I hate the way sports journalists create news themselves. ESPN's Ric Bucher started the rumor that The Greatest would demand a trade if Jerry Buss did not bring back Jerry West as GM of the Lakers by the start of next year. Now all the sports shows are talking about Kobe possibly demanding a trade. Kobe will NOT be traded! This was just a rumor created by journalists to give them something to talk about.
I'm sure you guys have been hearing all this and that and are not sure what to think or believe.
The Truth section was created for times such as these.
So here's tha deal:
I have NOT asked to be traded, I don't want to be traded and I have given no ultimatums or demands of being traded.
I love it here in LA, my family loves it here.
I've been a Laker fan my whole life. A REAL Laker fan! I'm talkin Silk Wilks days, and know the history of the Lakers going back to George Mikan era. I WANT to retire a Laker and contend for titles.
It is my opinion that Mr Clutch, one of the greatest GMs the game has ever seen would b able to get us to back to that level sooner rather than later.
If he is available, then it makes sense to give him the reigns and let him do what he does BEST. I KNOW I can trust him to build us an elite team.
I'm tired of losing and I'm sure you guys are tired of it as well.
Now is the time to step up and make some things happen. We have all have waited patiently for three years...Let's GO!
The ping pong balls, with the power to make terrible teams championship contenders, have blessed the Portland Trailblazers. They won the NBA Draft Lottery and will have the first pick in the draft this summer. They'll take Greg Oden, that hard to find "next big man." Seattle has the second pick and they'll take Kevin Durant, who I'm in love with and I think will be a superstar for years to come.
The draft doesn't get good until after that. Nobody seems to be paying much attention to anybody else in the draft. There are some really good players this year. Brandon Wright, and his freakishly long arms will be a good player, and Al Horford or Corey Brewer seen like wise choices. But.....there is one guy that I would love to take a chance on. His name is Yi Jianlian. He's a 19-year old, 7-footer hailing from China. Yes, Yao immediately comes to mind. I saw a few clips of this kid and he's smooth. He's got a shot like Dirk and can handle the rock very well for a big guy. I can't speak for a his D, but he's 7-foot. He can't be all that bad, right?
The Lakers have the 19th pick in the draft. I don't know who you'll be taking, bu I hope it's somebody with size.
With the elimination of the Phoenix Suns on Friday night, that means there are no longer any entertaining teams left in the playoffs. We all know the Spurs are notoriously dry. The ex-Phoenix Sun bench warmer, and current employee at ESPN.com, wrote:
"I can't imagine how anyone could root for the Spurs. It would be like cheering for cancer. Of course, they're really effective (unfortunately, so is cancer), but I don't know if a roster of such easily disliked basketball players has ever been assembled."
That pretty much sums it up. You can read more here.
I'm sure the league is bummed, too.
Ratings are going to plummet. Tim Duncan has never been one to fill an NBA arena with fans. WWE has better ratings than the NBA playoffs! And that shit's fake!
The only thing that can save the playoffs now is a heroic performance from King James. If he can push the Pistons to a game 7, then people may show a little interest. But, don't hold your breath.
It's amazing how many clips of Bruce Bowen there are on YouTube. What's funnier is that none of them show him hitting a game-winning shot, or "posterizing" somebody. They are all of him trying to injure people. This one of Bruce "Lee" Bowen is one of my favorites. Enjoy!
Being called a "dirty player" is probably the biggest insult in sports. To me, it says that these types of players feel that they can't successfully compete with their natural talents/skills, leading them to become frustrated at being outplayed by the opposition, and therefore feel it is necessary to intentionally harm another player in hopes of giving them, or their teams, an edge.
There are plenty of ways to gain an advantage without having to stoop to such lows. Pushing off a defender to create space is something all players do, even though it's technically a foul. My personal favorite is to hold the jersey of the guy I'm guarding to piss him off, or to disrupt his route as he tries to run me off a screen. Trying to injure another player is a deplorable way to gain a slight advantage.
When I think of a "dirty player", the first person that comes to mind is Bruce Bowen. This guy is a fucking prick. Everyone around the league (except those idiotic Spurs fans) knows he plays dirty. What pisses me off even more is that he ALWAYS makes the NBA's All-Defensive Team. He's made the list every year since the 2000-01 season! I wish David Stern would have the balls to do something about players like Bruce, instead of rewarding them.
This year alone Bruce Bowen, and his "foot defense", has caused injury to Steve Francis and Jamal Crawford. In case you don't know, Bowen plays his "foot defense" on jump-shooters by placing his foot right under a player in mid-air so that they land on Bowen's foot, usually resulting in sprained ankles.
You can watch more of his dirty tricks tonight as the Spurs play the Suns in Game 4. Here is a little clip of Bowen trying to injure AmareStoudemire in Game 2. Keep in mind, Stoudemire is coming off a MAJOR knee injury which caused him to miss the entire season last year. Obviously, that doesn't matter to Bruce.
Last night's playoff game against the Golden State Warriors and the Utah Jazz was definitely the most exciting game thus far. Now that the Kobe show is over, the only team I care to watch are the Warriors. They leave it all on the court every game. They basically have a 7-man rotation, 8 including Monta Ellis who has disappeared in the playoffs and is playing very limited minutes (7 last night) due to his horrible play, which has pissed off Coach Nellie. Ellis should return his Most Improved Player award and give it to Kevin Martin. Despite the short bench, the Warriors have made believers out of most everybody. The play of Baron Davis during these playoffs, and last night in particular, has been phenomenal. The oft-injured B-Diddy has been broken down and rebuilt so many times over his 9-year career it's pretty amazing that he's still so productive (and can still jump with the best of them). If there were an MVP of the playoffs it would most definitely go to Davis, who's stat line last night was 36 points, 7 assists, and 4 steals
The drama of the game unfolded even before tip-off when it was announced that Derek Fisher would not play (but was listed on the "active roster" list just in case) due to personal reasons. Nobody really knew what was going on with Fish, who is Utah's most experienced player and whom provides invaluable leadership for the young Jazz players such as Deron Williams, Paul Milsap, and the wrinkle-headed Carlos Boozer, who are playing in the playoffs for the first time in their careers.
The first minute into the game, Utah starting guard Deron Williams picked up two fouls and had to sit for a majority of the first half. This is when Derek Fisher would have come in to contribute in the absence of Williams. Instead, the Jazz were forced to go with Dee Brown, (no not THAT Dee Brown) who is the third option at point-guard, and probably would not have played at all in this game. Then, another unfortunate turn of events occurred just moments later as poor, little Dee Brown suffered a neck injury when fat-old Mehmet Okur lands on him. Brown was taken to a hospital for precautionary reasons and was unable to return; obviously. So, with Williams out with foul trouble, Brown in the hospital, and Fisher is God-knows-where, the Jazz are forced to use Andrei Kirilenko, a small forward, as the primary point-guard.
Nonetheless, the Jazz had the lead 63-58 at the half. Then, moments into the third quarter we get word that Derek Fisher is in the building. I repeat, Derek Fisher is in the building. It really was dramatic like that. Deron Williams then gets another foul and is forced to sit on the bench. Just then, here comes Fish, in full uniform, walking to the bench. Immediately, coach Jerry Sloan puts him in. He doesn't even get a chance to warm-up, or take a jump-shot. Nothing. He's immediately thrust into the fast-paced action the Warriors love to play, and he has to guard the best player in the playoffs; Baron Davis. Welcome back, Fish!
Fisher committed a key turnover right away, which helped fuel the Warriors comeback. They were down by 12, and suddenly found themselves in the lead. But his defense on Baron Davis late in the game, causing B-Diddy to turn the ball over at a crucial time in the game, and then his 3-pointer in OT, proved to be his most valuable contributions to the team this night.
The Warriors were getting murdered on the boards by the much bigger, and stronger, Jazz players, who out-rebounded the Warriors by a margin of 60-32. However, the scrappy Warriors were up by 5 with less than a minute to go in the game. It looked like the magic carpet ride that is the Golden State Warriors was going to steal this game. But then....the Jazz players made some big shots, and the Warriors missed three key free-throws (two by Mickael Pietrus and one by Baron). The Jazz forced overtime, and never looked back. This one might come back to haunt the Warriors. So close.
As for Fisher, it turns out he was in NY because his baby daughter was having a very serious surgery to treat a rare cancer in her eye. The surgery went from 6:30 a.m. until 4:30 p.m. Ouch! Fisher truly is a class-act guy, is well-regarded around the league, and still gets standing ovations whenever he returns to the Staples Center. Plus, I will always love him for his miraculous shot against the Spurs back in '04. Which then made me think. Was this the best moment of his career thus far? With a heavy-heart and his team in dire need of help, he flew in just in the nick of time to provide crucial plays that were keys to Utah escaping with a 2-0 series lead. You decide.
The Lakers are still struggling to find consistency but thanks to the heroics of Number 24, they've been able to fend off the Portland Trailblazers and Minnesota Timberwolves. Phil Jackson told Kobe he needed to be more aggressive at the start of the games, rather than trying to facilitate in the first half and then taking over offensively in the second. This game plan hadn't been working so well, as Kobe was being too passive, which caused the Lakers to fall behind early and then they would have to rely solely on Kobe to bring them back in the second half (which we've all seen him do repeatedly). However, the leads were becoming insurmountable - even for the great Number 24.
Kobe responded pretty well to Phil's demands, to say the least. He lit up Portland for 65 points in a 116-111 win. He followed that stellar performance with a 50 point effort against the T-Wolves in another Lakers win. If you're counting, that's 115 points in two games. That's the third highest point total over a two game span in the last 40 years. Only Michael Jordan's 118 (1990) and Kobe's 118 (last year) are better. The awe-inspiring performances this weekend earned Kobe the Western Conference Player of the Week honors.
Here are some of his stats over the past three games: Points per game - 46.7 Field Goal Percentage - 52.7% 3 Point Percentage - 46.2% Free Throw Percentage - 88.2%
Oh, and by the way Kobe has earned his reputation back. Don't believe me? Well, millions of fans in the US suggest otherwise as Kobe's jersey is the number one seller in the States. Not too surprising, right? How 'bout this one. He also has the number one selling jersey in China. That's right, China! Not even their benevolent giant Yao Ming could surpass Kobe's popularity.
Next up for Mamba, the woeful Memphis Grizzlies, owners of the worst record in the NBA. Do I smell another 81?
The Los Angeles Lakers were up against a well-tuned basketball team in the Dallas Mavericks on Sunday night, who were riding an NBA best 16 game winning streak. At the complete opposite end of the spectrum are the Lakers, who came into the game losers of 5 straight. The mismatch resulted in a 108-72 thumping, the largest margin of defeat at home in the long and storied history of the Lakers franchise. The Lakers hadn't lost a home game by more than 30 points since 1969. Even more embarrassing, the beloved fans at Staples Center booed the Lakers off the court in the final minutes of the game. Ouch! The The Mavericks, who are the odds-on favorite to win the championship this year, extended their winning streak to 17 (the seventh best in NBA history), while the Lakers continued their nosedive.
Kobe Bryant has remained the only constant for the Lakers. He led all scorers with 25 points, while pulling down 9 rebounds. In an attempt to explain the Lakers' ugly defeat he said, "Our team is not about having the best talent in the world. Our team is built on chemistry and guys knowing how to play together. So when you take three starters out of the lineup (referring to Luke Walton, Lamar Odom, and Vladimir Radmanovich) and insert guys who are new to these concepts, it makes it difficult."
Lakers head coach Phil Jackson said, "There's no reason for a blowout situation. We were embarrassed."
Let's try to end with something positive shall we? The Lakers can put this behind them knowing that Luke Walton and Lamar Odom are expected to play against the Nuggets, in Denver, this Thursday. Luke Walton has been out of the lineup since Jan. 28th after a right ankle sprain, and Odom has been out since March 2nd with a labrum in his left shoulder. Optimistically speaking, Odom and Walton will be well rested and the chemistry will return to the Lakers just in time for the playoffs.
There is some talk traveling around in the sports world that the Lakers are interested in signing the 41-year old Scottie Pippen. Did I mention he's 41? Well he is. If this isn't desperation on the Lakers part then I don't know what is. Pippen is apparently strapped for cash and would love to make a quick fortune (by my standards anyways), and the Lakers are trying to stay afloat in the highly-competitive Western Conference after suffering injury after injury to many of their key players.
Pros: 1) Pippen knows the triangle offense better than anybody currently on the Lakers, and second to nobody not named Michael Jordan. 2) Won 6 NBA championships with Lakers coach Phil Jackson while playing in Chicago. 3) Scottie could be a quick fix for the Lakers off the bench.
Cons: 1) He's 41. 2) He's old (41 years old). 3) He's 41.
In other Lakers news: They lost to the talented Phoenix Suns on Sunday 94-99. I know a loss is a loss, but I have to say that they hung in the entire game despite not having Lamar Odom, Vladimir Radmanovich, or Luke Walton in uniform; while the Suns were completely healthy. Not bad. Makes you wonder what might have happened had the Lakers had a full squad.
Here's a moment I won't soon be forgetting from the Lakers-Suns playoff game last May.
The Lake Show was in Oakland last night playing the Golden State Warriors and won easily, 102-85. The Lakers are starting to play a little better. Maurice Evans in particular has been playing better than I thought he could. He scored a career-high 26 points, matching Kobe Bryant's 26 for the game-high in points. The Lakers have won two in a row coming in to tonight's game against the division-leading Utah Jazz, who have a two game win streak of their own.
As I've posted in the past, the Lakers have been hit hard by injuries this year but have stayed afloat throughout. The latest victim is power forwardVladimir Radmanovic who separated his right shoulder in a snowboarding accident during All-Star weekend. The guy is an idiot. He's getting paid $6 million a year, and is only averaging 6 points, and 3 rebounds per game. For $6 MILLION! I can score 6 points a game, and I'd play for free! He then lied about his injury to the Lakers organization because there was a clause in his contract forbidding him to snowboard. I'm sure the Lakers are going to fine him heavily for such a moronic mistake.
Here's a flattering video of Radmanovic when he was playing for the Seattle Supersonics.
Well, the over-hyped All-Star game has finally come and gone. The game was full of lots of alley-oop dunks which I'm sure was entertaining for the fans, however, I'd really like to see a competitive game in which the players are trying their hardest to win. That hasn't been the case since the '80s when players were proud of playing for the Eastern, or Western, Conference. Blame free agency I guess. Players are changing addresses every few years, which doesn't give them much time to feel loyal to any particular team, let alone proud to play for them. Ah, well.
This year, the West slaughtered the East 153-132. I'm happy to say that the MVP (yes, they actually give MVP awards for these kinds of games) this year was our very own Kobe Bryant. Kobe had 31 points, six assists, six steals, and five rebounds.
A quick note to NBA commissioner David Stern: you should seriously consider a game in which we see the best interantional players like Pau Gasol (Spain), Tony Parker (France), Manu Ginobili (Argentina), and Dirk Nowitzki (Germany) play against the best homegrown players. Keep it fresh, ya know?
Sigh. Another game squandered by the LA Lakers. Perhaps the players were already dreaming of the debauchery that's gonna go down in Las Vegas this weekend for the annual All-Star game. Whatever it was the Lakers gave another one away, and have extended their losing streak to 5 games, the longest of Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson's career. Their overall record is now 30-24, having lost 11 of their last 15 games. Easily their longest slide of the year.
The game featured an exciting head-to-head between the league's two brightest stars in Kobe and LeBron. Kobe outscored LeBron in the last meeting, but the Cavs go the W. This time around LeBron (38 pts, 4 rebs, 3 ast, 3 stls) outplayed Kobe (34 pts, 6 rebs, 5 ast, 2 stls) AND got the W. Two of LeBron's points came off a steal which lead to a spectacular dunk that wowed the LA crowd. The biggest problem I saw for the Lakers was their lack of rebounding, and their inability to stop the Cavaliers from getting in the paint, resulting in too many layups or easy put-backs. They failed to get a rebound off a free-throw miss by LeBron James which killed any chance they had at tying or winning the game.
I'm not too worried about the Lakers, yet. I don't think they should be judged until they are fully healthy. It's only been Lamar Odom's 6th or 7th game back from a knee sprain, and although he my physically be healthy enough to play, mentally he needs to feel comfortable landing on that knee again. It's surprisingly clear how vital Luke Walton is to the offense. He is a great passer and knows the triangle offense as good as any other Laker. Of course Kwame Brown is needed to help rebound the ball and play defense, something Andrew Bynum is still learning how to do.
The Lakers will play their next game on February 21st against the Portland Trailblazers.
This is a real shame. I used to like Tim Hardaway, but after hearing his latest comments about gay people in sports it just proves what a prick he really is. In lieu of former NBA player Jon Amaechi announcing that he is gay, players around the league have been relatively supportive of him, which hopefully will put current gay athletes (which surely there are) a bit more at ease. Unfortunately, with assholes like Tim around it makes it much harder for gay athletes to feel comfortable being open and honest with themselves and their teammates.
Boston Celtics Coach Doc Rivers used to coach Amaechi when he was playing for the Orlando Magic during the 1999-2000 season and has nothing but great things to say about him. Other supportive comments have come from players like Charles Barkley who said, "It shouldn't be a big deal to anybody. I know I've played with gay players and against gay players and it just shouldn't surprise anybody or be any issue." It's no surprise that the upstanding, and well-educated Grant Hill has some positive things to say about it. Hill said, "The fact that John has done this, maybe it will give others the comfort or confidence to come out as well, whether they are playing or retiring." If only every one in the league were this open-minded.
Can you imagine a Lakersback court with Jason Kidd and Kobe Bryant? I'm so excited just thinking about it. Thanks to Andy for bringing this rumor to my attention. Jason Kidd is one of the premiere point guards in the NBA. His court vision and knowledge of the game are so good. He is a legitimate triple-double threat every night, is the best rebounding point guard by far, and is third in the league in assists. In addition to all these great skills Kidd possesses, his greatest asset is his ability to make his teammates better. Just look at the resurrection of Vince Carter's career. I really hope the Lakers can pull this off without giving up too much. I would love to see the Lakers get rid of the inconsistent and defensive liability known as Smush Parker. I hope the Lakers realize the potential of Andrew Bynum and former UCLA standoutJordan Farmar and keep them off the trading block. Anybody else is fair game in an attempt for Kidd.
Kobe Bryant, Jason Kidd, Lamar Odom, Luke Walton, and a healthy Kwame Brown (former number one draft pick back in 2001). Not a bad starting five. With Kidd running the offense Kobe won't have to be such a facilitator anymore (which he has proven to be pretty good at) and go back to his natural instinct: looking to score first. Trades involving All-Star caliber players are hard to pull off, and while reading a few articles about this rumor, most people think it's a long shot. I'll keep my fingers crossed in hopes that we can land him without losing too many key players. The NBA trade deadline is February 22nd. I'll be watching.
Last night the Lakers once again proved how unpredictable they can be. Some nights they play so well and defeat the likes of the Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, or Utah Jazz. Then the next night they'll follow those great games with dismal performances against sub-par clubs like the Raptors, Grizzlies, and in this case the Knicks.
Granted the Lakers are coming off a grueling 8 game east coast road trip, (thanks to the stupid Grammys) that saw them go 3-5. But coming back to LA and playing a big game against the Knicks should be reason enough to come prepared.
Credit given to the Knicks, who were the laughing stock of the NBA last season, for simply outplaying the Lakers. They shot over 50% from the field and had only 11 turnovers. They are steadily showing some improvement, having already won as many games as they did all of last year. And even more surprising, the playoffs are certainly a possibility in the dreadful Eastern Conference.
Kobe played spectatular as usual leading the Lakers with 31 points, and grabbing 7 boards, and hitting on all 11 of his free throws. Lamar Odom had another double-double with 12 and 10. And, the 19 year-old center Andrew Bynum played solid grabbing 11 rebounds.
Leading the way for the Knicks was Jamal Crawford who scored 24 points and dished out 3 assists and Quentin Richardson who had 19 points, pulled down 12 rebounds, but had 5 turnovers.
The Lakers did have a chance to win the game with about 7 seconds left. They decided to give the ball to Odom and use Kobe as a decoy. Needless to say, it didn't turn out so well. In final second situations like that, Kobe should ALWAYS touch the ball. ALWAYS.
Next game is on Thursday as LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers come to Staples Center in an attempt to push the Lakers season-high losing streak to 5.
So, I've decided to start a blog dedicated to the Los Angeles Lakers. It's not the most unique topic, or most interesting topic, but damnit it's something I care enough to write about. Plus, c'mon it's basketball season. I was originally thinking of starting one on pizza or hamburgers, but I couldn't imagine writing lots of thought-provoking posts about these two delicious foods.
Here are some links that I was reading that inspired me to create one of my own.
The Association Although it's not entirely dedicated to the Lakers, it is all about the NBA. The blog is written by a guy who lives in the LA area and is obviously a Laker fan. Pretty cool blog. The writer has a good "voice" in his blog and is pretty funny. This is definitely the model I'll be looking at.
Inside The Lakers Here is another Lakers blog I've been reading. It's VERY thorough, and in my mind a little too in-depth for the average reader. I guess it's not for the casual Laker fan, but then again I don't think there are casual Laker fans. The blog is pretty boring because it's pretty much ALL text. The dude needs to add some images, links, and/or video within his posts.
Need For Sheed This blog is pretty awesome. Although it's a blog dedicated to a player that I really can't stand, Rasheed Wallace, it's really cool. There are lots of images, graphics (the banner that reads "Free Shee" is cool), and awesome videos. This may be the best blog I've come across. The images are what I like best. The writer has made everything in the picture black and white except for the Pistons player who is scoring, which really has a nice effect. I want to learn how to do my blog like this.
