Fiction: He did HAVE to be fired though. The team basically checked out on him (David West basically said as much when asked about the firing). I understand Chris Paul is distraught. Now the truth is this team is poorly constructed. I've talked before about the bad contracts. They are over the luxury tax, the only tradable asset is Paul himself, and they aren't deep enough to win. And most of their bad contracts have multiple years left. It all falls on Bower and Shinn for that. Scott fell on the sword. He also seemed checked out when I saw him so I bet he's not all that broken up about it either.
The Lakers are dominant even without Pau.
Fiction: The only reason why I say this is because they had a home-friendly schedule. If I had to pick a team today to win the NBA title, I'm picking the Lakers. But they can't rely on 33 points a game from Kobe Bryant to win it all. They need Ron Artest to play better. They need somebody from the Farmar/Vujajic/Brown trifecta to be effective. And Pau Gasol is still important for the playoffs. So all they need to be right now is good and they are very good. But they are also vulnerable.
Lebron recommending 23 be universally retired is crazy.
Fact-ish: When I think of universally-retired numbers, I really only think of Jackie Robinson. I know Gretzky's is universally retired, but since hockey is king in Canada, I might buy it. I think that sort of thing should be reserved for historically significant athletes. I'd do that with Bill Russell before Michael Jordan. Russell was a black superstar in the 60s in Boston who couldn't eat at many restaurants. He was a coach in the latter years as well (something they did so he could earn more money). MJ ushered in a lucrative era for everyone, but his impact was more for athletes and endorsements. As far as any major changes go, MJ was marginal.
Dwyane Wade is the right choice to wear the new Air Jordans.
Fact: From Chicago? Check. A guard? Check. Dunks on guys regularly? Check. Won a championship? Check. I see no problems with this. Now, I would say that he SHOULD have his own shoe, but if you had to wear someone else's, MJ's is the one. The shoe itself didn't look that great to me, but then again, I was never really an Air Jordan guy. MJ needs a new spokesman as he's getting larger and meaner. He's also got CP3 and Carmelo Anthony on the payroll too so I think he's doing fine.
Dwight Howard is getting the Shaq treatment from the refs.
Fact: There has always been an inherent bias against big guys in the NBA. It's more impressive to be smaller. Dwight Howard is the latest to receive it. What folks don't realize (I was a pivot player for the bulk of my career) is that you get BEAT UP on the low box. You get elbowed, punched, cheap shotted, and everything else. Anyone who's ever been beat up understands you get angry after awhile. And the "well Shaq had it rough, get over it" argument doesn't fly. The reality is they can call foul on every possession but you can't. Instead of fining anyone who says anything, just pull the kid off to the side and talk to him like a man.
Terraun Jones www.terraunj.blogspot.com www.xanga.com/terraunj
Peter Aldridge posted on 11/20/2009 12:23:29 AM PASPN.net member class: Hall of Famer - Isiah Thomas
Gasol fires on return as Lakers beat Bulls (AP) Pau Gasol had 24 points and 13 rebounds in his season debut as the Los Angeles Lakers downed the Chicago Bulls 108-93 in the NBA on Thursday. Kobe Bryant added 21 points while passing Kareem Abdul-Jabbar on the Lakers' career scoring chart. The Lakers finally had their full starting lineup intact.
NBA DRAFT LOTTERY SIM
MADNESS!
