harveycmd

Kareem threw the 1985 Western Conference Champion trophy in the laundry hamper. Kobe Bryant famously refused to celebrate or touch the Western Conference championship trophy during his career, setting a standard that only the final NBA championship mattered. He and the Los Angeles Lakers did not put on championship hats or shirts for winning the Western Conference Finals, choosing to remain stoic.

By the way, it was thirty years ago today that Kobe performed the most famous pre-draft workout in NBA history when he was 17 at the Inglewood YMCA. That evening, Jerry West invited Kobe to dinner at his house. Jerry's wife made Italian food for Kobe and Jerry promised Kobe that the Lakers would acquire him even if he had to trade the whole team while they listened to Soul and Inspiration by the Righteous Brothers.

That certainly helped. I'm thinking that's a result of making sure Fox had the ball.

Castle played well. Spurs guards in general did much better job of penetrating, which helped free Wemby on the roll. Biggest difference is that Wemby finally outplayed KAT, although only 8 rebounds is still rather anemic.

Hey Gerry, I see the College World Series is now selling this shirt. I guess maybe the AI search was correct when it said he was the best player ever at age 22.

Have you watched them play very much?

Baseball gods need to walk off the Scumbags on their home field in the b9.

Can't put two teams from the same conference in the same regional.

Freshman strikes again: State 9 -- Scumbags 8 b8

Back to back to back homers for State. Let's hope karma catches up with the Georgia Scumbags.

They changed the rules because of Shaq and Kobe together. Shaq was more dominant through stretches, but he wasn't as good of an all around basketball player. Not even in 2001. This is tangentially related. Here's Myles Garrett throwing out the first pitch for the Dodgers yesterday wearing a T-Shirt of Kobe pictured in 2001 with a Dodgers cap.

Burns isn't calling his own pitches. Weiner calls the pitches. In the postgame, Schloss said the fourth ball on the first walk was called to be off the plate because the batter liked to chase. He didn't chase and the walk resulted. The second walk was on Burns. Schloss said it's on him to put Burns in better spots. That's him covering for his player, but it's true too. Knowing that Burns is a little wild under pressure, you must account for that. But you have to think about who else would you put in and who are you saving for another day.

They like giving the Cinderellas a chance because it draws viewers. Notice they don't reseed in basketball either. True fans of the sport want to see the best play for the title and win. Casuals like narratives.

The Spurs must shift their defensive strategy if they want to do anything. As I said before, they need to stop doubling and trapping Brunson thirty feet from the basket. Brunson is not some kind of all world one on one player. The Spurs have the defenders to stay in front of Brunson and make it tough for him. The Knicks have better shooters than the Thunder, and that's what's killing the Spurs. Offensively the Spurs need to take advantage of the Wemby mismatch by getting him the ball fifteen feet and in. His height advantage makes it physically impossible to keep him from getting the ball if you move him and look for him. The Spurs can win the series if they play smarter and don't choke.

Both Shaq and Phil said Kobe was the best player on the team in 2001. The reason Kobe was the best is because he led the offense and defense, not Shaq. If the game was close, Kobe had the ball. Kobe defended the other team's best player 1-3. This year's Spurs team has more depth and all-around talent than the 2001 Lakers. What the Spurs don't have is a player as good as Kobe or Shaq were in 2001. It's a fun debate, and I basically agree with your points. I posted that to simply counter all the hype about Wemby being the best 22 year old player ever to lead his team in the playoffs, which is objectively not true. Wemby is the best player in the world right now, and he likely will be for a few years barring significant injury.