The Lakerhead

Shaq Calls His Feud With Kobe “All Marketing”

I kind of love Shaq’s ability to bend the past.  In his recent interview with Screamin’ A. Smith, he says he always loved Kobe, and his feud with him was all marketing.  So those interviews where Kobe called him fat and lazy, and Shaq called him selfish and told him to pass the ball?  Entertainment!

Whether we believe Shaq or not is one thing.  The important thing is we get to see Shaq and Kobe, with Phil Jackson coaching for perhaps the last time.  The Western Conference all-stars don’t have the monsters Lebron, Wade, and Howard on their team.  But they have Shaq, Kobe, and Phil Jackson.  For a long time in this league, that was all you needed to win.

The Lakers started their road trip with a win over Minnesota.  Although the Laker bigs didn’t shut down Al Jefferson who had 34 points and 13 rebounds, (the man should be an all-star, who can shut him down?), they were too much for him to handle.

Bynum had 27 points and 15 rebounds, Gasol had 21 points and 9 rebounds, and Kobe had a cool 30 points.   Lakers win, 132-119.

That Bobcats loss at home?  Phil Jackson said his Lakers had flushed that experience “down the toilet”.  Let’s hope so.  The Lake Show moves on to play the Grizzlies in Memphis tonight.  The road trip continues.