Another Mistake by MJ?

Check out this monster swat by Shannon Brown. It was called a foul but still amazing.  Can’t believe MJ traded him away to get Vladimir Radmanovic. And poor Mario West. He’s forever been Youtubed.

Laker Observations at “Midseason”

by Anderson, a contributor to hoopsplayground.com

With a win tonight in Minnesota, the Lakers can improve on their League-best record to 46-10. Sure, alot of that is predicated on the great play of Kobe Bryant, who has reinserted himself in the MVP race, but the lion’s share of the credit belongs to Lamar Odom, who has averaged over 16 points and 14 rebounds since Andrew Bynum’s injury. With the starting frontcourt (PF-C) tandem of Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol, the Lakers’ offense seems to have opened up, especially Gasol’s, who now has the space and liberty to operate on the block without Bynum taking up additional space in the paint. Phil Jackson has to definitely consider keeping Odom in the starting lineup if and when Andrew Bynum returns from his injury and having Bynum be the team’s sixth man, where he’ll be able to spell Gasol of his huge minutes at center.

Excited about the Lakers’ championship aspirations.

Speaking of Gasol, he’s been logging in a heavy load of minutes since Andrew Bynum went down (over 42 minutes per game in the month of February). One has to wonder if this will hurt the Spaniard going into the playoffs. Keep in mind that he played into June last season with the NBA Finals and with the Spanish Olympic team. I’m sure that has to be an issue of concern with Phil Jackson. And while the departure of Chris Mihm may be detrimental down the road, expect Josh Powell to see more minutes at center and the Lakers to run a smaller, uptempo second unit with Powell, Odom, and Trevor Ariza in the frontcourt. Ariza has even played some minutes at the 4 lately. A troubling sign has to be that the Lakers aren’t blowing out their opponents and thus, forcing Phil Jackson to reinsert Pau Gasol into the lineup in the fourth quarter of games.

Kobe? Take a paycut?

With Odom’s resurgence, chances are he will command a hefty sized contract when he becomes an unrestricted free agent over the summer. Sure, the Lakers traded Vladimir Radmonovic’s unwarranted $42 million contract and sure, teams are trying to cut costs in the midst of this struggling economy, but they also did resign Andrew Bynum at about $18 million a season over the next four seasons. Throw in the fact that Trevor Ariza is also an unrestricted free agent going into the summer as well and Jordan Farmar will eventually do the same the summer of 2010. What people are forgetting is that Kobe Bryant can opt out of his contract after this season and test the waters as well. Now, I’m not saying that Kobe will leave the Lakers, but remember the frustration that Kobe went through a few summers back to the point that he requested a trade? With the team playing so well and management accommodating his wishes for a talented roster that are perennial contenders, it’s now on Kobe to do the right thing: and that is to repay management by resigning at a reduced price in order for them to keep the talent that they have. Sure, Jerry Buss and his family are rich, but as the costs of the roster and pending luxury taxes loom, those costs will trickle down to fans in the form of rising prices of tickets. If the Lakers win the NBA Championship in June and Odom remains a factor the rest of the season, I believe that it’s Kobe’s civic duty to his teammates, management, and fans to give up a few dollars on his next contract for the sake of retaining Odom, Ariza, and Farmar, who are critical components of the league’s best team. That’s right, I’m calling you out Kobe. Do the right thing and take a paycut ala Gilbert Arenas.

Lastly, Phil Jackson has made it clear that his time as Lakers coach is coming to an end soon. He has not made a commitment beyond this season and health issues regarding his hip loom for the Hall of Fame coach. I believe that he will coach out this season and next season as well regardless of whether or not the Lakers win it all this year. One darkhorse candidate to replace Jackson to keep in mind is Jeff Van Gundy. And while this would force the Lakers to tweak their offensive philosophy, none of assistant coaches that are currently on Phil’s staff are qualified to step into that head coaching role just yet. Kurt Rambis is one name that comes to mind given the small success that he had in his short stint as the Lakers interim coach during the lockout season that saw Del Harris lose his job. But getting back to Van Gundy, he is very complimentary of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol as a commentator in his broadcasts on ABC, and one has to wonder why he didn’t pursue a head coaching position last offseason and seems to be at ease this upcoming offseason as well. I’m sure management would love the defensive mentality and toughness that he would bring to the team. Just a thought and definitely something to look out for ladies and gentlemen…

Down Goes the King

The Lakers solidified their standing as the best team in the NBA (even without Andrew Bynum) with their win over the Cavaliers on Sunday; a win that snapped Cleveland’s 23-game home winning streak.  Just like the first time these two teams met, Kobe (who was battling the flu) and LeBron (just 5-20 from the field) were not at their best.  Especially LBJ who did not look to be into the game much at all.  Very disappointing performance from LeBron in such a big game.  But the story of this game?  Undoubtedly Lamar Odom.

Here’s a mini recap.

Odom, inserted into the starting lineup after Bynum went down, showed why he’s one of the most versatile, yet most enigmatic players in the league.  He had an absolute beastly 28 points and 17 rebounds (7 offensive), both season highs.  Yet I would not be surprised one bit if he had an 8-point 5-rebound stinker Tuesday night against the Thunder. This uncertainty about Odom has been the trademark of his career and the reason why his name is brought in trade rumors every year.  Now this has been well-documented so I won’t really go on about it anymore.

Back to the game, the Lakers made a huge statement by getting this win at the Q. I mean, getting the W at Boston was impressive enough, but snapping a 23-game home winning streak AND finishing their road trip 6-0 is a championship stamp on the season.  Their upcoming schedule is relatively easy until they make a mini three game road trip to Portland, Houston, and San Antonio beginning March 9.  Let’s see if they are able to keep this impressive streak up.  My guess?  They look like a Finals lock.

King of MSG

AP Photo/Kathy Willens

You gotta hand it to Kobe.  61 points is incredible.  In MSG no less…even if it was against the defense-less New York Knicks.  He put on a show for the fans, led his team to victory, and scored his points in an efficient manner.  And any time you can take Michael Jordan out of the record books, it is a feat in itself.  (Though for some reason I can’t help but think this is some kind of response to LeBron’s 50-point performance at the Garden last year.  Does LBJ have a response of his own?  We’ll see on Wednesday.)

KB vs LBJ on MLK Day

Harry How/Getty Images

On Monday, the NBA continued its tradition of packing Martin Luther King Jr. Day full of games.  24 of the 30 teams played and the fans were treated to some good ones.  Half of the games were decided by four points or less and there were two buzzer beaters courtesy of Chris Paul and Dirk Nowitzki.  But let’s not kid ourselves.  The NBA saved the best for last as LeBron James and the league-best Cavaliers took on Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The game did little to settle the debate over who is the better player (still gotta go with LeBron) as they both had off-nights, and to be honest, it didn’t do much (at least for me) in deciding who was the better team with all the injuries to the Cavs. But what it did reaffirm was the fact that Kobe is a better closer than LBJ.  In the 4th quarter, as the two superstars went at each other, Kobe made some big shots when it mattered most and led his team to victory.  LeBron on the other hand committed turnover after turnover (6 in total) and missed shot after shot during some key moments and came up short in his comeback bid.  And the thing I have to attribute this to is Kobe’s mastery of the jump shot.

As evidenced throughout the whole game, the officials swallowed their whistles and allowed a good amount of contact on drives to the basket.  LeBron’s game and more specifically his game in the 4th quarter is all about getting to the hoop and consequently, getting to the line.  And when you’re 6’8″ 250 lbs and the greatest athlete in the world, why wouldn’t it be.  But some nights you’re just not gonna get the calls you’re used to getting and you have to adjust your game accordingly.  The cure for an official who allows contact is a good jump shot.  Now while LeBron has improved his jumper greatly, it’s still nowhere near the level of Kobe’s.  Every time Bryant rises to take a shot, I think it’s going in.  Couple that with his ability to get to the basket and he’s virtually unguardable.  There were two possessions in the 4th when Kobe hit two incredible shots over LeBron that in my mind won the game for LA.  The second shot increased the lead to 12 and despite a little rally by Cleveland, the Lakers never looked back.  Kobe didn’t do much after that (possibly because of his injured finger) but it didn’t matter.  He had done enough.  LeBron eventually got to the basket, got some points in the paint, and got to the line a few times, but it was too little, too late.  I’d still take the King over anyone else besides Kobe in the 4th quarter, but until he seasons that jumper (and he will), he’ll always be Kobe’s understudy.

Now you might be wondering why I don’t think Kobe is the best player in the league despite what I just said.  There are lots of reasons for this and maybe I’ll get to them another time.

As for the game itself, it’s obvious Cleveland misses Zydrunas Ilgauskas but they may need more help than that up front if they want to win a championship.  Pau Gasol dominated the Cleveland bigs all night long and Andrew Bynum (who is one of the cheapest, most immature players in the league) owned for two quarters before making his customary disappearing act after halftime.  Lorenzen Wright had a +/- of -8 in only 8 minutes of play and rookie JJ Hickson (who may have the worst hands in the league, maybe even worse than Emeka Okafor) had a -18 in 19 minutes of play.  Hickson is only in his first year so there will be some growing pains with him, but as far as the current year goes, GM Danny Ferry will need to think long and hard about making a move or he may be kissing LeBron goodbye in 2010.

Kobe vs MJ…Again…

One thing I’ve realized about the debate over who is better Kobe or MJ is that it will never end.  And that’s fine.  Debating is fun for us sports fans.  But when it comes to this specific debate, I can’t help but notice it’s usually the Kobe backers that initiate the debate and are all annoying about it.  They are like Yankee fans in the sense they are always looking to prove why their guy is better than yours.  Take this guy whose video I posted below.  Apparently his whole purpose in life is to prove why Kobe Bryant is better than Michael Jordan (and someone should get him some soup.  I think he’s sick.)

Now here’s a great response to the Kobe video.  This guy (clearly a Jordan fan as evidenced by his name Jordanhair) compiles a bunch of MJ clips but dubs the Kobe analysis over the clips.  My favorite part is when he inserts Jordan explaining why he had to develop a fadeaway right after the dude explains why Kobe had to develop a fadeaway.  See for yourself.

And the debate goes on…

The Assassination of Michael Jordan By the Coward Kobe Bryant

My friend JD told me about this video entitled The Assassination of Michael Jordan by the Coward Kobe Bryant. At first I thought it was just another Kobe hater making a video on how much better MJ was (I mean…calling Kobe a coward is a bit harsh when you’re actually trying to compliment the guy) but apparently the creator, lite4thenite, is a Kobe fan.  He was inspired by the film The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford starring Brad Pitt and includes original music and quotes from the movie.  Here is lite4thenite’s description in his own words:

With this mix I tried to do a figurative assassination of Michael Jordan. Most people will probably interpret the MJ plays followed by the Kobe ones as a comparison and it is, but at the same time it is also showing Kobe erasing or eclipsing MJ. When you think of the greatest today, you think of Kobe Bryant, he’s clutch, he scores at will, he makes impossible shots and is just breathtaking on the court. He’s the MJ for a new generation.

I did the mix to The Assassination of Jesse James By the Coward Robert Ford. It is a fantastic film, and I encourage anyone who enjoys the mix to go out and see the movie.

All songs are from the original soundtrack, if you would like to know them, just ask.

And by all means, i encourage discussion about MJ and Kobe…just don’t get carried away.

It is a surprisingly engaging little video and will no doubt further fuel the debate as to who is greater, His Airness or the Black Mamba, as it gets more views.  (In my opinion, MJ is undoubtedly the greatest.)  Check it out below.

Good job man.  You get 5 stars from this guy.

Day 13 – Houston, We Have a Problem

AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill

Los Angeles was host to the marquee matchup in the NBA last night as the Lakers took on the Rockets. Houston jumped out to an early double-digit lead and led by 12 after one quarter but absolutely got SMASHED the rest of the way, getting outscored 95-54.  Tracy McGrady had an awful game (3 pts, 1-11 shooting and could’ve been the Patheticness of the Night) and Ron Artest (8 pts, 2-11 FG) wasn’t much better.  Even Yao Ming (12 pts, 8 boards) didn’t play like the best center in the league.  Only two of Houston’s starters (Yao and Luis Scola) scored double digit points.  Kobe and Pau had outstanding games but it was the Laker bench that totally outplayed Houston’s bench. Trevor Ariza had an astounding +34 plus/minus and the other rotation guys were up there as well.  On the other hand, Aaron Brooks, despite scoring 20 points in 25 minutes had a -29 plus/minus.  Him and his fellow benchmates failed to get on steal or block one shot while the Lakers’ subs had 8 steals and 2 blocks.  The Lakers are the clear favorite to win the title so far and while Houston has a ton of a talent on their team, Kobe and co. showed they still have a long way to go before they can be taken seriously as contenders.

Around the league:

• Tough news coming out of Utah, Chicago, and San Antonio.  Deron Williams will miss two-to-four more weeks after finding out his ankle injury was more serious than first thought.  The Jazz look to be fine without him as they’ve opened the season 5-1.  The Bulls found out Kirk Hinrich will miss at least 3 months after tearing a ligament in his right thumb.  The worst part about this?  They probably won’t be able to trade him now.  And finally Tony Parker will miss a month with a sprained ankle of his own.  Tough time to be a Spurs fan as they’re now without two of their top guys, Parker and Manu.  Eva, take good care of Tony while he’s out.
• Two streaks came to an end as someone finally beat the Deron-less Jazz (can’t believe it was the Knicks) and the Clippers finally posting a W, taking out the Mavs.
• The Bobcats do not know how to close out games.
• The Allen Iverson experiment is off to a terrible start in Detroit as the Celtics easily took care of the Pistons.
• But things are better in Denver as they’re now 2-0 with Chauncey Billups. He, uhh…needs to improve on that 2-13 shooting though.
• I’m sure you guys have heard by now Carmelo Anthony cut his hair because he lost a bet playing NBA Live 09 against his buddy.  Conveniently, cameras were there to catch the whole thing on tape.  Here’s the video if you haven’t seen it yet:

PERFORMER OF THE NIGHT:

CHRIS BOSH

43 MINS   30 PTS   15 REBS   3 ASTS   0 STLS   2 BLKS   5 TOS   12-19 FG   6-7 FT   0-0 3PT   +17 +/-

Bosh manhandled Charlotte’s front-line and basically won the game for Toronto by himself.

ROOKIE OF THE NIGHT:

OJ MAYO

36 MINS   31 PTS   8 REBS   3 ASTS   0 STLS   0 BLKS   3 TOS   11-21 FG   5-6 FT   4-5 3PT   -16 +/-

My pick for Rookie of the Year scored 20 points in the first quarter but couldn’t lead his team to victory.

PATHETICNESS OF THE NIGHT:

RICHARD HAMILTON

37 MINS   3 PTS   2 REBS   3 ASTS   1 STL   0 BLKS   2 TOS   0-8 FG   3-4 FT   0-1 3PT   -17 +/-

Having a little trouble adjusting to Iverson?  Rip is only shooting 8-28 (28.6%) in two games with the Answer.

Los Angeles Lakers Preview

LOS ANGELES LAKERS (57-25) – ELIMINATED NBA FINALS

Last year, the Los Angeles Lakers were handed an invitation to the NBA Finals when the Memphis Grizzlies gave them Pau Gasol. It was quite arguably one of the worst trades in recent NBA history and gave even more ammunition to Kobe Bryant haters everywhere.  Nevertheless, the trade happened and the Lakers coasted their way to the Finals, where they lost to the champion Boston Celtics. Still, Kobe and co. have Gasol (in his prime) and also a healthy Andrew Bynum and look to be the sure favorites to win it all this season.

Already an all-time great.

Face of the Franchise: Kobe Bryant. The reigning MVP finally showed he could lead a team to the Finals without Shaquille O’Neal (though it took the Gasol trade for that to happen).  He couldn’t quite win it all, however, as the Celtics defeated them handily, ending it with a 39-point blowout.  Despite that, Kobe Bryant is still arguably the greatest basketball player on the planet (though my vote goes to LeBron James) and has a loaded supporting cast to help him win another title.  All the pressure will be on Kobe this year to deliver a championship to the city of Los Angeles and make Laker fans forget all the drama he created with his trade demands and rivalry with Shaq.

Send Him Away: Lamar Odom. It seems as though Odom and coach Phil Jackson have a contentious relationship as Jackson plans to bring Odom off the bench.  It is a head-scratcher when you look at it from a talent standpoint but I trust the 11-time NBA Champion knows what he’s doing.  Odom, a 6-11 forward with the skill-set of a 6-2 point guard, has all the ability in the world but sells out far too often in big situations and big games.  The Lakers need to ship his disappearing act off to another city and it should be easy because he IS talented and also in the last year of his contract.  It seems unlikely Odom re-signs with the Lakers at the kind of money he wants (and probably can get elsewhere) and GM Mitch Kupchak would be well-served to trade him before the deadline.  It may hurt team chemistry a little bit but it’s not like Odom does anything when it matters anyway.

The Lakers will be happy to get this back.

Impact Newcomer: The only addition is Chinese import Sun Yue so I’ll just have to consider Andrew Bynum as a newcomer.  He was showing signs of turning into an absolute monster in the paint on both sides of the ball until an unfortunate knee injury ended his season.  He looks to be healthy and actually stronger than ever (though my die-hard Laker fan friend Anderson tells me he’s not getting much lift when he jumps).  On paper, Gasol and Bynum make a devestating combo but we’ll have to see how they play together on the court.  If they can mesh well together, 65 wins can be attainable.

X-Factor: Andrew Bynum. Though Bynum showed signs of being a beast, he is still a young player and needs to continue his improvement.  We saw how Boston took advantage of the paint in the Finals and just Bynum’s presence would help with that, but in order to make a championship difference, he needs to play well.  If he doesn’t, this season will just be a repetition of the last and the Lakers will come up just short one more time.

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Forecast: Playoffs – 1st seed. Last year, the Lakers emerged from the loaded Western Conference as its champion.  Now with Bynum back, they will be the first repeat champions since the Lakers themselves did it in 2001 and 2002.  But not only that, they are my pick to win the Larry O’Brien Championship Trophy for this season.  They’re just too stacked for me to believe anyone can take them down.  Unfortunately for me, that means Kobe taking down LeBron in a Finals matchup between the two biggest stars in the NBA.