How about some basketball?

Alright, football season is over and now it's time for Basketball!

In case I haven't made it clear, I'm a Lakers guy.  Right now, they're the best team in the league, and alot of good that did us last season ;o(

Currently, Kobe is still the best player in Basketball.  I'm not a Lebron hater, I just know Kobe's better.  Currently, Andrew Bynum is out and we're not suffering.  Currently, Phil Jackson is still the best coach of all time.  Forget that he had MJ in Chicago, because he had little else beyond Scottie.  Currently, we are facing a strong Eastern Conference and a stronger Western Conference.  I always get nervous around teams that SHOULD make me nervous.  Boston and San Antonio.  I never get nervous with teams that should NEVER make me nervous (try Indiana in 2000, or Philly in 2001.)  

Why?

Boston because they're our arch-enemies.  They're Lex Luthor to our Superman.  They're the Joker to our Batman.  I respect the Celtics, I hate them, but I respect them.  San Antonio is boring, and they play the dirtiest player in the history of basketball, Bruce Bowen.  In case I wasn't clear, I AM a Bruce Bowen hater.  Mainly because he makes far too much money to do something I could easily do, break all the rules of Basketball and fair play, intentionally injure people, and prove that I have no talent (which I don't.)  So yeah, I hate the Spurs AND I don't respect them.

The rest of the pack worries me not.  Do you really want me to be scared by LeBron?  He can't win a title in Cleveland.  The only way that's happening is if Phil starts coaching him.  (See the parallel, unreal superstar, nothing around him?  That's not a job for Mike Brown, which is a shame, because I kinda like him.)  Then there's the whole crab dribble thing.  Listen "king", that's called traveling.  Just tell it like it is.  

Are the Hornets supposed to make me nervous?  Once again, Chris Paul, David West, and what?  Nothing.  The Lake Show always has a million playmakers, not two.  The Celts always have a million playmakers, not two.  Even the Spurs (who I hate, don't forget) have multiple playmakers.  So basically, it's down to 3 teams.  LA, SA, and BOS.  That's it.  Some other teams are really good.

The Magic, Nuggets, Mavericks, Blazers, and Rockets and are all very good teams.  Honestly, do we expect these teams to go anywhere?  Hmmmm, let's see: Hasn't been anywhere yet, doesn't have enough pieces, their window closed, wasted a number 1 pick, and can't get out of the first round  Yeah, I trust them. (wink, wink)

And no, I don't want Shaq back in LA.  Did you see Kobe after the All-Star game?  He doesn't want any part of that.  I think it's clear, Shaq's at fault here.  He's the instigator, and probably has been from the beginning.  Anybody who has to come up with a new nickname for himself every 5 seconds has got to be hard to deal with.  No, he's not a cuddly teddy bear, he's a nuisance, even if he is one of the best players ever (which he is.)

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

College basketball is always more complicated.  Somebody always comes out of the woodwork at tournament time.  Somebody's always sneaking aorund as a 2-4 seed and totally has the best chance at winning it all, but gets no press (see Arizona 1997, everybody knew they were good and no one recognized them until they won title game.)

There will be a ton of mid-majors who come out swinging and give much bigger teams a hard time(see Bucknell.)  Someone will always emerge as the next big thing (see Stephen Curry, my favorite player right now.)  Some team will look like a juggernaut until they can't hold it together anymore (see North Carolina.)  

About North Carolina.  Tyler Hansrough will last about as long as I would in the NBA (two seconds) and he's not a finisher.  Sean May was a finisher.  I knew Christian Laettner was a finisher first hand:

(That's one of the best plays in the history of sports people.)  (Did I mention a Duke guy, yep always have been, even when they went to the Final Four in '88 and got destroyed in '90 by UNLV.) 

Gregg Ostertag was a better finisher than Tyler Hansbrough.  He's not even the player of the year, Blake Griffin or Stephen Curry is.  So please, stop talking aobut him like he's the second coming.

When Kansas won the title game last year I realized that I don't dislike Kansas basketball.  I dislike Roy Williams.  He's got that one championship because he had the perfect confluence of players at the perfect time.  They took him to a title, not the other way around.  So, please don't tell me that he's going to push them through again this year.  He won't, he's not capable.

Rest assured of this:  North Carolina will not win a title this year, UCONN is still better than you think, Pitt's even better than that, and UCLA always lurks.  Beware the sure thing, it never comes through in college basketball, not since 1976.