Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Luke Walton, Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum may be more talented overall, but they aren't as good together as Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, Trevor Ariza, Vladimir Radmanovic and Chris Mihm, or at least according to Lakers coach Phil Jackson. After the Lakers beat up on the short-handed Clippers team at Staples on Sunday, Jackson had the following to say to reporters at the post-game press conference.

"I didn't enjoy how the first unit played. The ball stopped too often. They didn't have good movement, didn't play together and did a lot of individual stuff with the ball. As a result, there were turnovers and steals that lost us our momentum in the third quarter, which was difficult to watch...I tell them sometimes that I can hardly wait to get the second unit on the floor the way they're playing."

Jackson's comment brings up an interesting point though about the Lakers starters and bench lineups as it is currently constituted. We had been contemplating a post discussing the inefficiencies of the team's lineups for a few days now, but whether its laziness (clearly attributed to the recent chill here in the Northeast), lack of hours in the day (mostly tied to our real job) or a more pressing need to address the Celtics' historic run, we simply haven't addressed the issue -- until now, of course.

Despite giving up a whopping 102 points per game, the Lakers, surprisingly enough are third in the league in opponent's field-goal percentage, holding foes to a stingy 43.8 percent shooting from the floor overall. They're just as suffocating defending the 3 point arc, allowing opponent to shoot only 33.3 percent from beyond the line, good for fifth best in the league. Not bad. But the stats, as they often do, only tell half the story. If you've watched any decent sampling of Lakers games you'll know that the team's defensive intensity is incredibly inconsistent during the course of a game. And, there are serious lineup issues that can be easily fixed, and will need to be addressed if the Lakers are serious about making noise in this year's Western Conference playoffs.

But, before we get to the possible lineup changes, here's how the flow goes in most Lakers' games:

The team comes out gangbusters (particularly offensively) and generally claims a decent lead by the 4 minute mark of the first quarter.

The bench then holds their own against the other team's second unit, usually taking a small lead into the half.

But then it all falls apart in the third quarter (at least in the team's losses). Turnovers, poor shooting by the first unit and a general lack of defensive intensity drops the Lakers 10-15 points behind by about the 4 minute mark of the quarter.

They catch up slightly when some of the second unit players like Farmar and Radmanovic mix with the first teamers like Bryant and Bynum to make a mini-run going into the fourth.

But, in the fourth, generally still down significantly, the team, seemingly in desperation, starts taking ill-advised shots, with Kobe usually being the primary culprit. And on the defensive end, while they try to play aggressive, they also lose cohesion and give up easy shots.

By the latter half of the fourth the snowball is already rolling down the mountain, picking up steam and there is no way to prevent a loss - at times a player like Bryant, Radmanovic, Fisher, or Farmar will get hot, but it is too little too late.

Think back to Laker losses this year to teams like the New Jersey Nets, Milwaukee Bucks, Houston Rockets and Golden State Warriors and you'll remember the same old story - big first and second quarters, followed by third and/or fourth quarter meltdowns. Defensive intensity, or lack thereof, is one of the culprits for these outcomes and lack of ball movement, as Jackson pointed out following the Clippers game, is another.

These issues though can be addressed through some minor lineup changes. First, Jackson needs to yank Luke Walton out of the starting lineup in favor of Trevor Ariza. Ariza brings a ton of energy to the floor, but more importantly he's able to take on the toughest backcourt defensive assignment, leaving Kobe free to focus more offensively. With this small change, the Lakers become a better defensive team at the start of the game, but more importantly when the starters come out in the third quarter. With Kobe and Ariza on the wings and Andrew Bynum developing regularly as a top-tier shot blocker, the Lakers should, in theory, be able to lock down teams defensively coming out of the half and extend, rather than surrender, the leads they usually build going into the break. And, this would free up Kobe defensively to focus more on scoring and setting up his teammates for open shots in the third.

The second change would be to play Lamar Odom more with the second unit, particularly in the second and third quarters. Perhaps, Jackson needs to limit the amount of time Lamar spends on the floor with Kobe Bryant. As we all know, both players must dominate the ball in order to be successful and have never been very complimentary in their respective styles. The simple solution then (other than trading him of course) would be to use Odom as an anchor for the second team, instead of a complement to Kobe.

Lamar should probably still be a starter and he needs to finish games with Kobe, but at all times in between the two could spend very little time on the floor together. So, who could replace Lamar's minutes with Kobe on the floor? Vladimir Radmanovic, if he's shooting the ball well that particular game or Ronnie Tauriaf are solid alternatives.

Finally, when Kwame Brown does return to the Lakers following his most recent injury, perhaps Phil Jackson should fiddle with a twin towers lineup, teaming Kwame with Bynum particularly against smaller teams like Golden State and Phoenix -- with Kobe, Radmanovic and Farmar manning the wings in this lineup. Both big men are mobile enough that, unless teams go extremely small, they should be able to stick with players like Al Harrington or Boris Diaw on the defensive end, while dominating those smaller players in the post and on the boards on the offensive side of the ball.

Of course, match-ups dictate a lot of what coaches do with their lineups in the NBA, but it certainly makes a whole lot of sense for the Lakers to use these lineup tweaks as a general rule of thumb. It may better position them for sustained sucess in the playoffs against some of the more elite teams in the Western Conference.

Our "old school baller" for this week was inspired entirely by the reader comments to our recent post on the greatest Lakers and Celtics of all-time. When discussing the Celtics list, the community of Fox Sports blog readers kept bringing up one name, that of Sam Jones. The original "Mr. Clutch", before Lakers great Jerry West was dubbed as such, Jones won an amazing 10 championships during his 12 seasons with the Celtics - a feat that will likely never be repeated again. So, while Sam Jones barely missed our list of the top 10 Celtics of all-time, let's take a look at why he is easily the undisputed "old school baller of the week".

Name: Sam Jones
Position: Shooting Guard
Height/Weight: 6'4"/200 pounds
Teams: Boston Celtics

What made him so special?

The aforementioned 10 championships in 12 seasons are impressive enough, but Jones had plenty of individual accolades to go along with the team success. He was a five time NBA All-Star, was selected to the All-NBA second team three times, was elected into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1984 and was named among one of the 50 Greatest Players of All-Time in 1996. Jones scored more than 15,000 points in his 12-year career, averaging 17.7 points per game while shooting 46% from the floor. The lean and muscular Jones also mixed it up in the paint grabbing an average of 4.9 rebounds, while dishing out 2.9 assists per game for his career.

But, success didn't come right away for Jones. Although drafted with the 8th overall pick in the 1957 NBA draft, Jones, hailing from unheralded North Carolina Central college, came into the league virtually unnoticed. He proceeded to sit on the bench his first four seasons in the league, watching and learning from established Celtics greats Bill Sharman and Bob Cousy. But, in his fifth season when Sharman hung it up for good, Jones took the starting shooting guard spot next to Cousy and used his silky-smooth shot and stellar playoff performances to get all the way to the Hall of Fame. A master of the bank shot, Jones took on the leadership role later in his career teaming with another Celtic great K.C. Jones - a duo that fans affectionately called "the Jones boys".

Sam Jones' game is most like...

Ray Allen. They have a similar build, both muscularly lean. Jones was 6'4" and 200 pounds, while Allen is listed at 6'5" and 205 pounds. As mentioned previously Jones averaged 17.7 points, 4.9 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game, while shooting 46% from the floor and 80% from the free-throw line. Allen for his career is averaging 21.4 points, 4.6 boards and 3.9 assists per game, while shooting 44.5% from the floor and a stellar 88.8% from the free-throw stripe. But outside of the pure numbers, the way they moved on the court and played the game were very similar. Offensively, both could hit a jumper from anywhere on the floor and was strong enough with the dribble to get to any point on the court. On the defensive side, both played a hustling style to stay in position and didn't overpower or outmuscle their opponents.

The biggest difference though between the two is that Sam Jones was a winner and proved that he could step up his game in the clutch. Ray Allen of course has very little successful playoff experience. In Allen's defense though, it helped Jones that he played with Sharman, Cousy, Russell and later K.C. Jones on the legendary Celtics teams. Perhaps Allen, now teamed with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce on the current Celtics will finally prove his playoff mettle this season.

Bill Russell on Sam Jones

"In the seventh game of a championship series, I'll take Sam Jones over anyone who stepped onto a basketball court. When the pressure was greatest, he was eager for the ball."

If he played today
At 6' 4" Sam Jones was considered a tall guard for his time, but by today's standards he would be undersized at the shooting guard position. Still, there isn't one team in the league today that couldn't use Jones' uncannily accurate jump-shooting and clutch play. He would probably have to adapt his game to be able to play more at the point, as opposed to the off-guard spot, and would have to bulk up to be able to hang defensively, but Jones could easily put up 15 to 20 points per game even today.

The Atlanta Hawks are 10 up and 10 down, at .500 in mid-December for the first time in a long time, after taking out the big, bad Orlando Magic last night by a score of 98-87. The roster is peppered with talented and promising young players like Josh Smith, Joe Johnson, Josh Childress and rookies Al Horford and Acie Law. In general, there is much rejoicing in Atlanta, as the lowly Hawks, currently tied with the Washington Wizards and Indiana Pacers for the 5th seed in the Eastern Conference, look ready to make the leap into the playoffs. Really, for the first time since sharpshooter Steve Smith roamed the land in Atlanta during the mid-1990s the Hawks are finally relevant on the NBA landscape.

But while the team has certainly improved over the past season, their solid record and impressive wins over the Magic, Phoenix Suns and Dallas Mavericks don't quite tell the whole story. One reason for the solid start, if you watch a few of the Atlanta games, is that Coach Mike Woodson, who received his coaching tutelage under the legendary Larry Brown, is following Brown's defense-first philosophy and doing a good job keeping games close. In fact, the Hawks don't really get blown out anymore, having lost only 1 game all year by more than 15 points.

But, they also don't blow teams out themselves - they've won only 1 game (against Milwaukee) by more than 15. A closer look at the number clearly reveals that the Hawks are pretty atrocious on offense. They don't score a lot of points at a paltry 93.2 per game. They don't take a lot of shots at 43.9 per. They don't shoot the ball particularly well, making only 43.9 percent of their shots. They're near the bottom of the league in assists at 19.5 per game, as well as rebounding at 41.1 per contest. In fact, if you look at their differentials - where the Hawks' average stats are compared in each category against their opponents' - Atlanta comes out at the positive end only at the free-throw line, and in steals and blocks. And, those last two categories are severely inflated by the stellar play of swingman Josh Smith, who by himself is contributing 2.1 steals and 3.6 blocks per game this season to the team totals.

The bottom line analysis when peeking behind their respectable .500 record is that Atlanta is only winning by slowing the pace down and dragging teams through the mud. They simply don't have the talent and the offensive fire-power to sustain their relatively strong start. The strategy is a good one by Coach Woodson, given the lack of scorers on his team, but it's certainly not a recipe for sustained success. Sooner or later, the bad karma and talent deficiency that has plagued the Hawks for so many years will drag them back down among the Eastern Conference cellar-dwellers. Unless of course, GM Billy Knight and the disastrous front-office makes some moves.

It's time to trade a few of the young pieces in order to guarantee long-term success. Because Billy Knight passed on Chris Paul and Deron Williams in order to draft the overrated Marvin Williams, the Atlanta Hawks are still in search of a serviceable NBA-caliber point guard. That would be the first place to start. Good news is that particularly huge faux pas is rectifiable, as a perfectly fitting point guard may be available a few hundred miles up US-95 in Philadelphia. Andre Miller, who has career averages of 14.1 points and 7.5 assists, has been languishing on a rebuilding 76ers team. He is exactly the type of veteran, pass-first point the Hawks need in order to set the table for finishers like Josh Smith and Joe Johnson. Miller may be had for a combination of young talent like Sheldon Williams, Salim Stoudemire and a first round draft pick. The Hawks should try to make the deal.

Speaking of the aforementioned Williams, Knight needs to take a page out of the book of the Wizards' Eddie Jordan and Ernie Grunfeld and ship him out of town, just like the Wizard's brain-trust did with the also overrated Kwame Brown. Williams is off to a solid start this season, averaging 15.4 points on 48 percent shooting from the floor. With his value likely at its peak, it's time to ship Williams and Lozen Wright's expiring contract out of town for a player who can step out and shoot the 3-ball. Toronto may be willing to send Anthony Parker, who is shooting 50 percent from beyond the arc this season and is strong defensively, and little used Juan Dixon (who is on the last year of his deal) to the Hawks.

Once they make these moves the Hawks will be better balanced offensively, and able to score with some of the more prolific offensive squads in the Eastern Conference. With Miller at point, Joe Johnson at shooting guard, Anthony Parker at small forward, Josh Smith at power forward and Al Horford at Center the Hawks will have scoring both inside and out from their starting lineup. Then Juan Dixon, Josh Childress and Zaza Pachulia can anchor the bench, while Andre Miller could groom Acie Law during the 2 years remaining on his current contract.

These trades we suggest aren't incredibly bold and are all pretty realistic, but they would significantly improve the Hawks' changes of maintaining their current .500 record and making a run at the playoffs this year. Otherwise, the 10 and 10 record they posses now may only go downhill from here.

If only the Los Angeles Lakers could hold up their end of the bargain, one of the greatest rivalries in all of sports would once again be rekindled. While Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen are leading the Boston Celtics reclamation project, Kobe Bryant and his emergent teammates are trudging along on the road to respectability in Los Angeles.

But, this blog post isn't about the future, or even the present, it's about the some of the greatest players ever to lace on a pair of sneakers, chuck basketballs at a rim 18 inches in diameter and pass through the NBA locker rooms in Boston and Los Angeles. From Wilt and West to Russell and Bird, some of the biggest, most recognizable names in NBA history wore either purple and gold or green and white. But, who were the best of the bunch?

Keep in mind that we've given extra weight to players that spent most, or all of their careers with their team. So, while Shaq is one of the greatest players of all-time, counting this current season he has spent just as much time playing for other franchises as he has for the Lakers. Same with players like Wilt Chamberlain, who only spent the last 5 years of his illustrious 14-year career in Los Angeles.

So, after much conjecture, we present our list of the top 10 Los Angeles Lakers and Boston Celtics of all-time.

Top 10 Los Angeles Lakers of All-Time

1. Magic Johnson
2. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
3. Jerry West
4. Kobe Bryant
5. Elgin Baylor
6. Shaquille O'Neal
7. Wilt Chamberlain
8. James Worthy
9. Gail Goodrich
10. George Mikan

Top 10 Boston Celtics of All-Time

1. Larry Bird
2. Bill Russell
3. John Havlicek
4. Dave Cowens
5. Bob Cousy
6. Kevin McHale
7. Robert Parish
8. Paul Pierce
9. Tom Heinsohn
10. Dennis Johnson

As you can see, while the Celtics 10 might have a bit more depth, the Lakers' 10 would probably win out in any fictional head-to-head match-up given their advantages in height and athleticism.

The "pay me or trade" me waltz that New Jersey Nets President Rod Thorn and star point guard Jason Kidd have been performing for more than a year now may be reaching the grand finale. Kidd, who was reportedly unhappy about not receiving an extension to his current contract, called in sick yesterday complaining of a migraine headache. Kidd called coach Lawrence Frank in the afternoon yesterday with the supposed illness and proceeded to not show up for the Nets game last night against the rival New York Knicks (the Nets lost).

We've all called in sick at one time or another. And, migraine headaches sure do make a great excuse, along with other stalwarts like coming down with a severe cold, being arrested as a result of mistaken identity and of course being bitten by a venomous snake. So, without further insight, we're not sure whether Kidd was just feeling blue because of all the snow and gloomy weather in the Northeast, or if this was some tactical move to get his triple-double producing game out of town. But, we would tend to side with the latter, as there is really no reason for a 13-year NBA veteran to randomly miss a game unless he's trying to make a point.

Rumorville, of course, is in full effect, with talk that Kidd could end up anywhere from Cleveland to Dallas to Los Angeles with the Lakers. It's a risky play though for any of those teams, specifically because the Nets will likely demand the world in a trade. Kidd is still incredibly productive putting up  11.7 points, 8.3 rebounds and 10.4 assists per game for the Nets this season, but there are two huge negatives to consider in trading for the point guard: age and contract.

Kidd gets superstar money, at about $20 million per season - and he is on the books for this season and next. He is also 34-years old and injury and/or deteriorating skills could quickly change his status from stud point guard to salary cap liability. It will be interesting to see if other GMs around the league have the creativity to put together an appealing deal for the Nets and the guts to trade for a great, yet aging point guard.

Of the teams that are rumored though, it would probably make the most sense for the Cleveland Cavaliers to make a play for Kidd. Problem is, they may not have the pieces on their roster to make an enticing offer to the Nets and would probably need to get a third team involved. Those complicated deals take quite some time, so if Kidd is actually on the trading block yet again (which is still questionable at this point) don't expect a deal anytime soon.

Update: Kidd went on local radio and disputed reports that he "faked" migraines. But he did acknowledge that his agent is in discussion with the Nets about an extension. Does this mean that Kidd won't be traded? Not really. It doesn't say anything either way. But, it's good to get Kidd's perspective on all this hoop-la.