Lakers Get Swept Out of the Postseason in Round 1

It was no surprise that the Lakers got eliminated from the postseason in the first round, especially when Kobe Bryant went out with an injury. But getting swept out... that's just icing on the cake.

The Spurs beat the Lakers last night 103-82 and completed their 4 game sweep of the Lake Show. Tony Parker was one of five Spurs players to get into double digits in scoring netting 23 points. Dwight Howard of the Lakers only got 7 points as he was ejected early in the third quarter after receiving his 2nd technical for arguing with the officials.

Please, please, let that be how Dwight's career in LA ends.

Dwight and the Lakers season does end with a lot of questions left to answer, most notably, will Howard return to the team next year or go somewhere else. He will be a free agent this off season and can choose to go anywhere he wants to. If I was him, I'd go to Brooklyn or Dallas. You know, to a team that actually knows what they are doing. Hell, the Bobcats might a better choice right now.

Okay, that last one might be a bit of a reach, but almost any franchise would be better for Howard than the Lakers. Not having to clash with Kobe (who might not be up to par when returning from injury), or having to play with a coach that knows nothing about using big men or playing defense, or having to play for management that isn't big enough to hire the right coach for you. Staying in such a place would be madness, Dwight.

But alas, Dwight might stay in LA anyway out of guilt. He really needs to stop caring about what other people think. We hate that about him so much.

Russell Westbrook to Have Knee Surgery

The Oklahoma City Thunder's chances of getting an NBA title this year were already slim considering that they had traded James Harden away shortly before the season began. Now their chances have basically been reduced to none.

Thunder point guard Russell Westbrook will have surgery on his right knee to repair cartilage. Westbrook will be out indefinitely as a result of the injury. He had injured his knee in game 2 of the Thunder's series against the Rockets.

A huge blow to the Thunder's chances as their star point guard is likely out for the remainder of the postseason though his teammates hope he can return. This clearly shifts power in the western conference, likely in the favor of the San Antonio Spurs. Though perhaps to a lesser affect, it also affects the NBA Finals and makes it easier for the Miami Heat to repeat as champions knowing that one of their potential Finals opponents has been weakened so much that they might not even get there.

Unless there is another team in the west that can challenge the Spurs, the Finals picture seems to coming in San Antonio vs. Miami.

P.S. Now my little interest in the NBA postseason is gone till the Finals.

Ain't No Rest For The Spurs

Apparently you can get fined for resting players... AT ALL!!!!

The Spurs were near the end of a 6 game road trip dating back to last Wednesday and were about to play their 4th game in five days last night in Miami. Spurs head coach Gregg Popovich decided to not wear out his stars on an early season road trip and sent Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili, Tony Parker, and Danny Green ( I don't know) back to San Antonio so they can rest for a Saturday home game against the Grizzlies. The Heat would win a close game105-100 leaving me to wonder how good the Heat are so early in the season.

David Stern didn't like the fact that Popovich and the Spurs did this instead of playing their stars and losing to the Miami Heat (like a good boy). So Stern has fined them $250,000 for not playing their stars Thursday night in Miami. In a statement made by Stern he said: "The result here is dictated by the totality of the facts in this case. The Spurs decided to make four of their top players unavailable for an early-season game that was the team's only regular-season visit to Miami. The team also did this without informing the Heat, the media, or the league office in a timely way. Under these circumstances, I have concluded that the Spurs did a disservice to the league and our fans."

Or in other words: "IT'S NOT YOUR BREAK YET SO F**K YOU!!!"

While I understand that the NBA is about advertising the players rather than the team, it's still a team sport and players need to rest. If Popovich thinks that resting his guys an extra day to win help win a conference game rather than a non-conference game against the Heat, then he should be able to do that. These are older players for the most part and making sure they are not cumulatively worn out for the postseason is a big concern for a team like the Spurs. Plus, I heard that Popovich has done this before without any punishment so it seems even more peculiar that there is a fine.

David Stern is just mad that the Spurs rested stars during a nationally televised game. If this was just local markets, he wouldn't do a thing. But this was a nationally televised game featuring stars from both Miami and San Antonio and Stern is mad that San Antonio decided to not go with the program.