The devil are all in the details
So in the aftermath of the NBA Finals series’ loss, it would appear the apathetic fools within the press and fans’ apologists for LeBron James are making the excuses for the Cleveland Cavaliers’ loss to the Golden State Warriors. It would also appear that these so called journalists have overlooked the bare facts throughout the series and it simply was the fact Cleveland at no point during the series, were they good enough to defeat the Warriors and this was also borne out during the regular season meetings between the two teams.
Slideshow.
For the Cavaliers this off-season beyond the NBA Draft, it will actually be about how GM David Griffin seeks to bolster the team’s roster , with the likelihood of attrition through the loss of free agents and team acquisitions. Head coach David Blatt , Tyron Lue and the coaching staff may well have misjudged the Golden State Warriors but the biggest signs of complacency came by way of Dan Gilbert and his belief the team could survive around the skill-set of LeBron James with a complement of players who were never showed any signs of cohesion as a team in spite of a winning streak during the regular season which on appearance was impressive.
This aberration would not last during the NBA Playoffs and where the Cavaliers now go from here will be dependent upon the steps taken by the organization as they move forward. It will be interesting to see how things now pan out with the Draft and the moves made by the franchise as they seek to bolster the team’s roster.
The Miami Heat’s season not only ended abruptly, but for the franchise having lost LeBron James during the off-season , the organization simply believed it could proceed ahead behind the talents of Chris Bosh and Dwyane Wade . For head coach Erik Spoelstra , the disappointment of the Heat’s lack of success , could be put down to the fact this team simply wasn’t good enough to get the job done along with the complacency and ego of Pat Riley as the lead front office executive for the Miami Heat. To state the Heat has real issues would be an understatement and in complete disarray ,beyond the fact Miami has to deal with its long and short-term future. With Dwyane Wade now contemplating his departure or the possibility of Pat Riley seeking to move on from the former Finals MVP of the 2006 NBA Finals , with the Heat’s victory over the Dallas Mavericks . In the ensuing years Wade has become a mere shadow of the player who was the Finals’ MVP against the Mavericks.
From my own perspective, I believe the Miami Heat will now be an Eastern Conference franchise likely to struggle during the upcoming season , where they are likely to be no better than a fifth or sixth seed within the conference.
What is it about the idiocy of the New York Knicks’ fans and their ongoing apathy , never-mind the ridiculous belief that Phil Jackson as the Head of Basketball Operations has the knowledge to turn around a franchise which over the past four seasons has simply been nothing more than absolute eyesore ? Jackson for some inexplicable reason pieced together a coaching staff led by Derek Fisher which had no real in-depth experience in terms of coaching , let alone a roster whose record this past season was among the worst in the entire conference as well as the league as a whole. Now in the aftermath of the first round of this NBA Draft , Knicks’ fans have shown their utter disgust with the franchise’s first round overall pick and there doesn’t seem to be any signs of things likely to be get any better as the draft continues .
Carmelo Anthony’s season was cut short due to injury and the team simply became lackluster and uncompetitive but yet , their fans continued to be of the belief , Jackson’s intent was to build for their long-term future. Well, if the picks taken are anything to go by, then the franchise will be one surely to be ridiculed during the upcoming season , even if they are able to land a big free agent acquisition during the off-season.
Kristap Porzingis was taken as the Knicks’ first round pick , fourth overall , behind Karl-Anthony Towns taken by the Minnesota Timberwolves , another franchise said to be in a rebuilding mode. as they seek a solution to their long-term future.
Hard to envisage how anyone can believe the New York Knicks will be able to convince their fans, Porzingis will indeed be able to contribute to a team where both defensively and offensively they offered little to appreciate to even the most discerning fans of the game. I for one , believe the Knicks will be no better off with or without Carmelo Anthony, as Fisher remains a very poor work in progress as an NBA coach !
Two Majors in and the PGA Tour season has simply been one where Jordan Spieth has taken the Tour and made it his own alongside world number one ranked golfer Rory McIlroy . Spieth has captured The Masters and US Open , joining a select few golfers to have won two of the four Grand Slam Majors in a season (calendar year). Half way to a Grand Slam , and Jordan Spieth can write his own legacy in golf’s folklore.
Tiger Woods was simply abysmal during the US Open failing on so many counts to show any type of consistency throughout this season , while having not won a Major since 2008. Excuses by the player simply cannot belie the fact he is no longer relevant on the PGA Tour and still a long way off from regaining the form that once made him so dominant. Hard to envisage how Woods can be viewed as a player capable of winning another Grand Slam Major adding to his career tally of fourteen wins , much less winning another PGA Tour title of any significance this season.
The next Grand Slam Major on the PGA Tour schedule will be The Open being staged at St Andrews Golf Club , Fife , Scotland from the 15th to July 19th, 2015 . With over $9.2 million in prize money and $1.6 million to the winner , it will be interesting to see if Jordan Spieth can make it three consecutive Majors , or will another top-ten player in the rankings, have their name placed on the Claret Jug signifying the winner of The Open . For now , as the struggles of Tiger Woods continue , the accolades for Spieth are now there for everyone to see.
I may well have missed something , but with all of the stupidity now encompassing the MLB season, it is hard to imagine if there has been anything at all special about the season , as it plays out. Granted , Washington Nationals’ starting pitcher Max Scherzer’s sixteen strikeout game closely followed by a no-hitter has many wondering whether or not this season , we will see more exemplary feats on the mound by the league’s top starting pitching aces. Scherzer and Chris Sale of the Chicago White Sox have been amazing for their respective teams . Though it could be said, Sale has been the sole reason to watch the White Sox , given their team’s poor showing within the AL Central, it must be said if the team can find some real semblance of consistency , they might well be in with a chance of actually making inroads in the divisional lead of the Kansas City Royals .
An 8-7 victory over divisional rivals the Detroit Tigers on the road might well provide Robin Ventura and his staff with some relief for the moment and it will certainly be interesting to see how the White Sox deals with their weekend scheduled series against the Detroit Tigers at Comerica Park in Detroit, Michigan culminating with the final game of the four-game series on Sunday June 28th June, where the starting pitchers will be Jeff Samardzija of the White Sox and David Price of the Tigers.
Elsewhere around the game of baseball, Alex Rodriguez continues to leave his own indelible mark upon baseball, having collected over six hundred and sixty-five home runs, while closing in on surpassing three thousand career hits. Rodriguez and the New York Yankees find themselves just a mere game adrift of the Tampa Bay Rays in a very uncompetitive AL East . While the top three teams within the division are playing above .500 baseball, the combatants within the AL are not proving to be among the best the league has to offer. New York’s 10-2 annihilation of the Philadelphia Phillies has given Philadelphia’s fans and the front office some real cause for concern . Joe Girardi’s players simply had their way with a team lacking leadership among the playing staff and even more so acumen by way of the managerial staff led by Ryne Sandberg.
Alex Rodriguez’s productivity alongside that of Mark Teixeira has been one of the primary reasons behind the Yankees’ success this season along with some solid if not overly spectacular pitching from their starting rotation and relievers.
Thursday evening will offer the fans the chance to see the New York Yankees take on one of the surprise teams of this still young MLB season when they face the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park in Houston Texas, with Adam Warren of the Yankees facing Dallas Keuchel of the Astros , in a game featuring two of the AL’s less experienced starting pitchers. Rodriguez for his part will be looking to inch his way up the statistical rankings even further , as he again passes another all-time great within baseball’s annals of singular achievements. Baseball remains tarnished, because of its own self-indulgence , lack of leadership among its hierarchy and the ongoing piousness of the MLBPA , where the union itself, has failed unrepentantly to rein in the misconduct of their players , while seeking to apportion blame among the owners and the upper echelons of the game’s ruling body.
Debating has almost become redundant as to the misdeeds of Alex Rodriguez , while others through their apathy, still seek to make excuses for the behavior of Pete Rose , a player whose character like Rodriguez has to come into question. Both ran afoul of the rules of the game, their lack of contrition and honesty cannot be overlooked , but yet the calls continue for Rose to be inducted into the Hall of Fame , solely because of his feasts as a player. Last I looked beyond Pete Rose’s achievements , one of the cardinals rules concerning this game . was that of upholding its integrity . None of which , either Rose or Alex Rodriguez has sought to do over the course of their collective careers. History may well seek to judge each , based on the merits of their contributions , but one thing cannot be denied and it has been. both have brought a great deal of disgrace to a sport still lacking in character and leadership both on and off the field of play. Somehow , this all seems to have been overlooked by those who claim to be real fans of the game of baseball.
The NFL remains a year-round soap opera of either ridicule or simply one , where if it isn’t the lack of competitive play on the field . Then fans are left wondering what further fiasco awaits them , either with the apathy shown by Roger Goodell or with the misconduct of a current or former NFL player. Hall of Fame inductee Warren Sapp whose career as it waned , was one of a player whose talents began to mirror his ongoing stupidity and being prone to some irrational behavior. Having recently been fired from his television duties as an NFL analyst, the former Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Oakland Raiders’ defensive defensive end now finds himself at the center of a battery and domestic abuse charge , which further heightens the issue for the NFL and their lack of dealing with a matter , which has shadowed the league over the past few years. Goodell remains incredulous concerning the issue of domestic violence, while the Players’ Union has been less than proactive in addressing the misconduct of their members.
DeMauice Smith, current NFLPA Executive Director has offered little by way of a statement concerning conduct of his members and there seems to be little doubt the union hierarchy’s only concerns are that of the players being protected , even when there appears to damning evidence as to their misconduct. Clearly, the case , concerning the likes of Ray McDonald and Ray Rice.
The commissioner’s missteps in dealing with Ray Rice have been well-chronicled and it would be fair to suggest the league’s lack of action when first made aware of the allegations concerning Darren Sharper added insult to injury, as he was still retained by the NFL Network as an analyst even upon his arraignment and then indictment by the judicial system . It begs the question, what type of leadership is there to be seen within the NFL and how is it Roger Goodell still remains in his position as the league’s highest ranking executive ?
The league (NFL) may well remain popular, but a number of its fans and major corporate sponsors are growing increasingly indignant with Roger Goodell and his ongoing stupidity, without one having to delve further into the ongoing apathy of some of the male fans, with their rampant disregard concerning the conduct of the league’s players. It would appear for them . misogyny is acceptable. alongside the doses of racism and homophobia the NFL denies takes place within its fraternity, but the proof has been there for all to witness, alongside the laissez-faire entrenched attitude of the league hierarchy and the union.
Picture gallery. Click on an individual frame to view picture alongside the accompanying narrative.
What are your thoughts concerning the points raised within this article ?
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Tophatal …
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NBA team payrolls 2015 (projected)
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Tophatal's Blog 
So the New York Knicks will continue to show their fans how dumb the front office remains with their recent lame ass draft historyzz , as evidenced with their first round< draft pick during the 2015 NBA Draft .
Kristaps Porzingis ( pictured above ) could be now be well on the way to making us forget the mistakes made by the Detroit Pistons and Washington Wizards when they took Darko Milicic and Kwame Brown .
Can someone now explain how anyone can have any implicit faith in Phil Jackson after this asinine choice when there were far more productive choices he could have made in the first round given the players still available after the first three picks taken ? Knicks’ fans much like the delusional and conceited morons within the front office remain goddamn clueless .
Jackson on his best day cannot tell you the difference between dog sh#it and elephant’s sh#t . Then again anyone who witnessed the Knicks’ play and their record this past season will know this team , if they were to take a sh#t , it might smell worst than the odor from a herd of elephants in the wild .
Jordan Spieth is now making a mockery of the PGA Tour and his record and statistics currently bear this out .
I’ll say this much for the Washington Nationals , if they mess up winning the NL East this season , then they will have no one else but themselves to blame . The team plays in an inferior and a weak division , perhaps among the weakest in all of baseball based upon the play and the records seen this season .
Darren Sharper .
Darren Sharper cops a plea deal (nine years) in order to save his lame pus$y #ss . So , let’s just hope while he’s incarcerated for his multiple rape charges , he’s made an example of by ending up as someone’s bi#ch during his time in prison . Never mind the fact that these odious as#holes at the NFL Network still had him on their payroll even when it came first came to light of the allegations, rather than his being suspended . Yet , there was Roger Goodell , still trying to suggest the league (NFL) doesn’t tolerate violence against women much less misogyny , racism or homophobia.
Goodell , as the commissioner has been a complete waste of space and time, along with the idiot fans who continue to point to the popularity of the league , but who remain at a loss as to why they take no real notice of the misconduct of the players around the NFL .
Hypocrisy and apathy seem to be rife among the league’s fan-base along with a great deal of idiocy .
Sapp seen here with his hypocrite of a former head coach Tony Dungy
Warren Sapp for his part, remains a real dumb son of a b#tch , alongside the idiot fans who just point to his playing days with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and his contributing to the franchise winning a Superbowl . I pose this question to the idiot Buccaneers’ fans out there . What the hell, have the Buccaneers achieved since 2003 by way of real success, much less a playoff berth in the NFL postseason ?
Sapp has no respect for women , much as in the same way Tony Dungy has leaped to the defense of miscreants such as Michael Vick , but his dumb @ss as a head coach overlooked Sapp’s prior acts under his coaching , when the player had been charged with aggravated assault and spousal abuse of his former wife .
Sapp got busted for the solicitation of a prostitute, while covering the Superbowl in Arizona and now he’s again at the center of another controversy , this time involving domestic abuse . What a fu#king cretin Warren Sapp remains, even in spite of his induction into the Hall of Fame .
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Tophatal …..
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Still no love for the New York Yankees as they go down in flames 4-0 in a road loss to the Houston Astros at Minute Maid Park , in Houston , Texas.
Keuchel of the Astros .
Astros’ pitcher Dallas Keuchel embarrassed the Yankees with a twelve strikeout performance, pitching a complete game on his way to another victory and one for Houston as they continue to lead with AL West , while also looking like the best team in the AL altogether .
Other than the Mariners’ Felix Hernandez and Chris Sale , Keuchel might just be the best starting pitcher in the AL this season .
Tophatal ………
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Golden State had the best record in the NBA. The surprise was the Cavs were able to make the series close. Cleveland was a one man band. They had several key players out. Even with them in the lineup Golden State would have won. Period end of discussion. NFL- a joke. Why waste my time with this BS.
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bobby gee
At no point was the series ever truly close , in spite of the results witnessed during the six games played in this particular NBA Finals.
For LeBron James this was another immense disappointment for the four-time NBA League MVP as well as the Cleveland Cavaliers as so many believed they had the better of the Golden State Warriors . During the regular season that may well have been the case as the regular season series between the two teams was split.
In the NBA Finals , Cleveland was simply no match for the Warriors , as Steph Curry and his teammates had more depth to their roster than could be found with the Cavaliers . Need we also be reminded David Blatt as the head coach of Cleveland was a rookie coach with no NBA coaching experience whatsoever , unlike his counterpart Steve Kerr whose vast playoff experience as a player, having won five NBA rings as a player with the Chicago Bulls and San Antonio Spurs , respectively .
The NFL remains a joke in more ways than one , with Roger Goodell still at the helm as the commissioner . What needs to stop, is the unilateral thought he can remain the sole arbiter for the league , when it comes to player misconduct .
Tophatal …………
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That and the league is watered down to make it un watchable and boring. even though the season series spilt Golden State was a superior team
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bobby gee
Way too much excitement is being made of the NBA, when in reality there are no longer any major team rivalries or player rivalries of note.
Fans long and yearn for the days when Magic Johnson and Larry Bird led those well chronicled showdowns between the Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics . There is nothing rivaling that as of now in the NBA . Not even match-ups between Kevin Durant and LeBron James in terms of the contests between the Cleveland Cavaliers and Oklahoma City Thunder , much less between the Cavaliers and Golden State Warriors .
All of these idiot fans buying into Phil Jackson resurrecting the fortunes of the New York Knicks , had better rethink that idiocy in light of the draft picks made by the franchise , especially with their taking Kristaps Porzingis in the first round when there were far better players available , who could and should have been picked .
Is it any wonder why there were so many Knicks’ fans booing the choice of Porzingis being taken as fourth overall pick in the first round of the NBA Draft ?
WTF ! Who is Kristaps Porzingis ? Knicks’ fans are now really feeling some pain and it’s not from suffering hemorrhoids
Porzingis seen here with NBA Commissioner Adam Silver .
What are your thoughts concerning the nonsense of Warren Sapp being arrested for battery and domestic violence ?
Tophatal ………..
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Alan the entire professional sports system and leagues are watered down to the point of ineptitude and stupidity. Blame this on the liberal sportswriters and idiot commissioners who want to please people instead of standing up for what is right.
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bobby gee
All of the four main professional sports as well as the NCAA are to blame for the quagmire we’re now witnessing within sports .
Even the FIFA Women’s World Cup is not without its own challenges at present . Simply look at how the press seems to be glorifying an unspectacular US Women’s National Team .
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This crap bugs me. ESPN and all the sycophants are praising this women as the next greatest thing. I hate to see this but I hope they get their asses handed to them. Women’s Futebol sucks. It is an inferior product. It is like watching paint dry. It is bad.
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bobby gee
The reason the press and fans in general yearn for the success of the USWNT has more to with their history of having won the competition . Other than Abby Wambach , Alexis Morgan and Hope Solo , I seriously doubt anyone would really know who these players are much less be able to spot their faces in a crowd , much less at a public function.
As the tournament has progressed , and the US Team having advanced to the knockout stages , more is expected from the players and the possibility of their winning the World Cup outright.
ESPN’s and ABC’s coverage of the event has bordered on being downright nonsensical , even vapid , with a great deal of uninformed analysis and at times xenophobia .
FIFA Women’s World Cup
Tophatal …
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Hope Solo gets a free pass on her domestic violence outburst. While others are fried and tattooed in the press. Women’s Futebol is bad.
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bobby gee
It remains a joke especially here with US Soccer and the fact the governing body’s hierarchy led by Sunil Gulati remains a complete idiot .
Gulati makes the likes of Bud Selig and Roger Goodell seem like Ph.D candidates at an Ivy League college .
Sunil Gulati
Tophatal …
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Look at what happened to Clint Dempsey. They acted like he killed someone- Hope Solo needs help. And she gets away with it
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Get ready to rock the boat as Phil Jackson proves what a moron and a narcissistic @sshole he just happens to be . Last season and this , his draft picks have become a sign of a front office executive without a clue. Kristaps Porzingis is meant to provide this New York Knicks’ roster with evidence they are likely to be competitive this upcoming season ? That’s akin to suggesting Bristol Palin has an idea as to the meaning of birth control .
Jackson can point to the rings won and that’s about it , but as a front office executive and an assessor of NBA talent , he remains a goddamn joke . As evidenced by this Knicks’ draft class .
Bristol Palin for her part , remains a frigging hypocrite and almost as embarrassing as her mother Sarah Palin .
Bristol Palin
Abstinence doesn’t make the heart grow fonder , as Bristol Palin , simply loves to have a di#ck inside of her . Bi#ch has her legs open all hours , just (pregnant again and unwed, while preaching to young girls about being a positive role model) like live a 7 Eleven convenience store .
“We shook up the world last season , this season we’re simply going to suck ”
Derek Fisher and Phil Jackson .
Tophatal
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At this point last season within Major League Baseball the standings were as follows , divisional and wildcard . Today , they’re as follows .
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Tophatal ……….
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I’d like to thank Ryne Sandberg for stepping down as the manager of the Philadelphia Phillies and proving that he was simply wasn’t the man for the job after his disastrous tenure in the position. This team lacked leadership on so many levels from the managerial staff , playing staff but even more so within the front office , where the current general manager remains so damn clueless and has about as much insight as a blind man fondling his genitalia with a razor blade in a darkened room .
Ryne Sandberg (pictured) had losing down to an ” art form” as the Phillies’ manager.
Far too many players on their current staff are overpaid while producing not a damn thing on the field of play. The Phillies’ record over the past eighteen months has simply been abysmal . Several of their pending free agents ought to be let go, along with the likes of Ryan Howard and Cole Hamels , who are nowhere near their best as players. If anything their best form is way behind them and can’t even be seen from a rear view mirror.
This season the Philadelphia Phillies have offered their fans absolutely nothing of note either on or off the field of play . Highly unlikely they will be competitive enough to win the NL East much less again an NL wildcard berth this season . Since their World Series’ win they have been abysmal , lacked foresight and a presence of mind to bolster their roster at all , much less have a farm system worth a damn . Their current payroll is among the highest in baseball and certainly among the highest of the the NL teams.
As to Ryne Sandberg , he is better off providing analysis as an on air radio or television personality , rather than being a manager or part of a team’s managerial staff or front office executive within the game of baseball. No more needs to be said on the subject matter at this juncture.
Philadelphia Phillies news
Tophatal ………
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So Seattle Seahawks’ and their Superbowl winning quarterback Russell Wilson have yet to reach terms on a contract , likely to be on par with the deal signed by Cam Newton of the Carolina Panthers. Wilson in all likelihood, is not overly concerned with a deal making him the next passer in the league (NFL) with $100 million as a contract . Yet for all sense and purpose, it would seem only right to have him sign a contract making him the highest paid on the Seahawks’ roster but fair given his contributions for the franchise since being drafted in 2012.
Pictured, Wilson and head coach Peter Carroll.
It should be noted , Pete Carroll was not inclined to draft a quarterback, but the front office felt there was a need to draft a rookie and then have him brought along as a project for their long-term future. Seattle have been extremely fortunate given their issues over the years with quarterbacks and their overall lack of success.
The alternatives at the quarterback position on the Seahawks’ roster is not overly impressive , so it would make sense to sign the player to a long-term deal rather than to ” franchise tag him “ at this stage of his career.
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Tophatal ……
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With the NBA Draft now in our rear view mirror , no matter took place by way of the idiocy of some picks. The real issue now becomes one of what are the likely moves to take place with players opting out of their contracts and which marquee free agents are likely to move elsewhere seeking to earn a max contract , by way of length or money . It is pretty much a safe bet , with this being Kobe Bryant’s last season with the Los Angeles Lakers the future Hall of Fame player would like to go out with a bang winning his sixth NBA title , all with the Lakers’ franchise.
Lakers’ team owners , Jim Buss and SVP Jeanie Buss seem to be at an impasse as to what should be done with regard to constructing a team likely to compete this upcoming season . Much of that will undoubtedly be predicated not only upon this draft class , but the players GM Mitch Kupchak believes he can sign in order to make it all a reality.
From my own standpoint , I do not believe Bryant can offer the Lakers more than twenty to thirty-five minutes a game much less play an entire season of a formidable eighty-two game schedule. Something he hasn’t been able to do over the last three seasons of his illustrious career.
This past season the Los Angeles Lakers were simply an in aberration within their division, conference and league as a whole , ending up with one of the worst records in the entire NBA .
Byron Scott and the Lakers’ coaching staff were out of their depth , with only Bryant actually showing some sort of competitive spirit when he was on the court for the team.
Lakers’ fans in some circles are already going overboard with the franchise’s draft class , yet last season that class too, was just average and did little to enhance the franchise’s reputation . The Los Angeles Lakers haven’t had a significant draft class of note over the last eight years and that is something their fans have yet to realize .
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Tophatal …….
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