More Quick hits as of November 11th, 2015

-- The Cavs are running an actual offense this year. Lebron doesn’t look entirely healthy though until the game is on the line and then he starts trying and puts the game away.  It’s easy to forget how much better he is than everybody else.

-- Westbrook is an intense human being.  He might be really annoying to play with and he dominates the ball a bit too much, but he brings fire and intensity to every game.  That is a rare talent.  His physical talent is amazing but I think too often competitive spirit and having a high motor are talents that are consistently underrated.  Hustle and intensity in every game is not something you see too often in a player.  It’s an infectious trait that often makes up for the fact that, if he were your teammate, you might want to smack the dude in the face on occasion when he glowers and screams at you.  At least it seems like a genuine, honest; I’m just deeply desperate to win kind of anger, which manifests itself, in Westbrook’s case, by him doing everything he does with ferocity.  I can respect that.

-- If Washington was auditioning for Durant they didn’t do a very good job.  Beal was injured which has been a problem his whole career.  Wall got destroyed by Westbrook.  If Drew Gooden gets onto the floor there’s something wrong with your team.  I really don’t know what to make of Washington.  They can look so good and then so terrible…

-- Situation is so much more important in the NBA than people think.  For young players it’s so important to get drafted by a stable team that understands player development.  There are very few can’t miss talents out there.  For everyone else they need direction and opportunity and belief in order to succeed.  Having the infrastructure to support and nurture is what sets aside the successful teams from the unsuccessful.

-- Whiteside and Cousins were teammates for a few years in Sacramento.  Why didn’t Sacramento keep that guy?  That would have been an awesome frontcourt.  Of course Whiteside only gets good after he left Sacramento.  It’s really a mess there. They’ve made so many mistakes as a franchise…

-- Ummmmm... Are the Kings completely delusional?  They're already freaking out about their 1 and 7 start.  Cousins missed 4 of those games and he's basically their whole team.  Of the other 4 games 3 losses were to the Warriors and Clippers.  Those teams are simply way better than the Kings.  They are way over reacting to a poor start because somehow they believe they should be a playoff team.  No objective Basketball fan looked at the Kings before the season and believed they were going to make the playoffs.  Perhaps if everything broke perfectly and everyone played out of their minds it was not inconceivable they could possibly challenge for the last playoff spot in the West.  Beyond that, to quote the inimitable Jalen Rose, "Not gonna be able to do it!"  You could see this coming in the off season when they mistakenly tried to play the free agent game.  A smart organization would have drafted well (see Emanuel Mudiay) and saved all their money and lost some games and gotten one more player next season when they would have been poised to make a leap.  There's nothing crazier then someone looking at a pile of poop and seeing the building blocks of a playoff contender.  "Stauskas!"...

-- I'd like to add that though the Kings have not helped out Cousins in any way by being such of a mess of an organization Cousins needs to take some of the blame for acting like a big baby...

-- When Metta World Peace is the best player on your team in a game you know you really stink…

-- Is Byron Scott the right coach for developing talent?  Is the Lakers organization even concerned with player development?  Do they have coaches and plans for all their young players beyond just hoping they get better?  Is Kobe really the right mentor for these players?  He can definitely teach work ethic but his situation was kind of unique in how personally focused he was and how talented he was to begin with.  I’m worried that DeAngelo Russell is not getting a whole lot of the guidance that he’s going to need in order to excel in the NBA.  It worries me that he was benched last night and Byron Scott didn’t discuss with him why.  Your coaching staff should be in constant communication with your young players as to what is expected of them and what they can do to improve.  I just don’t see that happening with the Lakers.

-- Ibaka seems more comfortable doing stuff on the move instead of just spotting up.  Big improvement.

-- Mark Cuban is coming across as an incredible baby.  You’ve saved all the texts and someday you’ll make them public?  Seriously?  Grow up already and move on.  For someone who has publicly declared he didn’t care about DeAncre Jordan anymore he seems to really care a lot.  Franchises need to be careful about this stuff.  Agents and players take note of this kind of behavior.  Andre is a very young man who made what, big picture wise, is a small mistake and changed his mind.  I’m sure the Mavericks were doing all they could to influence him to leave the Clippers.  Their attempts at persuading him failed.  It happens.  Please grow up and move on Mr. Cuban.  This is not making you look like an adult. Let the fans and media give him shit.  The organization should remain aloof and uninvolved with this kind of stuff.