1999-05-20, By Buck Harvey
愚蠢至极：L.A. 究竟代表什么？
他们如约而至。渴望得到电话，然后在电话线上死去。天赋异禀，足以磨损肖恩·埃利奥特(Sean Elliott) 的新膝盖，狂野到敢于尝试任何事情两次。才华横溢，足以照亮好莱坞——但却愚蠢到放弃比赛。
这就是应该用来定义加州白日梦的细节：在比赛最后几秒钟，当蒂姆·邓肯(Tim Duncan) 在禁区内，与小兄弟 J.R. 雷德(J.R. Reid) 配合时，湖人队不仅没有采取包夹战术来封锁马刺队最佳得分手最好的投篮。
湖人队没有犯规。
而他们还剩下一次犯规可以使用。
问问任何人：你宁愿邓肯从 5 英尺外投出他的跳投，还是马刺队在比赛还剩 10 秒钟的时候中场带球？
这些湖人球员仍然不确定。了解他们的人知道，他们可能仍然对裁判感到愤怒。为什么这些肮脏的裁判一直让他们罚球？湖人队罚丢了 11 个，而马刺队只罚丢了一个，而几个分数可能派上用场。沙奎尔·奥尼尔(Shaquille O’Neal) 则表现得一如既往；如果他在周三晚上扔了电视机，很有可能电视机没有碰到地面。
但这一次，奥尼尔并没有那么重要。湖人队确信他们只能在内线获得柴油的排气味，于是把球交给了科比·布莱恩特(Kobe Bryant)。自然地，科比接过了球。
他强行投了几球，但大多数情况下，他给了湖人队马刺队没有的东西。有时他会利用奥尼尔的掩护，有时他会一对一单挑埃利奥特，有时也会单挑马里奥·埃利(Mario Elie)。当他在比赛还剩不到一分钟的时候，投进一个三分球，让湖人队取得领先时，湖人队似乎像往常一样凭借实力赢得了比赛。
但科比随后又模仿了奥尼尔的举动，罚丢了两罚。“有时会发生一些奇怪的事情，”他说。
事情变得更加奇怪。在暂停期间，库特·兰比斯(Kurt Rambis) 说他给了球员们一些建议。其中一个可能有用。“我们还可以犯规，”兰比斯说。
老马刺队会喜欢这个故事，因为他们还记得老雷德。当他还在马刺队的时候，他可能是最有趣的球员。当他在更衣室里用他那低沉的声音大声朗读队友对服装的看法时，他通常会逗笑所有人。
雷德也会打球。但他调侃的次数比他身高还多。他一直保持着一个大孩子的性格，他既有可能忘记战术，也可能忘记他在行李箱里放了一把左轮手枪，然后带着它通过机场的 X 光机。
鲍勃·希尔(Bob Hill) 总是这么说：你可能在暂停回来后，刚刚给了球员一个具体的指示，你可能会再次告诉雷德，只是为了提醒他。但他仍然会忘记。
因此，马刺队在四分钟内只得到两分，他们想知道如何才能再得到两分，他们想知道是否能保住主场优势，也许还能保住系列赛。在比赛还剩 18.9 秒钟的时候，马刺队让埃利执行了一次挡拆战术。
“他们没有对马里奥犯规，”艾弗里·约翰逊(Avery Johnson) 后来说道，“我当时想，‘哇’。”
埃利把球传给了底线的邓肯，邓肯运着球。“他们没有对蒂姆犯规，”艾弗里说道，“我当时想，‘哇，哇’。我只知道蒂姆要得分。”
然而，雷德站在邓肯和篮筐之间，格伦·莱斯(Glen Rice) 迟迟赶来进行包夹。在莱斯赶到之前，邓肯在底线转身投出一记可能对马刺队来说除了灌篮之外最稳妥的投篮。
犹他爵士队会让这种事情发生吗？Quad City Thunder（大陆篮球联盟CBA球队）会吗？
湖人队仍然有机会，直到科比发球。根据兰比斯的说法，科比传球给了错误的人。根据回放显示，科比把球传到了周三晚上阿拉莫圆顶体育馆里最坚硬的东西上。
一个湖人队的脑袋。
点击查看原文：Largely Asinine: What does L.A. really stand for?
Largely Asinine: What does L.A. really stand for?
They came as advertised. Dying for calls, then dying at the line. Talented enough to wear out Sean Elliott’s new knees, wild enough to try anything twice. Brilliant enough to light up Hollywood - but dumb enough to give away a game.
These are the details that should define California Day-Dreaming: With Tim Duncan on the block, paired with little buddy J.R. Reid, with only seconds left, the Lakers not only didn’t double-team to take away the Spurs’ best scorer’s best shot.
The Lakers didn’t foul.
And they had a foul to waste.
Ask anyone this: Would you rather have Duncan wheeling into his jump hook from 5 feet, or the Spurs taking the ball at midcourt with less than 10 seconds left?
These Lakers still aren’t sure. Knowing them, they’re probably still mad at the officials. Why did those dirty refs keep making them shoot free throws? The Lakers missed 11 compared to the Spurs’ one, when a few points might have come in handy. Shaquille O’Neal was especially himself; if he threw a TV Wednesday night, chances are it missed the ground.
But Shaq didn’t matter as much this time. The Lakers, convinced they would only get Diesel fumes inside, gave the ball to Kobe Bryant. Naturally, Bryant took it.
He forced one or two, but mostly he gave the Lakers something the Spurs don’t have. Sometimes he used a Shaq pick, sometimes he went one-on-one on Elliott, sometimes on Mario Elie. When he swished a trey with less than a minute left for the lead, it appeared the Lakers had won as they do. With talent.
But Bryant followed by doing a Shaq, missing two free throws. “Some strange stuff happens sometimes,” he said.
It got stranger. In the timeout, Kurt Rambis says he gave his players a few suggestions. One could have been useful. “We have a foul to give,” Rambis said.
The old Spurs will like this story, because they remember the old Reid. He might have been the funniest Spur when he was here. When his deep voice boomed out in the locker room at a teammate’s idea of clothes, he usually made everyone laugh.
Reid could also play some. But he teased more than he towered. He stayed a big kid, as capable of forgetting a play as forgetting he’d left a revolver in his bag on its way through the airport X-ray machine.
Here’s what Bob Hill always said: You could come out of a timeout, having just given a specific instruction, and you could tell Reid again, just to remind him. And he would still forget.
So there were the Spurs, having scored two points in four minutes, wondering how they could find two more, wondering if they could save the home-court advantage, save maybe the series. Throwing the ball in with 18.9 seconds left, the Spurs let Elie run a pick-and-roll.
“They didn’t foul Mario,” said Avery Johnson afterward, “and I thought ‘Wow.’”
Elie got the ball to Duncan on the baseline, and Duncan dribbled. “They didn’t foul Tim,” said AJ, “and I thought, ‘Wow, wow.’ I just knew Tim was going to get bladed.”
Reid, instead, stood between Duncan and the hoop as Glen Rice came over late for a double team. Before Rice got there, Duncan spun baseline for what might be the Spurs’ surest shot outside of a dunk.
Does Utah let that happen? Do the Quad City Thunder?
The Lakers still had a chance, until Bryant inbounded the ball. According to Rambis, Bryant threw it to the wrong guy. According to the replay, Bryant threw it off the hardest thing in the Alamodome on Wednesday night.
A Laker head.
By Buck Harvey, via San Antonio Express-News