So I guess the Lakers are who we thought they were.
Twelve minutes to go in the first quarter, both teams are in it and it has all the makings of a great game. Five minutes to go in the first quarter, the game is over and the Lakers are done.
Kobe dropped 28 and D. Fish had 13, and that was pretty much where the positives of the game end for LA. Nice to see Lamar Odom rewarding all us loyal fans who always stuck by him with yet another impressive 4 point 5 rebound effort. Hope he didn't hurt himself playing all hard like that. Bynum really showed the Laker management they made the right call not shipping his #### out with a whopping 4 points and amazing defense on Kendrick Perkins. Don't let the nine boards fool you, Bynum was a non-factor. They don't even trust this kid's D enough to put him on KG so they put him on some nobody who averages 6 points a game, and said nobody puts 21 and 9 on him. What a freaking joke...
As we were getting our head smashed in during the first quarter, I held on to a inkling of hope that our bench would get us back in it. After all, isn't that what we were priding ourselves on nowadays? The 'Bench Mob' is the ####, right? And the Celtics have no depth, right? Wrong. Vlad Rad and Farmar gave us 18 and 13 respectively, but in the grand scheme of a 13 point loss you can see how I'm not too impressed with that effort.
Obviously it was the starters who let us down for this Celtics practice scrimmage of an event, but that wasn't even what killed me. What killed me was that at the end of the day it was painfully obvious to anyone who saw that tape delayed mess that the Lakers simply didn't have the weapons to compete. By my count that two games against quality opponents where we got beat down like a bunch of freaking punks..
Looks like we're in for another season of .500 basketball, a first round exit, and a bad draft pick.
Ah well, I didn't really want a championship anyway...
"I actually thought about purchasing it, decided not to," Bryant said. "I like Oprah's penthouse instead."
-Kobe when asked about the rumor of him buying Jordan’s old pad.
Ah Kobe Bryant just writes these blogs for me…
My thoughts on…
Kobe’s quote
Let me tell you what that quote above shows me, it shows me that when Kobe is just a laid back guy joking with the press he can be one of the best and most likeable people in the NBA. I’ve long since said that I’d rather listen to Kobe talk, for the simple fact that he doesn’t sound like he skipped English in high school for four years, than most of the clowns in the NBA. Rather than using this ability as a way of letting the fans get to know and love him, he only shows it on rare occasions when he’s not either going crazy on media tours or popping off with the company line of “we’re just trying to win basketball games..”
Gilbert Arenas is a VERY overrated basketball player. Over the past few years he’s hopped into some underdog role and is constantly trying to sell himself as being underrated despite the fact that he gets way more praise on the court than he deserves for his complete lack of D. Despite that, I LOVE to listen to this guy talk. He brings us an honesty and truth that athletes just don’t show anymore. I don’t want to hear Kobe say “It doesn’t matter who scores as long as we win…” because that’s complete BS, he wants to be THE guy, and THE leading scorer for the Lakers so he does care who scores. I want honesty.
Now let’s back up for a second and define honesty. What Kobe Bryant did this summer, with his four radio stations in a two day span media tour, was not being honest. Honesty would have been admitting that he underestimated how hard it’s be to bring talent into LA, that he feels that the Lakers should’ve made some moves that they didn’t make, and that while he believes that Lakers simply don’t have the talent required to win as he wants them to win, he as the leader takes full responsibility for the Lakers shortcomings and doesn’t see a way for this team to win a championship so as a result of his own personal drive to win a ring, he’d like to be traded. THAT is honesty. Honesty isn’t acting like Buss lied to him when anyone with half a brain and the Internet can quickly see that Buss did no such thing.
I realize my thoughts are a bit messy on this particular subject, so let me try to wrap it up. I always felt that Kobe Bryant had the brains and the talent to be one of the coolest basketball player since Jordan. Quotes like the one I quoted above show that. It was only by his own mis-steps that Kobe became the unquestionably most talented player in the NBA, in the second largest media market in the league, that none of the NBA big boys want to sell. I mean why is it that guys like Lebron who aren’t as talented and are in a smaller market get more attention than Kobe? Because the league and the advertisers understand how hated Kobe has become due to his own mistakes (throwing teammates under the Buss, ratting out his teammates to the cops, trying to jump ship from his losing team).
It seems like all Kobe ever wanted was recognition as being the best, but due to his own BS, no matter how much he ends up deserving it, he’ll never get that recognition.
the Lakers
Well the Lakers beat two solid teams, have a three game winning streak, and are flying pretty high. Guess that means we’re in for a loss tonight. The Lakers can’t possibly play consistent basketball for four straight games, right?
Sonics
You guys are 2-10 and I STILL owe you an apology.
I recently wrote that I thought the Sonics were still irrelevant despite having Kevin Durant, and that I didn’t care what happened to you in regards to the moving-out-of-Seattle deal. I was wrong.
This guy Kevin Durant with one little jumpshot at the buzzer changed my entire outlook on the Sonics. You guys are still very boring to watch, but you found a real gem in the #2 pick. Kevin Durant alone makes the entire Sonics team more relevant that even a healthy Oden would make the Blazers.
I apologize for my ridiculous statements about the Sonics not mattering.
Orlando Magic
Yes, you still overpaid for Lewis. No, I don’t care anymore.
The Orlando Magic with a recent victory over the Celts showed that they are definitely up there in the chase for the East. Do I think they’ll come out of the East? No, you’re about a solid PG away from accomplishing that feat, but at least you’re in the running. Turkoglu is playing good basketball, Lewis is doing his thing, and D. Howard is an absolute monster. As I wrote in the comments of another blog, can you say All NBA First Team Center for the next ten years?
Like I said, the Magic won’t be winning the East, but considering they’re obviously going to be in contention for it, that’s already a step up from what they were.
Jordan Farmar
What a testament to where hard work will get you. The undoubted leader of the ‘bench mob’ is showing all his critics what he’s about. Coming off the pine for the Lakers he’s giving them a real spark even when the starters are slow to get it going, and he’s been a huge reason for our last two wins. His energy just seems to feed the other players.
Do you think his recent play and the fact that the announcers admit he’s the first guy practicing every day and the last guy to leave are a coincidence? I think not.
New Orleans Hornets
Paul is injured, Chandler is injured, the Hornets are done. I know the X-rays on Chandler showed no serious knee damage, and that Paul’s thing has only kept him out of two games, but this is just the start of the season and these injuries are already falling on this squad. They have the talent to be 5th in the West, but I doubt they’ll even make the playoffs.
Paul will come back, and get injured again. Peja will get injured again. Someone else will be injured again. And so on…
It’ll be the same story, different season for the Hornets.
The Mike Tirico Show
Does anyone listen to this trash? How long before they boot him? THIS is what you replace Dan Patrick with?
I bet local hosts all over the country who hold the 10-12 o’clock spot are loving this. I’m completely out of luck though, because my local channel has Jim Rome in this time slot and I hate Jim Rome.
For those who are out of the loop or have forgotten, “Are you kidding me?” was another priceless quote from Kobe’s brilliant rant over the summer to some…whatever the hell they were supposed to be.
My thoughts on…
Kevin Garnett as the MVP
One question: Why?
Did we learn nothing from last year’s fiasco with Dirk getting the MVP? Most VALUABLE Player means a player who is ridiculously valuable to the team and without whom the team would be complete trash, not the best player on the best team in the East (or West last year).
If the Celtics had kept Jefferson, Gomes, Green, and the other twenty people they gave away in the KG trade and only had Ray Allen and Paul Pierce as their main guys, they’d still be a playoff team in the East. Granted, KG makes them finals contenders, but his importance to the team is nowhere near the level Steve Nash’s is to his team or Lebron’s is to his team or even Kobe’s is to his team.
And really, what has Kevin Garnett proven to us by winning with the Celtics? That given two other borderline Hall of Famers he can win in an Eastern Conference that despite all the early hooplah still doesn’t hold a candle to the West?
Kevin Garnett is a great player and he turns a Boston team that would’ve been a mediocre squad into a “contender”, but he’s no MVP.
The Lakers thus far
Exactly what most of us expected. They show moments of brilliance by beating the Jazz, Houston, and Phoenix and then proceed to get absolutely beat down by the Spurs and New Orleans. Granted, New Orleans is a much underrated ball club, but shouldn’t good teams be the measuring stick for success?
Kobe Bryant is playing the best ball he’s played in a long time if you add up his offensive and defensive contribution (and take out his free throw shooting), but the bottom line is that this team STILL hasn’t gotten it yet. This team might finish with 50+ wins or it may stumble into the playoffs with .500 record and an eight seed, but the fact remains that it’s their ridiculous inconsistency that puts everything in doubt.
Andrew Bynum is putting up a pretty nice effort averaging 10 boards this season making him a top 20 rebounder in the NBA up to this point. Clearly this kid is still a work in progress, but I don’t see how anyone can complain about his progress given the way he flourishes when given playing time.
The Starbury Situation
THANK YOU! Just when I was worried that Kobe would turn my Lakers into the joke of the NBA, this clown comes along. I guess we can add blackmailing the coach and throwing a hissy fit when benched to Steph’s long list of accomplishments like never winning in the playoffs and being a perennial loser who’s ex-teams improve whenever he leaves.
Of course this all speaks to the bigger issue of what a joke the New York Knicks have become. I mean it’s pretty hilarious when idiots like Dusty try to even compare the Lakers to the worst run team in the league because when it comes to the worst run teams in the basketball the Knicks occupy the one, two, and three positions for being THAT bad. Isiah Thomas is an excellent evaluator of talent, and a terrible everything else. Starbury is a statline minus any impact when it matters. Jamal Crawford, Isiah’s new crown jewel has hit like two buzzer beaters over his career and somehow that makes him a franchise player who gets the ball with the game on the line. Eddy Curry is a fat mess, and Zack Randolph is a slightly better version of Eddy Curry.
What ever happened to the Knicks team that had those vicious rivalries with the Heat back in the day? Patrick Ewing, John Starks, LJ, and Allen Houston must regretting the days they played with the Knicks if for no other reason than they’ll forever go down in history with these rejects currently playing for squad through the name on the front of their jersey.
Kobe Trade Talks
I think Kobe is officially going to be a Laker until he can walk away unless he decides to waive his no trade clause. The Lakers will only give him away for something good, and Kobe won’t go to a team where he doesn’t see the potential to win a title. If that’s not bad enough, Kobe despite his claims that it’s all about the ring, won’t go to a team like Detroit where the guys won’t just be his ####es and Dumars won’t let him run the whole team despite the fact that he’s got a better shot to win a title there than with Chicago. Of course Detroit is Detroit and Chicago is Chicago in terms of media markets, so obviously a ring isn’t all #24 cares about.
That said, I’m glad the deal didn’t go through. I’ve never been a Rip Hamilton fan, and Prince is a defensively better and offensively inconsistent version of Lamar Odom.
Tracy McGrady
He’s hurt…again. Week schmeek, obviously this is just a sign of things to come. Damn shame too, they’re top 3 in the West when everyone is healthy.
710 ESPN’s New Radio Lineup
Anybody notice 710 ESPN over here changed their lineup? They got rid of the Mason and Ireland Show and Kevin Kiley in favor of some reject from the Adam Corolla show and some other idiots. Looks like KLAC 570 is really killing them because they’re trying to turn their radios into less sports based and more entertainment based shows like PMS who I assume is killing in the ratings.
Real shame, I liked John Ireland more than I liked Steve Mason so I’ll officially only listen to KLAC 570 now that 710 has completely messed itself up.
So five games in, Kobe is still in LA and playing great basketball. He’s efficient offensively, he’s returned to his old form defensively, and he’s not talking publicly which is always a plus. If Kobe can keep up this style of play for the next seventy seven games you have to wonder how anyone could not call him the most talented player in the NBA.
I do find it kind of funny though that he’s playing his best season when he knows he’s being shopped around to other teams. That however isn’t as funny as the fact that he decided to lose weight and get in shape for Team USA. Clearly that lost weight is helping him with his defense this year as he’s much quicker to get off the ground, and jumping higher, than he did in past seasons. Of course that poses the question of how big of a hypocrite Kobe is for demanding that Shaq lose weight for the team, then proving that he hadn’t been doing all he could with his own weight.
Clearly Kobe still wants to be traded, and frankly I can’t see how most of his teammates can still want him in LA. Now keep in mind, while I’ve always given Kobe the brunt of the criticism for the volatile situation between him and his teammates, the teammates too deserve a share of the blame. They’ve performed inconsistently on enough occasions to #### anyone off, and they’re the ones who aren’t manning up and demanding the ball from Kobe when he’s in his mode where he sees no one but himself, the five defenders, and the basket. Maybe if the teammates showed a little more confidence in themselves, Kobe would have more confidence in them. Of course none of that takes away from Kobe’s part of the blame, because he DID throw his teammates under the bus rather than dealing with his problems in house.
With the great way Kobe is playing, it’s almost sad to trade him away but it has to be done. This lineup isn’t yet ready for a title run, and Kobe will continue to stay frustrated. The way I see it, Kobe is raising his stock super high and as long as we don’t wait too long to send him packing, I think we should be able to get as much return as you can on the most talented player in the NBA.
So in conclusion, it’ll be sad to see Kobe with the way he’s balling it up nowadays, but we still gotta ship his #### out to make sure we stay right in the long run.
Lebron
I’ve never liked Lebron, but why is it that no one wants to talk about the way he’s been taking on the other team’s best scorer in the closing minutes? He was all over Kevin Martin yesterday, dude was lucky his shot didn’t get swatted back down his throat.
Also, where were the headlines on Lebron finally hitting a long range shot in the closing seconds versus the Jazz? People sure are quick to criticize the dude for when he misses those terribly planned out final second shots, but the one time he hits one you hear nothing. It’s not his fault his team completely fell asleep and the fourth most talented PG in the league zoomed past them for an easy score.
Odom
Coming back from surgery over the summer, not playing a single game, Lamar drops 18 and 10 on the Wolves. Granted the Wolves aren’t exactly hot stuff in this league, but it’s amazing the lengths to which stupid Kobe humpers will go to to demean this man. Behind the stats and comeback story lays the bigger issue in the fact that Lamar has been moved to the 3 spot, where he’ll undoubtedly take advantage of his length and playmaking abilities for the duration of the season.
This guy, not Kobe, is this team’s heart and soul, and we’ll go as he goes. Kobe will always be Kobe, but if Lamar and Kobe stay on the court together like they did two years ago when the Lakers took the Suns to seven games, the Lakers might be a lot better than people expected.
Sonics
Heard they’re moving…psh…oh well. I know with all the Kevin Durant hooplah they were supposed to become interesting again, but they’re still not headline worthy in my book. No disrespect to Sonics fans cuz I’m sure ya’ll will be killing the rest of the league when you draft someone to help Durant out next year in the lottery and get some more talent, and Durant develops a little more, but for now I just can’t stand watching this team play.
Rashard Lewis
Maybe I was wrong about this guy. I thought he got overpaid like crazy and wouldn’t really mesh with Howard’s game, but obvious so far I’ve been wrong. I haven’t caught any Magic games this season, but if the stats and tallies in the win column are any indication, the Magic made a great off-season move.
Yi
Wasn’t this guy supposed to be a bust? From the way people were talking about him post-draft and during the pre-season, I was expecting him to stink up the court not drop 19 and 9 or whatever he put up yesterday on the Rockets. More power to Milwaukee for sticking by their guns and drafting this guy despite his attitude. Now the Bucks are in a win win situation. They can trade Yi if he’s still unhappy for a lot more than they would’ve gotten by not drafting him, or they could keep him and use his skills for the long run as long as he stays healthy.
Shaq
In the infamous words of Kobe Bryant: “Are you kidding me?”. You #### fans make me sick. This man brought three titles to Los Angeles, and while I was right there with the rest of you booing him and hoping he’d lose in Miami, to use his current situation as a way of reducing the impact he had on our championship runs proves how dumb and how truly little you know about the game.
Suns
I don’t understand whether you chose not to read Dizzle’s blog or just want to ignore what he’s saying, but the SUNS WON’T WIN A TITLE. I mean it just boggles my mind that you Suns fans don’t want to understand that. What does the Lakers getting beat by them have to do with what the Suns AREN’T going to get accomplished this season? The new top three in the West is the Spurs, Mavs, and Rockets. The Suns and the Jazz both in the second tier of the West.
Clippers
Who cares? They’re, just shiny little toys to be there for the wannabe rebels who act like all the Laker fans are wannabe trendy fake fans.
Pistons 103
Clippers 79
So much for that undefeated season.
Go Clipper Nation!...go away that is.
Houston Rockets
Another team I think I was officially wrong about. I was sure they’d get torn up by injuries, but they are seriously balling in the early going. This team will compete for the Western Conference crown, and the Adelman-Van Gundy move was not only necessary, but a stroke of genius.
Knowing you, my response in your blog would go un-responded to so I figured this was a better way to do it. For as long as I can remember you've been pounding on how dollar for dollar Lamar is the worst player in the league. You put up a blog on the matter, and actually managed to prove yourself wrong without even noticing it. The fact that you'd say in a blog that explicitly states in the title that it measures 'Dollar for Dollar The Worst Player in the NBA' that Lamar Odom is worse than Darius Miles, Steve Francis, or Jerome James all of which haven't had any effect on any franchise outside of dollars paid for services not rendered for multiple seasons now shows that you're a complete Lamar hater and you have on idea what you're talking about.
Let's take your response to me saying all this in your blog piece by piece...
"YOU are the one distorting the article Lakerfan. No matter what I said You bring it back to "money vs production"."
Imagine that, in a blog that compares production to salary paid I'm comparing "money vs production". Gee, I wonder why I'd do that...MAYBE IT'S BECAUSE THAT'S WHAT THE WHOLE POINT OF THE BLOG IS. What difference does it make that Lamar was intended to be a #2 guy or whatever the hell you're talking about? What'd New York and Orlando want Francis to be? What'd Portland want Miles to be? What'd New York want out of James after his one good playoff showing? We don't know what the expectations were for all these players, so let's stick to what we do know. Money, stats, and production. When you compare money versus performance, Lamar isn't dollar for dollar the worst player in the NBA by any stretch of the imagination. Overpaid? Maybe. Worst in the NBA in money versus production? Hell no.
"It's MONEY VS EVERYTHING. ODOM SPENT AN ENTIRE YEAR CHOKING IN THE CLUTCH BECAUSE "HE DIDN'T KNOW THE TRIANGLE""
He choked in the clutch because he didn't know the triangle? How could he choke in the clutch when Kobe always takes over in the clutch? Isn't that why he's so Jordan-esque, because he takes over with the game on the line? And I'm not too sure how he choked in the clutch given I remember that in that first Shaq-less season when we missed the playoffs after Kobe went down (which shocked me btw given his great conditioning), it was Odom specifically who hit a game winning layup against an opponent who's slipping my mind. Don't worry about Lamar in the clutch though, that's Kobe's department anyway right?
As far Lamar learning the triangle. Ah...ok? It takes everyone time to learn, so I'm not sure what you're babbling about. I thought he stepped in and performed beautifully, and my only complaint against Lamar has been his reluctance to be aggressive and his lingering injuries.
"THEN THE NEXT ENTIRE SEASON BECAUSE "HE'S HEARTBROKEN OVER THE LOSS OF A CHILD" JESUS CHRIST MILLIONS DEAL WITH LOSS OF A CHILD AND STILL HAVE TO GO TO WORK AND DO THEIR JOB OR GET FIRED. HE'S MORE HEARTBROKEN THAN ANYONE ELSE BECAUSE HE'S RICH?"
What? Are you the biggest ######## on this site or what? He came back despite the fact that his son died, and he performed AMAZINGLY. He led our team with Kobe out of the lineup because of his surgery for those first few games, and he showed All-Star form in each of those Kobe-less outings. Again, thanks for proving you don't watch the #### games. Stupid ####.
"NOW HE'S HURT AGAIN AND THE REASON HE'S HURT IS BECAUSE HE DON'T DO HIS OFF SEASON CONDITIONING LIKE KOBE DOES"
Here's some stats for you to chew on...
Games Played Last 3 Years
Lamar Odom: 2004-05: 64 2005-06: 80 2006-07: 56
Kobe Bryant:2004-05: 66 2005-06: 80 2006-07: 77
Dusty, we know thinking ain't your strong suit, so let me break this down for you. Over his last three seasons with the Lakers, the only time Lamar missed considerable time in comparison to that well conditioned machine in Kobe, was last season.
And he's hurt again, because he chose to delay his surgery and come back to put his body on the line versus the Suns in the first round of the Playoffs. You know, because he unlike Kobe has heart and doesn't quit on his team when it matters. You know, that same playoff series where he dropped 19 and 13 on the Suns...
"AND THE SOB IS A DRUG ADDICT"
I'll take a former drug addict on my team any day versus an accused #### who has to pay off his victims after the civil case and say stuff like "Maybe she didn't see it the same way I did..."
"WHO STANDS AROUND AND ONLY HAS TWO SHOTS"
Two shots? If you said he only goes left you'd at least have some kind of point.
"PLAYS ZERO DEFENSE"
Lmao...that describes that Shaq-less Kobe so well. You know, the one that routinely got burned by the other team's SG last season. Nice to see that he's finally playing some good defense this season. Obviously it's because he wants to get traded to another team and is showing off his skill in some bootleg marketing way. Wonder where this defense was for the last three years?
By the way, I'm sure it has nothing to do with that weight he lost over the summer. Off topic for a second, I really hate how Shaq would never lose weight in order to help the team...
"FOULS AT THE ABSOLUTE WORST TIMES, TRAVELS, CHARGES"
Sort of like Kobe's forced passes and wannabe flops where he pretends he got fouled, all of which end up as costly turnovers even if they don't get recorded in the TO column. My favorite Kobe move is where he drives to the basket, doesn't get the foul, then stands around and cries about it while the other team goes 5 on 4 on the other side of the court. Yeah, I wonder why the Lakers have defensive breakdowns sometimes...
"AND HAS NEVER COME THRU LEADING THE TEAM IN THE PLAYOFFS LIKE YOU CLAIM."
Sure he was better than Kobe. He unlike Kobe didn't quit on his team when it mattered, and actually chose to play hurt rather than to let them down. That makes him better than Kobe in my book. Aren't you the one always preaching about how stats don't tell the whole story when it comes to Kobe's passing? Same thing here. Stats don't tell the whole story when it comes to Lamar Odom.
But if stats do matter to you, he put up an 19 point and 13 board average WHILE injured during the playoffs. You're right it's not better than Kobe statistically, but it's pretty damn good considering THAT HE CAME BACK TO HELP LEAD THE SQUAD WHILE HE WAS INJURED.
"YOU WANT TO TALK MONEY? THE LAKERS ARE BETTER OFF PAYING HIM TO STAY OFF THE COURT LIKE PORTLAND DOES MILES."
"HE'S A GOD DAMN CANCER. NOW GET OFF MY BLEEP ABOUT IT."
No, the cancer would be Kobe. Ever notice how nobody on his team ever really has anything good to say about him? He scores 81 points and Smush talks about how the team moved the ball around well. Lmao...his teammates sure do love him. Wanna take a bet on who the Laker players would say the cancer in the locker room is if asked? I doubt they'd say Lamar. In fact, I think it's pretty obvious that Lamar and Fish are two leaders of the Laker team.
"EVERY KNOWLEDGABLE WRITER AND BROADCASTER SAYS HE'S A FAILURE. SHUT UP."
Voices in your head don't count as knowledgeable writers and broadcasters. Funny thing is, every time someone in the media talks about Lamar all they say is what standup guy he is and that he just needs to be more aggressive. Ever notice that nobody ever talks about what a standup guy Kobe is?
That Lamar Odom sure is a cancer for the Lakers...
This piece goes out to the unluckiest little boy in LA, Kobe Bryant.
>Poor Kobe’s troubles started when he got traded from a true contender in the Charlotte Hornets to those goddam two faced Lakers.
>Poor Kobe’s troubles continued when he was given time to mature and develop as a ballplayer rather than being thrown to the wolves as soon as he was acquired.
>Poor Kobe had a lame star of the team in Shaq who didn’t urge the team to trade Kobe for better talent so that he could win now because obviously he’s not half the competitor Kobe The Great is.
>Poor Kobe was forced to be on the same team as the league’s MVP Shaquille O’Neal, a man who constantly freed up Kobe because of double teams thrown at him further allowing Kobe to evolve as a ballplayer in the NBA.
>Poor Kobe was forced to witness Big Shot Bob hit a game winning 3 after he himself missed the game winner. Poor Kobe got into a fight with that big bully Samaki Walker, a player who unlike Kobe, shied away from teammates and was viewed as very aloof and not a team player.
>Poor Kobe got no support from the Buss family during his rape trial.
>Poor Kobe was forced to shoot the Lakers right out of the 2004 Finals because he’s just that fierce of a competitor.
>Poor Kobe had Karl Malone insult his wife.
>Poor Kobe suffered the insult of Ray Allen predicting he’d jump ship like a little rat three years after Shaq left.
>Poor Kobe tanked Game 7 of the first round of the playoffs because he’s just as fierce of a competitor as Jordan.
>Poor Kobe has to shoot so much because he has no help.
>Poor Kobe’s squad has a greater collective FG percentage than a lot of team’s in the league.
>Poor Kobe is stuck with a heartless player in Lamar Odom as his sidekick who doesn’t have Kobe’s drive, and merely came back and played his heart out despite the death of his son during the summer, and then proceeded to be the best player on the Lakers in the playoffs despite needing surgery on his shoulder.
>Poor Kobe was lied to by Jerry Buss because Jerry Buss told Kobe he had a magic wand to get him new talent but didn’t really.
>Poor Kobe got Jerry Buss stable and consistently healthy players like Ron Artest, Carlos Boozer, and Baron Davis but Buss refused to pull the trigger.
>Poor Kobe is suffering right now because that vindictive Jerry Buss is holding out for Deng while Kobe threatens to put his no trade clause into effect if Deng comes to the Lakers.
>Poor Kobe can’t support his team from the bench because he’s injured.
>Poor Kobe is the unluckiest player in all the land.
God I hate Kobe haters. They’re all just ESPN brainwashed people who don’t know what they’re talking about. They use crazy things like stats and facts to prove points. Kobe fan 4 lyfe!!!!!!!!!
Generally I like to stick to my basketball analysis seeing as that’s the one thing I know a lot about, but yesterday I heard a friend of mine tell a story about two over-aggressive Dodger and Giants fans actually coming to blows when the Dodgers fan talked smack about the Giants and I had to shake my head.
It’s only sports.
I realize it’s a little strange for me, a person who writes blogs despite not being paid, who enjoys watching ESPN News a bunch of hours a day, and who listens to sports radio whenever I drive somewhere to try to puts sports in perspective, but I’m going to try anyway.
Sports are just entertainment. It’s just something people watch to relax and waste time enjoying. Watching athletes compete is no different than watching actors act, singers sing, or ‘Ballhog’ Bryant ballhog.
Taking time out of your day to read/write sports blogs or watch sports news or read professional sports analysis isn’t any different than taking time out of your day to watch Access Hollywood, read up on Paris Hilton, or scan various celebrity gossip columns because again, it’s all for entertainment purposes.
Certain things however aren’t normal. Writing hate mail and threatening letters to guys like Barry Bonds despite them cheating and/or being douchebags is NOT okay. Throwing syringes on the field when Barry Bonds comes to bat is NOT okay. Getting into physical altercations over something as meaningless as whose baseball team “owns” whose baseball time is one of the lamest things I’ve ever seen. I mean seriously, get a life.
It’s one thing to enjoy sports from an entertainment standpoint; it’s another when you think it’s any more than that. In the grand scheme of things, sports are largely irrelevant. The only time sports really matters is when athletes and others involved raise money for real causes, or when some dying or sick kid lives out his dream by meeting some particular sports figure. Aside from that, I can’t really think of a scenario when throwing a ball into a basket, throwing a ball into a glove, hitting a puck into a net, or kicking a ball into the net carries any weight whatsoever in the real world.
Understand sports for what they are, appreciate sports what they are, but don’t make sports out to be more than what they are.
I’m not sure when this whole “Let’s blame Laker management for EVERYTHING” train took off, but people should really hop off it. Regardless of what happens, regardless of the situation and all the factors involved, Laker fans are quick to blame management. Never mind the fact that twenty nine other teams fail to make the same moves that the Lakers fail to make, never mind the fact that the circumstances just aren’t right for a particular deal, and never mind the fact that the deals that the Lakers don’t make generally are not good moves to be made.
“Mitch is a ####. Buss is a ####. Laker Management is stupid…” Why? What exactly aside from bad draft picks and trading Caron for Kwame (a more or less understandable move) have the Lakers done that is so god awful? As I’ve said in a number of blogs, I too wouldn’t have traded Bynum for Artest, I too wouldn’t have taken Boozer if it cost me anything besides a pack of gum, and I sure as hell wouldn’t have given Bynum AND Odom away for an aging PG in Jason Kidd. Those moves were completely logical, yet Laker fans don’t seem to get it. There is no magic wand, you can’t just get these great players without giving something good up in return, and sometimes what you’re giving up is just too much too pay for what you’re getting.
Nothing comes out of your pockets if you trade away Bynum and Odom for Kidd and the Lakers are no better than they were and have traded away a great future big man. Nothing comes out of your pocket if we make these short sighted deals that may or may not work, and at the end of the day may cost the Buss family money. That’s the beauty of being a fan, all of this stuff doesn’t affect us so we can be really smart without actually knowing what we’re talking about.
Now let’s take a look at this new KG situation. The Lakers made a push to get KG, but it didn’t work. They TRIED. Do you get that? They TRIED their best, but the deal just wasn’t there to be made. They can’t put a gun to McHale’s head and force him to make a bad deal for the Wolves. The trash that the Celtics were offering for the big ticket was much better than the trash the Lakers were offering. Let’s examine the major pieces:
Player / PPG / RPG / Age
Al Jefferson / 16.0 / 11.0 / 22~~~Gerald Green / 10.0 / 2.6 / 21 -- Boston
The numbers speak for themselves. Lamar Odom is an aging supporting cast player that has no place on a team trying to get young. He never has and never will ever live out his potential, and as a result it’s perfectly understandable why the Wolves didn’t want him. Andrew Bynum you ask? Well generally Bynum is a great piece for a trade, but not when you have the exact same thing except better in Al Jefferson. Yup, another young center with much better production last season.
And you’re trading him to the East where you only have to see him twice a year.
What exactly could the Lakers have done? Who wouldn’t take the deal that the Celts offered over the one the Lakers could offer?
Nobody.
As is usually the case with a lot of Laker fans, they hear something over and over and take it to be god’s word. “Laker management is awful this, Mitch is a #### that”. Please…
Laker management isn’t great, but it’s not nearly as bad as you want to make it out to be.
Like all beautiful women would if I ruled the world, the two ladies above will remain nameless and quiet while I talk.
No, I don’t want to do the same thing to Kobe Bryant that I’d want to do to a hot girl. It was just an analogy.
Given that this site is composed largely of males, I think every single one of you will understand what I’m trying to say. Remember that hot girl who was either annoying, or stupid, or some combination of the above but made up for it by being fine as hell? Don’t lie, you know you do. We all do. This is the girl we knew we shouldn’t be wasting our time with, the girl we knew wasn’t a wise long term pick, but every time we were ready to put our foot down one look at the feem would just melt all the logic away.
Kobe Bryant is like that hot girl.
What was it, a month or two ago when he came out and ripped Laker management basically calling all of them liars? You know, when he divided the Laker nation with one side arguing that he was in the right for complaining and the other side (my side, in other words the right side) arguing that he was a disgrace for coming out and speaking like that about the purple and gold? I wrote about three pissed off, angry blogs condemning Kobe to the deepest pits of hell (the Hawks) and swearing I’d never forgive the mofo.
I was holding strong, I really was, but then yesterday happened.
I’m sitting back on my couch watching the inter-squad game on FSN West where some of the NBA’s elite are messing around in what actually ended up being a much more competitive game than I thought it’d be, and I was just blown away by how Kobe was quite clearly better than everyone on the floor. He WAS the number one option, no doubt about it. Lebron and Kidd put up some nice stuff, Durant impressed me, but when the clock was ticking down with a game on the line (and this wasn’t the LA Kobe’s we were dealing with) who did the ball STILL come down to? Yup, number 10. (What the #### was up with that number anyway?)
I will FOREVER put more blame on Kobe for the Shaq-Kobe breakup than I put on anyone else, and it still boggles my mind how such a seemingly intelligent person can be such a douchebag and actually make himself the bad guy in a scenario where he was absolutely right. However, every time I watch Kobe play I can’t help but be mesmerized by the dude.
Can he lead our team to a title alone? No. Is it worth packing off our only real good players for Jermaine O’Neal? No. Will the Lakers be able to rebuild in time to a) Keep Kobe in two years and b) To put a championship level team around him? Doubtful. But see, that’s all logic. Logically speaking, the chances of us winning with this guy are slim to none, but I STILL want to have the privilege of watching him ball for the Lakers and seeing the closest thing we’ve had since Jordan to Jordan in action.
It’s still not a sure thing that Kobe will be a Laker next year because he literally refused to answer any questions about him staying with the Lakers and in the process seriously left the door open to not report to training camp. Back when the radio interviews broke, I didn’t CARE if he stayed and I didn’t WANT him to stay because he was a whiny little ####, but now I’m changing my tune.
Twenty nine teams lose the championship every year, and if we’re gonna lose, we may as well lose while watching one of the greatest offensive players to ever play the game.
One freaking scrimmage and I’m already crawling back to Kobe on my hands and knees. You can all imagine how #### whipped I was in high school.
With baseball being completely irrelevant outside of Barry Bonds and the Yankees,and with Football just out of my reach blog wise at the moment, I’ve decided to produce yet another useless prediction blog for next season which is still months away.
The MVP trophy in the NBA is one of the most argued about pieces of hardware in all of sports. Who should get it? The best player in the NBA? They best player on the best team? The most important player to a particular team? And even beyond that, you can break it down into bigger details. What if someone was injured for the first third of a season, are they still in the running for MVP? What if the team is ranked seventh in the tougher conference, does the team’s low rank keep a player from earning an MVP?
Although I personally believe that the MVP should go to the BEST player in the NBA regardless of where their team is ranked (unless the team is out of the playoffs) today I’ll be writing my MVP predictions taking into account what history has taught us.
Before getting into detail about my five candidates, let me list a few notable omissions from my list.
Dirk Nowitzki- The current MVP has successfully killed his shot at a second consecutive MVP by embarrassing and humiliating not only the NBA, but all those who voted for him by choking like something vicious and letting his team be part of what was arguably the most historic first round upset in NBA history. The war went on all last season whether the MVP should be Dirk or Nash. Dirk supporters screamed about how Dirk was the best player on the best team, while Nash supporters held up their Canadian flags proudly and proclaimed that the Suns would be nowhere without his Nashness running the point.
At the end, Dirk won, and his supporters lost. Nash should’ve been the MVP.
The interesting thing about Dirk last season was that it wasn’t really his best statistical year points, rebounds, and assists wise. His only career highs last season were for his FG%, 3PT %, and FT%.
Either way, after successfully proving everyone who voted him for MVP of the league wrong, I am one hundred percent certain that Dirk will NOT be in the running for MVP.
Tracy McGrady- A year ago T-Mac wouldn’t even be in the discussion, but after an amazing showing in the second half of the season where he literally kept the Yao-less Rockets afloat with a string of perfect games you have to give this guy credit. The problem with T-Mac is that he’s very, very, injury prone, and with his constant back issues it’s hard to see him staying healthy in the second half of the season like he did last year.
That, and the fact that when Yao is healthy the offense runs through him, along with that whole issue of Yao and T-Mac having no chemistry, leads me to write off T-Mac from the MVP discussions.
Dwyane Wade- He has no time to even get back into his old form, much less improve, with his injury problem. I expect a down year compared to his past seasons from D.Wade.
And onto the main list…
5. Yao Ming- I’m sure this is the pick that’ll get a few eyebrow raises. Here’s the deal with Yao Ming, last season he was having an MVP caliber season until he got hurt. He played a total of 48 games last season, and 57 the year prior to that. I think he’s due for a healthy season.
Aside from the injuries, Yao averaged a career high 25 points and about 9 rebounds while leading the Rockets in both categories. Whereas most remember the way T-Mac came on strong to lead the Rockets in the second half of the season, few remember that while T-Mac was injured it was Yao who was carrying a good load for the Rockets and really wowing his critics.
I have a feeling that Yao may get injured next season too, and that his whole career will be hampered by injuries, but when you consider the fact that he’s been seriously injury plagued these past two seasons you have to hope the man will at least have a good season next year.
4. Tim Duncan- The Big Fundamental, oh how I appreciate him. Coming off his first Finals with no Finals MVP trophy, I think that Duncan will come back rested and primed for another championship run. Given that the Spurs have yet to actually successfully defend their title, you have to wonder if it’s just about time for the Spurs to finally win a consecutive championship. Either way a Timmy Duncan who doesn’t have to play for the US Team oughta be nice and rested and ready to roll by the time tip off comes along next year.
The reasons why I don’t believe that Duncan will win the MVP although he’ll be in the running are threefold. One, the Spurs don’t start playing ball until the second half of the season. If a player can effectively play both halves of the season efficiently, I can see Duncan getting passed over for the MVP honors. Two, people have come to the point where they just expect greatness from Duncan. Whereas Joe Schmo leading his team to fourth place is considering a shining achievement, Timmy D leading his squad to one to three in the West isn’t regarded as highly because excellence has come to be expected from Duncan and the Spurs. Three, over the past few seasons Duncan has passed off some of the scoring load to his partners in crime Manu Ginobli and Tony Parker. While he still players a bigger role in the game on the offensive and defensive ends than those two kids combined, the mere fact that his stats won’t jump off the page at the voters will cost him when MVP voting comes around.
3. Kobe Bryant- Ah Kobe my Kobe. I have a personal belief that because he’s so hated (in large part do to his own misdoings) this man will never win an MVP award despite how much he deserves it. I felt he should’ve been MVP in that 2005-06 season where the Lakers forced the Suns into seven games before getting knocked out of the playoffs. His 81 point game, his efforts to involve his teammates in the second half of the season, his 63-62 showing against the Mavs by the end of the third quarter…it all spells that Kobe should’ve been MVP that year.
That wasn’t the only year I felt Kobe got robbed of MVP honors. The interesting thing about the 2002-03 season however, is that nobody can claim that Kobe was hated because at this point he wasn’t. Putting averages of 30.0 points, 6.9 rebounds, and 5.9 assists on 45% shooting Kobe didn’t get MVP honors despite the fact that he was leading the team in a time when Shaq was battling injuries.
I worry about the ballhog for this upcoming season. After an offseason where he’ll no doubt play his heart out for the US of A, I have to wonder how he, a player with more milage on his tires than any of the young guys playing, will come into the regular season. Considering the huge load that Kobe is expected to carry for the Los Angeles Kobes, you have to wonder whether somewhere towards the midseason mark the fatigue aspect will catch up with him.
As long as Kobe can stay healthy and not let the USA games wear him out, Mamba oughta be able to put up solid averages overall, but I expect everything he does will be down from last season from points all the way to assists.
Not that it’d matter. Kobe’s too hated to win the award anyway.
2. Steve Nash- Mr. Canada, the man who was cheated out of last year’s MVP trophy. All year long a debate raged on about who deserved the crown more between him and Mr. Germany, and as soon as the voters gave Dirk the trophy, they proceeded to slap themselves on the forehead in true Homer Simpson fashion.
With the highest assist total in his career at 11.6 per game, the second highest point total in his career at 18.6 per game, and a career high in FG % at 53.2% Mr. Nashness wowed us yet again and led his team into the second round of the tough Western Conference Playoffs only to be sent packing by Timmy D and the Spurs.
You can put forth a lot of reasons for why Nash was cheated of the MVP last season. The biggest one that jumps out at me was his two MVPs prior to this one. Reluctant to put him in with NBA legends, voters decided to instead vote for Dirk Nowitzki disguising their logic as “voting for the best player on the best team”.
The reason that Nash is so valuable to the Suns is the style of game they play. Many Suns fans and Nash supporters want to deny this, but the fact that Nash was never even in the discussion for the MVP prior to him coming to the Suns speaks for itself. This isn’t a knock against Nash, because I don’t think there’s a single player in the NBA that you could replace Nash with who’d run that Suns offensive as effectively. I think critics who feel like they cheated Nash out of MVP honors last season will be quick to award him this season if for no other reason but guilt for last season. This goes without saying the Suns have to be top 2 in the West for that to happen.
The one huge reason that I see for Nash not getting the MVP crown is the fact that the Suns have yet to even make it to the Finals, a fact that really takes some shine off Nash’s star.
If my number one pick doesn’t come through, and as long as the Suns finish one or two in the West, I think Sir Canada is in prime position to capture a third MVP trophy.
1. Lebron James- King James, the face of the NBA. I make this pick with the full expectations that Lebron comes back next season shooting above 70% from the charity strike.
With averages of 27.3 points per game, 6.7 rebounds, and 6.0 assists Lebron was actually scorned by critics for having an off year. While it’s true that Lebron came on a little slow early in the season for whatever reason, most likely fatigue from the summer games, he really picked his game up in the second half of the season and proceeded to lead the lowly Cavs not only to a two seed in the East, but also a Finals appearance.
Many came into last season predicting that it’d be King James who’d take the crown because of his dazzling season prior to last season, but he actually disappointed with his points, assists, and rebounds all taking a dip. Plenty of people were quick to blame it on him not devoting enough attention to refining his basketball skills, and focusing too much on being a global icon. That comment he made seriously hurt his image from a basketball perspective. After the All Star break, we saw Lebron return to old form and show us why exactly we all expected he’d take home the MVP honors despite it being too late to win the voters over.
The biggest weapon Lebron has going for him interestingly enough, is his completely awful team. Despite the fact that he’s playing in the East, Lebron leading his team to improvement every year, and to the finals this past year, with absolutely nothing in the way of a credible sidekick, goes a long way in impressing voters.
If Lebron can lead the Cavs to another top two finish in the improved East, and if he can keep his stats from dipping again which I expect he’ll do because I don’t foresee him trying as hard in the summer games this year, I think he’ll be the one to take home the MVP trophy in the coming season.
Ah the offseason, how I love it. What other time of the year do blind fans get to picture their mediocre teams taking it all the way when there’s really no chance in hell they’ll even make it to the Conference Finals? Oh by the way, I think the Lakers are taking it all the way this year.
As I sat in front of my computer and tried to think up new and unique ways to bash Kobe to live up to my true ‘Kobe Hater’ label, I gave the current Lakers roster a glance through. While I expected to feel my heart start pounding harder and harder, and for the realization of how bad we suck to smack me in the face, I suddenly realized none of that. Our team really didn’t look that bad.
We have depth at every position from Center to Point Guard, and while we don’t have the best players, I think we have enough talent for fourth or fifth in the West as long as the players try hard…something they didn’t do A LOT last season. With addition by subtraction courtesy of the removal of Smush Parker back to the landfills of New York, the dispatch of Shammond Williams in a pizza box to Europe, and the shipping off of Aaron McKie to the local old folks home, I think we could come back next season with a better attitude and actually do some damage.
First off, let me discuss the Laker roster position by position.
Centers: Kwame Brown, Chris Mihm, Andrew Bynum
Ah he man with the greatest hands in basketball. The one thing Kwame has is good range as evidenced by his cake-throwing incident last season. Oh wait, he doesn’t. Maybe somebody threw him the cake and he just missed the catch and saw the cake fall on the poor guy’s head Ah well.
On a serious note, he was hampered by injuries all last season and I think that after an offseason to rest he may come back and show the same flashes of brilliance and almost constant mediocre skill level that we’ve come to expect from him. Is he Tim Duncan? No. Is he as bad as everyone tries to make him out to be? No. He’s a good big body in the middle in a league where strong big men are still worth something. As long as he can get up for rebounds and make some kind of contribution on the offensive end, he’ll be ok.
Chris Mihm is a wild card. I’d like to think that the Lakers did their homework on this guy before signing them, but knowing the Lakers, they probably didn’t. The way I see it, M
