goingyard

Shannon Brown should be in the Slam Dunk Contest. End of story.

Pass the word. Email the league. Put it up on every social networking site. Do whatever it takes.

That’s it, you may now go back to whatever it was you were doing.

The return of Andrew Bynum, after missing two games with a strained elbow, was a grand one indeed. Andrew scorched the Suns, going 13-18 for 26 Pts and 15 Rebs. Add 29 from Kobe and 12 boards from Lamar and you got yourself a Laker blow out. Final score: Lakers 121 - Phoenix 102.

The Lakers have again proved they are the team to beat in the West. The Suns came into this contest tied for the best record in the league. They left with a loss and reminder where they belong in the Pacific. Underneath the Lakers.

As a life long Lakers fan it pains me to say that the Boston Celtics scare me.

Cleveland did NOT get better. Shaq’s numbers from last year were infalted because of the way the Suns play offensively and of course because of Steve Nash.

The Orlando Magic were lucky to get into the NBA Finals last year. Vince Carter is not the missing link and they are still too young.

The only team that stands in the way of the Lakers repeating as champions in the 2009-2010 season will be the Boston Celtics. They have the players, the experience, and the best defense in the league. The latter being the biggest reason they will win the east and give the Lakers a run for their money.

All this depends on injuries of course. But remember what you read here today. You can thank me later.

Jim Hill of KCAL TV in Los Angeles is reporting that Lamar Odom called Jerry Buss yesterday Saturday July 19. He is apparently trying to repair any bridges that might have been burned by his agent Jeff Schwartz when he didn’t respond to a Laker offer.

I for one hope this is true. I want Lamar back. It will make a huge difference to have him coming off the bench. That is if he’s willing to do that again.

I don’t know what kind of contract players sign with agents (why is it that agents seem to have so much power over players when negotiations start. ie Trevor Ariza). Maybe they have to put all their trust in their agents and can’t enter contract negotiations. I have no idea. But even in that case can’t they fire them?

Source: http://cbs2.com/sports/lakers.lamar.odom.2.1090930.html

Here’s the 2008-2009 stats comparison:
Ron Artest: PPG 17.1, RPG 5.2 ,APG 3.3
Trevor Ariza: PPG 8.9, RPG 4.3, APG 1.8

Let me be the first to say that those stats don’t mean a damn thing. What does matter is this: will Ron Artest play nice in the triangle and what does this mean for Lamar Odom?

Ron Artest is not neccessarily known for his passing. Yes he can score and play defense as if his life depended on it. But how will he fit into the triangle? Will he be willing to pass as much as shoot?

One of the reasons for the success of the Lakers the past couple of years is that everyone on that team is willing to make the person playing next to him look better. They were all willing to pass. The only player on the court who would take charge at points in the game and say give me the ball would be Kobe. At times that’s what the Lakers needed. What we don’t need is two players doing that.

Now for the good news. I don’t think any of that will happen. Here’s why. The Lakers have a commander in Phil Jackson that has dealt with this before and wont let it get in the way of championships. They have an elder statesmen in Derek Fisher that will put people in their place without them knowing they are being put in their place. And they have a leader in Kobe who has a drive to win championships and wants to succeed. Not to mention he will put you in your place and let you know that he is putting you in your place.

One more reason it won’t happen. Ron Artest knows his role. He’s third fiddle (as he was in Houston) and he’s ok with that. Otherwise he wouldn’t have come.

That last thing that I’m wondering about is Lamar Odom. How will he feel about having his minutes cut even more. With Bynum, Gasol, Artest, Kobe, and Derek starting will he be ok with having his minutes cut even more. Artest will garner more minutes than Ariza/Walton did last year.

I hope Lamar will be ok with that. In fact he is one of the few players in the NBA who I think would be OK with that.

Only time will tell what will happen. Until that time passes (barring injuries) I can’t wait for the Lakers to meet the Celtics in the finals next year…

Lakers in 6. That has been my rallying call since game one in the Western Conference Finals.

The Los Angeles Lakers ended up beating the Denver Nuggets in 6 games. How lucky am I? I can tell you that luck had nothing to do with the Lakers winning. They did it by learning from their mistakes in the past. From facing adversity. From growing into a championship calibur club. The Denver Nuggets are not ready to make that step yet. And I don’t believe neither the Cavs nor the Magic are ready either.

Another big step is the maturity of Kobe Bryant. And I’m not talking about his stats (although it is nice to see such balance). I’m talking about his leadership. Time and time again Kobe lead the team. By letting players know when they made a mistake, when they made the right move, and he reminded them what their main goal was. And this team responds to that.

The Lakers will only lose the championship if they lose the championship. In other words, they won’t lose it because the Cavs or Magic play better. They will only lose it if the Lakers don’t show up. Neither one of those teams is better than the Celtics last year and I think this Laker team might have beaten that team also.

So I’m saying it now. If the Lakers play the Cavs they will win in 6. If they play the Magic they will win it in 5.

That is unless A) they don’t show up or B) an injury occurs. Mark my words.

I’m tired of hearing all these ex NBA players and NBA analyst say that what Derek Fisher did against Luis Scola was a horrible thing. Your wrong. It may not have been the smartest thing he’s done but it was not the dumbest either.

The ting all of you have missed is that Fish was defending one of his own. He was telling the Rocket’s that if you mess with one of us, you mess with all of us. Team unity is what he was preaching. Missing one game won’t hurt the Lakers.

I doubt any of the Rockets would do the same for Ron Artest.

The Lakers have disposed of the Utah Jazz in 5 games in the first round of the NBA Playoff’s. Not bad. Not that good either.

What seemed to plague the Lakers all year long reared it’s ugly head again in the playoff’s. The Lakers build double digit leads (sometimes into the 20’s) only to see them disappear as the game goes on. Luckily for the Lakers, they also were able to fight it off. The same thing they did time and time again during the regular season giving them  65 wins. I just don’t think they will be able to do the same when they meet Cleveland in the finals.

Overall Grade: B

Player notes: Shannon Brown has been playing out of his mind. A great little surprise for the Lakers. Kobe learned thathe can win by drawing the defense to him and dishing to his teammates. Lamar Odom had a monterous round 1. Let’s hope that continues.  Andrew Bynum will play a bigger role the deeper we go into the playoffs. Pau Gasol did what he needed to do. Game in and game out. The bench needs to step it up more.

Yesterday Phil Jackson said the Lakers lacked a “killer instinct “. After watching the Lakers 4th quarter collapse tonight I agree with Phil.

This is the opposite of the Laker championship teams earlier this decade. When Kobe and Shaq ran the Lakers they seemed to always do better in the second half. I never felt like they were out of a game because I knew they would come back in the second half. Not these Lakers. And it scares me.

Hopefully they find that instinct soon. Because its definately something they will need in the playoff’s.

P.S. Can someone please explain to me why Phil Jackson doesn’t foul at the end of games when the Lakers have a foul to give? It drives me crazy! All Trevor had to do was foul with 3 - 5 seconds left. Seems like common sense to me.

I almost felt like I was dreaming. Shaq and Kobe sharing an MVP trophy and they were laughing with each other? What was this madness? Then I realized I wasn’t dreaming. This was true.

It was hard to believe what was going on in the All-Star game (And I don’t mean the west’s total dominance over the east). Seeing Kobe and Shaq before the game playing one on one. During the game passing the ball to each other. Laughing while sitting next to each other on the bench. It was a strange sight indeed. But it was about time. They were acting like children way too long.

I was a big supporter of the Lakers decision to move Shaq and keep Kobe (I also don’t think Kobe was completely innocent). I was very vocal that Shaq crossed some lines with the Laker organisation. They were correct in moving an aging star for a young one. But there has been rumors that Shaq wants back in L.A. And  I for one would welcome the move. If he was willing to come off the bench.  And if the two can get along. Which at least from the All Star game seems like that’s a possibility.

Can we get started with the second half of the season already?