The Lakers put another impressive, yet still somehow shaky victory over the Utah Jazz into the books and now sit on a cool 6-0 record in the 2007-08 playoffs. Not much to write about in their victory, because, well, they’re cruising but with rabid intensity.
-Remember back in 2004, during that tumultuous season (what Lakers season isn’t?) of 4 hall of famers and Kobe’s Colorado scandal, there was a not-so-big story about how Malone said he was hunting for “little Mexican girls.” That comment being directed at Vanessa Bryant, Kobe’s wife. I remember people jumped to defend the Mailman, him being such a good father and upstanding citizen and all. Well, check out this Jamele Hill article about Karl Malone http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=hill/080507
I knew there was a reason I always hated that guy…
-Kobe gets grilled for how he handled things this past offseason. How he threw his GM and fledgling Bynum under the bus. How he called Buss an idiot. And they say he was wrong. Sure, he probably could have gone about it differently. But check what Walton said when asked about what if Kobe had been traded.
"It was close," Walton said. "He wasn't in film sessions. He wasn't coming to meetings, and every ESPN sports channel would say that he was pretty much gone. That was kind of crazy, but I think that kind of fueled the rest of us to have a closer bond because we knew we had to stick it out."
Closer bond? Fueled us?
Now I love Luke, but he’s the anti-christ of consistency. And, if you check out that roster at the beginning of the season, you’ve got Vladimir Radmanovic, a guy Phil dubbed the “space cadet” who had wasted several weeks on the injured reserve (IR) because he went snowboarding; Brian Cook, a no arching, flat-trajectory-shot Vlad Rad clone who was upset because of lack of playing time; Chris Mihm, a perennial IRer; Andrew Bynum, called dough boy, who every media person in the world questioned both mentally and physically; Kwame Brown, no explanation needed; Ronny Turiaf, an energetic player who plays with the metaphorical heart, but who has real heart problems; Jordan Farmar, a sophomore point guard; Javaris Crittendon, a rookie point guard; Maurice Evans, an athletic, shoot-first backup shooting guard; Sasha Vujacic, a dude who Phil dubbed an 11 a.m. player because he could hit all his shots during practice, but none during the game; Lamar, a self-proclaimed number 3 trying to masquerade as a 2; and Fish who was the only saving grace for KB.
When looked at in this light, which is the way it looked only six months ago, Mitch Kupchak's job looks horrible. Especially since Caron Butler became an allstar last season and Shaq had two seasons ago won a championship.
Who honestly expected Bynum to blossom into a beast? Who knew Sasha would turn into a game time shooter? Or Farmar would harness his talents? Or that Evans and Cook would be turned into Trevor Ariza? Or Kwame would be turned into Pau?
Just pointing these things out.
-Check out this article: http://www.ohio.com/sports/cavs/18756064.html?page=all&
and then this replay http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3nkE1TL2YEM.
So the King is getting fouled hard and people are booing him for “acting.” He’s not getting calls despite playing against a tough defense.
All of a sudden, flipside, Mr. newly christened MVP has shot 34 freethrows in two games. A changing of the guard? Is Kobe becoming the NBA’s rightful posterboy again?
