Lakers and Kobe

I think i am going to do this one-time right now, and then perhaps one additional time if there is an effort to make it an annual thing to promote Kobe, rather than disparage him, as was done last year:

http://hardwoodparoxysm.blogspot.com/2008/02/special-announcement-march-11th-kobe.html

i love that idea, and feel kind of good that i am not alone in this world thinking that Kobe is kind of a d-bag...but i am going to talk about the Lakers, as it seems like it is a requisite initiative to be initiated in to the world of NBA bloggers, since you can't swing a cat by its tail (i love felines), without hitting some poser propping the Lakers as the greatest thing since the Bulls of the '90s...

if that does not tell you how corrupted the NBA is, then nothing will...

Basically we are talking about one HOFer in Kobe, 2-decent players in Pau Gasol and Odom, one project in Bynum, and a roster of total fillers, who have no business playing in the league...yes, Phil Jackson is there, but until someone points me to a definitive analysis of why he is a good coach without using the word, 'Triangle', i will continue to think what i have thought about the Lakers all decade: a complete and total joke, built around Hollywood's meta-instincts to worship itself, counter to all available evidence to the contrary...

Kobe is a baller, a scorer, a kid with great basketball instincts, and probably will be remembered past his retirement, as someone who won a lot, and actually lived up to much of his own hype...

He will also be remembered as probably the first exhibit in the case against high school players being allowed to jump to the NBA, i mean because of Kobe, i almost agree with Stern's decision on this issue, though will reserve final judgement for some time, as it is tough for me to admit i agree with Stern on anything...but Kobe is the sporting world's biggest eff'ing baby...plus, he is a terrible teammate, i am so sick of watching him ridicule professional basketball players because maybe they didn't do it Kobe's way, perfectly...

The one thing i like about Kobe is actually associated with his rampant cockiness and that is his public antagonizing of Webber in the 2002 WCF, or maybe it was the regular season of that same year (people forget that leading up to that epic WCF series, there were some seriously entertaining regular season games, as well...that was just a great year of basketball)...Kobe was saying stuff like "my guys are tougher than your guys" or something like that, i am totally down with that kind of competition, what i am not down with is his maniacal belief that he deserves to either score or have a foul called for him every single time down the court...and, like i said, his public accosting on the court of his own teammates is a definitive deal-breaker for me, i just dont roll like that...

enough for now on Kobe, back to the Lakers: Gasol is o.k., i guess, but he looked pretty bad in most playoff games last year that i saw...i like Odom, he has done something that a lot of people didnt think he would, and frankly something that maybe someone like Latrell Spreewell could have done better, and that is mature and grow in to a more veteran role, that does not need as many shots, as much press, or as much drama...without Odom, letting Kobe to his own devices, the Lakers would just spin right off the planet...there are many, many NBA players who would have punched Kobe by now in the face for his antics, but Odom does what is best for that team, and is under-appreciated for it...

Bynum has done absolutely nothing in my opinion, and that 4 year/$58M contract extension a couple weeks back is one of the biggest risks in the league, behind Rashard Lewis but more so than Arenas' contract...the kid might be tall, and i may not get to see many Lakers games, but i would think there would at least be a story on his game by now, if he were actually worth that kind of money: he's not...

the rest of the team, though i feel for them, as they have no voice in Phil's system, and they have to take it from Kobe with their teeth clenched, are still pretty terrible as far as NBA standards go for talent and ability to execute...i mean when you play with a guy like Kobe who gets every conceivable call on the planet, the opponent needs at least 2 and many times 3 players to stay in front of him, so all the scrubs on the Lakers are going to get open looks, and god love them if they can knock them down, but that is a far cry from making something out of their own devices...it frankly reminds me a lot of the McDyess hype or analysis, i mean Dyess can hit down the open J, and may hustle some of the game, but has no ability to create, and thus fulfilling the definition of a 'role' player, as are all the Lakers players that are funneled through the "Triangle"...

in short, the match-up of undefeated LAL and Iverson-era DET is remotely interesting, though not for reasons that ESPN will be talking about in the next couple of hours...there they will focus on championship aspirations built on super-star performances...that is wrong, Kobe has no ability to win this thing on his own, nor does Iverson...the only way for either team to be playing in June are for the Odoms and Princes of the respective teams to have playmaker roles, and that requires players like Kobe and AI to defer, which is absolutely the opposite of their natural inclination...

i mean when you are raised on a healthy diet of phantom calls that disrupt the flow of the game in favor of promoting this 'superstar' brand that Stern has cultivated for 25 years, it is tough to change, so you wont catch me having much optimism that the game tonight will live up to the hype around the two cities...it could be good, but most likely, it will be remembered for Kobe's 31 points on 30 shots, and Iverson's 27 points on the same amount of shots...and i checked out from that kind of hoops a long time ago...