History in the Making

No...not the Bulls preseason pledge, I'm talking naturally about Derek Fisher's game-winning shot last night. First of all, I know that NBA rules say you can catch-and-shoot in 3 tenths of a second, and rules are rules. Did they have a big study to find this out to be true? Just thinking logistically it doesn't seem very possible. But in the scope of NBA rules, the shot was legit.

But just how big was this shot? Not even just in the context of one series and one season, but the collective legacy of the Lakers franchise and its current group of players.

What if Fisher's shot didn't come out of his hand in time? or sailed long....

• Do the Spurs close them out in game 6?
• Does Gary Payton leave as a free agent?
• Does Payton never have another shot at an NBA title?
• Same for Karl Malone?
• Does Kobe leave finally fill his desire to lead his own team? The Clippers? The Suns? The California Penal League?
• Or maybe Phil leaves too? and Shaq says (like a certain someone) that he'd never play for another coach? (unless of course...he does)?
• Is it the end of the Lakers dynasty?

That's a lot of ifs, but does this worst-case scenario change forever on one Derek Fisher heave? Its doubtful, and in fact there's still a chance Fisher's shot is annulled if the Spurs can just win 2 games in a row. Then the Lakers season would be officially history. The rest? well that may just take care of itself.

UPDATE: Scott at NBAWeblog.com gives some insights into what the Lakers should be worried about in game 6.

TD and the Dream

Its kindof like "BJ and the Bear".....or not.

Sorry for the lack of updates, I've been slaving away at the old books. That doesn't mean you shouldn't be here checking for updates twice, maybe five times a day. You never know when I might sneak a quick update on ya.

(Oops, pow, surprise!! ohh!!!)

Ok, now that I've made a reference that 1 in 10 people understand, I'll get to my NBA talk. Its another article by The Sports Guy, who awakens in playoff time like Robert Horry.

(Actually, a side note. I thought the Robert Horry magic was retired last season when he made 1 three pointer the entire series against the Spurs, culminating in a missed 3-pointer in game 5 which pretty much cost the Lakers their 4th title. I mean...doesn't a performance like that annul a nickname like "Big Shot Rob?" But the announcers in this year's Spurs/Lakers series are still touting him as a big factor like last year never happened.  moving on.....)

The Sports Guy this week had a column detailing his top 10 non-finals playoff performances. Its a good read if you want to go back in the day. But one of the top performances really made me smile:

Hakeem simply decides to destroy David Robinson (Game 2, 1995)
Kenny Smith just told this story on TNT last week. It's one of my favorites. Robinson won the MVP in '95, which was ridiculous because everyone knew Hakeem was still the best player in the league. I never understood this logic -- maybe the most egregious example happened in '93, when Barkley won the MVP when MJ was in his absolute prime. So MJ had to annihilate the Suns in the Finals -- I think he actually left body parts and wreckage when that one was over. And to be honest, if KG and the T'Wolves survive the Kings series, Duncan will end up doing the same thing. Tim Duncan is the best player in the league. He should always win the MVP if he's healthy. Always. Always. Always. I will not argue about this.


Anyway, before Game 2, they presented Robinson with his MVP award ... and the Admiral gave a speech and thanked some of the great centers who had won the award before him. Well, he didn't mention Hakeem. Big mistake. A suddenly-motivated Hakeem exploded for 41 points and 16 boards, including 29 points in the second half. In the final two games of the series, he outscored Robinson 81-41. For the series, Hakeem averaged 35.3 points 12.5 rebounds, 5.0 assists, 4.1 blocks and 1.3 steals. You could even argue that Robinson's career was never quite the same. And it all started with that speech in Game 2. NBATV needs to show that whole game. With the speech.


(Here's my favorite thing about Hakeem: In a 13-month span, he bested all three rivals from his generation in the playoffs -- Ewing, Shaq and Robinson. How many athletes could say that? In any sport?)

That title gets me every time. But what I wanted to mention in this quote is Simmons saying if the Spurs and Wolves hold serve and meet in the Western Conference playoffs, Tim Duncan will prove he is the true MVP. I can definitely see this happening.  This is not saying that KG did not deserve the award, because he's right up there, and after Duncan wins 2 in a row its nice to see KG get his due. But like I said around awards time, Duncan *could* win the award every year. I still think all-in-all he's the best player in the game.

But perhaps I'm getting ahead of myself, Duncan first has to get his act together and beat those hated Lakers.