Rondo, Kobe & Dr. Van Gundy

By Paul Casey Gotham

After the fall

“It’s not as bad as the Theisman, but I still don’t want to see another replay.”

That  was how the better two-thirds (as opposed to the better-half) summed up the result of Rajan Rondo’s tussle with Dwyane Wade in Saturday night’s game 3 of the NBA’s Eastern Conference semi-finals. As the pair made like dice and tumbled to the floor, Rondo’s elbow grew an extension, and D-Wade nearly grabbed a spot in the Boston Pantheon of Villains right next to Kareem Abdul-Jabbar.  Granted, Rondo’s injury was just as much his fault as it was Wade’s as opposed to Kareem who showed off his reach in Game 4 of the 1984 finals nearly sending all of New England into a Rudy Tomjanovich flashback (and that is meant with all respect) when he took a swing at Larry Bird.

After leaving the game for the locker room, Rondo, somehow, returned to action. Oh, the marvels of modern medicine. Maybe modern therapy would be more appropriate.

Perhaps the greater marvel was the Heat’s reaction to Rondo’s later return to the game. I am all for good sportsmanship, but laying off an injured opponent seemed rather confusing. There was Rondo 20 feet from the basket holding the ball in his right hand as Mario Chalmers gave him five feet of breathing room. Meanwhile, Rondo looks like Harper Lee’s Tom Robinson with his left arm dangling at his side.

Mario, he wasn’t going to take you off the dribble with a crossover. You can step up and take away his strong hand…er…only hand of use at the time. Instead, the Heat turned Rondo into a hero, and the Celtics might have grabbed some momentum.

Kerplunk

That’s the sound made by the Los Angeles Lakers on Sunday.

Splat!

A face plant if you will.

Not even a proper surrender.

So goes the legacy of Kobe. It’s been rather en vogue of late to compare Kobe to Michael Jordan. Here’s the difference. The Bulls went as far as MJ took them. Kobe goes as far as the players around him will take the team.

Funny to hear Magic Johnson, Michael Wilbon and Jon Barry discuss the demise of the Los Angeles Lakers. None of the three seemed willing to take Kobe Bryant to task. They discussed the Lakers inability to finish games against the Dallas Mavericks – well at least any of the first three games because one might question if the Lakers truly started game four.

“It’s time to make trades,” said Magic.

Why? So that Kobe can get another cast of characters to get a couple of titles before they grow tired of his ways?

No doubt Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak will make some deals, and Kobe will get some new talent around him. Dwight Howard sounds like a popular choice. Maybe he will win a title to tie MJ and possibly another to pass him. If titles are the measuring stick then Kobe has it. At some point, Kobe’s body of work has to come into play.

Remember 19-year old Kobe whose idea of a pass was an offensive rebound from his jumper. Not to mention, he only had the most dominant big man in the league playing center. That’s okay Shaq. You can go and get some boards. Then came Phil Jackson who taught Kobe Zen and the art of the post entry pass. The result was three consecutive titles. But Kobe wasn’t happy. Shaq was getting too much credit. Phil was getting too much credit.

Bye bye Shaq. So long Phil.

Hello 2004-05 with a record of 34-48. The next two years weren’t much better. Kobe started belly-aching. He needed guys around him. You mean like Shaq? The Lakers got Pau Gasol and two more rings has Kobe to claim.

Now, Kobe needs some new playmates.

Hmmm….who is going to coach?

Doesn’t matter. If titles are the gauge, Kobe has a ways to go to catch Bil Russell.

Cue the Pomp and Circumstance

Good to hear Jeff Van Gundy getting his due from Nazareth College. Honorary doctorate or not, Van Gundy deserves any notoriety he can get. It was almost worth the trip downtown to Rochester’s Blue Cross Arena to cheer on the hometown guy.

If nothing else, the Ph.D. can serve as a reward for the pithy wisdom Van Gundy shares on televised broadcasts. Van Gundy breaks down the game into simple terms while using pop-culture to make his point. All the while, his self-effacing humor shows that he doesn’t take himself too seriously.

He is unafraid to speak his mind and not shy when it comes to questioning convention.

Van Gundy didn’t need a degree for his insights Saturday night. When Boston’s Paul Pierce went crashing to the floor into a row of photographers, it was Van Gundy who spoke up about the proximity of camera guys.

“We have got to do something about that,” said Van Gundy referring to the lack of room under the basket.

Don’t get me wrong, I appreciate the talents of professional camera people. But why do they need to be so close? It is just a matter of time before someone gets seriously hurt.

Verlander throws a no-no

Congratulations to Detroit’s Justin Verlander who tossed his second career no-hitter on Saturday.  Keep working kid. You got five more to go to catch Nolan Ryan.  Last season was called the year of the pitcher with six no-hitters. Verlander’s was the second of this season to go with Francisco Liriano tossing one earlier in the week.  Is there anyting to this trend?

Speaking of Ryan, rumor has it he doesn’t want pitch counts used with the Texas Rangers staff. That could ruffle a few feathers when it comes to the coddled athlete of the 21st century. Safe to say, Ryan won’t be in the market to acquire Joba Chamberlain.

Ryan’s seven no-hitters were mentioned on the Pine last week in a discussion of the toughest records to break. Of course, there was DiMaggio’s 56. Hershiser’s 59 1/3. UCLA’a 88. To name a few. In light of yesterday’s Kentucky Derby, Secretariat’s 1:59.40 might stand forever.