Okay so this is about a week and a half late. Who really cares besides the 90,000 fans in the Rose Bowl? And don't we need a little NBA to keep us going until the Draft? I mostly want to reiterate a few things that Spike brought up and ramble about a few other things that were a bit overlooked amongst all the "First Without Shaq" hype.
1. Phil Jackson. Great Coach. He is an opportunist but I will finally admit that he has earned the right to be such. And as long as he doesn't get too Brett Favre on us every offseason (oh wait...that has already happened EVERY YEAR for the last who knows how many) he can wear all ten rings around any time he chooses. We'll let time tell us if he will have to consult the great Bill Russell on where to wear the 11th.
2. Kobe Bryant. The Best Front Runner. He got his, first without Shaq. First with Gasol. Thats how I am referring to it. The most dominant Euro big man since Sabonis. A two time All Star, Rookie of the Year, Silver Medalist. The guy is good. Good enough to carry LA to the Playoffs without Kobe, but if I recall, there was a year before they got Pau when Kobe couldn't shoulder the load. Let us also remember this. If KG isn't injured, Kobe is watching the Celtics parade up and down the Back Bay for the second straight year. And if the Cavs would have pulled the trigger on Shaq in February, LeBron and Lil Dez would be hitting the late night circuit as we speak. (Side note: The Cavs are now in talks to acquire Shaq. Let me be the first to say that this is about 6 months too late. Shaq played his best ball of the last 3 years to finish out the 08-09 season and he most likely will not be doing an encore for 82 more games. They should have bought high. Find me a Cavs fan who, given the choice, would take Wally and Ben Wallace's broken leg instead of The Shaq Attack.) He is still the only NBA player immortalized here.
3. Best NBA Players of All Time (Top 10) Jordan, Russell, Wilt, Bird, Magic, Oscar, Kareem, Julius, Shaquille, Duncan.
4. Orlando Magic. Lets say you are in charge of PR for an NBA franchise. And said franchise has a dark spot on its not so storied history involving missed free throws in a clutch moment of an NBA Finals game. Would you invite that player back as part of a pre game celebration before the first game on your home court? And a follow up, would you expect it to not make a mental impact on the current team? Well guess what...
The Finals were great. Two overtime games and another that hung in the balance as time wound down. I could have easily been Orlando in 5 as it was LA in 5.
So I guess we should just hit the gym and start counting down.
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