Tuesday, October 26, 2004
What Would "Jesus" Do?
Ray Allen, put up or shut up.
After an October 12th exhibition game against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, Seattle Supersonic guard Ray Allen was not shy about criticizing his on-court counterpart and his future with his new-look team. Allen spouted to reporters that Kobe would be selfish this season and that he'd be demanding a trade in a year or two if the Lakers weren't contenders.
In what has become typical fashion as the haters line up to take cheap shots at him, Bryant opted to take the high road. Rather than whine to the media and drag on a childish war-of-words with Allen, Kobe simply answered that "He'll have to see me on that court."
Or will he?
The Lakers and Sonics played another exhibition game last night, but Ray Allen was in street clothes, complaining of a "sore back." When told of this during pregame drills, Kobe represented my feelings perfectly.
"Sore back? You kiddin' me?"
How convenient for Allen. Apparently, the guy who played Jesus Shuttlesworth in Spike Lee's "He Got Game," couldn't live up to the title of that movie. Rather than owning up to his unsolicited attack on Bryant, Allen watched from the bench, no doubt hoping that the whole thing would diffuse itself without him having to guard a revenge driven Kobe Bryant. No such luck, Ray. Kobe's not going to forget. You've got a fight coming and you can't run from it forever.
"We play each other four times a year. I can't get my drawers in a twist over this game. I don't know Kobe. I don't have anything personal against him."
Declaring that someone is selfish and is going to demand a trade within two years sounds pretty personal to me. If Ray Allen doesn't have anything against Kobe, he might have remembered to keep his predictions to himself. Now that he's forced to deal with what he's said, we see how Allen reacts. He runs and hides. Thanks to the NBA schedule, he can only avoid this confrontation for so long. The Sonics and Lakers meet on December 14th, January 25th, March 20th, and April 8th. However, it wouldn't surprise me if on each of those dates Allen suffered a strained fingernail, stomach virus, sinus infection, and deep paper cut, respectively.
Kobe has taken shots this season before he's had a chance to even touch the ball. First Shaq, then Phil, and now Ray Allen, all throwing bank shots off Kobe. The difference is that at least Shaq and Phil had a frame of reference. Who the hell is Ray Friggin' Allen to say anything about Kobe Bryant, a player he's never shared a locker room with? To use Kobe's words, Ray Allen and Kobe Bryant shouldn't even be mentioned "in the same breath."
After all, after coming into the league in the same year, Allen from UConn, Kobe from high school, Kobe's success has totally eclipsed Allen's. Kobe's got three rings and is likened to the greatest player of all-time, Michael Jordan. Ray Allen's going to come at a guy like that with nothing on his resume but a few All-Star Games? Oh yeah, he also won the 3-Point Shootout and has been on the All-Interview Team. C'mon! Ray Allen is clearly speaking out of nothing but ignorance and jealousy.
Why else would a guy who's never played with Kobe be so concerned about predicting what Kobe's going to do next?
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After an October 12th exhibition game against Kobe Bryant and the Lakers, Seattle Supersonic guard Ray Allen was not shy about criticizing his on-court counterpart and his future with his new-look team. Allen spouted to reporters that Kobe would be selfish this season and that he'd be demanding a trade in a year or two if the Lakers weren't contenders.
In what has become typical fashion as the haters line up to take cheap shots at him, Bryant opted to take the high road. Rather than whine to the media and drag on a childish war-of-words with Allen, Kobe simply answered that "He'll have to see me on that court."
Or will he?
The Lakers and Sonics played another exhibition game last night, but Ray Allen was in street clothes, complaining of a "sore back." When told of this during pregame drills, Kobe represented my feelings perfectly.
"Sore back? You kiddin' me?"
How convenient for Allen. Apparently, the guy who played Jesus Shuttlesworth in Spike Lee's "He Got Game," couldn't live up to the title of that movie. Rather than owning up to his unsolicited attack on Bryant, Allen watched from the bench, no doubt hoping that the whole thing would diffuse itself without him having to guard a revenge driven Kobe Bryant. No such luck, Ray. Kobe's not going to forget. You've got a fight coming and you can't run from it forever.
"We play each other four times a year. I can't get my drawers in a twist over this game. I don't know Kobe. I don't have anything personal against him."
Declaring that someone is selfish and is going to demand a trade within two years sounds pretty personal to me. If Ray Allen doesn't have anything against Kobe, he might have remembered to keep his predictions to himself. Now that he's forced to deal with what he's said, we see how Allen reacts. He runs and hides. Thanks to the NBA schedule, he can only avoid this confrontation for so long. The Sonics and Lakers meet on December 14th, January 25th, March 20th, and April 8th. However, it wouldn't surprise me if on each of those dates Allen suffered a strained fingernail, stomach virus, sinus infection, and deep paper cut, respectively.
Kobe has taken shots this season before he's had a chance to even touch the ball. First Shaq, then Phil, and now Ray Allen, all throwing bank shots off Kobe. The difference is that at least Shaq and Phil had a frame of reference. Who the hell is Ray Friggin' Allen to say anything about Kobe Bryant, a player he's never shared a locker room with? To use Kobe's words, Ray Allen and Kobe Bryant shouldn't even be mentioned "in the same breath."
After all, after coming into the league in the same year, Allen from UConn, Kobe from high school, Kobe's success has totally eclipsed Allen's. Kobe's got three rings and is likened to the greatest player of all-time, Michael Jordan. Ray Allen's going to come at a guy like that with nothing on his resume but a few All-Star Games? Oh yeah, he also won the 3-Point Shootout and has been on the All-Interview Team. C'mon! Ray Allen is clearly speaking out of nothing but ignorance and jealousy.
Why else would a guy who's never played with Kobe be so concerned about predicting what Kobe's going to do next?
# posted by j.h.k. @ 1:30 PM 
