"WHAT A WAY TO START THE MILLENNIUM"
6-20-00

The words of a giddy Coach PHIL JACKSON, just after SHAQ and the guys wrapped up LA's 7th world championship, the franchise's 12th title, and PHIL's 7th ring: "This is for LA & the STAPLES CENTER! What a way to start a millennium!" It was one of the few times all year that JACKSON showed any emotion, much less to a cadre of cameras, LA at large, and the world watching intently. And it was a moment.

As was the moment to start the 4th quarter. The LAKERS were not impressive, and had relinquished the lead on a desperation heave, 3-pointer by MARK JACKSON to end the 1st quarter with INDIANA up 26-24. LA made several runs in the 3rd but couldn't catch the PACERS who were replicating their shooting skills from game 5. Things were beginning to look bad. So there was CHICK HEARN, as he had been all year, as he has done for 40 years, handicapping the game, giving us the lowdown, and revealing secret gems of wisdom we needed to get through this with a win. "ROBERT HORRY has got to get in this game", CHICK said, subconsciously, as the LAKERS took the ball in to start the last quarter. Of course, HORRY was already in the game, and had been in the game for a while. But as HORRY has been accustomed to do all season, he was going through the motions, as if all he had to do was walk on the court with his 2 HOUSTON ROCKET champion rings and the hardwood was supposed to part. Get in the game, HORRY!

And so it happened. HORRY scored 8 points in the 4th, including 2 crucial 3-point shots. Joining him on this edition of LAKER highlight reel were DEREK FISHER and RICK FOX, who also hit critical 3's and the LAKERS had won their first championship since 1988, 116-111. Somehow, CHICK knew it would happen, and he prescribed it for us.

What a moment it was, once the final buzzer had sounded. My first impression is JACK NICHOLSON rushing to shake LARRY BIRD's hand, apparently in spite, since LARRY seemed to enjoy standing in front of a perturbed NICHOLSON blocking his courtside view during the heat of the battle. Then several moments later, how funny to see JACK and LARA FLYNN BOYLE corralled behind security ropes, not allowed to go onto the court for the celebration. That must have been a first.

Or all the moments involving LARRY BIRD. How uncomfortable he seemed shaking PHIL's hand at the end. Even before that, how out of place he seemed in the huddle. He wasn't calling the shots, his assistant was. Very weird. His post game interview where he admitted he wasn't "cut out to coach", who would have thought? After all the years, LARRY BIRD goes down again at the hands of the LAKERS. "I'll probably be miserable the rest of my life." How far the legend has fallen.

How about the touching moment with a teary eyed SHAQUILLE O'NEAL making the rounds on the court with his teammates. The BIG ARISTOTLE is really the BIG SOFTIE The big MVP, of the All-Star game, of the season, and now of the finals. He finished with 41 points, 12 rebounds and 4 blocks and averaged 38 points per game for the series. I cried with him for the accomplishments of this year, for the anticipated changes that will be made during the off-season, for the bragging rights we now hold, and for the promise of a dynasty. How good will this LA team be? SHAQ promised another win next year, and I'll bet the and KOBE are plotting years after that.

KOBE had his moments. Taking over the game at the end, swishing the 2 foul shots that clinched it, waving his ring finger to the crowd. He finished with 26 points, 10 rebounds, 9 assists, 2 blocks and a steal. I suspect we'll have many more moments with KOBE.

In a bold moment, GLEN RICE did his best to deal directly with the drama that surrounds him now that he has a ring. He said clearly that he would love to be back with this team, and that he thought this team could win several more championships. How many do you think we could win with EDDIE JONES and ELDEN CAMPBELL in the lineup? RICE finished with 16 points, in what may have been the final performance of Earth, Wind and Fire.

And what of the moments, when the occupants of STAPLES CENTER were "locked down", unable to leave the building because of the riots going on outside. A.C.GREEN and owner JERRY BUSS pleading with fans via news interviews to celebrate with dignity. DEREK FISHER said so much as "why should we win if this is going to happen?" Where were the police anyway? They were very visible before the game, but as soon as the bonfires were lit outside STAPLES, there wasn't a cop to be had. Those poor news crews with satellite vans parked amidst the mob. They were as fearful for their lives as the PACERS must have been.

Just another moment, the culmination of many fine moments, with PHIL JACKSON, the BIG EVERYTHING, and the rest of the LAKERS, in the trend setting, fast paced, on the edge, over the top, world championship city of Angels.

What a Day for a Parade?
June 21, 2000
By Margi Blash

On a picture perfect day, all of Los Angeles it seemed showed up for the LAKER NBA Championship Parade, which inched from the Department of Water and Power on Hope down to STAPLES CENTER. What a christening for the first year of this auditorium, a championship team, a fire infested championship riot, and now a championship parade, with 500,000 to nearly a million spectators fanned out throughout the parking lots at the arena.

And on the day that SHAQUILLE O'NEAL made the news for being a scab, by recording the "I'm going to Disneyland" commercial from the floor of STAPLES Monday night, and for offering to pay for one of the LAPD cruisers destroyed in Monday's riot (that's $50,000), SHAQ softened his promise to bring another championship to L.A. next year. He told the crowd "And we're going to try to get another one next year." Try! Hold on you scab, we want 10 more! By the way, did you see the Disney camera make SHAQ do 3 takes of the "I'm going to Disneyland" crap? It was over in 10 seconds, how can that be crossing the SAG/AFTRA picket line? And what are the issues anyway? Actors don't make enough money, do they? Besides, SHAQ needs the work, he's doesn't have a job until November.

So if you wanted to join the parade you first had to find a place to park around the staples center. The cost started at $10 and went up to $35. The fans ranged in ages from 9 days old to 90 year old fans. I never realized how many people are unemployed in Los Angeles. Everywhere you looked was purple and gold. The offices above the route stopped their busy day at work and decided to throw confetti onto the street. Actually they were just throwing out the paper that was from their paper shredder. Yes it was snowing in LA. The crowd was loud and excited. It was extremely warm and people were getting aggravated waiting. Many of the anxious fans started lining up on Figueroa as early as 4 am. It's got so hot that there were numerous people dropping like flies. One girl actually passed out completely and was floated above the crowd to the emergency help. Unless you were physically unable to walk they had to send away numerous people just trying to get ice and sit in a shaded area.

There were a few problems with the organization of the parade. The parade consisted of only 4 Double Decker buses. It started with a band that was pumping up the crowd. As if they needed it. The first bus held a bunch of random people and the LAKER GIRLS. The second one consisted more random people and Phil Jackson who stood at the back. Then there was our crew of Manmade Multimedia reporters Erin Chang, myself (Margi Blash) and our busy camera guy Louis Lopez. We ended up walking between the buses. The next two buses held Shaq, Koby, and many of the other players on the team. But the problem was that Kobe and Shaq were on opposite side of the buses. It was too difficult to see all the players in the packed buses. So if you were waiting to see Shaq and he was on the other side, the fans were too happy. The fans in LA must not know how a parade works. I'll explain. You sit, you cheer, you sit and watch them pass. O but no, instead the crowd decided to walk along side of the buses throwing up t-shirts or everything you would ever need with the name LAKERS on it. The plan was actually to pull SHAQ and KOBE out of the buses a let them ride on motorcycles, but since the crowd was trying to climb the buses there is no way that they were going to allow their two key stars to be killed on the street by the crazy mob. As the parade moved south on Figueroa so did the crowd who wanted to see more and were pushing over the people who were waiting down the street. For LAPD to have the amount of force they that they had out that afternoon they forgot to set up barricades in order to keep people in certain areas. Instead they must of felt that that yellow caution tape would work by holding back thousands of people.

What can I say about our loyal LAPD officers? After seeing the embarrassing "few hoodlums that ruined it for all of us" mini riot on Monday night, LAPD was out with vengeance. Their zero tolerance consisted of thousands of cops in riot gear that would run along the parade hitting the crowd back into place. Maybe they were just trying to intimidate the crowd. But it got out of control. I was even attacked. Sweet, innocent, little me, wearing my blue sun dress holding my microphone. I turned around and found a stick coming towards my throat. There was a sharp pain on my chest and a screaming police officer that decided to throw me into the crowd because my camera guy and I got separated. There was so much force that I'm sure if anyone wanted to hold up a bank anywhere in the Los Angeles area they could because their were no more police available because they were all in downtown area. And it did no good. A young African-American woman was murdered and about 20 hungry fans decided to loot a catering truck. The media though tried to cover it up so that LA didn't come off as bad as some other cities.

Overall, the event was something I will remember for the rest of my life. Even though half way through I thought I would never live through it. I actually called my parents just to tell them were I was and if I don't call later they'll know why. So I guess we will see what happens to our awesome LAKERS. Can they afford to keep both SHAQ and KOBE? Will they keep only the two and get rid of the rest of the team? We just hope that our LAKERS will go all the way next year.

ISN'T IT FANTASTIC, 1 WIN TO GO!
6-14-00

The LAKERS are 1 win away from the NBA championship, and isn't it the best?

Isn't it amazing that KOBE BRYANT's ankle injury didn't keep him from playing 47 amazing minutes last night, carrying the team along with SHAQUILLE O'NEAL to their third win in the series, the near knockout punch delivered to a game, but overmatched Indiana PACERS?

Isn't it fitting that the NBA record of no home team winning the 3 middle games of the series remains in tack? How convenient.

Isn't it thoughtful that Coach PHIL JACKSON created just enough controversy in game 3, by sitting our "scorer" GLEN RICE during the crucial 4th quarter when we desperately needed a free throw shooter and hired gun, so as to generate the excitement necessary to get Los Angeles through the doldrums of the middle games, in an otherwise yawner of a series? That man hasn't got 6 rings for nothing. And by the way, isn't it exhilarating to hear him say: "I play who I want, when I want, and how I want"? That's no downstream, pantywaist coach. No DEL HARRIS, KURT RAMBIS, MIKE DUNLEAVY, MAGIC JOHNSON, or even BILL BERTKA here baby. You go PHIL!

Isn't it romantic that GLEN RICE's wife CHRISTINA got involved in the series, and spoke for GLEN about just how frustrated he's been all year? And at just the right time, too.

Isn't it entirely bush league for LA TIMES sports columnist BILL PLASKE to have called her and used her as a source for the "tabloid" piece?

Isn't it lucky that GLEN had the sense not to go "SPREE 2"?

Isn't it obvious that he's not the best passer, can't dribble or create his own shot and is a liability on defense?

Isn't it too bad that he won't be around next season, despite the 4 point play and the gutsy defense he played on JALEN ROSE in game 4? ROSE only had 14 points, and in a game as close as this was, that, as much as anything else was the deciding factor.

Isn't it enough to make you go ballistic to think he could walk away and the team would get nothing for him at the end of the season?

Isn't it absolutely heartbreaking to think we could have EDDIE JONES and ELDEN CAMPBELL instead? Do you think CAMPBELL could have handled RASHEED WALLACE or JONES could have shut down JALEN ROSE? You know EDDIE could have scored 10 points a game in the final series.

Isn't it awesome how SHAQ's strength always comes through, even when he gets off to a slow start? He finished with 36 points and 21 rebounds, and exhibited remarkable patience before fouling out in overtime.

Isn't it baffling that he really can hit free throws, on occasion?

Isn't it a miracle that after 3 minutes into the game, KOBE threw caution to the wind, and played with heart, spirit and abandon?

Isn't it funny how all season the coaches, the press, and Superman himself reminded us that this is SHAQ's team, yet it has been KOBE BRYANT that saved the day in 3 playoff series, all in games away from home?

Isn't it ironic that all season long the coaches and the press and Superman himself did their level best to harness KOBE, to keep him in the triangle, and make him pass the ball rather than create shots for himself, yet when all the chips were on the table, it was KOBE operating with a spread set, cradling the ball, going one on one and dominating the game, scoring 8 of the LAKER points in overtime, to seal the win, and for all intents and purposes, the championship, as JACKSON , SHAQ and LARRY "the legend" BIRD looked on from the pine?

Isn't his calm confident reaction to all this pressure stupefying? When asked after the game by NBC's AMAD RASHAD what he thought after SHAQ fouled out in overtime, KOBE replied: "It made a very interesting game even more interesting." Wow! That is some college senior!

Isn't it the case that KOBE looked more like JERRY WEST in that situation than MICHAEL JORDAN?

Isn't it entirely possible that KOBE will surpass even JORDAN's accomplishments?

Isn't it worth thinking about in the off season, that we might want to revamp the offense, to allow for a little more of that creativity for next season? And how about a little fast break basketball? Isn't it time to bring "showtime" back.

Isn't it nice to have both KOBE and SHAQ on the same team?

Isn't it poetic justice that the LAKERS won last evening despite some horrendous calls by the zebras, like the 6th foul on SHAQ? Hellloooo? Where was the foul? Just because RICK SMITS looks like he's going to collapse, doesn't mean there was a foul. He looks like that all the time. Or what of the foul on RICK FOX, or was it on JALEN ROSE who yanked FOX atop him in the last 5 seconds, yet FOX didn't even land on him. There was no contact, that's how bad a call that was. Get a grip refs. Or how about the numerous times, including the last 3 point attempt by REGGIE MILLER, where he took 3 or 4 steps to get free for a long look. He travels nearly every time he gets the ball, and not just a little slide of the foot, he does an entire rumba before launching his bombs. Call it for the love of PETE!

Isn't it totally true-you live by the 3-point shot and you die by it too. REGGIE was amazing, but it wasn't enough.

Isn't it a relief that SHAQ may soon no longer be a "loser".

Isn't it about time the LAKERS took home another NBA championship.

Isn't it too bad it all has to end. (This year, anyway.)



STILL 2 WINS FROM A CHAMPIONSHIP
6-11-00

We are still a pair of games away from our first roundball championship in a dozen years. And it would seem GLEN RICE has had his day in L.A. In a game where he had top billing, with all eyes, and hopes riding on his sharp shot, he gunned down only 7 points on 3 for 9 shooting, and more importantly got only 1 assist and 1 rebound, to go with 2 turnovers. Basketball is a difficult game, and even the best shooters can't always deliver on demand. Just look at REGGIE MILLER's performance in game 1 of this series, probably the biggest game of his life, before his homies and the world. Coincidentally MILLER also bombed for 7 big points in that one. But a hustling player, one who has the skills worthy of a $10 million contract renewal, presumably is involved enough to get rebounds, and assists when the shot is not dropping.

REGGIE is back on his feet, having scored 33 in the PACERS first win in the series, 100-91 over the LAKERS on Sunday. But RICE had his feet taken out from underneath him by PHIL JACKSON who had him on the bench for much of the game. RICE played only 27 minutes, and was absent during much of the 4th quarter, where the LAKERS tried to close the gap, pulling within 4 points at 91-87. But REGGIE put it away with free throws, and that was that. Ironically, RICE, the LAKERS best free throw shooter could have been helpful in the 4th quarter where the LAKERS needed every point, but saw SHAQ go 3 for 13 for the game from the line. No doubt it was RICE's defensive liability that kept him out of the game JALEN ROSE lit him up for 19 of his 21 points.

It was the supporting play from ROSE and TRAVIS BEST, who burned DEREK FISHER for 14 points, that put this game into the win column for Indiana. Some bright spots for the LAKERS: of course SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, who despite some letdown on defense, scored 33 with 13 rebounds; DEREK FISHER had 10 points and 10 assists, along with a rebound in the same 27 minutes that RICE played; and RON HARPER continues to impress on offense with 14 points and a key 3-pointer down the stretch that made things interesting.

And, most importantly, no home team in the NBA Finals has ever swept all 3 middle games. Can you imagine the series coming back to L.A. 3-2 PACERS? Get better KOBE! We need 1 win in Conseco Fieldhouse!

2 WINS FORM A CHAMPIONSHIP
6-9-00

Just how easy is this Finals series for the Los Angeles LAKERS? Apparently they can win with one leg tied behind their backs. The LAKERS lost KOBE BRYANT to a badly sprained ankle late in the first quarter, and still won without much doubt 111-104 over the Indiana PACERS to go 2 and 0 for the series. And that was with REGGIE MILLER thawing from his first game freeze; he went 7 for 16 with 21 points in game 2.

SHAQ had another stellar game with 40 points and 23 rebounds to go with 4 assists and 3 blocks. He is averaging 41.5 points and 21 rebounds a game against the helpless PACER defenders. This time, without KOBE, RON HARPER and GLEN RICE stood up to be counted for 21 points each. RICE will no doubt need to step up for the remainder of the series, as BRYANT looked to be seriously hurt. And though they can probably do without him Sunday, giving him rest and recuperation time until Wednesday June 14th, he may not be 100% even if he does play any more this series. How fitting that in this final series of the season, with all the marbles on the line, including whether RICE returns next season, that he will have a chance to prove himself worthy once and for all. The pressure is on, but hey, when you're making millions to shoot a basketball, and you seek to make millions more, you've got to handle the pressure baby.

The PACERS were more game than the Wednesday's opening yawnfest, but wilted in the end, despite the golden opportunity they had to steal one in LA. Coach JACKSON gave them every chance he could to win this game. First, he had another one of his "sit back, relax and watch the opponent close the gap" spells in game 2. Recall the 20-0 run in game 2 of the Portland series, or the 18-2 run in game 7 of that series. Indiana had a 17-4 run in game 1 of this championship series, and they had a similar run in game 2, closing the gap to 2 points. This in the 3rd quarter, where, without KOBE, JACKSON started BRIAN SHAW and didn't make a substitution until the quarter was nearly over. HORRY and FOX perhaps could have given them a scoring boost in the absence of BRYANT. Then in the 4t as the game wound down, the PACERS pulled to within a basket or two with under 3 minutes to play. BIRD instituted the "hack-a-shack" defense. Tell me why, with Indians shooting free throws, and 45 seconds of vulnerability to this foul strategy, doesn't JACKSON remove SHAQ so that we may run the clock down. Instead he leaves him in, they foul him immediately, freezing the clock, and SHAQ misses free throws. This happened twice in the span of 35 seconds allowing the PACERS to shave 2 points off a precarious lead. The once the clock slipped under 2 minutes, where SHAQ cannot be fouled intentionally away from the ball, lest any player shoot 1 free throw and we get the ball out of bounds, the entry pass on the offense goes into, none other than SHAQ who is fouled immediately. Again the clock is stopped, and again he misfires on the throws. Helllooooo. How about a play for RICE in this spot, who by the way was sitting on the bench after one of his better games, including 5 for 6 from 3-point range..

RON HARPER is handling the ball instead, and he commits a turnover, a stupid foul on REGGIE MILLER who shoots 92% from the foul line and misses 1 of 2 fouls shots on the offensive end. He is not even a 60% free throw shooter, but he is in during crunch time. Am I missing something here?

Anyway, the team did show some meddle in winning without KOBE, and it is 2 games to go. And what do I know, I don't have 6 rings.

3 TO GO, YAWN
6-7-00

What a difference being in the finals. RON HARPER scores in double figures like he's been doing it all season. A.C.GREEN swishes a couple of baskets like butta. BONZI WELLS is mowing the grass or something. No more panic that SHAQ won't touch the ball until the 4th quarter. KOBE gets 4 fouls in the 1st quarter, ooh scare me. Who cares if our pure shooter, GLEN RICE goes 1 for 8 and scores only 3 points? (Nothing new.) ROBERT HORRY comes out like he's playing in an office league, 2 quick turnovers and 2 even quicker fouls. Isn't that cute? RASHEED WALLACE is cursing the zebras through his flat screen television. RICK FOX doesn't get into a fight with anybody, he must have family matters on his mind. No matter that KOBE coasts after his stunning line on Sunday, with only 14 points, 5 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal. BRIAN SHAW, the former TRAILBLAZER at the start of the season, who saved JACKSON's ass on Sunday, goes 2 for 9 with 4 points. SABONIS is still crying. So. SUPERMAN saves the day with 43, and 19 rebounds. Game over, early. This is not right.

Yeah, I know INDIANA came back to within 2 points in the second half. I caught that as I was surfing channels. This game was a yawner. Sure, REGGIE MILLER is not going to have a career playoff low of 7 points in each of these final series games. No difference. The PACERS are not the BLAZERS. LARRY BIRD is no MIKE DUNLEAVY. (Now that's a comparison I never thought I'd be making.) The truth is, DUNLEAVY had a masterful game plan. He outzenned the master. The LAKERS, by far the best performing team this season, looked helpless. SHAQ was completely neutralized. And PORTLAND controlled each and every game, including the first where the LAKERS were lucky to shoot the lights out early to stay ahead. It's hard to believe we won that series. And though grateful, it will be something of a letdown to win this one.

So, INDIANA will make adjustments, and double team SHAQ with SMITS and DAVIS. If they were watching the last series they should triple and quadruple team with JACKSON and ROSE. And KOBE will step up when needed, and if we're really lucky maybe GLEN RICE and ROBERT HORRY will hit some shots along the way to a championship. Maybe not. We really don't need them. That's what is so funny about this whole thing. Blah, blah, blah. It's supposed to be orgasmic. Game 2 on Friday. Where's the parade going to be? Who are we going to trade after the season?

LAKERS WIN DESPITE JACKSON
6-4-00

It will be remembered as the greatest LAKER comeback of all time. It may be the launching pad from which a LAKER dynasty is sprung. No doubt it will be PORTLAND's worst nightmare for some time to come. And it is cause for celebration in Los Angeles, like no other, at least until the finals begin Wednesday. Coach PHIL JACKSON presided over the drama, and is being praised for bringing the LAKERS this far, but they beat the TRAILBLAZERS despite his lack of contributions to the effort.

The playoffs are about adjustments. You face a team for as many as 7 games in a row, and the victor is the one who makes the necessary adjustments to win. After the blowout victory in game 1, where the LAKERS won on the momentum of an extremely good shooting quarter, PORTLAND made the better adjustments and won game 2, frustrating SHAQ and exploiting the RASHEED WALLACE/A.C.GREEN match-up. They were able to neutralize SHAQ throughout the series, in large part because the LAKERS fielded a starting team with 2 of the 5 non-entities on offense. SCOTTIE PIPPEN and RASHEED WALLACE were able to float on defense and clog up the middle because RON HARPER and A.C.GREEN were not scoring threats. Did JACKSON make any adjustments? Start your shooters for goodness sake! BRIAN SHAW, DEREK FISHER, ROBERT HORRY, RICK FOX all can shoot the ball, including the 3-point shot. But no. JACKSON stuck with his homey HARPER. BRIAN SHAW single-handedly lifted the LAKERS from oblivion in game 7, and was yanked in favor of HARPER for the last 3 minutes. CHICK HEARN had to restrain himself on the broadcast as the LAKERS were struggling to get back in it: "BRIAN SHAW did not get enough minutes in this game!"

Another glaring weakness for the LAKERS was the low post defensive match-ups. RASHEED WALLACE scored at will. We were extremely lucky he took himself out of game 1. Was JACKSON responsible for that? No, of course not, and he wasn't responsible for any defensive adjustments in the low post either. WALLACE again was scoring at will in game 7, as he did in game 1, and game 2, and game 3, ... as were BONZI WELLS, STEVE SMITH, and nearly everyone else who took the ball down low. Helloooo, how about a quick double team. Make them beat you with outside shooting rather than high percentage 10 foot turnarounds, one on one. No JACKSON wisdom here. BONZI WELLS was made to look like DR. J. in this series.

The travails of our sharp shooter GLEN RICE are well known. He was spotlighted in game 4, on his birthday, with a few screens and plays designed to get him off. As a result, GLEN RICE scored 21 in support of a LAKER victory. But that's it. Where were the screens and the plays in game 5, or game 6, or game 7. Not there coach. GLEN will have to wait for his next birthday for any other plays.

How about the psyche job JACKSON delivered on SCOTTIE PIPPEN? Now that was coaching. At times, it seemed PHIL had the whole LAKER squad pulling duty harassing PIPPEN. HORRY elbowed him, DEREK FISHER bumped him, RICK FOX flat out tried to get him to throw. Even coach was snarling at him, and all this while play was stopped. Gee, the whammy must have worked, the LAKERS won. Ha ha.

One area a coach is most responsible for is mental preparation. The coach is the man the players look to get up for a game. JACKSON sure missed the mark in game 5. Coming home from PORTLAND after a surprising sweep of the TRAILBLAZERS at the ROSE GARDEN, L.A. should have been rabid to finish off the series. Didn't happen. Another indicator of mental prep is free throw shooting. A good coach can influence the quality of the team's charity shots. In big game 7, the LAKERS were a blistering 20 for 37. That's 54%. That's with O'NEAL shooting 8 for 12. How did they win this thing?

JACKSON went so far as to take the blame for the loss in game 2, allowing the team to hang itself in a 20-0 run by PORTLAND without a single time-out from the Zen Master. So in game 7, after the LAKERS took their first lead since 9-8 at 49-48, PORTLAND went off on another run, this time 18-2. Where was coach? During the barrage, it was MIKE DUNLEAVY who called time-out, in an unusual move, not JACKSON. It was almost a mercy call by DUNLEAVY, stop the fight. And they should have, the LAKERS were finished.

Now I know there are those who feel it was precisely this indifference by JACKSON, that lit the spark under the team which then went on a 15-0 run of their own to tie the game at 75. And those same PHILfans feel it was coaching that sank that 3-point bank by BRIAN SHAW, and the step back 3 by HORRY after he nearly fumbled an offensive rebound away. And it wasn't really KOBE BRYANT who sank 2 clutch jump shots to put the LAKERS ahead for good, but rather, PHIL JACKSON playing through a more disciplined BRYANT. Yeah right.

The reality is that PHIL JACKSON was an 0 for 13 cold stretch by PORTLAND from being the biggest heal this town has ever had to kick around. Can you imagine being up 3-1 and losing 3 in a row, two of which were on your own home court, to squander away the chance at a championship? PHIL nearly had that distinction. But no, we live to fight another day. He must be living right. Long live the coach.



NO CURTAIN CALL FOR THIS ONE
5-31-00

The LAKERS returned home from Portland, triumphant, stars, in command 3-1 in the Western Conference finals, against a team that has been known to get down on itself when things get tough. So it was a little blase, going to the theater last evening at STAPLES. Of course the LAKERS would win the series. Of course the team would come out shooting the lights out of STAPLES CENTER. And of course, after all the talk about lacking the killer instinct, the team would sever the lifeline that was keeping the TRAILBLAZERS in this passion play. Six other teams in NBA history have come back from a 3-1 deficit in a best of 7 series. But here we have SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, the next BIG DIPPER, and KOBE BRYANT, the next JORDAN, and PHIL JACKSON, the next BUDDHA. Certainly PORTLAND would not be able to win this game, much less the series.

Wrong grasshopper. Despite wicked language from BRYANT about "killing" the opponent now that we had a foot on their throat, despite the ZEN MASTER and all his worldly knowledge, and despite the presence of SUPERMAN in a LAKER uniform, PORTLAND started fast and controlled the game to the last. 3-2. Back to the ROSE GARDEN. Big trouble.

We've been here before this season. After each of the big win streaks, the LAKERS stumbled hard, and it seemed like they wouldn't get up. But each time they did. And in the first series with SACRAMENTO, after taking a commanding 2-0 lead, they gave us all a scare going to game 5 before winning decisively. In the next series, PHOENIX should have been swept 4-0, but instead dominated the LAKERS in game 4, giving everyone a big scare for game 5, before the LAKERS handily dismissed the SUNS. And now this. It would have been too easy winning the Conference finals 4-1. Too predictable to win before the home fans and take a week rest before the finals. So we go back to Portland. This team is all about entertainment and showmanship, aren't they? The show must go on!

SHAQ was the perfect leading man last evening, scoring 31, rebounding 21, assisting 3 and blocking 2 in 46 minutes. Great performance, but little by way of a support. KOBE seemed a bit miscast. He came out trying to hard to deliver the killer blow, got into foul trouble, and stumbled to 17 points. Not the role for him. Which leads us to GLEN RICE. Once the consummate leading man, he had an impressive cameo in Portland for game 4, scoring 21 on sharp-shooting. So what's up, GLEN? 4 points on 1 for 8 shooting. Didn't we run EDDIE JONES out of this town because he was inconsistent in the playoffs? The rest of the cast was irrelevant, despite uncommonly good nights from RON HARPER with 14 and DEREK FISHER with 10. The most glaring deficiency in this performance was the lack of direction. PHIL JACKSON seems to enjoy watching the team self-destruct, rather than guide them through the rough spots. It's a bit like watching a high fly act without a net, and coach is secretly licking his chops waiting for the fall. Not good. It will come if you let it.

So it's back to Portland, where the cast has performed well in the past. They have won the last 3 games there. So we get one more game out of this. At least one. Bravo. O sole mio.


DOWN TO 5, AND SO ALIVE!
5-29-00

Going into Friday's game 3 in Portland, things did not look so good. The LAKERS had lost home court advantage to PORTLAND, who without question have more talent than LA. And the BLAZERS did it with style, thrashing the league's winningest team by 29 on its home floor, where they had been undefeated in the playoffs. And so the series shifted to the Pacific Northwest, where PORTLAND was 5-0 in the playoffs, and where the fans prioritize their basketball just a bit higher than Angelinos do. Let's say this, there are noisy and hostile to visiting teams, and they have been rabid to "BEAT LA" since before the playoffs began. Couple this with SHAQ's record of not coming through in playoff games and things really did not look good.

So it was with deep despair that I watched as PORTLAND waltzed into game 3, and 2-stepped to a 15-2 lead. The deep funk fade was creeping over SHAQ's face, and the season was falling apart. We have been here before. If you lose game 3, and go down 2-1, it doesn't get easier to win game 4 at the ROSE GARDEN. Things looked downright bad.

Then something magical happened. It was a transformation that occurs in champions, in big games, usually on the road under great adversity. Under the intense pressure, a player steps up his game and does things so remarkable, he rises to another level, one seemingly not possible, bringing his teammates with him, and becoming a champion. That moment happened in the 1st quarter to KOBE BRYANT. He single-handedly lifted the LAKERS onto his shoulders in front of the ROSE GARDENERS, in front of 6-time champion SCOTTIE PIPPEN, in front of his scared deer-in-headlights teammates, in front of a coach who has restrained him all season long, and in front of so many sportswriters and fans who have compared this young kid to the legendary MICHAEL JORDAN, for years now. In front of the world, BRYANT lifted his game, scoring 14 in the 1st to keep the LAKERS breathing. That emergency attention allowed a befuddled O'NEAL to regain consciousness in the 3rd quarter, where he joined KOBE in taking the life out of the TRAILBLAZERS 27-16.

But it took more heroics from KOBE who wouldn't allow this effort to go unfulfilled. After leading by as many as 9 points later in the 4th, the LAKERS began to unravel. Nevertheless they led 93-91 on a great assist by KOBE to RON HARPER who hit a clutch shot with 29 seconds to go. And it was BRYANT to the end, blocking a last second shot by 7-4 center ARVYDAS SABONIS, after an unforgivable turnover by GLEN RICE, to preserve the win.

At the end, KOBE had lifted his game, scoring 25, as much as he had in the first 2 games combined. He added 7 assists, and 7 rebounds, was 1-1 on 3-point tries, and blocked the game tying shot. He played 47 of 48 minutes, and lit a fire under a fading SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, who came to with 26 points, 12 rebounds and 3 blocks in 48 minutes. And not a second of rest!

And so the LAKERS had what they came for, a victory in Portland, and home court advantage once again. But that was not the end of it. After falling behind again in the beginning of game 4, and trailing by as many as 13, another champion was born. This time with a weary BRYANT struggling with his shot, O'NEAL took the team under his big wing, and carried them to a second straight road victory over PORTLAND, all but eliminating them from the playoffs. SHAQ finished with 25 points and 11 rebounds, but it was his amazing 9 for 9 from the free throw line that depleted any hopes PORTLAND had of salvaging this game.

After trailing by 5 at the half, the LAKERS destroyed the BLAZERS again in the 3rd quarter, 34-19 powered this time by GLEN RICE who came out smoking, scoring 12 in the quarter on his way to a 33rd birthday celebration 21 points on 7 for 11 shooting. RON HARPER must have enjoyed the spotlight after Friday's game winner and 12 points, because he followed with 18, as did BRYANT. What was most remarkable was the team finished the game 31 for 34 from the free throw line, going on to an easy 103-91 victory for a sweep in Portland.

And so, the team stands on the verge of the NBA finals for the first time in 12 years. Just 5 victories to go, and little in the way of obstacles in their way. PORTLAND is down, and soon to be out. A visitor from the East still remains. Enough said.

But more importantly, it would seem BRYANT and O'NEAL have stepped up to a higher level, perhaps worthy of a championship. From there, who knows where this young duo may go.


CRAPS! OUT!
5-22-00

Too many 7's, we should have seen it coming. The LAKERS winning streak in the playoffs at STAPLES is done, and home court advantage now shifts to the ROSE GARDEN. The pressure is on! And would we have it any other way. Would we want SHAQ, who is earning $120 million or so, to waltz through this post season without any stress? Do we really want to see PHIL JACKSON win it all in his first year with the LAKERS without suffering a little bit of irritable bowel? I think not.

But someone better tell PHIL that this is the playoffs. As the LAKERS crumbled in the 3rd quarter last night, a quarter in which they only scored 8 points, JACKSON looked like he was on a beach with DEBBIE, DEBBIE, DEBBIE. HELLLOOOOO. We're drowning here! Nothing, not a time-out, not a substitution that shook things up, not a thing from THE ZEN MASTER. After the game, JACKSON slyly admitted he was responsible for the loss, since he let the team flounder and work its way out of the fine mess they got themselves into. Gee thanks for owning up, PHIL.

Meanwhile, the team that looked so good on Saturday, the team that blew up for 37 2nd quarter points in game 1, was asleep at the wheel. They worked all year for home court, and in one quarter on Monday night, they gave it all away. SHAQ was triple and quadruple teamed, leaving him frustrated, and wild. He finished with 23 points, but he wasn't a factor the entire game. So, someone had to be open, right? RICE shot 3 for 9, that's 33%. HARPER was 2 for 6, that's 33%. SHAW was 2 for 6, that's 33%. KOBE was 2 for 9, that's worse. A.C.GREEN shot the ball 5 times and made 3, as did RICK FOX. But ROBERT HORRY, who came non-chalantly into game 1 and scored 12 points on 3 for 5 longball shooting, was 1 for 5, going 0 for 3 from behind the arc. What, did these guys think the series was over, after winning 1 game. Wake-up call!

Of course RASHEED WALLACE was on fire. That was a given after his idiotic exit in the first game. He led all scorers with 29. But STEVE SMITH came to play as well, scoring 24, and PIPPEN was in the building with 21. And by the way, who is BONZI WELLS and why can't we stop him from scoring at will. He finished with 12.

Things shift to PORTLAND for Friday and Sunday, with another game at STAPLES now certain next Tuesday. The 8 points in the 3rd quarter was a LAKER record, for low quarter in the playoffs. The last time it happened was April 9, 1972 in another bitter rivalry, this one between the JERRY WEST/WILT CHAMBERLAIN LAKERS and the OSCAR ROBERTSON/LEW ALCINDOR BUCKS. In that year, after being embarrassed by MILWAUKEE for the 8 point quarter, the LAKERS turned things around to go on and win the NBA Championship over the NEW YORK KNICKS.

I guess PHIL had a plan in that 3rd quarter all along.


7's, UP YOURS!
5-20-00

The LAKERS are 7 games away from a world championship. STAPLES CENTER has seen the team go 7 without a loss. & home games remain, if they are needed. They have beaten PORTLAND 17 straifht times in the playoffs, with their last loss to them in 1977. And SHAQUILLE O'NEAL sank 7 straight free throws during a critical stretch of game 1 in the best of 7 Western Conference Championship series with PORTLAND on Saturday.

Early in the 4th quarter, with the LAKERS up by as little as 9 points, Coach MIKE DUNLEAVY decided to implement the dreaded HACK-A-SHAQ. And it was working with O'NEAL missing on 6 in a row after making his first during one stretch in the quarter. SHAQ was rattled. But then he ran off a string of 7 makes. Game over man! The ploy failed, if only because SHAQUILLE didn't come completely unraveled. It was a toss-up for a while.

The game had been too easy until the nervous final period. Tied at 26 to begin the 2nd quarter, the LAKERS went on a 30-6 run that saw the lead grow to 24 points, and a comfortable 21 at the half. The bench totally outplayed PORTLAND's heralded subs, with ROBERT HORRY tallying 12 points at the break and the team as a whole shooting 8-11 on 3-point tries. SHAW hit one, FOX hit one, HARPER hit one, RICE hit two. HORRY hit three. Shazam! Superman has sidekicks after all! The bench quieted down in the second half, but the damage was done.

SHAQ was stellar with 41 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 5 blocks, after he figured out the game plan in the 4th. You have to make 50% of the charities big guy, or we are cooked. And so he did, almost, hitting 12 of 25, and the LAKERS won game 1, 109-94. Bring on game 2.


JUST 8
5-17-00

PHIL JACKSON must have starved the LAKERS for 2 days after returning from Phoenix on Sunday, because last evening they devoured the SUNS, embarrassed them even more so than the LAKERS were embarrassed the game before. It makes their home record 6-0 at STAPLES, thank goodness for the home court advantage.

The defense returned Tuesday night in Los Angeles, and it was a marvel to watch. PHOENIX was held to 23 points at the half tying an NBA record low. This is the same team that had 71 at the half 48 hours earlier! No one on the SUNS team was in double figures until deep into garbage time in the 4th. Only TODD DAY got to double digits, to lead PHOENIX in scoring with 10 points. Hellloooo. 10 points!

None of the LAKERS had a particularly good game, Earth, Wind and Fire had 15, 17 and 14 respectively. That's right, SHAQ finished with 15 points, to go with 21 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. KOBE tallied an "amazing" 17, and RICE had a relatively good game, as far as his playoffs have been going, with 14. They move on, but let's not get too giddy.

PORTLAND comes into town on Saturday, for a nooner. And as I recall, the LAKERS don't play well on Saturday at that time, particularly on national TV. And they're playing so well anyway. We are in for an e-ticket during this next series. PORTLAND is the deepest, most talented team in the league. And they have a score to settle, I would imagine after nearly falling off the basketball planet the second half of the season, when they were supposed to run anyway and hide with home court. The teams split 4 games this season.

RICE needs to shoot better than 30%, SHAQ needs to hit free throws better than 45%, RON HARPER needs to do something, HORRY had better play like we all know he is capable, FOX needs more playing time(perhaps in lieu of A.C. GREEN who can't seem to score a point even after 40 years in the league(okay he got 2 last night), DEREK FISHER needs to earn his multimillions, and PHIL JACKSON needs to keep the entire squad on whatever diet they've been fasting on the last couple of days. This series will be won with defense, and I fear we won't be holding PORTLAND to 23 points at the half.



9 TO GO, BUT TROUBLE AHEAD
5-14-00

PHIL JACKSON had little to say in his obligatory post-game press conference yesterday, save the "happy mother's day to all the mothers". It seemed like he had another word on his mind to follow "mothers" and it wasn't for the matriarchs of America he was speaking. The LAKERS are in deep trouble, and JACKSON, one hopes, kicked some ass on the way home from the valley of the sun, after an embarrassing thrashing at the hands of an injury ridden SUN squad. The final score was PHOENIX 117-98, and it wasn't even that close.

So the LAKERS return to STAPLES for game 6 on Tuesday, up 3-1, but it easily could be 3-1 SUNS! This is the team that was up by 9 games on the next best team in the league, the team with the MVP by essentially a unanamous vote of sports experts, the team with 21 year old next legend to be, a hungry sharp shooter in need of a good playoff to land a free agent contract, and the winningest coach in NBA playoff history earning dough at the clip of $5 million plus per season. This team could have swept the playoffs to this point. But no. This team is in trouble.

They were lucky to get by the first round. The overmatched SACRAMENTO KINGS pushed LA to the limit, 5 games in round 1. And now PHOENIX is hanging around. Can you imagine what if, had KOBE not hit that 15 footer in game 2. They squeeked through in game 3 by a less than impressive margin, 105-99 on the strength of SHAQUILLE O'NEAL's 37 points and some key free throw shooting and 1 poor shot by ANFERNEE HARDAWAY who until the last minute of game 3, was having his way with the entire LAKER team. And then there was game 4.

The LAKERS were never close. They trailed by 23 at the half, where they allowed the SUNS 71 points, more than they allowed any other tam this season. JASON KIDD had a triple double, and a playoff career record 16 assists. LA was outrebounded 45-40. This, after Coach JACKSON's lecture on Friday that the way to win playoff games on the road is with defense and rebounding. Even with Friday's now critical win, the LAKERS are 2-8 intheir last 10 playoff road games.

Now, let's be real. They are still up 3-1 in this second round best of 7 series. No team in NBA plyoff history has ever come from a 3-0 deficit, and the LAKERS are back home where they have been dominant this year. So it is likely that PHOENIX will be eliminated, and the LAKERS will move on to play the PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS, who also return home 3-1 against the aging UTAH JAZZ. But if JACKSON doesn't root out these problems, it looks like elimination for the LAKERS in round 3. They can not beat PORTLAND the way they are playing now. The "mothers" best wake up and start playing like champions, and now is the time!


MR. CLUTCH RETURNS
5-11-00

SHAQUILLE O'NEAL received the league's MVP award before yesterday's game 2 with the PHOENIX SUNS, and he gave another fantastic performance, despite not being able to sleep the night before the game. He had 38 points and 20 rebounds, to go with 5 blocks and 3 assists. BRIAN SHAW and ROBERT HORRY contributed nicely from the bench with 12 points each. But it was KOBE BRYANT who was the MVP on this night. KOBE , hampered with foul trouble throughout the game, took control of the final 20 seconds, flashing a cross-over on JASON KIDD and launching a hanging, fall-away, game-winning, swish with 2.6 seconds to go over both KIDD and double-teaming RODNEY ROGERS that saved the game. MR. CLUTCH is back! It was JERRY WEST who used to live for that moment in the game when everything was on the line, holding the ball in his sole possession, calmly allowing the precious seconds to tick down, until just before the building, and the television audience burst from the drama, he would back his man in, turn, and while falling away, unleash a frozen rope that would get nothing but net. He did it repeatedly, and more often in playoff games, earning him the mantle, MR. CLUTCH! MAGIC did a great job of carrying on the legend. And now, MR. CLUTCH is back in the body of a 21 year old phenom, KOBE BRYANT.

The LAKERS were lucky to win this one. Coach JACKSON even said they didn't deserve this win, and he was right. The LAKERS were leading comfortably by 13 in the 3rd quarter, but as that quarter came to a close, they started to relax, giving up a 3 to end the quarter. Going into the 4th, the LAKERS were up only 9, and things went downhill from there. KOBE and ROBERT HORRY misfired on 2 inbound plays for turnovers. GLEN RICE had a costly turnover down the stretch, O'NEAL missed 2 free throws with 2 minutes to play, and RON HARPER made only 1 of 2 immediately after that. For the first time all season, Coach JACKSON looked nervous, and I mean really nervous. We hadn't seen him like that. KOBE BRYANT had 2 turnovers in the final 3 minutes, and missed a key free throw with less than a minute to play, but it was only setup for the heroics that would follow. MR. CLUTCH is back, and the LAKERS are up 2-0 because of it!


"THE BIG ARISTOTLE"
5-11-00

SHAQUILLE O'NEAL won the league's MVP award yesterday, coming one short of being a unanimous selection, a feat not done in the history of the award. SHAQUILLE bested the vote count of previous winners MICHAEL JORDAN, and LARRY BIRD. CNN's FRED HICKMAN was the lone holdout voting for ALLEN IVERSON, who finished 6th in the overall voting behind KEVIN GARNETT, ALONZO MOURNING, KARL MALONE, TIM DUNCAN and GARY PAYTON. Way to go FRED. In a press conference form the STAPLES CENTER yesterday, a beaming JERRY WEST presented SHAQ with the award. It was WEST who predicted in the exhibition season that SHAQUILLE would win the league MVP.

SHAQ follows in the footsteps of other LAKER legends who won this award. KAREEM ABDUL-JABBAR won it 3 times in 1976,1977 and 1979. MAGIC JOHNSON also won it 3 times in 1987, 1989 and 1990. SHAQUILLE was grateful to be honored along with those players and said he wished to be referred to as MR. ARISTOTLE. Something about excellence not being a singular thing, but a number of deeds over time. We'll see how the big "A" puts his philosophy into action tonight, round 2, game 2, PHOENIX SUNS, be there!

By the way, the PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS are easily handling their 2nd round opponent, the UTAH JAZZ, so much so that last evening early in the 4th quarter, the ROSE GARDEN fans were chanting "BEAT LA!"

Bring 'em on!


11 MORE TO GO
5-8-00

Back on track, another victory at STAPLES where we haven't lost since January 22. But for the drama of Friday night's win, these millennium playoffs would be a bore. The LAKERS made easy work of the PHOENIX SUNS even with a recuperated JASON KIDD in the lineup. They just can't handle O'NEAL. SHAQ finished with 37 points, 14 rebounds, 4 blocks and a steal. And this, after it looked like he was still wallowing in Friday's victory celebration. SHAQ got off to a slow start, making 1 of 7 shots, missing 6 layins in the 1st quarter. But he awoke to set the sun on Phoenix in the first game of the best of 7 series.

He got support from KOBE BRYANT who finished with 25 points, 6 rebounds, 4 blocks, 3 steals and an assist for good measure. A gushing DOUG COLLINS beamed to a national audience on NBC that he thought KOBE was the best 2 guard in the league at both ends of the floor, offensively and defensively. KOBE was named to the NBA all defensive squad just last week. SHAQ made the second squad, coming in behind MIAMI's ALONZO MOURNING.

PHOENIX coach SCOTT SKILES, who played with SHAQ in Orlando the year he had 30 assists, an NBA record, tried nearly everybody on SHAQ, but little worked. PENNY HARDAWAY, who also played with SHAQ with the MAGIC, did his magic to keep the SUNS in the game, scoring 25. JASON KIDD, recovering from a broken ankle which had many wondering if he would ever play again, much less in this year's post season, was a shadow of himself, but still managed 7 assists and 7 rebounds, to go with 3 points and 2 steals. The league's best 6th man, RODNEY ROGERS, the former CLIPPER, was frustrated by A.C.GREEN and company (ROBERT HORRY, RICK FOX). He finished with 7 points and 6 rebounds.

We're back on cruise control, and it feels nice. Let's try and not have another scare like last Friday, say, until the PORTLAND series. Shall we?


THE HUEVOS ARE COOLIN!
5-6-2000

What a Cinco de Mayo it was for the City of Angels! I think the entire city was in shock leading up to Friday night's game against the SACRAMENTO KINGS. How could it be that the team with by far the best record in the NBA for 82 games, could be on the verge of elimination from the playoffs? It was a day of tension, and anticipation, and fear. Would SHAQ choke, like he has other times in the playoffs? Would KOBE and RICE be able to carry the team with their elevated play? Where was the LAKER bench, FISHER, HORRY, FOX? Was it A.C. GREEN's fault, by not being more of a threat on offense? Would CHRIS WEBER have the last laugh, by neutralizing superman with his layoff zone defense?

The answer to these questions came in the very first quarter, when SHAQ hit the first shot of the game, RICE swished the next, and the zebras called 4 illegal defense violations (3 against the KINGS). The LAKERS never trailed after jumping out to a 4-0 lead. And by the middle of the 3rd quarter, el jefe CHICK HEARN was toying with putting the game in the refrigerador. Ay chihuahua!

The LAKERS, and coach PHIL JACKSON, survived the biggest test/scare they faced all year. Can you imagine the heat JACKSON would have taken if the team he was hired for more than $5 million a year to lead to the promised land, had been eliminated in the first round? And what about the wrap SHAQ would have shouldered losing again in an early playoff round. No matter now, they did won! And they did it by embarrassing the KINGS 113-86. The game wasn't that close. SHAQ DADDY had 32 with 18 rebounds. KOBE coasted with 17 points and 6 assists. GLEN RICE had 14 points and 6 assists. AC GREEN, who must have heard the critics, stepped up and scored 10 to go with 6 rebounds. DEREK FISHER came off the bench to hit his first 4 shots to gather 8 points with 2 rebounds and 2 assists. More importantly he stifled TONY DELK, who was having his way off the bench against LA. DELK finished with 8 points in his 19 minutes. The rest of the bench contributed, with FOX getting 9 points, HORRY 8, SHAW and SALLEY 6, DEVEAN GEORGE got 3 and even TRAVIS KNIGHT made a basket.

All in all, it was mui bien, fantastico. OLE!


HAVEN'T WE BEEN HERE BEFORE?
5-3-2000

Is it just me, or has SHAQUILLE O'NEAL looked a little like a deer in headlights the past 2 games against the SACRAMENTO KINGS. Okay, a woolly mammoth in headlights, but a bit disoriented just the same. Heck, even PHIL JACKSON looks a little confused out there. I don't get it! The team, and SHAQ were coasting. They won 67 games, and manhandled the KINGS in the first 2 games of the series. The LA TIMES Sports headline after Thursday's lopsided victory was "IT'S ALMOST TOO EASY." They got the "almost" right.

We're in a dog fight my friends. SHAQ has been here before, and he knows where the door is. He's got playoff "block". Kind of like the block CHRIS WEBER levied on him late in last night's game. From the offside, WEBER sent it.........outta here. And if the bench, and the so called leaders on this team don't step up, that's exactly where we will be............outta here. KOBE BRYANT, the youngest one on the floor, has exhibited exemplary leadership, and some stunning play. In game 3, he had JASON WILLIAMS and TONY DELK doing a THREE STOOGES routine, circling and swatting at him after he stole the ball, dribbled behind the back the length of the court, and again behind the back, to swish a 3, as WILLIAMS and DELK bounced off each other. KLANK! It was the play of the day on ESPN, and deservedly so. Just one problem, the KINGS won the game.

KOBE, like most champions, has his game on another level in the playoffs. Remember all those 50 point games JORDAN had. He saved them for playoff time. JERRY WEST averaged 24 or so a game in his prime, but he averaged 29 in the playoffs. KOBE has improved on his season average considerably in this series, but what has happened to SHAQ? He had a lackluster 24 in the game 3 loss, and similar numbers last night. He was putting up 40 nearly every night going into the last 2 weeks of the season. And after the all-star break SHAQ was shooting close to 60% from the free throw line. Now we'd be happy with 50%

It is time to wake up, SHAQ DADDY. Get the monkey off your back now, before he eats his way into your spine. You are going up against VLADE DIVAC, and even though CHRIS WEBER is running at you from the weak side, it only gets tougher after this. And that's without the SPURS to defend their title. Anything can happen in the playoffs. That's why, you gotta love this game!


IT’S KOBE’S TURN
4-28-2000

On the day the NBA announced Doc Rivers of the ORLANDO MAGIC as Coach of the Year, the winningest coach of the year, Phil Jackson, kept on winning. Jackson has no hard feelings against Doc because Doc’s on summer break while Phil is making his way toward another ring and according to Jackson, whoever gets the ring, gets coach of the year. So, it doesn’t really matter until June, does it?
What really matters is that in game 2, round 1 against the Kings at Staples Center the Los Angeles Lakers led by as many as 30 points and never trailed. What really matters is that young, phenomenal Kobe Bryant scored a playoff career high 32 points. The entire game was a Kobe Bryant highlight reel. Kobe had 15 of the 35 first quarter points. On two fast breaks, Shaq ran the point and Kobe was the finisher in the middle, the second one led to a three point play, where Kobe beat Jason Williams at his own game with a fake behind the back pass ending with a lay-up and a foul. Amazing as ever, was Kobe’s fall-away 3-pointer from 35 feet out over Nick Anderson that slid Kobe back to the half court line. Whew, Kobe may give Shaq competition for playoffs MVP.

Although Kobe was high-scorer, Shaq was high rebounder with 19 boards to go with his 23 points and tied for game high 6 assists. After Game 1, Shaq knew he would be double and triple teamed and needed his other guys to score when he got them the ball. Glen Rice contributed with 18 points and Fisher decided to come out of his shooting slump making 3 out of 4 field goals.

The entire Laker squad played hard defensively holding the league’s highest scoring team, the Sacrament Kings (105.5 ppg) to only 89 points. This is what we’ve been waiting for!!!


SHAQ OPENS SECOND SEASON WITH A BANG
4-24-2000

SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, to the chants of MVP, MVP, powered the LAKERS to the opening victory over the pesky SACRAMENTO KINGS, 117-107. In the process, SHAQ had 46 points, 17 rebounds, 5 blocks, 2 steals, and completely demoralized former LAKER VLADE DIVAC. VLADE finished with 10 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals, a block and loads of mustard on his mug. At one point in the 1st quarter SHAQ did a turnaround spin move, with a drop to the basket that included a dropped size 27 shoe. Hellllooooo. How do you shed a high top, lace up rubber shoe? He did, but he made the cute twisting face-up bank shot right in DIVAC's face. For good measure, on his way down the court SHAQ tossed the "boat" NICHOLSON's way, playing defense one footed. KARL MALONE, who made 50 look easy on Saturday, must have been impressed.

So EARTH showed up in game 1. But the ominous outlook for the KINGS in this series is that WIND and FIRE did their things too. Sing a song! KOBE BRYANT had only 3 turnovers to go with 23 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists. GLEN RICE scorched 18 points, also had 7 rebounds and dished 4 assists. When the LAKERS big 3 are on the same page, sing a song. And when ROBERT HORRY joins the party, sing two. HORRY hit back to back 3 pointers in a close first half, to spring the LAKERS to a 10 point half-time lead.

The LAKER effort overshadowed good games from JASON WILLIAMS, who finished with 20 points and CHRIS WEBER who had 28 points in 27 minutes. WEBER fouled out with about 7 minutes to go, after getting into foul trouble with 2 quick offensive fouls in the 3rd quarter. WEBER emplored the refs to call the game right, since SACRAMENTO is the underdog. Boo hoo. Sweep!

Meanwhile, MICHAEL JORDAN won his first of 6 titles at the age of 28 under coach PHIL JACKSON. SHAQ is 28. KOBE is 21. I wonder what PHIL will do with 12 rings?


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IT ALL STARTS HERE
4-21-2000

The LAKERS had one of their best seasons ever. Only 2 other LA teams won as many as 67 games in the regular season. One had MAGIC, KAREEM and WORTHY. The other had WILT, WEST and GOODRICH. That team won 33 in a row, and was the best team ever for many years until the CHICAGO BULLS, under PHIL JACKSON's tutelage, went 72-10. For a while it looked like this JACKSON team might win 70, but losses to SAN ANTONIO (twice in the last week) and DALLAS put an end to that dream.

It is probably for the best that the LAKERS got a dose of reality going into the playoffs. The SPURS are the defending world champs, the team that swept the LAKERS out of the playoffs last year. They have twin towers in TIM DUNCAN and DAVID ROBINSON, a matchup problem for LA, particularly with the recent mediocre play of TRAVIS KNIGHT. So SAN ANTONIO shows us up a bit just before money time. That's gotta be good for motivation.

But we've got other problems to worry about first. In round 1, a dangerous best of 5 series, we get the SACRAMENTO KINGS. SHAQUILLE et al bested them 3 of 4 during the regular season, but each game was a track meet. JASON WILLIAMS, VLADE DIVAC and CHRIS WEBER will give the LAKERS fits in the first round. Clearly they would have rather faced the demoralized SEATTLE SUPERSONICS to start, but again, it is probable better in the long run that we face the tougher KINGS. This is the playoffs baby. There are no weak sisters, no easy road to the top.

Time to step up guys. Time to show just how good this team really is.


RICE RISES
4-11-2000

In one of the most exciting games of the season, the LOS ANGELES LAKERS, without SHAQUILLE O'NEAL beat once nemesis SEATTLE SUPERSONICS, and they did it with the contributions of KOBE BRYANT and GLEN RICE. That's right, GLEN RICE, who scored 28 points, 2 of which came with less than a second remaining, the game on the line, and a defender hanging in his face. Swish. Game tied. Overtime. Where a rejuvenated GLEN RICE got aggressive on the boards, hauling down 3 critical rebounds, and positioning himself to draw a crucial foul on VIN BAKER for over the top. RICE was nearly perfect from the free throw line, going 14 for 15 to help push the LAKERS to an impressive overtime victory 106-103.

The game started out ugly, with few LAKERS looking like they could score. SEATTLE didn't look much better. BAKER, who should have had a walk in the park, came out fouling, due in part to JOHN SALLEY's physical play, and had 3 personals within the first 6 minutes, forcing his early exit, and irrelevance in the game. He finished with 3 points and 9 rebounds.

KOBE and RICE got off to slow starts. RICE seemed to be forcing shots, and KOBE was being swarmed by GARY PAYTON and ex-LAKER RUBEN PATTERSON. Nevertheless, the LAKERS led 23-22 after the 1st quarter. In the 2nd, DEVEAN GEORGE had the only 2 baskets , and only points for LA until about 3 minutes to play in the half. SEATTLE led 33-27, and it seemed the LAKERS would have trouble reaching 30 by the break. But some RICE free throws, and an outside jumper, coupled with a now rare 3 by DEREK FISHER saw the half-time score 40-39 SEATTLE.

The third quarter was KOBE time. He went wild scoring 16 of his game high 33 and the LAKERS built a 73-60 lead early into the 4th. But with BRYANT on the bench, the scrubs started to let it get away and SEATTLE 2nd year man SHAMMOND WILLIAMS out of North Carolina started to light it up. He did it all, going 5 for 8 on 3 pointers, as well as driving around the trees in the paint and gently lobbing in lay-ins. He had a spectacular play just after hitting a 3, where he rebounded the LAKER miss, drove the length of the court, around everyone and layed the ball in to tie the score at 90.

Then the fun started. Both teams scored to make it 92-92, and WILLIAMS was fouled with 12 seconds remaining. He calmly hit both free throws, putting SEATTLE up 94-92. The LAKERS sqaundered the seconds away on a deflected pass, leaving an inbound play with 1.4 seconds left. ROBERT HORRY threw in to GLEN RICE who faked ex-UCLA star JELONI McCOY and swished a 21 foot jumper to tie the game.

In overtime, it was RICE's rebounding and KOBE's scoring, along with a critical 3 pointer by RICK FOX, and a dunk by A.C.GREEN with time running down, to give LA the win over their likely first round opponent. SHAQ watched it all from the end of the bench, looking casual and relaxed in his oversized jeans. He must have been proud, and SEATTLE must now be floored. How in the world are they going to get by LA when SHAQ DADDY is back?




FANS RIOT, PLAYERS REST
4-9-2000

Another winning streak bit the dust Saturday, as the SAN ANTONIO SPURS took target practice on the LAKERS without SHAQ, who rested his sore ankle, and his entire sore body. Others should get some down time, now that the team has secured home court advantage throughout the post-season. The problem is, you don't want to shut the engine completely down, since it was humming along so nicely.

One thing is for sure, after Tuesday's game without KOBE and Saturday's game without SHAQUILLE, the LAKERS know who the nucleus is. The SPURS had a field day, with DUNCAN scoring 26 and ROBINSON going for 15. The SPUR towers had 24 rebounds together. SHAQ would no doubt have outposted the two of them combined, points and boards, but we'll save that for a later day. Instead, TRAVIS KNIGHT and JOHN SALLEY went for 4 points and 10 rebounds, total. What is wrong with this picture. You sit all year in the shadow of big daddy, then get a shot to contribute, with nothing to lose, no big deal what happens, hello, we've clinched. And what happens. Not much.

Even GLEN RICE was a non-factor. Imagine that. He went 5 for 14 and 17 points. Shouldn't he have gone for 30 or 40? I mean all year we hear the excuses that he is a go to guy, that he doesn't fit in well to his role as the number 3 option. That he likes to post up, and get the ball more. He's had a couple of "free" games to show his stuff, really earn that $10 million contract extension. I didn't see it. Let's hope he surfaces in the playoff's, number 3 option or not. KOBE played his game, but it wasn't enough against the defending champions. He had 26 points, 8 rebounds, 5 assists and not a single turnover.

Meanwhile, earlier in the day, some 1800 rabid fans showed up at Staples Center to line up for playoff tickets. Some had slept overnight to get the first shot at the que, but the LAKERS organization was not prepared for the swell of fans, and the sale was postponed in order to prevent injury. Ticketmaster outlets throughout the Southland had to turn buyers away, saying that a riot at Staples led to cancellation of the sale. Tickets are to go on sale this Sunday, but only 500 lucky fans will get lottery wrist bands at Staples. The rest of us will have to go to Ticketmaster, or enjoy on NBC.


SHAQ DADDY CLINCHES HOME COURT! CAN ANYBODY STOP US?
4-6-2000

It was less than dramatic. The LAKERS beat the GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS last night in Oakland 111-104. Yeah, yeah, yeah. KOBE returned to the lineup to score 16 points, dish 11 assists, grab 5 boards and was turnover free. GLEN RICE was lackluster again with 6 points on 3 of 7 shooting. DEREK FISHER went 0 for 4 in 26 minutes. DEVEAN GEORGE had another good night, after looking fresh against PHOENIX. He had 14 points in 17 minutes. But the story, as it has been nearly every game this year was SHAQ DADDY.

It is routine now that SHAQ goes for 30 something points and double digit rebounds. But last night the big guy gave a little extra, going for 49 points, 13 rebounds and 3 blocks. He was 11-16 from the free throw line. Every part of his game is in tune for the playoffs, just as the would be contenders and defenders of the throne are fading into oblivion. PORTLAND lost to HOUSTON at home, continuing on a spiral dive out of contention since the LAKERS beat them 19 games ago. At the time both teams were tied for the division and league best record. The LAKERS prevailed and have won 18 of 19 since then. The TRAILBLAZERS have gone 9-10. Talk about collapse. Remember the talk before the All-Star break when the LAKERS lost 6 of 9. Everyone had PORTLAND to win the division because they had the easier schedule in the second half. Yeah right!

After last night's victory, the LAKERS own home court advantage throughout the playoffs. As if they needed another edge. They have the best record in the league, they have the best road record in the league, they have the best home record in the league, they have the longest winning streak in the league this year at 19 games, they have won 30 of their last 31, they are the hottest team in the league at this moment winning 11 in a row, they have SHAQ, helllooo, they don't even need a contribution from GLEN RICE, good-bye, they have KOBE, and they have CHICK HEARN. What else is there. Game over, man.

Their next game is Saturday against the SAN ANTONIO SPURS, perhaps the only team left with a shot to make a run at the LAKERS. Though, the SPURS were beaten last night by the SACRAMENTO KINGS in San Antone. SACRAMENTO has SAN ANTONIO's number, going 3-0 against them thus far this year. But with DAVID ROBINSON and TIM DUNCAN, anything can happen I guess. Something's gotta happen, this is too easy.


KOBE, COME BACK!
4-5-2000

If there were any delusionists out there who thought the success of this year's LAKER team was attributable soley to SHAQUILLE O'NEAL's mvp performance night in and night out, last night's game should give them pause. Without KOBE BRYANT, the LAKERS are a load even too heavy for SHAQ alone to carry. This team might be have 50 wins rather than the 63 they now possess, on their way to the best LAKER record ever, if not for the potent combination of BRYANT and O'NEAL. The 1971-72 team was 69-13. They won 33 in a row. This team is 63-12, and has a shot to go 70-12, that is if KOBE is back for the remaining games. This team has racked up winning streaks of 16, 19 and now 10 games. Incredible, though number 10 was achieved with a bit of luck.

The PHOENIX SUNS, playing without their All-Star starter JASON KIDD who is out with a broken ankle, had 10 point leads on 3 different occasions in the first half before SHAQ lifted the team to a half-time advantage. Without KOBE, you'd think GLEN RICE would be licking his chops for the opportunity to be the number 2 option in the offense, but he played an overall forgettable game getting 10 points on 4 for 13 shooting. DEREK FISHER, who started 20 games earlier in the season because of BRYANT's broken hand got the starting nod, but also put in a lackluster performance shooting 2 for 11 and tallying 5 points.

As the second half started RON HARPER, who finished with 10 points, 8 assists and 8 rebounds, picked up the pace, and the LAKERS were in control until SHAQ picked up his 5th foul with approximately 10 minutes to play. At the time the LAKERS were up 71-69. The SUNS saw an opportunity, and took the lead 72-71. That is when RICK FOX stepped up. He scored the next 6 points on 2 outside shots and 2 free throws, and snagged 3 key rebounds to give the LAKERS a 77-72 lead. Coach JACKSON brought SHAQ back and took FOX out, for some strange reason. Far be it for me to criticize JACKSON, who has the team way out in front of the league, but that move almost gave the game away.

It took some heroics from ROBERT HORRY, who made 4 straight LAKER points and got 2 critical rebounds, including a tap out to SHAQ and a tip in, to preserve the win. HORRY finished with 11 points, 11 rebounds and 2 blocks. In retrospect, perhaps it may have been better to keep FOX and HORRY in together, as they were during the stretch when SHAQ was out, but we'll take the win. Better yet, we'll take KOBE back, tonight in Oakland.


IF YOU CAN'T BEAT EM, BEAT EM UP
4-3-2000

It has been several weeks since I saw a full LAKER game, having been on the road touring with MUSTY CHIFFON, but I did see yesterday's whoopin' of the NEW YORK KNICKS. It was the second time in 2 weeks that the LAKERS embarrassed the KNICKS on national television. The first was in mighty Madison Square Garden, and came as the first of an impressive back to back night where the LAKERS followed up with a victory over the MIAMI HEAT on their home court. MIAMI has lost once in 17 games on their home floor, and the LAKERS are the once. They are the ones, the kind, the cream of the league, skating through the NBA like a Winter holiday in Rockefellor Center. They are winning without GLEN RICE, and now after CHRIS CHILD'S feeble attempt at a left right combination, without KOBE BRYANT, who was ejected from the game yesterday with 17 points, 8 assists and 6 rebounds. No matter, they handed the KNICKS their worst defeat of the year, 106-82. Bye-bye KNICKS.

When last I wrote this column, the LAKERS 19 game win streak was terminated by the WASHINGTON WIZARDS. Hellloooooo. The current streak is up to 9 games. They have won 28 of their last 29, and are 27-3 against the bullies of the East. The bullies are more like patsies. And the LAKERS are looking like shoe-ins for a championship.

It looks to be sweet revenge for SHAQUILLE O'NEAL, who has carried the team on his back throughout the season. Last night he had 34 points, 12 rebounds, 5 blocks and 4 assists. On Friday against the PHILADELPHIA 76ers, and league scoring leader ALLEN IVERSON, SHAQ was again dominant, vastly outscoring IVERSON overtaking him in the lead for the scoring title, and blocking a career high 8 shots along the way. SHAQ has not had a good record in the playoffs, going out in the first round the last 2 seasons. But it seems that is about to change, in a big way!

Last night's game was also a treat in that KLAC, the LAKER station honored CHICK HEARN for his 40 years as the voice of the LAKERS. GOLDEN THROAT has called 3,182 consecutive games and told the raptured crowd at half-time "This is not a retirement party!", assuring us that ole chicky baby will be with us to share the many exciting moments which are surely to come for this LAKER team. Thanks CHICK, you're the greatest!


HO-HUM, ANOTHER STREAK COMES TO AN END
3-17-2000

It seems every time we start dreaming about breaking records, and winning obscene numbers of games in a row, reality steps up and bites us in the ass. Well, reality struck again last night in the form of the WASHINGTON WIZARDS. You could just see MICHAEL JORDAN grinning, as his new charges bested Coach PHIL JACKSON, and the LAKERS who were starting to think about going for the all-time streak of 33 games in a row. Of all the sports records, that one seems to be most assured of not being bested. Yet, here we were at 19 in a row, and things were going so easy that it really seemed possible. It did!

Nevertheless, the LAKERS still own the best record in the league. And PORTLAND blew a chance to gain a game on them as they lost to MINNESOTA. Choke. There isn't a team in the West closer than 4 1/2 games back, that would be the TRAILBLAZERS. The defending champion SAN ANTONIO SPURS are 12 games off the LAKER'S. INDIANA, the best team in the East, is 9 games behind LA. So all is well, despite the end of the streak.

KOBE BRYANT had a game he would like to forget, going 2 for 10 with 7 points and 6 turnovers before fouling out. Credit veteran MITCH RICMOND for muscling and shadowing KOBE all over the court. Credit him for 32 points as well. SHAQ had another mvp game with 40 points, 12 rebounds and 2 blocks. On and off GLEN RICE had an on game with 22 points.

There is no time to ruminate, as the LAKERS go into DETROIT tonight, then NEW YORK on Sunday and MIAMI on Monday. Actually, now that you look at it from the perspective of terra firma, that streak was doomed anyway.



18 AND WE LIKE IT
3-13-2000

The LAKERS made easy work of win number 17 at GOLDEN STATE last Thursday, despite LARRY HUGHES 41 points. But it was win number 18, last evening at STAPLES, against a team that will give whoever they play in the first round of the playoffs a real run for their money, SACRAMENTO, that was perhaps the best game of the year (thus far). The LAKERS were up against a superior team, up until the 5 minute mark of the 4th quarter, when they finally got their first lead. SACRAMENTO out hustled, out rebounded, and out shot the LAKERS. They were on fire, hitting 64% of their shots in the first quarter to jump out to a 10, point lead. JASON WILLIAMS and CHRIS WEBER seemed to be unguardable. They led by 16 in the 3rd quarter 82-66 before KOBE and SHAQ led the team on a 25-9 run to tie the game at 91.

KOBE was phenomenal! He has a career high 40 points, 10 rebounds and 8 assists. But it was one defensive play that I think turned the game a round. The LAKERS were trying to come back and were down by 5, when BRYANT lost the ball dribbling to 6-9 PREDRAG STOJAKOVIC, who burst out ahead of BRYANT for a back breaking break away lay-up. KOBE, trailed the play, but hustled enough to go up at just the precise moment to alter the sure basket, causing the KING to miss. GLEN RICE followed the play and saved the rebound from going out of bounds back onto the court to KOBE who fed SHAQ for a possible 3 point play. It was quite a turnaround. Later, SHAQ made back to back free throws in crunch time, and when he missed the second of another 2 free throws KOBE was there to slam home the rebound and make a throw for a 3 point play that was needed to hold off the KINGS 109-106.

SHAQ finished with 39 points, 20 rebounds, 5 assists and 3 blocks. In the style of the inimitable ALICE COOPER--the streak is 18, 18, 18, 18 and we like it!



NOW WHERE WERE WE
3-7-2000

When last at this juncture, the LAKERS were an untested team, just getting their legs. KOBE BRYANT was becoming acquainted with the offense, SHAQ and RICE were struggling with the idea that they had to share the ball with BRYANT, and Coach was still figuring out his substitution patterns. We had no bench, FOX, HORRY and SHAW were heating up the pine. And SHAQ'S career high was 54 points.

Things have changed. On the top of this 16 game win streak, the LAKERS are a very different team. They have a bench that regularly contribute. KOBE has settled into his role as the number 2 guy on the team. GLEN RICE seems to have come to grips with being number 3. SHAQ has taken number 1 to a new dimension. He made NBA and LAKER history last evening, against the CLIPPERS, with living legend KAREEM ABDUHL JABBAR on their bench, scoring 61 points, pulling down 23 rebounds, and overall whooping it up on his 28th birthday. JABBAR'S best scoring game came as a BUCK in 1971 where he scored 55 against the BOSTON CELTICS. SHAQ'S 61 was the 5th best LAKER point performance, and the best since 1969 when WILT CHAMBERLAIN scored 66 against the PHOENIX SUNS. ELGIN BAYLOR, another living legend in the house last night to witness SHAQ'S party, scored the most points as a LAKER, 71 against the NEW YORK KNICKS in 1960. A third living legend at STAPLES last night, JERRY WEST, scored 63 versus the KNICKS in 1962.

And yet things remain the same. The LAKERS have the best record in the NBA by a comfortable margin, as they did the last time we were riding 16 in a row. With PORTLAND'S loss to TORONTO last evening LA is 3 up on the next best team. The team is still not playing up to its potential. How good can they really be? Only one other team has ever recorded 2 winning streaks of 16 games or more in a single season. In 1970-71 KAREEM led the MILWAUKEE BUCKS to streaks of 20, 16 and 10 for good measure.

They won it all that year.


EASTERN CONFERENCE POWERS BE GONE
3-6-2000

INDIANA, the best team in the East, and MIAMI, the next best team in the East, came through LAKER alley this weekend, and left numbers 14 and 15 respectively in this, the latest win streak this season. Neither game was even close in the 4th quarter, as the LAKERS dismissed them easily.

On Friday, the LAKERS needed no motivation to revenge a loss to INDIANA on January 14th, which ended the teams 16 game win streak and started the skids where they went 3-6 over forgettable 2 week stretch. SHAQ and KOBE were their dominating selves, SHAQ with 31 points, 15 rebounds and 2 blocks and KOBE with 22 points, 7 assists and 5 rebounds. But it was the bench again flexing their newfound muscles, as ROBERT HORRY scored 14 points, 12 in the 2nd quarter which put the game away. KOBE had another tough defensive assignment, but came through holding REGGIE MILLER to 22 points on 7 for 17 shooting.

On Sunday, before a national television audience, the LAKERS humiliated PAT RILEY and his MIAMI HEAT. The game was never in doubt as LA took it to the HEAT from the opening tap. This time it was GLEN RICE who stepped up with 23 points as SHAQ and KOBE had difficult shooting nights. SHAQ still finished with 17 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 2 blocks. Not bad for an off night. KOBE had 15 points, 7 assists and 3 steals. RON HARPER joined the party with 14 points, and ROBERT HORRY continued his confidence building with 10.

The most amazing part of the night were the admissions from PAT RILEY, namely that the LAKERS have gone from being respected to invoking fear in their opponents. That was RILEY talking to reporters about a competing team! And he said he thought LA was playing so well they would "continue to roll". You know things are going well when an obviously dejected RILEY throws in the towel like that. This after a 3 game span where the LAKERS easily beat PORTLAND, then the best team in the league, INDIANA, then the 3rd best team in the league and MIAMI, then the 4th best team in the league. Next!

It's all over but the crying. Keep it coming.


THIS STEAK AT 13
3-2-2000

The bench is getting to like the spotlight. On a night when the starters were a little drained, back to back to back 3-pointers by BRIAN SHAW, RICK FOX and ROBERT HORRY, followed up by a long shot from KOBE who didn't want to be left out of the party, turned a 69-68 VANCOUVER lead into an easy win for the LAKERS 13th straight. It was electric, and CHICK said he never say anything like it in his life, or the 40 years he's been doing LAKER games. It's a good thing, since the rest of the night's performance was lethargic at best.

KOBE led all scorers with 27, and SHAQ pitched in 25 with 17 rebounds along with 5 blocks. But it was the bench that emerged again as the story. ROBERT HORRY had 10, RICK FOX 8, BRIAN SHAW 6 and DEREK FISHER had 6 to contribute to the win. HORRY still looks a bit tentative when he is wide open, but a few more games like this and the bench will be a consistent factor. That is good.

So the win set up an interesting encounter with the INDIANA PACERS on Friday. The PACERS were the team that snapped the 16 game win streak, and they are looking at being number 14 on this one. Revenge is so sweet!


WE ARE THE CHAMPIONS, MY FRIEND
3-1-2000

Okay, so it wasn't a 7 game series, after 3 rounds of qualifying series. And it wasn't played in June. But for all intents and purposes, we can call the season off. The LAKERS beat the team with the best record in the league, their rival PORTLAND, on their floor where they had not won in 5 years, in front of their 20,000 plus rabid fans, where the TRAILBLAZERS had won 16 in a row, and they did it without playing their best ball. Game over man! We win!

When is it ever going to happen again that the two best teams, with the best records by far, both on identical win streaks, both in the same division face each other in this kind of game? The last time it happened was years ago. It may never happen again. Mayor RIORDON, schedule the parade. It's all over baby!

The LAKERS did it with defense, holding the TRAILBLAZERS to 40% shooting from the floor, and 87 points. PORTLAND'S only basket in the last 5 minutes other than the last second concession to SABONIS, was a desperation heave from 30 feet to beat the 24 second clock by SCOTTIE PIPPEN which swished through for the first BLAZER lead since early in the first half. The LAKERS trailed 85-84. Things looked glum, but the defense came through.

The LAKERS did it with a bench that was not embarrassed by PORTLAND'S bench, but rather outscored them 25-18. Wasn't PORTLAND supposed to be the team with a bench as deep as the Pacific? BRIAN SHAW, in for KOBE BRYANT who picked up 2 quick fouls in the 1st quarter, had a great game scoring 9 points, grabbing 7 rebounds, dishing 3 assists and blocking a shot. HORRY, FOX and FISHER all hit key shots.

The LAKERS did it with free throw shooting, making 22 of 27 for 81.5% as a team! SHAQUILLE made some clutch throws. It seemed like every time he was at the line the team needed both, and he complied on more than one occasion. SHAQ was 9 for 13 on his way to 23 points to lead all scorers. KOBE was the man at the line going 10 for 10, in getting 22 points. GLEN RICE was 2 for 2 from the line, and had 9 points. He got the LAKERS off the schnyde with a rebound-go to the hoop dunk to open the scoring for LA. And, he spoke with reporters after the game. What a difference a big win makes.

The LAKERS did it with fast break points, as they beat PORTLAND at its' own game 13-5. Where was the heralded TRAILBLAZER transition game?

The LAKERS did it and are the best team in the Pacific Division, in the West and in the league. Naysayers in the East, particularly basketball fans in New York, who got embarrassed by MIAMI on Monday, only to see MIAMI embarrassed by Western Conference "also ran" SAN ANTONIO on Tuesday, cannot deny that the LAKERS and even second place PORTLAND are in another class altogether. What good would the playoffs do now? We know who the best is?

Oh, by the way, the new win streak is at 12!



FOR THE CHAMPIONSHIP OF THE ENTIRE UNIVERSE!
2-28-2000

Forget the NBA 7 game championship series. Forget the playoffs. This is going to be it, baby. The two best teams, with by far the two best records in the league, both teams rolling on 11 game win streaks, and the season series on the line, this will be the game to decide it all!

As we hoped last week, PORTLAND and LA did what they needed to do, they continued their winning streaks so that Tuesday's showdown would have some meaning. The TRAILBLAZERS beat up on the old guys, UTAH, and the LAKERS dismissed HOUSTON, who embarrassed them on Super Bowl Sunday before a national television audience. So we have a game which should be the best of the year, certainly the biggest the LAKERS have played under Coach PHIL JACKSON. PORTLAND leads the series 2-1, but all three victories have gone to the visiting team, a pattern which should hold true tomorrow. (He said with confidence.)

On Friday, the LAKERS looked glad to be home, demolishing the BOSTON CELTICS 109-96 for their 10th consecutive victory, and compiling the second double digit win streak this season. That feat has only been done 4 other times in LAKER history. GLEN RICE has settled in, now that the trading deadline has passed, and he scored 20 points in 26 minutes. Now if he would only talk with the press. He has been on a "boycott" of the media since the speculation about a possible trade. SHAQ had another MVP game with 28 points, 16 rebounds, 6 assists and 4 blocks in 36 minutes. He was able to rest much of the 4th, which is key at this point in the season, 7 weeks to go before the playoffs. KOBE added 17, with 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 blocks.

On Sunday, KOBE was on fire, scoring 18 points in the first 10 minutes. He had the ROCKETS outscored at the end of the first quarter 18-13, and the LAKERS never looked back. Just as impressive as the offensive show BRYANT was putting on, was his defensive work. Recall in the last several weeks KOBE has stifled some of the best, including the league's leading scorer ALLEN IVERSON. This time he gave rookie sensation STEVE FRANCIS fits holding him scoreless until very late in the game. FRANCIS finally did get on the board finishing with just 6 points.

SHAQ contributed 24 points, 13 rebounds, 6 assists and 5 blocks in another game where he was able to get some rest in the 4th quarter. And despite another good game from RICE, 17 points on 6-11 shooting, GLEN refused to speak with the press after the game. At half-time he did talk with NBC's JIM GRAY, saying the trade rumors did effect his game.

So all the bells and whistles are in order for the big game on Tuesday. Who needs the playoffs, this will be it! It doesn't get any better.

PIN THIS LOSS ON SHAQ
1.9.00
Memo Menos

How in the world could the World Champion LOS ANGELES LAKERS lose to the lowly LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS? These are the same CLIPPERS that could only score 73 points on Friday evening against CHARLOTTE and lost to lowly INDIANA, 15-19, 85-82. And while they are a young and improved team, with some exciting players, if SHAQ O’NEAL had come to play defense, like he did last season, this would not have been a game.

As things were SHAQ led the LAKERS in scoring with 33 points. They lost. The more interesting figures in the box score are SHAQ’S rebounds and blocked shots, that is, his defensive presence in the game. He had no blocks, and pulled down 6 rebounds in 38 minutes, playing against such NBA legends as CHEROKEE PARKS and MICHAEL OLOWOKANDI, who combined for 13 rebounds in roughly the same amount of time. They managed to score 21 points off SHAQ for good measure.

Let’s face it, SHAQ is not putting out the defensive effort that he did last year, and that is why the LAKERS are a mediocre 3rd in the Pacific Division, and 4th in the hunt for the league’s best record. And that is with KOBE BRYANT putting out considerably better than he did last year. He scored 27 on Sunday, and got as many rebounds as SHAQ. How else can you explain things? That we really miss GLEN RICE? Yeah right.

Another glaring indicator that SHAQ isn’t there yet this season is the fact he has fouled out in the last 3 games. When you are tired and out of shape you don’t play smart, and you reach. And you allow 5’5" EARL BOYKINS to score 11 points. How is that possible. I know we don’t have a quick, small point guard, but come on. DEREK FISHER where are you?

And now today, a local sports radio station is quoting KOBE BRYANT from a national publication that if the LAKERS try and stifle his game, they might as well trade him. Are you listening Coach JACKSON? It’s time to sit SHAQ and KOBE down, and divvy up the new duties before the season unravels. "SHAQ-you need to concentrate on the defensive end of the court. There is no reason you can’t average 20 boards a night and 5 blocks to go along with that. KOBE-we’re going to give you some air. I want you to run until you can’t run any longer. I want you to take 10 more shots a game, and there is no reason you can’t average 40 points a game."

Let’s see how that configuration plays out, shall we? Or perhaps JACKSON thinks he will win a game of chicken with the league’s 22 year scoring leader? Let’s see how that configuration plays out as well!

WHEN SHAQ DADDY’S AWAY, HORRY DOES PLAY!
1.04.01
Memo Menos

The game wasn’t one you’d put in the time capsule, so that the 10-foot green men with 5 hands could see how we play the sport. It was a half the LAKERS would rather forget, barely breaking the 30-point barrier. UTAH, with KARL MALONE having a rare off night, had a whopping 28 points, at the half!!

Things weren’t much better in the second half, but the LAKERS were up by 3-5 points, and the STOCKTON-MALONE connection still wasn’t clicking. Then, with 6 minutes to play SHAQUILLE O’NEAL, who was having a marvelous game with 24 points, 17 rebounds and 5 blocks, picked up fouls 5 and 6 in a span of 30 seconds. The last foul was a laugher, as SHAQ blocked a shot attempt by JOHN STOCKTON as he floated threw SHAQ’S area under the basket. O’NEAL got all ball, and then balled out the zebra who proceeded to tee him. Result: goodbye SHAQ, hello STOCKTON, who proceeded to hit the 2 free throws and the technical, cutting the LAKER lead to 64-62 with 6 minutes to play.

Trouble, right? Wrong. With SHAQ DADDY out, it’s ROBERT HORRY time. HORRY was stupendous in their last game against the CLIPPERS. SHAQ fouled out in the 4th, and KOBE had been ejected in the 3rd quarter. The CLIPPERS had life, and took the game into overtime. It was then that HORRY took over, scoring 9 points on some incredible shots, giving the team the win.

Well last night, with the score 64-62, and SHAQ DADDY in the shower, HORRY decided to score his first points of the game on a running bank shot. On the defensive end, ROBERT drew an offensive foul, which led to a basket by KOBE, followed by 2 free throws by ISAIAH RIDER, and the lead was back to 8, 70-62. Within a moment, HORRY had drawn a second offensive foul, for good measure hit 2 free throws and capped his performance with a finger roll for 2 more. SHAQ was still lathering up and the game was in the bag. That’s ROBERT HORRY time, baby.

KOBE wasn’t too shabby either with the game in his hands. He finished with 31 points, and seemed to relish the opportunity to close things out with DADDY off the court. One thing is certain, the hack-a-SHAQ doesn’t work too well with O’NEAL in the showers. In SHAQ’S defense, he did hit his last 4 free throws of the game, and they were critical at the time. But he finished 6 for 14 and that won’t get it done.

So JACKSON has a new option-the hacking SHAQ. Let O’NEAL go crazy for 3 quarters-points, rebounds, blocks. Then when the 4th rolls around, have him hack whoever of the opponent has the ball, especially the guards. Hit ‘em hard, like they do on the daddy. Once he has his 6th personal, give it up for HORRY and BRYANT. They will bring it on home!

IT CAME UPON A NEW YEAR’S EVE
12.30.00
Memo Menos

It came unexpected. Hearing it from the lips of PHIL JACKSON was almost surreal. It was a day after the LAKERS destroyed Pacific Division rival PHOENIX SUNS by an unexpected 37 points. Coach JACKSON, speaking to reporters at training camp revealed he is having trouble getting this year’s team motivated to play every game. And then there it was. He spoke highly of KOBE BRYANT. Nothing about the 38 points he had in 33 minutes against PHOENIX, most of which came against one of the league’s premiere defenders, JASON KIDD. No, nothing of the kid leading the league in scoring, or holding up well against all the criticism. JACKSON said: "So, it’s a big disappointment to me about this teams expense of energy. Its like they’re saving energy all the time. Except for KOBE BRYANT and RICK FOX. Those are two players, I’ll tell you, that have given great effort, great energy, this year."

There it was, albeit shared with a deserving RICK FOX. A positive comment about one of JACKSON’S MVPs, and not a word about SHAQ. The GRINCH’S heart really did grow 10 times this day.

Now if he would put his mind to designing some offensive plays, exclusively for KOBE and for FOX. And kicking some butt on those other guys who aren’t bringing it every night. There are players on the LAKER bench who will bring it given a chance. SLAVA MEDVEDENKO showed that, in his first appearance as a LAKER, scoring 9, and getting 3 rebounds in just 11 minutes.

And while coach is at it, how about concentrating on some action above the rim, so SHAQ need not be embarrassed at the free throw line anymore this season. Or maybe plant him on the defensive end, and work on even more shot blocking and defensive presence. If DIEKEMBE MOTUMBO has a house he keeps after, why not SHAQ? And when was the last time SHAQ threw an outlet pass that got KOBE, or PENBERTHY, or FOX off and running for some easy baskets?

The triangle is good for a set offense, I suppose. But there is more to basketball than set offenses. At least there is out West, PHIL. Especially when you have the best player in the league. Give him wings, as long as you’re in a Christmas mood, and surround him with the support SHAQ had last year and perhaps motivation won’t be such a problem.

TRAILBLAZERS GET A CHRISTMAS GIFT
12.26.00
Memo Menos

The referees and coach PHIL JACKSON conspired to present the PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS with a nice Christmas package at the Staples Center Monday, as LA lost to Portland 109-104. The LAKERS breezed in the first half, at times looking like they would win easily. But things tightened in the 2nd half, and by the 5 minute mark in the 4th it was a see-saw struggle.

It was then that the LAKERS got into the giving mood. ISAIAH RIDER came into the game, apparently with sugar plum fairies on the brain. He immediately turned the ball over on a carry-over dribble, then committed a silly foul away from the ball, followed by a technical foul. Nice set RIDER. What was a close game turned into a 4-point PORTLAND lead. It’s as if the refs get a commission on RIDER tees, and he readily obliges.

Then RON HARPER got the spirit, swinging an elbow on a crucial rebound, with no one near 10 feet of him. According to the rules, that’s a tee, and the refs complied. Assistant coach TEX WINTER had a little holiday cheer going on, and he was teed. So, 4 points grew to 6, and the LAKERS were in trouble. Coach JACKSON didn’t want the day to go by without his gift to MIKE DUNLEAVEY, the TRAILBLAZERS coach, so down by 6, he left SHAQUILLE in the game for the hack-a-SHAQ folly. And this time, it worked. SHAQ missed his last 5 free tries, after going 6-9 to start the game. I told you some day it would matter. What did JACKSON think, it was Christmas? With a tight game, putting SHAQ on the line is just like a turnover. Thank you!

The LAKERS, being the World Champs that they are, rallied, and KOBE BRYANT banked a driving shot in the lane to bring the team to within one. Hark, a referee whistle is heard. Glory to…no no no. The call was a charge, despite replays showing RASHEED WALLACE in the no-charge zone. Nevertheless, no basket. No tie for Christmas. Do not pass go. Do not collect $200. Dig the coal out of your stocking. PORTLAND wins. Bah, humbug!

It’s too bad, since the LAKERS had won 5 in a row, including an exciting win over new rival DALLAS to complete a 4-game road sweep. And the loss wasted efforts by KOBE BRYANT with 29 points and RICK FOX with 22. It would be nice to start thinking again about best record, home court advantage, those kind of things. Perhaps a little thought before letting SHAQ go to the line in close ones would be in order as well. He had a great game Monday, leading the team with 32 points and 15 rebounds, shedding bodies all afternoon. But the LAKERS are only 5-4 when SHAQ leads the team in scoring.

And it would be nice to re-establish a little dominance over the TRAILBLAZERS before the playoffs start. They think they are the better team, and last season’s late 15 point comeback in game 7 was a fluke. Ha!

It wasn’t, was it?

"LET IT DEVELOP, LET IT DEVELOP"
12.21.00
Memo Menos

The words of coach PHIL JACKSON could be heard loudly and distinctly on the hardwood last night early in the 3rd quarter. It wasn’t the gentle, helpful prodding of a coach for one of his players. It was the gruff, disappointed bellowing of a general reprimanding one of his subjects. And it was directed at KOBE BRYANT, currently on a string of games certainly no one has seen from an NBA player 22 years old. At the time, early in the 3rd quarter, KOBE had 30 points or so. 30 points, early in the 3rd quarter, and coach is screaming at him. What’s wrong with this picture?

JACKSON commented on KOBE’S effort after the game: "KOBE had a great night. Last night, there were four or five players who got over 40 points in the league, so its not like he’s the only one doing it." Say what? Is that any way to talk about one of your players, much less the one player who is averaging 30+ points per game? What is the matter with you, coach? It’s almost like JACKSON doesn’t want KOBE to do well. What, is MICHAEL JORDAN’S legacy untouchable? Doubtful.

Why not bellow at SHAQ for a bad pass or two he threw in the 3rd quarter, or HARPER who missed a shot or two in that frame, or anyone other than the guy who is leading your team, and leading the league in scoring. Besides, what the hell is going to "develop"? What would be better than KOBE swishing a shot after beating 2 ROCKETS out of a double team or twisting between 2 other ROCKETS on an amazing fast break basket with a foul, or two free ones after drawing a foul-KOBE is shooting nearly 90% from the line even after a "bad" effort last night-4 for 6, or perhaps an assist-is there a better creator on the team? KOBE is leading the LAKERS in assists, averaging nearly 6 per game. Last night, to go with 45 points he had 3. How many more could he have had if his teammates could shoot? Let what develop, a pass to SHAQ who will be fouled, and then… Last night SHAQUILLE did make 6 of his last 9 free throws, which helped the LAKERS beat HOUSTON. But O’NEAL still shot only 7 for 22. That is 31%. BRYANT shoots 3’s at a better clip. He was 20 for 26 from the field. Develop that PHIL!

I for one, am not all that impressed with the vaunted "triangle offense". Particularly when our star player, KOBE BRYANT is kept in a box to make it run. What good is that? If you’ve got a player that can do anything he wants 9 games out of 10, then "develop" an offense around him! How about a pick and roll every time down the floor, ala MALONE and STOCKTON? Helllloooo! And, if you’ve got a dominating player underneath, who is a horror at the free throw line, then run plays where he gets shots off the pass, so that when he misses free ones, it will be a 2 point play instead of a 3-point play. Or, what about training SHAQ to crash the boards, especially when KOBE has the ball. How about developing that JACKSON?

RICK FOX has been hot lately, making 6 of 7 3-point shots in his last 2 games. He had 14 points in a good game against the ROCKETS. When he, and other LAKERS demonstrate they can do this on a regular basis, then KOBE can feel more confident in letting the offense "develop". Until then, it is developing quite nicely, in the hands of a 22 year old phenom, despite the annoying disapproval of coach PHIL JACKSON.

OH CANADA
12.18.00
Memo Menos

At the expense of the two NBA franchises in Canada, the LAKERS righted the ship, at least for now. On Friday evening, without the benefit of SHAQUILLE O’NEAL who was getting his diploma from LOVE SHAQ UNIVERSITY (LSU), the LAKERS devoured the VANCOUVER GRIZZLIES 98-76. One would have expected KOBE BRYANT to run wild without SHAQ in the building, but instead the LAKERS had 4 players in double figures, none of which had even 20 points. HORACE GRANT, of all people, led the way scoring 19 points and getting 13 rebounds. Go figure.
Come Sunday, SHAQ rejoined the team in Toronto and the LAKERS cruised for most of the game up by double figures, leading by as many as 15 in the 4th quarter. But the RAPTORS, led by VINCE CARTER came roaring back, and pulled even with 4 seconds to play. They were able to do so because of some bad decisions by the LAKERS in the last 2 minutes. Why, given a small lead, and a charging home team with the crowd rabid for a come from behind victory, would you pass the ball to a 30% free throw shooter, outside his shooting range? Particularly when that poor foul shooter had missed his last 7 in a row? Lord knows, but that is what the LAKERS did twice in nervous time, and SHAQ complied by clanking 4 more misses, allowing the RAPTORS to get back in the game.

So for good measure, with the last seconds running down and the LAKERS up by 2, SHAQUILLE decides to foul VINCE CARTER as he went up for a 15 foot fall-away shot. Not real smart, considering had he made the shot, which he easily could have done, he would be at the line to win the game. Instead CARTER just tied it with 2 free throws. He also blocked KOBE BRYANT’S last second shot to win the game, sending things into overtime.

BRYANT regained control in the extra period. There were no passes to SHAQ in crunch time, other than those he could catch and shoot, with the goal being a basket, not free throws. Somehow coach has got to get the team to understand, it does no good to get 2 foul shots for SHAQUILLE in a close game with time winding down. It is like a turnover!

Nevertheless, KOBE and ROBERT HORRY carried the team in overtime, with HORRY eluding TORONTO defenders for 2 key lay-ins, and BRYANT making some critical free throws. KOBE finished 11 for 11 from the line, for 40 points in a battle with one of his rivals for scoring leader, VINCE CARTER. CARTER, who is third behind JERRY STACKHOUSE, had 31.

CHAMPIONS IN DISARAY
12.14.00
Memo Menos

At the start of the season, most fans knew that defending the world championship would be difficult. Angelenos know from experience that defense of an NBA title is fraught with pitfalls. Every game presents an opponent who can get well with a victory over the champs. Teams and players with little else to play for always get up when the LAKERS come to town, and that phenomenon is multiplied when they are the champs.

So it is not surprising to wake up this morning with the reality that the LAKERS are a mediocre team at 15-9, 4th in the Pacific Division and 8th in the league. What is surprising is that they are doing it to themselves. The 9 losses are not a result of teams playing out of their minds. It is the LAKERS just not playing.

In last night’s loss, the LAKERS got some defense back, holding the TRAILBLAZERS under 100. But the offense was out to lunch. KOBE’S shot returned, but SHAQ was 7 for 21. No other LAKER was in double figures. Three glaring stats tell the story on offense: BRIAN SHAW played 24 minutes, zero points; ROBERT HORRY played 29 minutes, zero points; HORACE GRANT played 22 minutes, 2 points. GRANT has been impressive on the boards in his first year as a LAKER, but with the parity in the league, and the abundance of talent, a professional team cannot front 3 players for that much time and only get 2 points total in a combined 75 minutes of play.

Another problem is the lack of assists. KOBE BRYANT, who is often criticized for his lack of passing the ball, led the team with 6 assists. For the year to date, KOBE leads the LAKERS in assists, and SHAQ is second. Now what is wrong with this picture? It would be one thing if HORRY and SHAW and GRANT were passing up shots to feed SHAQ and KOBE. But the three of them in all their playing time only amassed 3 assists. We’re talking about professional basketball players here. This is what you do for a living. Not good.

And so, what does PHIL JACKSON do about it? He is starting to get RICK FOX and MIKE PENBERTHY more time. They were certainly more productive in fewer minutes that the other three mentioned. FOX had 9 points and 1 assist in 16 minutes, and PENBERTHY scored 8 points with 2 assists in 18 minutes. If RIDER would get on a consistent streak out of the doghouse, he may be the answer, although he has been streaky with the LAKERS. Last night he played 14 minutes and wound up with 5 points and no assists.

You either light a fire under the guys who are getting the time, or get more time for the guys who can get it done. SHAQ and KOBE are having trouble enough adjusting to their new roles in and out of the spotlight, so the rest of the squad will have to carry their weight. Things start to get interesting pretty soon, here. They have played nearly a third of the season. Their record this time last year was 19-5, and we all know how important home court advantage was.

STILL NO DE, AND NO KOBE EITHER
12.13.00
Memo Menos

It seems like the LAKERS, and SHAQ in particular, have given the responsibility for team victories to KOBE BRYANT. After all, he is the marquee player now, he can score 50 so why play defense? The 22 year old makes 90% of his free throws, and well, he can do it all, can’t he?

So that when BRYANT goes 8 for 31 like he did last night, the LAKERS aren’t the championship team they were last year. And they lose, like they did to the MILWAUKEE BUCKS, a team that hadn’t won in Los Angeles in 10 years, and last beat the LAKERS in Wisconsin in 1994. The score was 109-105. Since when do teams score 100+ points on the LAKERS, routinely? MILWAUKEE scored 61 second half points. 60+ halves are commonplace this year, for opponents.

If the defense is suspect, doesn’t that reflect primarily on SHAQUILLE O’NEAL? Is he miffed about the shifting spotlight? Or just upset he’s not getting the ball in the 4th quarter? PHIL and SHAQ seem to think the answer is to get back to SHAQ. Last night, at least, he made 2 free throws in crunch time, keeping the team in the game. And it was KOBE who forced a shot in the last minute, and didn’t get a foul call that could have come from the referees.

The team wasted an effort by HARPER, FOX and PENBERTHY, each of whom were in double figures with 10, 11 and 16 respectively. And SHAQUILLE had a good line with 26 points, 17 rebounds and 2 blocks. No consolation when the result is a loss. At 15-8, things aren’t desperate, but it may soon get to be a bigger problem. SACRAMENTO, PHOENIX and UTAH seem to be playing like teams that want to dethrone the champs. And there is always PORTLAND, who by some strange coincidence is also off to a mediocre start at 15-8. What better time to meet. The rivalry lives on!

WHERE’S THE DE
12.11.00
Memo Menos

As CHICK HEARN would say, the LAKERS make the SEATLLE SUPERSONICS look like all-world offensive stars. SEATTLE has the LAKERS number this year, winning Friday for the second time this season. The LAKERS just aren’t playing good defense, allowing them to score easy baskets in transition.

That, coupled with the fact that KOBE had an off night, scoring only 19 points on 8 for 25 shooting, and the LAKERS were dust. KOBE sat out 6 minutes of the final quarter, and was brought in with 2 minutes to play. That happened immediately after a frenzied sequence of events, where ISAIAH RIDER missed 3 attempts at bringing the LAKERS within striking distance. KOBE watched helplessly on the sideline, waiting to check in. RIDER had a good game, and perhaps KOBE, with his tired legs could not have made a difference. But, when you have a player who continually exhibits the ability to lift his game in the 4th, at home in front of the fans, it seems counter productive to leave him on the pine for the bulk of the period. He is 22, tired legs are relative, and once a couple shots drop, tired is meaningless.

Come Sunday, KOBE was rested for the big showdown between the league’s leading scorers. JERRY STACKHOUSE bested him 30-26, but BRYANT played within the offense, dishing 9 assists, as the LAKERS won easily 112-88. SHAQ also scored 26, getting 12 rebounds, and 2 blocks.

The story of this game, however, was the productivity, in limited playing time of ROBERT HORRY and RICK FOX. HORRY had 10 points, 7 rebounds and 2 blocks in 20 minutes. FOX had a tremendous game, with 10 points, 9 assists and 6 rebounds in 26 minutes. Their play, along with all of the subs, allowed KOBE and SHAQ to sit out the 4th. If FOX and HORRY can contribute like that on a regular basis, wrap it up baby!

FIFTY-ONE IS NOT ENOUGH
12.7.00
Memo Menos

What a tremendous game, last night, between the LAKERS and the GOLDEN STATE WARRIORS. It was to be expected that the LAKERS would have a let down after Tuesday’s dominating win over PHILADELPHIA, the best team in the league, at least record wise. And the fact that the LAKERS had recently beaten GOLDEN STATE easily, and have never had much trouble with the team, didn’t help matters.

So the LAKERS lost a remarkable game, in overtime, to the WARRIORS 125-122. ANTAWN JAMISON and KOBE BRYANT each scored 51 points, in a personal duel that was on a level rarely seen in the NBA. In fact, the last time 2 players scored more than 50 in a game it was WILT CHAMBERLAIN (63), then a SAN FRANCISCO WARRIOR and LAKER ELGIN BAYLOR (51). For JAMISON, it was the second 51 point performance in a week, done in back to back games. For KOBE, it was his second career high in a week. KOBE scored 12 points in the overtime period in a display of individual performance that was hard to argue with, despite a critical turnover (or no call) late in the going, and an inability to get the ball to SHAQ in the last minute, especially on a key pick and roll play that could have gotten the big fella involved in a way that might have gotten the win. SHAQ appeared stunned in the final seconds, as JACKSON called a desperation timeout. O’NEAL seemed distant and detached. It appeared he was incredulous as to the sudden shift in power on the team, from SHAQ to KOBE. And no doubt he must have been somewhat awestruck by the physical display by both KOBE and ANTAWN. JAMISON had 8 points in overtime.

How quickly KOBE has asserted himself. PHIL JACKSON seems to have lost control of the young talent, while exerting expanding control over ISAIAH RIDER. He did not play, after arriving late again to the arena in Oakland, where he grew up. At some point, the team must make a decision to stay with RIDER, tardiness and all, or invest time in some other player like RICK FOX or MIKE PENBERTHY on a regular basis. RIDER could have been a valuable addition in the late going in this game, and it seems a shame he can’t tow the line, and the team can’t reap his benefits.

More ominous than this one loss, however, is the sense that this team is careening out of control. You can see it in the faces of KOBE, SHAQ and JACKSON. KOBE has come out of the gates this year looking to establish himself as the greatest of all time. With his performance thus far, in what should be his rookie season at the age of 22, who can say he won’t indeed be that good. He’s not far from it now.

Meanwhile, SHAQ doesn’t seem to be a happy camper. Some of it is his own fault. He had the game in his hands last evening, but couldn’t make a free throw that would have won the game. To his credit, he did sink one of two to save the tie. But O’NEAL’S ineptitude at the free throw line is the primary reason KOBE can’t go to him more in crunch time. KOBE, after all, can draw fouls just as easily, and he makes 90% of his tries. SHAQ did finish with 25 points, 10 rebounds, 6 blocks and 2 assists. But that paled in comparison to BRYANT’S 51, 8 assists, 7 rebounds, 2 steals and 1 block. SHAQ does not seem ready to take a back seat to BRYANT. Will he ever be?

And so PHIL JACKSON has a mammoth task on his hands. How does he keep these two phenomenal talents together, and under his tutelage? BRYANT cannot be kept down, that is clear this year. But he does need to cut down on his turnovers. He had 8 to go with the otherwise impressive line last night. And he also needs to realize the value of involving key teammates throughout the game. He tried to do that by dishing to HORACE GRANT late in overtime, but GRANT seemed stunned and missed a lay-in. Before the final second ticked away, KOBE had a shot at a flying follow-up dunk, but fumbled the ball away, no doubt in exhaustion. Carefully thought out plays for SHAQ in a position to catch and shoot should have been more in order during the overtime. And KOBE could have gotten him the ball on that last minute pick and roll play ala KARL MALONE and JOHN STOCKTON. It does no one any good, if SHAQ is not on the page.

JACKSON will earn his money managing these volatile competing forces.

"JERRY WEST, OSCAR ROBERTSON and MICHAEL JORDAN"
12.6.00
Memo Menos

The sudden realignment of LAKER power from SHAQ to KOBE may foster a healthy rivalry among the two superstars. Tuesday night at Staples Center, they played as well together as they have throughout their short careers together. Each seemed to be having fun feeding each other, and both had monster games. KOBE again dazzled the crowd, answering their chants for a game high 36 points. It was KOBE’S 11th 30+ game this season and solidifies him as the league’s leading scorer. KOBE accented the offensive performance with a masterful defensive effort on last year’s runner up to scoring champ SHAQUILLE O’NEAL, ALLEN IVERSON, holding him to 19 points. IVERSON finished with 27, getting 8 points in garbage time after the game had been decided.

SHAQUILLE joined the party in a big way, scoring 27, with 20 rebounds, 7 blocks and 6 assists. It was a dominating low post performance from O’NEAL who seems spirited by KOBE’S stepped up performance. PHILADELPHIA, who came into the game with a 14-3 record, best in the league, was floored.

One play in the 4th was a highlight for the ages. BRIAN SHAW, the master of the alleyoop pass, was near the top of the key and he gave KOBE a quick glance from one eye. KOBE streaked back door and skied high to snag the ball with one hand, twisting as he slammed it home. CHICK, who was mesmerized by KOBE’S performance on this night, was dumbfounded. It was truly amazing. The replay was unbelievable, that’s how good it was.

After the game KOBE spoke of carrying on the legacy of big guards, like JERRY WEST, OSCAR ROBERTSON and MICHAEL JORDAN. None of those legends could boast of such dominance at the age of 22. I’m not sure it’s such a good thing. Where does he go from here?

WILL THE REAL MVP PLEASE SIT?
12.4.00
Memo Menos

After tremendous performances from both SHAQUILLE O’NEAL and a flu-ridden KOBE BRYANT over the weekend, the LAKERS emerged with victories over a SAN ANTONIO team that will be this year’s hurdle, and a DALLAS MAVERICK squad that is fast becoming a serious rival.

On Friday night, the LAKERS fought a hard battle with the SPURS, but were pulling away by 20 points in the 2nd half before the SPURS gave it one last surge. They erased the lead, and led 74-73. Before KOBE and SHAQ finally put them to bed. SHAQ finished with 36 points, 16 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 assists. BRYANT scored a career high 43, 15 in the 4th, despite being sapped by the flu. Does this sound like any other superstar we are familiar with? MJ are you watching?

Come Sunday, with KOBE still suffering from the virus, the LAKERS found themselves in a dogfight with the DALLAS MAVERICKS. Owner MARK CUBAN, who has single-handedly tried to jumpstart a rivalry with the LAKERS and PHIL JACKSON in particular, was seated in the Staples crowd, not far from JACK NICHOLSON and WARREN BEATTY who were taking in this one together. CUBAN flies with his team on road games, something not many owners do. As a result, in honor, or fear of his presence, the MAVERICKS have really improved their play. 7’6" SHAWN BRADLEY is finally beginning to take shape, though he only had 4 points and 4 rebounds. But the MAVS have another big man DIRK NOWITSKI who had 25, and MICHAEL FINLEY, who had 22, along with HOWARD EISLEY acquired from UTAH, and came into this game with an 11-6 record.

They played a tough game, and the LAKERS unable to extend a lead into double digits. With 5 minutes remaining and the LAKERS up by 8, DON NELSON and assistant DEL HARRIS initiated the hack-a-shaq, a device originated by NELSON as a defense against last year’s MVP. The ploy rarely works, but on this night, with SHAQ shooting unusually poor, JACKSON had to sit the MVP on the bench. He played roughly 30 seconds the rest of the way, and finished 5 of 19 from the charity stripe. That is dismal, though he did score a much-needed 25 points and pull in 14 rebounds.

This game, as have been many this season, was on KOBE’S shoulders, and he carried the load well. BRYANT dominated the last 5 minutes, scoring 6 on his own effort in the final minute, leading the team with 38 points. He snagged 10 rebounds, dished 6 assists, and blocked 2 shots for good measure. Not bad for someone with the flu.

Which leads one to wonder: what is an MVP? Someone you go to when it counts, someone you count on to create when the shot isn’t there, someone who can shoot free throws!, someone who leads in scoring and assists, someone who gives the extra effort, and wins games for the team. That someone, at least so far this season, is KOBE BRYANT, who likely elevated himself to the league’s leading scorer with his sickly performances over the weekend. All at the unlikely age of 22.

Keep it coming KOBE! Long live the champs!

SONIC BOOM
12.1.00
Memo Menos

Of course the day after it is written that the LAKERS are unbeatable, with their 5 game win streak and soaring offense, and KOBE going for 40 every night, and yada, yada, yada, the SEATTLE SUPERSONICS lowered the boom. They made the LAKERS look like the CHICAGO BULLS, and I’m not talking PHIL JACKSON’S BULLS. SHAQ led the team with 23, and KOBE was held to 17 on an off night for sure.

You could see it coming. SEATTLE, always the bridesmaid, never the bride, was in a tailspin this year, even after acquiring PATRICK EWING to go with VIN BAKER and GARY PAYTON in the highly competitive Pacific division race. But the team sputtered and BAKER didn’t seem to fit in with PAUL WESTPAHL’S plans. So, goodbye WESTPHAL, hello former SONIC NATE McMILLAN and BAKER has been reborn. As have PAYTON and the rest of the SONIC team. GARY had 27 and BAKER 20 in this one. They beat the PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS in the first performance under new coach McMILLAN, and polished off the LAKERS for an encore. Not bad for your first days as an interim coach, but don’t hold your breath. SEATTLE has little chance of staying with either the TRAILBLAZERS or the LAKERS, despite the current burst from their aging talent.

The question is why the LAKERS were so listless in this one? They should have known SEATTLE was pumped, and LA hasn’t exactly been tested in their 5 game streak. This was one they should have been psyched for. Besides, PHIL and ISAIAH RIDER apparently patched up their differences, after the furor over RIDER’S 1-hour late arrival for the PACER game this week. Both gentlemen seemed to have put their differences behind them. RIDER even seems to know where he fits into the LAKERS scheme of things. Rest assured, any more late appearances followed by menacing posture towards the press and RIDER won’t be a LAKER very long.

Meanwhile, how do you get from making 15 3-pointers one night to going 1 for 20 the next. And what’s up with giving the SONICS 74 first half points. Shooting may not be with you on any given night, but you can always play defense. One good side effect of Thursday’s dismal performance, it’s out of the system for tonight’s marquee match-up. A win over SAN ANTONIO will make this disaster disappear, and fast.

THE EAST IS STILL THE LEAST
11.29.00
Memo Menos

Last year’s Eastern Conference champions were nothing more than a distraction last evening at Staples. The LAKERS dispatched them with not even a worry, 124-107. It was win number 5 in a row, and 9 of their last 10, and again, I say, they are not even close to their stride. KOBE is experimenting with this scoring thing. He has risen to number 3 in the league, now behind JERRY STACKHOUSE and VINCE CARTER, and the sky is the limit. The beauty of watching KOBE play is that he doesn’t cherry pick on offense. Routinely he is the guy flying high for a rebound, and then out hustling every up the floor, and then creating on offense.

SHAQ seems to be settling into the role as second scorer. Despite 13 first quarter points and 23 at the half, he finished with, only, 27, 10 below KOBE’S game high. RICK FOX is looking fast, showcasing an explosive first step that has been missing since his days in Boston. FOX finished with only 7, but had the play of the night taken away from him on an offensive foul by KOBE. FOX made a gem of a defensive play and then hurried down the court to get the ball at the free throw line on the fly, where he took off for the basket ala DR. J., jamming a one-handed dunk that shook the house. RON HARPER had a season high 21 points, along with 7 rebounds, 5 assists and 4 steals. He was 4 for 6 from 3-point range and played like he was 15 years younger.

If this team gets any better they will run the table. And they can get better. ISAIAH RIDER still isn’t on the party bus. He played only 4 minutes and didn’t score, in part because he arrived late at Staples. Can you imagine if PHIL can get him straightened out. He has a career average of some 18 points a game. As it is this team is now the best offensive team in the league. Look out!

WHEN IS A RIVALRY, NOT A RIVALRY?
11.28.00
Memo Menos

SHAQUILLE, KOBE and the rest of the LAKERS suited up in the visitors locker room last night. They were "in town" to play the host LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS at the Staples Center in the rivalry of Los Angeles basketball. Just one problem, this is our house, and having won 15 in a row, the LAKERS don’t see it as a rivalry! They played right at home, slowly pulling away from the CLIPS after a 6 point halftime lead. KOBE BRYANT again led the team in scoring with 29 points, and more importantly, PHIL JACKSON semi-approved his performance. Nevertheless KOBE was benched for 16 minutes of the game, including 5 minutes in the first quarter.

SHAQ scored 16 along with 6 boards and 6 blocks. RICK FOX was the only other LAKER in double figures, which may be a problem as the competition gets tougher. Tonight it is the Eastern Conference champs, the INDIANA PACERS, significantly de-fanged without center RICK SMITS, guard MARK JACKSON and power forward DALE DAVIS. But come Friday, when the SPURS arrive, the rest of the team had better get with the offense, or let KOBE go 48. Minutes that is. The SPURS and LAKERS, now that sounds like a rivalry.

GETTING INTO FORM
11.27.00
Memo Menos

The LAKERS have won their last 3 games, are the second best offensive team in the league, and are scoring more than 110 points per game in those last 3 wins. Is showtime back? Hard to say, since this team is not even close to playing up to its potential. What’s more, an interesting power struggle is emerging. Perhaps it is more a re-alignment of talent rather than a struggle. KOBE BRYANT is now the team’s leading scorer, surpassing SHAQ for the first time since they have been together, and moving last year’s scoring champ to 6th in the league behind VINCE CARTER, JERRY STACKHOUSE, KOBE, STEPHEN MARBURY and CHRIS WEBBER.

On Friday, it was BRYANT and O’NEAL leading the LAKERS to a relatively easy win over a hot MINNESOTA TIMBERWOLVES. Despite losing JOE SMITH, the WOLVES have a game group led by KEVIN GARNETT, the league’s 9th leading scorer. MINNESOTA had won 5 in a row before Friday’s loss. KOBE had 31 in that game, SHAQ 30. If JACKSON could get O’NEAL to rethink his offensive role, it may free up KOBE to score even more, and leave room for others on the team to shine offensively. RIDER is still not comfortable in the offense. He could score 15-20 points a game given the chance. And ROBERT HORRY has never really concentrated on offense here in LA like he did in Houston. HORRY could be averaging double figures and be the 3 point shooter SHAQ would like to have. MIKE PENBERTHY seems to want to be that guy, and his performance thus far warrants more shots.

So SHAQ should consider staking claim on the defensive end. Go for 30 rebounds on a nightly basis, and look for the outlet pass on every play. Then if the break doesn’t materialize, we can always do the geometry thing. Just an observation. Besides, as SHAQ himself put it: "I’m the type, I can get mine. If-write this-if I want to lead this stinkin league in scoring, I can. But, I’d rather get those guys (GRANT, FOX, SHAW, HARPER, RIDER) involved". Let’s hold him to those words, coach.

A WEEKEND SPLIT
11.20.00
Memo Menos

After Saturday’s difficult loss in Denver, KOBE BRYANT ran up to coach PHIL JACKSON presumably to give him a few choice words. The play that JACKSON had just called for ISAIAH RIDER flopped miserably, with RIDER falling prey to a double team of GEORGE McCLOUD and ANTONIO McDYESS. It was a surprise since RIDER had been on JACKSON’S doghouse bench for a poor offensive performance, but was put into the game with only 8 seconds remaining, and given the mantle of winning it for the LAKERS. KOBE, on the other hand, who had been hot, was given the shaft. He finished the game with his 5th straight 30+ point effort, but without the 2 he really wanted. Result, LAKERS lose a heartbreaker, by 1 point, to the DENVER NUGGETS.

The next evening, on the LAKER pre-game show, JACKSON refused to reveal what KOBE said to him at the end of that game. He was able to trash his young star, perhaps unknowingly. In justifying his decision for the last play, JACKSON "realized" he may have relied on ISAIAH too early in the season, and that RIDER just didn’t get it done. No kidding. But what was really disturbing was his talk of BRYANT. He didn’t call the play for KOBE out of fear that he would be double-teamed, and in trying to beat the double team, lose the ball resulting in the LAKERS not getting a shot. Helllooo. You mean like what RIDER did?

It is outrageous, in the midst of a 5 game streak where BRYANT was on the best scoring tear of his young career, and particularly after KOBE connected on a last second 3 to tie and eventually win the previous game against SACRAMENTO, that JACKSON wouldn’t go with his strength. Why not "rely" on BRYANT? Would MICHAEL JORDAN have endured such treatment? Would any rising star? KOBE is like the whipping boy on this team, rather than the go-to guy. MICHAEL JORDAN did a bit of one-on-one creating in his day. For it, he was immortalized. KOBE is always one bad shot, or one bad pass, or one bad drive, or one bad turnover from the doghouse bench. Despite the Zen master’s success, this is not the way to groom the next legend. TIGER WOODS doesn’t have to put up with this crap. Even SHAQ isn’t expected to live up to these standards. Can you imagine if JACKSON were to bench the MVP for a missed free throw, or two, or ten?

KOBE was back in the kennel Sunday night for a brief run during the 4th after 2 unproductive drives into the lane. JACKSON leashed KOBE to the pine for the bulk of the quarter. The LAKERS won the game anyway, against the pitiful BULLS, but it wasn’t as easy as it should have been. The BULLS were within 5 points at 93-88 with 4 minutes to play, until baskets from ROBERT HORRY, DEVEAN GEORGE, and, uh, our dog KOBE BRYANT saved them.

"SIT BACK AND ENJOY THE SHOW"
11.15.00
Memo Menos

KOBE BRYANT and SHAQUILLE O’NEAL put to rest any rumors of a feud between the 2 superstars. BRYANT scored 30+ for the 3rd straight game, with 31 points; this time on 23 shots, of which he made 12. His shots are going down, but the points remain. SHAQ made the necessary adjustments for a couple of sore thumbs, shooting 76% and scoring 34 points. He even made 2 of his 4 free throws.

So we see just how good the team can be when the dynamic duo are on the same page. HARPER, RIDER and GRANT were also in double figures, but when KOBE and SHAQ have it going on, everyone else needs to get out of the way. KOBE had 9 assists to go with his points; SHAQ had 19 rebounds to go with his.

What was even more significant-KOBE BRYANT made an impromptu appearance on the post game show to dispel any rumors of some tension between he and the big guy. His take--all we as fans have to do is sit back and enjoy the show whilst the LAKERS make their run for a second championship. So long as KOBE and SHAQ play like they did last night against the DENVER NUGGETS, no problem.

KOBE WITH A BULLET
11.13.00
Memo Menos

What has happened to the LAKERS? Better yet, what has happened to SHAQUILLE O’NEAL? He started the season strong, carrying the LAKERS on his shoulders for their first three wins. But since the CLIPPER game, O’NEAL has been a shrinking violet, scoring 14 points to go with 5 rebounds. O’NEAL could get 5 rebounds sitting on the bench. The big center has sprained thumbs on both hands, and has shot only 41% in his last 3 games. Recall against SAN ANTONIO SHAQ only had 13 points.

There is word that O’NEAL is unhappy with BRYANT’S style of play this season. After being "harnassed" by PHIL JACKSON last season, everyone assumed KOBE BRYANT would begin this season like a Sepford wife, dribbling the ball dutifully up the court, making the obligatory 14 passes on offense until the ball is fed in deep to SHAQ for a dunk. Don’t get me wrong, that’s great when it is working. But KOBE started the season off a bit rusty. He was leading the team with nearly 4 turnovers a game going into Sunday night’s rematch with the Houston ROCKETS. And he has had some trouble looking comfortable in the offense this year. That is until the SPUR game, where he broke out of the chains JACKSON and O’NEAL would like to keep him in. In that game he took 31 shots on his way to 32 points as well as 8 assists.

On Sunday, he carried the LAKERS with 37 points on 29 shots. More importantly, KOBE had only 2 turnovers, and started the game at small forward. After the game, BRYANT sounded like a superstar on the rise, who is getting a feel for the power he has: "I’m going to have fun. It’s important to have fun when you play the game and not get caught up in the hype and the pressure of it." Sounds like BRYANT is tired of getting caught up in the shackles JACKSON tried so hard to wrap him up in last season. Perhaps that is why SHAQ is on a downer. It’s a story we’ve seen here before. DEL HARRIS and PAUL WESTHEAD are casualties of such a struggle.

In any event, the team, and the offense are not yet clicking. There is little outside scoring threat, causing management to activate MIKE PENBERTHY from the injured reserve list. During the pre-season, as he exhibited in his college career at THE MASTER’S COLLEGE, he had touch from outside. Perhaps JACKSON ought to look at starting RIDER to get him and KOBE off together. Let’s get showtime back. SHAQ can get his underneath as an option when the break is not there, or on offensive rebounds. With he and GRANT cleaning the glass on defense, the offense should open up. Then you’ve got BRIAN SHAW and RICK FOX as your first options off the bench, once the horses are tired. Sounds like a winner to me.

Besides, how much longer do you think KOBE is going to be held back?

WE WANT A RECOUNT!
11.9.00
Memo Menos

There must exist basket fraud in San Antonio! How else do you explain that the LAKERS just can’t seem to win there? They have lost 6 in a row, and 8 of 9, and shoot baskets in the Alamodome like voters in Palm Beach cast ballots. Each time a LAKER shot the ball, a hologram of PAT BUCHANAN appeared around the hoop, and instead of a basket, the LAKERS got a turnover. They finished the night with 18 and lost by 10 points again. Wait, that’s exactly how many points they lost the previous night in Houston. Something is really screwy here. Bring WARREN CHRISTOPHER to Texas, we need this process monitored.

How is it possible SHAQUILLE O’NEAL only scores 13 points against the SPURS? He hasn’t played as badly since he was in high school in the San Antonio area. There must be fraud. We demand a recount! Do the SPURS really want this win, if indeed it was not fair and square? Justice must be served to preserve the integrity of the game.

Or maybe the LAKERS need to finally learn the triangle offense. KOBE BRYANT, who scored 32 points primarily by playing 1 on 5, admitted after the game that the team doesn’t know the triangle, and didn’t know it last year. It was all bluff, according to KOBE, "For real, it was a big illusion. It worked, though. Everybody fell for it."

They are not falling for it now, and PHIL had better make sure the offense sinks in, or let KOBE go for 50 every night. He was 15 for 31 which is nearly 50% from the floor. ROBERT HORRY is finally getting with the program, as he shot 4 for 5 from 3-point range and finished with 12 points. HORACE GRANT had another solid game, he shot 7 for 8 to garner 14 points to go with 4 rebounds and 3 blocked shots. But RICK FOX went 1 for 7, RON HARPER was 1 for 3, and ISAIAH RIDER went 0 for 2.

The team now is 3 and 3, not exactly steaming along for the best record in the league and the all important home court advantage. Without it, we may likely end up in San Antonio to defend the championship, and that doesn’t look good, without perhaps Attorney General JANET RENO monitoring the game.

LAKERS REST IN HOUSTON
11.8.00
Memo Menos

The LAKERS took Tuesday off, apparently in preparation for the big game of the week, Wednesday against the SAN ANTONIO SPURS. As a result, the ROCKETS won easily 84-74 in a record low point production for the LAKERS. SHAQ had 24, KOBE 15, with the rest of the team going invisible.

To lose to the ROCKETS, with their hall-of-famer HAKEEM OLAJUWON not a factor with 12 points and 5 rebounds is shameless. STEVE FRANCIS and CUTINO MOBLEY took up the slack with 23 and 18 respectively. But still, the world champs should have done better.

JACKSON will earn his money this year. And LA will lose other games, perhaps as early as tonight.

SHAQ AND RIDER CARRY LOAD
11.6.00
Memo Menos

The LAKERS still haven’t found their rhythm 4 games into the season. KOBE BRYANT isn’t himself yet, averaging about as many turnovers as points it seems. But the team is 4-1 after weekend victories over the VANCOUVER GRIZZLIES and the young LOS ANGELES CLIPPERS.

Saturday, the champs played a good 3rd quarter to distance themselves from VANCOUVER. Sunday, it took 22 points from SHAQ and 15 from RIDER, just in the 4th quarter, to preserve a narrow win over the CLIPPERS.

If there is any good news this year, it is how smoothly RIDER has fit into the system. He always seems to be active in the 4th quarter, when the team needs a lift. He finished the game Sunday with 22 points and no technical fouls.

The bad news is that PHIL JACKSON is still riding KOBE BRYANT hard. Sure his turnovers are up, but he is handling the ball more. And his shooting is not quite where it was last year, but he is averaging over 20 points a game. At some point KOBE is going to figure out he doesn’t need a father figure, so much as a bit more freedom. Then what?

Meanwhile, SHAQ is shooting free throws at or below 50% and the hack-a-shaq defense is still a problem. It nearly cost the game last night. Perhaps a little fatherly "love" from PHIL in this area might reap some rewards. Didn’t JACKSON see the airball free throws SHAQ put up in both games this weekend? Come on, that is embarrassing, especially for the league’s MVP. And what of the rest of the players? I don’t see JACKSON laying into TYRON LUE, despite some pretty awful decision-making as well as execution at the point. It was LUE’s loose hands that cost us the UTAH game, our only defeat. And ROBERT HORRY is neither heard nor seen on the court. He missed the first 2 games to attend the funeral of his grandmother. It might as well have been 4 games. A little tough love might bring out the 3-pointer in ROBERT.

A real test comes this week, as the LAKERS travel to Texas, first to Houston where CUTINO MOBLEY is on a tear for the ROCKETS. Then on to San Antonio to face the SPURS, with a fresh TIM DUNCAN. It only gets tougher.

DEAD RINGER, OR IS THAT BLINGER?
11.2.00
Memo Menos

One day after Halloween, the LAKERS managed to climb into a coffin, as the UTAH JAZZ made them look like corpses in a 97-92 win that was more of a fright than the score would suggest. After a 30 minute pre-game celebration, with trophy raising, banner hoisting and ring distribution, choreographed to QUEEN’s anthem "We Are the Champions", JOHN STOCKTON and KARL MALONE took out their frustrations on SHAQ, KOBE and the gang. LA trailed by as many as 18 points, and despite 34 from SHAQ and 31 from KOBE, couldn’t get the lead, despite several runs in the 4th.

A questionable technical foul against ISAIAH RIDER slowed the LAKERS momentum. RIDER was merely trying to break free of a bear hug put on him by JOHN STARKS on a breakaway that could have tied the score, or even resulted in a LAKER lead, as the LAKERS got the call and the ball. Instead STOCKTON sank a free throw, as did the LAKERS, but they never caught the JAZZ. Game over, man. Bling, this.

Oh, by the way, the 200 hundred rings valued at $7,500 are inscribed with SHAQ’s catch phrase, "bling, bling", borrowed from a rap song by somebody with a single name. Note to JERRY BUSS, next year when the season opens, hold the ring ceremony at halftime, so as not to inspire the opponents, who no doubt didn’t care for the hoopla and fanfare.

RIVALRY, WHAT RIVALRY
11.1.00
Memo Menos

The stage was set for the LAKERs to have their heads handed to them. PORTLAND, who lost a devastating 7th game to LA after being up 15 in the 4th, spent millions in the off season, acquiring DALE DAVIS and SHAWN KEMP, neither one a LAKER devotee. They were playing on Halloween in the Rose Garden, a venue that on occasion has haunted the LAKERS. And the preseason was anything but impressive.

So what happens, but the LAKERS coast to an easy and decisive victory over a team that for the second year running on paper is everybody’s consensus for best team in the league. All this, with KOBE BRYANT having an anemic outing with 14 points, 2 rebounds and 2 assists to go with 7 turnovers. SHAQUILLE O’NEAL was every bit the MVP, scoring 36, along with 11 rebounds, in making PORTLAND’s heralded front line look like ghosts.

No matter, BRIAN SHAW was back at his best, taking the wind out of PORTLAND’s sails, where he left off from last season. SHAW scored 7 needed points early in the 4th quarter when the TRAILBLAZERS had thoughts of getting back in the game. Then, as if on cue, ISAIAH RYDER, put together some key shots and assists to deplete any life PORTLAND thought to have.

What was to be a lynching, and the start of the league’s hottest rivalry, turned out to be a bust. Like getting an apple for trick or treat.

We’ll take it. There will be enough unlikely battles this season.

SO FAR, SO BAD
10.24.00
Memo Menos

The LAKERS lost another exhibition game last evening, bringing their post championship record to 2-5. The latest loss was to a spirited SACRAMENTO KINGS, who are itching to knock the World Champs out of the playoffs, after last years lost effort to do so. I suppose there is nothing to get alarmed about, though I hear the screaming voice of my jv coach ringing in my ears: "Don’t practice mistakes unless you want to make them during a game!"

It seems this pre-season has been one big run through of all the things the team wants to avoid once the real games begin. For instance, SHAQUILLE O’NEAL is shooting 30.6% from the free throw line. Now I’m no TEX WINTER, and certainly no PJ, but nothing is to be gained by allowing SHAQ to pansy up to the line and clunk up brick after brick. The idea is to improve on his 52% from last year.

Also, I realize that exhibition games are meaningless, but this team better get used to the fact that every night the opposition is going to be looking to make their season. Every player across the ball is going to be staking his career on scoring over SHAQ, or blocking KOBE’s shot or beating LA. Some emphasis should be given to getting out of the blocks quick; give it a good blow for, say, the first 8 minutes with the regulars, so that we get in the habit of starting fast, not traditionally a LAKER hall mark anyway.

To really ease my worries, I think the LAKERS should put the full court press on to get JOE SMITH. Yesterday an arbitrator ruled DAVID STERN could invalidate his contract with the TIMBERWOLVES because the contract attempted to circumvent the salary cap rules. SMITH could be a free agent within a day. While other teams including MINNESOTA have more money available, LOS ANGELES has the $1.2 million dollar exemption to offer, along with a shot at a dynasty.

That is, if they quit practicing mistakes!

A PERFECT SEASON?
10-18-00

The LAKERS are perfect on this young exhibition season. Three games, three blowout losses. Okay.

There is some good news. After watching last night’s loss to the Phoenix SUNS, who by the way were beaten by the CLIPPERS last week, it seems J.R. RYDER has found a home here in LA. He found his outside shot last night. And his passing has been brilliant, despite some weak finishes by those other than SHAQ. RYDER had a tremendous behind the back bounce pass to a streaking MIKE MADSEN, who went up like he was picking apples in the country, only to have a sure dunk swatted off the boards by someone whose name I can’t spell. Late in the 4th quarter, when the LAKERS staged a half hearted comeback rally, RYDER fed SHAQUILLE with 2 perfect throws, leading to thunder dunks by O’NEAL.

Stay tuned, things could get interesting this year.

A MEANINGLESS GAME?
10-12-00

So the exhibition season has begun. The LAKERS looked flat. The game meant nothing. Is that how this season is going to go? It could be a long and treacherous road. Even in an exhibition game, the CHARLOTTE HORNETS seemed to wallow in their domination of the world champions. BARON DAVIS, in his second year as a pro after leaving UCLA as a sophomore outshined the rest of the floor with 19 points and one incredible defensive play on DEVON GEORGE, taking a lay-up out of his hands like it was child’s play. It cost JR RYDER a pretty assist, and raised questions about GEORGE’s ability to play with the starters. Is he ready, or just another project? TRAVIS KNIGHT was a project to which the LAKERS invested not one, but two chances, and look where he ended up.

MARK MADSEN and MIKE PENBERTHY looked good. As good as you can look on a team that was down 63-36 at the half. It’s safe to say the champs were taking it easy, "pacing themselves" as the LA TIMES put it. The other NBA team in town, the CLIPPERS also had an exhibition game last night. They won their game 77-68 over the depleted PHOENIX SUNS, who were missing TOM GUGLIOTTA, PENNY HARDAWAY and TONY DELK. I guess the SUNS were pacing themselves too.

KOBE BRYANT scored 19, and didn’t suffer any injuries. During the opening exhibition game last season KOBE broke a bone in his hand. All in all, we’re off to an even better start than last year’s dream season. I guess.

TRAINING CAMP OPENS
10-5-00

The 2001 season officially is under way with the opening of training camps across the country. The LAKERS seemed loose as they posed for the press on media day, Monday. Better still, JERRY WEST was in attendance for much of the practice session on Tuesday. Also at camp was owner JERRY BUSS, who is under fire from the rest of the league for his alleged lack of stomach for the pricey contract extension promised to SHAQ at the championship celebration in June. BRIAN SHAW was on the court, and he has yet to be resigned.

The LAKERS have 17 players under contract; SHAW would make 18. The rosters need to be set at 12 by October 30. DEREK FISHER will be put on the injured list, leaving 5 cuts from the following players: EMANUAL DAVIS, CORY HIGHTOWER, NATE JOHNSON, TYRONN LUE, MARK MADSEN, STANISLAV MEDVEDENKO, ANDY PANKO, and ISAIAH RIDER. CHUCK PERSON, the rifleman retired.

Meanwhile, in Portland, DETLEF SCHREMPF, one of the best off the bench in the league last year, retired from the TRAILBLAZERS making room for DALE DAVIS and SHAWN KEMP, among the rest of the deepest squad in the NBA. The LAKERS open the regular season on Halloween night at the Rose Garden in Portland.

No need to waste any time; let’s see who has it going on!

THE LAKER GODS WERE DISTRACTED
9-21-00

Okay, we got something for GLEN RICE. The LAKERS finally completed a blockbuster 4 team, 12 player deal. RICE is off to New York. Perhaps he will regain his 3-point shot and learn to play defense there to the tune of $9 million per year. We landed HORACE GRANT, a true power forward, and another of PHIL JACKSON’s troops from DA BULLS. He won 3 championships there, and will be a much needed lift in rebounding, low post offense and defense on the TIM DUNCANs and RASHEED WALLACEs of the league.

We also got GREG FOSTER, an adequate dummy to fill in when SHAQ needs a rest, CHUCK PERSON, the "rifleman" who hopefully still has a 3-point shot at 36, and EMMANUEL DAVIS, a 6’5’ guard from Seattle. JACKSON loves those big guards and in the event he is unable to get RON HARPER to return, he will have DAVIS, J.R.RYDER and JOHN CELESTAND from which to pick. Recall FOSTER is the dufus who rattled the LAKERS cage 2 years ago in the playoffs. He is not a favorite here and will have to work to not get booed off the floor.

In the deal, PATRICK EWING moves to Seattle, and TRAVIS KNIGHT goes to New York along with about 50 other players including VERNON MAXWELL. It will be sad to see TRAVIS go, again, but he is a project that needs too much playing time to develop. Thank the gods that we didn’t end up with LUC LONGLEY, who goes to New York in the trade, or CHRIS DUDLEY, a worse free throw shooter than SHAQ, who ends up in Phoenix.

I suppose this deal was done before the revelation about JOE SMITH becoming available. He is much more of an all around player than 35 year old GRANT, and at 26 would be a force in a LAKER uniform for years to come. I still think HERSEY HAWKINS and/or CHRIS MULLIN would be valuable additions. As things stand now, even with FISHER out for 6 months, the team is going to camp with 16 players, what harm will 2 or 3 more do? The LAKER gods were distracted with this mammoth deal, but perhaps MITCH KUPCHAK in his first starring role as deal maker, will not rest. JERRY WEST didn’t, in the many years he manned the helm of personnel in LaLaLand.

The fate of showtime, and the impending dynasty is at stake!

THE LAKER GODS ARE BECKONING!
9-19-00

Just when it seemed that the mighty LAKER dynasty, which is in its’ very first year, would crumble as fast as it came, the LAKER gods shone down upon the Staples Center. The NBA is expected to void the contract phenom, JOE SMITH entered into with the Minnesota TIMBERWOLVES. It seems the TIMBERWOLVES, and SMITH, entered into a contract aimed at defeating the salary cap provisions. Imagine that!

This would make him a free agent, and available at this late date in the game, to sign with any team in the league. After the free agent summer shuffle, there are only 2 teams, CHICAGO and the LOS ANGELES (CLIPPERS), who can afford to pay him more than the $2.25 million midlevel exception pursuant to the NBA’s complicated and frustrating salary rules. So, JOE can become a BULL or CLIPPER, and reap a hefty paycheck, or he can go to any other team and get $2.25 million and hope to get his due next year. Hmmmmm.

Where is JERRY WEST when we need him? Get the man out of retirement and get this deal done, now! Just a few days ago the papers were talking about the LAKERS losing GLEN RICE without any compensation whatsoever. Sure we got J.R.RYDER on the cheap, and with the loss of DEREK FISHER for at least 3 months with a stress fracture in his foot, RYDER may grow into a comfortable position with the world champions, but given the scrambling that the challengers like PORTLAND and MIAMI made, we need JOE SMITH!

He was a number 1 draft pick out of Maryland, and played his rookie season with GOLDEN STATE. In his sophomore year as a pro he averaged 18.7 points and 8.5 rebounds per game. While his numbers have been sliding, he would be a fine replacement for A.C.GREEN. And at 6’10" he could conceivably give SHAQ a blow. Hellllooo MITCH KUPCHAK, don’t let this slip through the cracks. Getting JOE SMITH would begin to ease the pain of losing ELDEN CAMPBELL and EDDIE JONES and having nothing to show for it!

While you’re at it, HERSEY HAWKINS, 33, a perennial LAKER killer was waived yesterday by the Chicago BULLS, as was CHRIS MULLIN, 37, by the Indiana PACERS. Either of these guys, both 3 point specialists easily as good as GLEN RICE, would be another nice addition at a very affordable price. By the way, neither HAWKINS nor MULLINS would be a defensive liability like RICE. Let’s get going, training camp opens in a week, and the world will be gunning.

The dynasty is real! Long live the LAKERS!

ALREADY BEHIND
9-5-00

As things stand today, the LAKERS will start the defense of their title already behind. JERRY WEST hasn’t been gone a month, and the LAKERS are reeling in his absence. As teams on both coasts fortified and rebuilt their arsenals, the defending champs have done little to stave off the hungry forces that are assembling in cities like Miami and Portland. The HEAT had a tremendous off-season landing EDDIE JONES, ANTHONY MASON, RICKY DAVIS, DALE ELLIS, and BRIAN GRANT. While they gave up JAMAL MASHBURN, OTIS THORPE and P.J. BROWN, they clearly improved their roster in an attempt to get back to the NBA Finals, and if they can resign disgruntled TIM HARDAWAY, they will be in the drivers seat to do just that. Particularly in light of the shabby treatment the KNICKS have dealt PATRICK EWING. If he stays in New York, and it is inconceivable how he can, it is hard to imagine him giving a championship effort.

On the West Coast, the PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS have bolstered what was the deepest lineup in the league. They were eked out of the playoffs by the LAKERS and KOBE BRYANT last year, and obviously don’t want that to happen again. After drafting ERICK BARKLEY, they went out and got SHAWN KEMP and DALE DAVIS to replace BRIAN GRANT. In the mix they lost guard GARY GRANT, and center JERMAINE O’NEAL. No big loss, and plenty of gain. KEMP is a LAKER killer, and DAVIS owned the boards in the Finals. We’ve got problems, people. Right here in River City!

It is hard enough to be defending champs. Just ask the SAN ANTONIO SPURS. Everyone will be gunning for a victory. Home court advantage will again be critical, only this time, every game counts, at least for the opponent. Can the LAKERS muster the will and the talent to do what it takes in 2001? They have made no significant moves; GLEN RICE is still here as a free agent. The only move thus far is the signing of J. R. RYDER, notorious, but talented journeyman cut midseason last year from ATLANTA. JERRRY WEST, we need you. In uniform! Stay tuned…

NEW SEASON APPROACHES

The LAKERS open defense of their NBA WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP on Halloween, October 31, 2000, with a game against rival PORTLAND TRAILBLAZERS. Will Portland still have BRIAN GRANT in the lineup? Is it possible BRANT could become a LAKER? Word was early on this summer that GRANT was off to New York to play for the KNICKS, but things are still very fluid. GLEN RICE is still a LAKER, but after the wholesale changes the CHARLOTTE HORNETS and MIAMI HEAT went through, RICE could be going back to Charlotte in return for a ticket out to LA for PJ BROWN. BROWN is a good defender and backup center at 6’11", left Miami in the EDDIE JONES 9 player deal. It was a fantasy, too good to be true, that JONES would rejoin the LAKERS. It still hurts deeply, that the thief is not a part of the young, and destined for glory, Los Angles LAKERS. Bring on the new season, we’re ready.

Westwood, CA - July 18, 2000 - Almost one month after the Los Angeles Lakers clinched the World Championship, their handsome small forward RICK FOX thrilled fans at the signing of their World Championship video. The video highlights the Lakers 1999-2000 mission to the championship. Rick Fox signed everything from basketballs, posters, baby dolls, t-shirts and videos. Fox showed up to Hollywood video clean shaven and nicely dressed. During the playoffs, Fox made sure to look grizzly with a couple days worth of beard to cover up his good looks and intimidate the likes of Scottie Pippen and Dale Davis. Rick Fox has had an excellent year with the birth of his new daughter, Sasha Gabriella, with wife Vanessa L. Williams and the championship. Fox averaged 61% field goals and 62% from behind the arc in the series against the Indiana Pacers. And who can forget the 3 pointer that the Pacers dared him to take that went in and put the Lakers up for good in the 6th and final game of the championship series. The video is available at a store near you. Check it out, it's a must have for any Laker fan.