Kobe Bryant's Diary

Dear Diary,

Back when coach Phil Jackson was in town, he'd always try to motivate me by having me read a lot of books.  Often times they would be very philosophical books that really made you think.  I guess that's why they call him the Zen Master.  Anyway, that worked for a while, but now I'm trying to keep my mind sharp with a new creative outlet, by writing in this diary.

Writing a diary can be a good way to vent your frustrations in a positive way.  Make no mistake, there's plenty to be frustrated about in Laker Land these days.  When we added two All-Stars to our lineup to form a starting unit with four future Hall of Famers, everyone expected us to dominate the West.  Hell, we expected us to dominate, but it hasn't worked out that way so far.

Our biggest issue has been chemistry.  I guess that was to be expected when you try to acclimate new players, especially ones that are used to being the stars on their former teams.  Dwight Howard has had the must trouble adjusting.  His reputation as a flip-flopper seems to have followed him from Orlando.  One day he's complaining publicly about a lack of touches, then he's apologizing for his comments.  Then the next day he complains again!  So let me get this straight.  He wanted out of Orlando to play in a bigger market for a title contender with better teammates.  He he still wants to be "The Man" as the focal point of the offense, but doesn't want any of the pressure or criticism.  Maybe he should have stayed in Disney World, because that scenario is a fantasy land.

Moving on without Rondo

The Boston Celtics earned a bittersweet victory Sunday afternoon on their familiar parquet floor.  Emotions ran high with a hard fought double overtime win over the defending champion Miami Heat - a game which also served as Ray Allen's return to Boston for the first time since spurning his former teammates to take his talents to South Beach.  Those emotions quickly flipped after the game when the team found out they'd been struck with a worst case scenario.

Rajon Rondo suffered a torn ACL in their previous game in Atlanta two nights before and would be lost for the rest of the season.

The star point guard leads the league in assists by a wide margin (11.1 per game), ranks in the top ten in the league in steals (1.8) and was recently voted as a starter in next month's All-Star game.  That kind of production is impossible to replace.  The franchise has been going through a gradual change toward pushing Rondo as the focal point of the team, so this devastating injury has to be seen as a major step back from those plans.

The Celtics now find themselves at a difficult crossroads.  Do they carry on without Rondo, with their veteran core carrying the load, or do they throw in the towel and blow up the roster?  Neither option is all that appealing.

Things I Noticed: Conference Championship

We're down to the final four teams, battling it out for the right to earn a trip to the Super Bowl.  The top teams in each conference face off to crown a champion.

Here are some things I noticed this week:

San Francisco at Atlanta

• Despite being the home team, Atlanta entered the game as 4 point underdogs.  Is that a lack of respect for the NFC's top seed or an overreaction to recent performance?  The 49ers have looked strong all year, particularly since Colin Kaepernick took over, most recently by demolishing the Packers.  Atlanta may have the best record, but they've had some shaky victories, including last week when they nearly blew a late lead to Seattle.
• Atlanta is terrible at blowing teams out.  Their offense looked dominant early on as they posted a 17-0 lead in the first half, but just like last week, they struggled to put their opponent away.  The Niners fought back, outscoring the Falcons 28-7 the rest of the way.
• The 49ers set a record for the biggest comeback ever in an NFC title game by rallying from down 17.
• Unlike the Packers last week, Atlanta was prepared to contain Kaepernick in the pocket.  They did let him get outside for a 23 yard gain, but that was his only positive rushing attempt of the game.  The rest he would have to do with his arm.
• Although Kaepernick may not have produced much with his legs, the threat of having him run opened up opportunities for his team.  The Falcons were so worried about stuffing Kaepernick near the goal line that Frank Gore was able to stroll into the end zone untouched on both of his TDs.
• Vernon Davis has seemed like a forgotten man ever since Kaepernick took over the offense, as he failed to record more than 2 catches or 27 yards in any of the Niners last 6 regular season games.  It seems his QB has finally noticed him.  Davis picked up where he left off last postseason with another big playoff performance (5 catches, 106 yards, 1 TD) to lead the Niners in receiving.

Manti Te'o's fake girlfriend

Every so often the sports world gets rocked by a scandal that captivates us all by being so outrageously beyond belief that we can't help but be pulled into the story as it unfolds.  In today's world of 24/7 news coverage and social media, you'll find endless amounts of content written and said about these stories.  Typically the stories involve an athlete being disgraced for cheating or getting into trouble with the law.

This story is even more bizarre.

Notre Dame's run to the BCS title game came with a captivating sub-plot involving Manti Te'o, the Heisman Trophy runner-up who claimed the tragic death of his girlfriend inspired him to another level of greatness on the field.  The only problem with that story is that it wasn't true... because Te'o's girlfriend never existed.

Several reports have come out, and continue to come out, updating this story.  There have been so many twists and turns over the past few days that it's still unclear exactly what happened or what version of the story is true.  Apparently Te'o had become involved in an online relationship with a woman he never met.  This is far different from the socially acceptable method of using online dating sites to meet someone.  In this case, the relationship somehow evolved into this woman becoming his girlfriend, despite the fact that they had never met in person! 

NBA All-Star starters

The NBA will announce it's starters for this year's All-Star game later this week.  Since voting for the starters is done by the fans, it typically becomes more of a popularity contest rather than a showcase of the most deserving players. 

Voting should be done primarily based on how players have performed this season, with previous history also playing a small factor.  That previous history often plays too large of a factor, with casual fans voting based on name recognition, even if a player has long passed their prime.  Remember when Allen Iverson kept getting voted in after he was washed up and the entire nation of China voted for Yao every year, regardless of if he was injured and not playing?  Pretty sure he still gets some write in votes, even though he's been retired for a couple years.

With that in mind, here is who I would vote in for the All-Star game starters.  Also note that these are only the starters, so many of those I list in the honorable mention category will deservedly make the team when the reserves are selected.

East

Backcourt:
Rajon Rondo
(13.2 PTS, 5.2 REB, 11.2 AST, 1.8 STL, 18.69 PER)

Photo by CJ Legner

Rondo is the engine that makes the Celtic's offense run.  He's taken on more of a leadership role this season as the team begins to transition away from the aging veterans.  He's raised his scoring and rebounding to career highs while shooting nearly 50% from the floor, better than any other point guard in the East.  He leads the league in assists by a wide margin and had an impressive stretch earlier this season that saw him take a run at Magic Johnson's record for consecutive games with double digit assists.  He also showed his all around talent by recently recording his third triple-double of the season (26th of his career - including postseason).  When it comes to finding a pure, unselfish point guard to lead a team of All-Stars, you won't find a better option than Rondo.