הנהלת הלייקרס: שפלים, עלובי-חיים, ומטילי אשמה על חפים מפשע

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There are a few different ways to process the Chris Paul injury. First, you can look at the Clippers. They arrived in the playoffs with most of the league claiming they had to make a Finals run to keep their nucleus together. At the very least, the hope was that Blake Griffin could play well enough to maintain his trade value should things go wrong. Now, Blake is injured again, CP3 is out, and the season is likely lost. Not great.

Second, there's Paul's career, generally. One day I’ll write 10,000 words on Chris Paul and the cosmic unfairness of his NBA career and everything that’s gone awry for him in the playoffs. It almost defies belief. Is this all payback for the Julius Hodge incident? In this year’s version of The Universe Hates CP3, he was gifted with the clearest path to the Conference Finals he’s ever had, and eight hours later, it was gone. Like the Clippers’ outlook, thinking hard about CP3’s postseason history can take you on a dark, emotional journey.

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Cataclysmic injuries could signal death of Clippers' Lob City era

by Rohan Nadkarni

But there's a third way to understand the Chris Paul news that’s a little more hopeful. It’s speculative, it’s rooted purely in emotion, and it almost feels wrong to mention it… But isn’t there a chance that this injury saves the playoffs?

Think about where we would have been with a healthy Clippers roster. CP3 would have beaten the Warriors. With or without Blake, the Clippers were excellent for the past four months. Chris Paul is Hall of Fame talented and too homicidally competitive to lose to Shaun Livingston and Andre Iguodala. The games would’ve been ugly and hard-fought, but the outcome of that series would not have been in doubt for very long.

It would’ve been uncomfortable to watch. Every Clips win would have had a massive asterisk, and it all would have brought us deeper into the nationwide grieving process over Steph’s knee and the 73–win Warriors.

Compounding the awkwardness, the healthy Clippers would then advance, and they could play the Spurs or Thunder tight, too. Either matchup would’ve been close enough to demand our attention. And every time anyone turned to watch those games, the entire time, they’d be wondering how much better this could have been with a healthy Steph Curry.

Instead of that gloomy reality, we have a second chance at enjoying the playoffs. The Clippers rolling through the Warriors isn’t going to happen, and that’s a good thing for everyone but the Clippers.

• MORE NBA: Paul, Griffin injuries derail Clips | What Curry's injury means

Photo: Craig Mitchelldyer/Getty Images

It’s more likely now that we’ll get a scrappy Blazers team against the scrappy Steph-less Warriors, and that series will actually be pretty fascinating. Can Dame score enough to put a nail in Golden State’s coffin? Can Draymond and Klay step up on offense and to carry the Warriors? How much will the Oracle crowds help?

If the Blazers win and make the conference finals, it’s such a bizarre outcome that we don’t even have to worry about attaching an asterisk. It’s self-explanatory, and everyone can simply look forward to San Antonio or OKC in the Finals.

Or, maybe CP3’s injury really saves the playoffs. Instead of losing to the Clippers, the Warriors handle the Blazers in the first two games at Oracle. They steal one game in Portland, too, and come back to Oracle up 3–1. Do they hold Steph out in this scenario?

[enters time machine]

They do.

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e Charlotte Hornets have taken control of their first-round series against theMiami Heat with a 90-88 victory in Game 5 on Wednesday night. Charlotte has now won three straight games to take a 3-2 series lead with Game 6 set for Friday night.

After three lopsided games to open the series, the past two have seen the Hornets and Heat in close battles. Game 5 went down to the wire and was not lacking in controversy thanks to a few interesting plays near the end of the fourth quarter.

The first came on a Courtney Lee layup attempt in the final minute that seemed to be a missed basket interference call by the referees. Dwyane Wade appeared to smack the backboard and dislodge Lee's shot, but referees aren't able to review that kind of call under league rules, so this didn't undergo any greater scrutiny despite being a very close, important call in a big game.

Lee eventually redeemed himself by hitting the game-winning three-pointer with 25 seconds left, then got into the action again on Miami's next possession. Wade had a chance to tie the game and possibly force overtime, but Lee blocked the shot and no foul was called. Wade was visibly upset with the officials afterward.

The Hornets went on to close out the game after one last bit of intrigue on an out-of-bounds call in the final seconds. The referees ruled that it was Charlotte's ball, however, and the team ran out the rest of the clock while the Heat looked less than thrilled by what had just happened.

It was a wild finish to the game, and after going up 2-0, you can see why the Heat are wondering how they got to this point.

Marvin Williams led the Hornets with 17 points on 7-of-10 shooting, which was a welcomed performance for the veteran after some rough shooting nights earlier in the series. Wade had a game-high 25 points on 11-of-19 shooting.

Three more things we learned from Game 5:

Bad Kemba alternates with Good Kemba

The Hornets have leaned hard on their star point guard in this series and he's given them everything but consistency. Walker's five performances have alternated between stellar and not-so-great as he's tried to carry Charlotte offensively. In Game 5, Walker had just 14 points on 4-of-18 shooting, including several misses late in the fourth quarter. It's been that kind of series for Kemba:

Game 1: 19 points, 6-of-13 shooting
Game 2: 29 points, 12-of-29 shooting
Game 3: 17 points, 4-of-19 shooting
Game 4: 34 points, 13-of-28 shooting
Game 5: 14 points, 4-of-18 shooting

Walker deserves a ton of credit, especially for his monster effort in Game 4. He's taking over 21 shots per game in the playoffs, compared with about 16 shots per game in the regular season. The 25-year-old is doing his best to put the team on his shoulders. He's just not quite the kind of player who can do that every single night in the postseason.

Miami's old guys can still get up

Justise Winslow may be the future on the wing for the Heat, but let's not forget about the veterans just yet. In Game 5, 34-year-old Wade and 31-year-old Luol Deng each uncorked a huge dunk on the Hornets' defense, showing everyone that there's still some life in those legs amid the playoff atmosphere.

Wade's dunk was especially impressive considering it came as part of a dashing sprint to the basketball while being swarmed by Charlotte's defense. The Heat have had trouble consistently breaking down the Hornets' defense to get penetration in this series, but Wade showed on this play that aggressively pushing the ball in transition is one way to create an opportunity.

Charlotte's cold spell opened the door for Miami

One of the most crucial sequences in Game 5 came in the middle of the third quarter as the Hornets' offense slowed to a halt. Charlotte was leading, 57-52, after a Frank Kaminsky three-pointer, then proceeded to miss its next 11 shots as Miami went on a 10-0 run to turn a five-point deficit into a five-point lead.

This series has been full of streaky shooting, starting with Miami's ridiculous outbursts in the opening two games. Charlotte, on the other hand, has shown that it needs to slow down the pace, clog the paint and avoid a shootout if it wants to win.

So when the Hornets got stuck in a cold spell, it gave Miami the opportunity it needed to turn the game around. Charlotte managed to recover, however, by holding the Heat to just 17 points in the fourth quarter. Yet again in Game 5, the Hornets proved their defense is what will carry them this postseason.

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e Golden State Warriors put the finishing touches on their series against theHouston Rockets with a 114-81 win in Game 5 on Wednesday night. Despite being without Stephen Curry, Golden State had little trouble closing out the series, 4-1, to advance to the conference semifinals.

The Rockets came out in Game 5 looking like a team ready to get on with the offseason already. Other than James Harden, who scored a game-high 35 points on 12-of-23 shooting, this was an embarrassing effort by Houston in a series-deciding game. The team shot just 32 percent from the field, which was seemingly symptomatic of a team that knew it was overmatched.

The Warriors went up 37-20 after the first quarter Wednesday, then extended their lead to 22 points entering halftime. Houston came out of the break with five unanswered points to cut the lead to 17, but that was more or less the last sign of life from the team this season.

Klay Thompson led Golden State with 27 points on 10-of-14 shooting in 29 minutes.Draymond Green also filled the box score with 15 points, nine rebounds and eights assists. The team will face the winner of the Clippers-Blazers series in the next round.

Three more things from Game 5:

James Harden needed wayyyyyy more help

Not that Harden was perfect in this series, but it's almost laughable how his scoring in Game 5 contrasted with his teammates' performance. Even though his scoring average in the series dipped to 26.6 points per game — down from 29 during the regular season — he was really Houston's lone offensive threat. The Warriors certainly didn't let anybody else beat them:

Harden: 35 points, 12-of-23 shooting (52 percent)
Everyone else: 46 points, 19-of-72 shooting (26 percent)

And not only that, but Harden drew nine of the Rockets' 19 free throws in the game, too. The team had the same number of turnovers (17) as assists. Houston started the season in a dysfunctional place, and it seemed to end it without making a ton of progress.

Shaun Livingston has been a solid stand-in

Nobody can replace Stephen Curry. He's one of the most unique players in NBA history and has helped to transform what we think is possible from the world's best basketball players. Shaun Livingston, no matter what, would never be able to replicate Steph.

What Livingston can do, on the other hand, is effectively play within the Warriors' ball-moving style. And while he doesn't have Curry's supernatural shooting ability, Livingston's length makes him difficult for other teams to size up against. He's more than just a nice change of pace from Curry stylistically.

Livingston was stellar in Game 5 in place of Curry, leading the way in the first half with a team-high 14 points on 6-of-6 shooting. He finished the game with 16 points, three rebounds and three assists in 28 minutes.

Everyone expected point guard to be a dominant position for Golden State in this series with the MVP filling the duties, but it turns out the Rockets didn't have any answers for stopping Livingston, either. Maybe that's somewhat because of Houston's lacking defense in general, but Livingston deserves credit, too.

When will the Warriors get a real challenge?

Golden State just rolled over its first-round opponent despite being without the best player in the world for most of the series. Furthermore, after the Clippers' injuries decimated their championship aspirations, the Warriors could be looking at a second-round matchup with the Trail Blazers. Now, this isn't to knock what Portland has accomplished, but it'll be the second straight series where Golden State gets matched up against a team that doesn't exactly scream title contender. The Warriors may not see their first real challenge until the Western Conference Finals, when they would face the winner of the upcoming series between the Thunder and Spurs. That's the matchup everyone's waiting for, and right now, Golden State's path to that series is looking fairly tame.

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Not So Secret Weapon: Nobody can stop the Warriors' deadliest play

Be sure to subscribe to SB Nation's YouTube channel for highlight videos, features, analysis and more

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became a 5-star basketball recruit instead

By Ricky O'Donnell  @SBN_Ricky on Apr 27, 2016, 10:54a +

Jon Lopez / Nike

Kevin Knox is growing into everything basketball wants in a wing. He's still growing into himself, too.

 

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BJ Johnson remembers exactly where he was the first time Kevin Knox caught his eye. The assistant director of USA Basketball was in Houston for a spring stop on Nike's EYBL tour looking for players to round out the program's U16 team. Johnson settled in to watch Each 1 Teach 1, the same Florida-based collective that produced Ben Simmons a year earlier and D'Angelo Russell one season before that.

His eyes gravitated toward a long and raw 15-year-old who couldn't be found in recruiting rankings and was clearly still growing into his body.

"There are a lot of good scorers in the EYBL, but sometimes you get drawn to guys that impact the game in so many different ways," Johnson said. "We saw him rebounding and hustling and just making tough plays. That kept on sticking out to us.

"At his size, we felt like what's the worst that can happen?"

The way Knox tells it, he was the last player invited to Colorado Springs for a tryout. He went on to make the U16 team, fly out to Argentina and start four of five games on the way to a gold medal for the United States. Johnson glows thinking back to a clutch three-pointer Knox hit in the championship game against Canada. Along the way, he entered ESPN's recruiting rankings for the first time at No. 45.

By the next update, Knox had risen all the way to No. 6 and solidified his five-star status.

The scariest thing about Kevin Knox's origin story is that it's not even close to being complete. He doesn't turn 17 years old until August and already stands 6'9 with a 7-foot wingspan and a size-18 shoe. He's grown two inches every year since entering high school and isn't finished yet. Duke, Kentucky and North Carolina have each offered and told him he's a priority on the wing.

All this for a player who is solely focusing on basketball for the first time in his life.

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(Credit: USA Basketball)

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Kevin Knox always had the bloodlines. His father was a wide receiver on Florida State's 1994 national championship team and a sixth-round NFL draft pick. His mother played volleyball for the Seminoles.

Knox was destined to be a great athlete from the start. He just didn't know which sport it would be in.

Knox enrolled at Tampa Catholic as a high school freshman mostly known as a quarterback. At 6'4, he had NFL size for the position at 13 years old. He started on varsity as a sophomore and was considered an ESPN top 150 recruit as an "athlete." He says he can throw a football 65 or 70 yards.

The only thing working against Knox's football career is that he just kept growing.

"At the end of the day, it's about physical dimensions," his father Kevin Knox Sr., an assistant coach with Each 1 Teach 1, told SB Nation. "Peyton Manning is 6'6. Cam Newton is 6'5. You don't have too many 6'8 QBs. He's still 16 years old. He'll probably be 6'10 with a size 19 or 20 shoe. That doesn't necessarily equate to a quarterback in the NFL, but those dimensions do translate to a possible NBA player."

Knox made the decision to give up football for good as a junior. It's looking like an increasingly smart choice.

Knox's final season of grassroots ball is just beginning, but he's already acing the transition from a role player to a star. After averaging 8.5 points per game last year, he put up 21.7 points and seven rebounds at the first circuit stop of the season in Brooklyn.

At stop No. 2 in Indiana this past weekend, Knox posted 25 points and 13 rebounds against Boo Williams and 24 points against Houston Hoops in a marquee matchup with fellow five-star wing Jarred Vanderbilt.

This is all happening so fast that it's easy for the mind to start to wonder. Knox is clearly one of the best runners and jumpers in the class of 2017. Now he's slowly developing into one of the best basketball players, too.

"Every coach has told me I'm positionless," Knox told SB Nation. "They want me to play an all around type of game. I can play pretty much 1-5."

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Knox's strengths as a player stand in contrast with the worst assumptions people make about grassroots basketball. AAU is supposed to be defined by a carefree, relentlessly uptempo style where athletes play for themselves, not the team. Knox is different. He hasn't forgotten what made him appealing to USA Basketball from the start: his defense and hustle plays.

"It's not always fun," Knox said of accepting the role of a shutdown defender. "It burns inside to play defense. But you have to keep working and eventually defense is something you get used to."

Knox understands there's never been a better time for jumbo wings with elite athleticism. Five years ago, a player with his build might have been considered a tweener. Now most coaches will look at him as an oversized ball of quick twitch muscles who can switch any pick-and-roll, make a killing in transition and hit a spot-up three-pointer.

"I like to watch a lot of Kevin Durant, Brandon Ingram and Giannis Antetokounmpo," Knox said. "Those tall lanky wings that can handle the ball and shoot it."

Knox has a long way to go until he becomes that type of player, but he's identified the right role models. Like Ingram and Durant, Knox is much younger than most of his peers. He has the benefit of time on his side.

It's impossible to know what Kevin Knox could one day become because he's still growing into himself as a person and a basketball player. It's been a whirlwind 12 months that saw him pick a sport, find his niche and go from an unheralded recruit to the most coveted wing in the country. Whatever comes next, he won't be sneaking up on anyone anymore.

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יונתן ווסרמן

Ben Bentil (Providence, PF, Sophomore)

Anthony Gruppuso-USA TODAY Sports

Draft Status: No agent, eligible to return

Bentil's monster sophomore numbers never translated to much NBA draft buzz during the year. He finished the season averaging 21.1 points and 7.7 rebounds, yet projected top-10 pick Kris Dunn received most of the attention at Providence.

Fans and media have overlooked the Friars big man in NBA draft discussion. One scout recently told me he thought Bentil could go in this year's first round.

At 6'9", 235 pounds, he looks big and strong enough to compete around the basket with NBA 4s. And though he's not a particularly bouncy athlete, Bentil flashed an encouraging perimeter game, having hit 52 threes as a sophomore and developing into a difficult face-up cover from the short corners.

It needs work, but his jumper looks convincing, while his improved footwork and one-handed touch fuel a post game consisting of go-to moves and counters.

Poor rebounding (8.9 boards per 40 minutes) and shot-blocking numbers (1.2 blocks per 40 minutes) weaken his draft case. But they shouldn't just negate all the positives—specifically advanced, inside-out versatility, pro-ready physical tools and the production to back it all up.

Unless he makes a dramatic rise following the combine and workouts, some team is going to find a steal in the late first or second round.

Best-Case Draft Projection: Mid-first round

Worst-Case Draft Projection: Second round

 

Malik Beasley (Florida State, SG, Freshman)

Mark Konezny-USA TODAY Sports

Draft Status: Hired an agent, staying in the draft

Beasley hasn't made too many headlines, as Florida State's absence from the NCAA tournament didn't help create any buzz down the stretch. But the freshman has been on scouts' radar throughout the season, and with the predraft process nearly underway, he's a potential riser to watch over the next two months.

"He'll be mid-first round, if not lottery," one scout told me.

Beasley passes the NBA eye test with 6'5" size and the type of explosiveness that is bound to turn heads during testing and workouts. Assuming his freshman-year numbers weren't fluky, he has a jumper to match the burst. He knocked down 1.6 threes per game, shooting 38.7 percent from beyond the arc.

Otherwise, Beasley flashed a developing stop-and-pop move and floater game. He has the quickness to effectively guard both backcourt positions, too. Depending on how far he takes his defense, he could draw some comparisons to three-and-D off-guard Wesley Matthews.

Beasley hasn't put everything together, but at 19 years old, carrying a life jacket inflated by shooting and athleticism, he looks like a low-risk, potentially rewarding draft pick in the 15-to-35 range.

Best-Case Draft Projection: Lottery

Worst-Case Draft Projection: Early second round

 

Caris LeVert (Michigan, SG, Senior)

Rick Osentoski-USA TODAY Sports

Draft Status: Auto-eligible

LeVert was virtually removed from the first-round discussion after missing the final few months of his senior campaign with a left foot injury—the second consecutive year his season ended prematurely due to surgery on that foot. He'll enter the draft draped in red flags, and teams will pore over his medical reports.

"Teams are still interested, they're just looking to meet me at the combine," LeVert told Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press. "Everyone’s really anxious to see. Team doctors are anxious to get their hands on me."

Some scouts may have already written off LeVert as too big a risk, but I'd bank on others looking for value to keep tabs on him. Unless doctors find something that suggests he's untouchable, LeVert has the chance to be 2016's buy-low pick of the draft.

Given how long he's been around, it's easy to forget he's still just 21 years old. And when he's healthy, his 6'7" size, athleticism and versatility scream NBA potential.

LeVert finished his career at Michigan having shot 40.1 percent on 334 three-point attempts, including a career-best 44.6 percent as a senior. And before going down for good in February, he was averaging 4.9 assists, highlighting unique playmaking ability off of ball screens and penetration.

Size and quickness for the position, a tested jumper and above-average passing check valued NBA boxes. LeVert will fall under the boom-or-bust umbrella, but if his latest surgery and extended rest work, allowing his foot to strengthen and hold up physically, he could be a steal for a gambling general manager.

Best-Case Draft Projection: Late first round

Worst-Case Draft Projection: Undrafted

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mise

By Kevin Ding, NBA Senior Writer

Apr 28, 2016

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LOS ANGELES — Before we allow Blake Griffin to move on from this forgettable season, he should be given a tremendous amount of credit.

That’s right. Griffin might have a thing or two he wishes he did differently in this ill-fated 2015-16 campaign, but he was there for his Los Angeles Clippers team in epic ways that need to be told.

Griffin knew, according to league sources, there was a strong possibility he would re-tear his left quadriceps tendon by playing in the playoffs.

He played anyway.

Jae C. Hong/Associated Press

Griffin could’ve and maybe should’ve undergone the procedure to fix the tendon immediately after suffering the injury on Christmas, according to league sources, but it would’ve ended his Clippers season because of a four- to six-month recovery.

So he tried to strengthen the other areas of his leg, gut it out and heal somewhat to be there, even at a substandard level, for his team’s playoff run.

That’s how much he wanted to capitalize on the opportunity the Clippers had with DeAndre Jordan re-signed to play with both him and Chris Paul, both of whom can opt out of their contracts to become free agents after next season.

Griffin’s decision in December also meant he was knowingly surrendering his chance of playing in the 2016 Rio Olympics, because he was told he would need a significant bone-marrow-injection procedure eventually. If he did it in December and used theNBA season to recover, he could be back for a summer with USA Basketball.

That deep commitment to the Clippers offers an interesting context for Griffin’s heavily scrutinized punch of assistant equipment manager Matias Testi at a restaurant in late January. The punch that broke Griffin’s right hand and turned him into a pariah for indulging in an off-court moment so foolishly.

It’s only fair to understand that when Griffin did that and hurt the team, he was in the midst of putting off the quad procedure in sincere hopes of helping the team.

He had a team-high 17 points Monday night in Portland before he planted for a leap and felt a give. Paul had left the game shortly prior after breaking a bone in his right hand. Griffin stayed in after the leg gave out, moving gingerly for a while before finally leaving with less than six minutes left of what was a 98-84 Clippers’ loss.

The depleted Clippers also lost Game 5 at home Wednesday night to the Trail Blazers, 108-98, moving to the brink of elimination. Paul was on the bench at Staples Center, even doing his customary waves of disdain at referees with his one good hand, while Griffin was not.

Sam Forencich/Getty Images

One could jump to further conclusions about Griffin being a bad teammate or not there for the guys, but again, all is not as it might seem. Griffin was at the game; he just didn’t appear on the bench. Clippers head coach Doc Rivers said both Paul and Griffin had texted every teammate with encouraging words prior to the game and offered more vocal support in person at halftime in the locker room…despite both having texted Rivers with their true sorrowful notes.

Griffin had gone ahead with the non-surgical regenerative procedure for his tendon Wednesday morning. The MRI Tuesday morning confirmed the situation—the team press release merely stated “aggravating the injury to his left quad tendon” and that he was out for the playoffs.

Time had passed for postponing it. There was no hope left.

All the hard work Griffin put in trying to strengthen his leg, initially ineffective but eventually successful to the point where he began believing he could make it through a long playoff run, wound up wasted.

He had come a long way since his first game back three weeks ago, when he was so wary of leaping, he actually thought to himself for the first time ever as an alley-oop pass went up: “Please don’t throw it too high.”

Because he was protecting the quad tendon, Griffin rarely could practice his jump shot to get a feel for how comfortable he was with his healed hand. There was no chance he would be the all-around powerhouse who finished third in the 2014 NBA MVP voting, rose up as the Clippers beat the defending champion San Antonio Spurs in the first round of the 2015 playoffs and averaged 23.2 points, 8.7 rebounds and 5.0 assists during the first 30 games of this season.

Were his stubborn efforts trying to salvage 2016 pointless? Not if you ask Rivers.

“I actually thought Blake was about a second away from regaining timing,” Rivers said about Game 4.

Rivers said even he mentioned it mid-game after watching Griffin on the court: “‘Man, you can see him. He’s close; he’s close. He is about to get it going.’ And then, ‘Bam.’”

Steve Dykes/Getty Images

The idea that a fragile Griffin just trying to survive could’ve carried the Clippers to their first-ever title without Paul is unrealistic.

He would’ve tried, though.

If this were some Hollywood script, that happy ending would’ve played out after the sacrifice Griffin privately made with his leg despite receiving such public condemnation for his hand.

He might be a befuddling character on the court with how fearlessly he plays at times while coming across to opponents as a fake tough guy. And this certainly doesn’t change the fact he punched Testi.

Yet Griffin tried. He tried more than anyone knew.

He had to live with the guilt of the punch and the anxiety that his next explosive move would end his season, as it ultimately did. He wanted to play and wanted to be there for his team.

Griffin will be fully recovered for the next NBA season, but he deserves more than that.

He deserves acknowledgement for his determination to persevere in a season that upon first glance just looks like a big mess.

 

הפיטורין של ביירון סקוט היה עוד צעד שפל של הלייקרס, תוספת רגילה ומצופה ממה שהולך בקלוב הזה כשהאשמים ביותר לא יכולים להיות מפוטרים כי הם בעלי העסק, והאשם הגדול מלבדם שחייב להיות מפוטר עושה מה שיותר קל לו לעשות: מוצא שעיר לעזאזל (גיא!) ומפטר אותו.

שאלה: "האם ביירון סקוט הוא מאמן מצויין?"

התשובה היא "לדעתי לא!".

שאלה: "האם ביירון סקוט הוא מאמן טוב מאד ללייקרס?"

התשובה היא "כן, אם יעזבו אותו לנפשו ויתנו לו לעבוד עם הצעירים".

לקבוצת פח גרועה כמו לייקרס צריכים מאמן רגיל, לא מאמן כמו פופ שינפח להם את המוח עם השטויות שלו. הם צריכים מאמן שיהיה מסוגל לדבר עם השחקנים בגובה העיניים, בשפתם, ולפתח אותם בצורה יעילה. לקבוצה גרועה כמו הלייקרס אין צורך בסופר-מאמן.

לכן אני לא מבין מה כל ההתקפה הזאת על בירון סקוט עכשיו שהוא פוטר.

כולם מתנפלים עליו עתה כאילו היו נבלה על הכביש, וכל העורבים – אוהדי הלייקרס למיניהם – עוטים על בשרו ומנקרים כמה שיותר ללא בושה, ולו הקטנה שבקטנות.

אולי ישנו מישהו כאן – מלבד גור גולן שיביא הסברים מ'מה נשתנה' – שיכול להסביר לי מה יהיה ההבדל עם מאמן אחר?

מדברים על לוק וולטון? המאמן האפסי ביותר שישנו בכל עולם ה-NBA שאין לו ולו את המושג הדל ביותר בכדורסל. לא היה לו מושג כשחקן, אז עכשיו פתאום הוא מאמן גדול, כי הוא ישב על ספסל ג"ס ולקח טיים-אאוטים? עד לאן יכולה להגיע הדביליות של אנשים? יאללה, שיביאו אותו. השהייה בבור הצואה רק תתארך בחמש שנים.

הבעייה של הלייקרס היתה בביזבוז עונה שלמה על "הצגת הפיטורין של קובי", וכמובן הבעייה הישנה של שחקנים שמיץ' קופצ'אק אירגן להם, ולא אחזור על עשרות הפאשלות שהוא עשה, והכל בברכת ילדיו של ג'רי באס.

אני לא מופתע לחלוטין שפיו של קופצ'אק סגור ואטום בקשר לפיטורין כי הוא יודע שברגע שיפתח את פיו, יתנפלו על האשם האמיתי. למה בלוס אנג'לס לא עושים זאת כבר עכשיו – כמוני – לאלוהים פתרונים.

מאמן חדש יביא רק תפאורה חדשה לשבועיים-שלושה, ואז הקללה שתפשה את הלייקרס בקרניה תמשיך לפעול כמו תמיד.

כמובן שכל אוהדי הלייקרס צמאים לדם. קובי קבר אותם העונה עם המשכורת המטורפת ששילמו לו; הצעירים לא נראים ככוכבים כלל וכלל – – הם לא רעים בכלל, אבל כמוהם ישנם לכל קבוצה. הם הפכו לחברה הטובה ביותר של פילדלפיה 76, ושתיהן הן הבדיחה של הליגה ולא יותר.

"התקווה הגדולה" שלהם (שתתברר כמעוטת חשיבות) היא בחירת דראפט – בן סימונס או ברנדון אינגראם. אז במקום 17-65 הם יסיימו 21-61. הוריי!

הביקורת הגדולה ביותר (אם ניתן לקרוא לה ביקורת)  – והיחידה –  לגבי ביירון סקוט היא שהוא נתן לקובי רשות לנהל את ההצגה של שנת פרישתו ללא מחאה קולנית.  בגללו הצעירים לא התפתחו כראוי, ובגללו העונה היתה ביזבוז אחד גדול.  ז-א-ת   ה-י-ת-ה   צ-ר-י-כ-ה   ל-ה-י-ו-ת   ה-ב-י-ק-ו-ר-ת.

אבל סקוט לא החליט בעצמו. אילו זה היה תלוי בו קובי היה יושב בסוף הספסל ומלקט את המיליונים שלו מבלי לשחק. אבל הוא הוכרח לתת את ההצגה, ואלה שהכריחו אותו צריכים להיות מפוטרים.

קופצ'אק הוא האדם, כי את ג'יני באס או אחיה אי אפשר לפטר. הם הבעלים.

אז , כרגיל, מצאו שעיר לעזאזל.

הכריחו את סקוט לעשות מקובי איזה משיח או גואל, ולייפות ולהאדיר את שנת פרישתו. הוא נגע בכדור, וכל הסטייפל סנטר המלא בכוכבי הוליווד במקום אוהדים ניכנס לאקסטזה. הוא קלע סל, והיתה זאת השפכה.

אני מאשים את ביירון סקוט שהוא הסכים לקחת חלק בכל השואו הטיפשי וחסר הטעם הזה שהרס את הקבוצה לכמה שנים טובות מבלי למחות נמרצות, אבל מה יכול מאמן לעשות מלבד להתפטר? וכשמשלמים לך 5 מיליון, ואתה מקווה לעתיד טוב יותר, אף בר אנוש עם טיפת שכל לא היה מתפטר.

סקוט עשה מה שיכול היה לעשות: פיתח את ג'ורדן קלרקסון וג'וליוס רנדל להיות שחקנים טובים יותר, והתפתחותם היתה, הייתי אומר, NICELY DONE. הוא טיפל בד'אנג'לו ראסל כפי שהיה צריך: נתן לו לעלות בחמישייה כשהוא שיחק בהתאם להוראות, והושיבו על הספסל כשהיה צריך.

הלייקרס לא הולכת לשום מקום עם בחירת בן סימונס או ברנדון אינגראם. הסיכוי היחיד להשמיע קול הוא לדוג את קווין דוראנט (סיכוי כמעט אפסי הייתי אומר).

במילים אחרות, מלבד להסכים בלית ברירה להצגה המטופשת של פרישת קובי, ביירון סקוט עשה מה שהמאמן הטוב ביותר בעולם היה עושה: מפתח את הצעירים שיש לו, מקווה לבחירת דראפט טובה, וסומך על ההנהלה שיביאו מגה- כוכב או שניים מהשחקנים החופשיים.

זה מה שכל מאמן מצויין בעולם היה עושה.

אז למה לפטר את המאמן שעשה ב-ד-י-ו-ק   מה שהוא אמור היה לעשות, מלבד "הצגת קובי" שנכפתה עליו?

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