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I really like Kevin Ding's columns...maybe that's because I really like the OC Register and that's what my sister gets and I read him a lot more, but he's a very good writer.
I've been saying it for awhile now...at the mental level, Farmar is turning into a little clone of Kobe.
Quote:
Asked about being slighted in the roster retooling after last season, Farmar volunteered a comparison to Bryant, saying: "That was just another challenge put in front of me that I had to respond to; I love that. That's what I'm built for. I see the same thing every day with Kobe. Any situation that comes in the world, he takes it as a challenge and tries to make the most of it."
Quote:
And about the prospect of the Lakers dominating for years, Farmar does not shy away. He just addresses it while maintaining proper perspective."Absolutely, for the long haul, this team seems great," he said. "We're looking forward to it, but we're trying really to stay in the moment. We have a chance to be very special, but it starts with now."
Those quotes are straight out of Kobe's playbook...
I heart Ear Jordan.
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Flea's latest blog entry. This sounds EXACTLY as if it were coming from me, only I had forgotten entirely how to construct sentences and was also hammered.
I agree with so much of it. I can almost say I agree with 99.9% of it.
Quote:
this is the team i have been waiting for since magic johnson
retired
i know that the shaq kobe team that three peated was a great
and
winning team
but this team, is funner to watch, has a better personality, and is
just more fun to root for
there is a greater sense of unity
i and i like em better
i get that same excited feeling when kobe, pau, lamar, and derek
whip
the ball around the court as when magic used to run the fast
break
with byron and james on the wings
the kobe shak, horry, fox. fisher team was great, and they won
and
that was awesome and i dont take em for granted
it is just a personal thing for me i guess
but this team just makes me feel better and they havent won
anything yet
if they win a championship i might do something crazy
I've been feeling like this all year...my wife has too. These guys are just FUN to watch play...the Ariza trade kicked it up a notch, and the Pau trade even more. When Drew returns, wow...it is going to be fun. I've got this uneasy itch to want to watch a game on the off days that I never even had during the Shaqkobe era.
Quote:
i heard mychal thompson on the radio bemoaning their
(particularly
derek fisher's) lack of excitement over the suns game with shaq
the
other night.....
how cam mt question the deep soul of derek fisher????? absurd
and i understand that the magic led lakers he played on were
more
verbose and excitable about an important regular season game
for these lakers that game against the suns was no less
important
but this kobe led team is different, they take their cue from kobe
not magic, and kobe is just a different kind of guy
he has been through a lot in his career, has matured a lot, and
has
adopted and matured into an evenness in his psyche in regards
to speaking about games or celebrating them, and saves his
ebullience
for the hardwood
he knows not to get to up or too down and to stay focused, its like a
golfer who screams and curses when he misses a shot and then gloats
when he hits a good one
it doesn't help his overall game, and kobe knows that this
evenness
serves him
I love the quiet swagger of this team...so businesslike.
Quote:
as anyone knows who has read my blogs, i was a supporter of
kwame brown
i am perfectly aware that he was never was a consistent
contributor
to the lakers, that he had klutzy hands, that he would get down on
himself when he made mistakes and retreat into himself.......
that said, i always really liked the guy, he just seemed like a good
guy to me, he just didn't deal with the pressure well, and to be
honest, i was never sure if he liked playing basketball
i just felt a lot for him, and he was wearing a purple and gold
uniform that said lakers on it, and i truly wish him the best, i hope
for him to have peace of mind, and to have fun playing basketball
in
memphis and possibly
grow into the potential he has as an athlete, he sure has the
body
for it, he could still be a good center in this league if he can find
his own center............
I wish Kwame all the best...he did seem like a great person. I'm sad that he couldn't find his center (I like the way Flea put that, actually). I always tried to look for the good in him, because I found him a likeable guy. He seems like a tortured soul, to me.
Quote:
i like many laker fans have behaved foolishly
we insulted and derided the work that mitch kupchak was doing
while the rest of us whined and complained about losing and
about no
good trades happening
mitch was getting the big picture, knowing we had to go through some
hard times to work towards the stellar lineup we have today
and drafting players he believed in like andrew bynum and jordan farmar
he did not buckle in the face of criticism but held true to his
vision and what he thought was right
and brought us to the promised land
he has passed muster
if he does not get gm of the year then truth has not been served
of course there were times when i was very pro mitch
but i grew impatient and short sighted
and mitch is has been solid as a john bonham drum beat on when the
levee breaks
I was very patient with Mitch, defending him but slowly losing patience. When all patience was gone, he has this stuff go down. I don't give him all the credit though...he got a bit lucky and Jim Buss had a hand in it as well, but I was wrong in my criticism.
Quote:
and in the greatest player of all time argument, let me solve it here and now
magic johnson is the great basketball player of all time
Yes, this is my opinion as well. Sometimes when I watch old games I'm astounded at how good he was...he owned every square inch of the court..nay, the arena. Not just the court...he owned the building.
Phillip interviewed on Loose Cannons yesterday. Audio Link here. LG member transcription below. Good.Damn.Stuff.
Quote:
Pau Gasol, better or what you expected, surprised with how well he fitted?
"I thought two years ago Pau was really terrific, game on our court he was really instrumental, hard to stop him at the end, Memphis gave us trouble then. I was reminiscing back about it before we got him about where would he be physically, would he be that guy two years ago where you had to double him to get ball out of his hands? He is that guy. Strong enough to get to basket/foul line and make passes to open players. Makes big difference on our team.
Ever seen player enter mix like Pau so fluidly?
"Not since Sheed."
Surprised at Phoenix's last game?
"Pistons have such great success against Shaq. Two years ago Pistons got deep but Heat beat them, even during that series it was weighed, Shaq had trouble with Sheed. Sheed kinda likes that challenge, long arms/strong shoulders, Shaq has trouble against him. Phoenix looked like they had no one else to go to except for Amare. Detroit is good defensive team."
Courage, how much is Kobe showing playing through pain?
"It's taken enough of of his game where he is playing best bball since playoffs of 2001 when he came back from injury and we went on tear. That's the level he's playing at now. Time before he got hurt that year where locker room was little volatile, halftime in Minny, Kobe was little angry at reproval he got from Harper, Ronnie was kinda my spokesperson about team ball, Kobe tried to get after Harper, Harp said we're here to help you, not here to hinder your game. You have to include us when you play, when you do that you get better and we get better too. That's basically what Kobe feels now, everyone can help this team win, he's just there to kinda facilitate and help everyone else, he's doing that exceptionally well. He hasn't had to pull back and do that one on one stuff, he did that a little against Phoenix, but he went right back to team ball after one of those efforts didn't come up right, that's where his judgment has really improved over the years."
Evolution of relationship with Kobe, tough times this summer, one thing that was clear was that he considered you his number one man in his corner, far cry from the way it was, how did that change between the two of you?
"Kobe understood when I was out on sabbatical he was blamed for a lot of what went down with the Lakers (i.e.) he was the reason for the Shaq trade, reason team didn't succeed, easy to point finger at him. Unfortunately no one stepped up and defended him. When I came back, I wanted to contact Kobe and let him know I knew the truth of the situation, I wanted to try and help and organize the team. That if he wanted to collude with me on that, that we could team up together and get this done. He was willing to take that step. Wasn't an easy step because I've been critical of Kobe and written about it, he knew that. He said if you have something to talk about or critique my game, come talk to me about it. That's what we've done."
Kobe's future?
"If we get Drew back and have full roster in the playoffs, I'm sure a lot of it will depend on success of how we play. If we don't get healthy roster, we'll have summer where everyone will come back next season pointed towards one goal, Kobe will be on board with. Won't have allure to go anywhere else when he knows the potential of this team, I think he's seen (seated?) here."
Kobe's iron will? Most valuable player in this league?
"Only one other player that stands at this level. Garnett. Remarkable trade, the collusion of those teams to get together and Boston's resurgence will be an MVP factor. But only other person that's there is Lebron, plays at high level. Although not quite as successful, they did get to Finals last year, I don't see voting going anywhere else except those three players."
Kobe has better skills than MJ, agree?
"He does. There are some things MJ had that Kobe doesn't. Bigger body, stronger, Kobe's strong, but Mike had incredible hands, million dollar hands, could do so many things besides being fouled and make baskets, take ball to hoop and getting hit without losing control of ball. Physically irreplaceable. Kobe's outside shooting is perhaps better, MJ's interior better, nobody's been a better inside player, that's including Oscar who was very good in the low post. Thing about MJ was he would go on scoring tear, a retribution night, he would go against the opp leading scorer since 'he and I are matched up and I need to take him down a notch', he wouldn't do the kind of 50 pt sequence that Kobe did last year though, where Kobe just obliterated the record books and just went out and had a hot tear where he tore up the league, 10 games over 50. When you look at it, MJ shot 49-50%, Kobe hasn't been able to do it. Shooting percentages were quite a bit different."
Do you still relive that week in Detroit during 04 Finals? Karl Malone injury. Game 4 where Shaq was absolutely destroying Ben and Kobe was just gunning and went 10-28 and lose by 4. It seemed like he had a mindset that they were going to win a championship but he was going to walk away with MVP, and it backfired, lousy shooting games. Let's say you get to Finals this year and win, and Pau wins Finals MVP, will that upset Kobe?
"No, I don't think those things, that won't matter to him, those personal wars. I'm sure he would love to have an MVP award, in the end result, he knows that winning is key, it's what keeps everyone happy. He has the personal accolades with scoring titles and being touted best player in the NBA. The Pistons finals, there are times when you feel planets are not aligned right. Every time jump ball Shaq was called for stealing the tap. Series was weighted against. Nothing Shaq could do inside that wasn't offensive foul, three seconds in the lane, Kobe saw that, he saw the daunting nature of what was holding Shaq back from exerting his force that he could or he had in the previous three championships. Larry Brown did good job lobbying for all those things, stealing the tip and offensive fouls. It was a myriad of those types of things that I think weighed in on that series."
Your sense of calm, stoic composure in the face of chaos, you know you freak out Laker fans when you let squad play through it, is there a process you go through when you finally call that timeout?
"Yes. You noticed that's something I do as far as teaching tool. Reorganizing yourself, nonverbal communication, the right kinda sequence you want to have happen. Rarely do on road, typically at home. Teach certain sense of determination. When I was a player my mentor Coach Red, would ask what do you guys want to run, your the ones on the floor, what do you feel, take it inside, outside shot, penetrate, punish this team? Those Knicks team were extremely poised and had self contained and had awareness. I'd like to see that happen with this team. I have the leadership now with Fisher and Kobe."
Sabbatical you went on, New Zealand, hanging out with Luc Longley. Coolest thing you saw? See any great whites?
"Unfortunately I was really testing myself to see if I was going to be able to make it as a world traveler on my own with my hip. I was in Bora Bora in this hotel where these rays, large as 7 or 8 feet wide, snorkeling in that water was pretty phenomenal. Beautiful place to go and experience the environment. Luc took me on 4 x 4 atvs, he has this "ranch", I call it his kangaroo ranch because there really is no ranch there. We were riding the beach, totally open for miles, goes into circular bay, came into this area where he said let me go first, we'll get these giant waves. Glad we didn't lose our atvs, that was the feeling you had, how wild this country was. We were riding these giant waves fishing for herrings. Pretty exhilarating."
Trip give you great tranquility?
"It did. I had great amount of time by myself, segment of trip where I went to Australian Open where I was kinda guest of tennis match. That part of the trip was public, the rest was very private and personal."
Subliminal messages, listen to what you don't say?
"Space between the music is what they always say a great composer is able to do or great songwriters. Not always the music that's played, but the space between it. Vic and I understand each other."
Ariza timetable?
"Anxious to get him back. With Luke and Vlade a little dinged up as season has gone through it's course, we need another SF. Kobe has amply taken over that spot and been comfortable there, but we miss/need someone else to take over that load with speed/quickness/defense. Trevor was set back a little bit, doctor says there still is healing process still needs to go on, so timetable pushed back a little. Hope to have him on floor in last week of April. If he can get few games in he'll be able to help us right away in the playoffs."
if they win a championship i might do something crazy
Boy, that's the truth! After so many people threw dirt on Kobe and the Lakers the last three years, I'm gonna go freakin' nuts if this group wins a title together. I mean run-screaming-through-the-neighborhood nuts!
My wife and kids are going to think I finally lost my mind for real.
THE LITTLE PEOPLE: CARLOS MAPLES, LAKERS ASSISTANT EQUIPMENT MANAGER
by Rick Cipes
Jordan Farmar couldn't do his thing without Carlos Maples
Los Angeles Laker employee Carlos Maples has seen a lot in his 21 seasons with the team. Starting as a ball boy at the age of 13, Maples graduated to assistant equipment manager eleven years ago. And while he does deal with towels, don't you dare call him the towel boy.
NO RECYCLING:
CM: We go through at least 250 towels a game. We use a brand new towel for every player for every timeout. So if a towel touches a player's hand, that's it, it's done.
R-E-S-P-E-C-T:
CM: I have this thing with rookies, I feel it's my job to school them since I've been here so long: my locker room, my rules. Anything that needs to be done really quick, if my guys are busy, you ask a rookie to do it. Rookies, as Coach Phil likes to call them, are 'lower than pond scum.'
BEST TIP:
CM: It was about $300, from Horace Grant. Magic used to take care of me all the time. Kobe's very generous as well. They're very generous with giving us tickets. We used to get tickets all the time, but the times have changed. Dr. Buss was very generous with tickets for about eighteen years. But the last few years he hasn't been able to give us any.
WORST TIPPERS:
CM: Some guys just don't know. Over the years, times have changed. A lot of these guys have been pampered the whole way up. When I started, guys used to carry their own stuff. Nowadays, they don't carry anything. They can barely carry a basketball to the floor.
GRAB THOSE DIGITS!:
CM: Over the years, some visiting players wanted my guys to go into the stands for a number or two. Our players are used to seeing beautiful women, so we don't get requests like that from them. Plus, most of them have girlfriends who are watching their every move from the stands.
FUNNY MAN:
CM: The funniest guy this season is Ronny Turiaf. He just brings life to the room. When we wore the short shorts in Boston, he came in and looked at the shorts and pulled them up to his waist and said, 'Are you serious?' Then he proceeded to pull them way up, like a nerd would. I was crying. But Shaq is by far the biggest jokester in the history of the Lakers. He's wrestled with the ball boys, and he threw me in a laundry basket for talking back.
THE BIG OOPS:
CM: One day I was really ill. I had food poisoning. And I came in in the morning, and tried to get the locker room all set up. That night, I'm at home sick, and, on the air, Stu Lantz says: 'We'd like to wish Carlos a get well soon. And, by the way, Carlos, Shaq doesn't have two left feet.' I had left him two left shoes by mistake.
CHAMPIONSHIP ATTACK:
CM: I just gotta make sure the guys have everything they need. And, I always tell everybody, we're partially like a shrink, because you have to be there when times are good and when times are bad. You are pretty much part of the team, whether or not people like to think of us like that or not.
Damn.. 7 point half time deficit, but it's worse then that. We're getting beaten in every facet of the game, worst rebounding I have seen from LA this year. If they don't make some adjustments for the 2nd half, no way we're gonna win it.
Still, I think we'll get it in the 2nd half, come on Lakers!
How long has Bill's kid been in the league? Seems long enough to learn what not to do.
I'm one of the few people that still thinks the kid is a good player. He's having a hard year for whatever reason, and seems to be having a problem finding his niche. The kid has a good head for the game, and I still think he's a fantastic passer. He just needs to find a way to fit with the current team. Hopefully he can, I like Luke a lot.
Tonight was a close one, I'm a little surprised we won by the score we did. I'm not really looking forward to playing Portland 3 more times before the end of the season. They're a pretty good team.
