SALT LAKE CITY – It doesn’t matter to Kobe Bryant(notes) that three years have passed and he’s won a championship since then. He has a long memory. And just the mere mention of the Phoenix Suns brings a spark to his eyes. The Los Angeles Lakers advanced to their third straight Western Conference finals by sweeping the Utah Jazz with a 111-96 victory on Monday night. Next up are the Phoenix Suns, whom the Lakers have beaten seven times in nine games since acquiring Pau Gasol(notes). But that doesn’t matter to Bryant. When asked if he recalled that the Suns knocked the Lakers out of the postseason during their last two meetings in 2006 and ’07, Bryant’s eyes filled with disdain. “What do you think? You already know,” Bryant said, staring through his questioner. Source: Y! Sports
A lot of NBA experts thought the Jazz would give us trouble because they were the hot team at the moment, Deron Williams was balling out of his mind, and the Jazz had the advantage with a stronger bench. The one thing Utah couldn't overcome is the same thing Phoenix won't be able to overcome ... SIZE. I'm not worried about Phoenix bench because the Lakers don't have a true 2nd team. They've been subbing in Odom, Powell, Farmar, & Brown to play alongside the other starters and don't have a traditional 2nd unit rotation. Who guards Kobe if you're Phoenix? JRich is too short, Grant Hill is too slow, and Dudley too inexperienced. If the Suns decide to double Kobe he'll pick them apart and it will allow Gasol or Bynum to get going on the inside. This is what makes the Lakers difficult to defend. They have too many weapons on the offensive end and a team is forced to pick their poison and double team. We can thank the Thunder for giving our team the wake up call it needed.
Dudley has stated that he was going to flop and try to hit Kobe's finger. I don't know if he was joking, as I didn't listen to the interview, just read the title of the thread. If that is the case, they've already shaken the tree and the leopard is about to fall out.
With these talks about Wade's length and Lebron's size, I've always wondered (but obviously never got the chance to ask), what's Kobe's wingspan? He seems to have wings out there when he makes the long-extension layups.
About a 6'10-6'11 wingspan? Any more than that is usually reserved for Power forwards. http://www.draftexpress.com/nba-pre-draft-measurements/?page=avepos&year=All
