one of my online friends requested something like this. So I went ahead and made it. i'm not a hater or liker of the Lakeshow, so dont get on my back about this .
You beat me to it Wally! lol, sorry I wasnt at my computer when you IMed that to me, its funny as hell. Thumbs up dude.
The thing is Kobe has one of the biggest egos in the game and benefits from ridiculously favorable calls from the refs, not suggesting he doesn't have talent. The guy plays with heart, I give him credit for that, and has developed his game to be one of the best in the NBA; however, I don't think he can get much better then he is. In fact, I think last year he was more explosive then this year. Those 15 pounds he put on in the off-season hurt his game. I'm making a prediction now, Lakers will come back next year and win the championship with ease and Shaq will win MVP. Sure Duncan schooled Shaq in the playoffs this year but come on, how many people really believe that if Shaq was 100 percent and Fox was not injured that the Spurs would have won? Shaq was out of shape and it showed. Rebuilding, the Lakers will do, but their most important element is to get Shaq healthy and in shape. Everyone talks about the beginning of a new dynasty but let me remind you, as long as Shaq is playing and healthy there isn't enough room on this planet for another dynasty.
What pissed me off the most about him yesterday wasn't the crying...I actually don't have any problem with that. It was hi s incredible crap about excuses...He kept bringing up the injuries...and going on about them in detail...and then kept saying that he wasn't going to use excuses. When asked why they lost, he cited " A million and one excuses...injuries, guys not playing, Fox not being here..." etc. Now, beyond trying to figure out how those three events are distinct from one another, I was amazed that the idiot was going on about them at all...and then wehn he kept trying to pretend that he was all stiff upper lip and all that about it, I was laughing histerically ( an unfortunate condition I have...)... If you aren't going to use excuses, stop bringing them up, twit.
How can you say the 15 pounds hurt his game when he was finally in the running for MVP this year along with going on that amazing streak of 40-plus and 35-plus scoring streaks? Plus for most of the year he carried the Lakers himself. The 15 pounds enabled him to body bigger players up on defense and allowed him to fully take advantage of his post game. Maybe you don't see him crossing players over and taking on 5 players at a time but that's because he no longer has to. He can take a player into the post and make the other players commit to either stopping him or his teammates.
LAfadeaway33 Yes, Kobe did have some spectacular games and his run of 40 plus point for 9 games was Jordan like. I do agree, he is more fit to carry a team and burden the responsibilities of being the number one option but it was his ability to get past players and drive to the hoop with such explosiveness which really complimented Shaq's dominating bulldozing style. That was hard to stop. Kobe's attrition is better, I will not argue that, but I do believe Bowen did not become that much better of a defender after 1 year. I remember watching last years Lakers/Spurs series and Shaq did his thing but it was Kobe who simply was hard to contain because of his speed and agility. You can make the argument that Ginobili and Jackson are difference makers and possibly they are but last year's Kobe would have been able to dribble past them with ease. Most Lakers would state that Kobe worked on his outside shot this year and he became a better shooter. This statement is partially true. Kobe's shooting percentage from the arc was much improved upon and Kobe did make more of his outside shots but his overall shooting percentage was lower then the past 3 years. The reason being is that Kobe penetrated the defense more the past three years taking it to the hole and getting easy lay-ups compared to the past three years. Of course you can also account for the Shaq factor because Shaq wasn't playing and when Shaq did play he simply wasn't as dominating inside so more attention was paid on Kobe. The point being, Kobe didn't shot as well as he did last year. Yes, Kobe added the weight but at the cost of his true talent which was explosiveness and speed for a guy 6 ft 6. What I found ironic is that Jordan around the same age also gained the 15 pounds to improve his game, which did help him. I find this funny because Kobe is always trying to say he is not trying to be like Mike yet here is another undeniable comparison.
i always loved thinking back to shaq sobbing after his 95 humiliation. it gives me the warm fuzzies. i missed the elimination game but i bet i wouldve loved it. asterisk my ass phil jackson. maybe put some offseason work into your team instead fo standing pat with your 2 superstars and a handfull of junk and your holier than thou attitude. these guys needed a reality check in the worst way. does anyone else wanna hit derek fisher?
It was actually pretty sad. They didn't go down with a fight. They had flashes of greatness that game. But ultimately, the penetration and kickout worked wonders and the spur role players hit shots. As a spur fan, It was kind of sad how they seemed to not REALLY try in the 4th qrt.
kobe is an arrogant SOB... go home and cry... he's a spoiled child and you know it... he's a kid pretending to be a man... talking all sophisticated... when all he knows is being a b****... LUCK THE FAKERS!!!
lol.. mayn, in my opinion, the lakeshow only has a cast of 2 "actors" and a "director". kobe, shaq, and phil jackson are what you call the Los Angeles Lakers. bench?? what bench?! assitant coaches, etc.. who are they??? i belive this is just a 3-man show. if they dont make the bench more productive, they could say goodbye to the "LakeShow" and say hello to the Texas Triangle domination!
