Who are these people coming out of the woodwork to complain that Kobe didn’t single-handedly beat the Suns in game seven? The suggestions that he “gave up†border on idiocy. Remember the Laker wins in the series? How did those happen? Kobe shared the ball, Kwame and Odom posted up well, Smush and Walton were […]
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One step at a time
The loss hurts tonight, knowing how close we were to the second round, but as the wound heals we must remember that this was a solid Laker season, with big steps made after the disaster of last year. A course has been set, we’re a triangle team. The defense, which had its ups and downs […]
Open Thread — Game 7
When this series started, we said Kwame Brown and Smush Parker would be the keys — could the Lakers pound the ball inside and slow Steve Nash? For three games the answer was yes, and if the Lakers are going to win game seven it won’t be because Kobe scored 63, but because Smush and […]
Kentucky Derby Picks
A quick break on the day of game seven (keep talking Lakers in the comments of the previous post) for one of my other favorite things — the Kentucky Derby. My wife and I have been to a couple (actually, she’s been to six, we’ve gone to two together) and we’ve thrown killer Derby parties […]
Lakers/Suns Thoughts
Just a short collection of thoughts as we work our way toward game seven. My mood remains pretty sour about that loss. • Early in this series we were all praising Phil Jackson for the job he did. Well, credit Mike D’Antoni, who made a few tweaks to what the Suns were doing that worked, […]
Open Thread — game six
Just what does the suspension of Raja Bell mean for game six? When Bell has been on the floor in this series, the Suns have had a team defensive rating of 104.7 (points per 100 possessions). When Leandro Barbosa (his replacement as a starter) is on the court, it is 113.2. That’s a massive 8.5 […]
Super Friends and the NBA
I’ve always had a fascination with the Super Friends. I have a classic old Super Friends T-shirt — old school Justice League style — that is the most worn-out thing in my wardrobe but I can’t bring myself to throw it out. My wife bought me the Super Friends DVD for Christmas, it was the […]
Notes at 3 am
Welcome to the newest feature here at FB&G, a column largely constructed, and typed one handed, in the middle of the night while up with my two-week-old daughter. There will be basketball notes plus thoughts on other stuff, including what’s on television in the middle of the night (Girls Gone Wild!). Expect to see this […]
Open Thread — game 5
First off, congratulations to the Clippers, who won their first playoff series since Rick Monday saved an American flag. I really have been rooting for this, a Laker/Clipper match up in the next round will be the biggest basketball happening in this city in a long time. Hell, Bill Simmons is excited and he’s not […]
Yup, these are my readers
First things first, congratulations to Kobe on his new daughter, Gianna Maria-Onore Bryant. I can’t imagine the emotions of his day, winning that game then later that night having his second child born. I couldn’t be happier for him. And if he needs some extra newborn diapers, the wife and I have got plenty. ————————————— […]