Odom home up for sale

For now, Lakers fans need to pause and take a deep breath. A deal might eventually get consummated to send Odom and his reality show out of town. Odom and his wife, Khloe Kardashian, own a home in Tarzana. If that “For Sale” sign passes my desk, then we’ve got a real story.

It’s an issue that deserved its own place in this age of negativity.

Despite the importance of the issue being discussed in this forum, there was another topic on the minds of the reporters gathered at the center. Kobe Bryant didn’t want to talk about the proverbial elephant in the room.

Bryant has yet to issue a public statement regarding the Lakers’ hiring of Mike Brown to succeed Phil Jackson on the bench. Brown has done seemingly every radio show in the past week and even hit “Lopez Tonight” on Tuesday night. He’s spoken of having an open dialogue with Bryant since the Lakers’ offer was extended.

Bryant refused to get into a discussion about the coaching change on Tuesday. He replied tersely to questions about Brown with “this is neither the time or the place.” It was his standard answer to the first question and any follow-ups.

The Los Angeles media has speculated that Bryant is chapped because he wasn’t consulted about the hire. Players had openly campaigned for Brian Shaw, an assistant to Phil Jackson, to get the gig. The Lakers’ unceremonious departure from the NBA Playoffs certainly didn’t help Shaw’s cause.

Now fans are left wondering whether the sweep has left the team fractured. Clearly nobody expected Bryant to be in a particularly good mood when discussing basketball, but the stern dismissal of questions raised many eyebrows. He had the forum to get his message out and discuss the foundation that he and his wife had established. It’s most certainly a worthy and noble effort on his part as a leader in this community.

It’s just unfortunate that his refusal to answer this line of questioning deflects attention from the cause. The charitable work becomes a side story to the questions that Bryant didn’t answer here.

Those answers would have been featured in separate blogs, news reports and radio chatter. Now, the charity story reads as the undercard.

Is there a fight to come?

The Kobe and Vanessa Bryant Foundation was founded to shine a spotlight on a growing epidemic given the continued rough economic climate. My Friend’s Place is among the countless non-profit organizations hit by budget cuts, cuts that required a cut-back in hours during the week. It is currently closed on weekends. Bryant’s involvement may help them turn things around and expand programming and services.

You can read more about the center’s services and challenges, including quotes from the center’s director of development and Bryant from the press conference here .

The Lakers were dumped from the playoffs unceremoniously by the Mavericks and went out with several cheapshots from Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum (after Ron Artest had given J.J. Barea a forearm shiver in Game 2).

The Pau Gasol sub-plot intrigued tabloid journalists everywhere.

I don’t need to belabor the discussion of the Dodgers. The McCourt divorce has eroded the glory of a once-proud franchise and has beaten down the fanbase.

Then, an interview appeared in The Sporting News with UCLA and NBA legend Kareem Abdul-Jabbar that addressed, only briefly, his omission in the run of statues being constructed outside Staples Center. The discussion about the statue expanded in the Twitter-verse (@kaj33) and spilled into one of the hottest topics in the blogosphere and on sports radio.

On Thursday afternoon, “The Captain” joined “The Petros & Money” show on FOX Sports Radio to discuss the statue issue, his “On the Shoulders of Giants” film (available for streaming on Netflix on Friday and the future of the Lakers. Abdul-Jabbar spoke about his work with Andrew Bynum and spoke candidly about his growing frustration with the franchise.

Check it out.

Here’s the audio.

Phil answers regarding his relationship with Lakers management

Add to the tepid defensive play the fact that the Lakers’ shot horribly from the outside and failed to initiate an inside-outside game and you’ve got a meltdown at Staples Center. Los Angeles missed their first 15 three-point shots, and the aforementioned Blake went 0-for-5 on the night.

Take it another step down the line. Kobe Bryant was quiet at times and got to the free throw line only five times. He shot 9-of-20 from the field (1-for-5 from three-point range) and finished with 23 points.

But forget about Bryant for a moment. I won’t even get into the Derek Fisher and Steve Blake stuff on a larger level here.

1. Pau Gasol didn’t match the intensity of Brendan Haywood and Tyson Chandler.
2. Ron Artest will most definitely get suspended for Game 3 after his bone-headed move to clothesline J.J. Barea in the final minute of the game. Artest had been visibly frustrated on an earlier rebound attempt and took a cheap shot to Barea (the source of much of the Lakers’ frustration on Wednesday).
3. Finally, Andrew Bynum talked of the team having “trust” issues. Was he speaking of the defensive help, as Kobe Bryant suggested? Or, was he getting into something deeper about the offensive sets and the team’s infatuation with long-distance tries?

We’ll get some kind of answer in Dallas. Artest won’t be there to take the test.

Welcome to playoff basketball.

With the usual smile that accompanies the “why do I have to do this?” thought bubble, Phil Jackson compared the game to “mud wrestling” in his interview with Cheryl Miller. I particularly enjoyed the one-word “No” answer when asked if Pau Gasol had been more aggressive in Game 2.

The Lakers did a fantastic job in closing out and bodying Chris Paul and, his two buzzer-beaters excepted, he was held in check. Paul converted 5-of-11 shots from the field and 8-of-12 from the free throw line (20 points).

The true story of the game is right in the box score.
Gasol was less than stellar on the block and lacked the aggressiveness that Jackson was seeking. He continually backed out and turned to the fade-away shot or looked to pass it back to the perimeter. One play that stood out occurred as the clock was winding down. Instead of going up for a layup or dunk following a rebound, he kicked the ball back out. Perhaps it was wise to wind clock, but a quick flush might have at least helped to curb the chatter about his Game 2 effort. Instead, he finished 2-of-10 with four free throw conversions and five rebounds (eight points).

Kobe Bryant struggled as well. He attempted only 10 shots, converting three, and finished the game with 11 points.

That’s right. Gasol and Bryant combined to shoot 25% and the Lakers still registered a nine-point victory.

Andrew Bynum played like a man, throwing his weight around in the low-post, and putting forth a big effort on both ends of the floor. He finished the game with 17 points and 11 boards.

He was complemented well by Ron Artest, who added 15 points (6-of-14) and Sixth Man of the Year, Lamar Odom, who scored 16 points and added seven rebounds. Those who were quick to dismiss Odom in this playoff run because of his reality show and his in-laws can pipe down, if only for a day.

With Bryant and Gasol struggling, the secondary options needed to step up. They delivered.

—

The series moves to New Orleans tied 1-1. Remember to wear your unitard.

Just look at the box score and note the minutes logged by the starters. Ten players labored through at least 40 minutes on Tuesday night. Channing Frye clocked in at nearly 57 minutes (56:59), producing 32 points and 14 rebounds. The Lakers played short-handed, as Andrew Bynum sat out the second game of his suspension, forcing Phil Jackson to work his veterans hard.

Kobe Bryant, playing with myriad injuries and seemingly held together by duct tape, completed 48 minutes of action. Bryant scored 42 points, including the three-point shot late in the third overtime to help seal the win. He finished one assist shy of a triple-double (42 points, 12 rebounds and nine assists).

You could feel your legs turning to molasses as you watched the overtime periods. Each jumpshot appeared more labored to the last, and every whistle was welcomed to slow the pace.

It was a fantasy owner’s dream game, as virtually every player who turned in significant minutes posted strong offensive numbers. The Lakers played nine guys, five of whom finished in double figures. The Suns had seven players finish with at least 11 points.

Lamar Odom finished with 29 points and 16 rebounds.
Pau Gasol added 24 points and 13 rebounds.
Steve Nash had 19 points, 20 assists and dead legs that led to an air-ball down the stretch.

—–
With the victory on a small slate (only three games were played), the Lakers added a half-game to their lead over Dallas for the second seed in the West (the lead stands at one). Los Angeles has three home games on the slate to end the month (the Clippers, Hornets and Mavericks). Four of the Lakers’ final eight games will be played against Western Conference playoff-bound teams in April.

The Dodgers and Angels have yet to inspire much buzz this spring. Manny-wood is no more. Joe Torre is in the offices of Major League Baseball, and the ownership mess has fans turned off.

As a result, every Lakers jersey ever purchased has emerged from closets in Los Angeles. Hell, I saw two guys wearing autographed, Upper Deck Authenticated Magic Johnson jerseys the other day. I’ll admit to being confused, but hey, show your colors.

Don’t worry if your bracket got busted this past weekend. The NBA Playoffs are just around the corner.

Bynum obviously didn’t get dealt during that period, and we’re finally seeing him play to expectations. He’s logged a double-digit rebound total in nine of his past 11 games (six double-doubles). Bynum snatched 15 or more rebounds in five of his past six games.

Skeptics wonder if he’ll be able to bang and bruise his way through the playoffs without sustaining another injury. Fantasy owners and Lakers fans will celebrate his dominance at a scarce position while they can.

I joked that I wasn’t going to sit and watch Game 7 after investing a ridiculous number of hours watching the three-month marathon that is the NBA Playoffs. Rip Van Winkle awoke to see that nothing had changed. The never-ending investigation of USC athletics … ended. Ubaldo won 13 games … almost as many as the Orioles.

In the end, I invested another three hours and was misera …. umm, entertained, by the final game of the season. I nearly fell asleep in the free-throw shooting festival of whistles that was the fourth quarter. Seriously, that was just painful to watch, particularly as the Lakers clanked free throw after free throw (they would convert two-thirds of their free throws for the game).

It came down to loose balls and rebounds. Period. True to form, the victor in Game 7 was the team that won the rebounding war. The Lakers out-rebounded the Kendrick Perkins-less Celtics by a margin of 13 overall (15 more offensive rebounds to offset the pathetic shooting display). At the center of the action was the dynamic duo, MVP Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. They combined to shoot a miserable 12-for-40, but lived at the free throw line and scored 42 points to go along with the astounding total of 33 rebounds.

The fact that Ray Allen couldn’t buy a bucket, Rondo has yet to develop an outside shot (his late three-pointer, notwithstanding) and there was little movement and ability to get to the bucket in the fourth quarter when the worm turned. Again, I saw the shots of Kendrick Perkins all suited up on the sidelines and wondered how this final game would have changed had he been able to participate in this one. If nothing else, there would have been five (or six) more hard fouls to give and Rasheed Wallace’s minutes could have been metered out a little bit more. I have to say that Glen “Big Baby” Davis was tremendous in this one, providing quality minutes and, well, a big body down low to at least give the Celtics a rebounding option (nine in his 20 minutes and change).

In a contest replete with as many missed shots as celebrity sightings, we did at least get the appearance of Brian Scalabrine for 51 seconds. More than a few Michael Rapaport references were made in sports bars and homes across America, and I just started yelling about “beautiful girls making you dizzy … like you’ve been drinking Jack and Coke all morning.” Seriously, I’m a fan – go rent “Big Fan” with Patton Oswalt and Rapaport (gets you jonesing for football after this rough-and-tumble Game 7).

Bryant won the Bill Russell MVP Award, although I still think they should take it to a metal shop and give Gasol half.

I mentioned Bryant’s rebounding before. There was where he shone on Thursday. His outside shot was terrible, and we can credit some good perimeter defense from Ray Allen. Bryant missed a number of free throws as well, but got to work on the glass.

And, his supporting cast picked him up. Derek Fisher knocked down a big three-pointer. Ron Artest (wearing No. 37 in the reverse of Dennis Rodman’s No. 73 during his Lakers tenure) knocked down a huge three-point shot off of a Bryant pass and did his best Rodman “thank you very much” acknowledgment to the crowd. He also caught a pass while cutting across the lane and tossed up a shot, hitting the ensuing free throw, to aid that fourth-quarter barrage.

Artest had been invisible for much of this series, leading many to start bringing up the name of former Lakers stopper, Trevor Ariza, who was swapped out for Artest this offseason. His 20 points, 5 rebounds and 5 steals helped carry the Lakers this evening and silenced the critics.

Some fans will start looking ahead to next week’s draft and the all-important July 1 beginning of free agency. I’m frankly shocked that I wasn’t offered a live look-in on LeBron James’ facial expressions while watching this Game 7. That might have been as entertaining as this slugfest. I’m counting down the six weeks until the start of NFL training camps.

Raise a glass to Kobe Bryant on winning his fifth title and to Phil Jackson on his 11th. The Artest experiment worked.

Now, how much does Phil want No. 12? Kobe was already talking up another run for a title.

Let’s put it on the shelf for awhile and enjoy the boys of summer.

PS – Can someone write the NBA equivalent of “One Shining Moment?”

“You can see the frustration on Phil Jackson’s face because he knows what’s happening.”

When asked point blank if Phoenix would win Game 4, Donaghy responded with this: “I’m not saying it’s a definite thing, but they’ll get the benefit of the calls.”

“It’s obvious how the referees are trained and programmed to put the teams that are down in the series at an advantage.”

Sigh. The home team got aggressive and drove the ball to the hoop. They didn’t settle for jumpshots and tried to force the action against the wounded Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. They did the same thing on Tuesday night. Bynum scored 12 points with eight rebounds, while Gasol added 15 points and five boards.

Look at the difference in the Los Angeles offense. They shot 33 three-point shots combined in games 1 and 2. In the past two games in Phoenix, the Lakers chucked up 60 three-point shots (connecting on 30%). They out-shot the Suns marginally on Tuesday overall, but Phoenix amassed 19 more all-important foul shots (15 more makes).

You go into the box score and you also see another couple troubling notes for the Lakers. The Lakers were -16 with Bynum on the court and -21 in Shannon Brown’s 13:38 of action. Brutal.

Donaghy claims that he was told to manipulate games and in pre-game meetings, told what to call and what to look for in games. He did clarify those statements to explain that he was never explicitly ordered to produce a specific outcome, although it had been implied.

He’s basically equating the NBA to soap operas and the WWE. You know it’s scripted. You get sucked into the drama, anyway. I guess Donaghy’s next book will have a chapter or two about the league’s partnership with TNT. “We know drama.” I want an investigation about the hours of “Law & Order” re-runs that I’m losing to NBA coverage, too.

Seriously, the whispers have always been there. The frozen envelope for the Knicks. The 2008 NBA Draft Lottery win by the Bulls … and countless other examples are cited. Fire up the telestrators and game film and we can find 1,000,000 uncalled traveling violations, big men camping in the lane for a week, palming, push-offs, “dirty” screens and touch fouls that altered substitution rotations and game flow.

I do appreciate that everyone remembers the lesson out of Woodward & Bernstein: “Follow the money.” I do.

Do I believe that the league would like to see Los Angeles and Boston battle again? There’s no question about it. With most of the stars still around from that historic rivalry (just find an online feed for an LA or Boston radio station), you’re likely to run into one of them.

I get the basic economic principles at play. More games equals more butts in seats, ad sales, marketing opportunities and so on …

Do I believe that David Stern is working an invisible hand to manipulate the outcomes of games? No chance. There’s enough human error in trying to keep up and call 48 minutes of activity with some of the greatest athletes in sports. There are enough bang-bang plays to force quick decisions. Superstars get calls. That’s the nature of sport.

- In baseball, hitters or pitchers get the call on the edges based on their histories. Just ask Boggs or Maddux.
- In football, established linemen rarely get called for a hold, even if they’re mauling the charging defender. Established receivers get to put to push-off a bit and rarely get an offensive PI call.
- I need only one word here. QUARTERBACKS
- The referee looks the other way when the manager throws a foreign object into the ring.

Wait. That last one isn’t helping my point.

“Follow the money.” A direct link back to Commissioner Stern sees that money walking over to another sport and his work toward global domination swirling down the drain.

Might Donaghy eventually be tagged as basketball’s Jose Canseco? You know what I mean. He’s a man with questionable motives looking to sell a tell-all book and generating controversy. Canseco’s allegations have proven true time and again. Will Donaghy’s? He predicted a Suns win in Game 4 and got his W. Predicting games on a national radio/tv show, as Mr. Patrick pointed out, seemed to be a dubious move, but Donaghy did it nonetheless. In this case, he’ll need more corroboration from other officials and executives or a paper trail or positive drug tests as were obtained in the Major League Baseball inquiries.

I have to ask this … if David Stern was operating things in the matter Donaghy suggested, why wouldn’t the calls have shifted in the Lakers’ direction in light of his radio appearance? Wouldn’t the Commissioner flip a double-bird in the air to Donaghy and call off the Code Red? Don’t tell me that the hotline didn’t ring in the Commissioner’s office once Donaghy’s segment began to air. He’s ever-vigilant about his brand.

Now, push that aside for a minute. I do have a bone to pick with the Commissioner’s office about collecting checks from owners and front office folks (Mark Cuban and Steve Kerr) while chiming in about his desired destination for King James. I’ll save that rant for tomorrow.

Nash and the Suns swept the Spurs to make their claim on one side of the NBA’s Western Conference Finals. He did his part in spectacular fashion, finishing the fourth game of the sweep with stitches, bandages and a right eye that had swollen shut. That’s right. He gutted out the fourth quarter and scored half of his points after catching an elbow from Tim Duncan.

Now, the two-time NBA MVP and Santa Clara product (I have to represent for the grad school) takes aim at Kobe Bryant and the Lakers (they swept the Jazz). Nash averaged 22 points and 7.75 assists in the four-game sweep of Tony Parker and the Spurs.

Sure, they were used for NFL games back in the day, but you couldn’t think of a better branding piece than that right now after watching The Big Spaniard, Pau Gasol, put back the game-winning shot with one-half second left. Seriously, the final minutes were a bit chaotic and sloppy. The Lakers did everything they could to lose the game after building a seven-point lead in the final minutes.

Defensive stopped Ron Artest went on the offensive and made two huge shots (one a three-pointer), but also chucked up another ill-advised three-point try that put the onus on the defense … and Lamar Odom delivered. Odom was an absolute beast in the low post down the stretch and helped set things up for that final clear-out possession.

Kobe Bryant received the ball in isolation w/ Westbrook and dribbled in before launching a jumpshot. Gasol worked his way into position for a put-back despite getting raked across the head and gave the Lakers the one-point lead.

As for Gasol, he didn’t have a huge game offensively (4-of-11 for nine points), but he absolutely owned the boards with 18 rebounds. Eighteen!

If you look further inside the box score, it isn’t pretty. Durant was harassed all day and converted just 5-of-23 shots. He made his impact with 14 free throws. Westbrook was only 7-for-20, but yet there the pesky, youthful, relentless Thunder were at the end.

Kobe led the Lakers on with 32 points on 12-of-25 shooting. Derek Fisher and Shannon Brown (off the bench) both added 11 points.

I know it wasn’t a classic dominant performance, but this is a type of win that defines a championship ballclub. It was not a pretty game whatsover. The teams combined to shoot 41.5%. You got the Thunder’s best shot for six games. They gave not an inch and came out slugging against the defending champs.

If there was any taste of complacency on the Lakers’ roster, the Thunder smacked it out of their mouths in this series.

That hunger will serve them well in Round 2.