Whether people in LA want to acknowledge it or not, the 2004-05 season marked an enormous change for the Los Angeles Laker franchise. Gone was Shaquille O’Neal, the cornerstone of the team since 1996, and a new era was born, where Laker management vowed to build around one of the most talented players in the league in Kobe Bryant.

In some ways it made sense for the 2003-04 season to end the way it did, because at that point the Lakers peaked in veteran, experienced, Hall of Fame talent and still could not come away with the one thing that keeps a season from being a failure. From that top peak in ’04, things came tumbling down in more ways than one in ’05.

Replacing an experienced battled-tested “old” team, was the fountain of youth that included Caron Butler, Lamar Odom, and Chris Mihm. Although it could be argued that Chucky Atkins brought some sort of vet savvy to the team, it remained relatively young in comparison to Laker teams of yesteryear. With the youth came another unfamiliarity: losing.

For the first time in a long time the Lakers finished with a losing record and failed to make the playoffs. Later, they suffered another embarrassment by having a worse record than their fellow LA Staples Center roommates, the Clippers. As if that wasn’t enough, tired of three straight seasons of losing, their star player Kobe Bryant went on a whirlwind media tour claiming that the Lakers were attempting to lay the Shaquille O’Neal’s exit at his footsteps, that they had deceived him regarding the team they claimed they would build around him, and that he would rather play on Pluto than continue to represent the purple and gold colors that he had worn his entire career.

LA Hoops Blog

Ultimately however, in true Laker fashion, things turned themselves around. Andrew Bynum, a third year player who people had only seen glimpses of brilliance from, turned into a low-post beast before going down with an injury. Just when all seemed lost post-Bynum’s injury, the Lakers shocked the NBA by making a move for All-Star PF/C Pau Gasol. Eventually the Lakers found themselves back where they had always felt they belonged – the NBA Finals.

The entire rollercoaster ride however, began in the 2004-05 season. Because of this, LA Hoops Blog looks back on the top five adrenaline pumping, un-forgettable events from ’05 to this past season in a brief glance at highs and lows in recent purple and gold history.

#5

Continued at LA Hoops Blog

“Just wait until Bynum comes back” was the Laker fan slogan before, during, and after a Finals series that felt more like a six game sweep than a hard fought four-two defeat. The reliance of Laker fans on Bynum’s return, because of the small sample of play that he’s provided us with, has been mocked endlessly. In some ways it’s understandable. Actually, if going by Bynum’s career stats, it’s completely understandable.

What isn’t understandable however, is how anyone can think this is any different than assuming the Portland Trail Blazers will be a much improved ballclub when Greg Oden returns. After all, hasn’t Greg Oden provided us with an even smaller sampling of his capabilities in the professional ranks than Bynum? And while Oden obviously has the potential to be amazing, he certainly didn’t dominate the colligate game the way some assumed he would. To be fair, he was playing with an injured wrist, but that only further speaks to the fact that the guy can’t seem to stay healthy.

 [Stats don't seem to be working on this site, check 'em out on LA Hoops Blog]

One of the above players is Andrew Bynum. The other two are Michael Beasley and Greg Oden, neither of whom has played a second pro ball during the regular season. We have a smart readership base, I’ll let all of you figure out who is who. The point of it all is, if you expect a solid season from Greg Oden next season in terms of the affect he’ll have on his respective team, I don’t see how you can try to diminish the impact Bynum will have on his respective team considering Bynum has done what he’s done at the professional level, whereas Oden’s production was put to shame this past season by a FORWARD.

Continued at [LA Hoops Blog]

Kids, forget about Bynum for this season.

Now look, don’t get me wrong. I foresee many a years of success when Kobe’s abilities starts to diminish where Drew and Gasol will be the big primary guys for the team, but for THIS SEASON – Bynum is borderline irrelevant. I can count you seven (eight) players MORE IMPORTANT to Laker championship aspirations for this year, and I will later on in my blog. First though, let me explain why while I wish Bynum all the best, I don’t care whether or not he even returns this season (In fact, if it guarantees that he’s more healthy, I’d rather he DIDN’T return this season).

First of all, a young inexperienced big man returning in game shape is a pipe dream. A Vic the Brick pipe dream. It will take Bynum not only time to get back into full playing shape, but adapt to one of two situations which are very hard to adjust to. Drew will either come off the bench (likely), or he’ll be inserted into the starting lineup (unlikely). If the latter happens, at least Bynum will only have to worry about hustling up and down the court and playing defense. I think he’ll be awful at both given how long he’s been out, but perhaps Lamar-Kobe-Gasol-Fisher can mask that. If he comes with the second unit, he’ll be completely exposed. If Sasha and Jordan don’t hit their shots, the opposing squad will just double up on Drew and completely kill him.

Those who think you can count on him for rebounds and defense have to remember that this guy isn’t even running normally yet. You expect him to keep up with Tim Duncan? With Shaq? With Tyson Chandler? No way.  He’ll foul out QUICK for the simple fact that he won’t be able to guard anyone yet. And yeah his length should get him some rebounds, but who knows how his lift and timing will be as he’s working back into shape?

Sure with his length Drew can offer some shot blocking threats, but that won’t save the Lakers. They have awful perimeter defense, all that’s going to happen is that people will get around Fisher/Farmar and then get Bynum into foul trouble even quicker. Bynum is hardly the answer defensively.

And to top it all off, the Lakers don’t have time or games to work him back. You can’t leave him out there in the playoffs so that he gets his bearings because if you do you’ll lose the game.

No, Drew is NOT the crucial piece to THIS YEAR’S puzzle.

There are seven (eight), count ‘em, seven (eight), more important players to the Lakers championship hopes.

1. Kobe Bryant. This is an obvious one. If the Lakers have any shot at winning the title, Kobe has to be the MVP we all think he’s going to be this year. He needs to play defense, and I mean legit defense not his “All Defensive First Team” defense of seasons past, and also be the ‘clean up’ guy doing whatever the Lakers need on the other end. If the others aren’t on, he needs to score. If the others are scoring, he needs to find the open man. There can be no bad games from Kobe Bryant in these playoffs.
2. Pau Gasol. Pau needs to compensate for his weak defense on the offensive end. He needs to drop 20 a game and play SMART defense that somewhat covers up his issues in order to make a real difference to this Lakers unit. If Gasol comes up with dud games, the D will focus on Kobe, and if they focus on Kobe, that’s when the problems will start.
3. Lamar Odom. Lamar has always stepped his game up in the playoffs, and this time around can be no different. He needs to clean up on the glass and provide CONSISTANT scoring. Rebounding, rebounding, rebounding – Lamar has to come though.
4. Derek Fisher. All season long Fish’s calm demeanor and respectability has calmed down the Laker locker room. It’s imperative that his leadership and ability to guide the young guys not waiver, and that he get his shot falling again to compensate for his lack of quickness on defense.
5. Vlad Rad (outta your minds if you think I’m going to write out his name). I know I may catch flack for this, but he is the X-Factor as far as I’m concerned. We all know his defensive woes and the fact that he STILL hasn’t seemed to grasp the nuances of the offense, but if the Lakers want to go deep in the playoffs Vlad Rad need to provide a consistent 3 point shot and a few spare boards to justify his playing time.
6. Sasha Vujacic. Another X-factor. Sasha needs to show that the regular season is no fluke. He needs to provide consistent scoring off the bench. Some dislike his constant gunning, I’m all for it. Sasha should shoot from the second he’s put into the game, and stop when Phil pulls him. He needs to average at least 10 a game for the Lakers to make it deep into the playoffs.
7. Jordan Farmar/Ronny Turiaf. These two need to step up big time. Jordan needs score and score well in the playoffs to compensate for his awful defense, and Ronny needs to clean up on the glass against teams like New Orleans, Houston, Phoenix, and San Antonio all while dropping that nifty little jumper of his.

So there you have it, seven players not a little, but FAR more important than Bynum to this season’s title run. I left Luke out for a reason, and that reason is that I’ve completely given up on him. He’s disappointed me to no end this season. I don’t care if he’s a “smart” player, forget him anyway.

I’m not going to describe how I think the Lakers will fair on their title chase until the season ends and I see the matchups, but I just wanted to put a blog out there expressing my feelings on Bynum Watch 2008.

The NBA is a Snoozefest 

Wasn’t the revival of the Boston Celtics supposed to make the NBA interesting again? How about the Lakers being slightly above average? It should have, but it didn’t.

I just turned nineteen years old, I’ve been watching the NBA since I was about six, and I’ve already grown tired of it. Seriously, I can’t stand to watch a single non-Laker game which speaks to how the NBA appeals to me now. Anyone can get up to watch a team they love and have been a fan for since the beginning of their sports-watching years like I can with the Lakers, but the true sign of whether or not you’re relevant is how much you can get people to watch teams that they’re not die hard fans of.

Case in point, the NFL. Los Angeles has no football team, and thus I have no favorite football team. Sure I follow the guys out of UCLA and USC and other west coast schools for the sake of that Cali pride, but I really have no vested interest in any of the teams. That said, I still love watching every football game on Sundays and Mondays (aside from the ‘defensive battle’ games that end up with a 10-3 score).

Now I really can’t say why the NFL has me more captivated than the NBA nowadays, but I’ll toss a few ideas out there. (1) The NFL season is much shorter and as a result means more. There is no ‘resting up’ in the first half of the season in the NFL like there is in the Stern league. (2) The playoffs are TEN TIMES more entertaining in football than basketball. You know why Golden State over the choke artists was huge? Because for once the team that was supposed to win didn’t. I mean nine times out of ten, the team you expect to win wins in the NBA and that takes all the fun out of it. Over a seven game series, the better team will win most of the time [See: Lakers-Suns two years ago]. (3) The NFL is a more team driven league. Sure the Quarterbacks are the stars and the guys in the trenches don’t get the press clippings that the skilled position guys get, but it’s still not the show off “look at me” circus the NBA has become.

Those are just a few of my ideas. Maybe I’m wrong, and maybe I’m the only one falling out of love with the NBA, but I am. Don’t get it twisted though, I’m still a die-hard purple and gold fan like I’ve always been, I’m just not going to be staying up late to watch TNT broadcasts when the Lakers aren’t playing like I used to.

Haters are Annoying, as are D*ckhoppers

I’ve been a Kobe hater ever since his cry session last summer, and I’m kind of tired of it. Being a Kobe hater gets annoying once you get to the point where you can’t even acknowledge his positives without following it up by the words ‘but he didn’t do whatever well’. Being a hater makes you seem like a biased loser for the most part and the only hater on MSN who pulls it off with style is GR8UN54 who uses a strange little thing called facts to back his stuff up.

I’m planning on not being a Kobe hater anymore because really there is no denying that he’s an amazing player who is key to the Lakers success this year. Andrew Bynum is nothing without Kobe there to free him up, and when Kobe is on and playing his “clean up” role where he cleans up after the other Lakers make a mistake, he’s the league MVP in my book.  Honestly I hope we can keep him for however long it takes, and are able to trade away Kwame’s contract for something interesting.

All that said, haters are no more annoying than the Kobe D*ckhoppers that have come to nest on this site. To constantly avoid criticizing Kobe for the ridiculous things he whines about, and mistakes he’s made in the past, makes you no better than someone who’s a Kobe hater. It’s still beyond me how anyone can argue that Kobe completely quit on his team two years ago Game 7 versus the Suns. It’s as obvious as the fact that anyone who’d give Kevin Garnett the MVP over Kobe this season is crazy.

Seriously, let’s try to be open-minded. Admit Kobe’s flaws as quickly as you offer him praise, then maybe the haters will stop hating so hard, and maybe we can stop the circle of stupid fact twisting that goes around to prove points that could be made either way. The same goes for the haters like me.

Shaquille O’Neal

How can so many people be such complete and utter jerk offs when it comes to Shaq? Especially the LA fans who’d be ringless if Shaq hadn’t taken the Lakers on his back for three consecutive titles. I’m sorry, but if people aren’t willing to admit that Shaq was the MAIN REASON the Lakers have their last three chips then I have nothing to say to any of you.

To hate on Shaq with the venom with which you seem to hate on him is just mind boggling to me. So he’s been out of shape his entire career and still managed to dominate the NBA in his prime, doesn’t that kind of kill the importance of him being out of shape? The only time his being out of shape mattered is when it hurt the team, and obviously if he has four rings and won with two separate teams then his weight didn’t hurt teams too much.

Would the Laker have maybe won one more if he was in shape? Maybe. Would Shaq still have been a Laker if Kobe came out and asked Buss to keep him, thus making the Lakers contenders in 2005 as opposed to a lottery team? Maybe. We don’t know either one, so why jump on Shaq’s case? The man is one of the most dominant players to EVER play in the NBA, and you want drop dirt on his name now that he’s reaching the end of his career as if that proves something?

What matters is results, and Shaq’s results speak for themselves. Four rings. Instant success. MVP. Those three things are what Shaq’s career should be defined by, not people’s stupid ideas of how hard he should’ve been trying. What matters most is the success a player has achieved, and that’s what the Big Diesal should be honored for.

Anyone who raises a point of ‘who would you rather have now, Shaq or Kobe?’ oughta slap themselves. Give me Shaq in his prime versus anyone in the history of the NBA. Jordan, Kareem - you fill in the blank with whoever, he’d still kill them.

Hating on Shaq is the same thing as hating on Kobe, and it’s a shame people who are oh so opposed to folks hating on Kobe can’t understand that.

Respect what one of the greatest ever has done, and appreciate that you got the honor of seeing him play.

Bynum

I was on the bandwagon this summer, but I’m not anymore. Jesus, could you be overhyping this kid any more? His post game consists of dunking the ball when his defender switches on someone else, no defense to speak of other than using his length to block shots/alter shots, and has proven to be a no-show against any center who’s even marginally good.

Seriously, climb off the kid’s back. Without Kobe and Lamar freeing him up, he’d be Samuel Dalembert.

MVP

Lebron was easily the favorite for the MVP award in the early going before his team dropped out of the zone, so now Kobe has officially moved up into the driver’s seat as far as I’m concerned.

How can you give Kevin Garnett, a man who’s winning with two other All Stars on his team, the MVP? If you took out KG and just left Ray+Truth, you’d still have a playoff team. If you take Kobe off the Lakers you have the Clippers.

Kobe = the new early season favorite for MVP

Peace Out Folks

I’ve been real busy as of late, and things don’t look to let up any time soon, so it looks like I’m gonna have to put my blogging career on hold. It’s been interesting and I appreciate all the folks who came on my blog (and the original Purple and Gold Flavor) and responded to me, good or bad, because at least it showed me I wasn’t writing it for nothing.