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Top Five Lakers Playoff Moments in the Kobe Era - Fan's Take (Yahoo! Contributor Network)

The 2012 Playoffs were full of frustration for Lakers fans like me as Kobe and Company struggled in the first round against the Denver Nuggets, getting pushed to seven games in a series that should have been closed out much sooner. Then, in the Western Conference Semifinals, the Lakers blew Games 2 and 4 and were defeated 4-1 by the Oklahoma City Thunder.

 

NBA roundup: Shaq decides not to interview for Magic GM job (The SportsXchange)

NBA great Shaquille O'Neal has declined an invitation to interview for the Orlando Magic's vacant general manager position.

 

James, Bryant lead All-NBA team (The Associated Press)

NEW YORK (AP) LeBron James was the leading vote-getter for the All-NBA team, while Kobe Bryant earned his 10th first-team selection, tied for second on the career list.

 

James, Durant headline All-NBA team (The SportsXchange)

Superstars LeBron James of the Miami Heat and Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder headline the All-NBA team that was announced Thursday.

 

James and Durant headline All-NBA selections (Reuters)

(Reuters) - Most Valuable Player LeBron James of the Miami Heat and top scorer Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder headlined the list of players selected for the All-NBA team, the league said on Thursday.

 

Kobe Bryant-themed Gotye cover song waxes wistful for ‘The Kobe That We Used to Know’ (VIDEO) (Ball Don't Lie)

It's a total given that when you think "Kobe Bryant," you think "Stringy-Haired Belgian-Australian Dude Singing About Difficult Relationship Problems With Twee Belgian And/Or Australian Women." I mean, I know it goes without saying, but for the purposes of the post, I guess I have to say it. Sure, "basketball" is No. 2, but that's obviously No. 1. ( Rapping with Tyra Banks , clearly, is No. 3.) So it's both thematically correct and completely reasonable that Dan Rib and Ken Belcher — aka "Kobye" — produced this re-imagining of Gotye's smash "Somebody That I Used to Know" targeted very specifically at the failings of the Los Angeles Lakers star, how his 2011-12 incarnation differs from the unstoppable version of his youth, and how this year's Lakers might have been better off with fewer Kobe shots and more play through twin-tower types Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol ... which, y'know, is kind of what most folks who aren't diehard Laker fans/Kobe stans were saying for most of this season. Although we weren't saying it so breathily. If nothing else, as we enjoy this cover — and let's be clear: it's a cover worth enjoying, as Kobye has done well to honor both the source material and fans of the thing they are discussing, a double act that is no easy feat to pull off, I can assure you — let's just be glad of one thing: There isn't any body-painting here. I think we can all agree that that's a clear upgrade, irrespective of your gender preferences or artistic sensibilities, if for no other reason than that stuff can be real hard to get off. (DON'T ASK.) Hat-tip to longtime blog stalwart Jerod Morris of Midwest Sports Fans , via longtime multiplying effect Jimmy Traina of Hot Clicks .

 

After the city canceled its outdoor viewing party, Oklahoma City Thunder fans work to get it back (Ball Don't Lie)

It's a little too easy, in the wake of news like this, to point to "one bad apple" and declare overreaction. We're not law enforcement officials. We don't do this for a living. We weren't there and we don't know better. Now that we've shown respect to the Oklahoma City officials that decided to cancel the outdoor playoff game viewings at "Thunder Alley" during OKC Thunder games, in the wake of the shooting that marred the team's Game 5 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Monday, it does appear that the city might be overreacting. Thunder Alley will remain open pregame, so you get to slap on your facepaint and buy a Thunder-sanctioned something or other, but once the game tips off, according to Dan Mahoney, Thunder vice president of corporate communications and community relations , those without a ticket can then "go to their favorite viewing establishment to watch the game." Not to the big outdoor screen, where a cast of thousands watched the Thunder play in the team's opening-round series against Dallas, and the group's triumph over the Lakers. Undeterred, Thunder fans at Welcome To Loud City are attempting to streamline fan efforts to swamp the OKC mayor and city council with requests that fans without a ticket be given the chance to continue to watch the game outside. Considering that sports fans are often as superstitious (if not considerably more) than the players who play the game, we can understand if there are some jittery OKC backers worried about what's going to happen when next Thursday's Game 3 (the first contest in the Western Conference finals to be played in Oklahoma City) tips off.

 

Sixers' ugly ball delivers them Game 7 date with Celtics in East semifinal (Yahoo! Sports)

The Celtics have found themselves in a winner-take-all Game 7 against the scrappy Sixers.

 

Pau Gasol wonders if he's played his last game for Lakers; trade could await (Yahoo! Sports)

After another disappointing second-round exit, the Lakers could again try to trade forward Pau Gasol.

 

Lakers' Bynum plans to have Orthokine therapy (The SportsXchange)

Even though Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum remained healthy this past season, he said on Wednesday he plans to go to Germany in September to undergo Orthokine therapy, which is the procedure Kobe Bryant had last offseason.