nba!
0017-june11-2004
so clearly rip hamilton read my last post and brought his shot to tonight's game. seriously, if rip plays like that, with the way the pistons defense has totally figured out the lakers from the season and the playoffs, there is no way the pistons don't win this series. well, there is one way, but it involves malone making shots and payton posting up point guards and kobe somehow having more space to work. in other words, neither coach is going to let this stuff happen, so don't worry about it.
re: you are wrong
in one regard...malone and payton are not key to the lakers winning. they have one shot left in this series and that is kobe moving to the next level.
right now kobe is at the "could be the best player in the game today" level, but he has potential to enter the jordan, chamberlin, russel, best player ever dispute. he has a chance to literally take over this series and raise himself to that level. he needs to simply put on a clinic in game 4. make it clear that tay can't contain him and that the pistons need to rethink this defensive scheme before kobe puts up 50 a game the rest of the way.
too bad he doesn't have the drive or the effort to make that happen. and too bad phil jackson is being exposed for the good motivator, bad coach that he is. wait...that isn't bad...