JayBirdSlim:The Man, the Mission, the god!

That’s right, I said it!…or well…..wrote it at least. Kobe Bryant does not deserve to be in the top tier of the elite players in basketball history. Does he have as much if not more talent than most of the people on that list? Probably. Does he score point? Mostly. Does he have a lot of rings? Definitely. Then why do I, a lifelong Laker’s fan, think he is a sham? Easy…because of games like last night and game 4.

Kobe has always had a sense of “entitlement” surrounding him. Ever since he opted not to go to college and go directly to the professional ranks he has seemingly expected the title of greatest player ever to just be handed over to him. So laissez-faire games like last night happen. Kobe assumes if he puts it in cruise control he will just coast to glory. He takes games off. He may get up that morning at 6 am to practice…but (and I can’t believe I’m using this quote in a positive way) “Practice? We’re talking about practice?” Allen Iverson may have whined and moaned about practicing with his team but you have to give him credit he always put 100% into each and every trip up and down the court during a game. The same thing can’t be said about Kobe. He thinks he can flick on a switch and suddenly the game will be handed to him. “Oh Kobe is going o actually play now…games over…doesn’t matter if they’re down by 20+…that’s the rule.”

When you look at the greats, Jordan, Magic, Bird, Chamberlain, Russell etc… they all have one thing in common. They became great because they put everything they had into the game and earned greatness. Lebron seems to understand that you don’t become great just by winning some titles. It takes something more than scoring, or defending, or practicing.

As fans people generally don’t ask much of their players. They can use steroids and really it’s ok, they can gamble, commit adultery, swear, not be role models, it doesn’t matter as long as they play the game with everything they have. So when you hear me talk about Kobe and wish he would just lose in such a humiliating way that it wakes him up don’t ask me how I can say that and call myself a Laker’s fan…Kobe, as Magic implied in his rant, has earned the title of being called a Laker yet in my book.

Well the finals a re set and whether you like it or not it’s a classic match-up between the Celtics and the Lakers. Unfortunately it won’t have the same feel as the old games with Magic and Bird but it will hopefully be a good series. Unlike the clashes from the 80s where you had Parish, Bird, Magic, Kareem and an endless list of role players that each had a key play in each and every series; we have a team of collected superstars that can’t seem to figure out how to crush people (in the Celtics) and a team led by a super star in both play and whining and childish spoiled athlete behavior (in Kobe) playing for the championship.

Who knows how it will end. Maybe Boston finally figured it out and pulled things together against Detroit and will keep Kobe out of the championship circle for another year. (I would really like it if Sir Whines-A-lot never won another championship now that he doesn’t have the extra support from a big man…but maybe I’m just a mean spirited individual…who knows)

Anyway, should be interesting. I’ll be watching the entire series, no matter what, so I’ll be sure to post again.

I have to say that last night’s game was amazing basketball drama! congrats to the Kansas U students, players, fans and Alum. That has got to be a great feeling! And to the Memphis players…….LEARN TO SHOOT FREE THROWS YOU MORONS! I have stood my ground that Memphis was going to lose to a team that can play defense and would force them to win the game shooting free throws at the end. It almost happened with A&M but they didn’t have the juice on the Offensive end like Kansas did to drain that extra bit of energy. Wonder what John Calipari will have to say about how important free throws are now?

Seriously, this drives me nuts. I can only ever understand how people can be bad at free throws if they’re really tall. You see the taller you are means the flatter your shot will be because you’re closer to the height of the rim and your hands will be bigger, which is great for holding the ball for a dunk but lousy for gently lofting the ball from the charity stripe. That being said EVERY player on Memphis should at worst be in the mid 70% range, there is NO excuse! I of course blame the coach. Calipari maintains the theory that if you have great athletes that can run you’ll be fine. (trust me he had the same attitude at UMass which is why he only went to the final 4 once with those teams) However eventually, especially in the tourney, you’re going to have to play someone who can also run with athletes and then it all comes down to who can actually ply the game better.
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That’s right. The weekend’s final four final put the killing blow on my bracket picks. There was a brief glimmer of hope after UCLA got pounded by Memphis but that should have been a sign of things to come. UNC came out in the first half looking like someone stole their Wheaties and replaced them with massive depressive flakes. I’ve never seen a team come out with so much lead in their shoes. It was terrible! I’m not sure what happened but every player on that team looked like they were dazed and confused at being on the court. They were doing things I haven’t seen them do all season including driving 1 on 4 against Kansas, letting Jayhawks practically walk up and steal the ball, and getting out rebounded like they were a team of midgets!

IT WAS HORRIBLE!

So without further ado I must congratulate my friend Hank on yet another glorious thumping of me.. the final tally was Hank had 109 points and I was left with my face pressed against the window with a measly 71.. yet another year I am unable to break the 100 point barrier. I swear, and this is sincere, everyone on the planet should make their picks then check them against mine before submitting them for their official pool. I am TERRIBLE at this!
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Well, last night Davidson’s miracle run fell one 3 pointer short (or wide left) of making Cinderella a real life fairy tale! Where everyone else bowed to the might and power of the four number one seeds little David(son) stood up to Goliath with his rock and sling and fought as only the chosen do. What an incredible match up that was! And in effect the game proved what I always preach, a slowdown team will always hold it’s own (if not beat) a running team. Davidson from the start kept it’s head and slowed the tempo of the game way down. And it was a thing of beauty! Kansas, the team everyone is picking to win (if their team doesn’t) has so much individual talent and speed that it seemed they could not truly be tested. Much like North Carolina they didn’t have a full 40 minute test from anyone, that is until David pulled his little rock thrower out of his pocket and started slingin! Even after Kansas sprinted down the court and tried to press Davidson just walked cooly down the floor in absolutely no hurry to give Kansas back the ball. Actually the only time Davidson really seemed to “Sprint” was after a miss and losing the rebound. Why? Because they got back and set up their defense. Kansas got no real “transition” points as they’re called because they almost never had positive numbers on the offensive end. That’s how you beat a running team.
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