spurscenter
04-27-2008, 03:12 AM
oh boy, here we go
The infamous 2000-2002 LAKERS starstruck national media come out from their holes. lol
I have been waiting for these people since they got #1 seed
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24129059/site/21683474/
In comeback for the ages, Lakers will win title
Yes, Kobe is spoiled, but he has the ability to will a team to a championship
By Michael Ventre
It was only last May that Kobe Bryant had advanced to the finals. He got past the first round of interviews ripping the Lakers and demanding a trade, then burrowed through the second round of interviews, then the third round, all the while showing the determination for which he has become renowned.
Then he reached the finals, which in this scenario was represented by a few half-hearted phone calls to the Chicago Bulls by the Lakers regarding a possible trade of their superstar.
That kind of experience at this time of year is invaluable, because soon Bryant should make the jump from those dubious finals of last year’s spring of discontent to the 2008 NBA Finals, where he will celebrate a championship.
My, how far he has come.
For that matter, the Lakers themselves have experienced a personal and professional odyssey that has brought them to or near the top of the elite free-for-all that is the Western Conference race. They now have that look in their eyes that comes from assessing each other and the way they’re performing and concluding, “We got it.”
Kobe Bryant is the most prominent beneficiary of this sudden ascension to power, but he is by no means the only one. Just about every Laker has improved in some way, and the parts have made the whole into an enviable collection of talent, experience and hunger.
To say that the Lakers will win it all this year is not to diminish the opposition, because the other contenders — especially in the West — are all confident and committed. This will not be a saunter, but rather a slog, and uphill at that. And when the Lakers wade through the West, they will very likely meet up with the Boston Celtics, their storied rivals who are feeling as good about themselves as the Lakers are about themselves.
But for a variety of reasons, this crown will end up in Laker Nation, an unfathomable notion less than a year ago.
First and foremost, there is defense. These Lakers aren’t nearly as consistently suffocating on defense as the Celtics, but they have been more effective than the giveaway spree of last season, when they were 25th in the NBA in points allowed, serving up an average of over 103 per contest.
This year, the Lakers contest shots. They would challenge even more shooters if they had Andrew Bynum in the lineup. But he’s been out since Jan. 13 with a knee injury, and although the club keeps releasing news flashes of hope on the subject, he will probably be of no help during these playoffs.
But without Bynum, the Lakers still have people who like to swat shots. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom are the two most notable, but Ronny Turiaf and Bryant also like to get in on the act. And before they even try to block shots, harassers like Jordan Farmar and Derek Fisher are active in stripping the ball.
In general, the Lakers have a defensive mentality that wasn’t there last year, and their ability to keep the opponents’ score down has taken pressure off their offense.
Yet their offense is much improved also. The addition of Gasol, who has been good for more than 18 points and eight rebounds a game, has given the Lakers a championship dimension. It has relieved the scoring burden resting on Kobe, and it also has freed up Odom to play some of the best basketball he has exhibited since he came into the league.
When the big three of Bryant, Gasol and Odom are in need of aide, they’ve gotten it all year with a vastly improved supporting cast that includes Fisher, Farmer, Luke Walton, Vladimir Radmanovic, Sasha Vujacic and Turiaf.
Fisher has been especially important in bringing a championship glow to this assemblage, because he reflects a time earlier this century when Phil Jackson and the Lakers ruled the NBA for three straight seasons. He has been a calming influence on the once-frustrated Bryant, and he has mentored the kids.
All of that is nice, of course. But there is nothing like doing it on the court entering the playoffs.
The Lakers have been a curiosity on the NBA scene this year. Their rags-to-riches tale has been a popular topic among pundits, who can’t recall anything quite like it — except, of course, for what the Celtics did in the offseason by getting Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
But in the Lakers’ case, it all goes back to Kobe and his rounds of interviews last year. He is the best player in the game (and he might even win the MVP). He is also the most spoiled. He wants what he wants, without regard to whose feathers he ruffles.
He declared most emphatically that he wanted to win a championship. Nothing else would do. And he wanted out because he knew he couldn’t win one with the team he had last season.
Now there are no excuses. Sure, it would be nice to have Bynum, and even Trevor Ariza. Still, with this team the Lakers smoked both their chief rivals at the top of the Western Conference last week, the Hornets on Friday and the Spurs on Sunday (although San Antonio was without Manu Ginobili). Bryant looks around him now and realizes that he has the reinforcements he needed.
Bryant is the kind of player who can will a team to victory, so long as he has a complete team. He has no peer in the NBA in that department. For all his faults, nobody can put a club on his back the way Bryant can and lead them to victory.
These are the Finals he belongs in. These are the Finals he will come out of looking like a hero.
Michael Ventre writes regularly for NBCSports.com and is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. LOL
URL: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24129059/site/21683474/
MSN Privacy . Legal
© 2008 NBCSports.com
The infamous 2000-2002 LAKERS starstruck national media come out from their holes. lol
I have been waiting for these people since they got #1 seed
http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24129059/site/21683474/
In comeback for the ages, Lakers will win title
Yes, Kobe is spoiled, but he has the ability to will a team to a championship
By Michael Ventre
It was only last May that Kobe Bryant had advanced to the finals. He got past the first round of interviews ripping the Lakers and demanding a trade, then burrowed through the second round of interviews, then the third round, all the while showing the determination for which he has become renowned.
Then he reached the finals, which in this scenario was represented by a few half-hearted phone calls to the Chicago Bulls by the Lakers regarding a possible trade of their superstar.
That kind of experience at this time of year is invaluable, because soon Bryant should make the jump from those dubious finals of last year’s spring of discontent to the 2008 NBA Finals, where he will celebrate a championship.
My, how far he has come.
For that matter, the Lakers themselves have experienced a personal and professional odyssey that has brought them to or near the top of the elite free-for-all that is the Western Conference race. They now have that look in their eyes that comes from assessing each other and the way they’re performing and concluding, “We got it.”
Kobe Bryant is the most prominent beneficiary of this sudden ascension to power, but he is by no means the only one. Just about every Laker has improved in some way, and the parts have made the whole into an enviable collection of talent, experience and hunger.
To say that the Lakers will win it all this year is not to diminish the opposition, because the other contenders — especially in the West — are all confident and committed. This will not be a saunter, but rather a slog, and uphill at that. And when the Lakers wade through the West, they will very likely meet up with the Boston Celtics, their storied rivals who are feeling as good about themselves as the Lakers are about themselves.
But for a variety of reasons, this crown will end up in Laker Nation, an unfathomable notion less than a year ago.
First and foremost, there is defense. These Lakers aren’t nearly as consistently suffocating on defense as the Celtics, but they have been more effective than the giveaway spree of last season, when they were 25th in the NBA in points allowed, serving up an average of over 103 per contest.
This year, the Lakers contest shots. They would challenge even more shooters if they had Andrew Bynum in the lineup. But he’s been out since Jan. 13 with a knee injury, and although the club keeps releasing news flashes of hope on the subject, he will probably be of no help during these playoffs.
But without Bynum, the Lakers still have people who like to swat shots. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom are the two most notable, but Ronny Turiaf and Bryant also like to get in on the act. And before they even try to block shots, harassers like Jordan Farmar and Derek Fisher are active in stripping the ball.
In general, the Lakers have a defensive mentality that wasn’t there last year, and their ability to keep the opponents’ score down has taken pressure off their offense.
Yet their offense is much improved also. The addition of Gasol, who has been good for more than 18 points and eight rebounds a game, has given the Lakers a championship dimension. It has relieved the scoring burden resting on Kobe, and it also has freed up Odom to play some of the best basketball he has exhibited since he came into the league.
When the big three of Bryant, Gasol and Odom are in need of aide, they’ve gotten it all year with a vastly improved supporting cast that includes Fisher, Farmer, Luke Walton, Vladimir Radmanovic, Sasha Vujacic and Turiaf.
Fisher has been especially important in bringing a championship glow to this assemblage, because he reflects a time earlier this century when Phil Jackson and the Lakers ruled the NBA for three straight seasons. He has been a calming influence on the once-frustrated Bryant, and he has mentored the kids.
All of that is nice, of course. But there is nothing like doing it on the court entering the playoffs.
The Lakers have been a curiosity on the NBA scene this year. Their rags-to-riches tale has been a popular topic among pundits, who can’t recall anything quite like it — except, of course, for what the Celtics did in the offseason by getting Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.
But in the Lakers’ case, it all goes back to Kobe and his rounds of interviews last year. He is the best player in the game (and he might even win the MVP). He is also the most spoiled. He wants what he wants, without regard to whose feathers he ruffles.
He declared most emphatically that he wanted to win a championship. Nothing else would do. And he wanted out because he knew he couldn’t win one with the team he had last season.
Now there are no excuses. Sure, it would be nice to have Bynum, and even Trevor Ariza. Still, with this team the Lakers smoked both their chief rivals at the top of the Western Conference last week, the Hornets on Friday and the Spurs on Sunday (although San Antonio was without Manu Ginobili). Bryant looks around him now and realizes that he has the reinforcements he needed.
Bryant is the kind of player who can will a team to victory, so long as he has a complete team. He has no peer in the NBA in that department. For all his faults, nobody can put a club on his back the way Bryant can and lead them to victory.
These are the Finals he belongs in. These are the Finals he will come out of looking like a hero.
Michael Ventre writes regularly for NBCSports.com and is a freelance writer based in Los Angeles. LOL
URL: http://nbcsports.msnbc.com/id/24129059/site/21683474/
MSN Privacy . Legal
© 2008 NBCSports.com