Lots of work to do and some grappling memories

So, Kobe?

Not bad, eh?

Knee drained? Check.

Huge game? Check.

Dominant performance? Check.

Yeah, the dude’s pretty good.

Now, because of other, more pressing matters, I kind of zipped through game on a replay rather than watching it intently talking with some of you but what struck me was how easy it was for Bryant to drop 40 on the Suns, despite not making a shot for almost the entire first quarter.

Yes, he is a matchup nightmare and the best player in the game today but the Suns need to put up some more resistance to his drives if they are going to have any chance at making me look smart.

(And I’m sure that’s in the back of their minds).

You can pretty much forget about the fact Channing Frye disappeared or that the Lakers operated pretty much unmolested in the paint because if they can’t make Bryant work harder to get his numbers, they have no chance whatsoever.

A team can live with a guy getting 40 if it takes him 35 shots to do it; to let Bryant get 40 on 23 shots is ridiculous.

The Suns have shown over the course of the season that they are at least a passable defensive team, the amount of regression they showed in that aspect of the game on Monday night had better be an aberration.

If not? Don’t want to think about how fast this thing may be over.

Now, we all know that a seven-game series is never won in the first game and all the Lakers really did Monday was what they were supposed to do, win the opening game on their home court.

So I offer this as caution:

Neither that series, nor the one in the East, is over by any stretch of the imagination. As has been pointed out repeatedly here, there’s very little “momentum” from game-to-game in the post-season because coaches and staffs go off and make adjustments after each night, giving the next game an entirely different dynamic.

So while it was disheartening for Suns fans on Monday, just as it was disheartening for Magic fans on Sunday, the telling sign will be how both losers react before Game 2. And I figure they’ll react pretty well and both of these series will have some juice before they’re done.

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If you’re looking for game stories and how they played out, here’s the main piece from the L.A. Times and here’s Mr. Coro’s take in the Arizona Republic.

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Oh, I’m not going to mention that Kobe had his knee drained and went off for 40 in his first game back as compared to another guy who may or may not have had, say, an issue with another joint and came up small.

I’m not going to. Honest.

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I’ve only had the, um, honour of covering one NBA draft lottery; it was in Secaucus, N.Y. (which his American for “tiny strip malls off interstate”) and the year LeBron was the big prize.

Mind-numbing?

You bet.

You’re a TV studio audience, the “drama” lasts about eight minutes and then you’d repair to a tent they had set up outside the studio to talk to whoever you had to talk to and then go write.

The enduring image?

Sitting with Glen Grunwald at a table in the tent, sipping a beer after the lottery had all been broken down and the story had been filed and thinking he looked more glum than I maybe had ever seen him.

I wonder if he knew then that the powers-that-be above him had decided KO had the inside track on the vacant coaching job?

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So a guy goes to the wrasslin’ with Super Son and one thing comes to him – well, many things, actually but we’ll get to others later:

The line between Baby Faces and Heels is blurred.

You don’t know who’s a good guy and who’s a bad guy anymore.

This Cena fellow, who looks like a good guy, seems to handle himself pretty well and is the champ, gets a mixture of boos and cheers and I can’t quite figure out why.

Neither can a lot of the fans, apparently, because after he beats up the one guy, he gets mugged by some interloper, is smacked around, challenged to some impromptu match and when he wins that, it’s all cheers.

Entirely confusing.

Maybe it’s just me.

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Back to the lottery:

We all know the Raptors have a snowball’s chance of winning (it’s 0.6 per cent, you ninny Smith) but there was a time …

Yes, we know they came from way back to win in 2006 when they got Bargnani with the fifth-best chance, right? (No, we’re not debating the relative merits of that pick).

Well, hope you all remember that in 1996, coming off a rather below-average inaugural season, the Raptors actually won the lottery but were precluded from having the No. 1 selection thanks to the awful expansion agreement they were subjected to.

Anyway, they end second and choose Marcus Camby and, just so you know, Isiah Thomas has told me often he would have taken Camby at No. 1, despite the presence of Allen Iverson, because the Raptors had that Stoudamire guy to build around.

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Things I didn’t see at the grappling:

No one getting the other guy to submit using the Camel Clutch.

Lord Athol Layton.

Zany “managers” ala Miss Elizabeth or Jimmy Hart (although seeing the original Valet Virgil was kind of cool).

Mean Gene Okerlund.

”Oooooh, yeah!”

A Snake. A Hulk.

Bruno Sammartino.

And I’m sure there’ll be more as the minutes pass and I try to get this done.

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Over and under on HWSNBN’s points tonight: 22.

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A scheduling note: With Monday Night Raw out of the way, we’re back to normal here for the next couple of nights.

I’ll be around right around 8 to go through the results of the lottery for a little while and then it’s Game 2 of Orlando-Boston, which I think is a pretty big “must-win” outing for the Magic.

Wednesday night? Sure, Lakers-Suns at 9 and then a couple of nights off for rest and relaxation, if you don’t mind.

In keeping with our theme:

Dontcha dare miss it!

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You cannot get away from it. Ever. Anywhere.

Some dude named Santino or somesuch is in the ring to open the night’s festivities Monday and he’s prattling on to some Russian dude (who was a modern-day incarnation of Nikolai Volkoff, I figure) about something or other when he says something along the lines of:

“You know, like when Chris Bosh leaves!”

And another expert chimes in.

Great.

Comments

[Matt M]

You didn't mention it so I guess I will. Kobe can drop as many points as he wants but there is no way he gets out of the first round without Pau Gasol on this team, and the quadruple teams that come without that second player. Switch him with the other guy with joint problems and then lets talk about who is the better player. I'd be inclined to bet on Kobe, he's a special player. But it's hard to judge which is the better of two players without them being on equal footing.

[RC]

Can someone please tell me -- what does HWSNBN stand for??

Blogger's note: He Who Shall Not Be Named, the Voldemort of Raptors basketball; the evil-doer who continues to plague the franchise

[paul]

That's pretty dramatic Doug...

[Jon C]

HWSNBN - under

I agree about 'momentum' to a certain point. How are 3-0 or 3-1 comebacks described without momentum? Sometimes the feeling is palpable, that a team clinging to a lead might just let it go because of the pressure, or previous failures?

[Paul]

Any sighting of Ricky Steamboat or Jay Youngblood last night?

[joe D]

Picking No. 1: 0.6 per cent
No. 2: 0.7 per cent
No. 3: 0.9 per cent

If you add it up, that's actually a 2.2% chance of landing a top-3 pick, not less than 1% as incorrectly stated in the article

[doug]

I am sure although there should have been that there was no mention of the just passed Killer Gene Kiniski??...he had a bar, quite a big establiushment for years in Point Roberts Washington that little spit of land just down from Vancouver, he was there often as he was a active owner.. quite a character he was, met him more then a few times and he was and deserved to be a wrestling legend....

that shot Kobe made at the end of the first quarter was a thing of beauty...and if LeBron had the same teammates as kobe he wouldn't have a clue how to utilize them....story of LeBron and Calipari as a team can you imagine those 2 egos in the same dressing room, it would be a implosion in time...

[Chi of Steel]

re: John Cena and the blurriness of faces and heels.

Canadian shows (and Toronto, in particular) is often referred to as "Bizzaro World" in WWE lingo, because we tend to cheer the bad guys and boo the good guys. This was best evidenced at Wrestlemania X-8 at the SkyDome in 2002, when The Rock (goodie) was lustily booed while Hulk Hogan (baddie) bathed in adoration.

John Cena is a special character, because although he's a babyface, he tends to get booed regardless of where he wrestles. The cheers he receives mostly come from the ladies and young kids.

[Dan Kazarov]

Doug....You JUST wrote an article on Carter and used his name in it. Can you already stop with this HWSNBN nonsense already. Just use his name like you do with every other player you write about. It's corny. Enough already.

[Woodrow]

HWSNBN: Over...for sure. Unfortunatly it will be the only game 'over' in the series for him. My prediction...he turns back the clock tonight & we talk for the rest of the series about why he's not doing it again.

[Brian Sherman]

Hey Doug, Secaucus is in Jersey.

[Mat L.]

uhh to me a 3-0, 3-1, comeback is the absolute exampe of the over emphasis of momentum... should not a team up 3-0 or 3-1 have "momentum"? Oh wait i forgot about the "momentum shift"! Which apparently can kick in while a team is down by 3 games?!?

[jimt]

-cv31 posted a pic that he is in Tdot,is there any scoop on why?
-Mr Odom deserves some love no?
-lebron has built a massive castle in ohio,is that not a sign he will stay?
-and for the love of god why are you still not under thestar.com columnists directory?lol
bonus points if u comment on at least 3 of the above:)

[chris]

Doug - back when Isiah publicly promised that he'd take Camby if available at #2....what was the strategic value of doing that? When Shareef (who was largely considered a better prospect) came out after Isiah made that promise....i remember thinking "well can he go back on his word now?". Maybe he didnt want to. But i remember wanting Shareef, Marbury, and Allen over Camby. And, still would today (not for what they are now, but what they were in their first 4 yrs in the league)

[Michel G]

Here's hoping the Suns find a way to make a series out of it, because it's been a pretty boring playoffs to this point.

[Pipit]

Doug, who come up with that HWSNBN monicker?

[DougG]

I can't see why Bosh wouldn't want to go to a team with Kobe Bryant on it, if he wants to win. Then there are all those movie stars around, acting being one of things the young players are into. However, it makes no sense for them to give us Bynum, they should give us Gasol instead. Bynum isn't a bad fall back plan, if they insist, but he would be better with Bosh, than Gasol. Besides Gasol is European.

[BrianV]

Doug, Please continue with the HWSNBN nomenclature. The mere mention of his real name sends me bounding to a rooftop with my sniper rifle (I keed... I keed).
You didnt mention of you saw Sweet Daddy Siki at the wrasslin match. If you missed him, I understand he is the DJ at the Duke of York pub one day a week (Saturdays?) at Queen and Leslie. Not sure if Tiger Jeet Singh is the MC.

[Chris]

@ joe D....unfortunately, percentages don't work like that. If they have a 0.9% chance of getting the 3rd pick, they have less than a 1% chance of getting a top 3 pick.

[Jeff]

Doug, love the use of HWSNBN. Keep it rollin. I have to side with you in regards to the "rumor mill" of when/if Bosh will leave. No point in throwing around trades until ppl know the facts. However, the Bosh for Bynum thing has been going on for so long it's driving me nuts and I need to throw my two cents in on it. There is no way in a million yrs that BC makes that trade. To all the ppl out there who have been posting they would welcome that sign/trade, have you not been following the NBA. Bynum has been good when he's on the court. The problem is the kid can't stay on the court. From the 05/06 season up until the 09/10 his games played look like this....46,82,35,50,65. This guy is one more knee issue away from retirement. BC might not be able to get equal value back, but he's not going to take an injury plagued player. Love the blog Doug, keep up the great work!

[Thane]

@ Chris... Actually, they do. They don't have a 0.9% chance of getting a 3rd or better pick, they have a 0.9% chance of getting the 3rd pick.

If I have a red stone, a blue stone, a green stone, a yellow stone, and a black stone in a bag, I have a 20% chance of getting the blue stone, and a 20% chance of getting the green stone if I pick one at random. What are my chances of getting a blue or green stone? (ie equivalent to a 1st, 2nd, OR 3rd pick) 40%.

[Ted S.]

I was wondering about your take on Oguchi Onyewu (US soccer player who extended his contract for one-year without any salary)? My reaction was this is the polar opposite of what Alonzo Mourning did to the Raptors. I'd love to see any NBA player do what is right and responsible and put the team ahead of their own interests, even for one year. I think I'll be waiting awhile. Everyone takes care of #1 for 365 days of the year.

[BrianV]

@Mat L, CV31 has a home in Burlington where his young child and the baby's mother live. They met when he played in T.O. Not sure if he is still with the child mother or not.

[GM]

Maybe I'm not following the playoffs as closely as I should be. Who's the other player with the other joint problem you're referring to?

[Jeff B.]

Doug, I think you're wrong about the Lakers and Suns series. Isn't Phil Jackson Undefeated when winning the first game of the series? Didn't Kobe say that Oklahoma would be the toughest matchup until the Finals?
Sure the series isn't over until it's over, but you are overrating the Suns a bit.