No Lakers, no Celtics and I don't really care who wins between Chicago and Miami. Since I'm old school, I'll go for the senior citizens of Dallas to go for the crown. It's about time the Mavericks will shine. Jason Kidd, Dirk Nowitzki, Jason Terry and Peja Stojakovic are nearing the twilights of their career and an NBA title will be a fitting retirement bonus. I feel like Dallas will win the championship in six games. Wanna bet?
* * *
There were four candidates for the job vacated by the recently retired Phil Jackson. The short list includes Rick Adelman, Mike Dunleavy, Mike Brown and Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw. Shaw was a strong contender for the post but his lack of experience as a head coach was a major concern.
For a four-year, $18 million contract, the LA Lakers settled for Mike Brown. He will inherit a Laker team that has fallen back to earth with a very loud crash following a 0-4 wipeout by the Mavericks in the second round. Did Jerry Buss substitute their Gatorades with Coke Zero? They got swept, people.
For Mike Brown to restore order to an ego-bloated franchise, he needs to motivate everybody - from the supreme diva called Kobe down to his minions. And this won't be easy considering that the Lakers is a merry mix of eccentricities, absurdities, ridiculousness and the ever-present Hollywood crap.
He has to inspire Pau Gasol and when the Spaniard decides to go soft, Brown has to ram his fist down his throat till his knuckles reaches Pau's a-hole to prove his point. LA's interim best low-post player in the person of Andrew Bynum should be given more touches with the ball, who cares what Kobe says.
Brown must experiment with the lineup. Jackson had been so loyal with his starting unit that when it mattered most, they failed to deliver. Derek Fisher is now a rare antiquity and his game time should be minimized. He can still provide his leadership by playing in a limited capacity. This way, he won't be blown away by the younger and faster point guards of the opposition. This will be a win-win situation for LA. Shannon Brown could do the job or Steve Blake maybe. Oh, Jordan Farmar would be nice here.
The triangle offense limits the perimeter players from doing what they do best. They tend to set and look for cutters or outside shooters to complete the play. Ditch the triangle and find a more practical offensive set that benefits the post players in Gasol, Bynum, Lamar Odom and yes, Kobe.
Mike Brown should and must be forceful with Kobe. He must control and put a stop to him when KB decides to make the game personal and make those horrible shot selections. If he can't, then all the other Lakers will be happily disgruntled watching selfish play after play. Then the road to ruin begins.
The LA Lakers are a proud team but the challenge disappeared this year. They had been there, did this, done that. Victories and titles had gone to their heads that they had been too casual in the post season. Hopefully Mike Brown can change this mind set and get back on track.
* * *
Ok, so Congressman PacMan has dipped his Pambansang Kamao to another fight, this time on the rostrum for the RH Bill debates. Damn, he got walloped bad. Like a true good mother coming to defend a bullied child, Mommy Dionisia, with eyes glaring and nostrils flaring, threw her own wild punches aimed at whoever gets hit. Pass or drop the freaking RH Bill, the country has been over-populated for a long time already anyway. We don't need sideshows.
E-mail me at bobbytoohotty@lycos.com