Triple-Threat Thursday: Will Lonzo Ball save the Los Angeles Lakers?

The Los Angeles Lakers are hopeful that they finally have their franchise player for the future in rookie point guard Lonzo Ball, who they drafted #2 overall out of UCLA. At 6'6", 190 pounds, Ball draws comparisons to Jason Kidd due to his combination of size, speed, quickness, and strength. He handles the ball extremely well and is a gifted passer. On top of that, he scores really well around the rim and also knows how to shoot from deep, making him a very tricky player to defend.

While there's a lot to like about Ball and what he brings to the table, is it too early to label him as the savior of the franchise? On the one hand, the answer is obviously yes because we've seen many a talented rookie fall short of their lofty expectations. You never know what will happen in the future and given that he hasn't even played in a game, Ball is yet to prove himself on an NBA floor.

At the same time, it's hard to see Lonzo Ball not living up to expectations. Nobody is calling him the next Kobe Bryant, but to see him as a guy who produces like Deron Williams in his prime seems to be pretty reasonable. Unlike with some guys, you don't need to look up Ball's statistics and use analytics to justify the hype. He passes the eye test with flying colors and I'm a believer in the eye test being the most important test.

While Ball is obviously a fantastic piece to build around, the Lakers still have a ton of work to do in order to put him in the best position to be successful. Brook Lopez has a history of getting injured, so it's no guarantee he stays healthy. Even if he does, he's getting older and can't be counted on as a long-term piece to build around. Julius Randle, who averaged 13.2 points and 8.6 rebounds per game last season, looks promising, but it's still too early to label him the second coming of Karl Malone.

If the Lakers can add one more quality young piece to the mix, I think they'll really have something to get excited about. An elite point guard is practically a must in today's NBA. Assuming they have that need checked off, the Lakers are definitely on their way back to glory.

Triple-Threat Thursday is a weekly piece focusing on the NBA Draft/Rookies. 

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Bear Territory Tuesday: Cal Bears currently in the NBA Playoffs

 I thought it would be fun to take a look at how many Cal Bears are currently in the NBA playoffs both as players, coaches, management, etc. It might surprise you how many there are!

Bucks point guard Jorge Gutierrez: Jorge Gutierrez has bounced around quite a bit, but appears to have found a home in Milwaukee. He just signed a multi-year contract with the Bucks while averaging 3.7 points and 1.5 assists per game. He has played 20 games this season, 10 with the Bucks and 10 with the Nets before joining the Bucks.

Bucks head coach Jason Kidd: The Milwaukee Bucks have been a surprising team this year and their head coach Jason Kidd deserves a ton of credit. Despite Jabari Parker going down for the season, Kidd has kept the ship afloat and guided the Bucks to the #6 seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. Kidd's success earned him 3rd place in this season's NBA Coach of the Year race.

Pelicans power forward Ryan Anderson: Ryan Anderson has had a very nice season for the Pelicans, averaging 13.7 points and 2.0 three point shots made per game. The Pelicans definitely would not be a playoff team if it weren't for Anderson and his long-range capabilities.

Warriors video intern Theo Robertson: In case you were wondering what Theo Robertson does with the Warriors, he is a video intern. It's fun to have a Cal Bear be apart of perhaps the greatest season in the history of the Bay Area's NBA team.

Trail Blazers shooting guard Allen Crabbe: It has taken Allen Crabbe a while to find his groove in Portland, but he appears to be finding it now. He played in 51 games this season and started 9 games. In 15 minutes of action in Game 1 against the Grizzlies, Crabbe scored 7 points shooting 3-3 from the field and 1-1 from three-point range.

Spurs assistant GM Sean Marks: 

After being an assistant coach on Gregg Popovich's staff, Sean Marks got promoted to assistant GM. Graduating from Cal with a BA in Political Science has done Sean Marks a lot of good.

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord for NBA news 

Bear Territory Thursday: Looking back on Cal's NCAA Tournament victory over Duke in '93

     I thought that with the Sweet 16 starting today, it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane and revisit Cal's huge upset over Duke in the 1993 NCAA Tournament. The 82-77 victory propelled Cal to the Sweet 16 and the loss ended Duke's hopes of winning three-straight national titles. The heroes for Cal were point guard Jason Kidd and forward Lamond Murray who combined for 39 points, 28 of which were scored by Murray. As for Duke, point guard Bobby Hurley, a senior, scored 32 points and dished out 9 assists.

     What struck me the most about this game as a result of watching it in its entirety, was how Cal dominated Duke for almost the entire game. Yes, the final two minutes were nerve racking, but for the vast bulk of the game, Cal was the better team. Cal took a 47-37 lead into the half thanks to a 13-0 run sparked by Jerod Haase and Monty Buckley. In the second half, Cal had a lead as big as 55-37 and continued to dominate Duke, going up 70-53.

     So while Jason Kidd referred to this win as a "miracle" in the "The Players' Tribune" earlier this week, it shouldn't be forgotten that Cal dominated Duke for much of this game. The biggest reason why Cal dominated Duke was that Cal played a much cleaner game. 11 of Cal's first 29 points were off of Duke turnovers while at that point of the game, Duke had scored just 4 points off of Cal turnovers. Cal simply took better care of the basketball and as a result, they took a 47-37 lead into the half.

     The only thing that Cal didn't do a good job of in the first half was keeping Duke away from the foul line. Duke shot around 15 foul shots in the first half, and made almost every one. If it weren't for Duke's ability to get to the foul line, Cal would have probably taken a 20 point lead into the half.

     What got Duke back into the game in the second half was Cal showing the signs of a young and inexperienced team. 11 players on Cal's roster were either freshman or sophomores and their star Jason Kidd was a freshman. As for Duke, they were captained by Bobby Hurley, a senior who still is the NCAA's all-time leader in assists. Cal's youth and inexperience caused them to turn the ball over a lot in the second-half (9+ turnovers) and Duke, being the veteran team that they were, made Cal pay.

     However, it took Duke quite a while to eventually get the lead, and when they did, Cal took it right back thanks to Jason Kidd hitting a miracle shot in the paint which lead to a three-point play. With Cal up 79-77, Duke wasn't able to take the lead again, partly due to some luck for Cal and also the law of averages, which states that when you go down by double-digits against a really good team, you aren't likely to come back.

     Some of the lucky breaks for Cal in the final two minutes include Duke forward Grant Hill traveling, Cal getting the ball back after Jason Kidd missed a free throw, and Cal retaining the ball after it appeared to go off of Jason Kidd on a no-call near the basket. In addition, Cal was lucky that Lamond Murray was able to play in the second half after suffering an ankle sprain while Duke center Cherokee Parks sat out the second half due to an ankle sprain of his own.

     There is no doubt that the basketball gods smiled on Cal on March 20, 1993, but make no mistake that Cal was the better team that day. They dominated Duke early in the game, and held on for the win. In many ways, the game was won when Cal went on that 13-0 run in the first half. While it is true that Duke did eventually take the lead, it was only for a brief moment and they appeared to be gassed down the stretch.

     When Cal basketball players, coaches, and fans look back on this game, they shouldn't take inspiration from the fact that miracles can happen. They should take inspiration from the fact that Cal dominated Duke. Cal didn't win that game because they got lucky. Cal won that game because they were better than Duke. It's that simple.

(Note: If you want to read Jason Kidd's write up about the game in "The Players' Tribune", click here)

---Ben Parker: follow me on twitter @nba_lord for NBA news