I would like to thank a friend of mine, Marcus, who recently graduated from UC Irvine MBA for giving me the inspiration for this post. Actually, he’s always utilized this moniker in place of his real name to represent his online presence in our fantasy basketball league, but I have finally some time to put a reasonable post together.
Indeed, the Lakers are Kobe’s Lakers. He is the unquestioned leader and he believed that running “his” team would lead to the championship. Today we find that it is true, though I’m not so sure a healthy Boston Celtics team would necessarily foster the same result. The Lakers of 2009 are quite different from the Lakers 0f the early 200o’s. Obviously, one major difference is the leader of that team was Shaq. Kobe was only playing second fiddle at that time. That is important because the Lakers of old were a team of Phil Jackson’s image, the triangle offense, with Shaq in the middle, Kobe playing the versatile guard and Derek Fisher running the point. Continue reading
What a treat last weekend was! If you were not on your couch and in front of the TV watching sports, then you missed out on a whole lot. Lucky for you, I’ll give you a couple of snippets of the spectacular, a view of a champion’s heart:
Tony Stewart: Though I don’t care much for NASCAR racing except when they race in Sonoma (with its non-oval track), I have to admit that Tony pulled out an exciting victory. To race from worst to first is a splendid feat. He got himself into this position by crashing his car in practice a couple days earlier. That meant he had to use a new car and start from the back of the pack. No matter, a will to win will always get you there.
Tiger Woods: When its Sunday on the golf course, you can never count Tiger out. Its actually when he plays his best, especially when he’s coming from behind! Its like an extra feline sense, Tiger’s sixth sense so to speak. He’s on the prowl on the fairways and pounces you on the greens. If you thought surgery could keep him down, then you are surely mistaken.
Roger Federer: With Rafa (Rafael Nadal) out of the Roland Garros, the door was open for Roger to finally capture the French Open. Many people in this position would have choked under the weight of such a great opportunity. However like a true champion, he fought through the tournament with his power serves and solidly hit, spot-on forehands. There were tough matches, but the gusto to glide on red clay with zest is what makes Roger so great.
Lakers: So Kobe was a bit disappointing in the fourth quarter in game 2 of the NBA Finals, it does not mean disaster when you have teammates like Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. They picked up his so-called slack, if you call 29 points, 8 assists and 4 rebounds slacking off. Whatever the game and whatever the case, the Lakers will pull it out even if drama is on display. When Courtney Lee of the Magic missed the game-winning layup at the end of regulation, the Lakers went to work and showed how it is to finish off the game in overtime. Pau did the scoring in overtime, Lamar kept them alive in regulation and Derek practically sealed the deal with his steal at the end. Lakers should and can win in any situation. The “ring” is near!
Aside: Have you checked out the latest Kobe Bryant song by Lil Wayne? If not, here it is, a heart of a champion:
As I was watching the San Antonio Spurs win a close one against the Los Angeles Lakers, I saw very fine clutch shooting by both teams: Kobe hitting that three with twelve seconds left and Roger Mason hitting that two with Derek Fisher fouling him earning an extra point at the free throw line. Too bad the Lakers lost. This got me thinking, who would you rather have the ball to make that winning shot at the end of the game? I’m sure you guys have debated this for yourself as well.
Roger Mason Jr? Well not exactly, however he’s been making some clutch shots lately (at least three games and counting now). I guess you could say that he’s filling in nicely for the now retired Big Shot Robert Horry. Some are even calling Big Shot Mason. I wouldn’t get ahead of myself that quickly. He’s only been in the starting lineup this past few months over Bruce Bowen (the man who can shoot threes but not free throws). Only time will tell if he lives up to the “big shot” billing.
Lebron James? Maybe. While I was watching NBA highlights on ESPN today, I saw Lebron miss a possible game winning shot at the end of regulation. In overtime, the Cavaliers lost to the inconsistent Bulls. He’s hit some good shots before, but as we all know there have been times where he’s been a bit “scared” and allowed another teammate to take the shot. Kind of odd don’t you think since he’s an “all-star.” So no, Lebron is not clutch just yet, but he could be one day. Continue reading
