Readers Work Overtime to Take Shots at Lakers

Jack looked very upset sitting courtside Wednesday night. Maybe he couldn’t handle the truth.

Donald A. Stevens Jr.

Philadelphia

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Sweepless in L.A.

Steve Morsa

Thousand Oaks

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The Lakers are going to go through the playoffs undefeated. The Lakers are going to sweep the finals. The 76ers don’t have a chance.

I love it when Laker fans have to shut up.

Glenn M. Langdon

Garden Grove

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Phil Jackson was right about Kobe. Bryant plans to allow the 76ers to win the first three games, so that he will look like a hero when he leads the Lakers to victory by winning the last four.

John Randolph Rogers

Inglewood

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If I hear any more praise for Allen Iverson, I think I just might throw up. Anyone ever hear of a guy named Dominique Wilkins? What is he, fourth or fifth on the all-time scoring list and without a championship because the word “pass” was not in his vocabulary. I don’t deny that Iverson has talent, but being a ball hog never gets anyone anywhere unless your last name is Jordan.

Iverson took 41 shots in Game 1, missing 23, the same number of shots the rest of the 76er starting lineup attempted. Way to be unselfish!

Greg Hanson

Long Beach

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Diane Pucin suggested in her May 30 column that we should ignore Allen Iverson’s tattoos and just watch how hard he plays basketball. This is as impossible as ignoring Anna Kournikova’s attractiveness and just watching how she hits ground strokes. Seeing those tattoos crawling up Iverson’s neck is so disturbing that I simply can’t focus on his remarkable skills.

Imagining how he will look as he reaches middle age should give pause to all young people who believe mutilating their body this way makes them look cool.

James R. Selth

Glendora

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Did the NBA reach an all-time low? Halftime entertainment? Come on. This is not the NFL! How about going back to the basics and giving us real basketball fans stats and analysis of the game?

Naila Currie

Pasadena

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I’d like to ask the officials how Kobe, who shoots about 10 free throws a game, didn’t shoot one for the entire Game 1 (except a technical). Also, I saw about 10 moving screens, mostly on Mutombo, each time Iverson’s man tried to follow him around screens in the first half. Then there were the clean block by Kobe and the clean steel by Horry in the fourth quarter on Iverson that were called incorrectly as fouls.

Officiating plays a bigger role in deciding outcomes than anyone wants to admit.

Dave Koepke

West Hills

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No one who watched the Lakers play Seattle this season should be surprised that a small, quick team with an inspired guard would give them fits. The Lakers’ record against the Gary Payton-led SuperSonics was 0-4. In the NBA, matchups are everything.

David Macaray

Rowland Heights

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The perfect breakfast:

Sunrise.

Coffee.

Allen Iverson on the front of the Wheaties box.

Larry Brown on the cover of Sports Illustrated.

And T.J. Simers on the back of the milk carton.

Christopher Corcoran

Philadelphia

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After reading Mr. Simers’ article of June 6, in which he took great pleasure at insulting the city of Philadelphia, its inhabitants and its professional basketball team, I felt that a response from the Philadelphia region was in order.

As for living in this metropolitan area, I can assure you that more than 5 million of us like it just fine, thank you. Not that smog and rolling blackouts don’t have a certain charm, but we prefer to appreciate these and other Southern California attractions from afar.

As a hockey fan, I don’t profess to know much about NBA basketball, but I do know this: There’s only one team left that can possibly sweep in the finals and it ain’t the Lakers.

John T. Salvey

Aston, Pa.

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Living a mere 90 miles from Manhattan, Philadelphians are accustomed to the back and forth jabs between East Coast cities’ newspapers--often very humorous and clever “attacks.” However, T.J. Simers’ attempts at insulting Philadelphia demonstrates that he possesses no knowledge whatsoever of his subject matter.

For a quick example of how ill informed he is, last year, both the Republicans and the Democrats wanted to hold their conventions in Philadelphia. The Republicans moved their site announcement date up several weeks to trump the Democrats, who had to settle for their second choice--Los Angeles.

Because Mr. Simers writes in careless generalities and exhausted stereotypes, I have no idea what he is describing when he refers to Philadelphia as a “hell hole.” Didn’t Burt Bacharach once describe Los Angeles as “a great big freeway?” How’s that for an exhausted stereotype?

If Mr. Simers wants to bash Philadelphia, he should at least demonstrate due diligence in knowing his subject matter before displaying a total lack of journalist integrity. I invite him to research us at https://www.gophila.com or https://www.phila.gov.

And congratulations, Mr. Simers, for being on a first-name basis with Sly Stallone. We’re all very impressed, I’m sure.

Norm Hetrick Jr.

Lafayette Hill, Pa.

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Recently I shared with my mom a wonderful saying that Phil Jackson lives by, regarding never letting your successes go to your head, nor your failures go to your heart. I further told mom that Phil Jackson has this statement on his washing machine. My mom, unimpressed, said to me, “Phil Jackson does his own laundry?”

Donald Bentley

La Puente

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Milwaukee Buck Coach George Karl is quoted as saying, “I think the Lakers have got a lot of arrogance in their gig.”

Besides the clumsy phrasing (“in their gig?”), where does Karl come off calling anyone arrogant? Earlier this season, he announced that he was going to require “Phil Jackson money” (reportedly $6 million a year) to continue coaching. At the time of the remark, Jackson had seven championship rings and Karl had none. The unhappy ending to all this is that Karl got the raise and is, reportedly, now making $7 million a year.

David Macaray

Rowland Heights

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Craig P. Fagan [Viewpoint, June 2], while comparing the former Laker dynasty to today’s team, wondered whatever happened to Dancing Barry. Let me reassure Mr. Fagan and all the Laker fans who fondly remember him that Dancing Barry is alive and well. He is living in Charlotte, N.C., and is performing his crowd-pleasing act for the most appreciative Hornet fans.

Philip R. Blustein

Beverly Hills

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With respect to Jerry Buss’ quote: “Winning supersedes everything else. . . . You don’t get into this business [sports] with the idea of making a lot of money:”

Messrs. Anschutz and Roski, are you listening?

Howard Cohen

North Hills

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After reading last week’s letters, with all of them anointing the Lakers as NBA champions even before their opponent was known, I reflected back to 1988, when I was living in Northern California.

I recall similar letters in the Bay Area newspapers, anointing the Oakland Athletics as World Series champions. And the accolades only increased when the “don’t belong on the same playing field” Dodgers were their opponent.

Like the Oakland A’s fans of yesteryear, Angelenos of today are counting their chickens before they hatch. In a short series, anything can happen. If you don’t believe me, just ask the Oakland Athletics.

David J. Mecozzi

Alta Loma

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The selective memories displayed by Laker fans astounds me.

Example 1: The same fans who criticized Kobe all season for being too selfish and not letting the offense run through Shaq are now up in arms because Jason Kidd took “his” spot on first-team All-NBA.

Kidd may never average 30 points a game, but what he will do every season is lead the league in assists, lead the league in triple-doubles and be one of the best defensive players in the game. Put that guy on a team with Shaq and 20 assists a game would not be unrealistic.

Example 2: This absurd idea that the Spurs deserve an asterisk next to their ’99 title. This is just a case of Phil Jackson playing one of his mind games and Laker fans being stupid enough to believe it’s true. Has this whole city forgotten that the Spurs embarrassed the Lakers on their way to that title? If the shortened season made it so easy for the Spurs to win it all, then why couldn’t the Lakers do it?

The Lakers are building a dynasty that may one day be regarded as the best ever. My advice: Enjoy the present. Enjoy the future. But for the love of God, please stop whining about the past!

Jeff Warren

Tustin