I often wonder what opposing teams, their beat reporters and
bloggers
are saying about the Celtics after playing the Celtics. Here's a dose
of 'enemy chatter' from Los Angeles.
I just love Our Ball Hog when he puts on a one-man show like this, after all, this is only Sunday night entertainment unless you somehow think your life changes whether the Lakers win or not.
...
Over the years it doesn't always mean the Lakers are going to win when Our Ball Hog loses sight of everyone else, but you've got to admit it's the best in basketball entertainment.
In addition to scoring, he's also going to give dirty looks to any teammate who doesn't get him the ball, which is good for a chuckle if you're watching. And tell me you didn't grin or laugh when TV caught him coaching, pointing to himself and insisting he be the one to cover Paul Pierce.
Later, I heard he wanted to fly the plane home, too.
LA Times (TJ Simers) - Kobe has no use for teamwork
This is a great column. To be honest, I didn't think anyone in California was capable of this type of Kobe criticism.
But wait, there's more:
Sickly green, bulging with elbows, dripping with sweat, a solid sheet of basketball will.
So this is how the Lakers look with backs flattened against it.
Kobe Bryant screaming, Ron Artest bricking, Pau Gasol disappearing, Andrew Bynum limping, Lamar Odom smiling?
Said Bynum: "We've got to get into it."
Said the Celtics' Tony Allen: "We're way into it."
That pretty much said it all on a night when a biology class turned into a history lesson. Less than two weeks after the Lakers began the series showing their 2010 guts, they have reverted to their 2008 softness.
LA Times (Bill Plaschke) - When push comes to shove, Lakers fail to answer
On Page 2, a few questions for one Lakers blogger.
If you're a Laker, you have but one request for the flight back to Los Angeles tomorrow morning: a seat other than the one next to Kobe Bryant. You don't want to sit by him, you don't want to look at him, you frankly shouldn't be breathing the same air. Just find yourself a spot in the luggage hold, and stay out of his sight. The Mamba's anger has been on a low simmer all playoffs long, and after tonight's calamity, an 86 to 92 Game Five loss to the Boston Celtics, we can officially put Kobe on core-meltdown alert. He did what he could to keep the Lakers alive in this one, ripping off 38 points, but from his supporting cast exactly no one came even close to matching his effort or production.
Brink, meet the Lakers. Lakers, brink.
A couple of questions for this Kobe-can't-do-anything-wrong Lakers blogger:
Where was Kobe on the Rondo tip-in? Answer: Standing beneath him watching.
Which Lakers player had a rebound ripped out of his hands by Paul Pierce late in the game? Answer - Kobe Bryant (see photo).