night I also saw a young Dr J. I cannot begin to explain pure poetry in motion, but lets just say that the Doctor was making house calls while Michael was still trying to make the team.

Getting It On The "Hook-Up"

Aside from their Hall of Fame careers, there is another common thread linking Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Larry Bird, Isiah Thomas, Kevin McHale, and Elgin Baylor. All of the above have parlayed their name recognition into NBA executive positions-and all have been miserable failures. For every Jerry West and Joe Dumars, there are 3 of these guys making mistake after mistake.

When you applied for the job you now hold, after your resume was reviewed, you were interviewed (probably 3 times ) to discuss your education, training, and experience-your track record. Now, I'm not naive enough to think that an NBA executive would be selected the same as a sales manager, but the principle remains the same. What could Glen Taylor, Donald Sterling, and James Dolan have seen that would make them conclude, "This is my guy?" Log on to this site on any given morning, and you are sure to find very interesting, intelligent dialogue about personnel decisions, game plans, why one player may be better in another role. Yet we continue to watch one nonsensical fiasco after another from the "experts." Most of us have a vested interest in our favorites, and it's of some importance to us that they do well. Teams that are consistently successful are also well run. The fact that you hit 2 free throws to ice a game in 1979, doesn't matter much to a young man that might not have been born then.