| 03 June 2009
From: Phillip Barnett Jr. Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 11:31 AM
To: Phillip Barnett Sr.
I just checked your facebook status and you said you have our Lakers in Five. I have the Lakers in six only because Games 5 and 6 of the Denver series was the only time this post season they've put together two solid performances in a row. Do you think they're just going to continue that momentum into this series? Is Derek Fisher going to play better since he's playing against another starting point guard in his age bracket (Rafer Alston) or will he keep looking like Buena Park Dave without the jumper out there? What do you think they figured out in those last two Nuggets games that they're going to take into this Finals match-up, and is there any way they lose this series?
p.s.
I heard you watched a game with Ashlyn's new boyfriend. I have to meet him next weekend. What's he like? Am I going to be annoyed like I was with Jonathan? Does he at least know basketball? I already have one red flag, Ashlyn told me he doesn't have a favorite team. Should I be worried about anything else?
From: Phillip Barnett Sr. Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 2:04 PM
To: Phillip Barnett Jr.
Because of the 2-3-2 format, the reason to play with a sense of urgency is right in the Lakers' faces. Drop one at home, and they're pretty much screwed, and in typical Lakers' form, they'll let game two get away. Phil, too busy thinking about clever comebacks for LA Times columnist TJ Simers, forgets that they have to play three straight in Orlando, takes full responsibility for the loss.That means will Lakers will win all three in Orlando, and here's why:
The Magic have a beast, but collectively they're not a beast: Who's gonna stop Dwight Howard. You? ... Me? DJ Mbenga? Let Howard get his 30 ppg, and his 15 boards. Who else on that team gonna get 15 boards? You? ... Me? Some soft-ass Euro? The Lakers can rotate four guys, including Mbenga and play hack-a-hero. If Superman shoots less than 60% from the line and if he doesn't go slam-dunk crazy and tear up some rims, the Lakers will take it.
After roughing it up and going to war with thugs from the 'hoods of Denver, Houston, and even Utah, the physical play in this series will seem like they're playing H-O-R-S-E. It's Howard and four Pau Gasols. Their point guard is called Skip To My Lou for God's sake!
Match Ups: If the Magic is counting on Mickael Pietrus to be this series' Kobe stopper, then they have problems, big problems, real big problems. The lane, baseline and series MVP trophy will be there for Kobe to take. Howard will try to beat down some shots, but he'll also draw a lot of fouls, and leave his man open for some easy dimes if Kobe feels like sharing the rock.
Without Jameer Nelson, Orlando really doesn't have a guy who can penetrate, and even Old Man Fisher should be able to stay in front of Skippy. Whether it's Hedo Turkoglu or Rashard Lews, if Trevor Ariza is assigned to him, considered that guy stopped. The rest of the Magic's cast are spot-up jump shooters, the easiest species in the league to defend.
The Bench: The Magic have Marcin Gortat, and let's see ... that's about it. Oh yeah, and that guy with the hockey mask. If the Lakers' bench let these scrubs out play them, then its back to D League, and if there's a F League, send their asses there, too.
The Kobe Factor: Number 24 smells it, tastes it, and sees it. Kobe won't run out of gas like LeBron James did because the schedule is set for Thursday, Sunday, Tuesday and back to Thursday again. So there will be plenty of rest between games to get fresh and stay nasty. Phil will also have time to brush up on some more on-liners for TJ, too.
From: Phillip Barnett Jr. Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 3:18 PM
To: Phillip Barnett Sr.
The Packers? Is he from Wisconsin? I don't know Packers fans from anywhere else outside of Wisconsin. Strange.
I agree about the Lakers letting Game 2 get away, which is why I think they're going to win in six. I think the Magic have enough shooters, combined with the Lakers complete disregard for closing out 3-point shooters, will be enough for them to win one in Orlando, maybe Game 5, but that's about all they'll take from the Lakers.
As far as stopping Dwight Howard, I think I can handle it. Our school just got this gorgeous, new Rec Center so I've been back in the gym. He really has no post game, give me a pair of those Reebok Pump shoes and Rick Fox's old number 17 and I'll hold him to 12 and eight with just a couple of free throw attempts. I got post game now; you might not want to see me down there.
It seems as if I'm a little more worried about Hedo Turkoglu than you are. He's been Orlando's best player for two seasons and has been great this whole post season. I'm not sure if it's going to be as easy as putting Ariza on him to keep him from getting his numbers. He's a much better passer now than he was in Sacramento and still gets wet from behind the arch. I'm slightly nervous about him having the ball in his hands in any close game situation because he's about as clutch as they've been these past two seasons, but not to the point to where I'm going to lose sleep.
I don't know if we've ever talked about Lebron. What are your thoughts on the dude, these Kobe-Lebron debate commercials and his sub-par fourth quarter performances. I mean, the numbers are cool and everything, but I think he needs to watch that Alec Baldwin speech from Glengerry Glen Ross and learn his ABCs -- Always Be Closing.
Also, I'm not sure if you've had the time to read today's Los Angeles Times, but it's been reported that Lamar Odom can't put the sweets down. "In an essay titled "Lamar Odom, Sweet Tooth and Erratic Play," Dr. Daniel Amen writes that Odom's massive consumption of candy leads to a sugar high and then a crash, evidence of which can be seen on the basketball court." This whole time I thought it was marijuana.
From: Phillip Barnett Sr. Mon, Jun 1, 2009 at 4:49 PM
To: Phillip Barnett Jr.
All I know is that dude goes t
o CSUN. Maybe he really likes cheese. I'm going to start calling him cottage cheese head 'casue he's really light skinned.The Lakers can win in Orlando because a road game in out there isn't as intimidating as heading out to Boston Garden, or the old Spectrum in Philly. Look on the floor at center court, it makes you want to buy a couple of those mouse hats and some bubble gum. Where's the history and where are the rafters at Amway Arena. The place is built by and named after multi-level-marketing scam artists.
I didn't realize Howard only averaged 21.6 in the two games he played against the LA this year. If the Lakers can keep him in that vicinity, and keep either Lewis or Turkoglu to single digits, it might get ugly, as in it's time to watch some Rockford Files re-runs in the fourth quarter type ugly.
Speaking of Hedo, I don't know who I dislike more. Him or Skippy. It's not because he's a big jump-shooting Euro who never mixes it up down on the block, but it's because of the memory I still have in my head from back from his Sacramento days. Remember game four of the Laker-Kings Western Conference Finals? That was the Robert Horry big-shot game. In the first half, the Kings were just whupping it up on the Lakers. After Hedo nails a jumper to put his team up by 20, his bitch-ass starts skipping hop-scotch style back on defense like it was over. Someone should have bolted out of the stands and blasted his ass. It would have been worth doing the time and that person would have became a legend. Celebrity convicts make bank, too.
If you think you can stop Dwight, then I got Hedo's premature celebrating ass. I'd over play him, and double dare him to dig up the courage to take it to the rack. I'll burn up six violent fouls in ten minutes just for the revenge factor. You have to wear number 7 or 71, 'casue I had 17 first.
LeBron is just pissed. He's going through the same ordeal Michael Jordan suffered through during his first six years in the league. No rings 'cause he ain't got no support. I think the Cavs are going to make a big push to get Chris Bosh. If that goes down, he'll win a couple of titles and earn the respect he deserves. Hopefully no more NBAMuppet commercials.
I saw the piece in the Times about LO's candy addiction. Dude needs to leave the gummie bears in the jar. I thought his mental lapses were the result of that wacked star tattoo laying on the back of his head. What? He thinks he plays for the Cowboys? Too much ink oozing into the brain.
From: Phillip Barnett Jr. Tue, Jun 2, 2009 at 12:47 PM
To: Phillip Barnett Sr.
I just got done laying out the paper for the last time as the Editor in Chief. It's going to be a sad day around this camp next year when I'm not running things anymore. It's going to look like Rudy T when he took over the Lakers in 2005. The next Editor in Chief is going to be run out of here before the All-Star break.
Howard did only average 21 and a half points, but he beasted Andrew Bynum by a 32-4 margin on the boards in their last three meetings. That's Dream Team type dominance. I've been hearing a lot of people say Howard is the next Shaq, I just don't see it. I mean, I didn't get to REALLY watch the young Shaq with Penny and Nick Anderson, so I might be missing something, but it just seems like he's missing something that he's never going to have to be THAT dominate. Do you see him as the next Shaq? Can you learn post moves in your mid-20s?
As for Turkoglu, he was, at one point, one of my five most hated players. It was him, Ray Allen, Antoine Walker, Shane Battier and Rashard Lewis. Now both of these dudes are on the Magic. I know how much you hate that soft Euro style basketball, but what I hate much more than that is Americans who play like that. I'm not sure I've ever seen Lewis dunk the basketball. How are you 6'10'' and shooting more three-pointers than your point guard? It doesn't make any sense. I'm going to love watching the Lakers dismantle this team.
I hadn't been big on Lebron until this season. I guess he had to earn it from me. I have a complex with superstars who aren't on my favorite teams. I don't want them to succeed at all. I'm finally starting to like the dude, though. I don't think I ever want to see him win a ring, but I'm sure a few more MVPs are in line for him. I know this isn't even on the same scale, but it's all my generation has, but what was it like watching Larry Bird as a Lakers fan at the time. I mean, you obviously had to respect the man, but how much could you hate him? Did you like him at all? I know there's going was much more hatred from Lakers fans on Bird than there is on Lebron now just because of the teams they play for, but is it comparable at all? I couldn't stand Lebron for five years just because he was a star just as polarizing (and posterizing) as Kobe.
This is getting long though. A couple more questions before we wrap these e-mails up. What do the Lakers do for next season as far as Lamar and Trevor Ariza go? It's going to be nearly impossible to keep both of them. Who do you keep and why? How do they fix their point guard problem? Also, I know who ever the Lakers draft probably won't make the roster, but is there anyone coming in this year's class you'd like the Lakers to go after?
From: Phillip Barnett Sr. Wed, Jun 3, 2009 at 11:34 AM
To: Phillip Barnett Jr.
Congratulations. Your daddy's proud of you. Get signatures of all of your staff members on that last issue. Are you writing a farewell column?
Okay, back to ball.
No way Dwight Howard is the next Shaq. When Shaquille was a pup, he faced competition from Hakeem Olajuwon, David Robinson and Patrick Ewing, but when he was winning titles with the Lakers, no one came close as The Diesel was in a class all by himself. With the exception of the presence of Yao Ming, Howard is in the same situation, but he's not tearing up the league like Shaq did.
After Shaq got his ass handed to him by Olajuwon in the '95 Finals, people noticed steady improvement. I remember going to the old Sports Arena to see the Clippers play Shaq's mid-90's Magic team. The Clips had Stanely Roberts, a center who played at LSU with Shaq. Back then, Shaq was trim, rocked up and explosive, while Roberts looked like a pile of cholocate ice cream and moved like a glacier. I sat about five rows up behind the baseline, and even from that spot in the gym, I swear to God I could hear Roberts huffing and puffing like an '87 Buick with a bad muffler, while Shaq stayed nimble and quick.
Dwight runs the floor as well as any big man I've seen, but I don't know if Howard has capped out on his post-up moves learning curve, and with big man guru Pete Newell not around anymore to pass along his wisdom it looks like the Orlando center will go down in history as the guy you choose even after cats like Wes Unseld, Nate Thurmond and Artis Gilmore. Dwight might have went down to Big Lots and bought a cape, but Shaq O'Neal was the real man of steel.
For some reason Turkoglu and Lewis don't scare me at all. Easy to defend, and their spot-up jump shooting asses won't draw fouls, which I think will be a big key. I hear Jameer Nelson might make a run at it. I don't know about that one. Ripped up shoulders, even after
surgery are delicate and are hard to come back from. Being a 1977 shoulder-surgery survivor, I know, and I'm still not right. I remember when Norm Nixon was with the Lakers and tried to come back with a similar injury against the 'Sixers back in the '83 Finals. Philly point guard Maurice Cheeks exploited the hell out of Norm, 'cause it seemed like he was playing with one and a half arms. Plus, Nelson was out for four months, not way he jacks up the energy to play at this level.
I don't think the Kobe-Lebron rivalry compares to the Magic-Bird wars of the '80s. Hate to bring it up, but race was a big factor. Also, Larry and Ervin were contemporaries, and their battles began in college. Kobe's three quarters into his career, while Lebron is at the quarter turn of his. Most of Kobe-LeBron thing is media generated, while Magic-Bird happened right before our eyes while on the court.
As far as watching Larry Bird from a Lakers' fan point of view, you had to respect his game. The only thing I had against Bird was that he was a Celtic. If he was a Knick, would have loved him. If he was a Bullet, would have loved him, but his ass just had to play in Boston. It's like Mike Piazza. Loved his game and power, but he was a Dodger, therefore, he was on the enemy list.
After the parade, the Lakers will have to address some issues, the big one being the Larmar Odom-Trevor Ariza contract situation. Call me bias, but I love Ariza. I say keep him, give him what he wants, let LO go play with LeBron for all I care. The Lakers rolled the dice when they drafted Andrew Bynum. Young 'Drew doesn't have to be as versatile as Odom, but the Lakers need consistency. Now it's time to let those bones roll and see if they come up snake eyes or lucky seven-eleven.
The backcourt problem doesn't seem as bad as it appears. Knowing the draft will produce nothing, the Lakers will have the luxury of an entire training camp with Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar fighting for the point guard spot. The Derrick Fisher retirement party is at Chuckie Cheese, everyone is invited. Anyone interested in Mike Bibby?
| < Prev | Next > |
|---|
