Friday, December 01, 2006

A perfect confluence of events

Last Friday: Utah comes back in the final three minutes to hand the Lakers a bitter defeat.

Tuesday: Michael Redd shows up everyone at Staples Center and drops a whopping 45 points as the Bucks escape with a sheepish victory over the Lakers.

Thursday afternoon: ESPN.com runs a front page story about how Kobe has lost a step and won't be the same after the knee injury, ranking only 14th in the league in scoring.

Tough road loss to Utah+Michael Redd stealing the show+ESPN condemnation = last night: 52 points from the Black Mamba in a 30-point route of the once mighty Utah Jazz! Bryant had a perfect 3rd quarter to ensure the victory, going 9-9 from the floor and 10-10 from the foul line for 30 points. MVP chants echoed throughout Staples Center. It was vintage Mamba and an awesome performance by the entire team, although there was virtually zero production once again from the 5-spot. I realize that when you're hitting 60% from the floor and 47% from 3s and Mamba is being Mamba, it isn't as big a deal. But Kwame (starting) was 0-2, Bynum (in just 13:44) 1-3. Hmm...

The Jazz, conversely, looked slow, tired, beat down. The NBA's best record now has dropped three of four and last night they looked rather pedestrian. Bonus points to Marv Albert who kept calling my sworn enemy Deron Williams, "Aaron Williams." That was amusing.

On the ice, things are terrible for LA. The Kings got bombed 7-4 by the perhaps the only team in the league who could claim to be worse than them. I quickly called my dad to "brag" to him about how my team was worse than his. Curtis Joseph actually looked DRUNK out there in goal for Phoenix and yet we still got pasted. Dan Cloutier lasted all of ten seconds. Three goals allowed on five shots. I'll say it again: Dan Cloutier is a joke of a goaltender. The guy is simply garbage. I want a trade! Anybody! Does anybody have some beans? If I hang a cowbell around his neck, you give me some magic beans in exchange. No competent goalies, no draft picks, I want magic freaking pinto beans in return for Cloutier. I'd feel almost dishonest pawning him off on some other shlub team.

Labels: , ,