Extra! Extra! (5.13)
May 13, 2006 | 9:57
am
It seems like everyone from the dude on the corner drinking Bud in a paper bag to George W. Bush has an opinion on Kobe and game 7. We've already heard from Sir Charles, obviously. Now it's time to hear from "the people" (who mostly remain faithful to the half man-half mamba), and Tex Winter (who was confused by the play of every Laker who stepped on the court, but still thinks Kobe's head scratching play was agenda-free and hardly the cause of the loss).
Now here's an article that hasn't been written a whole over the years in Southern California.
I hate to talk about ref conspiracy, and I don't think there is one, but when watching suns games, doesn't it seem like the Suns get the benefit of EVERY iffy call. If the play is close to a charge or a block, the suns seem to always get it. I wonder if D'antoni teaches that? Like an emphasis on flopping the right way? Or if it is because the suns are smaller and when they get hit by guys like Kaman, they fly to the ground? Also, some of the questionable calls the suns get are complete game/momentum changers. Last night when the Clips were on their run, the refs called a BS charge on Maggette that would have put the clips up 6. It was basically all downhill from there; the suns were also in the penalty about 4 minutes into the 4th. When Kobe ran down the court and cleanly blocked a sun (forget who it was), but it was called a foul, that was a momentum killer, the crowd was going wild. I can't think of all the examples right now, but it sems strange. I don't think its a coincidence that the suns have shot almost double the free throws per game in the playoffs than in the regular season. I'm not saying its a conspiracy, perhaps its just luck, but the Suns would not have won last night if it wasn't for the foul line, and the refs seem much more likely to call fouls on the Suns opponents than the Suns themselves
Posted by: Mike Lynch | May 13, 2006 at 10:12 AM
Wow, Tex really went off on LO, and Kwame. I agree with what he said about Kwame to an extent, but I don't think he gave LO enough love for how much he grew this season. I can't say he is really wrong about how LO plays in the system (he is the man who created it), but it would have been nice if he would have complemented him about his growth in the system.
Posted by: Weave-Man | May 13, 2006 at 10:25 AM
Hey guys today is my 20th birthday! I'm officially in my 20's haha...
What else happened on May 13th....Derek Fisher's 0.4 shot two years.
Posted by: Xodus | May 13, 2006 at 10:51 AM
Mike Lynch I agree with you. The Suns are getting too much benefit of the doubt in foul situations. They get a lot of touch fouls and their flopping is absurd. Perfect example was the call on Magette last night. I am not a Clips fan but I think they had the short end of the referees bad calls last night. To think that it was a home game for the Clips. I guess the NBA wants the Suns to win to validate Nash's MVP trophy.
Tex Winter see and says it rightly. Odom could not make the right passes when double teamed and as he does not have a stand still shot. Thus, he was easily trapped. Kwame (sorry Mike T.) has a lot of hard work to do even just to be a credible starter. If he wants to be a star, he apparently needs a lot to overcome and develop at least 2 go to moves (i,e developing a spinning move to the basket for a dunk or lay up, and a reliable jump shot). His attitude has always been questioned and now comes Tex Winter. Hope he takes those criticisms positively and constructively.
Kobe being a superstar has a lot of load to take. That includes how he must carry himself in and out of the game. Obviously he is a press magnet. Sad to say, some of the press are still in Shaq's pocket. I can bet my 2 cents that those 22 press voters were Shaq's symphatizers. They preferred to let Nash win just to let Kobe lose. Until he is able to win another ring, he will always be unfavorably scrutinized. Everybody loves a winner.
Hope the rest of the lakers would work hardest to develop and improve their basketball skills. Otherwise it would just be a repeat next season. Getting bounced off in the first round of the playoffs. I'm not being pessimistic. I am a Laker die-hard and there is nothing more that would make me happy than for them to win at least another three-peat. That would then shut all the critics off.
Posted by: Lysander | May 13, 2006 at 11:26 AM
Happy B-Day Xodus!!!! 20 is cool, but it gets old real real real quick!!!!!!!! You'll start to get the 21 itch soon, but until then enjoy it.
Posted by: Weave-Man | May 13, 2006 at 11:32 AM
Yea well Tex does has a point.
Phil had two, if old, guys with playoff experience yet decided to bench them in favor in Smush, who had 3 excellent games and that key steal but sunk in games 4-7, and Sasha, who did annoy Nash in game 2 but provided little help elsewhere. Yea it was good in the long term with experience to both Smush and Sasha but, those 2 guys were being paid and would have been much better if he had to allow them to start or have much better playing time.
Kwame well, he had an excellent games 1-6. Game 7 he reverted to the Kwame that was playing against the Suns all season. But this was Kwame's first time playing full time in the playoffs. He'll improve.
Odom did have some responsibility. While Tex was too harsh in him he did have a point. Odom just kept on doing the same stuff all over again and that led to the lanes being clogged and when he attempted to drive he was whistled for the charge and led to TO's. Odom will be better once more. And we shouldn't trade him. The only way I'll want a KG is that KG opts out of his contract and signs for 1 year the 5 million, which i doubt he will do. Odom is our best all around player.
Posted by: arthas (Tom Brady) | May 13, 2006 at 11:36 AM
Happy Birthday Xodus.
Man that's weird...lol...the .4 on the same day! I think you were destined to be a laker fan lol.
Posted by: Faith | May 13, 2006 at 11:38 AM
HI GUYS!!!!
JOYEUX ANNIVERSAIRE, FELIZ CUMPLEANOS, BON FET, HAPPY BIRTHDAY XODUS!!!! I WISH YOU ALL THE BEST.
GAME 7 WAS A NIGHTMARE, IT WAS THE FIRST TIME I WAS WATCHING A LAKERS GAME AND I FELT THAT IT WAS OVER FOR US. I LEFT THE GAME AT THE THIRD HALF AND CRYING IN MY BED. IT SOUNDS RIDICULOUS BUT IT'S TRUE. I DID NOT WANT PEOPLE TALK TO ME ABOUT THE GAME BECAUSE I COULD NOT SWALLOW IT . NOW, I FEEL FREE TO DO IT IN MY BLOG.
I WILL NEVER BLAME MY BOY, (KOBE) FOR WHAT HAPPENED. HE DID EVERYTHING FOR US TO GET INTO THAT PLAYOFF.
THE LAPD IS THE ONE TO BE BLAME. SINCE THE ALLEGED ASSAULT ON KWAME ON GAME 5, THIS GUY WAS DISTRACTED. HE WAS THE CENTER OF PHIL'S GAME PLAN AGAINST THE PHOENIX.
I KNOW KOBE WILL BE BACK STRONG THAN EVER WITH HIS NEW JERSEY#24, NEXT YEAR WE ARE GOING TO THE FINAL AND 2008, WE WILL WIN THE CHAMP...
IT A JOURNEY WITH THOSE KIDS, AND WE WILL BE PROUD OF THEM AT THE END OF THE 2008 SEASON.
BESITOS, BISOUS A BIENTOT.
Posted by: shekobe | May 13, 2006 at 11:41 AM
lol "I blame Kobe for 9/11, Hurricane Katrina, world famine, and for Smush Parker not being able to hit a shot if his life depended on it" (from the people links). lol
Posted by: Faith | May 13, 2006 at 11:47 AM
I still remember that
0.4, the Fish that saved LA.
Maybe we can still get him back. He earns 5 million per year and we have that as our midlevel exception. We can afford that and still be available to be under the cap after next season, Fisher knows the system as well, and was better than Smush in all things except for rebounds, blocks, and 3 pointers made. I think good ole'Fish is still good enough with a little less height than Smush. Trade Smush for Fisher. That way, Golden State has more cap space and an adequate backup to Baron Davis and we got a person who knows the offense and is better than Smush.
Posted by: arthas (Tom Brady) | May 13, 2006 at 11:50 AM
Anyone who blames Kobe for the loss in Game 7 is a fool.
These people are mostly the type who simply wanted Kobe to "light it up" in a loss so they would at least be entertained. Their statements are selfish and foolish.
Tex was pretty harsh about Kwame, but... something nice about being 80 years old, there's no point anymore in being diplomatic. You just tell it as you see it.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon Kavulic | May 13, 2006 at 12:00 PM
Thanks for the b-day wishes everyone!
As for Tex I like what he's saying about Odom and Kwame. He's the guy to light a fire under those two, I'm sure they get tired of hearing it from Phil and Kobe.
Posted by: Xodus | May 13, 2006 at 12:12 PM
Happy birthday, Xodus. I seem to vaguely recall being 20 at some point. Feels like a long time ago. haha.
AK
Posted by: Andrew Kamenetzky | May 13, 2006 at 12:51 PM
AK,
haha thanks. Would I be wrong to assume a few too many USC keggers contributed to your forgetting what it was like to be 20? lol
Posted by: Xodus | May 13, 2006 at 01:09 PM
apparently kobe and stephen a. smith had a chat (no 20 text messages this time) and stephen talked about it on the NBA show last night
missed it, anybody catch it?
Posted by: CBuck | May 13, 2006 at 02:45 PM
Of all the things that you can say about a pro athlete, saying that he doesn't know how to compete is the kiss of death. I know that Tex is being honest in his assessment of Kwame and I hope that Kwame takes it in the right way. What he has got to learn is how to use his size and intimidate people with that size. It remains to be seen what type of player Kwame Brown really is. My personal opinion of Kwame is that he is basically a very shy person. I believe that he is from a very small town in Georgia and that growing up in the public eye is very difficult for him. Here's hoping that he grows up some more.
Happy birthday...Xodus!! Let's hope that when you turn 21 that the Lakers will be in the second round of the playoffs next year!! LOL!!
Posted by: bronxlakerfan | May 13, 2006 at 05:12 PM
Cbuck,
I wonder if Stephen A. Smith's text messages are loud, too. haha
AK
Posted by: Andrew Kamenetzky | May 13, 2006 at 05:56 PM
Tex Winter rules.
Posted by: Kevin McK | May 13, 2006 at 06:06 PM
Tex is the man!
On another note, I hope, nay pray, we try and get Monta Ellis next year. The boy can ball - he really opened some eyes towards the end of the season at GS. Thing is he was a second-round pick last year and has a non-guaranteed second year. Any chance we could pick him up? Since he's still somewhat of an unknown quantity, I'm sure we could get him for a 3 year 12 million $$ type of deal.
And I don't think Kwame and Mihm together is such a good idea. I hope we trade one of them to get a baller in return.
And why the hell do we pay people like Mckie, Jim J and Divac all our mid-level exception - the 10million that we spent on them last year has netted us zilch!
Posted by: hariyahu | May 13, 2006 at 07:34 PM
Hey Xodus, I hope it's not late to greet you a happy 20th birthday. Your postings are too matured for your age, tho' you often said you're still in the dorm when you get to Lakers Blog.
Life of Kobe is paradoxical, there will always be a segment of basketball fans who will hate him, in the same way with our President, there will always be segment of American population who will adore the guy, those are facts of life.
If I were Kobe, I would not respond to any negative remarks lodged against me, I'd just go on with life, focus on immediate objectives drawn by the coach on my role for my team, as well as take care the long-run objectives of my family. If I were him, I will take some subjects in College during off season, maybe at U.C. Irvine which is near home in Newport Beach. More important, I will attend to the needs of my growing daughters and if time permits I will devote time and money to charity. When confronted by media, I will try to be positive as far as I can be, and if challenged, I will follow what the three wise monkeys do i.e. cover my mouth, cover my ears and cover my eyes with all the attention and second guessing of the NBA world. With this formula, I have given more priorities on my life rather than entertaining stress in defending my ego throughout my NBA career which is a no-win situation. Life is too short to deal with minutiae or non-essential matters.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | May 13, 2006 at 08:08 PM
Kobe should just stop responding to why he dumped game 7 and just get on with Life and RELAX. Kobe's Post Season is over and he got what he wished for. Kobe will not see another NBA Title for the rest of his career with the Lakers. The Laker organization WILL NOT get another top-tier free agent to play alongside of Kobe Bryant. Lamar Odom is a great ball player, and it is evident that his game suffers playing along side of Kobe. Odom had far better numbers while playing the one season with the Miami Heat.
Kobe got what he wished for, however he is not ready for such an NBA assignment with grown men. Instances of tossing TV's, shoving a teammate during a televised, airing a personal issue in the press regarding Karl Malone, petty arguments with Shaq, etc.
While Shaq is still sharing the spotlight with DWade, the next BIG THING at SCORING GUARD, the HEAT are headed toward ANOTHER apperance in an Eastern Conference Final Game. Kobe can relax and think back to Raja Bell getting INSIDE of his head after game 5 and just fade off into the wake of the SUNset. .
Posted by: Steven | May 13, 2006 at 09:20 PM
Steven,
If I were Kobe and I get to your postings, "I will just cover my eyes."
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | May 13, 2006 at 09:34 PM
Hariyahu,
I'm pretty sure Ellis' second year is guaranteed when he signed that multi-year contract. But I agree with you. That guy can ball! He's a scorer who once scored 72 pts. in a HS game and a good defender and rebounder. I'd be glad if the Lakers can get him.
I don't think we can get Fish on a straight-up trade with Smush, though. I think the salaries have to come within 15%. Maybe Smush, another player and/or a 1st rounder. Again, I'll welcome Fish back if we can get him.
Posted by: SamII | May 14, 2006 at 12:35 AM
apparently kobe and stephen a. smith had a chat (no 20 text messages this time) and stephen talked about it on the NBA show last night
missed it, anybody catch it?
---
cbuck...i didn't catch it...
what'd he say?
Posted by: observer | May 14, 2006 at 01:16 AM
http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/columns/story?columnist=wojciechowski_gene&id=2444327
Posted by: William | May 14, 2006 at 09:18 AM
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-heisler14may14,1,4937380.column?coll=la-headlines-sports-nba-lakers
Posted by: William | May 14, 2006 at 09:19 AM
I'm not at all surprised to read that Tex has criticized Kwame and Lamar. I remember in Phil's book The Last Season, he was very critical of Shaq during his last year. They had a huge argument during the Finals vs. Detroit. He's certainly not afraid to speak his mind. If he says Kobe isn't to blame, I'll take his word for it. He wouldn't hesitate to blame him if he really was at fault for the loss.
Posted by: Aaron | May 14, 2006 at 09:47 AM
Don't you find it weird for Tex to say that Lamar is an instinctual player yet he still felt that Lamar didn't play well within the triangle. I know Tex is the foremost authority on the triangle since he designed it but I think he didn't give Lamar enough credit. I say this because we saw two Lamar's this season one who came in still feeling his way out and trying to see where he fit in. The in the second half a player who consistently made leaps and bounds to getting a better grasp of the triangle offense. I think (from his exit interview) he seems determined to improve his game even more especially since he loves playing in LA. Give LO some credit Tex he did improve alot this season especially the second half. We all know it takes some time for some players to get more acclimated to the triangle.
Same for Kwame he just needs to work on his fundamental basketball skills this season and get more confidence and he'll be fine maybe not a star but a legitimate NBA player for once.
Kobe brush the haters off my friend next season will be the start of something new and you reclaiming your position as the NBA's best. One more season to make you even more wiser.
Posted by: BahamaLakerDude | May 14, 2006 at 10:15 AM
Lebron James was asked during his postgame news conference yesterday if he was looking to involve his teammates early on before taking over late in the 4th quarter win over Detroit. Lebron straight up almost snapped the same way Kobe snaps when he is asked to compare something he did with Jordan's accomplishments. Yup, Lebron quickly blurred out that he doesn't go into a game deciding if he is going to be a scorer or a distributor; nah, he is going to pass if he is doubled and attack when possible. That certainly is a simple way of putting it. It made me think of all the hype around Kobe for going with the game plan against the Suns.
It would help Kobe to have players with the ability to score under pressure.
I feel for LO. Against the Suns I'd see him score, pick up the "and 1" and gesture to the painted area as he walked back to the foul line instead of pumping his fist like all players do. It seemed he knew he could score almost at will, but at times Lakers just didn't get him the ball when they should have. A 40 point performance coming from stretched out layups was certainly possible for Odom after watching Brand of the Clippers post 40 against the Suns.
Posted by: I in Paid | May 14, 2006 at 01:48 PM
as much respect I have for Tex... he's been COMPLETELY WRONG a few times already this season. He's wise, but not at 85 years of age... he's brain is getting dull.
First he said Kwame is crap and cant do crap. Then Odom is a dumbass who cant learn anything useful. Then just like all flipfloppers, he changed his view after the Lakers started winning. Kwame was now this and that. Odom became blah blah blah. Now the Lakers lost, he comes out and try to justify and preach his bralliance that he knew all along.
He should have kept this with in the organization and not go to the Media. Nothing good can come out of blaming the Coach and the Players. Like he said, the Lakers were secs from advancing and had some key mistakes but gave away 3 offensive rebounds. If the lakers won, he wouldnt be saying this.
Posted by: the Lamar Show | May 15, 2006 at 11:41 AM