LAKERSFAN19 recently spoke about how boring the NBA has become then went on to write about the proliferation of haterfans in our precious blogosphere, mentioning in particular the constant perceived hate that is dumped on our once revered SHAQUILLE O'NEAL and the so-called brat of the NBA, KOBE BRYANT. As I was commenting on his blog, I began to remember and my comment turned into paragraph after paragraph. So I decided to write a little sumthin sumthin, courtesy of Lakersfan19's original idea. 

The NBA is certainly not boring. In fact, it is exciting. It's where "Amazing Happens."

Seven teams in the Western Conference are on pace for 50+ win seasons and the two teams with the best record in the league are both surprisingly from the Eastern Conference. Boston is on pace to for 70+ wins, which has caused Michael Jordan to pay more attention of late. The Minnesota T-Wolves are threatening the record for futility and the New York Knicks is in another league of their own. Scoring is up while defense continues to determine who wins, and never has there been this many international players in the NBA. The great Scottie Pippen has gone international as well, at the ripe young age of 42, and is apparently still harrassing opponents from the defensive end. I guess the only thing missing is THE RETURN OF THE WORM, Dennis Rodman. Okay, maybe not.

Nonetheless, unprecedented talent has given way to parity which, in turn, has provided fans a ton of great basketball to watch.

But nothing will ever duplicate the drama that developed from the love triangle that was Shaquille O'Neal, Kobe Bryant, and Phil Jackson. Not even the famous Jordan-Pippen-Rodman triad from Chicago.

Here, I attempt to briefly revisit what once was and why so many of us have come to "hate" although deep down inside we "love". And more importantly a glimpse of what is to come with these two lead actors, one OSCAR worthy and the other an ESPY nominee.

As far as the "hating" is concerned, I can see why so many fans do it. If you notice, most people will intensify the hate when things are going bad for a particular player on court or off it. It's in our nature as fans and it is, believe it or not, a normal behavior for extremely passionate fans.

What I don't understand, however, is when people continually bring up the past and use this as an excuse to hate even if that particular player has changed. Case in point, KOBE.

Everyone is now beginning to see with the Lakers' drastic improvement that KOBE's immature remarks this offseason may have served a purpose. In fact, Bryant and Jackson may have tactically strategized this in order to get more from the rest of the team.

We all know that the ZENMASTER is known for his psychological ploys, so as fans do we really know for sure that KOBE was all to the bad here?

Bottom line: KOBE BRYANT is a leader and among the fiercest competitors the game has ever seen. Ever.  Always has and always will be. In due time he will get the respect from fans that he rightfully deserves (he always had the respect of his peers) because after all, like former pro sports brats ahead of him - Terrell Owens and Randy Moss - and like that old cliche, "winning solves everything."

I was around to digest everything MICHAEL JORDAN had to endure throughout his early years in the NBA and I see a similar pattern here with the two players, especially since JACKSON is the coach of the two stars.

KOBE is only 29 and for those who have paid attention to all the nuances of his entire career, one can only have utmost respect for his dedication to the purity of the game of basketball. Never mind the off-court antics and stuff because that is really irrelevant.

We as working class people  have issues outside of work that tend to affect our professional careers at times. It's normal folks.

Haters fail to look at what KOBE has brought to his team and to the game. Instead, they find someone to blame and something to blame that someone for. And in a place like Los Angeles, everything becomes all the more magnified.

Why the heck would Jerry Buss pay KOBE all that money in the first place and let SHAQ go for less-than-equal value? Because BUSS not only is a smart businessman but he also recognizes hard work and discipline. Game recognizes game.

And isn't Lamar Odom's 15 and 9 panning out much better than Shaq's 14 and 7 right about now? As far as O'Neal is concerned, he got what he wanted. The cash, the quick championship, and the short-lived glory. Shaq knew in 2004-2005 that guys like 'Zo, Antoine Walker, Gary Payton, White Chocolate, James Posey, D-Wade, and Coach Riley were all hungry to win so he squeezed in at the opportune moment, fit in perfectly, and took advantage.

It was good enough for him to do it for one year, just like it was always good enough for him to treat his conditioning half-heartedly once he earned his contract and delivered three titles to Los Angeles. His contentment is the nature of his personality, unlike Kobe who always believes he can get better. This is the difference between a superstar and a legend. This is what sets apart the Michaels, the Magics, the Kobes, and the Larrys from every other Hall-of-Famer.

Shaq had always been The BIG QUOTATION, so he told Miami fans that he would bring two more titles although he probably knew deep down inside that he was probably done. He will try to mask his inadequacies by simply taking time off here and there in order to play out his contract and honor his fans. But we all know what's best for the team. The Heat should buy him out if they want to be competitive. 

Simply put, The BIG ARISTOTLE is running out of excuses and things to say. His best one came recently when he mentioned that he at least has a Master's Degree to fall back on. A sign that he has reached the end? Definitely so.

I actually believed he had one more solid year in him in 2007-'08. Guess I was wrong. The BIG DIESEL is now The BIG INACTIVE, while KOBE continues to lead the LAKERS' ASSAULT to everlasting greatness and basketball immortality along with THE BIG BYNO-MITE, Andrew Bynum. 

When it's all said and done, KOBE will have more rings than SHAQ and his LAKER legacy will undoubtedly leave a more lasting effect on all of our hearts.

I am sure of this only because KOBE puts more work into his craft than O'Neal ever did.

In any profession, the ones who demonstrate unrelenting work ethic and desire to be the best at what they do regardless of innate ability or talent usually move higher up the ladder (look at the careers of MJ, OLAJUWON, BIRD, MAGIC, who all improved different parts of their games as they got older). Since 2002, tell me one thing SHAQ has improved in his game? Free throws? A go-to move? Rebounding? Defense? Absolutely nothing. Shaq will continue to (and always has) rely on his sheer size and strength in order to intimidate, be physical, and get easy buckets (which helps to explain his high career FG%).

His huge miscalculation about the nature of the game has led him to be ineffective because injuries have now taken their toll on his body and he can no longer rely on what was once his only major strength.

A dedicated center like DWIGHT HOWARD, who continues to work hard on his craft, may wind up becoming a better basketball player than SHAQ (even if he winds up with less rings or no rings at all) because we can see that HOWARD is starting to develop a wide array of post moves, is a force on the boards, and blocks shots like Olajuwon once did. Shaq, with his size, should have led the NBA in rebounding and blocks EVERY year since '99 but he never did so except for maybe one year.

Upon making these points, one would see that no matter SHAQ's dominance between '99-04, he still would not have won those rings without KEY ROLE PLAYERS like Kobe, D-Wade, Rick Fox, Glen Rice, Ron Harper, Brian Shaw, Robert Horry, Derek Fisher, Horace Grant, A.C. Green, Alonzo Mourning, Jason Williams, Gary Payton and Antoine Walker. Think about it. This was SOLID talent built around Shaq.  

After all, when was the last time we saw SHAQ make a game clinching bucket to decide the outcome o####ame?

Way back in 1997-'98 during the last Lakers' home game of the regular season against UTAH. Turn around 12-foot jumper from the left baseline to seal the deal. Del Harris was the coach and L.A. was swept by the same Jazz squad in the playoffs that year.That's probably the only time he ever made a basket at the end of the game when it counted most.

Don't get me wrong, I will not discount Shaq's greatness in his era. However, if you compare his basketball abilites against some of the greatest of all time, in my opinion he is not even top five.

From SHOWTIME to the LAKE SHOW, it's a new era in LAKERLAND. As we look ahead, it might not be long until THE YOUNG GUNS conquer the WILD WILD WEST and the rest of the 'boring' NBA.