I've been toying with two blog ideas for the past few days but finally decided what I wanted to write on after yesterday's loss.

My first blog idea was addressing all the phony Laker fans out there who feel the need to act like they root for the purple and gold simply because Kobe's a Laker. I found this to be particularly obvious when TCBDOG, a known Kobe leg humper on this site, failed to recognize that Bobby Jackson had been traded from the Hornets to the Rockets despite the fact that said player absolutely put it on the Lakers when they played a few weeks back. Obviously TCB doesn't watch the games he pretends to know about, so I considered calling out him and all other fake Laker fans as a blog topic.

After last night though, I felt that we needed a more positive blog.

True, the losses to the Warriors and the Bobcats is something to be annoyed about, particularly when considering the lack of effort on defense on both occasions and the way the Lakers can't seem to come out of the gate the way they should. But when you look at this season as a whole as a Laker fan, even if worst comes to worst and they take a dip in the standings like I predicted they would with the injury to Gasol, they'll still make the playoffs and do damage with a healthy Gasol.

Before the season started, could anyone imagine that the Lakers would be where they're at right now? Competing for the top of the West, a West that's more competitive than it's ever been in NBA history? I'd say J-Dizzle and Vic the Brick Jacobs are the only ones who could've predicted this, and those guys have had the Lakers winning a title for the past five years.

Who could've thought that after the way Kobe whined like a woman on her period during the summer, and great NBA reporter Ric Bucher predicting that Kobe would never wear a Laker jersey again, that we'd have the Lakers in the position that they're in right now? That after Kobe's bags were all but shipped to Chicago, a team that wouldn't give up Luol Deng (17 and 7) to get Kobe, that Kobe would have the Lakers tied for second in the West and merely a game out of first?

There are a lot of people who deserve credit for this turnaround, but I think the people at the top of that list have to be Jerry Buss and Mitch Kupchak. These two men stuck by their guns as r-e-t-a-r-d-s from all over Los Angeles hurled insults at them. As Kobe Bryant, a player that Jerry Buss treated like a star and stuck by through tough times, threw all of management under the bus like the diva that he is. As analysts from all over the United States were questioning why they wouldn't trade Andrew Bynum for a stud like Jermaine O'Neal.

How did Buss and 'Cupcake' respond to their critics? They kept Andrew Bynum refusing to trade him for JO in a move that turned out to be brilliant, and further shocked the entire NBA by acquiring one of the best big men in the league to compliment the third best player in the league. Some of us have never questioned their genius despite the Kwame debacle and the Vlad Rad head scratcher , and it is those of us who were rewarded with this gem of a season courtesy of Buss and Kupchak.

The praise doesn't end there though. Kobe Bryant, a star I've hated on a lot on these blogs, proved to the league that he's STILL one of the best as he played the clean up role I've always imagined he'd play on a successful Laker team. He stopped forcing the issue, gunning to get 50 point games like he did last season (and sorry, but he WAS gunning for the last couple 50 point games, that's a fact) and put the team and winning first. His defense has been reminiscent of the D he played in the championship years (not as good, but closer than it has been in a long time) and has shown his ability to lead a team when he doesn't act like a toddler that got his candy taken away.

Derek Fisher, a guy whose presence has always outweighed his game deserves a lot of credit as well. I think he's obviously the leader of this team in the locker room, moreso than Kobe even, and I think he provided a much-needed link between Kobe and the rest of the squad. Sure his play is off a lot because he's a shooter and sometimes his shots just don't fall, but the intangibles he's brought with him are crazy and he's a big part of the reason the Lakers are as successful as they have been.

Lamar Odom is just one of those guys that's a pleasure to have on the team. I've always loved what he brought to the squad, and I've hated that he's earned such a bad rep for being as inconsistent that he is. He has more heart than ANYONE on this Laker team, and just because sometimes it doesn't translate in his game, doesn't mean it's not there. This is a guy who delayed surgery to play with the Lakers in the playoffs. A guy who played his heart out after the death of his son during the summer. A guy who never EVER complained about playing next to a guy who jacks up shots at Kobe's rate despite the fact that he was supposed to be "Scottie Pippen" and Scottie got his fair share of shots. Lamar always took his lumps like a solider in LA, and I'm glad he's finally getting some recognition this season.

A poster on this site pointed out a while back that nobody seems to ever mention that Lamar has been absolutely killing it since Gasol went down, yet everybody automatically attributes every little bit of success to Kobe.

Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol have both been instrumental in this run, but they don't get their own paragraphs because they haven't earned them yet. Granted, 'drew was absolutely murdering it (Suns game, anyone?) before the injury, but for once, I don't think Kobe got enough credit for how good he made his teammate. I've always felt like Andrew Bynum is the one guy Kobe's made great in all the time I've seen him, because Andrew's offensive game isn't nearly good enough to be able to create without Kobe Bryant in the lineup. As far as Gasol, the guy just makes the Lakers a contender, plain and simple. Sure he's not the defensive beast we'd like to have, but that doesn't change the streak the Lakers went on post-Gasol's arrival and it doesn't change the fact that even without Bynum, a Gasol-Kobe-Lamar lineup gives you a chance to make it to the end.

Honestly, I'm not sure how much credit to give to Phil Jackson for this. I suppose keeping the locker room chill after the events of this summer is something that deserves praise, but I just don't see him having as big a role in the success of this squad as the people I've mentioned above. Phil is just Phil.

And finally, how can anyone forget the bench mob? Sure Jordan has cooled off and the bench isn't what it was early in the season, but they're still the ones who kick started this season off for us right. And that's to say nothing of the production Sasha and Ronny have been giving the team consistently for this season. Anyone else feel like there's something missing when Ronny starts and it's time for the bench guys to come in?

The Lakers may go on a losing streak, wind up in the bottom half of the West, and go home early as they had in seasons past and while I'd be whining and pissing and moaning like the rest of Laker nation, I wouldn't be able to deny what a pleasant treat this regular season has been as a Laker fan. After all the injuries, all the warnings that this season would end up like last season, and having a promising star like Bynum ripped from us just when we were getting comfortable, I don't think a single Laker fan can deny that the squad has played like absolute soldiers this year. Regardless of what goes down, the Lakers have handled their business the way we've all come to expect from them and while Laker fans on here may spend more time arguing whether or not Kobe is a punk, it feels good to acknowledge the team's success this year once in a while.

The Rockets tired after the beating they got courtesy of one Mr. Kobe 'Bean' Bryant on Sunday have their streak ended by some nobody in the Leastern Conference.

Houston's shots just weren't falling. Perhaps rumors of their cheating on defense in Sunday's game got in their head?

Showing why he's a multiple time All D player, Kobe Bryant holds T-Mac to 8 points without even playing him.

Vlad Radmanovic inspired by Kobe's comments this summer puts up a 21 point and 10 board performance.

Lamar Odumb cleans up on the boards AGAIN, proving what a waste of oxygen he is and how unlucky Mamba is to have had to carry his fat behind for the past few years.

Speaking of bald black people, according to FSN sports Luis Scola was the top performer for the Rockets.

Luis Scola
Pts Reb Asst FG% Min 15 8 0 .500 34

Denver gets beat by some Leastern Conference team on a fluke.

The Suns survive a pathetic 16 point and 15 board outing by the Big Nothing to beat Portland.

Miami shows how simply trading Shaq makes you a better team by beating Leastern Conference Finals contender, the Bucks.

May as well, it's not like we won't all be watching the scoreboards of the games anyway.

Group Name: Kobe is God!

(Jordan partying after giving both girls in the picture an MVP award. He tipped the bartender with an MVP after that. At the end of the night he still had two more MVPs than Kobe.)

Mamba's time has come, he's OWED the MVP this season. He's quite clearly the third best player in the league behind Lebron and CP3, but based on him being ripped off in seasons past and the Lakers firm grip on first place in the West the MVP WILL be given to the Beanster.  

Whoops.

One small step on Vlad Rad's foot, one big loss on Kobe's nightstand. More room for Vanessa's ring I suppose.

Two seasons ago Kobe Bryant was averaging nearly 35 a game and leading a very mediocre Laker squad into the playoffs where they nearly upset the Phoenix Suns. His achievements included an amazing 81 point game, a remarkable 62 in 3 quarters where he outscored the entire Mavs team all by himself, and an incredible buzzer beater in game 4 of the first round series against the Suns which had Vic the Brick in full-on party mode and all of LA buzzing. Then Steve Nash got the MVP.

Laker fans were outraged, and I admit, I was pretty pissed off myself. Steve Nash played with a better starting five, a sixth man that would be the third best player on the Lakers, and yet somehow people felt that he deserved the award more than MJ+1 simply because he was playing for a contender whereas Kobe was playing for the last two playoff spots.

Fast forward to the 2007-08 season.

After a turmoil filled summer the Lakers shock the world and prove themselves to be a top 5 NBA team after Andrew Bynum finally develops into the beast that the folks who like to dry hump Kobe and insult Laker management never thought he'd become. Personally I thought his performance was a bit overrated and Kobe's was underrated during Bynum's tear, but that's just me. What matters though, is that the Lakers were finally winning and Kobe was in that discussion for an award that had eluded him his entire career: MVP.

And then, much like Andrew Bynum's body after he came down hard on his knee, it all crumbled. The Lakers lost their promising young star and began to dip in the standings, effectively killing Mamba's MVP chances more and more with every team that proceeded to pass the Lakers in the standings.

It didn't end there though, because after all, the NBA is where magic happens. Trading a few peanuts away to Memphis, the Lakers got the steal of the decade by handing off Kwame Brown and J. Critt for a former All-Star and instant game changer in Pau Gasol.

The rest was history. Countless wins, first place in the West, "finals lock", and the best team in the league all followed that magical trade. And of course, with the Lakers back in first, Kobe once again became the frontrunner for the MVP that was OWED to him.

At 45-19 the Lakers are taking on New Orleans Chris Pauls and facing a tough upcoming four game road trip, but all seems well enough. Only a short while back the Lakers took down the Mavs in an OT game proving that they had what it took to defeat a legit contender. The roadtrip would be a challenge, but with everybody healthy it looked like the Lakers had a damn good shot to prevail and come out at least 3-1.

Whoops.

Vlad Rad, proving that it is possible to hurt a team just by wasting oxygen on the court, stuck his foot out for Gasol to fall and fuck his ankle up on for what folks are saying is the next two weeks. Of course, the Lakers went on to lose to the Hornets where Chris Paul truly cemented himself as the second best player in the NBA, and proceeded to lose sole possession of first place in the West.

Kobe Bryant's MVP trophy was dependant on the fact that FINALLY his team was a top team in the West, but with three losses over the next few games the Lakers could fall to the bottom half of the playoff picture in the blink of an eye. Is Kobe still the league's MVP if the Lakers are sitting at 5th or 6th in the West?

Nope.

This is where karma comes in. The real karma deals with afterlives and shit, so we're not using that definition. We're using the definition of karma that's used in society on a regular basis where people get what they deserve, and boy is Kobe getting what he deserves.

I'm not going to re-hash everything I hate about Kobe in detail because that'd require a blog of it's own, so let me Sparks Notes it for you. First of all, he chased Shaq out of town. Blow me Kobe leg humpers, if he had wanted Shaq to stay Shaq would've stayed. If Shaq had stayed so would have a good number of people from that 2004 Laker roster, and the Lakers would've been legit contenders for the next two years at the very least. Our success now is a result of the genius of Buss and Mitch, not Kobe's bitch ass. But since that wasn't enough, he also insulted Laker management, he quit on all the Laker fans that had loyally stuck by him through all his BS, and he pretty much insulted all the other Laker players because he wasn't good enough as a leader to take them to the next level.

To my shock after the success of the Lakers early in the season, folks came out and actually said that Kobe lying and manipulating over the summer was actually a ruse by Quarter-1 to get the Lakers to play better basketball and that he never intended to leave. I don't think I've ever been more ashamed of my fellow fans than when I heard this ridiculously delusional crap. Rather than giving Buss and Mitch credit for sticking by their guns and not listening to Kobe cry about trading Bynum, folks were actually giving Kobe credit for INSPIRING the Lakers. Freaking amazing.

All of you who said that were absolute d-bag morons. I hope I've just inspired you.

After everything that happened over the summer and Kobe being ready to quit on his squad, it looked like he was actually going to get rewarded and win the MVP. Based on the standards set in seasons past I couldn't argue, Kobe, the third best player in the NBA, did deserve the MVP based on that ridiculous way it had been awarded in the past.

But then it happened. Yesterday, as Gasol headed off the court, Kobe probably saw his MVP chances go out the door too. He knows he's not good enough to carry this team minus Gasol, and he knows that the MVP he covets (and believe me, he WANTS that MVP) oh so much was officially out of his grasp for now.

Now of course this sucks for me too, because unfortunately my team's success is tied to that d-bag, but I think the Lakers will be okay. I think they'll be out of first place by the time the playoffs roll around, but I think that with Gasol regardless of seeding they can compete in the West. I don't buy that their defense isn't good enough, it seemed fine during that run in the post-Gasol games where they still didn't have Bynum or Ariza but were absolutely killing the competition.

However without Gasol for now, I think Kobe's MVP chances are effectively shot as the chance that the Lakers stay atop the West are slim to none, and all those kids who like myself agree that Kobe is the MVP because of the Lakers are atop the West will have no choice but to agree that since they're no longer atop the West and as per our original definition Kobe should no longer get the MVP.

Sucks for Kobe.

Watch Gasol only be out for a game and this entire blog to be proven wrong.

Oh well.   

Kobe for god, 2008.