Lakers bottom out in Portland
"It was the Lakers," Blazers center Joel Przybilla said. "And we beat
the (snot) out of them. And 
you can print that. In bold. And big
letters."
I can do the bold, but haven't actually figured out how to change the type size. So Joel, this is the best I give you. But while it probably wasn't a great idea to celebrate by providing the Lakers with A+ bulletin board material, it's hard to argue with Przybilla's basic point. Monday night at the Rose Garden in Portland, the Blazers did indeed beat the (snot) out of the Lakers. Final score, 111-94, and that doesn't reflect the dominance displayed by the home team who led by as much as 30 late in the third. All night, the Lakers were outed. Out- defended, out-rebounded, out-hustled, out-executed. Out-everythinged, as the box score indicates. Kobe Bryant left the game without talking to reporters, something he almost never does. Really, can you blame him? It's hard to put lipstick on this proverbial pig.
In more serious matters, Portland's pasting of the Lakers was overshadowed by a very hard foul delivered by Trevor Ariza to Rudy Fernandez at the end of the third quarter that sent Ariza to the showers with a Flagrant 2 and the Blazers guard to the hospital for precautionary reasons. Fortunately, x-rays and scans of Fernandez and he was diagnosed with soft tissue injuries to the chest.
Ariza, who apologized to Fernandez after the game and made it clear he wasn't trying to hurt him, will not be suspended, as AK reported earlier this morning. The league is, however, still reviewing the ensuing dust up. It looked relatively harmless, though Lamar Odom could face disciplinary action for leaving the bench, a clear no-no, and looking at the tape Odom clearly wandered too far. (The best angle comes at the 1:38 mark or so of this clip. When you're done, click here and compare the calls for the two broadcast teams. It's interesting, for sure.)
Reaction to the foul is everywhere, but I think the league made the right decision. The result of the play was unfortunate, but nothing about it seemed particularly excessive or outside the norm. Ariza wasn't headhunting, but looking to make a play, and didn't do the pull down/follow through thing on the head and neck area that seems to get so many guys in trouble. Whether it gets reduced to a Flagrant 1, I don't know (nor really, do I care). If the league thinks it should stay a F2, that's fine. But additional punishment for the foul would be unwarranted, and I say that as a guy who tends to come down on the side of caution and safety on these types of plays.
I think suspensions should, for the most part, be held for plays that land further outside the norms of game play.
One thing is certain at this point: The Lakers/Blazers rivalry is back.
Good postgame wrap from Blazers Edge, plus video of Brandon Roy and his teammates talking about the game and the foul on Fernandez.
More postgame reaction from Henry Abbott at TrueHoop.
BK
that was a butt ugly game for the purple and gold.
Posted by: dominic | March 10, 2009 at 10:11 AM
Who Is Joel Przybilla? I mean, besides the dumbest human being on the planet.
Posted by: ZLakeShow | March 10, 2009 at 10:16 AM
Rivalry?
When did the Lakers and Portland have a rivalry? I agree with Shaq and Magic Johnson when I say, A rivalry exists only when both teams beat each other in the playoffs. I don't think Portand has ever beaten us in the playoffs! It's too one-sided to be a "rivalry"
Posted by: zen | March 10, 2009 at 10:20 AM
Portland is just a little too cocky right now..Based on their comments..
Roy expects to be in first place by April? What is he drinking?
Posted by: zen | March 10, 2009 at 10:23 AM
Roy is such a good "actor"..He knew fernandez was ok..Give me a break. He just wanted to pump up his team and show be can "back up his teammates"..Everyone knew it was not intentional and he was trying to create something that wasn't there. If he didn't know he should have looked at the stupid monitors. See you in the playoffs.
Posted by: zen | March 10, 2009 at 10:27 AM
meanwhile... KWAME BROWN is the hero for Detroit last night... bulking up against Dwight Howard... but! alas... we didn't need his bulk because we had Mbenga who can give Pau Gasol a whopping 3 minutes rest per half...
Clearly, we need Bynum for these kinds of games...
Hey... did Odom play last night? Oh... just checking... talk about Reverting to the Mean...
Posted by: Dallas Raines' Hair | March 10, 2009 at 10:33 AM
Zen,
AGREED!!! I've been hearing it from these fools, up here in Portland all day!!! The difference between the Lakers and the Blazers is that we play for championships. They just play to beat the Lakers. Everyone here is under the impression that there's this heated rivalry between the Lakers and Portland and they've been talking about this game for weeks. THERE IS NO RIVALRY...we've got bigger fish to fry. And is it really necessary to make Beat LA t-shirts for one regular season game?! They must think they've actually accomplished something...
GO LAKERS!!!
Posted by: gokobego | March 10, 2009 at 10:34 AM
"It was a great win," Portland coach Nate McMillan said. "We beat the best team in the league. And at this time of the season, with so many teams jockeying for the playoffs, beating the Lakers makes it even a bigger win."
Geeze.. This is their superbowl game of the year. Congrats..It's too bad we are thinking about bigger and better things.
Posted by: zen | March 10, 2009 at 10:34 AM
I was disgusted listening to the game with Portland announcers..It was disgusting how biased they were..We are actually lucky to have Stu, Joel, Mike, and Spero.
Here are some of the comments I heard last night:
"That's an automatic suspension for LO..He deserves to be suspended."
"This is when Kobe tends to be a ballhog"
"They should suspend Kobe too for going over there"
It was just sickening to listen to. No comments about their own players going over there..Just sick.
Posted by: zen | March 10, 2009 at 10:38 AM
This is the one game on the schedule that Nate uses to keep his job..If he crushes the Lakers once a year, his job is safe! LOL
Posted by: zen | March 10, 2009 at 10:40 AM
You know at least Stu would call it both ways and keep it real.. Those announcers were so one-sided it was really pathetic.
Posted by: zen | March 10, 2009 at 10:42 AM
Yes Rick F & Jon K, The sky is not falling, but help!!! Houston we got a problem. You've got to lose a game against the Lakers or else heads will fall. Despite the clamor of the heart in uttering: "Go Lakers Only", our brain follow the dictate of our eyes that says that we are not playing smart basketball. Even in dancing you have to be precised with your steps or else you'll be out of tempo or possible stepping on the foot of your partner. If you play another sport like golf, it has to be precised and course management, once you accumulate bogeys, no chance of making it to the top. Same with basketball, the guards, forwards and Center should be acting in unison from the onset and in every ball possession. What I saw yesterday are standing around, no attempt of blocking shots in the post, no rebound mentality, poor decision making, just waiting for the ball to come to them and lastly, gamble passes are just rampant that leads to T/O.
When we were behind by 7 pts. in the 1st Q there has to be a leader out there....to initiate an impregnable wall or else there will be a tsunami that may be developing that cannot be restrained. In Tennis, they call it breakpoints, In battlefied, they refer to it as chokepoints, In Finance, it is called the breakeven points. It is a point where the leader asked his associates or unit to regroup, devise new tactics and retaliate with renewed energy fight back, fight back, fight back and save the project or flagship.
On the contrary, if the players are immature and lackadaisical like what I saw last night, they leave everything to chances, for miraculous Kobe for mercy and foreign softies, St. Pau Gasol to do all the work in overcoming the lead. Once that formula fails, the whole chemistry evaporates. If the players on the court have only the same fortitude and dedication like their loyal fans in the blog who hate trolls and negativity, then we have no problem. Unfortunately our paid mercenaries earning multi millions during recessionary times prefer a roller coaster ride, someone specializes passing, another learning his free throw, or dribble, dribble until he lacked the space to dribble. They have not been indoctrinated to the Laker standard of perfection and quality handed down by legends from Mikan, Baylor, West, Chamberlain, Goodrich, Jabbar, Johnson, Worthy, Shaq and eventually Kobe. Unless and until they put their minds into every game, there will always be restiveness and frustrations aired in this blog.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | March 10, 2009 at 10:42 AM
zen,
"See you (Portland) in the playoffs."
They have to get past Utah first... or another veteran team. Good luck to them! lol
Posted by: SAMLL | March 10, 2009 at 10:44 AM
ON ESPN about Duane Wade:
On March 18, 1968, Wilt Chamberlain had 53 points and 14 rebounds while making 24 of 29 shots (82.8 percent). Wilt also had 32 rebounds in that game.
Um..Is that a typo! lol..He had 14 rebounds, but then he had 32!
Posted by: zen | March 10, 2009 at 10:45 AM
I must admit, as much as fans tend to find EVERY away commentary crew to be "obnoxious homers," those guys in Portland really were obnoxious homers.
AK
Posted by: kambrothers | March 10, 2009 at 10:46 AM
"The Lakers/Blazers rivalry is back"
Now that's hype. Win one and its a rivalry? That's got to be the proverbial molehill made into a mountain.
Posted by: p ang | March 10, 2009 at 10:48 AM
SAMLL,
You are forgetting one thing..Roy says they will be in first place by April! Thats home court against the 8 seed!
Posted by: zen | March 10, 2009 at 10:53 AM
Blazers do indeed own the lakers in Oregon. That's what emotion will do for a team.
Fernandez was the wrong man for ariza to take a cheap shot at. Rudy is extremely popular and is known as a classy, spectacular playa. Ariza must understand the ramifications of his actions going forward.
My SUNS must beat the Mark Cubans tonight to keep the dream alive of a lakers-SUNS Round One matchup. Feel free to root for the SUNS tonight.
Posted by: BUTLER | March 10, 2009 at 10:54 AM
AK,
I take it you have heard those Portland announcers? They were crazy bad! It was hard to listen to! Say something bad about your own players once in a while..At least our crew does that!
Posted by: zen | March 10, 2009 at 10:54 AM
Zen,
Yup, Mike and Mike are BY FAR the worst announcers in the league. They are beyond homers. They are just Blazers FANS who somehow got a job calling their games. Completely unprofessional and NO knowledge of the game. I can't believe anyone would put those two on TV.
Posted by: gokobego | March 10, 2009 at 10:55 AM
FYI - No foul called on above pic of Bryant shooting on Roy. Hmmm.
Posted by: Amazing_Happens | March 10, 2009 at 10:55 AM
zen-
He's referring to his division, not the conference.
BK
Posted by: kambrothers | March 10, 2009 at 10:56 AM
Edwin,
>>> If the players on the court have only the same fortitude and dedication like their loyal fans in the blog who hate trolls and negativity, then we have no problem.
There's never a lack of intensity here on the blog, to be sure. The lack of intensity by the players and coaches of a would-be Championship team is indeed troubling. But we've seen meltdowns like this by our Lakers before.
Perhaps Faith's RALLY CAPS might have saved the day, but the Blazers put this game in their refrigerator at the opening tip. Tomorrow night, I expect the Lakers to be back in the game. Then they need to keep their heads in the game all the way through June. Go Lakers!
Posted by: Rick Friedman | March 10, 2009 at 10:57 AM
I saw nothing flagrant about Trevor's foul on Fernandez. He simply made a play on the ball with obviously no intention of hurting the guy. It should have never been a flagrant foul in the first place. Unfortunately, the crowd's reaction and how Rudy landed made the refs rush to judgment.
And I don't understand why Fernandez needed to be carried out on a stretcher. The guy landed on his hip. I've seen far worse spills where the guy dusts it off and pops right back up. I hope he did not pull a Paul Pierce-wheelchair antic on us or draw from his European soccer roots.
Posted by: EJK | March 10, 2009 at 10:57 AM
Mark Whicker writes about how Kobe occasionally works out at UC Irvine: http://tinyurl.com/kobeucirvine
This part pretty much sums up perceptions about Kobe:
"Ryan Badrtalei, the UCI basketball operations director, meets Bryant at Crawford Hall some mornings at 5:30 a.m. Douglass has seen Bryant lifting weights at the university’s recreation center, even on game days.
“He’s great with little kids, too,” Douglass said. “I was playing golf one day with a guy I didn’t know, and Kobe’s name came up and I was talking about what a good guy he is, and for the next two holes this guy was going on and on about how he didn’t like him. Sometimes golf can be like work. It was that day.” "
Posted by: Amazing_Happens | March 10, 2009 at 11:00 AM
The Hornets talked this same level of okeydoke when they won their first (and ONLY) game against us...after blowing the first 2. Portland's no different. They NEEDED this win more than us.
I don't think Kobe's gonna take their next visit to the Rose Garden lightly. I expect the Lakers to blow them to pieces leaving their fans slack-jawed in their chairs just like Boston & Cleveland.
Posted by: utzworld - THE BANNER HOLDER | March 10, 2009 at 11:01 AM
BK,
ok good..Thats a little better. LOL
Posted by: zen | March 10, 2009 at 11:03 AM
Are defense sceam sucks. I think we should just play zone or the same type as the celtics. How can kobe or fisher at the top let some one drive past them thinking paul or odom will be there to help them all the time. That is why are d sucks cause it is the most stupid idea. Not all 5 players can be n sync all the time on defense for this type of defense to work. And that is why we give up alot of threes and rebounds because of the d type and also because kobe and fishers leg are dying on them. Besides kobe and paul there is really know body that can creat a shoot on ther on.
Let beat rockets down with or without LO
Posted by: omega | March 10, 2009 at 11:03 AM
As much as they hate us, I don't hate them. Its not a rivalry. They've never beat the Lakers, be it when the had Scottie or when they had Clyde.
I readily admit that they are a good team. I also admit that they did beat the snot out of the Lakers. I also look at the bigger picture: we have the season series currently, we comfortably have home court throughout the WC playoffs, and our center's knee injury isn't anywhere near as chronic as their center's.
But no, its no rivalry. Only to them. I didn't consider the Suns a rivalry, I didn't consider the kings a rivalry.
Hate us all you want, the feeling isn't mutual nor as deep seeded. Winning championships tends to cure all ills and give perspective. This is a small battle, a regular season game. On to the next one.
Posted by: #4 | March 10, 2009 at 11:05 AM
#4,
I would call the Suns a rivalry more then Portland..The suns did beat us twice in the playoffs.
Posted by: zen | March 10, 2009 at 11:08 AM
Oh yea and when L.O "Clearly left the bench", the announcers were all over that like white on rice! LOL
They didn't even hesitate..I think it came out of their mouth as soon as he stood up.
Posted by: zen | March 10, 2009 at 11:11 AM
zen: "Geeze.. This is their superbowl game of the year. Congrats..."
EVERYBODY who's beaten us this year has treated the win like it was their SuperBowl game of the year. What else is new?
Like many of us have said, THEY play for wins. WE play for CHAMPIONSHIPS!
Posted by: utzworld - THE BANNER HOLDER | March 10, 2009 at 11:20 AM
zen,
"I was disgusted listening to the game with Portland announcers..It was disgusting how biased they were..We are actually lucky to have Stu, Joel, Mike, and Spero."
I know exactly what you mean.
I literally had to close my eyes and take a few deep breaths while listening to the game. It was infuriating.
What do we play for? RINGS!!!!
Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | March 10, 2009 at 11:22 AM
utzworld,
"Like many of us have said, THEY play for wins. WE play for CHAMPIONSHIPS!"
Absolutely.
What do we play for? RINGS!!!!
Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | March 10, 2009 at 11:26 AM
In my view, Portland is the same as Sacramento of yesteryear - they're obsessed with LA. Beating the Lakers means everything to them. Let them have their joy once or twice a year against the Lakers b/c I don't think a championship is on their horizon. Neither Aldridge nor Oden are franchise bigs, and while Roy is good, he's not good enough to carry a team to a championship. Roy might not be as good if the refs called a "carrying the ball" on him once in a while.
I've said for a long time that we need another guard or SF who can create their own shot and take some of the load off of Kobe. Having purely spot-up shooters is not good when no one else on the court can draw double teams. Hopefully we can add a superstar guard or SF in the coming years, even if it means losing Pau or Drew.
Posted by: EJK | March 10, 2009 at 11:29 AM
If that incident didn't happen with Ariza though, I think I Lakers still had a chance to win the game. That one play automatically gave the win to the Blazers.. If that one play didn't happen, I think the Lakers would have made a better run..If that makes sense..
Posted by: zen | March 10, 2009 at 11:30 AM
Banner Holder,
Why is that Kobe always decides whether or not the Lakers are gonna win. Its always up to Kobe ... nothing to do with the other team. If Kobe want to win the other team has no chance.
He took last nites game lightly? Really? Why? Lakers have gotten spanked there what 3-4 yrs ina row? He didnt he want to win? Why? Lakers didnt need to win? Why? Didnt he get paid to play hard? Is he gonna give back his paycheck for that game ... since according to you he took the game lightly?
Posted by: 131-92 | March 10, 2009 at 11:31 AM
Jon K,
I feel bad for you! You have to listen to those biased announcers almost every game huh?
Posted by: zen | March 10, 2009 at 11:31 AM
as a three-year NBA League subscriber, who gets all laker road games through the opponents' feed, i can unequivocally say...
Laker fans, appreciate Joel and Stu.
stu may get negative and i still don't know why y'all hate joel so much (...oh yeah, he's not chick. i forgot)... but we have a pretty darn good broadcast team. and that's just the honest truth.
even utah's team isn't as bad as portland's. even sactown's team has their obnoxious moments but they're not stone cold goofy like portland's. i think Houston and New Orleans have awful announcers too but NONE ranks worst than Portland's.
oh and lest we forget, a couple of seasons ago joel pyzbilla and steve blake's unnecessary contact (intent w/o going for the ball) against kobe? THAT was dirty play. ...for henry abbott or any other portland yahoo to say ariza's was dirty just shows their incurable idoicy
Posted by: CBuck | March 10, 2009 at 11:35 AM
I can agree that the Suns are a more of a "rival" than Portland. However, I don't consider them a true rival.
Since we play for championships, I'd consider the Spurs a rival at this point in the decade. In fact, I very much respect their organization and the way its run. However, for as much respect Suns fans think the Suns deserve, they didn't even get to the Finals, nor did they have the organizational competence to build on their success to extend their run at contention past the 2 or 3 years they had.
In other words, we can't beat em before they beat themselves.
Posted by: zen | March 10, 2009 at 11:39 AM
Good Morning Charels...Good Morning Everyone...
maybe the Lakers can save some money (and a lot of us some screaming) and just go ahead and forfet any game that is played up in Portalnad and forgo the trip altogether...
would also save us from having to listen to some of the worst announcers in the league---they really make me sick and feeling soiled listening to their distorted views on their team, our team and in basketball in general...
fortunately, if we get in a series with them we will have home court advantage---propably the only home court advantage in a series we will actually need, as it were, seemingly...
Is Ariza done playing any resemblence to competent, smart basketball this year?
Will the pre trade deadline Lamar ever show up again?
will Mr Walton ever be able to shoot the ball into the basket again?
will the Lakers be able to stop (and ergo not participate in) the opposing team's lay up drill?
the answer to these and other thought provoking questions to be answered tomorow, same Bat Time, same Bat Channel...
maybe Shannon Brown needs to play more...
Mbenga (besides Kobe and Pau, the only other bright spot last night) does need to play more seemingly...
hope this funk goes away...I don't really dig it mun..
well anyway...
AS ALWAYS, AS EVER, YET ANOTHER GREAT DAY (AND SEASON) TO BE A LAKER FAN !!!
GO LAKERS !!!
Posted by: Floyd | March 10, 2009 at 11:39 AM
I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm rooting for Dallas tonight. I love it when any team--ANY team--beats the Suns. It's just so fun to watch. I might even put money on the game.
Go Lake Show!
Posted by: The Outlaw | March 10, 2009 at 11:43 AM
Repost
The foul on Fernadez' intention was not of a harmful nature. The end result was not good, but basing on player intent is fair game.
I can understand Hugo's frustration and allegiance to his Country man's well being, but to be disgraced of Laker Fandom based on objectively looking at Ariza's play? C'mon man. Those post's don't that were quoted do not represent all fans.
I fully expected pseudo fans of other teams, trolls, and Laker Fan trolls to come out of the woodwork.
Oh well, comes with the territory of being the most relevant team even during the dark years.
Respect,
Posted by: Charles | March 10, 2009 at 11:45 AM
btw, could Lamar Odom be anymore of a fool with his shallow "i didn't do it" postgame statements?
grow up, Lamar.
Posted by: CBuck | March 10, 2009 at 11:45 AM
Winning one game is no rivalry, perhaps there are goblins and sorcerers that prevent the lakers from winning in the lone Northwest stadium. Let me remind the Blazer fans the past scores these season between our two teams:
Oct 28th - 96 & 76 Lakers won at Staples
Jan 4th - 100 & 86 Lakers won at Staples
Mar 9th - 111 & 94 Blazers won at Rose Garden
Conference records: Blazers behind by 10 games. Blazers are fighting it out for the 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th and 9th position in the West. Those are your rivalries.
Therefore, there is nothing to brag except one victory. Indeed, "Beat lakers chants" are contagious because that's the only game in town.
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | March 10, 2009 at 11:49 AM
Thoughts/stories from my crazy night at the Rose Garden
1. I am so glad Rudy's OK. It's one of those plays that looks so much worse than it is because of the result. Kudos to the NBA for not assessing a suspension. Ariza clearly played the ball. Talking to you, Mikes.
2. Speaking of The Mikes, as I have said many times, they are the worst announcing team, bar none, that I have ever heard. They take homerism to a new level and that call is no exception. Glad I was in the arena just so I didn't have to listen to that crap live.
3. I could have sworn Travis Outlaw threw a punch in the melee that followed. Happy I am wrong in looking at the video. Because I couldn't understand wht he was still doing in the game. I kinda wish I could take back what I was yelling at the time, though, namely, "Haven't you ever heard of Kermit Washington?!"
4. More on Portland sports media. After the foul, people were screaming bloody murder. The guy next to us (more on him later) is yelling at me, saying Outlaw should have thrown a punch and the resulting damage would have been worth it. Really? Dude, read "Breaks of the Game" or "The Punch." Seriously. But that aside, the real irony is one of the hot topics of the day on the sports radio station here was how the Blazers should "take a hard foul on Kobe." MacMillan was even quoted on the topic! Ah, the irony.
5. Speaking of that, they Blazers did their best to play physical. Every shot was contested and we blew an inordinate amount of layups. But you can't tell me Kobe wasn't fouled on at least two of those forays to the hoop. Four freethrows? That's a joke. I love how they finally decided to call the game tight AFTER the fracas. Good on ya, Dick Bavetta and crew.
6. I should have seen it all coming. There was an edge in the building from moment one.
Some of you may recall I nearly got in a rumble with a dude who was threatening to come over the railing from his luxury box last time I was in the Garden for a Lakers-Blazers matchup. Why? Because I was standing and cheering for my team. What an idiot. Well, this time another Blazer fan decided to do him one better. Here's what happened.
We arrived just as the Anthem was about to be sung. My buddy, John, already had a good buzz going and he failed to remove his hat. Who can guess what happens next?
The Anthem ends and here goes psycho midlife crisis guy sitting next to us ripping into John for not removing his hat. And not in a friendly way either. In a holier-than-thou, obnoxious, self-righteous and aggressive way. He's undressing my friend in public but I can't quite hear what he's saying because it's loud in there.
I ask John what the deal is. He tells me what the guy said and says, "It's cool. I apologized. I told him I forgot."
OK. No big deal. I'm gonna let it go.
But then aging Blazermaniac is staring daggers. I mean, this guy is not letting it go. He's on his high horse, smirking and staring, and damn if he'll let us relax.
OK. Fine. It's on then.
So I turn to John.
"You know what I love about AMERICA?" I ask. "The fact that it's a FREE country, which allows for FREEDOM of expression, in whatever way an individual sees fit."
That does it. Now homeboy is on his feet, encroching on our space, yelling at me. "Shut up! Shut up!"
I'm not really sure about the next interchange but it involved me looking at his respectable-looking wife person like, you better reign your psycho man in before it gets ugly with him on the verge of threatening me with physical violence.
After I employ some phychology to lighten the mood a touch, he's gotta get in another word.
"It's about RESPECT!" he yells.
"That's a two-way street, a two-way street," I say. "I don't see you showing much respect to my friend."
"Shut up!"
"Are you serious?" I say. "I'm at a basketball game and I am going to occassionally make some noise."
Now he's seething again. "Fine, let's watch the game and you can shut the ---- up," he says. "Your friend needs to show some respect."
"You seem to be a real good judge of that," I say. "Who asked you anyway?"
And so the evening began....
Basketball is trivial. Freedom is not. All other things aside, I just have one question. I wonder about this red state , heartland mentality, these people all too eager to stand up on their high horses and rudely call down a person for not removing his hat during the anthem. Even if it was forgetfulness rather than a statement, whatever. Do you even know what it is our boys and girls are fighting for? I mean, aside from the cheap gas? That's right. It's about our right to disagree. It's about the fact that AMERICA is one country on our God-forsaken planet that allows dissenting voices, that celebrates diversity of opinion, that values FREEDOM of expression.
I could even be a...gasp...communist! And that would be ALLOWED.
Ultimately, he was right about one thing. Without respect, we have nothing. Was John respectful not to remove his hat? Maybe not. Was this man respectful in his handling of that issue? Certainly not.
Would he have been so rude and heavyhanded if John had been wearing a Blazer jersey? I doubt it.
I swear I'm just a freaking hippie. I don't get in fights and I rarely raise my voice. It would be so nice one of these nights to go to the Rose Garden and not feel threatened, to peacefully enjoy a ballgame. Also, it would be nice if we could ever win one.
Posted by: Jesterguru | March 10, 2009 at 11:50 AM
ah..Someone is posting as me now.
Posted by: zen | March 10, 2009 at 11:53 AM
more thoughts or so,
the Lakers have a rivalry with one team and one team only...
that's the way it was, has been and always will be..
all these other teams want to have a rivalry with us because it makes them feel relevant...
it's a joke really, a pathetic joke...and what's really pathetic is the fans really buy into it, beating LA gives them something to root for, because really that's all their franchises have, the chance to beat LA and be somebody...
GO LAKERS !!!
Posted by: Floyd | March 10, 2009 at 11:55 AM
Edwin,
To tell you the truth, I don't know where those wondering minds are? Do you know, for example, where Lamar's mind is now? It sure looks like he played like an legit ALL Star before and during tradeline but revert to “good old LO", that we, fans, so unfortunate to witness since Lakers acquired him in Shaq’s trade. He was unhappy because of lack minutes when he was playing with 2nd unit, guess what? Now he simply just can not stay on the floor. And this messed up all the rotations, because everyone has a role in triangle and he is responsible for ball handling and distribution, obviously something Josh Powell can not do. His jump shot, is always suspect, when he shoots from mid range to 3pt, I bet majority of fans looking at it, thinking “No way it’s going in..” and I’m not even going to talk about his FT, enough said by others. But biggest problem is, I think, he does not have something that clearly separate winner and looser. We can criticize all we want how soft Pau is but if somebody would like to see a winner, simply replay Olympic finals between US and Spain. Pau and Spain were fighting to the end. Lamar? I have my doubts, watching him through all those years in Lakers uniform. But Lamar was just an example.
And if we move to Luke, besides many I’ll have one simple question to ask “Did he even practice, I mean like ever jump shot?” A lot of time he left open just to produce miss. His shooting % is down, and this was a trend since he signed a contract extension.
Our bench became totally disorganized since Bynum’s injury and I don’t know where I should start to describe how frustrated I am and, pretty sure hundreds of fans, watching our bench lately. Sasha morphed from 1st man from the bench to 1st man back to the bench. Yes, I know he signed a contract during the summer time, but it looks like now Lakers made a huge mistake by resigning him. He is shooting abysmal %, no matter how wide open he is, and in addition to this he is picking up fouls with the rate which makes me doubt his future on this team, unless he, somehow learn, rather quickly the difference between tough defense and dumb one. Jordan has 2 big problems, the first, no matter how good/bad our opponent is, it’ll be 1-2-3 minutes stretches when he was playing out control, often resulted in ill-advised jumpers, or layup attempts, passes that got intercepted, producing not just TO, but fast break opportunities for opponent and etc. He also can not defend almost any PG in NBA, and if we take into consideration the most nights he is playing opposing bench PG it makes me wonder “If this the one who is going to eventually replace Fish as our starting PG?” Not to mention, can you name quality guard in NBA shooting 60% or less FT? All his stats are down from previous season and I’m wondering if Lakers need to think long and hard before offering him extension. I’m not going to mention Ariza, just would like to see more in terms if he hit some kind of wall lately. Only bright spot on otherwise disheartening play of Lakers bench it’s a recent play of DJ, but I would like to save my praises until I see little more games where he played more than 8-10 minutes. This is also true for Josh Powell…
My only hope they will get they act together through 2 tough games in Texas
Posted by: LAL_Fan | March 10, 2009 at 11:58 AM
We all know the "Beat LA" chant is Boston's just as "I Love LA" is the Lakers theme song and the "MVP" chant originated in LA, first for Shaq, then for Kobe.
Is there anything the Blazers fans won't steal?
(They normally call Lamarcus LA up here and play, no joke, "I Love LA" when he scores. For some reason they changed it to LTrain last night. Hmmmm.)
Posted by: Jesterguru | March 10, 2009 at 12:00 PM