ÿþ<html> <head> <meta http-equiv="content-type" content="text/html;charset=iso-8859-1"> <title>OnlineColumnist®.com: Putin Punishes Georgia</title> <meta name="generator" content="Adobe GoLive 4"> <style type="text/css"> .style3 { height: 68px; } .MsoNormal {} h1 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; font-weight:normal; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style4 { font-size: large; font-weight: bold; font-family: Arial; } .style6 { height: 69px; } h2 {margin-bottom:.0001pt; text-align:center; page-break-after:avoid; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:Arial; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; } .style7 { font-size: x-large; font-weight: bold; } </style> </head> <body bgcolor="white" vlink="black"> <center> &nbsp;<table cool width="624" height="2719" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" gridx="16" showgridx gridy="16" showgridy> <tr> <td width="133" height="118" rowspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"> <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="110" width="62" src="images/discobolos.logo.transp.gif" border="0"></a></td> <td width="7" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="482" colspan="2" valign="top" align="left" xpos="140" class="style6"><img height="75" width="450" src="images/banner.GIF"></td> <td width="1" height="118" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" class="style6"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="79"></td> </tr> <tr height="39"> <td width="182" height="39"></td> <td width="300" height="39" valign="top" align="left" xpos="322"><a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"><img height="14" width="267" src="images/divisionofNEW.GIF" border="0"></a></td> <td width="1" height="39"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="39"></td> </tr> <tr> <td width="624" colspan="6" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0" class="style3"> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="black" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" width="100%" bgcolor="#99ffcc" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="4"> <tr> <td align="center"> <div align="left"> <a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> HOME</strong></font></a><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> &#8226; <a href="articlesindex.html">ARTICLES</a> &#8226; <a href="books.html">BOOKS</a> &#8226; <a href="teflon.html"> THE </a><a href="teflon.html">TEFLON</a><a href="teflon.html"> REPORT</a> &#8226; <a href="mailto:letters@onlinecolumnist.com"> REACTIONS</a> &#8226; <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html">ABOUT DISCOBOLOS</a></strong></font></div> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr height="2"> <td width="133" height="2"></td> <td width="489" height="2576" colspan="3" rowspan="2" align="left" xpos="133" content valign="top" csheight="2573"> <p class="style4">Lakers Beat Celtics for Ugly 16th Title</p> <p><b><font face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica">by John M. Curt</font></b><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b>is<a href="books.html"><br> </a></b></font><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><b> (310) 204-8700</b></font></p> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular"><i>Copyright June 19, 2010<br>All Rights Reserved. </i></font>&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </p> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <bAbout the Author</u> <p class="MsoNormal"> &nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<span class="style7">L</span>akers 31-year-old superstar Kobe Bryant  couldn t throw a pea in the ocean, as the late Hall-of-Fame announcer Chick Hearn used to say, a product of cumulative fatigue and nerves in the 7th and last game of the NBA Finals, eking out a narrow victory beating the Boston Celtics 83-79 Sept. 17.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Nineteen-thousand screaming fans, drained from exhaustion watching the Lakers and Celtics battle to the wire, watched a slugfest, characterized by a smothering defense and too many fouls, leaving the world s best basketball players looking inept and clumsy.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Game 7 treated a global audience with a 28 Nielson Rating market share, the most watched NBA Final since Michael Jordan s Chicago Bulls battled the Karl Malone s Utah Jazz for the title in 1998.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Jordan, of course, won.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Officials in the Laker-Celtic s Game 7 were put into a no-win situation, calling too many or too few fouls.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>With all the hype leading to Game 7, after the Lakers throttled the Celtics in an elimination Game 6 at Staples Center June 15, players on both teams showed too much adrenalin not enough control, bumbling through the first quarter, with the Celtics showing slightly more composure leading 40-34.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> I wanted it so, so bad, said Kobe at<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>his post-game interview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> On top of that, I was on E, Man.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>I was really, really tired, and the more I tried to push, the more it kept getting away from me, attributing his off-night to fatigue, not nerves.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Anyone watching the game saw the world s best player rushing his shots, unable to find a rhythm and clanking shots off the iron.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Kobe and his teammates were psyched-out by the Celtic mystique, having lost in Laker history nine-of-eleven finals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Only newly acquired former Houston Rocket forward Ron Artest rose to the occasion, just enough to beat the Celtics.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>While Kobe won the  series MVP, 64-year-old Laker Coach Phil Jackson acknowledged that Artest was indeed the most valuable player of Game 7.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Without Artest s 20 point, 5-steal performance, the Celtics would have celebrated on the Lakers home-court.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Kobe shot a dismal 6-for-24 from the field, grateful that 8-for-9 free throws bailed him out, adding to his mediocre [for Kobe] 23 point total.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> This one is by far the sweetest, because it s them, Kobe admitted, referring to his past denials that Boston made any difference.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> This was the hardest one by far.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>I wanted it so bad, and sometimes when you want it so bad, it slips away from you.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>My guys picked me up, admitting that nerves, not fatigue, affected his play.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Kobe praised his teammate Pau Gasol on the victory stand but forgot to publicly acknowledge Artest s game-winning performance in Game 7.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Shooting only 32%, the Lakers missed a whopping 12 free throws.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Once Kobe realized his shooting was off, he cranked up the  D, holding three-point specialist Ray Allen, Boston s hero in Game 2 at Staples Center, breaking the NBA playoff three-point shooting record at eight, to only 2 points in over 45-plus minutes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>In addition to shutting down Allen, Kobe collected 15 rebounds, adding to the Lakers advantage of 53-40.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Kobe collected the MVP award from former Celtic legend Bill Russell, who, along with other Boston stars, watched the Celtics go down.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Kobe s lack of clutch shooting in Game 7 raises at least one nagging controversy of whether or not he s in the same conversation as six-time NBA champion Michael Jordan.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Artest s heroics salvaged the Lakers season, making general manager Mitch Kupchak a genius for bringing former Houston Rockets forward to the Lakers. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Coach Phil Jackson, who hasn t yet decided to return for next season, agonized with the rest of Lakers fans at Staples Center and in TV-land.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> Well, it s done.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>It wasn t well done, but it was done, Jackson said in his post-game interview.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>He remembered all too well the shellacking the Lakers took in Game 6 of the 2008 NBA Finals, losing by 39 points.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Jackson, who suffers from a variety of health issues, will, in all likelihood, return for another possible Laker three-peat.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Boston, on the other hand, faces personnel decisions, probably keeping them from the final s hunt next year.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Breathing down their neck is a hungry Cleveland team, which, if LeBron James returns with some extra heft next year, will most certainly challenge the Orlando Magic for a trip to the finals.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Unlike Boston, the Lakers, with a healthy center Andrew Bynum, have a good shot of repeating.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> </p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><span style="mso-tab-count:1">&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; </span>Watching the Lakers rally from 13 points down in the third quarter to pull out the  V undoes some of the agony watching one of the most painful games on record.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>No NBA fans want to watch poor shooting and clumsy turnovers.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Boston s roughshod so-called East Coast defense eventually backfired, inhibiting the Celtics consistent offensive rhythm.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Game 7 looked more like an NCAA National Championship, where college players typically bite-and-scratch their way to victory.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>NBA officials must find a way to let the leagues best teams play their best games, rather than bore fans with a brutal defensive battle.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span>Neither team showed the kind of brilliance that made them a joy to watch in the playoffs or regular season.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes">&nbsp; </span> While there s always a victor and a vanquished, the fans lose when both teams in a Game 7 play ugly and brawl their way to an NBA championship.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"> <![if !supportEmptyParas]>&nbsp;<![endif]><b>John M. Curtis </b>writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He&#x2019;s editor of OnlineColumnist.com and author of <a href="books.html">Dodging The Bullet</a> and <a href="books.html">Operation Charisma</a>.</p> </td> <td width="1" height="2576" rowspan="2"></td> <td width="1" height="2"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2"></td> </tr> <tr height="2574"> <td width="133" height="2574" valign="top" align="left" xpos="0"><img height="172" width="111" src="images/johninframe3.jpg"></td> <td width="1" height="2574"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="2574"></td> </tr> <tr height="1" cntrlrow> <td width="133" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="133" height="1"></td> <td width="7" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="7" height="1"></td> <td width="182" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="182" height="1"></td> <td width="300" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="300" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"><spacer type="block" width="1" height="1"></td> <td width="1" height="1"></td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="2" width="597"> <tr> <td><font size="1" face="Arial,Geneva,Helvetica"> <hr noshade size="1"> </font><a href="index.html"><font face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular" size="2"><strong> Homecobolos> <p><font size="2" face="Arial,Helvetica,Geneva,Swiss,SunSans-Regular">©1999-2005 <a href="aboutdiscobolos.html"> Discobolos Consulting Services, Inc.</a><br> (310) 204-8300<br> All Rights Reserved. </font></td> </tr> </table> </center> </body> </html>