Rudy T Stepping Down... And What a Shot!!
I honestly didn't think this would happen, but Rudy T has been fired... I mean, he's stepping down as the Laker's head coach. The current official word is that Rudy is stepping down because of “his health and dissatisfaction with the way the Lakers are playing.“ I don't see why the Laker's front office - I mean, Rudy T - is so dissatisfied. The Lakers, currently sans Kobe, are 7th in a tough, Western conference with a 24-19 record, faring as well, if not better, than most assumed going into the season with the abrupt departure of Shaq and quick rebuilding around Odom, Butler, and Atkins. Maybe his health issues are for real, who knows. He did miss Sunday's game against the Bobcats (citing a stomach virus, but that's hardly a career ending illness; granted, he's had issues with cancer in the past... maybe it's returned?).
The Lakers, still minus Kobe, won easily tonight, downing Portland 92-79. They also won on Sunday, besting the Bobcats 101-90. These last two Ws came after three straight losses, though, and the Lakers play the Spurs on Thursday, which will be a major challenge. Couple that with the fact that the Lakers have yet to win three games in a row this season and you start to quickly doubt that they will break that curse this week.
Another question is who will replace Rudy T? Currently assistant coach Hamblen is leading the team, but can you really trust your team to a head coach named Hamblen? There are some last names that don't have the coach ring to it, and Hamblen is one of them.
Could you imagine if Phil Jackson came back? That would be an ironic riot, for sure. I think the chances of this are about as good as Shaq and Kobe becoming life-long soul mates, but it's fun to fantasize about the possibility... a half season of Phil mailing it in, a half season of Kobe looking more frustrated and retreating into himself to a level unseen before. The unintentional comedy of this would be off the charts, and I think no one would enjoy it more than Phil.
I'd like to close with this video, courtesy of ESPN.com:
http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/motion/showcase/index?videos=1981471&CMP=ILC-Motion_Friend_email
It's from a Division III men's basketball game, one team is up by one with the ball with 0.6 seconds remaining in the game. The freethrow misses, the opposing team grabs the ball from under his own basket and chucks it 96 feet for a swish, giving his team the 2 point victory. Amazing to watch. And all of it was possible because of an alert team mate who is standing in front of the guy who hurls the ball the court's length. He ducks right at the last second to let his team mate chuck that shot. Had he not he'd not have only gotten smacked in the head, but unbeknowingstly cost his team the game!