EL SEGUNDO HERALD April 13, 2017 Page 5 Lakers Lottery Outlook a Bit Sketchy By Adam Serrao It appears that the Los Angeles Lakers have suddenly found their groove precisely at the wrong time. A team that has struggled through most of the season and has found themselves near the bottom of the Western Conference standings yet again began to win when losing may just mean the most. A three-game winning streak, which included victories against playoff teams like the Memphis Grizzlies and San Antonio Spurs, has certainly given Lakers fans much to be optimistic about at the end of the season. With all eyes on this year’s NBA draft lottery, though, winning just might be the last thing that the Lakers wanted to start doing. For some teams, there is a race to the top of the standings so that the Golden State Warriors, Cleveland Cavaliers and other elite franchises can get prime positioning and home court advantage for the playoffs. For other teams, like the Lakers and the Phoenix Suns, there is a race toward the bottom of the standings as each team tries to be worse than the other to improve their odds of acquiring a high-end prospect that is coming out of college in the NBA Draft Lottery. The Lakers don’t care much about trying to be worse than other teams. The Lakers, as one of sport’s most storied franchises, are built upon winning and hoisting trophies into the air. When your season has gone in the tank and there are prospects like Markelle Fultz and Lonzo Ball on the market, though, the worse you are as a team, the better it is for your team. The Lakers’ odds of holding on to a top three pick sat at 48.5 percent as of Monday morning after the team won its fourth straight game on Sunday night thanks to a three-pointer at the buzzer by second-year guard D’Angelo Russell. That means that on May 16 when the ping pong balls start dancing around, all eyes will be watching to see if the Lakers either hold onto the third pick in the draft, get lucky and move up higher on the draft board, or lose their draft pick altogether. If the Lakers’ pick lands outside of the top three, then the team will be forced to hand the pick over to the Philadelphia 76ers because of a previous trade that had been made between the two teams. By winning, the Lakers are decreasing their odds of keeping their draft pick in a draft year that is absolutely packed with potential stud players. That being said, how do you force a team to go out, compete and somehow lose on purpose? With a roster packed full of players searching to prove themselves to all of the other NBA teams around the league, it’s pretty much impossible to lose on purpose unless the head coach somehow manipulates a way to make it happen. Players like David Nwaba are fighting for a chance to stay in the NBA after playing most of the year in the D-League. Players like Tyler Ennis are fighting to prove that they can contribute to victories at the NBA level. The competitive drive in professional athletes simply can’t be underestimated and so the Lakers manufactured victories like the one they had last Wednesday against the Spurs with Ennis leading the team in both points (19) and assists (six). There is a certain divide among fans when it comes to the process of tanking in the NBA. Some fans look into the future, want a great draft pick and begin almost rooting for their team to lose consistently. Other fans see a franchise like the Lakers and think that losing, and losing on purpose, is a disgrace. Losing on purpose is bad for the fans who spend the money to go to games. Losing also deters other high-impact free agents from choosing to sign with a particular team that simply has a losing culture around the franchise and in the locker room. The young Lakers, though, have chosen to build their team through the draft recently. For that reason, acquiring yet another piece to fit into their puzzle in a year that has otherwise already been lost should be of utmost importance. The Lakers’ regular season has now officially come to a close. Now Laker fans everywhere have something to look forward to once again. Instead of wondering when the team will fall apart and take yet another unfortunate loss, fans can now look forward to the NBA Draft Lottery and the opportunity of adding another key piece of talent to the team next year. With new management in place surrounding Jeanie Buss, there is sure to be a lot of change coming around Laker Land and almost certainly on the roster. Magic Johnson has a way of attracting big-name talent to come and play for his team. While that still remains to be seen, there is no doubting the fact that the Lakers will certainly be much better next year than they have been this year. May 16 is the next big day to keep track of if you’re a Laker fan. The Lakers’ chances of landing an enormously talented former college athlete are now only one lottery ball away from actually happening. – asixlion@earthlink.net Thanks to Staci at the Little League Snack Bar By Gregg McMullin There’s nothing like having a snack at a baseball game--whether you’re at Dodger Stadium catching a bag of peanuts from famed peanut vendor Roger Owens, or attending a Little League game and have visited the snack bar. It’s always a bit more enjoyable watching a game and snacking down something. At the Little League park you probably ordered up some popcorn, maybe a soda, or a candy bar--and if you were really hungry, you ordered a hot dog. That’s pretty much the menu at most snack bars around Little League games. At Brett Field, where El Segundo Little League plays its games, visitors to the snack bar have a wider choice of menu items, thanks to Staci Sperber-McEwan. The mother of two Staci Sperber-McEwan has been making us smile at the Little League snack bar for many seasons. former and one current EL Segundo Little Leaguer, Staci has been a fixture at Brett Field for the past eight seasons. She was on the Little League board for four years while working a few shifts at the snack bar. Over the past several seasons, she has worked more and more at the snack bar--specifically the barbecue grill. Staci says she hasn’t kept a log of how many shifts she has worked over the past eight seasons, but it’s most likely in the hundreds. You can find her there virtually each night and most weekends this season. It’s a commitment and a lot of work, but she says it’s what she lives for. She says, “I love coming here because is there anything better than watching baseball, especially watching our kids playing?” It takes a person with great patience, organizational skills and the panache around the barbecue grill. That’s where Staci excels with her attention to detail and her love for watching baseball while grilling. Staci gets a kick out of some who work their mandatory volunteer shifts thinking they’re going to work the grill. “The fathers all think they’re going to take over my grill until they realize it’s my passion,” she says. Staci has watched countless baseball games while working her shifts at the grill. She always took time out to watch her sons Colin and Cooper and currently Carter play while flipping a burger or two. So why does Staci enjoy working so many shifts? Well, besides enjoy watching kids playing baseball it’s the people and friendships she’s developed over the seasons. Many of the parents of these players are so dedicated to Staci’s grilling that these same parents tell her that their kids won’t eat unless she’s working. “The kids know me and call me Miss Staci and their parents trust me,” she says. Then there is the dedicated following Staci has developed. With what she has done and the different menu items she has created, with permission, Staci has many people who text her. They’ll ask if she’s working and if she would start one of her specialty burgers or something else. Staci has plenty of ideas that expand outside the traditional snack bar fare. She first started experimenting a few seasons See Staci, page 7
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