WEEKLY SPORTS WRAP-UP – Feb 15th, 2007
At this very moment as my fingers pound out these words, the Detroit Pistons are soundly beating down the Los Angeles Clippers. With their newest addition, Chris Webber, trying to perform his swan song back in his hometown, the man has shown that he is still a dangerous player, given the right situation. Webber did average twenty points and 10 rebounds last year, despite his broken down knees, which will make Detroit a force come May and June.
The strength of the team is the essence of that very word; team. Their top seven players are all effective on the offensive side of the ball, and they compliment one another perfectly. The shiftiness and constant motions of Chauncey Billups, Richard Hamilton, and Lindsey Hunter on the perimeter are in perfect balance with the versatility of their frontcourt of Webber, Tayshaun Prince, Rasheed Wallace, and Antonio McDyess. The fact that all are capable of scoring 20+ on any given night, stretches the other team’s defense. They create so much space on the floor, and they use it well, like musicians with a well-composed song. And, they’re still “considered” a defensive team.
As for the Clippers, they seem to be a step behind where they were last year, when they made their return to the playoffs after years of being in the lottery. Every year, a team comes out of nowhere to become a dangerous playoff participant, but then they come back to Earth the following year. Recent examples, the Minnesota Timberwolves, Seattle Sonics, and Memphis Grizzlies, whom had 60 and 50 plus win seasons within the past three years, haven’t been relevant since making those runs. Though they are in the eighth spot in the West, they haven’t shown anything promising so far this year, and are in danger of joining these other teams in saying, “What the fuck happened to us?”.
As for the other hometown team, the Los Angeles Lakers, they are slowly becoming a true dark horse team for the NBA title. Though Dallas and Phoenix are the top two teams, the Lakers have beaten both teams at least once this season, as well as winning the season series against San Antonio, another contender to the throne. They have played with a 60% winning percentage much of the season, despite suffering through injuries to key players. Kobe Bryant is truly playing as an MVP so far this season, finally developing a team-first concept that is causing his younger teammates to overachieve and develop ahead of schedule.
Which finally brings me to one of Kobe’s biggest cheerleaders in the local sports media, Vic “The Brick” Jacobs, a hairy little mutant who station AM570 allows to spew his man crush on Bryant everyday over the radio. When forced to listen to his show while at work recently, I can’t help but wonder what he would do if he was alone with an unconscious Kobe. He is the epitome of the loving fan, who can see no wrong with his favorite athlete and bashes all of his competitors with insane claims of their inferiority to his version of God.
Sports is where the media seem to have the most subjectivity, and Mr. Jacobs is near the end of the spectrum here. Vic, feelin’ you? Well, feel this, you furry bastard!
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