The NBA's witch hunt of Kobe continues!

[spoony]

No, I'm not serious.

I just can't believe Jackson was stupid enough to say something like that, and hope he feels like a gigantic zen-idiot when he opens nba.com and sees all the "persecution of poor poor Kobe" and how they never give him his due and blah blah blah. Among the front page features:

*Kobe Watch: Five Hours to Tipoff (it's like a shuttle launch?)
*Bassist Flea blogs about Kobe
*Kobe's Top 10 Dunks
*Kobe's Top 10 Plays
*Several video links to Kobe's recent performances
*A poll about Kobe (is he the greatest ever or just one of the greatest? lol)

Meanwhile, I counted 4 visible stories about Eastern Conference teams. Two were about game outcomes, one about a Celtics team from the 60's, and just one feature article, about Chris Bosh of the Raptors.

So what's up with that?
Matt Wurst knows:

"Everyone wants to harp on the fact that there will be teams with losing records making the playoffs in the East (if form holds). Well you know what? It will probably happen in the West, too (Golden State and the Clippers are fighting for that eighth spot, four and six games below .500 respectively).

How easily do we forget that two of the last three NBA champions came from the East? (At least the original East Coast bias in the '90s actually coincided with the Bulls winning six titles.) Or the fact that eight of the last 10 MVP winners have been from the West (only Allen Iverson in 2001-02 and Michael Jordan in 1997-98 won on behalf of the East over the past decade).

They call it inferior. I call it bias."

Rock on Matt. http://www.nba.com/features/wurst.html

[madinmaryland]

1. The NBA has revolved around the Lakers for 30 years.

Except for the Michael Jordan era, its been the lakers all the time.

The Celtics won most of all of their titles prior to the big tv era.

[LisaM]

2. The Kobe stuff is obnoxious but in last years Pistons/Cavs playoffs

They led off with a story about LeBron James biting his nails before the game. I kid you not. Then they showed the Mother's Day flower LeBron left on the seats where his mother and girlfriend would be sitting.

Chauncy, Rip, Big Ben, Tayshaun, 'Sheed......who are they? LOL.

[Tektonik]

3. I wonder how the nba will find a way to stop kobe's scoring streak

Isn't it ridiculous how kobe's been suspended/fined this year when I don't believe malone or shaq have ever been suspended for such a thing, and tbh their elbows are much more dangerous

[spoony]

4. If their interest was in "stopping" him

I doubt they'd spend so much effort promoting him, complete with (natch) links to buy his best-selling jersey (the new #, brilliant marketing move that was).

He deserved the punishment for the elbows, and saying someone else did it too and got away with it is not a valid excuse for him. I think Shaq should have been punished a number of times as well, but the fact he wasn't doesn't mean Kobe shouldn't be either.

[joeybee12]

5. I used to defend Kobe...

..not anymore. He's such a damn diva, and yes, he should have been suspended. The game right after he got a nice elbow in the eye of I-forget-who.