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LA Lakers

Around the Rim: Gasol-ine Pau-ered


1. Pau, right in the kisser!
With so much talk about the “Big Three” from the Eastern Conference’s top seed, it would be easy to forget about the trio of superstars on the West’s No. 1 team, but they won’t let you. Even without their big man Andrew Bynum, the Lakers took a 1-0 lead in their series against the Nuggets on the slender shoulders of Paul Gasol, Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom. Gasol was stellar in his playoff debut with Los Angeles, scoring 36 points on 14-of-20 shooting to go with 16 rebounds and eight assists, leading his squad to a 128-114 victory. Bryant finished with 32 points, including a span down the stretch when he scored 13 consecutive for his team, while Odom posted a double-double of 17 points and 14 rebounds. The Nuggets day started with a bus breakdown on their way to the arena and ended with an Allen Iverson meltdown that got him ejected with 2:10 remaining in the game. Before being tossed, A.I. scored 30 points to match Carmelo Anthony for team-high honors. Unfortunately, Denver was spelled with no `D’ on Sunday, especially in the third quarter when the Lakers posted 39 points. Guess the pregame slam dance didn’t do the trick for George Karl. As far as Bynum goes, his return continues to be delayed with the only certainty being that he will not play in this series.

2. Detroit’s detour

The road to the Eastern Conference finals got a bit bumpy for the Bad Boys in Game 1 as Philadelphia managed to pull off a shocker, winning 90-86 in Detroit. Philadelphia trailed 62-47 in the third, but then ripped off 10 unanswered points and limited the Pistons to only 35 points in the second half, allowing for the upset. Andre Miller put up a team-high 20 points while Willie Green set a personal playoff-high with 17. Rasheed Wallace led Detroit with 24 points, nine rebounds and seven blocks, but even his eavesdropping on the 76ers huddle late in the game couldn’t help his team’s cause. Everyone expected the Pistons and the Celtics to basically cruise to a showdown in the conference finals, but it is now obvious that Detroit has a ways to go before they are on Boston’s level. The Celtics took no mercy on their lower seeded foes, destroying the Hawks 104-81 in a contest where Atlanta never held a lead greater than two points.

3. Raptors forgot to pack their kryptonite
Dwight Howard dressed up like Superman during the All-Star break then he went out and played a Man of Steel against the Raptors, leading Orlando to its first playoff victory since 2003. Howard was heroic with 25 points, 22 rebounds and five blocks in a 114-100 victory in front of a blue and white clad home crowd. It was just the 12th time in postseason history someone posted at least 25 points, 20 board and five swats. Orlando harpooned the Raptors early, scoring 43 points in the first quarter, including a playoff record-tying nine 3-pointers, to take a 20-point lead after 12 minutes. All five Orlando starters scored in double-digits with Jameer Nelson’s 24 and Hedo Turkoglu’s 21 taking a backseat to Howard’s quarter. Anthony Parker tallied a team-high 24 points in a losing effort while Chris Bosh struggled to connect on 4-of-11 attempts en route to 21 points.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Pau Gasol vs. Denver 45 min, 36 pts (FG: 14-20, FT: 8-8), 16 reb, 8 ast, 3 blk

Buzzer Beater: Sunday’s action was great, but we all know the Spurs and Suns stole show during the postseason’s opening weekend. It took ten extra minutes for San Antonio to fight its way out of an early deficit, trailing for nearly all of regulation, but after an amazing series of shots from both squads, round one went to the home team by the slimmest of margins. Tim Duncan scored a game-high 40, including a double-overtime-forcing trey, and Manu Ginobili bounced around like a pinball for 24 points with the last two coming on the 117-115 game-winner. Many are calling this the greatest first round series ever and you won’t get any argument from us after watching Game 1. The blood isn’t flowing yet like it was from the nose of Steve Nash during the opening game of last year’s battle, but it’s defiantly boiling as both sides nearly went hoarse from complaining to the refs in a physical matchup tallying 57 total fouls. Expect another bruiser in Game 2 on Tuesday.

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LA Lakers

Outtakes from Kobe Bryant’s car-jumping commercial

A lot of people have given Kobe Bryant crap about being a selfish jerk, but he’s taken numerous steps to improve his image both on and off the court and nowadays you might as well scratch selfish right off your “Reasons Why I Hate Kobe Bryant” list. Bryant has been the ultimate teammate this year, playing through all sorts of pain in order to benefit the Lakers as a whole. And the mentality isn’t just limited to hardwood; he’s dedicated himself to his sponsors in the same manner. You know that recent commercial he did where he hurdled a speeding car? Well, that wasn’t exactly all peaches and cream.

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After that, there’s no way he could miss time with an injured finger.

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LA Lakers

Around the Rim: Lakers show off their vertical leap


1. Leaping up the standings
If the Lakers end up with the top seed in the West, nobody can say they don’t deserve it. With just days left in the most highly contested conference race in history, Los Angeles took care of business in a big way by knocking off the Hornets and the Spurs in back-to-back games over the weekend. Kobe Bryant’s boys defeated New Orleans by three points, 107-104, on Friday and then throttled the defending champs 106-85 on Sunday. The Lakers jumped from third to first in the conference with the wins, giving them a half-game lead over New Orleans with their season finale coming on Tuesday against the Kings. Bryant finished with 20 points, five rebounds and five assists in just three quarters of work against the Spurs while Lamar Odom (17 pts, 14 reb) and Pau Gasol (14 pts, 11 reb) each recorded a double-double. San Antonio could have used some of Manu Ginobili’s point production late in the game, but for the second consecutive game, a strained groin kept him on the sideline watching as the Spurs scored just 32 points in the second half.

2. Nuggets get closer

The Nuggets took one step closer to making the playoffs on Sunday when they romped the Rockets 111-94 behind 33 points from Allen Iverson. Denver also got a stellar performance out of sixth man J.R. Smith who scored 23 points. The Rockets dream of grabbing the conference’s top record is still attainable, but it’s defiantly fading fast. In order to grab the top record in the West, Houston must win both of its remaining games and have Los Angeles and New Orleans to lose on Tuesday.

3. Sonics sendoff
If the Sonics played their final game in Seattle last night, then they went out with a bang. With just 12 home victories to their name this season, the Sonics added a 13th on Sunday when they knocked off the Mavericks 99-95, overcoming a six-point deficit in the final three minutes. Led by Earl Watson’s 21 points and Kevin Durant’s 19, four of Seattle’s starters finished in double-figures to outpace the Mavericks who got 32 points and seven rebounds out of Dirk Nowitzki. Jason Terry chipped in 25 for Dallas. The Sonics appear to be heading for Oklahoma after heading out to Golden State for the franchise’s final game.

I almost cried, to be honest with you. People kept saying it might be the last game in Seattle,” Durant said. “It was phenomenal.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Allen Iverson vs. Houston 41 min, 33 pts (FG: 13-20, 3FG: 1-4, FT: 6-11), 7 reb, 7 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: Golden State (48-32) @ Phoenix (53-27)
After falling to the Nuggets on Thursday, the Warriors basically sealed their fate. However, nothing is over until it’s officially over in the wild, wild West. But Golden State is in a must-win situation against the Suns tonight, needing a victory to even think about grabbing the conference’s last spot and go on to shock the world once again. Phoenix lost a heartbreaker to Houston on Friday to drop its record to 6-4 over the last games. Their will be no homecourt advantage for the Suns in the opening round of the postseason, so they will be looking to improve their 28-11 record in Phoenix before being forced to hit the road in the second season.

Buzzer Beater: Sitting comfortably in the second seed in the Eastern Conference playoff race, the Pistons have absolutely nothing to play for as the regular season draws to a close. But that isn’t keeping them from winning. No starter played more than 25 minutes against the Raptors on Sunday and the Pistons till took a 91-84 victory, shoving Toronto into sixth place in the East – a horrible place for a team with a 16-24 road record. As it stands, the Raptors would be looking at a first round matchup against these Pistons. Well, not exactly these exact Pistons; they’d be a much, much better Pistons squad.

We’ve been struggling for a while now — that’s no secret — and tonight we had to go up against one of the best teams in the league,” Rasho Nesterovic said after Toronto dropped to 8-16 in its last 24 games. “Whoever we play in the first round, we’re going to have to change our mentality if we want to have a chance.

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LA Lakers

Kobe Bryant’s leap of faith

Everyone knows Kobe Bryant is more than a superstar, he’s a superhero when dons the Lakers purple and gold uniform. And just like the original Man of Steel, Bryant can leap tall buildings in a single bound. Okay, so maybe he can’t, but apparently he can leap moving Aston Martins in a single bound.

But don’t believe everything you see because just like Superman, Bryant got a little help from the FX studio. C’mon, you don’t think Jerry Buss would actually allow Kobe to jump a moving vehicle, did you?

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LA Lakers

Dr. Kobe doesn’t give mouth-to-mouth, he pulls the plug

When talking about Kobe Bryant, there is a seemingly endless supply of analogies one could use. However, we don’t know about the `doctor/patient’ reference made during this clip.

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Personally, we think it would be better to say something along the lines of “when he gets you on life support, he’s got no problem propping you up on a chair and raping you of your dignity.”

You know, something a little classier.

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LA Lakers

"Beelzebub has a devil put aside for Kobe!"

This NBA season already witnessed the gamut of emotions. From the extreme highs of the Big 3 and Houston’s epic win streak to the unbelievable lows the Miami Heat and, uh, the Miami Heat. And the season ain’t even over yet folks! But if we had to pick one storyline as the most influential of the year, we would have to go with the roller coaster ride Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers have taken us on. Primarily because between Bryant’s trade demands, the Lakers run to the top, the acquisition of Pau Gasol and the injury of Andrew Bynum, the Lakers are the epitome of drama. The other reason is because we found this sweet parody video about Los Angeles set to Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody.”

Links:

[College Humor]: Laker Rhapsody

Categories
LA Lakers

Around the Rim: Hollywood is jumping for joy


1. Little lead, big advantage
After winning 18 of their last 22 games, including Tuesday night’s 117-108 victory over Toronto, all the Lakers have to show for their effort is a ½ game lead over the defending champs. But ½ a game in this wild Western Conference race could make all the difference in the world when the second season comes along. Kobe Bryant finished with 34 points, seven rebounds and seven assists to lead the best team in the West. However, as we’ve seen so many times already this season, being at the top and staying at the top are two totally different matters. If the Lakers are to maintain their positioning they’ll have to do it on the road because their next four games are at New Orleans, Houston, Dallas and Utah.

2. Suns rise to the occasion, twice

On Tuesday, Shaquille O’Neal and the Suns did something for the first time since joining forces 11 games ago – they claimed consecutive victories. It wasn’t even close as Phoenix held leads of 32 points in the opening half and 39 down the back stretch as they pounded Memphis 132-111. Amare Stoudemire delivered a double-double with 29 points and 13 rebounds to lead a Suns squad that shot a sizzling 60 percent from the floor. Shaq only managed two points and eight rebounds in the game, but he dished out six assists and the led the team in hustle stats, grabbing a steal and blocking three shots. Phoenix is now 5-6 with the Diesel in the lineup which is showing improvement, but it still only has a sixth seed in the playoff race to show.

3. Bulls are charging
It isn’t the end of the world, but losing to the Bulls certainly didn’t help Utah legitimize themselves in a stacked Western Conference. Chicago took advantage of a 30-19 scoring run in the second quarter to run away with a 108-96 victory on its home court. Drew Gooden scored 24 points and Ben Gordon finished with 19 points, including a barrage of long bombs in the second half. The win brought the Bulls within ½ of Atlanta for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference – a race as highly contested as the top of the West. Utah is currently clinging to the fourth and final conference playoff spot. The good news for the Jazz is they welcomed back Andrei Kirilenko (12 pts) after he missed three games following a hard foul from Dallas’ Dirk Nowitzki.

Tuesday’s Player of the Day: Kobe Bryant vs. Toronto 46 min, 34 pts (FG: 12-20, 3FG: 4-8, FT: 6-6), 7 reb, 7 ast, 4 stl, 1 blk

Wednesday’s Game to Watch: San Antonio (44-19) @ New Orleans (42-20)
At the beginning of the season, everyone knew the Hornets would be pesky, but nobody could have expected this. Though New Orleans has slipped a bit since the All-Star break, they are still in the battle with Dallas, Houston and San Antonio for Southwest Division supremacy. In fact, the Hornets are currently just 1 ½ games behind the Spurs for the division lead and now is a perfect time to go in for the big sting. San Antonio owns a mediocre 17-14 road record, including back-to-back losses in its last two away from home. However, the Spurs might as well get used to living out of a suitcase because they’ll be traveling to Detroit, Dallas and Orlando during its next seven contests.

Buzzer Beater: Golden State offered coach Don Nelson an extension on Tuesday, but that doesn’t necessarily mean Nellie will be back on the sideline next season.

It’s very nice of the organization,” Nelson told Bay Area reporters after Tuesday’s practice. “It’s always nice to be wanted, especially when you’re 67. It’s a very nice gesture on their part.

“[But] I’m going to have to think about that. I’m going to have time to reflect [after this season]. My wife and I will have to talk about it, we’ll talk to the team about it, see how they’re feeling. There is another part of life,” Nelson added, “that I’d like to explore.

Categories
LA Lakers

Around the Rim: Running over the competition


1. MVP?
Remember back when Andrew Bynum got injured and everyone said the Lakers were doomed to fall apart without their man in the middle? Well, that was 24 games ago and since then all Los Angeles has done is surge to the top of the West by winning 14 of their last 16 games, including Sunday’s 108-104 overtime victory against the Mavericks. Kobe Bryant tallied his 22nd game with at least 50 points by scoring 52 on the anniversary of Wilt Chamberlain’s 100-point outing. Bryant was unstoppable down the stretch, racking up 30 points in the fourth quarter and overtime. Los Angeles could have avoided the extra period altogether had it not been for Dirk Nowitzki’s game-tying 3-pointer with two seconds left in the game. Nowitzki finished with 30 points, including nine in OT, while Jason Kidd put up 15 points, 11 assists and six rebounds in his seventh game as a Maverick. The Lakers are now just percentage points behind San Antonio for the best record in the conference.

2. Rockets boosters

Remember back when Yao Ming got injured and everyone said the Rockets were doomed to fall apart without their man in the middle? Well, that was three games ago and since then all Houston has done is win three consecutive games, including a 103-89 win over the Nuggets, bringing their winning streak up to 15 straight, the longest successful stretch by anyone in the NBA this season. Tracy McGrady scored 22 points to go with six assists and six rebounds as his club rushed out to an early lead and never relinquished any ground, leading by 19 points at one time. While McGrady is responsible for carrying Houston to the postseason, nobody is more currently more important to the team than Dikembe Mutombo who finished with just two points, five rebounds and three blocks, but remains the Rockets’ only true defensive threat down low. Denver’s dynamic duo was rather dull in the showdown. Carmelo Anthony scored 19 points on 7-of-17 shooting while Allen Iverson put up 17 on 7-of-22 from the field.

3. Familiar faces
Not even a midseason trade can get the helpless Bulls rolling. After combining to swap 11 payers back on February 21, Chicago and Cleveland got together with their new look lineups for the first time on Sunday and the Cavaliers walked away with bragging rights; after all, they didn’t trade away LeBron James. The league’s top-scorer finished with 37 points, six assists and six rebounds while newbie Ben Wallace grabbed eight rebounds and Wally Szczerbiak scored 17 off the bench to give Cleveland a 95-86 home win over the Bulls. Drew Gooden put together a double-double (11 pts, 10 reb) for his new club while Larry Hughes scored a team-high 23 points in defeat. The Cavaliers were able to survive a horrible night at the charity stripe where they missed 10 freebies (16-26). Of course, they’ll need to get used to such performances with Big Ben’s struggles from the line; on Sunday Wallace shot 3-of-8 from the free throw line.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Kobe Bryant vs. Dallas 51 min, 52 pts (FG: 15-27, 3FG: 2-3, FT: 20-27), 11 reb, 4 ast, 1 stl, 2 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: Dallas (39-21) @ Utah (38-22)
Despite obtaining one of the league’s best point guards before the trade deadline, Dallas has yet to prove it was the right move. Sure, the Mavs have won more than they’ve lost (4-3) since acquiring Jason Kidd from New Jersey, but they can’t seem to beat the best in the West. Big D has road losses to New Orleans, San Antonio and the Lakers since making the move and their wins are against sub-subpar competition (Mem, Min, Chi and Sac). The task doesn’t get any easier tonight in Salt Lake City where the Jazz are 25-3, including their current 15-game home winning streak.

Buzzer Beater: As we’ve mentioned, Kobe Bryant torched the Mavericks on Sunday to the tune of 52 points. Dallas coach Avery Johnson had this to say about Bryant’s latest scoring outburst.

We gave him a single look, then we double-teamed him, then we gave him a triple-team and he split the triple-team and scored,” Johnson said. “We tried to zone him, we tried to funnel him in the trap for a zone and he went the other way. He didn’t cooperate on any of our defenses.

“Obviously he milked the free throw line on us and he just had it all going.

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LA Lakers

Around the Rim: Kobe + Pau = Kapow!

1. Gasol watches as Bryant shows off
Just because the Lakers traded for Pau Gasol doesn’t mean they need him; at least, not against the Wizards. Kobe Bryant exploded upon tipoff, scoring 19 points in the first quarter and leading Los Angeles to a 30-15 lead after 12 minutes. By the end of the game, Bryant scored 30 points and the Lakers left D.C. with a 103-91 victory. Gasol was picked up on Friday, but Lakers coach Phil Jackson isn’t rushing the former All-Star into the lineup, choosing instead to let Gasol get some practice team with the team first while simultaneously healing a nagging injury. Antawn Jamison finished with 21 points and 11 rebounds while Caron Butler scored 15 in defeat.

2. Bad Boy beatdown

The Mavericks are trying to catch up with the Hornets in the Southwest Division, but Detroit didn’t do Dallas any favors on Sunday, whooping them by 23 points, 90-67. The Mavericks were pathetic on offense, scoring just 29 points in the entire second half. Perhaps the Pistons defense played a role in Dallas’ defeat. Detroit held the Mavs to 23-of-76 from the field (2-14 3FG) while stealing five balls and blocking eight shots. Rasheed Wallace recorded four blocks to go with 21 points and nine rebounds. Dirk Nowitzki shot three-of-18 from the field, including missing all five of his three-point attempts and he didn’t do much better on defense. In fact, Sheed let the entire Dallas bench know exactly what he thought of Dirk’s Irk’s defense, yelling “He can’t guard me!” after dropping a bucket on Nowitzki’s head.

3. Somebody’s gonna have one heck of a 4th of July this year
There were plenty of fireworks on the court for the Pistons on Sunday, but it didn’t matter how badly Detroit spanked Dallas, the team would still be looking for more.

Officials say a trailer has been stolen that was carrying pyrotechnics to be set off before the Detroit Pistons game against the Dallas Mavericks at The Palace of Auburn Hills.

The theft was discovered Sunday morning by employees of Windsor, Ontario-based Band-Ayd Systems International Inc. at a company facility in Warren.

Band-Ayd President Nino De Benedetti says the trailer contains about $75,000 worth of pyrotechnics and gear, and the trailer itself is worth $8,000. The trailer held liquid propane and noisemaking devices.

The company is offering a $5,000 reward for the return of the equipment, no questions asked.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Rasheed Wallace vs. Dallas 34 min, 21 pts (FG: 9-18, 3FG: 3-4), 9 reb, 3 ast, 1 stl, 4 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: New Orleans (32-14) @ Utah (30-18)
Utah was slipping down a slippery slope a month or so ago, but that was before they signed Kyle Korver. Since Korver and his deadeye from behind the arc joined the Jazz, they have won 14 of their last 16 games, including their current eight game winning streak. The Hornets know all about winning streaks, but recently they’ve been getting an education of losing spells. After winning 17-of-19 games and earning the best record in the Western Conference, the Hornets lost their last two games, allowing Phoenix to slide into the top spot. New Orleans has been stewing over their pair of defeats since Friday and should be ready to make a statement against the hottest team in the NBA.

Buzzer Beater: To Americans, when the Rockets and the Bucks get together it serves as a perfect opportunity to clear a few hours of American Idol off their DVRs. But to China, it is must see TV. An estimated 200 million people tuned in on Saturday evening to watch the Rockets escape Milwaukee with a 91-83 victory. The main attractions were rather mundane as Yao Ming finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds while Yi Jianlian went one-of-10 from the field for six points and seven rebounds.

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LA Lakers

Around the Rim: Just like the good ol’ days


1. Boston beat the pants off L.A.
The Lakers completely humiliated themselves on the court last night. Forget all about the 19-point plunking they received from the Celtics, we’re talking about their numbskull decisions to wear the old school short shorts. Talk about motivation, there was no way in hell that Kevin Garnett and the “Boston Three Party” were going to get beaten by a group of guys wearing purple and gold nut-huggers. The Showtime wannabes came to their sense at halftime, donning the contemporary parachute shorts, but it didn’t make a lick of difference as Boston won easily in L.A. 110-91. Paul Pierce had 33 points, Garnett finished with 22 points and 12 rebounds and Ray Allen added 19 for the Leprechauns. The Lakers four-game winning streak went down the tubes as Kobe Bryant shot six-of-25 for 22 points and Lamar Odom went six-for-17, scoring just 14 points.

2. No Answer

On Friday night, Allen Iverson scored 39 points and Carmelo Anthony chipped in 30 as the Nuggets escaped Oakland with a 124-120 victory, but in the home-and-home rematch it was the Warriors dynamic duo that stole the show. Baron Davis (28 pts) and Stephen Jackson (23 pts) combined for 51 points and Golden State snapped a seven-game losing skid in Denver despite being outrebounded 56-42. Anthony finished with 26 points and 10 rebounds, but Iverson couldn’t find his rhythm, missing 10 of his 12 shots for just 13 points. After starting the season winless through six games, the Warriors are 18-7 and now own the eighth best record in the West.

3. That’s a wrap
The NBA season is only about two months old, but the Spurs and Grizzlies are already done with each other. San Antonio took the season series 3-1 with a 111-87 victory deep in the heart of Texas on Sunday night. Tim Duncan had 17 rebounds to go along with a game-high tying 24 points, matched by teammate Tony Parker who also dished out nine assists. Michael Finley chipped in 22 as he continues to pick up the slack for an injured Manu Ginobili. The Spurs trio of wins were by a combined 40 points while the only loss to their division rival came by way of a Rudy Gay buzzer-beating 3-pointer. Needless to say, Memphis is sick of seeing silver and black.

Sunday’s Player of the Day: Tim Duncan vs. Memphis 33 min, 24 pts (FG: 10-20, FT: 4-7), 17 reb, 7 ast, 1 stl, 3 blk

Monday’s Game to Watch: Portland (18-12) @ Utah (16-16)
The last team Utah wants to bump into right now is the Trail Blazers, so, as fate would have it, the Jazz are scheduled to face the white-hot Blazers twice in the upcoming week. Portland is riding a 13-game winning streak into Salt Lake City with two of the franchise’s second longest string of victories coming against Utah. The Jazz are currently three games behind the Northwest Division leading Blazers and desperately need a quality win to help snap them out of their current 3-11 slide. Knocking off the league’s hottest team would be a perfect cure to what ails them.

Buzzer Beater: Scottie Pippen doesn’t like Scott Skiles, but don’t take our word for it.

I didn’t like him,” Pippen said.

See. Well, now that Skiles got a pink slip from the Bulls, Pippen wants to his shot at dropping the “Baby” from the Bulls. And, according to Pippen, no experience is no problem.

What’s the key to this good ol’ boy system they have?” he asked. “You’ve got to go to Europe and coach two years? Sit next to someone for a year? And then looking at someone like me and trying to figure out how your team did it, how you got there every time? Guys like Skiles have never been there. Can he give a motivation speech like someone who’s been in those games? I’ve played for championships.

“What experience do you need? You have assistants who have been there. If I made a mistake, I wouldn’t be the first coach to make a mistake. I’d love the opportunity to be part of the organization now that Skiles is gone. I’ve won championships with this organization and been in the competition when everything was on the line. I was a coach on the floor. Why isn’t that experience?