Video: The Lakers show that Chris Kaman is reversible, ornery
First, it was Shannon Brown(notes) ...
... and then, it was Ron Artest(notes).
Yup. Reversible like a Pro Player jacket. Yikes. (Well, "yikes" on the dunks for Kaman. Big ups on Ron-Ron flexing again, which is definitely on the short list of the Best Things of the second half of the NBA season.)
After seeing those, it's not too hard to see why Los Angeles Clippers center Chris Kaman(notes) was in a "Street Fighting Man" kind of mood after an encounter with Derek Fisher(notes) late in Friday night's loss to the Los Angeles Lakers, the Clips' fellow Staples Center tenants.
Video of the incident, plus more on the late-game dust-up from Greg Beacham at the Associated Press, after the jump:
In the final minute, the 7-foot Kaman jolted the 6-1 Fisher with a physical pick on the perimeter, with both players angered by the placement of his counterpart's elbows. Kaman and Fisher started jawing and eventually were separated by officials, who ejected Kaman and called a technical foul on Fisher with 28.8 seconds to go. [...]
Kaman made an apparent meet-me-in-the-parking-lot gesture at Fisher on the way off the floor, but Fisher turned down teammate Matt Barnes'(notes) joking offer of backup on the way out.
"I think I'm all right. My stepson is here, and he's been lifting weights," Fisher said with a laugh.
Pretty good "I'm a grown-up and not really concerned about this" shrug-off, Derek, especially since Kaman "refused to comment on the fracas on the way to his car," according to Beacham. Right or wrong, the guy willing to talk about it always comes out looking better than the guy who isn't.
But the last and best word on the fight-that-wasn't-and-never-will-be came from Kobe Bryant(notes), via the lovely and talented Dave McMenamin at ESPN Los Angeles. And of course it did, because as we all know, Kobe is clutch and a closer and finishes everything better than anyone, and this is inarguable (COUNT THE RINGZZZZ, ABBOTT):
"What's [Kaman] going to do, shoot [Fisher] with one of his bow and arrows? Give me a break," Kobe Bryant said, rolling his eyes. "Everybody talks tough in this league. Nobody is a fighter."
That's an archery burn nearly six years in the making, friends. Savor the slow-cooked flavor. Mmm. Is that mesquite?
Seriously, though, guys: I'm a little worried. This avalanche of dunking and burns isn't exactly doing wonders for Chris Kaman's self-esteem. If you see him today, maybe tell him he looks like he's been working out or something? Or that Hawkeye was always a pretty underrated Avenger? Every little bit helps, you know.
International readers ("Int'l read'rs"): If the clips above aren't rocking for you, you can peruse videos of Brown, Artest and "the challenge" elsewhere, thanks to Erikcc1, The Hoop Scene and Black Sports Online, respectively.
