http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/lazenby HoopsHype.com NBA Blogs Sun, 08 Nov 2009 14:51:25 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en Thank goodness for the consolation of gold and diamonds. I recall that Allen Iverson had plenty of both in the late fall of 1996 as he made his way through his rookie year in the NBA. When I interviewed him after just his second NBA game, played in Chicago against the Bulls, ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/lazenby/2009/11/08/redemption-is-still-possible/ I can see Michael Jordan now, giving that little wink signaling that he was outta here and easing through the crowd of reporters squeezed in around him. Chicago Bulls PR man Tim Hallam used to call that tight circle of media a “pig fight.” That was when dozens of sportswriters ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/lazenby/2009/09/10/celebrate-mj-going-into-the-hall-of-fame-forget-that/ Kobe Bryant has done an amazing job behind the scenes reviving his sorely battered Los Angeles Lakers teammates to get them ready to compete for this year’s championship. Most people don’t understand the huge challenge of that job following the team’s devastating loss to the Boston Celtics in last year’s championship ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/lazenby/2009/06/10/protecting-kobe-from-himself/ Tex Winter is back in Oregon now, after having spent weeks in Kansas following a late April stroke. Craig Hodges, who played for Winter at Long Beach State and with the Chicago Bulls and who now coaches with him as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers staff, keeps in close ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/lazenby/2009/06/06/its-that-old-zen-again/ For Phil Jackson, endings have always been much more powerful than beginnings. But what would you expect from a guy who was raised by two itinerant fundamentalist preachers? Jackson grew up a son of the Northern Plains, in one Montana community after another, always facing “the rapture,” the belief that the ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/lazenby/2009/01/27/zen-how-about-rapture/ Jerry West has seen it. So has Tex Winter. The balance has shifted for the Los Angeles Lakers. In some ways, that shift has been subtle, and in other ways not so subtle. Everything that seemed to go so well for them at the start of the season has turned brown and dull. ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/lazenby/2008/12/23/kobe-team-approach-the-crossroads/ Phoenix Suns fans these days are just starting to understand how Michael Jordan felt. Jordan, you may recall, punched Steve Kerr in the face in a 1995 Chicago Bulls practice. Kerr, as I remember, had the audacity to stand up to Jordan during one of those scrimmages where His Airness was heaping ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/lazenby/2008/12/19/breaking-the-fun-machine-in-phoenix/ Tex Winter never pays much attention to what Shaquille O’Neal has to say. “He’s colorful, isn’t he?” the 86-year-old hoops guru says with a chuckle. On the other hand, Winter watches very closely what Mr. O’Neal, the Phoenix Suns center, does on the floor. It takes a lot to impress Winter, Phil ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/lazenby/2008/11/21/the-rebirth-of-shaq/ What’s that definition of insanity? Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different outcome? A cynic might note that’s an apt description for the coaching career of Don Nelson. He’s just begun his 30th season of NBA coaching (he’s doing a second stint with the Golden State Warriors), to ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/lazenby/2008/11/03/in-nellie-we-trust/ It’s been 10 years since Jerry Krause, Phil Jackson and Michael Jordan parted company in a hail of spite and anger after winning six championships together with the Chicago Bulls. It’s unlikely that the three ever posed together for a photograph, even in their sunnier days, but if they had Krause ... http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/lazenby/2008/10/09/big-nuts/