I’m not sure why anybody would have paid 41,000 dollars for a courtside seat to the Lakers-Heat game on Christmas Day. Honestly that’s what was reported that they were going for.
It’s Christmas and neither team really wanted to be there anyway. Especially the Lakers who were content to sleep walk through the entire contest. It didn’t surprise me that they got blown out. They performed the same way last year on the holiday in a huge loss to Cleveland. Did the fan shelling out that kind of dough really think he was going to get his money’s worth?
These Lakers have made this a habit the last couple of years. They coast through the regular season and sometimes even in the playoffs. They turn it on when they have to and as a result have won two straight NBA titles. But on Christmas Day? No they don’t care.
Apparently nobody was more stunned than Bill Plaschke of the LA Times.
“If the Lakers can’t find the heart or intensity to win a marquee game against an evolving superpower in December, how are they going to handle the Heat in six months when they’re even better?” he wrote.
Uh, Bill they just did last year. The same thing happened. It’s December not June.
“In the last three years haven’t the Lakers always found their focus for games like this?”
he stated in his Sunday column.
Uh, err, no Bill they haven’t. Including last year’s debacle the Lakers are now 4-8 on Christmas. They had to win the last two games at home to beat the Celtics in the Finals and have always been a team that plays hard only when its back is against the wall.
You haven’t figured that out yet as an LA sports writer?
When the Lakers win the title this summer, Plaschke will be writing his usual love letter to Kobe and company.
The highlight of the day was seeing LeBron James jawing with Kobe as they both walked down the floor late in the game. Hey LeBron get a ring first and then come back and talk to him.
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No I can’t get excited about the Lakers in December. I can get excited about the NFL though. With one week left in the regular season, the playoff picture is becoming much clearer. While the Jets were backing in, the Chargers were backing out with another embarrassing loss – this time to the Bengals.
As Norv Turner lets another season slip away, Marty Schottenheimer isn’t looking too bad right now.
Mike Singletary’s intensity paid off on the field, but after an unsuccessful two year run as the coach of the 49ers, it doesn’t seem to pay off on the sidelines. His heated debate with Troy Smith after Smith threw an interception on Sunday sealed his fate. He was canned Monday.
Michael Vick is a nice story but is there any doubt that Tom Brady is the MVP? 4800 plus yards, 50 touchdowns and no interceptions in his last 319 passes? Those numbers are almost unheard of. He’s only thrown four picks all year. Peyton Manning threw that many in one game on two different occasions this year.
Everyone knew that a quarterback named Matt from USC would lead his team into the playoffs. It’s just that they thought his last name would be Leinart, not Cassell.
Yes, the Kansas City Chiefs are the AFC West Champs for the first time since 2003. And the Raiders are out. Speaking of Turner, how long does Tom Cable get to keep his job?
Speaking of USC, how are Pete Carroll’s Seahawks playing for an NFC West title next Monday night with a record of 6-9?
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The city of Monrovia took our advice. There will be a parade for the CIF Mid-Valley Champion Wildcats on Thursday January 6. We can talk about the NFL, Lakers and everything else but the story of the year is Monrovia Wildcat football. They’ve painted the town green.
That’s my principle.
Tim can be reached at tim@midvalleysports.com.
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