Yeah I know, WTF am I talking about.....didn't we just win the biggest regular season game maybe ever in our history? Didn't we just show that with Bynum in the middle and fire in Pau's belly we are more than a match for them? Well yes and no, Let's remember, we were at home, we got the calls, we had all of the motivation.

Let me ask you this Laker fans, does todays victory make you confident that we would beat the Celtics in a 7 game series if they had home court?  If it does, maybe you drank a little too much of that kool aid I was serving at the begining of the season.  I admit it, I was on the 70 win bandwagon early in the season too. When they were blowing everyone out by 20, when the schedule was a cakewalk, when their opponents shook in terror.

But the East has shown us that it was a mirage, we have had 4 big games against motivated eastern conference contenders, this is the first one that we have won. First AI carved us up, then it was D Wade, then disgustingly enough, it was Jameer Nelson.  In the interim, even in our wins Nate Robinson, Benoh Udrih and assorted other midgets with decent first steps all made us see that as much as we love him, Fish cannot stay in front of these guys anymore. Now yesterday Phil pulled a fast one, and because it was a big game, Kobe agreed to it. Kobe covered Rondo for a significant portion of the game, and this time he did not just leave him open and go for cheap steals, he fed him to the bigs, who ate him up. This was the big reason we won yesterday, could Kobe do this for 7 games? What kind of sadistic picks would Doc cook up for Kobe over a 7 game series? So I hope we can agree, while this can work in an odd game, it is not the answer to stop a dribble penetrating 1 who has shooters to kick it to.

This brings me to our other weakness, the 3. Now let me start by saying I love me some Trevor Ariza, I think even if it takes 6-8 million a season next year to keep him, he is more than worth it. But the Lakers offensively need a 3 point shooter and a capable passer in this position. I think Trevor will become this, but he is not there yet. His shot and decision making are both much better than last year, but they are both short of what they need to be.

But the other 3's are horrible. If you could take Luke Waltons head and give him Vlad Rads size and shot, then you would have an answer. But unfortunately those type medical procedures are not yet legal and we are stuck with them as they are. Luke is a nice guy with good instincts and an all around game that was great in college. But take a good look at him. Size, he is not big enough to bang with a strong 3 or any 4's. Defense/Speed, he is slow footed and gets routinely torched by the opposing 3. Shot, he has worked hard on his 3 pointer, too bad it still is not a viable option in our offense. Scoring, he is not big/fast/strong enough to post inside, he cant knock down the outside shot consistently.  So despite his positives of heart, hustle, good passing etc, he is a liablity at both ends of the floor. His defensive problems also feed into the opponents ability to drive and kick the ball, which is already a weakness for this team.

But Vlad Rad is an inconsistent mess of a player. Remember when the Lakers looked great at the begining of the season? Vlad was hustling on defense, playing smart on offense and even though his shot was not falling, he provided the spacing that helped this offense function so well (it is that spacing that sent Fishers 3 point percentage into the stratosphere earlier this year). But then Vlade's shot started falling.  And his inner Radmonotard came out. As Chick would of said 'the mustard is off the hot dog', his defense disappeared, he started throwing the ball out of bounds, dribbling it off his knee, taking wild shots and even wilder chances to make up for his frequent mistakes out there. He was basically killing us and thus Phil was forced to banish him to the bench.

Vlad was not the only player caught up in the Euphoria of the early season. Jordan Farmar started having visions of superstardom dance through his head. He started taking more and more chances, from wild 3 pointers to ill advised ally oops. His defense which is always a struggle looked even worse as his focus was on ignitiing the Laker break. This style of basketball either doubled a lead, or made it disappear. When Phil and the Laker fans would of preferred that it be maintained. Dont get me wrong, there is a place for that type of play,.....when your behind, when the other team is outmanned and playing their starters too many minutes, when everything is clicking. But as the 1 for the second unit, Farmar had to realize the situation and stop giving away hard earned leads.

There have been other problems too, Sasha can make some bad plays, Bynum can get lost out there, Lamaar can be inconsistent, but these are minor and all are not fatal. If the Lakers sink this season it will be because they come up against a team that can drive and kick the ball to shooters and they do not solve the issues at the 1 and 3.

Possible solutions:

1. Move Ariza to the starting line up, put him on the opposing point guard, Kobe can D up the 3 and Fish cover the 2.

2. Sasha starts at 2, Kobe moves to 3. Sasha takes the troublesome point guard. This bad on 2 levels, not enough scoring left on second unit, and Sasha not great defender.

3. Jordan returns, focuses on defense, gets more minutes against opposing penetrators and does what we need (like we saw against the Spurs last year) but with Jordan out for 8 weeks, can this even happen?

4. Lakers trade for defensive PG to fill this hole.  Remember, the Lakers don't need a true PG in the offense, Ron Harper and B, Shaw proved that. So find a credible swingman who can pass and defend and give him minutes at the 1. Unfortunately Phil needs time to teach the offensive and defensive responsibilities to this player, this would of best been done in the offseason. There are no more old Bulls floating around in the market, so this fix is not as ez as it sounds.

5. Trade for a 3 who can defend and shoot. Travis Outlaw would be my dream here, he would contribute to the spacing we need, can defend like a demon and with that type of player in the starting line up at the 3 you could live with Fishers defensive problems at the 1.

So what do you guys think, are these problems real? Do you have better solutions?

    I meant to get to this earlier after watching the Rockets play, before McGrady's latest physical difficulties came to the forefront of the discussion. I really think that Houston has a deep problem that even a healthy McGrady can't cure.

    I have to admit that before the season started I was terrified of the Rockets. On paper they were a matchup nightmare, seemingly loaded all over the court and ready to steamroll their opposition. Then I watched them in the Boston and Laker games, and my fear turned to recognition. I had the same feeling after watching them that I had after many a Laker game during that cursed season of Payton and Malone. This is a slow team that specializes in 1 on 1 play and has very little chemistry. This team actually adds up to less than the sum of their parts.

     With the addition of Ron Artest Houston was supposed to be better right? He was a great third option, a defensive stopper, he brings toughness etc.   The problem is that he intimidates his own team as much as the opposition. The reality is that he is only a mediocre offensive player, but he is one that demands and receives the ball. The thing that struck me was that so many players on the court seemed to be worse than I remembered. Rafer Alston was no longer driving, dishing and lighting it up from 3, Tracy McGrady seemed to defer to Artest in the flow of the offense (how much of that was physical, how much mental I don't know),some of Yao's typical post up chances were now being taken by Artest, Scola even seemed to slow down.

     Artest is a passable 3 point shooter, a decent post up scorer, an intimidating defensive presence and a good rebounder. But look at the guy he replaced. Battier is just as good a defensive stopper, a better 3 point shooter and also better on the break. The Rockets have better 3 point shooting, better offensive spacing, and a better fast break with Battier in the line up. If Artest was willing to be a sixth man, the Rockets would be better off as a team.

The other problem besides the Artest chemistry issue is Yao Ming's athleticism. In the course of one week I saw Yao Ming get rejected by the rim on a dunk, get an ally oop thrown over him when he was in position to stop it, get swatted by Kobe (but a lot of guys have that happen) and get beaten down the floor on every possession. It is almost to the point where Yao is causing his own team as many matchup problems as he creates for the opponent.

It is still possible that Houston can win an NBA title. Hell, that horrible Laker team I mentioned earlier almost pulled it off. But that would require that Artest become a true supporting player and for the Rockets to stay healthy. Two things I don't see very likely to happen.

After that brutal beating in Game 6 I had to stay away from the NBA for a bit. It was that traumatic for this Laker fan. I could not think of anything worth writing, no matter how interesting the West is looking, I had to see how my Lakers would come out.

Last night I tuned in to the Lakers v Portland with a cautious optimism.  A few preseason incidents had shaken my confidence. First you had Lamar complaining about being a bench player when 6th man is the natural position for him to play with this roster. Then you had Bynum making it rain in the clubs and asking for a max deal without earning one.

And to be honest, if I was not a Laker fan, I would love this Blazer team. Brandon Roy is electric, Lamarcus Aldridge is an incredible talent, Travis Outlaw a defensive wiz and rumours were that Oden was healthy and strong and ready to card Bynum under the boards.

But the Blazers wilted under the glare of the primetime lights and bigtime expectations. Roy showed that while he has tremendous potential he is not yet ready to share center stage with Bryant. Oden and Roy proceeded to build a fireplace at center court while the Lakers built a double digit lead. By the time that the dynamic Rudy Fernandez attempted to inject some life into his team, the outcome seemed inevitable.

Then the terrible news that Oden my have incurred another injury in his short career, and the air went out of the Blazers.

Pryzbilla took a hard foul against the snoozing Bryant and Kobe awoke for a short stretch and put the game out of reach.

On the Lakers side it was mostly positive. Bynum looked hungover from the rain dance at his 21st birthday bash, Pau played a solid game finding his way around Bynum and giving us hope this version of twin 7 footers has  a chance of working. Kobe played the facilitator, Fish played steady and the Lakers cruised. The bench is as good as advertised and if Odom adjusts to his new role....this team has a shot at greatness.

I wanted to make a special point to mention the play of Ariza and Radmonovic. The Lakers weakest position is the 3 spot (I still consider Kobe a 2 and Lamar is not the answer their either). But Radmonovich came out energized and aggressive, he stretchs the defense which the Lakers need given the key is chock full o seven footers. If he can play constently with that type of energy, the Lakers will do very well. On the other hand, Ariza was nothing short of fantastic, dropping 2 threes, running, disrupting, doing everything we Laker fans have been envisioning for him.

So I want to officially announce that my Laker Kool Aid stand is officially open for the season, cmon and get some....OOOOOO YEAAAAHHHHH!

Thank you for showing my Lakers what it takes to win a championship.

Thank you for humiliating them in the 4th quarter, raining threes while up 30.

Thank you for PJ Brown holding, grabbing and hitting on every play.

Thank you for all of the dramatic trips to the locker room and quick returns to the floor.

Thank you for James Posey fouling after the whistle on every play and the refs never even considering a double foul.

Thank you for showing Kobe that he will have to truly become a team player if he wants to win a championship again.

Thank you for Rajon Rondo's grit and defense.....brings back fine memories of DJ.

Thank you for Paul Pierce performing in the clutch and controlling the series.

Thank you for Ray Allens daggers through my heart.

Thank you for showing Pau Gasoft that you cant win a title by flopping.

Thank you for the game 2 referees, so when I want to piss off a celtic fan I can say that the series was rigged (even though I know it wasn't).

Thank you for giving me a team to root against.

Thank you for bringing back memories of 84, you know when you broke our hearts and danced on our grave?.....Just remember what happened next. Cya next year, congrats on your championship.

What I am watching here today goes beyond anything I have ever seen before in my life.

The two calls on Kobe, the two calls on Rad, the full collision by Cassell to dislodge the ball from Ariza, then the foul on Ariza after stripping the ball from Posey I think it was. Then Leon Powe goes to the line every time he misses a shot or gets one blocked. I am surprised the Celtics are not up by 20 at this point.