I hate the way sports journalists create news themselves. ESPN's Ric Bucher started the rumor that The Greatest would demand a trade if Jerry Buss did not bring back Jerry West as GM of the Lakers by the start of next year. Now all the sports shows are talking about Kobe possibly demanding a trade. Kobe will NOT be traded! This was just a rumor created by journalists to give them something to talk about.
I'm sure you guys have been hearing all this and that and are not sure what to think or believe.
The Truth section was created for times such as these.
So here's tha deal:
I have NOT asked to be traded, I don't want to be traded and I have given no ultimatums or demands of being traded.
I love it here in LA, my family loves it here.
I've been a Laker fan my whole life. A REAL Laker fan! I'm talkin Silk Wilks days, and know the history of the Lakers going back to George Mikan era. I WANT to retire a Laker and contend for titles.
It is my opinion that Mr Clutch, one of the greatest GMs the game has ever seen would b able to get us to back to that level sooner rather than later.
If he is available, then it makes sense to give him the reigns and let him do what he does BEST. I KNOW I can trust him to build us an elite team.
I'm tired of losing and I'm sure you guys are tired of it as well.
Now is the time to step up and make some things happen. We have all have waited patiently for three years...Let's GO!
The ping pong balls, with the power to make terrible teams championship contenders, have blessed the Portland Trailblazers. They won the NBA Draft Lottery and will have the first pick in the draft this summer. They'll take Greg Oden, that hard to find "next big man." Seattle has the second pick and they'll take Kevin Durant, who I'm in love with and I think will be a superstar for years to come.
The draft doesn't get good until after that. Nobody seems to be paying much attention to anybody else in the draft. There are some really good players this year. Brandon Wright, and his freakishly long arms will be a good player, and Al Horford or Corey Brewer seen like wise choices. But.....there is one guy that I would love to take a chance on. His name is Yi Jianlian. He's a 19-year old, 7-footer hailing from China. Yes, Yao immediately comes to mind. I saw a few clips of this kid and he's smooth. He's got a shot like Dirk and can handle the rock very well for a big guy. I can't speak for a his D, but he's 7-foot. He can't be all that bad, right?
The Lakers have the 19th pick in the draft. I don't know who you'll be taking, bu I hope it's somebody with size.
With the elimination of the Phoenix Suns on Friday night, that means there are no longer any entertaining teams left in the playoffs. We all know the Spurs are notoriously dry. The ex-Phoenix Sun bench warmer, and current employee at ESPN.com, wrote:
"I can't imagine how anyone could root for the Spurs. It would be like cheering for cancer. Of course, they're really effective (unfortunately, so is cancer), but I don't know if a roster of such easily disliked basketball players has ever been assembled."
That pretty much sums it up. You can read more here.
I'm sure the league is bummed, too.
Ratings are going to plummet. Tim Duncan has never been one to fill an NBA arena with fans. WWE has better ratings than the NBA playoffs! And that shit's fake!
The only thing that can save the playoffs now is a heroic performance from King James. If he can push the Pistons to a game 7, then people may show a little interest. But, don't hold your breath.
It's amazing how many clips of Bruce Bowen there are on YouTube. What's funnier is that none of them show him hitting a game-winning shot, or "posterizing" somebody. They are all of him trying to injure people. This one of Bruce "Lee" Bowen is one of my favorites. Enjoy!
Being called a "dirty player" is probably the biggest insult in sports. To me, it says that these types of players feel that they can't successfully compete with their natural talents/skills, leading them to become frustrated at being outplayed by the opposition, and therefore feel it is necessary to intentionally harm another player in hopes of giving them, or their teams, an edge.
There are plenty of ways to gain an advantage without having to stoop to such lows. Pushing off a defender to create space is something all players do, even though it's technically a foul. My personal favorite is to hold the jersey of the guy I'm guarding to piss him off, or to disrupt his route as he tries to run me off a screen. Trying to injure another player is a deplorable way to gain a slight advantage.
When I think of a "dirty player", the first person that comes to mind is Bruce Bowen. This guy is a fucking prick. Everyone around the league (except those idiotic Spurs fans) knows he plays dirty. What pisses me off even more is that he ALWAYS makes the NBA's All-Defensive Team. He's made the list every year since the 2000-01 season! I wish David Stern would have the balls to do something about players like Bruce, instead of rewarding them.
This year alone Bruce Bowen, and his "foot defense", has caused injury to Steve Francis and Jamal Crawford. In case you don't know, Bowen plays his "foot defense" on jump-shooters by placing his foot right under a player in mid-air so that they land on Bowen's foot, usually resulting in sprained ankles.
You can watch more of his dirty tricks tonight as the Spurs play the Suns in Game 4. Here is a little clip of Bowen trying to injure AmareStoudemire in Game 2. Keep in mind, Stoudemire is coming off a MAJOR knee injury which caused him to miss the entire season last year. Obviously, that doesn't matter to Bruce.
Last night's playoff game against the Golden State Warriors and the Utah Jazz was definitely the most exciting game thus far. Now that the Kobe show is over, the only team I care to watch are the Warriors. They leave it all on the court every game. They basically have a 7-man rotation, 8 including Monta Ellis who has disappeared in the playoffs and is playing very limited minutes (7 last night) due to his horrible play, which has pissed off Coach Nellie. Ellis should return his Most Improved Player award and give it to Kevin Martin. Despite the short bench, the Warriors have made believers out of most everybody. The play of Baron Davis during these playoffs, and last night in particular, has been phenomenal. The oft-injured B-Diddy has been broken down and rebuilt so many times over his 9-year career it's pretty amazing that he's still so productive (and can still jump with the best of them). If there were an MVP of the playoffs it would most definitely go to Davis, who's stat line last night was 36 points, 7 assists, and 4 steals
The drama of the game unfolded even before tip-off when it was announced that Derek Fisher would not play (but was listed on the "active roster" list just in case) due to personal reasons. Nobody really knew what was going on with Fish, who is Utah's most experienced player and whom provides invaluable leadership for the young Jazz players such as Deron Williams, Paul Milsap, and the wrinkle-headed Carlos Boozer, who are playing in the playoffs for the first time in their careers.
The first minute into the game, Utah starting guard Deron Williams picked up two fouls and had to sit for a majority of the first half. This is when Derek Fisher would have come in to contribute in the absence of Williams. Instead, the Jazz were forced to go with Dee Brown, (no not THAT Dee Brown) who is the third option at point-guard, and probably would not have played at all in this game. Then, another unfortunate turn of events occurred just moments later as poor, little Dee Brown suffered a neck injury when fat-old Mehmet Okur lands on him. Brown was taken to a hospital for precautionary reasons and was unable to return; obviously. So, with Williams out with foul trouble, Brown in the hospital, and Fisher is God-knows-where, the Jazz are forced to use Andrei Kirilenko, a small forward, as the primary point-guard.
Nonetheless, the Jazz had the lead 63-58 at the half. Then, moments into the third quarter we get word that Derek Fisher is in the building. I repeat, Derek Fisher is in the building. It really was dramatic like that. Deron Williams then gets another foul and is forced to sit on the bench. Just then, here comes Fish, in full uniform, walking to the bench. Immediately, coach Jerry Sloan puts him in. He doesn't even get a chance to warm-up, or take a jump-shot. Nothing. He's immediately thrust into the fast-paced action the Warriors love to play, and he has to guard the best player in the playoffs; Baron Davis. Welcome back, Fish!
Fisher committed a key turnover right away, which helped fuel the Warriors comeback. They were down by 12, and suddenly found themselves in the lead. But his defense on Baron Davis late in the game, causing B-Diddy to turn the ball over at a crucial time in the game, and then his 3-pointer in OT, proved to be his most valuable contributions to the team this night.
The Warriors were getting murdered on the boards by the much bigger, and stronger, Jazz players, who out-rebounded the Warriors by a margin of 60-32. However, the scrappy Warriors were up by 5 with less than a minute to go in the game. It looked like the magic carpet ride that is the Golden State Warriors was going to steal this game. But then....the Jazz players made some big shots, and the Warriors missed three key free-throws (two by Mickael Pietrus and one by Baron). The Jazz forced overtime, and never looked back. This one might come back to haunt the Warriors. So close.
As for Fisher, it turns out he was in NY because his baby daughter was having a very serious surgery to treat a rare cancer in her eye. The surgery went from 6:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Ouch! Fisher truly is a class-act guy, is well-regarded around the league, and still gets standing ovations whenever he returns to the Staples Center. Plus, I will always love him for his miraculous shot against the Spurs back in '04. Which then made me think. Was this the best moment of his career thus far? With a heavy-heart and his team in dire need of help, he flew in just in the nick of time to provide crucial plays that were keys to Utah escaping with a 2-0 series lead. You decide.
