Don’t get me wrong, I think the J.J. Barea billboard is clever and I’m glad his Mavericks swept the Lakers. Barea is the prototypical underdog story while many of the Lakers are worldwide celebrities. The thing I don’t understand is why Kobe Bryant. According to our friends at Black Sports Online, the billboard above was paid for by Barea in his home country of Puerto Rico and translates to, “Only my ribs hurt, but for Kobe it’s his ego.”
The Lakers were extremely physical with Barea, but the two plays that stick out are Andrew Bynum’s cheap shot on him and Ron Artest’s clothesline on Dirk at the end of Game 4. Funny, neither foul was committed by Kobe himself. So shouldn’t the billboard be taking a more direct shot at one of the culprits? Maybe Barea chose Kobe because he’s the most recognizable name in Puerto Rico, but it doesn’t make much sense to single him out when his teammates were the ones taking blatant cheap shots at Jose. In any event, his point is taken. Chest bump to The Basketball Jones for the picture.
