FanPost

Hindsight is 20/20, and Billsimmonsight is 20/200

Bill Simmons gets about as much love here on SSR as Jon gets from Kate these days (that's my attempt at a Sports Guy-esque comparison).

I enjoy reading "The Sports Guy" column, Simmons is actually a very entertaining writer, although I'm sure many of you will disagree. I think he's dead wrong on so many issues, but he has a certain breezy style that is fun and easy to read.

And I feel for him, because you know that as a writer your words will be immortalized, and with the internet millions can go back and read what you wrote a mere 10 months ago, and compare your opinions and predictions to the reality that has passed.

I don't mind that he has green blinders when on it comes to the Lakers, in fact it makes it all the sweeter to read his writings in hindsight. Because when you read it real-time, all of your complaints and opinions just sound like whining and sour grapes, because you at that point you can only defend your position with your own opinion.

But with the benefit of hindsight, reading his column is like drinking a well-aged wine, you can savor every moment.

Case in point: Billy's October 2008 Fantasy NBA preview of one Kobe Bryant:

Have a read, and tell me: Which parts made you laugh the loudest? What made you snicker with glee? What struck you the most (either good or bad)?

Yes, it was for a fantasy NBA column, so Kobe may not have been a great pick, I don't really know. And he's not saying anything that bad about Kobe, but the tone and perception of his personality are ... well, let's just say I never saw the ""These guys are so dumb, I can't stand it" sneer he writes about. And his expectations of the character of the team were so off the mark, they didn't even hit the outer circle of the target (read below and find out what he thinks will be the Lakers' best lineup!).

I'm sure if Simmons were here, he would find a way to spin it and stand by everything he wrote, but reading this made my day!

And don't give me no guff about giving him more hits and publicity, he gets plenty from ESPN, this one post isn't going to change things.

Here's the section I'm referring to:

In Kobe's case, watch a Lakers game from 2000-2002 (back when he had his hops) and watch him now; he doesn't have the same explosiveness in his legs anymore, and unlike Michael Jordan, he never developed a power low-post game to give himself a second life. The Celtics shut Kobe down in the Finals simply by staying in front of him, forcing him to hoist jumpers and collapsing on him every time he attacked the basket. He didn't have a Plan B. That's why the Lakers lost, and that's why Kobe checked out near the end of the second quarter of Game 6 and started thinking about the Olympics.

So that's one problem. The other? Kobe will be forced to do more accommodating than ever to make up for the Lakers' quirky roster. Gasol needs 14-15 shots a game or he'll start sulking like he did in Memphis. Bynum needs his share of touches because he's trying to prove he's worth $70 million. Then you have Odom, who's heading into a contract season and already griping because he'd help them more by coming off the bench, something he doesn't want to do because, again, he's in a contract season. Play all three at the same time, and the middle will be too clogged for Kobe, which means you can expect the following things: tons of sarcastic head shaking, tons of 20-footers and more than a few moments when Kobe angrily waves one of them out of the paint with his patented, "These guys are so dumb, I can't stand it" sneer. As a kicker, their best lineup remains Fisher and Vujacic at the guards, Kobe at the 3, and Gasol with Odom or Bynum up front ... which allows opponents to defend Kobe with bigger players and opens the door for more spotty offensive efforts from Kobe like what we witnessed in the 2008 Finals.

And here's where the Olympics killed Black Mamba. With a free summer, he could have devoted two solid months to getting stronger and mastering that same fallaway turnaround that carried Jordan to those last three titles. Instead, he's coming back as the exact same guy we watched last season -- right down to his injured pinkie -- only he's a year older and coming off a 103-game season plus the Olympics.