Kobe Bryant: 28,601

.
Well, whilst a loss to Philadelphia isn't cause for celebration, Kobe Bryant passing Shaquille O'Neal to take 5th spot on the All Time scoring tally most certainly is. 

How'd Shaq take it?  With grace and class.

"I want to personally congratulate Kobe on being the greatest Laker ever.

His accomplishment is great and well deserved, and I'm really proud of him. He told me when he was 18 years old that he'd go down as the greatest Laker ever, and one of the greatest players of all time. And he wasn't lying.

I'm a little jealous of him because I was never able to escape the injury bug in my career, while he's never really been injured at all. But all of that is a testament to his hard work and dedication. I'm proud of him. I'm happy for him. And, most of all, I want to thank him for being a part of the greatest 1-2 punch ever created, never to be duplicated."

28,601 points.  That, is amazing.
no comments

Love Stomping

.


Gotta say, I initially thought this was bad, then second look didn't think this was as bad... then on the third go-round noticed what looks like 'intent'. 
Kevin Love looks down at Luis Scola, shorterns his step to intentionally make contact with Scola's face.  I'm trying to look for mitigating factors here... but failing to find any.  Scola was lucky the brunt of it was on his chest.
This was ugly.  It'll be interesting to see if anything gets done...
no comments

Dwight Howard: New Jersey, or LA? A discussion...

.

Had an interesting discussion with a Nets fan (Shane) this morning on whether it's Andrew Bynum or Brook Lopez who presents the best trade-bait for Dwight Howard... here 'tis:
******
Shane: What's your feel on the Dwight Howard situation? It's weird as hell to see someone prefer the Nets over the Lakers, who're the preeminent franchise in NBA history...

Don: I think if he's traded, then he goes to the Lakers. If the Magic hold onto him in the misguided hope he stays... he's a Net.

I just don't see them biting on a deal based around Lopez... but my gut is saying that Otis Smith really is that delusional (thinking that Dwight *might* stay in Orlando).

Shane: I think Lopez and MarShon and whatever they can get with picks is a pretty solid haul if the Lakers aren't moving Gasol and Bynum for him. What do you think about the report that Kobe and Howard talked, and that turned him off from joining the Lakers?

Don: I think it's BS.
Ken Berger reported on that: "Despite assertions to the contrary, the Lakers remain firmly on Howard's list of three teams he's asked to be traded to, along with the Nets and Mavericks, multiple people familiar with the situation said."

And I think that if you're Orlando, Lopez simply doesn't work as a centerpiece. It's not a bad deal per se, but not when you can have Bynum. Bynum/Gasol is ridiculous, and I'd be very surprised if Kupchak considered it.

Shane: I value Bynum and Lopez very closely because of Bynum's injury history...

Don: Well, you may well do - and that's obviously your prerogative... but Lopez isn't anywhere near the player Bynum is. Once upon a time it was a near thing. Not any more.
Lopez isn't exactly injury free either...

Shane: He has a foot issue that Robin Lopez bounced back from very well and hasn't had any chronic problems with. I don't think it's a huge deal. Bynum is a very good player, no doubt, but when he's hurt as often as he is, his value is hugely mitigated.

He's also played with terrible teams offensively. Would love to see how he'd do with Deron. I feel like his rebounding will bounce back now that his calcium deposit was removed. His defense will still be an issue, and Bynum clearly has the edge there.

Don: Fair 'nough. That's your opinion - you asked for mine. Mine is that Bynum's substantially more valuable. He's only 6 months older than Lopez, and is playing All Star level basketball at the moment. He's uninjured, healthy - and probably the second best center in the league.

Shane... Bynum has the edge on Lopez in any metric you care to use.

Shane: Not saying your opinion is invalid or that I'm necessarily right.

Lopez is clearly a better offensive player, while Bynum has the edge defensively and on the boards. He's a great player, better than Lopez clearly. But knee injuries on big men are serious issues.

Don: As of now, Lopez isn't as good on offense.
Again, I understand what you're saying about playing with an elite point - but that's not something Bynum has the advantage of, and you have to remember that Bynum plays with Kobe/Gasol - which has it's advantages (you can't really double team Drew), and disadvantages (less looks on offense).
Both are in very different situations, but simply looking at them 'as-they-are', as I stated before: Bynum has the edge on Lopez by any measure.
Some areas only a bit, others by a substantial margin.

Shane: Kobe and Gasol are both much better passers than anyone Lopez has played with besides Vince Carter during his rookie season. He's never had a PG who knows how to competently run a pick and roll. Odom worked great with Bynum as well.

I would agree that Bynum is the 2nd best center in the league while healthy. But how long will he hold up, especially with increased minutes? After a while freak injuries stop being freak injuries and have to be classified as chronic. Look at his games played record. It's astounding how many games he's missed. That's a huge loss of value.

Don: True... but Kobe and Gasol also take a far larger slice of the offense than anyone Lopez has to contend with.
His potential is far, far greater than that of Lopez. Brook simply isn't a guy you'd build around - whereas Bynum may well be.
It comes down to: do you want the guy who'll possibly spend more time on the floor, be a good piece - but nothing more. Or the guy who is a greater chance of injury (and this is the true variable), but could be a cornerstone...
Funny how we're discussing this, and it's Lopez who isn't playing today.

*****

What are your thoughts? no comments

Does Henry Abbott even watch the NBA?

.
After listening to the Abbott slagging off Bryant yet again Jan 13th NBA Today podcast, and enduring yet another Henry Abbott near-diatribe on how "Kobe Bryant might be good, but not that good", it became almost questionable as to what Henry's actually seeing.

Ok... step back a bit - I guess the proceeding is said more for effect than anything else, but rather than Henry Abbott seeing stuff that we're missing, I'd suggest the boot's on the other foot: it's more about what he's not seeing (or... choosing not to see, which is more likely the case).

Before I get into it, it'd be appropriate to qualify what I'm talking about.  Do I agree that there are times 'in the clutch' where LA and Kobe would be better served passing the ball rather shooting a fade away turn-around jumper over 2 guys while three others try and make life difficult?  Absolutely.  Most definitely.
But to continually deride the guy (Kobe), while focusing on what is a very, very short timespan... well, I think you're missing the big picture because of focusing on the minutae.  And this is something that Abbott himself alluded to in his last anti-Kobe spiel, albeit unintentionally.



Before focusing in on the "clutch", Abbott makes an interesting statement in regards to a fact re. Kobe's time at the Lakers:
"... the Lakers were actually - over Kobe's career - the best offensive team in the NBA... in terms of points per 100 possessions over Kobe's career, the Lakers had *the* best offense over the past 15 years in the NBA.  These numbers were true if you broke it into smaller numbers of years like 5 or 6 - the Lakers had the best offense."
Interesting.

Now, Abbott later mentions in regards to crunch time play that in terms of crunch time play, in the top 7 teams per 100 possessions - there is no go-to elite player, other than New Orleans (formerly Chris Paul) and Orlando (Dwight Howard).  The next ones are Trail Blazers, Spurs, Raptors, Jazz, Cavaliers, Wizards.  The next one is the Heat (who obviously have 2 "go-to elite players"). 
So that's:
1. Hornets
2. Magic
3. Trail Blazers
4. Spurs
5. Raptors
6. Jazz
7. Cavaliers
8. Wizards
... and then at #9, the Heat (who don't really fit with what Abbott's saying anyway - something he acknowledges).

Now, I'm guessing here - and painting with very broad strokes, but the allusion Abbott's making is that by not having a "go-to guy", these teams are better off in the crunch.  And he states that only the Hornets/Magic are substantially ahead of the field, NOLA quite so. 

I can understand that.  A team not dependent on any particular guy for their offense will continue to not be dependant on any particular guy in the clutch.  Fine.  But have a look at those teams, that top 8.  Of them, only the Magic, Spurs and Cavaliers have been to the Finals in the past few seasons, and the Cavs... well, we know why and what happened to that reason.  Only the Spurs have won in the last decade.  And a sizable number of those teams are mid-to-very low ranked teams now.
So whilst having a better crunch-time offense, this hasn't equated to getting enough wins to make a heady difference.  They're not "better" by having this crunch offense...

The reality of having a guy who is actually an "elite go-to player" is that he'll want to be the "elite go-to player".  Now, this may mean some problems in crunch time at times, but it will also equate to a larger win share than if your team was without that player. 
I'm yet to hear/see Abbott ever approach this.  It's always "Kobe isn't clutch".  But it's always just that, that's always the main focus.  Sure, Kobe may not be the king of clutch as many hold him to be.  But that needs to be paired with an acknowledgement that that Bryant's team has been the best offensive team over the last decade and a half, and in that time frame has one a third of the NBA championships.

Don't get me wrong: as stated before, Kobe and the Lakers would benefit from his having a more open and generous attitude towards who takes that last shot.  Same with Melo, same with a few other superstars.  However, that's not where we are currently, and whilst Abbott's right with his point that he asserts (over, and over again, ad infinitum) of "pass-to-the-guy-whose-open", the hammer he continually wields needs to be seen in light of "these-guys-win-games" - because that's just as true.  And as far as Kobe Bryant is concerned, he wins titles.  Five.
I can live with that.
no comments

And into it...

.


As is often said, life gets in the way.  It's true of blogging too, and I won't get into stories: but I've been busy.
Anyway - back into it.  A few things I want to discuss...

---

- Firstly on the Lakers: they're both better and worse than I expected/hoped they'd be.  Or if not worse, where they were last season.  Lemme 'splain... I think they've made the transition (or rather, are in the process of making the transition) from Phil Jackson to Mike Brown rather smoothly.  Or... it's going rather smoothly thus far. 

- 9-5 isn't what I'd normally call a brilliant start, but given the parameters of operation this season, it's pretty nice.  Compare it to other teams, and it's not too bad.  Look at it through the lens of new coach, no Bynum for games 1-4, and playing a back-to-back-to-back to open the season. 
Actually, so far this season, the Lakers have had only 3 of those 14 games not be part of a back-to-back, or back-to-back-to-back.  That's NYK (win), Houston (win) and Memphis (win).

- Kobe Bryant's been playing some AMAZING basketball lately.  Will the 40-point-barrage continue?  Hell no.  But I do expect him to be slightly improved over what he was last season.  The lengthened layoff during the lockout clearly helped Kobe, as did the platelet-rich plasma therapy.  It appears to be so successful that I expect a far greater number of athletes making pilgrimages to get the "German procedure" in the coming years... interestingly, I've seen the anti-Kobe faction deride his FG% (incorrectly), assists (mistakenly) and then minutes per game (not really a worry... is it?).

- Hawaii's an awesome place.

- Even in the light of Kobe's pace of game at the moment, I'd love to see Gasol/Bynum have a greater impact on the game.  That's more on coaching than Kobe tho'.  Most of the time, they present an advantage that is unmatchable by opponents.  Most of the time...

- Gotta say, LeBron is playing some amazing ball at the moment.  Same with Rondo, Durant & (up until his injury) Melo.

- Mentioning former CotY Mike Brown, I'm actually far more impressed with him than I thought I'd be.  Kudos to you, Coach Brown.

- The presence of Mike Yam and Henry Abbott on the NBA Today podcast make me appreciate Ryen Russillo all that more.  Tim Legler - you're actually pretty damn good. 
Ok, I'm not being fair.  Initially, I thought Mike Yam was pretty bad, but in light of what Abbott presents, well... Mike, you're ok.  As far as radio presenting goes, Abbott is a talented writer (except when it comes to Kobe Bryant - more on that in a later piece).

- The Clipper loss: I don't think you can put that one on Kobe, not at all.  Sure, he didn't shoot quite at the 50% clip that he had been, but pretty much everyone on the team was worse (if less prolific).  Gasol: 7-17.  Bynum: 6-13.  These are two guys who should be hitting at a much higher percentage, especially in light of the big-man defense that the Clippers present. Barnes: 1-6. Derek Fisher: 2-5.

- Speaking of Fisher, can we see more of Darius Morris please?  Thus far, I like what I see.

- The next 5 games are huge.  Hosting Dallas, traveling to Miami and Orlando in a Florida back-to-back, then hosting Indiana before seeing the Clippers again in a Lakers homegame.  Huge stuff there.

- Lastly: if Dwight Howard is to be traded before the trade deadline, surely it'd be to the Lakers.  Brook Lopez being injured will impact the way Orlando view him (that along with... well... "sucking"), and the New Jersey ineptitude will affect the way Dwight views the Nets.  Bynum is not Howard, but there's no other singular piece that the Magic can attain that's better.  Did I mention Hawaii's nice?
no comments

LA Lakers vs NY Knicks... Ticket deal!

.
'Melo and Co come to Staples to take on Kobe tomorrow night. For this heavyweight match up, our ticket partner TiqIQ has a special deal for Lakerfans, courtesy of with-malice.com, where fans can "make an offer" on the price they want to pay: For example, a "2 star" ticket (as described by ScoreBig.com) that would typically sell for $110 (after shipping + handling fees) can be had for an offer of $80 all-in (with no additional costs for shipping or handling). Meanwhile, a "3 star" ticket that usually retails for $250 after fees can be purchased for an offer of $125 via this promotion. But you gotta move fast, as this deal expires at 7pm Pacific TODAY! To make an offer on this deal, click the graphic below... (or click here!)

no comments

Josh McRoberts: "I just wanna win basketball games..."

.
Josh McRoberts on joining the Lakers...

no comments

LA: David Stern is screwing with you

.

So now it's the Clippers turn...
With Dell Demps pushed to the side of the plate like some misbegotten and unwanted cauliflower, NBA officials are demanding the world from the Los Angeles Clippers in their efforts to pry Chris Paul from their cold, grasping claws Hornets.  Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, Al-Farouq Aminu, Eric Bledsoe and Minnesota's unprotected 2012 first-round draft pick. 
Damn.
The Clippers are balking at giving up both Gordon and Minnesota's first round draft pick.  I mean... we're talking the T-Wolves here: that's likely to be one helluva pick in the best draft we've had in years.
The thing is, Stern really can't get less - otherwise he's open to fire after he nixed the Lakers/Houston/NOLA deal.

It's amazing how even post the lockout, the mess was minimal.  And then David Stern at the behest of Dan Gilbert & co. create the biggest mess we've seen in the NBA since Tim Donaghy.

All ugly.
no comments

[expletive deleted] David Stern