- Ron Artest was in the lockerroom before the game last night, just shooting it with L.A. traveling media. I guess he was sort of injured because someone asked him if he would be playing. “Yeah I’ll probably get in for at least a minute or two,” he replied. “So you’ll be playing?” responded the questioner. Artest: “Yeah, if you’re in for a minute, that’s it. You’ve played that game. You can’t go back and take it out.” Hilarious.
- Yao Ming has gained quite a bit of facial edema.
- I have ESPN Classic on in the background as I write this. It’s Mavs-Lakers. Then I’m going to watch Mavs-Lakers on ESPN tonight. Seriously though, I could watch Kobe play all day. And this is coming from a guy that just wrote a Dime Lead on Bryant losing the game for his team. He’s not anywhere near the best. He’s actually never been the best. But he’s certainly the most skilled, talented, and most pleasing to watch. I think that distinction is lost on far too many people.
- I think losing Demeco Ryans is like losing Chuck Hayes if Hayes had fallen off.
- I’m not sure what to say about Chandler Parsons right now. David Thorpe wrote today that he was the best defender against Kevin Durant he had ever seen. This after he won the game last night, locking down Kobe Bryant. If you had a veteran producing like this, you’d feel fortunate. This is a rookie. And not only that, but he’s going to get much, much better because the biggest weakness in his game is his shooting and that’s the single easiest thing to fix.
- I’m getting extremely worried right now about Goran Dragic because he is pricing himself out of our pay range. I prefer Kyle Lowry long term. I think he’s more in control and better at running an offense. But you might have to trade Kyle to keep Goran because you simply cannot allow just losing Goran for nothing at this point. Goran and Lowry’s trade return is preferable to Lowry alone.
- I didn’t touch on this yet, but the Rockets pulled off another great stroke with Fisher’s buyout: none of the cap hit from the player option extends to next season. It should also be mentioned that draft picks will be much more difficult to purchase under the new CBA than in years past, due to the new annual limitations on cash inclusion in all transactions. Good work, Rockets.
Metta, Kobe, Parsons, Fisher
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