Pau Gasol can’t be just all right for an off night without having his testosterone quantity questioned.
Yet, season after season, Gasol’s value pack is unquestionable.
In the final analysis, all that counts is that the Lakers are three for three in visits to the finals since Gasol was pocketed at the Grizzlies’ tag sale. The competition had best locate a roster to raid for someone as “soft” as Pau before this becomes boring. . . . Not to mention infuriating, if you’re LeBron James.
The Phony King of Cleveland continues to insist all he cares about is winning multiple titles. He has me convinced. Meaning, whichever franchise The Choosing One decides to favor with his celestial self must match up promisingly with the Lakers.
My memory bank is rapidly becoming penniless. But last time I checked in on Phil Jackson’s juggernaut during the decisive desert conflict with the Suns in times of yore, it figures to be in business to win/challenge for championships for at least three or four more seasons, exclusive of critical damage suffered by the irreplaceable Tower of Glower.
At 25, LeBron certainly has plenty of time to kiss up to the Larry O’Brien trophy — except that Kobe is aging insanely stylishly.
You would think a human being could not practice and play as feverishly as Bryant has for 14 seasons, 13 after-parties (four rings), a dozen All-Star Games and one gold-medal (’08) Olympic team, without it seriously afflicting his appendages.
But, of course, we’re not talking about a mere mortal here. He had 23 points and 14 rebounds in last night’s 102-89 Game 1 romp over the Celtics.
Undoubtedly this was Bryant’s most injury-plagued season, yet he managed to overcome them with rest, the help of modern medicine, and a maniacal therapeutic commitment that rivals his compulsiveness to be incomparable.
At the very least, Kobe craves the same breathlessness and reverence from those who worship at Michael Jordan’s altar — not to remotely suggest His Excellence would be satisfied sharing the same pedestal.
For many years, I’ve maintained Bryant is every bit as good as Jordan. And, it says here, had Bryant not revealed his sinister side in Colorado he would’ve secured that distinction long ago.
At any rate, Kobe will be just 32 on Aug. 23. Meanwhile, Gasol turns 30 on July 6, whereas Lamar Odom and Ron Artest were 31 in November. As for Andrew Bynum, 23, he still is getting decked out in swaddling clothes.
That’s why, if LeBron truly wants to link with the league’s exalted ringleaders, he can’t possibly justify teaming up with the Knicks. Unless three or four of the rising free agents agree to take less money in order to band together at Madison Square Garden, James is fated to become just another random attractive tourist vs. a regular New York tourist attraction.
In conclusion, I doubt Bryant gives a hoot whether Jackson stays or goes — as long as he has Gasol.
Kendrick Perkins will be in foul trouble before he gets off the bus and earn his seventh technical (and a game suspension) in mid-scowl.
Kevin Garnett might find himself in similar circumstances if he gets close enough to someone under the boards.
“Someone needs to explain the absurdity of the NBA’s punitive technical-leads-to-automatic-suspension rule,” submits column contributor Sandy Marsh . “What’s most illogical is the rule fails to factor in additional games. Why would the penalty be the same if you’ve played four games vs. 17? There needs to be some sort of sliding scale to the enforcement of same.”
You never know what kind of mood Rasheed Wallace will be in, but there’s no discounting the potential benefit of having a 7-story structure with crown moulding coming off the bench to even up the odds created by Odom, who’s due for another lucky game.
No matter how well James Posey played Bryant in ’08 or how well Paul Pierce , Ray Allen , or Tony Allen play him this time, nobody has ever played him more successfully than Jared Dudley did in Game 6.
Not even Ruben Pater son , the self-anointed ‘Kobe Killer’ who got away with assaulting him during Lakers’ scrimmages. Nevertheless, when he changed uniforms and whistles were being blown, Bryant dismembered him.
If Alvin Gentry made one mistake — other than barfing into the narrow end of the rectangle waste basket vs. the wider portion — it was inserting Grant Hill for Dudley down the stretch.
True, Hill was all over Bryant when he swished that ridiculous three to ice matters. But Dudley’s fiercely, clever suffocation had turned him into a passer several times.
Just for the record, from 9:26 of the fourth quarter, to 3:21, Kobe was 1-5 from the field with Dudley wearing him. Once Hill was inserted, Bryant scored nine points to run out the victory.
Column contributor John Visconti notes, “In his sky-blue suit, Charles Barkley looks like a nice day.”