WATERCOOLER CHAT: INDIANA TOUGH TIME AGAINST LAKERS, FINAL RULING IN GUN SCANDAL
BASKETBALL
As mentioned before, the Los Angeles Lakers are on an 8-game road trip. Wednesday night’s stop was Indiana. The Pacers are having a pretty bad year at 16-29, but everyone knows when you get to play the defending champions on your home floor… you turn it up a notch.
In order for the Pacers to win, they needed an A+ effort from their all-star, Danny Granger. Indiana doesn’t match-up well with the Lakers, so they also needed for the Lakers to have an ‘off-night’ (not exactly the best winning strategy). Well, that didn’t happen, as Kobe Bryant was red-hot. He almost finished the night with a triple-double (29 points, 9 rebounds, 7 assists). And Granger — he was mediocre at best, putting up only 14 points. The Pacers are certainly in a rebuilding stage right now. They used to sit atop the Eastern Conference in the 90s and early part of this decade, but have since trailed off after the infamous “Artest Melee” with the Pistons (where Ron Artest attacked the crowd a few years ago). Hopefully, they get a decent lottery pick and grab someone who can give them more identity. LA Lakers 118, Indiana 96.
Elsewhere in the NBA, David Stern has issued a final ruling on the Gilbert Arenas / Javaris Crittenden debacle. To refresh your memory, these two Washington Wizard players pulled a gun on each other during practice. And you’re not supposed to draw weapons and point them at anybody during basketball practice. Because of this, commissioner David Stern has banned them for the remainder of the year. And Arenas could face possible jail time as well (depending on what the court thinks). When Arenas returns, it’s unclear if anybody will sign him. The Wizards are definitely done with him.
