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That TrueHooop thing on Kobe was hilarious, I can’t stop laughing about it.

And hey, I wasn’t really stung by the slight on your big list I was just fooling around. But thanks for picking it up late I prefer to think of myself as a D-Fish type, by the way.

Anyway, I’m rooting Rockets on Friday night just to send it to seven. Every extra game and every extra Laker day off is helpful. Forget rust, these guys are going to stay sharp. Trevor and Andy need to keep improving so at least one (hopefully both) will be on the court for the eventual NBA Finals showdown with…The Hawks? Just kidding. No really.

I hate the Celtics but I wouldn’t wish that on them!

http://myespn.go.com/blogs/truehoop/0-32-141/Kobe-Bryant–MVP-of-the-Steakhouse.html

http://am570radio.com/cc-common/mediaplayer/player.html?redir=yes&mps=DanPatrick.php&mid=http://a1135.g.akamai.net/f/1135/18227/1h/cchannel.download.akamai.com/18227/podcast/LOSANGELES-CA/KLAC-AM/080430-Larry%20Bird%20.mp3?CPROG=PCAST&CPROG=RICHMEDIA&MARKET=LOSANGELES-CA&NG_FORMAT=sports&NG_ID=klac1150am&OR_NEWSFORMAT=Sports&OWNER=&SERVER_NAME=www.am570radio.com&SITE_ID=727&STATION_ID=KLAC-AM&TRACK=

Even if we play good, solid defense and force the Jazz into awkward shots, all of our hard work can be negated by an offensive rebound and a quick, high-percentage put back.

Crash the boards, crush the Jazz!

lol Do you really want to hug him that badly? I’m kidding, I thought Darius had some excellent analysis on the coaches. I don’t like D’Antoni at all, but I think he got a raw deal. They had chosen a system. Kerr was supposed to find pieces to enhance that system, not revamp it on the fly.

I saw the PTI interview too. I remember thinking, Phil usually is a little condescending to the media, he at least like’s to mess around with them a little, but I couldn’t see him trying the same thing with Kornheiser. And I was right, Phil was surprisingly open, honest, and humble, and it was a very good interview.

The one thing I noticed is Phil calls out his players a lot, but he knows when and how to do it. In that PTI interview he took a small shot at the Lakers’ rebounding, but I never got the feeling any Lakers would take it personally–I think it’ll help fuel them in the next series.

Also, I’m not sure we want Pau on Boozer. Pau’s not a good rebounder in traffic anyway, and Boozer’s post game could put Pau in foul trouble very quickly. Also, Pau’s offensive game seems to wear down when he plays against strong post players. Granted, I don’t see a better option. I think he can keep up with Okur, but Radman is probably a better fit there. AK moves and cuts too much. So I guess we’re stuck with Gasol on Boozer, but I just hope Pau’s offensive game doesn’t struggle as a result.

Here’s the link to ESPN’s podcenter page, look for “Pardon the Interruption: 4/30″ (the Phil interview is about 1/2 way through the podcast):
http://espnradio.espn.go.com/espnradio/podcast/index

Why not put Pau on Boozer, Odom on AK and Radmanovic on Okur. Okur will occasionally wander around the three area which Radman likes to operate anyway and this will ensure that Pau is in the low block to grab the boards with Odom coming in for the board as well.

AK47 has the 18-ft jumper which he loves to shoot. I think Lamar should dare him to shoot that as we have the sure rebound on that miss.

Utah’s offense is ignited by the Deron to Boozer entry pass. If that pass is somehow disrupted, Deron goes back and finds another cutter or shoots it himself. I say disrupt the entry pass, you disrupt Utah’s offense. I could live with Deron lauching threes all night even if he hits them at a 50% clip as long as the others do not get their share.