Sky

Question Real is this, would Kobe have suffered the avulsion fracture if he had summer surgery on the finger? I'd say no, because the finger would have been much stronger. You can't just ignore a broken finger on your shooting hand for years, yet Kobe has and now he and the Lakers are paying the price for that. Comes due eventually. Agreed on the rest. They won't repeat, but then I expected that coming into the playoffs unfortunately, I took Cleveland to win it over LA in the finals. Lack of chemistry, ball movement and cutting. Vulnerable to p/r and transition defensively. Poor perimeter shooting, very poor low post entry passing and the worst set of point guards in the NBA. Much as Artest's defense has been welcome his offense has them playing 4 on 5. They can't overcome playing 4 on 5 both ends unless Kobe can make up the difference. He can't.

If the Lakers fail to repeat Corey Brewer is about 12th in line. 1. Phil Jackson - The primary reason nothing was done at 1. The primary reason nothing was done deadline and no fa's were signed post deadline. 2. Mitch Kupchak - The secondary reason. How can you build a roster based on leveraging three bigs and have no one that can feed the low post? 3. Jerry Buss - Spending a mint, but the final payroll limitations also contributed to no 1. 4. Derek Fisher - Hello, I suck out loud. 5. David Lee - Trevor Ariza is worth 8M per, pay my ransom! 6. The bench - Hello, we suck just as much as Fisher, except for Odom. 7. The shooting - Can't hit the water from a rowboat. 8. Kobe Bryant - Chose to not have finger surgery and this is well before Brewer.

Kobe has been chucking. But keep in mind how many of his shots are late in the 24 bail the team out jumpers. When nothing works the default late in the 24 is give it to Kobe and see what he can do, because no other Laker starter can create off the dribble. He's also hurt by having no point guard that can draw the defense and set him up. The vast majority of the time Bryant has to create his own looks. Fault for that rests with Kupchak, Jackson and Fisher/Farmar. Have a 1 that's at least competent instead of the pure crap they have and Kobe's chucking decreases and his fg% goes up.

It's fact that James had the fewest fouls called against him of any superstar in the league this year. There was an eye-opening article earlier in the year that ran the numbers on fouls against and it was revealing how few were called on Bron. So he is no position to complain in general but can dispute an individual play obviously. What will be interesting is to see if the regular season pattern holds up for the playoffs.

imo the Cavs win a title, Bron will have delivered his promise to Cleveland and is then free to go. He leaves for New York. The higher cap allows them to sign James and Bosh, but they can work out a Lee for Bosh S&T and use the cap room for a third impact fa, and then deal Eddie Curry's last year contract for a 4th piece and they are ready to contend. I think James is playing for his freedom in this year's playoffs and he'll be very motivated to make that happen. It's possible he stays, but living all his life in Ohio and the chance to resurrect the Knicks in the basketball mecca may be too much to pass up. Still on Walsh to make it all work and his greed and insistence on my way or forget it trades could unravel it. btw New York's pick goes to Utah iirc.

God no, but he will be. If Jackson returns so will Fisher. Phil has his faves and the organization is very loyal. I can also see LA having post-career plans for Fisher as another reason to keep him. No secret Fisher is the worst finisher in the league, he has been for the past eight years. If Orlando makes the final and wins it then Jameer incinerating Fisher will be the reason why.

If Fisher suffered a career ending injury tomorrow (I didn't do it officer honest) the Laker title chances would go up. Dude blows fist-sized donkey chunks.

It's Fisher who should be careful what I wish for. Did you happen to see the last possession vs. GS last night Yugo? Brilliant D by Fishwrap. He's just an embarrassment at this point.

When can he start? How about next week Fish? No no not player coach just assistant coach.

Props to the Magic, solid game. SVG is showing the league how to take down LA's defense in crunch time. Cleveland would do well to take note.

James is a much smarter defender than Brown. Shannon was making mental mistakes all game yesterday on d. Both have good acceleration and quick ups but you need to be in position to make the play, James is there more often than Brown. Thing with LeBron though is he's the most protected player in the league at 1.7 pf against and he knows it. Which allows him to play more physical defense, more gambling defense, have more contact, and know that none of it will be called. Give a powerful athlete the freedom to play physically and his defense will reflect that. Look at Artest yesterday. Fantastic game on Melo, but it was due in part to the refs letting contact go. He was allowed to play physical ball. Bron is given that freedom every night. 1.7 pf against means that James has no leg to stand on about the officiating. Do not whine about I need more calls - unless you want more called against you on d. No? Then shut up and play.

And that's precisely what the Gasol trade was about and why it was made. LA's willingness to take on a huge amount of long term money to save a struggling Memphis team a boatload of cash. Yet recently on here Cleveland fans were bemoaning how unfair the Gasol trade was and totally ignored that it was over money. So if you defend this Cavs deal for fiscal reasons, you must do the exact same thing for the Gasol trade. Unlike LA though, Cleveland has three free agents in the summer, so this could just be a four month hit depending on what they choose to do with Shaq, and if Bron bolts or not. As for Z, the league needs to change the CBA so that players can't rejoin their old teams after being dealt and then cut/bought out by their new team. Either prevent it or make those players playoff ineligible (only if they return to their old team). Not a high priority for the CBA talks, but I suspect it'll be in there in the end.

Confidence - They're guilty of looking ahead to Denver. One of those games where they think all they have to do is point to the uniform to be handed the win. Real - lol, ain't it the truth.

Fire up old #2 kids! http://img707.imageshack.us/img707/525/brickapult.jpg Thsi time for sure! Next time for sure! Maybe this one? Oh man. Five layups by Fisher. Five bricks by Fisher. Yo Captain Ego. Yeah you. You can't make them. Don't try.

I was at the game and it was a throwback to the We Believe can't hear yourself think days. Crowd going nuts, players bringing it, thrilling game. Curry has already surpassed Monta as the Dubs best and most reliable player. Knows the game and he's playing with the poise of a long time vet. He's the keeper. In Riley's phone forum with the STHs yesterday he kept emphasizing Curry as the reason to remain a season ticket holder. Didn't say outright he would dump Monta, but based on how he showered Curry with praise and not Monta, that they were looking at 2-3-4-5 in trades and the draft, it's evident that Curry is their choice and Monta is the bait. Hawks blew the lead on two fronts. They were overconfident and thought the game was won, showed in their body language. And they went away from Joe. Crawford swarmed and they get it to Josh Smith for a 3 with the game on the line? Not happening.

Finest - Yes there is a reason why James is getting some DPOY talk. It's easier to defend when you're rarely called for a foul. Bron has improved as a defender, but he hacks for steals and blocks and doesn't get called. Allows him to be far more aggressive knowing the refs won't whistle him. Wade has improved his defense is an active defender, and he gets 35% more calls against him than Bron? Seriously? Kobe isn't even defending anybody, he's an off-ball rover overgambling for steals and he has 50% more calls against him than Bron? lol. James is easily, blatantly, the most protected player in the league, it's not remotely close. Which makes his whining about no calls patently absurd.

I don't dispute that James gets fouled hard and sometimes it's not called. The issue is fouls called against LeBron. Lowest in the league among high scorers with big minutes at 1.7. Which makes him the most protected player in the league. 35% fewer calls against James than Wade, nearly 50% less than Kobe. Which makes Bron's whining about calls a total joke.

Does LeBron want every foul called? If so he gets more calls on O but fouls out instead of only having 1.5 personals per game. Goes both ways dude. He's the most protected player in the league in not having defensive fouls called against him. There was a story on this a while back and it was a total joke, LBJ had half as many fouls called against him as Jordan and Magic, and they were protected too. James whining about calls, pfft. Please.

Actual shot from the game. http://img708.imageshack.us/img708/6877/pinfish.jpg

LOL nice one Real, I've got lots of those. Matador. Vacuum cleaner (sucks). Toast. My favorite is a turnstile with Fish's head on top of it. I'll see if I can find those.

Sorry man I live a sheltered life.

http://img197.imageshack.us/img197/2615/fishcrow.jpg

lol, I have no clue whatsoever. Never saw the movie.

Good thing we didn't add a 1. The game that answers the musical question, just how bad is the Laker backcourt sans Kobe? Yo Fish. You can't finish. Don't try.

Do not talk about Fight Club.