The Omen
Kobe Bryant (photo. Chris Sembrot)Midway through the fourth quarter of Lakers/Grizzlies, after Darko had given Memphis a surprise lead with a surprisingly professional-looking hook shot over Andrew Bynum, one of the Memphis announcers said, “This game is sitting here, waiting for someone to take over.” Count that one under Ominous Statements 101. Almost before the words were out of the man’s mouth, Kobe drove and got a layup. A few possessions later he hit two free throws, then gave L.A. the lead back when he beasted Quinton Ross in the post and went off-glass. Memphis tied it up, but with 35 seconds left, Kobe knocked down an ice-cold three as the shot clock ran out, deflating what was left of the Memphis crowd. The Lakers never trailed after that, and in the game’s closing seconds, Kobe (36 pts) got a steal and sprinted downcourt for a cold-hearted “F*** you” dunk right at the buzzer. “You can bet the Grizzlies won’t forget about that,” one of the announcers warned. Really? And what exactly are they gonna do about it? … Going into the fourth, the Memphis announcers rightfully stated this should be Rudy Gay‘s time to step up as the leader of his team. Only he didn’t. In fact, Rudy was invisible for 11 and a half minutes, until after Kobe’s go-ahead three, when he took a trey WAY too early in the shot clock over two guys. Next time down, Rudy (23 pts, 7 rebs) turned the ball over trying to drive for two, and when the game was basically over next trip, he went to the rack again and got swatted by Pau Gasol … When Rudy wasn’t blowing it, O.J. Mayo (22 pts, 6 asts) was trying to steal the W. During a key stretch in crunch time he dropped a floater in the lane, dished to Darko for a dunk, and stuck a three right in Trevor Ariza‘s eye to tie it up in the final minute … Is Lamar Odom trying to lose games? After Darko’s aforementioned go-ahead basket, Odom bricked a three and picked up a defensive three-seconds tech in the span of about seven seconds, helping the Grizz extend the lead. Leading up to Kobe’s big shot, Odom went baseline and tried some Dr. J mess that didn’t even come close. If L.O. keeps this up, cats are gonna start calling him “Gillette” … Give Chauncey Billups another check-plus on his All-Star/MVP report card. No unarmed man in the free world has been able to stop Brandon Roy as of late, but Chauncey stepped up and helped hold B-Roy to just eight points (3-for-11 FG’s) last night. With Carmelo (elbow) in his gangsta suit on the bench, Chauncey controlled the tempo and kept it to a Pistons-type speed, putting up 19 points and 10 dimes along the way …
K-Mart, Dime #3The win snapped a three-game skid for the Nuggets, who’d just fallen out of the Top-10 in this week’s NBA Hit List power ranking. You can probably guess who owns the top two spots, but #3 might surprise you, and we’ve got some notable movement in the cellar, as Kevin Durant‘s squad finally climbed its way out of last-place … After the Nuggets botched a defensive switch, the court mics picked up Kenyon Martin saying, “My bad, C,” (to Billups) while somebody (presumable Chauncey) yelled, “SH*T, Kenyon!” After an awkward pause, Denver’s color analyst went into a soliloquy about how the “discussions” you have with teammates after a mistake are very important … K-Mart clearly didn’t like getting aired out like that, though, because a minute later he was at the free throw line and snapped at the ref, “Come on, gimme the ball!” After short-arming his first shot, K-Mart threw the ball back to the ref with some extra ‘tude … When no one scored during the first three minutes of Magic/Warriors, Orlando announcer Matt Goukas joked that it was a “pitcher’s duel.” Yeah, the kind where every batter is tagging the first pitch they see, they just happen to land in a fielder’s mitt. Even before their shots started falling, Orlando was running whatever offense they wanted and getting whatever shot they wanted. It was drive-kick-three all day; they didn’t even need Dwight Howard, who ended up with 11 points and 11 boards in the blowout … Meanwhile, the Warriors offense was something along the lines of “Five Seconds or Less,” with “Jamal Crawford Jacking from Anywhere” as their Option B … Is Jameer Nelson an All-Star? He looked like one yesterday, literally hitting every shot he took and picking GS apart. Jameer had 22 points (9-for-9 FG’s, 4-for-4 3PA), seven dimes and one turnover … Neither of the hyped-up matchups during Rockets/Nets really made a ripple. Yao destroyed Brook Lopez and Josh Boone to the tune of 24 points, 16 boards and four blocks in a Houston rout, but his head-to-head meetings with Yi Jianlian (10 pts) were limited to a collision in the paint here and there. The family reunion with T-Mac (12 pts) and Vince (10 pts) didn’t materialize into anything notable, either … After the Clippers announcers reminded everyone that Jermaine O’Neal is making more than $40 million over the next two years, they went into a rundown of the 2010 free agent class. With every passing big name — from LeBron to Amare to Mike Redd to Manu — you could detect a growing trace of bitterness, ’cause you KNOW the Clips aren’t getting any of those guys … The Raptors got the W, by the way, getting 31 from Chris Bosh as the Clippers looked like the Clippers again … E-mail from Austin: “At halftime of USC/Georgia Tech, Marques Johnson was breaking down DeMar DeRozan‘s first half and said ‘CP Time.’ The play-by-play guy innocently asks, ‘What is CP Time?’ Silence as MJ probably tells him off-air what it means, then MJ goes, ‘Ummm, yeah,’ before the other guy changes the subject. Hilarious.” … We’re out like LeBron to the Clippers …
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December 23rd, 2008 at 1:29 am
Jah says:
Fizzle.
(that means “first”)
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:31 am
Dank says:
LMAO
“really? and what are they going to do about that?”
whats up with the rookie mayo taking 3′s like hes been around for years. from what i know, you get hurt when you jack up shots in peoples eyes
funny post guys.
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:38 am
heartbreaker85 says:
what is CP time anyway?
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:49 am
jl90 says:
yo i was at magic-warriors (so bad even adonal foyle got more than 5 minutes of burn and im pretty sure i even saw marcus williams) and during the halftime show, dwight and marcin gortat were talking on the bench. or like the polish hammer was talking to dwight and he was politely ignoring him… what could those two talk about?
also, jj redick is turning into the brian scalabrine of the magic. like, every time he even looked at the ball the arena erupted.
last, if there was a dunk contest during a magic practice, dwight would undoubtedly win but courtney lee may give him some trouble. dude can get UP
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:06 am
Mark says:
What’s scary is that the Griz had a great shot at winning, but lost because they were the Griz… except the fact that almost any other team could have had the same opportunity and still lose the game.
Scary.
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:09 am
qUeSt?? says:
huh?
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:16 am
DNICE says:
I’ll be @ the Hornets/Magic game Christmas day.
Should be a fun game! Keep on ballin’ Jameer!
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:20 am
Timmy D says:
All I learned from the Grizz/Lakers game is how Kobe is nothing like MJ, just like Ive always thought. Kobe is classless and a punk and I think will never win another ring b/c he acts like he is this “team” player which he is so not. Also Pau sucks and showed why he could never be the go to guy for the Grizzlies. He is a solid post player but does not deserve 17 million a year and they will never win with him in the post as long as KG is in his way.
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:34 am
Dank says:
wow timmy d, i think your just saying shit to get attention and spark a comment war. your basketball analysis is garbage. seriously? i hope you get hit by a train.
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:43 am
Jay says:
Most of the stuff Timmy D said is garbage but the dunk at the end of the game was pretty unclassy for a guy who supposed to be seen as a leader of this team. The game was at hand, the guy was barely chasing him near the end, there was absolutely no point in throwing down that dunk and gnarling at everybody like he was the shit.
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:47 am
Eeeeerwin says:
Timmy D’s just mad cz he got beat by the lakers in the playoffs last year. It’s inevitable: LA gon win the west again this year.
But seriously, what’s up with the Lakers hate? U keep saying this dude sucks or this dude can’t play. They still getting paid while u still getting ur ass busted in whatever pee wee league u belong to.
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:51 am
Kevin K says:
whoever wrote this post… saying that Chauncey held B Roy in check… did you even watch the game??? B Roy was guarded mostly by D Jones, A Carter, and JR smith and it was Roy missing shots that he usually makes not the defense… everyone has their off days
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:52 am
Kevin K says:
and OJ for all star. He was sticking them 3s on Kobe and Trevor’s face.
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:54 am
Three Stacks says:
So the Lakers beat the Grizzlies, huh? That’s fucking great.
Every time I think about the Lakers’ current road trip, I throw a little bit in my mouth.
How are we not blowing out Memphis? Can ANYONE imagine the Cavs or Celtics not winning that game by at least 15, regardless of whether they’re on the road or not? We’re playing a scrub team after back-to-back close losses, I would think they’d come out with a little more fire.
I hope to God that they don’t get blown out on Christmas. I’m not expecting a win with the way they’re playing, but at least keep it close. I don’t think I could take all the shittalking from the anti-Laker camps if they get blown out.
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:58 am
sans says:
I think that timmy D made a good point about Pau being baby soft in the post. Funny that Memphis traded him, essentially, for a couple of draft picks, including getting back the draft pick they traded to the Wiz in exchange for JC Navarro.
December 23rd, 2008 at 2:59 am
sans says:
not to mention, no shitty team should have to pay their best player $17M/per in order to still be awful.
December 23rd, 2008 at 3:07 am
owen says:
I just read this on a hot forum on tall dating site ___T a l l m i n g l e . c o m___ which is a hot dating site for all tall friends and tall singles.
December 23rd, 2008 at 3:11 am
Three Stacks says:
The thing no Laker fan really wants to talk about has been pretty much being displayed on a nightly basis the past few games, which is simply that the Bynum-Gasol tag team isn’t nearly as scary as people thought they’d be. Not yet, at least.
I still believe they can get it together and play better. But they aren’t looking good right now.
As for Pau being soft, it’s not like the L didn’t know all that already, and it’s not like anybody in LA expected him to suddenly turn into the Hulk or something after the trade. But he’s still a good player, and gives us a (much) better chance to win than Kwame. So still, GOOD TRADE.
December 23rd, 2008 at 3:35 am
K Dizzle says:
@ 3 Stacks
you might be slippin, playa.
Lakers didn’t blow out Memphis. What’s that mean?In the nba, a blowout usually means the other team didn’t show up. Griz showed up. Mayo’s impressin me more than Rose and the Lakers let em hang around till it was Kobe time. No way LA gets up for Memphis. Ultimate trap game. 2 losses. Griz, then Hornets and Celts. Don’t believe the hype: Everybody on that team was lookin past the Griz. Difference between this game and the last 3 losses is that Kobe and Ariza locked down and the shots fell. At the beginning of the season, Pau and AB were killin and Kobe wasn’t even playin the 4th quarters. Now we 22-5 and heads are actin like we 5-22. Chill. Memphis did win 4 in a row last week…
December 23rd, 2008 at 3:49 am
Three Stacks says:
That’s exactly my point. Lakers aren’t playing like they did the first 3 weeks of the season, which I worry about. We still have no idea what kind of road team the Lakers are, since their schedule was so home-heavy until now. And so far on the road, they haven’t been that good. They’ve been pretty bad, actually.
And you’re saying every team that plays the Celtics and Cavs and gets blown out just didn’t show up? I dunno, that’s too simple of an explanation for my liking. Those are GOOD teams blowing out lesser teams. Lakers should be doing the same.
I’m not one of those fans that always think shit’s gonna be rosy, the Lakers aren’t playing well right now, and if this keeps up, they’re not gonna win the chip. And I wanna win this year, so badly.
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:19 am
Lee says:
@ 10
Yeah, no fan wants to see Kobe dunk .. ever.
Lets see, he probably sent a few memphis kids home happy. He’s a classless guy …
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:41 am
solomon says:
naaaaahhhh… the dunk was just for good measure… just re-assuring the lakers that they are, uhm they lakers, and they shouldn’t give any light or shit of hope to a team they should’ve been 40-piecing… anyway, as classless as it may be, but its one of those necessary evils that each of us does every other time…
anyway, no camby vs the bosh / o’neal combo already spelled trouble in all caps… and to add insult to injury (or vice versa), zach went down in the 4th when they had some semblance of a run… it’s cruel – deandre “hype” jordan’s making bosh look like the dream and jermaine look like the bigger o’neal out there, it’s downright ugly…
we’re out like lamar’s game…
December 23rd, 2008 at 4:45 am
solomon says:
and by the way, speaking of out, we’re also out like baron’s J…
December 23rd, 2008 at 6:21 am
YOUNGFED..."I'm at the call of duty but my metal gears solid" says:
YOUNGFED’S BANGER OF THE DAY: T.I. & Justin Timberlake
http://www.king-mag.com/online/?p=9596
@Dime
Rudy didn’t step up because OJ “Not the Killer” Mayo is.
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:10 am
Junio says:
Nenê = 19 pts, 11 reb; Nenê = 19 pts, 11 reb; Nenê = 19 pts, 11 reb; Nenê = 19 pts, 11 reb; Nenê = 19 pts, 11 reb; Nenê = 19 pts, 11 reb; Nenê = 19 pts, 11 reb; Nenê = 19 pts, 11 reb; Nenê = 19 pts, 11 reb
For the year: 14.1 pts; 7.4 reb
Kenyon Martin: 12 pts; 7 reb
AND YOU SHOW JUST K-MART, AND DON’T EVER BOTHER TO MENTION NENÊ.
WTF DIME???
What about some BRAZILIAN LOVE????
December 23rd, 2008 at 7:57 am
Richard Wellner's Cousin from the North says:
Darko: 11, 8, and 3 blocks. He’s the truth. That proves he can ball.
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:14 am
QQ says:
Darko is the greatest baller ever. We all know he’s the truth. 11, 8 and 3. Monster numbers right there. Even Wilt can’t touch those.
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:25 am
Timmy D says:
@ Dank
Way to get personal about wanting me to die you piece of shit. I hope you get aids and die a lonely sad life. And I know more about basketball in the tip of my dick then you know about anything. Lakers wont win shit Pau can get you to the finals but will never be able to get you over the top on a team like Boston. And if the Spurs can stay healthy they will come out of the west anyway. Tim Duncan is 20 times the player Pau Gasol is.
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:29 am
Kobeef says:
I’m officially starting the free agent class of 2011 debate. 2010 has nothing on this since only Lebron has a real chance to move and change a team.
2011 Free agents
KG
Tim Duncan
Dwight Howard
Devin Harris
JSmoove
Al Jefferson
Kevin Martin
Antawn Jamison
David West
Billups
Nene
Vince
JR Smith
Iggy
Andray Blatche
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:36 am
Kobeef says:
Also
The lake show are looking for a backup PG after Farmar goes for surgery (out 8 weeks). Who should they bring in? Phil says he wants speed not size.
JDub?
The return of Smush? He’s second in the D-League in APG!
Mateen Cleaves?
Will Conroy (played with the Clippers for a minute)
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:48 am
J says:
Send bassy over to the lake show. Poor mans J-kidd minus the defence. Makes up with dime dropping skills and quickness.
December 23rd, 2008 at 8:48 am
QQ says:
@ Kobeef
Anyone not named Smush Parker.
That dude is the punk that other punks are ashamed about. What a shithead.
And to all haters bout the Gasol-Bynum not showing up, Lakers are weak, will never win a champinship, blah blah. Remember when you guys thought that the Spurs will be bad, that they have no chance, when they started like shit this season? Look at them now. Number 5 in the West. The moral? Look at the fucking big picture. The season is 82 games long. A week or two won’t define a team.
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:08 am
BALLZ says:
What the fuck is CP time? Seriously? What the fuck?
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:12 am
zo says:
@heartbreaker85
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CP_Time
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:18 am
rangerjohn says:
how about a mention about the spurs handing it to the kings with duncan playing 26 minutes and only taking 2 shots in the 1st half (he had zero shots, rebounds, assists, and 2 steals in the 1st quarter) i LOVE watching them blow people out like that where the starters get some rest on the 1st night of a b2b.
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:20 am
TD says:
CP Time… HAHAHAHAHA!!! classic
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:26 am
Diego says:
Had to think about nickname “Gillette” for a minute. Also, loved crack on Memphis not forgetting Kobe’s dunk. Good stuff, Dime!
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:50 am
patrick says:
BALLZ i didn’t remember either
urban dictionary
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:50 am
Sccob says:
Who says CP time around caucasians let alone on TV?
That’s funny…
December 23rd, 2008 at 9:50 am
Sccob says:
Next thing you know they are gonna be talking about the itis…
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:07 am
PALakerFan says:
Kobeef…
Jannero Pargo would be a perfect choice.
I’ve got a crazy feeling they’ve got their eye on Marbury though. I know he’s not a good fit for the triangle but Phil wouldn’t have him start anyway. Plus, he’s still quick with a good handle.
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:14 am
BROGDEN says:
OJ plays like an ol’ head! OG OJ. His game is TOO smooth, like he’s been around the block. He had to grow up playing with older, crafty players because his game is remarkably polished. Had to. He’s a bonafide winner. Probably won’t get ROY, if it wasn’t for Rose playing in front of the lights and cameras of the 3rd largest media market.
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:15 am
Kobeef says:
@PALF
No. HELL NO. Phil should bring in Smush before they consider Starburst.
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:17 am
PALakerFan says:
I’m not saying they should bring in Starbury, but that I have a bad feeling they’re thinking about it. I’d rather have Pargo. He played very well for NO last year.
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:19 am
calvin brodus says:
@ Ballz
I believe that’s a reference to “colored people” time. It implies minorities are always late. I think that’s what Luda named his clothing line too…but I could be wrong about that.
I’m still trying to figure out what the “Gillette” nickname means.
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:45 am
Jsmoove says:
I think Gillete is referring to L.O. being best he ever will be, (the best a man can get)?
December 23rd, 2008 at 10:57 am
that's whats up says:
why are the “people” who post first, or fizzle, usually someone no one has ever heard of posting on these forums before
why are those punks even posting at all??
I wish THEY were on CP Time
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:07 pm
YOUNGFED..."I'm at the call of duty but my metal gears solid" says:
^^^^^^Chruch!!!!
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:18 pm
vinny says:
^^^^^^^^^^AMEN
December 23rd, 2008 at 1:30 pm
Diego says:
Gillette: He is a point shaver.
December 23rd, 2008 at 5:24 pm
baron von faulk says:
Somebody here once said that there must be a Lord of the Dorks that keeps tally of all the “First!” posts…
Which is funny because it is probably true.