It was the worst of times. Then it was the best of times. There may never have been a more defining season in the history of the Lakers franchise than that of 1979-80 — it set the table for Showtime and the legend of Magic, it had Kareem near his peak, it had luck both […]
Archives for August 2009
Eurobasket preview
Regular readers here at FB&G know Xavier, our friend the professional coach in Barcelona. He was kind enough to throw a few words together for us previewing Eurobasket starting in just a little over a week. I did make some edits around Sasha, who is off that team now, but the points are Xavier’s. —Kurt […]
My Second Favorite Team For Next Season
Looking for an off-season topic for a day, most of the members of the TrueHoop Network are putting up a post about their second favorite team for this season. During the D’Antoni years, even though they were serious competition for the Lakers, it was the Suns that I would watch no matter whom they played. […]
Fast Break Thoughts.
Tis’ summer, when the sun shines bright and NBA bloggers turn to bullet points. • During the Magic 50th birthday celebration, NBATV went on the Magic marathon, which Darius watched: One thing that has struck me while watching all of his classic performances on NBA TV over the past several days is how quickly he […]
Kids In Seats, Making The Dream Of Seeing The Lakers A Reality
I’ve been lucky. Growing up in Los Angeles I got to go to the occasional Lakers game because the company seats where my mom worked would fall to her once or twice a season. As I got older and had a little disposable income, shares of season tickets and purchases for individual games were within […]
Happy 50th Birthday Magic
It seems fitting that today in downtown Los Angeles, a huge Lakers-sponsored 3-on-3 basketball tournament gets underway, one that is going to take over blocks of a revitalized downtown and bring hundreds and hundreds of people to play hoops. (You can go down and watch or still play, just follow the link.) None of that […]
Fast Break Thoughts
Some things to catch up on after a long vacation for me: • Really interesting post by a regular here and around the Lakers nation, over at the Lakers Usenet group Gary posted about the Lakers salary figure for this year: (With the Odom deal) This makes the payroll $91,367,313 right now, with a potential […]
Two “Big” Lakers Stories Not That Big
Welcome to the off-season, when little things become big things because there is nothing else to talk about. To me, that’s the case with the two current “hot topics” around the Lakers this week. First there is the finger injury to Pau Gasol, which according to the best report I’ve read a ruptured interphalangeal ligament […]
Fast Break Thoughts
(Revenge is sweet, b****!) Now I know why Kurt went on vacation: now is the most difficult time of the year for basketball fans. Summer league is over, most of free agency is over, and camp is around the corner but not quite near enough to begin discussing the next season. Needless to say, we […]
What Could Have Horribly Been…
Numb to the moment, we see Kobe Bryant walk off the floor, his head down in shame. Eerily similar to what had happened the year before, Bryant again walks off the court with streamers falling over his head, his opponents triumphant at his expense. We can see the rage burning in his eyes, the frustration, […]