They're Playing Basketball! (and talking sh*t)

Matt Barnes fires back at Lamar Odom with diaper tweet
Orlando Sentinel

The war of words between Orlando Magic forward Matt Barnes and Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom took a gross, but sarcastic, turn this morning when Barnes posted this message on his Twitter account:

“Morning yall up early w/ the babies watchn Dora. Seems Lamar can’t keep my name out his mouth maby I need 2 put my sons shitty diaper n it”

First, some background.

The Magic defeated the Lakers 96-94 on Sunday, and Barnes was a key driving force behind Orlando’s victory. Barnes and Mickael Pietrus spent the game guarding Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant, and while Bryant scored 34 points, Bryant made only 12 of his 30 shot attempts.

Throughout the game, Barnes provided toughness and at times appeared to try to irritate Bryant.

After the game, Odom likened Barnes to pro wrestler Ric Flair and said, “[Barnes] was an action figure today. He was really involved and really into the game. It’s too bad we are not going to see him again [in the regular season].”

Then, after last night’s 109-107 Lakers victory over the Toronto Raptors, Odom said, according to ESPN.com, “That [expletive] that Matt Barnes pulled, that ain’t never going to happen again.”

That quote seems to be what prompted Barnes to post his diaper tweet.

Barnes is the kind of player who players love to have on their team but hate to face. He’s in the Bruce Bowen mold, a defensive specialist who gets under opponents’ skin.

The knock on the Magic from some critics had been that the team wasn’t tough enough. Well, there’s no doubt that Barnes brings some toughness and grit — and, perhaps, diapers – to the table.

The Orlando Sentinel may think Matt Barnes has "gotten under Lamar Odom's skin" but the truth is Lakers fans are happy to see Lamar Odom be passionate about anything. Its hard to get a rise out of this guy. Even in his relationship it sometimes seems he's going through the motions. So now he's pissed and having Kobe's back and that's supposed to be a bad thing? I think not. Now I'm kind of hoping the Celtics don't win the East. It might be just as fun to repeat against these punks.

P.S. - The next time L.O. wants to slam Matt Barnes I hope he picks a more pathetic wrestler. Ric Flair is the man. Just look what he and Hulk Hogan did to each other last week.