Yesterday, as a coworker and I went back and forth about the state of the NBA playoffs, we both did our share of debating and speculating…as fans normally do. But right before we went our separate ways, I asked him about game 5. He was stuck between a rock and hard place, not knowing who he should lean toward…so I broke the silence and said “Kobe’s going to get 40 tonight.” His facial expression seemed to suggest that although he wouldn’t agree, he certainly knew it was very very possible. He grinned and left without a comment, but I didn’t expect anything more….after all, he’s a Suns fan. But even a die hard Suns fan couldn’t deny what was inevitable…and that’s the maturity of Kobe Bryant.
Last night, Kobe Bryant moved one step closer to the promised land, by scoring 39 points and propelling the Lakers passed the Spurs (4 -1) and into the NBA Finals….and that being said, my next comment is for the haters…Kobe is about to raise the standard in the NBA, and return it to the top of sports highlights everywhere. Oh yeah…it’s more real than you think.
Can I talk to the TRUE hoop fans for a sec?
Why is it that we constantly look back to the heroes of the past? I loved to watch Jordan play, even when he was destroying my Knicks (and yall know MJ used to really destroy the Knicks!) But I just loved hoops so much, it didn’t matter. I’ll always give MJ credit for what he did for the NBA and the game of basketball. I also know he wasn’t alone. Before him there was Dr. J
…Magic and Bird…Kareem Abdul Jabaar…Wilt the stilt…Bill Russell…Jerry West…Pistol Pete …Bob Cousy…George Gervin….David Thompson…Lakers vs Celtics… Willis Reed limping into the finals game….Dr. J going around the backboard….Jerry West pulling up from half court…Oscar Robertson averaging a triple double (that’s so tight)…and of course I gotta mention one of the best backcourts of all time….Walt Clyde Frazier and Earl the Pearl Monroe.
All this is rich basketball history, and somehow, it seems that we’ve lost it. I hear the media all the time refer back to the older guys, and I will always give respect to the front runners who laid it down before our generation…but how about we get some new found respect for TODAY’S game and TODAY’S players? It hasn’t happened for a while because these days, we give the credit to players before they actually earn it. These kids coming out of school are signing huge sneaker deals and turn out to be garbage (sorry to Sebastian Telfair…but you know it’s true). We have spent way too long searching for the apparent heir to MJ’s throne, and the truth is we shouldn’t be comparing. However, guys like Magic, Bird, and MJ did so much to change the game, they raised the bar for the guys coming after them to be able to perform at a much higher level….and that people….that brings us back to Kobe
Kobe is on the cusp of returning the Lakers to the glory days…or better yet, creating brand new glory days…SHOWTIME 2008!!! With a healthy Andrew Bynum, and Trevor Ariza, one can only imagine what level they may rise to next season. After winning top seed this year, why shouldn’t 70 games be a fair goal? Why not 75?
He NBA is a money league now. Players have to appeal to a much larger audience, so that games can be pumped into far more homes than ever before. Stern wants to take it to Europe. That’s all money talk. BUT…to the TRUE hoop fans, there could be something better brewing on the horizon…crazy highlights…awesome rivalries …and so much more. Kobe Bryant is helping to restore all of that.
Hate him or love him…you can not deny him…and even if you tried….he will not be denied.
How many times have we seen it? heard it? or even been part of it? the home team is losing, and the crowd begins to chant their expressions of disapproval....or in other words..."BOOOOOOOO!!!!!"
After taking notice of the lack of real support some fans give their teams... a friend of mine told me that Jeff Van Gundy commented on this during the Pistons-Celtics game, and i thought to myself ...wow...check out Van Gundy trying to be profound!
The truth is, well, it's true. Imagine for a moment, that your (home) team has blown a huge lead, and now find themselves facing utter defeat, as well as humiliation for blowing the lead to begin with. How do YOU react as a fan? Doesn't it make more sense to cheer your team on in spite of the uphill battle? Why does the home crowd tend to get quiet when the visiting team mounts a comeback? Why don't they just cheer louder, or nastier, or happier? I just want to know...
When the Arizona Diamondbacks won the world series, everyone in Phoenix tried to be a fan...but 2 years later, when they stunk like pure unadulterated stink...they had almost zero fan support. The games were like ghost towns. Today, with them once again being one of the hottest teams in baseball, here come the fair-weather fans again. Now, if those fans had stayed and cheered their team through the rough patches, maybe they would've done better sooner. I'm not a Diamondback fan, but i live in AZ, so i used them as an example.
Part of the advantage to playing at home is the home crowd...or so i thought. Any real sports fan should know this. players just feel more comfortable at home, playing in their own place, and in fron of the fans tat supposedly love them. Well if the fans know this (and they should), then just imagine the crowd giving the home team an emotional boost when they're doing bad...and not just when they do good.
It's incredible how as sports fans, we generally come to hate teams and players so much, it's almost as if they personally done something us. Sometimes they have. Sometimes they've crushed our dreams, along with the hope of our home team being called the champs.
sometimes, tho, you just gotta give respect and credit where it's due, and in light of another blog i just added a comment to...today i'm giving props to Kobe Bryant for a great game 1 performance against the Spurs.
Now come on people (especially KB haters)...before you shut down emotionally, can you just be a fan of the game for a minute? Kobe's story is great for basketball at a time when the NBA needs a good story. In the midst of the referee betting scandal...trade disasters (sorry Phoenix)...drug use allegations (Josh Howard's probably blazed right now)...and accusations, by all of us, of games being "steered" toward specific outcomes....here comes Kobe Bryant...more mature...focused...MVP....an assassin. Make no mistakes...the Black Mamba is on the move.
No...there's no need to drop stats (32, 49, 22, 31, 38, 34, 34, 33, 26, 34, and 27)...those aren't the lotto numbers, but Kobe's points in each playoff game. He's shown he's not a ball hog (1, 10, 8, 6,7, 6, 7, 10, 7, 6, and 9 assists), and the Lakers are currently 9-2 in the playoffs. Come on you haters...can you at least give him credit for doing that much?
I'm just taking notice of the strides he's making, and the depths to which he's willing to go to, in order to show his team and the world that this team is ready to win it all. Buying the whole team $10, 000 watches is a great way to say thanks, now let's do this.
Do your thing Kobe...you just do your doggone thing!
Coach Byron Scott is going to have a very long Summer...and I hope for his sake that it's hot and humid and funky as all get up. He deserves a hot and uncomfortable Summer....oh yes he does!!! These young and talented Hornets have a bright future ahead of them, but it didn't have to end the way it did.
I'm excited for the fans of New orleans in this respect...even MJ and the Bulls had to go thru their share of adversity ala the Bad Boys of Detroit. BUT, when they finally scaled Mount St Pistons...they were unstoppable. And so it goes for CP3 and the Hornets, that they are no longer a surprise in the league. Teams will come at them harder, and fans will expect more from them...and yet still, last night did not have to end the way it did.
Scott chose to allow Pargo to initiate the bulk of the offense down the stretch with his team behind and Summer vacation on the horizon. He chose NOT to go with his team MVP and general Chris Paul. He chose to allow CP3 to get cold on the floor...to get out of rhythm...to become a bystander almost. and why? just because Pargo got a little hot? NO NO NO NO NO Coach Scott....that way plain old wrong. You have to down swinging with your star in the front. i don't care what the Spurs thought they were doing to shut down Paul. He's still a young man with zero playoff experience. he needed his coach to get in his ear and set a raging fire worth of motivation. he needed Coach Scott to say go get at 'em CP3...you go and take your team to the promised land....but he didn't. he allowed his player to settle into the role of the backdrop...and now they're all on vacation.
Granted...the refs made an incredibly huge momentum stopping ghost foul call on Tyson Chandler with the Hornets down by 3. If you saw the game, you understand what I mean. As it turned out, it completely wiped out a furious comeback attempt (from being down by 17) by the Hornets, and ultimately helped to secure the Spurs' in the conference finals.
Still, i can't help but look at Coach Byron Scott and ask....WHY??? Why didn't you put the ball in Chris Paul's hand? even if you had to slap him up to wake him up...you should've done just that....now you're on vacation. I sure hope it's a hot and humid and funky Summer for you.
Never mind what college he came from (Xavier)...or how many years he's been in the league (5)...David West is officially a force to be reckoned with, and Tim Duncan's latest nightmare.
The line...he shot 16-25 for 38 pts...6-7 free throws...14 rebs...5 assists...2 steals and 5 blocks. D.West played MVP style in a game that required nothing short of just that. He literally carried the Hornets thru the first half when the most pts the next mnan on his team had was 6...and as horribly as the Hornets played, his 20 pts kept them within 3 by halftime. That proved to be all it took for CP3 to get it together and do what he does best....torch opposing guards and defenses with sweet dribbles...crafty passes...and lobs to Tyson Chandler. But don't get it twisted...it was all about D.West last night.
At a crucial point in the game, he swatted away a shot by Bruce Bowen, and then another one by Tim Duncan just 3 possessions later. He dazzled the crowd from the get go with technically sound jumpshots, and an array of inside moves en route to the hoop and ultimately, another 2 points. On this night, D.West would not be denied. He called out his team in such an incon####uous manner by saying "WE didn't show up" (to game 4). He challenged them to step up, and then he lead by example. D.West would not be denied in game 5, coming only 1 point shy of the Hornets all time playoff scoring record (39 by Glen Rice). He could care less though...he wanted the win...and even when his back tried to deny him...he kept on going.
Who is David West? ask Tim Duncan....ask greg Popovich....ask the NBA. If they didn't know...NOW they know!!!
4 years and $24 million...Wow! that's a whole lot of money for a coach who hasn't proven anything except that he can't coach in a half court set.
I'm not happy at all with this deal, for one huge reason...the NY Knicks do not need a high wire act...they need a make over!!! Walsh has made the first move in what can prove to be a very long 4 years. I'm a life long Knicks fan and i know that first of all we need to define the direction of the franchise. Are we going to rebuild? If so, then around who? we have so many jacked up contracts and jacked up players...we have zero chemistry, and no floor leader. we have tired ,overpaid and lazy players (yeah Eddy Curry...i'm comin at you!)...and what in the world has D'Antoni shown us as far as dealing with that type of atmosphere? NOTHING except that when the #### hits the fan, he can run like Flo Jo in the 88 olympics!
I'm not sold on him as coach at all....not even close! He can't take criticism, so what will he do when the NY media gets to unloading on his coaching skills and decisions? D'Antoni...time to strap on your vest!
the Spurs have consitently exposed his inability to coach a functioning defense. he showed us all this last season that his developmental skills are non-existent, having had a rotation of 8 players tops for the majority of the season. Sure his offense came with some excitement for Phoenix, but take it from me, NY don't want excitement...they want a winner!!!
I don't care what anyone says....when things get hot, he's gonne get to running like keenan Ivory Wayans in "I'm Gonna Get You Sucka", hollering out "...they shootin....they shootin".
trade him or get him the RIGHT help. he still doesn't have the help he needs. there's no need to even get into stats...any fool can tell that if shutting down one man is the key to beating a team, then he has zero help.
look at the champions of past. 90's Bulls....80's Lakers....80's Celtics...even the current Spurs. all of those teams had role players who played their roles to the t. so what if the main guy gets shut down. if the role players are doing their job right, then the defense will be stretched to wide to focus on one guy.
MJ had guys to rebound....hit open shots....play defense....even Will Perdue (who?) was confident to play his role. John Paxson could do nothing more than bury that J....and he sure did it when they needed him to. just ask those Laker fans when he hit 6 or 7 straight baskets in the 1991 finals.
Danny Ferry took a gamble and lost. those guys are not going to give LBJ the help he needs. maybe Ferry's season as a Cavs GM is over. Maybe Lebron's chances as a Cav are too!
…Bob Cousy…George Gervin….David Thompson…Lakers vs Celtics… Willis Reed limping into the finals game….Dr. J going around the backboard….Jerry West pulling up from half court…Oscar Robertson averaging a triple double (that’s so tight)…and of course I gotta mention one of the best backcourts of all time….Walt Clyde Frazier and Earl the Pearl Monroe. 
