Lakers should win if Kobe Bryant matches Jerry West’s Game 7 totals
If Kobe Bryant matches Jerry West’s Game 7 output from 1969 (42 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists), the Lakers should win Game 7 against the Celtics. Bryant’s NBA Finals career highs are 40, 12 and 10.
Please, no balloons this time. …
Four times the Boston Celtics have clinched NBA titles on the Lakers’ home floor, most famously in 1969 when Bill Russell & Co. won Game 7 at the Forum beneath a bushel of balloons meant to rain down on the Lakers when they won. …
“Those things,” Red Auerbach snarled upon spotting them, “are going to stay up there a hell of a long time.” …
Jack Kent Cooke, who’d ordered them, later said he donated the balloons to a children’s hospital, “where the kids had a great time with them, certainly a better time than I did.” …
If Kobe Bryant matches Jerry West’s Game 7 output from 1969 (42 points, 13 rebounds, 12 assists), the Lakers should win. …
Bryant’s NBA Finals career highs are 40, 12 and 10. …
The over/under on the number of points Bryant will score in Game 7, according to Bodog.com, is 30 1/2. …
Michael Jordan never needed a Game 7 in the NBA Finals. …
The Lakers, who clinched their 1980 title in Philadelphia with Kareem Abdul-Jabbar at home watching on television, should know that winning without your starting center is not impossible. …
And Kendrick Perkins, of course, is no Abdul-Jabbar. …
Not to suggest the NBA drags out its championship round, but between Games 4 and 5 of the Finals, Torii Hunter and the Angels swept a three-game series against the Dodgers. …
Tom Izzo won’t be coaching LeBron James next season, but he’ll be coaching a Michigan State team ranked No. 1 by the Sporting News. …
T-shirt wisdom, as spotted last weekend at Dodger Stadium: “If LeBron is king, Kobe must be emperor.” …
It won’t be soon enough for Kendry Morales or UCLA second baseman Tyler Rahmatulla, but when are baseball teams going to put an end to these silly, over-the-top celebrations? …
Pete Carroll, who claims to have known nothing about Reggie Bush’s involvement with sports agents, told The Times in a December interview, “When we recruit kids, we’re introduced to the families, the relationship begins. We have to create a circle of support and it includes the most significant ones, the moms, the dads — it’s important to be connected to them.” …
It’s great to see the Clippers embrace their history in the tagline to their new ad campaign: “You haven’t seen anything yet.” …
Thanks for the reminder. …
Phil Mickelson, still winless at the U.S. Open but runner-up a record five times, turned 40 on Wednesday. …
As part of its effort to secure the World Cup for 2018 or 2022, the U.S. might consider making a vow to ban those annoying vuvuzela plastic horns that give TV viewers a headache. …
Headline in England after English goalkeeper Robert Green’s misplay on Clint Dempsey’s seemingly harmless shot Saturday lifted the U.S. to a 1-1 tie: “Hand of Clod.” …
Rose Gilbert, widow of infamous UCLA booster Sam Gilbert, still teaches English at Palisades High. …
Nearly 92, Gilbert is the oldest teacher in California. …
In Chicago and Philadelphia, the Blackhawks’ Stanley Cup-clinching overtime victory over the Flyers last week drew TV ratings comparable to the NFL’s. …
A question Vince Young might want to ask himself next time he’s feeling restless: Has anyone ever bolstered his standing in the community by making late-night runs to strip clubs? …
Chipper Jones, pondering retirement at 38, was the National League batting champion only two years ago. …
Why is Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” given short shrift at major league ballparks? …
From David Letterman’s top 10 list of “little known facts” about Stephen Strasburg, as read by the Washington Nationals rookie right-hander: “Dumb guys think I directed ‘E.T.’ ” …
Steve Young, who lined up at running back for a handful of plays in the L.A. Express’ USFL swan song 25 years ago this week: “I’d come back to the huddle after going out for passes and tell [quarterback Frank Seurer], ‘I’m wide open.’ ” …
That’s what they all say. …
Posted on the electronic message board outside the Galen Center after NCAA sanctions were levied against the USC athletic program: “No matter what … Fight On!” …
It beats the alternative: “They wish they all were Trojans.”
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