The Billiken's Bluff

On Wednesday, Shaquille O'Neal's Los Angeles Lakers beat Yao Ming's Houston Rockets 97-78 to close out their first round series four games to one and book a date in the second round with the San Antonio Spurs, who swept the Memphis Grizzlies earlier in the week. In case you haven't been following the NBA since Michael Jordan retired from the Bulls, the Lakers and Spurs have combined to win the last five NBA titles and finished second and third, respectively, in the Western Conference this season. Coming into this series, pundits are already suggesting that the winner will be the eventual champion of the league and that the rest of the playoffs are a mere formality. With history on their side, it's hard to argue with that opinion.



The Lakers and Spurs are a contrast in style. While each squad possesses a dominant big man, that's where the similarities end. The Spurs are a team built on defense and rebounding with an offense centered around their all-world forward Tim Duncan. They play the league's best defense but lack consistent scorers to compliment Timmy Too Tall. The Lakers, on the other hand, are easily the most talented team left in the playoffs, led by Shaq and Kobe Bryant, one of the best duos in league history. Injuries and team turmoil have been the Lakers biggest hurdle this season. When their full strength squad has been assembled this season, the Lakers have appeared unbeatable; when controversy and nagging aches took over, they have appeared hopeless.

Interestingly, even though the Lakers are the second seed in the West and the Spurs are the third, San Antonio has home-court advantage in this series. That's because the Spurs, despite not winning their division, had a record one game better than the Lakers during the regular season. That home-court edge is a big key in my eyes and it should be the difference in giving the Spurs the series in seven games. The Spurs looked very sharp in demolishing the Grizz while the Lakers were solid but unspectacular in defeating a Rockets club in shambles. It's hard for me to imagine this series going anything less than six games and, regardless of the victor, it promises to be one of the highlights of this post-season.



I was never a big Kobe Bryant fan before this year, but it's time to give the man his due. Kobe has dealt with an impending trial, injuries to his knee, shoulder and finger, the usual issues with Shaq, and constant media scrutiny concerning his future with the Lakers and everything else. Hardly a day passed this season without a new development in the public's infatuation with Mr. Bryant. Through it all, the man's had a hell of a season. On the year, Kobe averaged 24 points, 5.5 rebounds, 5 assists and nearly 2 steals per game. His most impressive stat? 65 of 82 games played, all but one started, despite injuries and everything else going on in the man's life.

On Wednesday, after attending a pre-trial hearing in Colorado, Kobe hopped on a jet and showed up at the Staples Center in L.A. just 26 minutes before gametime. Refusing to use his circumstances as a crutch, Kobe went out and gave the Lakers his best performance of the series, 31 points, 10 assists, 6 rebounds and 3 steals on 12 of 21 shooting. Pure and simple, the man's a baller.

To those who claim that Kobe is a rapist and a fraud - undeserving of our respect - I must object. Innocent until proven guilty is the standard in this country and when one takes a close look at the allegations being made in this case, it is not hard to find reasonable doubt. The accuser, whose story is convoluted and contradictory, has hidden behind a cloak of anonymity, much like certain critics of the Bluff. According to Miss Kate Faber, she consented to certain "sexual acts" with Mr. Bryant but did not consent to sexual intercourse. Now, I realize that the N.O.W. contingent of our readers will disagree with me here but I believe that, at worst, Kobe made a colossal error based on a logical misunderstanding that any number of men might make. On the other side of the spectrum, it's just as believable that he cheated on his wife and immediately regretted the decision. Whatever the case, it's time for each party to have their day in court to resolve the issue once and for all. If he is guilty, he will be punished. If he is not, he should be allowed to get on with his life.

While I'm on the subject of the NBA, let me also take this opportunity to give respect and appreciation to two rising starts in sports broadcasting, Stephen A. Smith and Greg Anthony. Smith and Anthony have appeared regularly this season on ESPN's NBA coverage and have been amongst the most insightful and intelligent commentators on the entire network. Anthony, a former point guard for UNLV, the New York Knicks and others, knows more about the game than I ever would have guessed when he was an enforcer for Pat Riley's Knicks of the mid-'90s. Anthony may be best remembered for his role in a fight between the Knicks and Phoenix Suns in March of 1993 when he leaped off the bench in his street clothes and punched Kevin Johnson in the face. Anthony received a $20,000 fine for that, which was a record-tying figure for a player fine at the time.



On TV, Anthony is slightly more collected, which leaves it to Stephen A. Smith to create excitement. Smith is a writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer with opinions on any and every subject. He can often be found raising his voice and speaking in blunt, concrete terms. He is the sort of fair, balanced and honest journalist rarely seen in the media - outside of Billiken. Recently, he has gained the moniker "The Sean Salisbury of the NBA" because he is unafraid to call out anyone at any time. Smith and Anthony have made the NBA on ESPN entertaining and lively, two adjectives one wouldn't associate with the men normally sitting in their seats.