The reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers would not repeat flew off the sports editorial runway like planes at LAX.
Ron Artest was too crazy. He took so many "what the hell were you thinking" shots, that it was clear he wasn't thinking.
Artest would shoot the squad into the abyss. He connected on a paltry 30 percent of his field goal attempts for most of the postseason.
Andrew Bynum was too banged up to make a difference. Medical staffers drained his knee twice in the NBA Finals alone. Some wondered if head coach Phil Jackson needed to shut him down. Some thought Bynum should have cancelled his comeback to undergo the necessary knee operation in March.
One of Kobe Bryant's ailing body parts would fail him. He dealt with ankle sprains, a hip flexor, a groin strain, the flu, and the wear and tear of 14 NBA seasons.
A physical frontline presence on some team would overpower Pau Gasol. The Phoenix Suns limited his effectiveness in two games with extended use of a zone defense, the Oklahoma City Thunder's leaping bigs swatted more of his looks than anyone else did, and the Boston Celtics' bigs, Kendrick Perkins ...
Read Full Article at Bleacher Report - NBA
Article written by Robert Kleeman
Kobe Bryant, Lakers’ Championship Chase Could Get Ugly For Rest Of NBA
June 22nd, 2010 by Robert Kleeman Leave a reply »
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