I freaking love TJ Simers

Bryant Just Quit, and the Suns and Clippers Play On


PHOENIX — Great news here, of course, for the Clippers who began round two of the playoffs without Kobe Bryant.

How awful would it have been for the Clippers to have signed the guy, finally make the playoffs — only then to learn Bryant is liable to tank it at any time?

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The fact is, after the Lakers' last performance, the best scorer in the game can no longer be trusted.

In the seventh game of a playoff series, a game in which Bryant scored 23 points in the first half, Bryant returned to the floor with the Lakers down by 15 to take three shots and score one point.

What if he had taken the same approach a few years back when the Lakers found themselves down by 15 in the fourth quarter only to rally, win and eventually claim an NBA title?

Amazingly, the media in L.A. gave Bryant nothing but a free ride after the Lakers went dead against the Suns.

HEY, THE GREATEST CLOSER IN THE GAME TOOK THREE SHOTS IN THE SECOND HALF OF THE SEVENTH GAME OF A PLAYOFF SERIES AND SCORED ONE POINT!

That's a shocking story!

Something had to be said at halftime inside the Laker locker room to irritate Bryant, igniting the immaturity that apparently still rests deep inside, thereby throwing him into a full-blown pout. And we've seen that before. Sacramento a few years back immediately comes to mind.

I guess we'll have to wait for Phil Jackson's next book to learn what really happened behind closed doors.



SOME PEOPLE liken Bryant to Michael Jordan, but help me here, can anyone point to a moment in Jordan's career when he tanked it with the season on the line?

It's one thing to shoot and miss and lose the big game, they have both done that. But to shut it down, only pass the ball — and finish with one assist, Bryant cheated every Laker fan who sat there telling his friends, "You watch, Kobe will bring us back."

Forget about the score, the inept play of Bryant's inconsistent teammates, the Lakers' chances to eventually win that game. It's all irrelevant.

There is nothing short of knowing that his leg has been sawed off to think Bryant, the "Love me or hate me" and "Just do it!" competitor that everyone has known him to be, would be limited to three shots in the second half of a seventh game of a playoff series.

One of the assistant coaches in this building for the Clipper-Sun playoff game said he had lost all respect for Bryant after witnessing him quit Saturday night, and if memory serves, this guy was one of Bryant's biggest promoters.

NBA Commissioner David Stern spoke to the media before the Clipper playoff opener with the Suns, and while he was here to give Steve Nash the most-valuable-player trophy, I asked him whether he thought Bryant had tanked it against the Suns.

"No," Stern said. "I take Phil and Kobe at what they said, that they were trying to get the front court more involved," which was good news, because knowing right away that he wasn't going to be straight with everyone, there was no reason to hang around for the rest of his "everything is good in the NBA" interview.

"I've missed L.A. writers," a sarcastic Stern said, and here I've always thought he had the power to fix that, but I'm guessing even the NBA commissioner has no idea which Kobe Bryant is going to show up to work these days.



STERN SAID, "It's great to see the Clippers in the playoffs," but I had my doubts, and asked him, "Are you really happy to have the Clippers in the playoffs?''

"I can't say that," he said, while contradicting himself, "but once every 30 years" is good.

I guess we know who he would have been pulling for in the Hallway Series.



THE NBA is going to have to rely on the Clippers to keep the Los Angeles market interested in the playoffs. And that would be Elton Brand's cue to show the country why he should have received considerable MVP attention.

Brand, playing in front of Duke Coach K, who will be working again with Brand in preparation for the Olympics, put up Bryant-like numbers playing hard the entire game. Can you imagine Brand ever tanking it?

"It's too late in the season to take positives from losses," said Brand, who had 40 points, a Clipper-playoff record, and isn't everything the Clippers do these days, a Clipper-playoff record?



SAM CASSELL went to the floor clutching his face late in the fourth quarter, and remained down while the Suns attacked at the other end. The Clippers finally got the rebound, called timeout and Cassell went to the referee to plead his case. A television replay, though, showed Brand slugging Cassell in the face by accident.

I assume it was an accident.



CUTTINO MOBLEY pulled a Smush Parker and went 0 for 5 from the field in the first three quarters.



ONE THING to consider with this NBA fad of passing out matching T-shirts to the hometown crowd. They did that in Miami, and with the Heat getting whipped, the crowd — all dressed in white — looked as if they were collectively waving the white towel of surrender.



TODAY'S LAST word comes in e-mail from Andy Holderness:

"I really liked your Oscar De La Hoya columns. He seems like a good guy and I'm glad he pulled the upset. Maybe this November you could follow Karl Dorrell around the week before the USC game."

I'd rather follow Pete Carroll, and see whether he has to visit anyone in jail.

*

T.J. Simers can be reached at

t.j.simers@latimes.com. To read previous columns by Simers, go to latimes.com/simers.

Scoop Jackson was on Steven A Smith's show today and he said that he thought that something must have gone down in the locker room at halftime....and it led to Bryant's performance. He noted how both Bryant and Jackson said the exact same thing at the end of the game concerning the matter and he made some other interesting points. It does seem really odd.

And KSigKid, you are exactly right. Finally all of the people comparing Micheal Jordan and Kobe Bryant...can shut up. Michael Jordan didn't tank....ever. Probobly the most clutch player in history....or atleast our era. And yes, if someone close lined him the day before....he would have came out the next game.....smiled, and dropped 50-60 on him and then call his momma when it was all said and done with.

If anyone should start being compared...its Lebron. If he stays healthy he can legitimately play for 20 more years.....could be scary what he could do. But first he has to win six championships and lead his team to the most wins in history.

I'm probably the lone Kings fan here but...

http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/news?slug=ap-kings-adelman

Adelman out after eight years with Kings
By GREG BEACHAM, AP Sports Writer
May 9, 2006

Geoff Petrie, president of basketball operations for the Sacramento Kings, announces Tuesday, May 9, 2006, in Sacramento, Calif., that Kings coach Rick Adelman will not receive a contract extension after leading the Kings to eight consecutive playoff appearances. Sacramento was eliminated from the playoffs on Friday by the San Antonio Spurs.

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- Rick Adelman made eight straight playoff appearances in eight consecutive winning seasons coaching the Sacramento Kings. His teams won two division titles while crafting an exciting new image for one of the NBA's least lovable franchises.

And it wasn't nearly enough to save his job when the Kings' owners and executives looked at their empty trophy case.

The Kings dismissed the most successful coach in franchise history Tuesday in a firing mostly motivated by the club's desire for something better than the above-average results delivered by Adelman, 14th on the NBA's career list with 752 coaching victories.

Geoff Petrie, the Kings' president of basketball operations, wouldn't give any clear-cut reasons for the decision not to extend Adelman's contract, which expires in September. But owners Joe and Gavin Maloof, apparently dissatisfied with Adelman for years, are widely thought to be behind the move.

Sacramento was eliminated from the playoffs Friday by the San Antonio Spurs, and the club wasted no time removing the final on-court link to the franchise's revitalization in 1999, when the run of consecutive playoff appearances began.

"I came to the conclusion that continuing this way just wasn't feasible," said Petrie, who also hired Adelman -- his former roommate from their playing days -- when both worked in Portland. "The dynamic that needed to be there to help it move forward just wasn't there."

The Kings also declined to renew the contracts of Adelman's four assistants: Elston Turner, T.R. Dunn, Bubba Burrage and Pete Carril, the Hall of Fame former Princeton coach who spent nine of the last 10 years as a Sacramento assistant.

Adelman, who has won more games than all but five active coaches, spent this season as a lame duck, but still got the Kings into the playoffs at 44-38 with a midseason makeover as a defense-dominated club.

Sacramento made a tremendous late-season surge after the arrival of Ron Artest, who got along well with Adelman. The notorious forward jokingly said he would play for free next year if Adelman and free-agent guard Bonzi Wells were re-signed.

Adelman's departure ends the most successful tenure by far of any coach in the franchise's peripatetic history -- from Rochester to Cincinnati, from Kansas City and Omaha to 21 seasons in Sacramento.

But although Petrie refused to acknowledge it, the Maloof brothers have been unhappy with Adelman's leadership for at least two seasons. Adelman had far more success than all the coaches in Sacramento's two decades of NBA experience combined, but his sometimes-prickly demeanor and his failure to win a championship left him less than beloved.

The family tentatively courted Phil Jackson last summer while Adelman still was under contract, perplexing and angering Adelman. This spring, the brothers could be heard yelling advice at the Kings' bench from their courtside seats when things went poorly on the court.

When pressed on the reasons for Adelman's departure, Petrie replied: "I've answered that to the extent that I can."

Petrie plans to meet with Joe and Gavin Maloof late this week to begin a coaching search. The brothers were in Las Vegas on Tuesday and unavailable for comment.

Surrounded by reporters, Geoff Petrie, president of baseketball operations for the Sacramento Kings, announces that head coach Rick Adelman will not be offered a contract extension during a news conference at the Kings practice facility in Sacramento, Calif., Tuesday, May 9, 2006. Adelman, who has been head coach for eight season starting in 1998, is the winningest coach in Kings franchise history and had guided the team to the playoffs in each year including back-to back Pacific Division titles in 2001-02 and 2002-03. No replacement for Adelman was announced.

"In theory, you would like to find someone as quickly as possible because of the draft and whatever trade opportunities can come your way," Petrie said.

Adelman, who plans to meet with reporters at the Kings' training complex Wednesday, also didn't immediately return a call seeking comment. He would be a prime candidate for any offseason vacancies, but few coaches are expected to change jobs this summer -- and Adelman might want to take a prolonged vacation after his tumultuous years with the Kings.

Adelman is 752-481 in 16 seasons as an NBA coach, the last eight in Sacramento, where he won 395 games and led the Kings to the most success in a franchise history that stretches back to the NBA's founding days, when they were the Rochester Royals.

Adelman's streak of five consecutive 50-win seasons ended this year when the Kings got off to a terrible start. But Adelman might have done the most impressive coaching of his Sacramento tenure this season, molding a cohesive team with just two holdovers from the 2002-03 season.

The Kings transformed themselves into a defense-oriented team when Artest arrived in a late-January trade for Peja Stojakovic. Sacramento won 25 of its final 36 regular-season games and pushed San Antonio in the first round of the postseason, eventually losing in six games.

Both Adelman and the Maloofs made it clear they wouldn't discuss the coach's future until after the season. Adelman met with Joe Maloof on Monday.

"We knew that it was going to be a looming issue," Petrie said. "We put it aside and concentrated on the job at hand. We were so focused on trying to get the team there, trying to reconfigure the style of play."

Adelman led the Kings to the playoffs in each of his seasons, starting with his surprising one-year revitalization of a longtime loser in the strike-shortened 1999 season.

With new acquisitions Chris Webber, Vlade Divac, Jason Williams and Stojakovic, the Kings captured the NBA's attention with their high-flying, sharp-passing style. Sacramento increased its win total in each of its first four seasons under Adelman's watch, eventually winning the club's first two Pacific Division titles while going 61-21 in 2001-02 and 59-23 in 2002-03.

The Kings reached Game 7 of the Western Conference finals in 2002 before losing to the Los Angeles Lakers and missing a chance to play for the franchise's first championship since 1951.

Adelman reached two NBA Finals during six seasons in Portland, and also spent two losing seasons coaching the Golden State Warriors. Only Pat Riley, Larry Brown, Jerry Sloan, Phil Jackson and George Karl have more victories among active coaches.

Nope, you're not the lone one. :(

This makes me very sad.

I went to the Spurs/Mavs game today. Wait, did I say game? I mean blowout. What could go wrong for the Spurs, did go wrong. We played like shit and let Dallas put 20 up on us at our house. Atleast the compulsory blowout is now out of the way.

While I won't blame the refs for the loss, they were HORRIBLE. Many missed calls and incorrect calls. You know when San Antonio has two technicals in two minutes (when we average about 0 a game) the refs are crazy. The crowd let them know, too. Eva was shown on the telecast apparantly saying "Refs you suck!" as the rest of the 19,000 in attendance chanted it during the second quarter, which soon became "Javey (the ref) Sucks!" As the refs left the court for halftime they were booed loudly, and even louder when they came back onto the court.

While the vocal ref-hating might be commonplace at other NBA venues, it definitely isn't at the AT&T.

i hope the spurs dont win 3 straight games..........

go mavs!!!

Any team that beats the Spurs is A-OK with me. I liked the big giant Eva Longoria head somebody was holding when Tadpole tanked his free throws at the end. Nice.

Also, GO PISTONS. Come on now. I like you guys and you know, if hockey players think it's cool to grow beards during the playoffs, that's cool, but really, the Cavs need to go. LeBron's had that mess for a while now and I still cannot figure out what he's thinking.

The Pistons will pull it off. They blew away the Cavs when they were at home and had a very close game in Cleveland. They'll win the next one, although Rasheed is questionable due to his twisted ankle.

It's nice to see Rasheed eats his word after his prediction for monday was shot down. :D The Cavs will prevail.

GO CAVS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tonight was a good night.

Clevelend defeats Detroit at the Palace, taking a 3-2 series lead. That series is definitely up for grabs right now.

San Antonio defeats Dallas, forcing a Game 6 in Dallas, which will likely decide the series - If San Antonio can pull out a win, they will likely win the series as Game 7 is back in the Alamo city and the Spurs haven't lost a playoff series at home in a decade.

Cleveland has a 3-2 lead on Detroit, Elgin Baylor gets NBA Executive of the Year. I feel like I'm in a bizarro NBA universe.

If the spurs and pistons lose, that is like a championship to me.


Spurs fans are gay.

Go Clippers! Let's just hope they extend the series tonight *crosses fingers* they better win!!! :)

and they got their wish. good job, clippers.

C'mon Clips!

Yea, Biatch.

Spurs win 91-86 in Dallas. Mark Cuban, when you're at the disgusting muddy riverwalk on monday afternoon, drink a Margarita like pop suggests....

And the Pistons redeemed themselves last night. Sunday, we're back at home... we better remember to show up this time (unlike the last home game).

Sorry LeBron, your time is coming soon

Go Pistons!

All I can say is "PHEW!!!!!" I doubted them, I admit it. I am relieved. Why do these guys have to be under pressure to play really well???

You were correct; I honestly didn't think the Pistons would be able to pull one out, but they completely shut down Cleveland.

I didn't see the game yesterday but I was told Detroit used a three-man zone on Lebron for most of the second half. And once again, with the exception of Larry Hughes, the supporting cast did not come through like they supposed to. :(

Greatest postseason series ever.

Unfortunately, it didn't go our way. Congrats to Dallas, they played great throughout all seven games. My only regret is that this was a second round matchup and not a Western Conference Championship round.

Total sadness! I wanted the Spurs to win b/c I really don't care too much for the Mavericks but they did a good job, congrats.

The Clippers, it sucked that they lost by 20. I stopped watching midway through the second quarter b/c I knew things would go from bad to worse and sadly they did. I'm amazed they got as far as they went, and hopefully this is a learning experience and possibly get ahead next year in the playoffs.

At least, they will not be apart of the draft lottery later today, someone else's will have to fill the Clippers' groove in that seat :)

i seriously thought the mavs were going to let another one slip away. go mavs!

If I have a heart attack while watching the Pistons in the playoffs, can my family sue them? Can they not just play 100% and beat a team easily for once? Nooooooooo, they have to keep us on the edge of our seats day in and day out. Behind the whole first half, then in the 3rd quarter pull ahead, now it's back and forth, back and forth...

How come the pistons have had the same team for three years yet Flip Saunders can't seem to do much with them? After horrendous performances vs Cleveland and Miami, maybe someone forgot to tell Flip that this isn't Minnesota.

mavs vs. heat


who's your pick?

go mavs!!!

well....the drafting of Darko Milicic as the #2 overall pick instead Carmelo, Dwayne Wade, and a couple others really hurt the Pistons......who need a younger player that can dribble penetrate better than Chauncey Billups.

I never liked the Darko pick but Carmelo or Wade may or may not have gotten the playing time and development they needed right away. The Pistons liked Prince so they didn't have a need for Carmelo. Not many thought Wade would be this good, certainly not teams three and four from that years draft. They needed a power forward/center badly at the time since they didn't have Rasheed yet.

The younger guard is #1 on their priority list for sure this offesason. That and trying to re-sign Ben Wallace although he wants a ton of money.

GO MAVS!!

Go Heat!!!
 

^^ I think somebody just shared their latest screensaver :cool:

this series is going 6 or 7 games. ...I just don't know whose going to take it at the end. The benches will tell the story, here. Whichever team has the better, more consistent bench play, will likely win.

I'm a huge Avery Johnson fan, for all he represents and if Dallas wins, I'll be most happy for him. But Pat Riley is a straight-up beast on that bench and will bring a ton of championship experience to the battle. ...and dude, reminiscent of his Showtime days, is still probably the best dressed coach in the Association.

^^
Perhaps he will be the latest screensaver.
I also think it will go 6 or 7, and Miami, with Riles' championship savvy, can steal a game or two in the D. But Dallas is going to be tough -- my feeling is that Dirk the German will get his points, and the focus will be stopping the others.

I discussed this with a friend this morning. Dirk Novitski (sp?) has stepped it up during these playoffs -- but the title round is different. Yes, he got to the rim against Phoenix, but that will be a 'whole nuther matter against Diesel, Alonzo Mourning, et. al. Same question for D-Wade, but Miami is a more physical team than Dallas. And remember, (although I'd rather not) Riley took a physical, albeit rim-bending Knicks team to the finals in '95.

I'm watching in particular Posey, Payton and A. Mourning, who has chased a ring for a loooong time. Dude will leave it all on the floor. If Dallas' bench matches their intensity, it will be a monster series.

...geez, ya think the Kobester and Mr. Buss will be watching the series? and is Shaq flying you in for the games? :)

I don't think Shaunie would dig me at the games. :p
And I think that Kob**** and Dr. Buss are probably the two biggest Maverick fans now.

Re: Go Heat!!!
 

Shaq in rare form.

I pick Miami in seven. this will be a Dwayne Wade/ Shaq Moment.

I thought Nowitzki relied much more on his jumper than taking it to the rim during the Phoenix series. I think he will eat Shaq alive in the Finals because he will force Shaq and Mourning to come out and guard him from the blocks. He is too quick for Shaq and has the height over Mourning. Plus I think Dallas has a far better bench.


Dallas wins 4-2

game starts tonight! i will be watching at dave and busters with some co-workers.

Went to the game last night.......box seats.....bad ass.

Why anyone thought Miami was going to win this series is beyond me. Dallas is so much better than the Heat, its almost funny. I think people forget that the Mavs swept their season series aswell and embarassed them both times. Dallas is also capable of rotating 10 guys at any point during the game with confidence.....something Miami could only dream of, unless they think someone like Mike Doleac could help them.

I am revising my former prediction of a 4-2 series win to 4-1. Actually I wouldn't even mind the Mavs only taking 1 of 3 in Miami so I can go back to AA Center and watch them win the title in Dallas.