[tuq]

I find this Lakers discussion kinda hot. I don't have much of an opinion that isn't statistics-based, and even then I don't care that much. On the one hand I was always a Karl Malone fan even though he was a dirty player (Stockton was arguably WAY dirtier) and the Suns had to deal with them a lot during their careers. On the other I hate to see a guy who scored more points than anyone but Kareem and who had the misfortune of peaking during the same time as MJ come away with no ring.

On my 30th birthday in 2003 I was in Durango, Colorado, watching the NBA at a sports bar. The Spurs eliminated the Lakers that day. It was a nice birthday present. People in Phoenix are tired of Lakers fans invading their home arena; it's been pleasurable to beat them in the playoffs the last two years (someone upthread posted about how the Lakers "almost" beat the Suns two years ago; no, son, the Lakers were handed game 4 via really bad officiating that every camera and talking head will corroborate. The Suns winning that series avoided a mini-disaster for the NBA at least on par with the suspension fiasco last season). It's like I imagine some Sox fans must feel when they are supposed to root for the Yankees because of some weird circumstance - it's impossible to do, you just can't rewrite your DNA like that.