Stu Jackson, The Clairvoyant

"The swinging of Bryant's arm appears to be an unnatural motion, no matter what he was trying to do, whether it was maintaining his balance, attempting to draw contact or taking an outright cheap shot at Manu. Only Bryant knows for sure." - ESPN's Chris Sheridan

I agree with Sheridan's assessment because he doesn't claim to know what Kobe was trying to do with that arm flail. No one knows for sure, including the league office. Unless, of course, the video they were watching was taken with that special camera which records intent. And because of that, I don't think he should have been suspended.

I mean, Manu flails his arms like that ALL THE TIME. Which is probably why he called the league office in Kobe's defense (according to Steve Hartman, Vic The Brick, and Mychal Thompson on their Xtra Sports 570 radio show). He knows that it could easily be him next time.

Bruce Bowen's momentum often carries him under a jump shooter after he challenges a shot, sometimes leading to the shooter turning an ankle. But can the league effectively stop Bowen from doing this? No, because they cannot prove that Bowen has a malicious intent to harm. Bruce also called the league office to defend Kobe (same source).

The arm flail is something that Laker fans have seen Kobe do many, many times and it is usually accompanied with a faintly audible "Heyyyyy" that gets caught by the court microphone. And this isn't the first time it has hit someone. I remember one time he cracked Dirk in the face doing the same arm flail and Dirk was called with a foul. Then he got so mad he threw his mouthpiece and got T'd up. So, even in Kobe's estimation -- that he was just trying to draw a foul-- it's not like this is the most pristine of basketball plays we're talking about here.

But a suspension? How about a retroactive Flagrant I?

I mean to me, the hit on Manu was at worst, a loose ball foul. A loose ball foul that didn't get called because there was less than 10 seconds left and the refs had swallowed their whistles; trust me, there have been greater travesties in the last 10 seconds of an NBA game. But if the league, from its high horse, really wanted to dole out a non-trivial punishment over the heads of the game refs, then the retroactive Flagrant I would have effectively disciplined Kobe without taking him away from the MSG crowd last night.

Seriously, it's what Jesus would have done.

True.

Check out TrueHoop. Henry, a die hard Blazer fan, confessed today that he's beginning to be won over a little bit by our very own Los Angeles Lakers. Not like he's a fan necessarily. Just that the hate for them is thawing a bit to the point where the Lakers are about his 17th favorite team. It's quite a big a deal if you ask me. And if you read the bile being spat at him in the comments for his post, you can see how brave he is to make such an admission.

Hearing Laker haters repeat the same tired things over and over again proves one thing: they aren't really watching. They come in expecting the same thing from Kobe: selfish play, a detrimental attitude, impetuous mood swings. It's almost like they want him to play like that so they have something to hate and bitch about. And now that he's showing some growth and maturity as a player and leader, it's almost like they're in denial. Like they don't want to admit that something is different. They know in advance what they want to say/think/feel about the Lakers and Kobe, despite what happens in the actual games. And then they try to make the evidence fit the argument. Convincing themselves.

I mean seriously. Why?

Do the Lakers 'buy' players like the Yankees do, taking full advantage of being in a lucrative major market?
No. They're a salary cap/luxury tax responsible franchise. Very much so.

Are they unbeatable, playing Goliath to the rest of the NBA's David?
No. Not anymore anyway. Right now they are 5th in the west. They have inconsistent defensive efforts and as a result lose to inferior teams. They are very mortal.

Are they an arrogant bunch who think they can just turn it on and off whenever they want, coasting through the regular season and simultaneously shortchanging any fan that would pay money to watch them play a relatively meaningless regular season game?
Again, no. Not anymore. These guys are fighting for playoff seeding. For a fringe contender like the Lakers, homecourt advantage in the first round could make all the difference in the world, especially with their road record to date.

The truth is, it doesn't make sense. Matters of passion rarely do. And this is a matter of one of the most extreme passions: Hate. You see, there is no logic behind hating the Lakers at this point in time. All of it is based on the pain that the Lakers have caused individual fanbases of teams they have defeated in the past or general jealousy of the fact that the Laker franchise (and by extension, Laker fans) have been so blessed to have the type of legendary teams and players in their history.

Or, they just plain don't like them.

They see Kobe and Phil. They see the banners. They see Jack Nicholson. But what they don''t see is everything else. 6 draft picks in the regular rotation. 2 NBA castoffs turned NBA starters. 1 Lamar Odom, overcoming early career failures and personal hardship, attempting to make "the leap." But more importantly, they're missing a young team buying into a system and playing together. And growing. That's something that hopefully any true hoops fan (no pun intended) can appreciate.

For us Laker fans, this is new territory too. During the championship years, we combatted Laker Haters with a wall made of detached arrogance. We were the best. We knew it. They knew it. We were gonna rip out their franchise's collective heart and douse their title hopes; they should hate us. But right now, we stand not on a pedestal from which we can deliver such condescension.

What we do have is a sense of propriety for this team that has not been felt since the days of Eddie Jones, Nick Van Exel, and Vlade Divac and with that comes an immense amount of pride. And at this point, we just enjoy watching progress.

That's why having someone like Henry, as good as they come in the hoops blogosphere, make such a bold observation about the Lakers is validation to someone like me. He has more of a reason than most to hate the Lakers as a Blazer fan. Yet even he can appreciate what's happening here in L.A.

Don't Hate.

Asides 4

GREAT article in the L.A. Times on Sunday by Mark Heisler. In it, he talks about how Andrew Bynum is probably the top young prospect in the NBA in terms of potential-to-hype ratio. Heisler describes him as "getting the mushroom treatment, kept in the dark and fed lots of fertilizer" which sounds like cruel and unusual torture if you take it literally. Nonetheless, the imagery is quite vivid. Picture Bynum, a tall mushroom growing in a basement closet, with Kareem, Phil, and Kobe taking daily shits in his dirt trough. Hopefully in the end, what the Lakers will have is a mushroom so prolific and potent that when eaten would make even Bill Walton, lover of NBA big men and hallucinogens alike, think he accidentally took acid.

In related news, Mark Heisler grows shrooms.

The article makes a good point though: As much as NBA GMs are making pee-pee in their pants upon the thought of drafting Greg "Mutant LeBron" Oden, Drew is not far off in terms of potential. According to Heisler, one NBA GM "said he'd take him [Bynum] over Texas' Kevin Durant, who is compared to a young Garnett by pro scouts." And in case you were wondering how that applies to the Bynum v. Oden conversation, Durant is basically Oden's only competition for the number one pick in next years' draft. So in at least one GM's eyes, Bynum -- selected 10th in the 2005 draft-- would be right there at the top of the 2007 draft class, snugly in the paper thin gap between Oden and Durant. I just hope it was one of the good GMs.

Speaking of GMs and Bynum. How about a hand for Mitch Kupchak, folks. I mean seriously. Two years ago he was a participant in Bill Simmons' Atrocious GM Summit (I would link to that column here, but do you have ESPN insider? didn't think so). And now, he's the man responsible for putting together this deep, young, (and fiscally responsible) Western Conference sleeper. Did he know what he was doing? Did he achieve what he has despite himself? Who knows and who cares. All I know is, Kupchak has Dean Smith and Jerry West on his resume and the Lakers matter again, three years removed from trading away the Baddest Big in the game. The proof is in the puddin'.
*/

/*
Basketbawful has entered full attack mode of the Lakers. According to his last few posts, the Lakers are:
1) Fakers (Yes, we get it. Fakers rhymes with Lakers. Glorious wordplay.)
2) most definitely NOT contenders (would that make them, hmm, I don't know maybe... pretenders!)
3) not as good as the Jazz
4) led by a horrible, horrible point guard and human being named Smush Parker

I obviously have issues with these. But hey, that's his opinion and he's entitled to it. Besides, he's a Pacers fan. I think he's allowed some latitude to vent. I'd probably be bitter as fuck too.
*/

/*
Eight game road trip. EIGHT GAMES. Shit, I thought only the Clippers get road trips like this. Make or break time.
*/

The Dunkmaster

Sasha dunked on Lamar and Andrew Bynum to end practice yesterday. I think we should trade both of them.

Vujacic (voo-yah-tits) played it cool though. He just trotted off the court all fonzie-like and said, "Two points." Actually it was zero points since it was just practice but whatever.

I think the best part about all this was the L.A. Times caption under Sasha's picture that said "Dunkmaster." I think my grandmother could have come up with a better caption than that. Actually, no, she'd probably come up with "Dunkmaster" as well.
More importantly:
I'll be playing on Friday.
- Lamar Odom


[UPDATE: I just re-read this last post. Apparently I morphed into T.J. Simers at some point this morning.]

Rar

We better bring it like this tonight against Golden State after that dump we took against the NOOCH.

Seriously, does this team think it's that good? I mean the ShaKobe Lakers used to look past lesser teams and get stunned too but they were defending titles while doing so. These guys are defending first round losers. I feel like it's good and bad. Good in that they obviously believe that they are an elite team. Bad in that they don't have the juice to win with a cursory effort like the ShaKobe teams did. I wonder where this arrogance comes from?
Oh shit, that's right.

Split

It would have been nice to show some killer instinct last night and take out the Mavs 24 hours after taking out the Spurs. But oh well. Killer Instinct. I haven't played that game in a long ass time. You know what I haven't had in a while...Big League Chew. But yeah.

We all knew we were losing this one. And seeing as how these Lakers seem to match every huge plus with a devastating minus, I'm almost glad we lost. Otherwise I'd be scared for my left nut right about now. Seriously, nevermind the Texas 2 Step. Without Lamar and Kwame, @SA/@DAL is more like the Texas Shank in the Shower.

And a split ain't bad.

Asides 3

/*
UPDATE on Kwame and his cake throwing: It turns out he was trying to throw the cake at Ronny Turiaf. They were out celebrating Ronny's birthday so Kwame thought it would be funny to steal this dude's $190 cake and splatter Ronny with it. Which, I guess, makes more sense. But still, it sounds like something Farva would do.
*/

/*
Hell of a game last night. I was shitting myself at the end there when Kobe started throwing the ball away and Ginobili remembered the lines of his annoying, LakerKiller schtick.

Big shot by Ronny to seal it. But what was more impressive to me was the pass Luke made to get it to Ronny. Not so much that it was an amazing pass or anything like that. It was a simple cut to the high post by the weakside big man and Luke didn't even have to thread the needle. What I found impressive was Luke's patience. In the past, he would have panicked, tried to force the ball to Kobe (who was being denied out top) and it would have either been a turnover or Kobe catching the ball 42 feet from the basket and the clock winding down. It was just a good example of poise and execution. And trust. A lot is made about Kobe trusting the rest of the team to take big shots but another important aspect of the team basketball that the Lakers are playing this year is how the guys other than Kobe trust each other, and not just Kobe to take these big shots.

And how about that dunk by Kobe. To be specific, the one where he freaked Bowen on the right wing an went up and smashed in Duncan's face, not the one where he went back door on Bowen, caught an alley oop and smashed in Duncan's face. Because oh man, if you watch the replay (after the 3rd Q graphic in the video), check out the dude on the end of the Spurs bench. As soon as Kobe finishes of the tomahawk facial, the guy looks like he's about to get up and start celebrating but then realizes he's on the Spurs and stops himself. But for one split second, he was a fan.


*/

Wtf, Kwame...

The AP reported today:

In a police report, Alexander Martinez said he left his 30th birthday celebration at the Shore Restaurant and Lounge at about 1:45 a.m. Saturday with the uneaten 2-by-2-foot cake and walked north toward the Blue 32 nightclub.

Martinez told police he first came upon Lakers forward Ronny Turiaf, who he said agreed to pose for a photograph with him and the chocolate cake.

But outside of Blue 32, the 6-foot-11, 270-pound Brown came along, grabbed the cake and threw it at Martinez, according to the report. Brown got into a white limousine and left, Martinez claimed in the report, although he didn't suggest any reason for the cake toss.

Martinez reported that he then walked up to Lamar Odom as the Lakers forward left Pedone's Pizza and confronted him about the cake, which was splattered on the birthday man's back.

A man believed to be Odom's bodyguard pushed Martinez into the street, yelling at him to get away from Odom, the police report said.

"Calm down, he didn't do anything," Odom told the man believed to be his bodyguard, the report said.

Holy shit. The events of this whole thing sound so improbable and inexplicable that it almost seems like a sequence that would come from a dream. Like if it was your birthday, you had a cake, you watched the Laker game that night, ate a Cliff Huxtable meatball sandwich and then went to bed.

To see three Laker Bigs (The Traditional Power Big, the Tweener, and the Motor Guy) while walking down the street and have:

-- one take a picture with you
-- one throw a cake at you
-- one stick up for you after his own bodyguard accosts you

Did the guy, Alexander Martinez, suddenly realize that he was naked after that? Did he then encounter his third grade teacher, Mrs. Winston, who then told him to that "he has to have carnal knowledge... of a lady this time... on the premises"? Did he break into a sprint and jump in the air and soar for miles and miles into a rainbow sherbet sky?

All Kinds of Big

After watching Brian Cook shoot the lights out last night, I am coming to realize that the Lakers have probably the most versatile big man corps in the league. Depth is one thing, but what the Lakers also have is breadth. And in a game in which many different styles can be employed by players who play the same position, the Laker big men as a group have a lot of the bases covered. In particular:

+ The Traditional Power Big: Kwame Brown
Nothing fancy. Zero shooters' touch. Just a big body and one or two post moves. Horrible free throw shooter. Doesn't make or take anything other than dunks and layups. He can rebound, plug the lane, trail the break, and is a pretty good leaper. If not for the last two traits, he'd be a straight up stiff. Shaq is the best Traditional Power Big we will ever see.

+ The Finesse Big: Andrew Bynum
Think Kareem. Think Ewing. Think Yao. Think about any floor bound redwood. This guy won't bruise you up fighting for position on the block and he won't exactly punish you when he gets you on his back, but one thing he can do is shoot. Jump hook, chippies, turn arounds, fadeaways -- whatever. This type of big has soft hands and a sweet touch from 8 feet and in. And when you combine those things with freakish length, it's almost unfair. Only problem: they're slow.

+ The Tweener: Lamar Odom
This is probably the most rare type of big man. Not that there aren't a lot of tweeners in the NBA. But there's a semantic issue at hand with the word "tweener" and it usually has a negative connotation (especially in the case of the PF/SF tweener). Commonly used derisively, the term tweener describes someone who, due to his size and skill set, can play two positions but is not ideally suited to play either. But in Lamar's case, he takes the plight of the tweener and he reverses it. You see, Lamar is so good at both positions (PF/SF) that neither position is suited to play him. He's quick enough to take the traditional power forward off the dribble, big enough to post up a small forward, and savvy enough to exploit the mismatch and pass out of double teams. Barkley was probably the greatest PF/SF tweener to ever play. And right now, it's Dirk. But still, Lamar is special.

+ The Motor Guy: Ronny Turiaf
I remember back in the late 90s, early 2000s, I really wanted the Lakers to get Brian Grant. Of course, we ended up getting him but let's just say that it wasn't quite how I pictured it going down. You see, I wanted the Brian Grant from the Portland Trailblazers. Beast on the boards. Tough. Always bringing the energy. A true motor guy. That's why I am ecstatic to have a guy like Turiaf on the team. Turiaf is like a cross between Brian Grant from his Portland days, the Predator, and Balki from Perfect Strangers. He fights for every rebound, collects garbage points, and infects the team with his energy and enthusiasm. The thing that varies with motor guys is the level of skill and athleticisim and Turiaf is on the higher end in terms of both (Lower end = Mark Madsen). But the one thing that doesn't vary with these guys is, of course, the heart. And this guy had to get surgery because his was too fucking big.

+ The Sam Perkins: Brian Cook/VladRad
Prevalent in Europe, the Sam Perkins is your standard soft big man. The Finesse big with range. So much range that he would not lower himself to banging in the lane for a closer shot. That is for the creatons. The Sam Perkins will dance around the three point arc, getting happy feet as his man leaves him to go help on a penetrating guard. He will shoot. He will make. He will keep his arm up and run backward down court. No one like this guy unless he's dropping bombs for your team.

[Note: I am aware that Sam Perkins was, at one time in his career, a force inside. But that's kinda my point. It's not so much that these guys can't bang. They just don't want to.]

+ The Enforcer: Brian Cook
Rarely if ever is one big able to play both the Sam Perkins role and the Enforcer role at the same time. But Brian Cook, with his tendency to snap, is such a guy. Cook's temper is volatile. According to Kwame, they call him "Columbine" because he can just lose it and go crazy on someone, teammates and onlookers included. It hasn't happened yet, but Brian Cook is scheduled for a big NBA fight at some point in his career. It is inevitable. That said, he will probably get knocked the fuck out.
Some other notable brands not carried by the Lakers:

+ The Big Who Can Effectively Defend the Pick and Roll:

+ The Fat Ass:
Michael Sweetney. Stanley Roberts. Oliver Miller. Tractor Traylor. Eddie Curry.

+ The Big White Stiff:
Todd MacCulloch. Big Country. Greg Ostertag. Jason Collins. Jarron Collins.

No.

We Lost To Memphis

Unfortunately, the Lakers couldn't figure out how to break the Memphis zone in the 3rd quarter. The Grizzlies dared them to shoot from outside, the Lakers obliged and they missed. Simple as that. It's a strategy that I have seen a few times this season against the Lakers and I generally remember it as being effective especially when they are on the road. I just hope that it doesn't develop into a bigger issue because as it is, the Lakers are already easily persuaded into shooting a lot of threes. The saying goes "live or die by the three" but we all know that most of time, it's die.

Some other thoughts:

+ More talk of "rubbing down low" from Joel Meyers.
+ Mike Miller looks like a white chick who is about to wash her face before going to bed. An ugly white chick.
+ I heard that Lamar may be back pretty soon. Hopefully in time to still be able to put together a decent All-Star selection campaign. Kobe's trying to help him. There's this video on KB24.com of him and Kobe taking turns verbally fellating each other while the other sits with an awkward look on his face. Either way, vote for Lamar.
+ I'm sure you've hear by now but in case you haven't, 24 is number 1.
+ I got a Wii.

On One Leg, Still Kicking Ass

Roland Lazenby notes in his blog:
Odom has come to be the foundation of Phil Jackson’s Lakers team, much as Scottie Pippen provided the base for Jackson’s Chicago Bulls teams.
Whenever Pippen was out, those Bulls of yore turned wobbly and inconsistent.
Jackson’s Lakers are the same way.

Good old Roland. This was nice to hear for two reasons. One, that Kobe can't be expected to seemlessly make up for the void left by Odom's absence by himself; if MJ couldn't do it with Pippen out, then Kobe's in the clear. And two, that someone like Lazenby would compare these Lakers to those Bulls. Because those Bulls were aight.

But while I appreciate the well-informed, sound excuse that the Lakers should expect to struggle without Lamar, it seems that Lamar is not quite the potential single point failure that we thought he is; if the first two games of the season are any indication, neither is Kobe. And this robustness is somewhat of a culture shock to this century's Laker Fan. For us, the Lakers have been a team that depended largely on the presence of its stars. And while we were always able to keep the ship afloat when one of them went down, I don't think I something like last night would have happened in the past. Basically, last night's game (and a couple of others) shoved that "Well, Lamar is hurt" excuse deep into my back pocket. This team is that deep. No pun intended.

Let's review what kinds of things are happening right now in Lakerland, last night in particular:

+ Sasha and Smush closing out the game, one with a clutch shot, one with a game saving glove job on Jason Terry.

+ Luke stepping up and ably filling in as a second option with 21 points, 2 of which coming on a 180 reverse layup that would make Sydney Dean blush.

+ The Lakers, missing their TOP THREE BIG MEN, winning a gut check game against the hottest team in the NBA and defending Western Conference champion. Their replacements? Last year's two draft picks.

Think about how ridiculous all three of these things would have sounded in the past. This team is proving to be very resilient and deep. Those two words were no where near any of the experts' preseason predictions for the Lakers. And for good reason.

KobaBrine Played Fantastically

There were so many things going on in this game. I'm just going to list them with some Barkley comments thrown in:

Kobe: 42, 10, and 9. On 11-21 FGs. Game tying assist. Game sealing rebound. 9 points in OT. He willed us this win.

Mike Bibby looks so different with hair. He looked like Mike Bibby wearing a Deron Williams Costume.






Oma goodness.

The faces of the Sacramento Fans after the Lakers tied it up in regulation. Gawd, I love thyat.

The Lakers were getting shafted by the refs. At the end of regulation, Kobe was fouled by Corliss on his drive to the basket, no question. It wasn't even one of those, you can't call that with the game on the line type things. It was a legit foul. Corliss stepped into him with his body AND broke verticality hitting Kobe on the arm as he went up. And then Bibby's fall-down-so-they-have-to-call-something flop on the inbounds play a few seconds later. That was the one you don't call with the game on the line. One free throw and the ball to the team that's up one with 4 seconds left. It could easily have been 3 Kings freethrows and game over. Good thing the ball never lies.

Shoot it, man.

Phil looked huge on the bench. It must have been that special cushion for his surgically repaired hip but he looked like an 8 footer.

Vlade is such an attention whore.

That 90% don't mean nothin when you got a tight sphincter.

The Laker line up in crunch time was something like: Kobe, Sasha, Cook, VladRad, and Smush with Bynum and Mo Evans making offense/defense subs.

That fadeaway Kobe hit to all but seal it was pretty damn amazing.

I repeat. Game tying assist. Game sealing rebound.

If you're scared, get a dog.

Asymptotically Close

Gilbert Arenas is my favorite non Laker. And not just because his insanely good numbers have led to the recent resurgence of my fantasy team, the Poop Shooters. It's because Gilbert seems like that star player on your high school basketball team who you also happen to find in your AP English Literature class because he enjoys, of all things, the 18th c romantic comedies of Jane Austen. The guy is just bizzare. But it's in a happy go lucky, innocent kinda way. It's the difference between quirky and crazy, Gilbert and Ron Artest.

I mean, seriously. Hibachi? That shit is priceless. And do you know why he refers to his jumper as the hibachi? Because it "can get real hot." And because when he's scoring at will on his opponents, he is "cooking chicken and shrimp." Want to throw a double team at him? Then he'll just "cook fillet mignon." And what about an All NBA defender? Well as we saw when the Wizards visited Staples, he'll cook some Kobe B(ryant)eef.

Name one person in the NBA with enough skills to pull of a nick name like that AND have enough style to aptly flesh out the metaphor. Let alone the fact he's under 25, NOT Japanese and knows what the hell a hibachi is.

And when I watched that game winner that Gilbert hit last night against the Bucks, I was truly amazed. Not because of how far behind the three pointline he shot it from. Not because it was as true a swish as you're ever going to see. Not because it capped off a 32 point, 11 rebound, 8 assist, 4 steal night. It was because I felt like I knew it was going in before he shot it. It's the same feeling I get before Kobe takes a game winner.

That said. Gilbert's no Kobe. And he knows it.

"It's hard to go at somebody who's the best player in the league. That's like Dominique going at MJ. C'mon now, you're not even in his league, so there's no point ... This guy has three rings. He was all God."

- Gilbert

To Illustrate my and Gilbert's point, let's take a look at the action a couple of plays before Gilbert hit the game winner.


The ball is stolen by the Bucks and is outletted to Michael Redd.


Gilbert is running back on defense.


Gilbert goes for the reach and fails.


Gilbert gets out of the way.


Gilbert gets in rebounding position in case Redd misses the wide open, game tying lay-up.

Now this is how Kobe defends a crucial fast break layup attempt (or in this case, dunk attempt) in crunch time.



Yes, the Lakers ended up losing that game against the Jazz. And no, I'm not trying to say that Kobe is a far superior defender than Gilbert (they're actually pretty close in that department too). My point is, what separates Kobe and Gilbert is simply a matter of will.

Oh, You're a Naughty Team, Aren't You? Oh Yes You Are ...

During the ShaKobe years, the year 2007 was nothing more than a hypothetical. A distant but forseeable reality in which things would be both different and exciting. Kinda like how college seems when you're a freshman in high school. It was the season in which Kobe would be evolving into that special type of supreme perimeter player. Offensive efficiency. Defensive intensity. Leader. Think Jordan in his early 30s. Shaq, in the midst of his blossoming maturity and fat ass, would be willfully plugging the lane on D and cleaning up the boards. And he'd be the calming force in the locker room, Don Vito to Kobe's Sonny. Of course the Lakers would also be playing under 04-05 and 05-06 championship banners. And playing for the 06-07 banner. Sexy.But here we are. Kobe's not quite who we thought he would be by now, slowed by scandal, injury, a coaching change, teammates, his own stubborness, etc. But he's getting there. And the team is not the beacon of veteran stability and execution we thought it would be but to Kupchak's credit, what they are is young, athletic and full of potential...and unpredictable and inconsistent. Amazing one night. Sloppy the next. But on every level, way more fun to watch. Slutty.So how has our slut fared the last week or so?

I am sadly the last person to ask. You see, I have spent the last week or so in Hawaii. 80 degrees. Rainbows. Corned beef hash available at all hours of the day. 8-1 for the trip on my girfriend's family's ping pong table. But sadly, no KCal 9. But here's what I have gathered through my limited telecast and internet access:

@ ORL, W 106-93
Smush tore it up apparently.

@ CHA, L 124-133 (OT)
Kobe made a crazy bank shot.

PHI W 104-94
Kwame got hurt. I actually watched a bit of this one. We should have won by more.

So is the point of view of a fan on an island, literally and figuratively. But I am home now, time to catch up.