What Phil to the Fakers means for the Warriors

Zen master returns to KobeWorld by Ray Ratto for the SF Chronicle.

In fact, the Lakers most directly, because the Warriors and Lakers ended up with the same record this past year -- 34-48. Given that the Warriors have finished ahead of the Lakers only twice in the past 29 years, this was quite the local accomplishment, even if it was almost entirely caused by the Lakers backing up.

In other words, for the Warriors to play an 83rd game for the first time since before Monica Lewinsky, they have to (a) pass three teams among that second tier and (b) hope the Lakers don't become a fourth.

So yeah, this matters to you.

You want Bryant to be so outraged by this act of betrayal by Buss, his benefactor and lap-dog, that he disrupts the Lakers' carefully built chemistry (think a fire in a paint factory). You want Jackson to be undermined by the players. You want the team to be at odds with itself by the end of training camp.

In other words, you want last year, only worse.