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Security problem at the Staples Center? Call Will Ferrell...
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So... which Lakers are these?

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LA hosts Sweet (away from) home Chicago

Written by Don on .

November 18th, the Chicago Bulls (5-5) play at the Staples Center against the Los Angeles Lakers (7-1).

LakersDefinitely an interesting game as the Lakers will be looking to return to their winning ways post a loss to the Detroit Pistons. Chicago come to LA exactly where they should be at this moment, given their opponents thus far. They've beaten the teams they should have, and lost to those they were expected to lose to. With one possible exception - I didn't have them beating the Phoenix Suns. What's apparent thus far is that at home, the Chicago Bulls are a pretty tough team. Away, it's a different story - and they head out on a very, very tough road trip, beginning in LA against the Lakers.

The thing I find most troublesome with LA is the reliance that this team still have on Kobe Bryant, despite obvious depth. Get in trouble - and Kobe has to bail them out. I'm concerned about the line-up that Phil's going for. Despite wanting Radmanovic to be better, he's not. Start either Ariza or Vujacic (which would require moving KB28 to small forward), and you have a much more dynamic starting unit that's even better on defense. Also perhaps problematic the length of time that the Lakers have off, 3 days since the loss to Detroit. Still, 3 days off between the Clippers/Houston games, and they handled the Rockets pretty well.

Waiting on winsThis is a game the Lakers should win. I expect them to, you should expect them to, hell... if they're telling the truth, the Bulls expect them to. Forget about the loss to Detroit, there's a lot that LA are doing right. 7-1's a good start, regardless of opposition (I mean... 2 Clip games?). The rotation of the 3 bigs (Gasol/Bynum/Odom) is working very handily. And whilst Odom's not seeing huge minutes thus far, that's primarily because they haven't needed him to see big minutes thus far. Come early mid-season, expect Odom to be seeing his 32+. Oh yeah, back to Chicago @ LA. Speaking of the triplets, LA are too big, too strong for the Bulls (we can't still call them the 'Baby Bulls', can we?)... and there's the little matter of Kobe Bryant. I don't think Chicago has anyone who comes close to stopping him, do you?

And do you still think Kobe looks at Chicago, and utters a sigh of relief? Pretty sure at the end of the game, he'll look up to the box and utter "Thanks Mitch."

MVP/RoY Rankings…

Written by Don on .

"The concept: Every two weeks during the regular season, bloggers are polled on their top ten MVP and top five ROY picks to date. Voters are encouraged to provide brief comments." - Alex, Brewhoop I've never been one to "provide brief comments". Mine tend to be quite long. Generally. But anyway, he's what I thought (to Nov 15): Always tough to do an early call on MVP/RoY rankings, but having a shot anyway.

MVP

LeBron stomping them like a biker on narc1. LeBron James - Has been a beast thus far offensively, and doing a damn good Atlas impersonation. Rumor is that in an effort to retain his services post 2010, Cleveland's front office has offered to rename the team the Cleveland LeBrons. I think they should call themselves 'Samsonite'.
2. Dwight Howard -if you do not know why this man is up near the top of the rankings, you don't follow basketball.
3. Kobe Bryant - leading the team that's playing the best basketball in the NBA at the moment, and he is clearly leading the team.
4. Chris Paul - Continued comparisons to Oscar. No, not "the Grouch".
5. Jose Calderon - belief in this point man could really pay the Rap-pack dividends this season.
6. Joe Johnson - leading the Hawks to up near the top of the East. Guy's for real.
7. Paul Pierce - I hate that I just typed that.
8. Brandon Roy - gotta give him a mention if not for anything else other than the 30 foot shot against the Pistons.
9. Rudy Gay
10. Andris Biedrins

RoY

1. Derrick Rose - posting anything beyond Rose at this point in time is futile. ...

You should now head over and have a look at the amassed rankings over at Hoops Addict with round 1 of this - Blogger MVP and ROY Rankings - Version 1.0.

Soul Plumbing

Written by Don on .

Sport.
Sport's something that really plumbs the depths of the soul. If you don't know what I mean by that, then either you don't play sport, you haven't left a sport, or you aren't playing it properly. TEAM

Living in Japan, easily the thing I miss about my former life in Australia is sport. In Japan, no real sports leagues available to people who have finished their "school life" (from elementary to tertiary). Sure, I get to play sport - and on a relatively regular basis - but it's not the same as being part of a team striving for a common goal. And the camaraderie that exists. Pre-game, game, post game.

There's no wrong reason for anyone to play sport. People can have different goals within a sport - be it basketball, football, volleyball or soccer. Any sport. TEAMThe lessons we learn in sport are lessons that are valuable and applicable for life in general.
Respect.
Application.
Striving.
Team.
The very concept of team - learning that something can be greater than the sum of it's parts - that's invaluable. As a father, I now look forward to playing sport with my son - and hopefully he'll gain from participating in sport, the way I gained. It's something we all share - now that's a brotherhood.

Hoops Addict is currently working working with Adidas on their Brotherhood campaign, and a lucky reader can win a great prize swag. Head over to Hoops Addict and check out the Brotherhood of Ballers piece, and put down your story to have a chance of winning. I have.

2008-2009 Blogger Power Rankings - WEEK 4

Written by Don on .

I had my power rankings up last week, here's the culmination of accumulated blogs! Over at True Blue Jazz, they have the Blogger Power Rankings (Week 4) up - well worth a read. Who's #1? Give you a hint: I'm not unhappy!

Motor City comes to the City of Angels

Written by Don on .

Detroit Pistons (6-2) at Los Angeles Lakers (7-0)

This sure as hell promises to be an interesting game. Forget for a moment that over the past few seasons, LA has struggled against the Pistons, and look at the smaller, more intriguing stories that exist within the game. Allen Iverson - a Piston?

Sheesh...There's a match I bet many of us didn't think we'd see. The ultimate team concept with the ultimate non-team performer. Don't get me wrong, Iverson's a great basketballer - one of the best pure scorers ever... but he is a player who needs volume. AI's never met a shot he didn't like (Kobe detractors will point to Kobe now), and whilst Allen was a "good soldier" over in Denver, this is a contract year. I'm pretty certain that AI's not going to maintain the even keel that Joe Dumars insists upon. For this season to succeed in any capacity, AI's going to have to fit in with Detroit, not the Pistons fitting in around Allen Iverson.

For quite a while, the Pistons have had the ability to contain Kobe. At least slow him down. And up until recent times, beating the Lakers has been all about 'containing Kobe'. Do that at your peril now - it's more a case of pick your poison. There are 5 Lakers averaging double figures thus far. Kobe's more than happy to pick his time, and he can rack up his 24 avg in very short shrift.

The Lakers. 7-0. Not only the record, but the way they've played to that tune. Highest scoring average (104.7) in the league. Lowest opponent average (86.7). Yes, only seven games in, and one thing's for sure: sooner or later, LA will lose. I just don't see it being tomorrow. LA by 12.

Jordan 2 - Rogers 3

Written by Don on .

Legend has it that one time at his famous flight school, Michael Jordan got taken to class by a CEO. It's one of those stories that's cute, but evokes a "Yeah, suuuuure." response. Well, from the Wall Street Journal via BDL, here it is:

And thanks to Henry Abbott, who demanded that it be put on YouTube!

NBA Power Rankings - all the way from Japan!

Written by Don on .

Back, and time seems ripe to hit you with some NBA rankings...
With Malice's Pawa-rannkingu
  1. Kobe & 'Ear' JordanLA Lakers - I feel like Dorothy clicking those heels together and saying "There's no place like home, there's no place like home, there's..." - just hoping that it's going to be true, and that this beautiful glittery thing is real.
  2. Boston Celtics - You gotta go through the champ to BE the champ. They're not going anywhere, they're still real.
  3. Atlanta Hawks - Speaking of 'real', a 1 point loss on a hail mary from Paul Pierce is almost as good as a win. Atlanta's the real deal.
  4. Cleveland Cavaliers - Don't know how much longer Cleveland can do this. When LeBron leaves? Until that point in time, they should re-name the team the Cleveland LeBrons.
  5. Utah Jazz - As per pretty much every successful Jazz team, doing it quietly, and getting the job done. Deron who?
  6. New Orleans Hornets - Better than their record would suggest. If the vs Lakers game had gone longer, they might've won. But games don't (go longer). So suck up a lower rating Bee-fans!
  7. Yao 'n' T-MacHouston Rockets - Amazing how non-plussed I am about a team that was expected to be one of the top units. Early days yet I guess. But we're still counting down the days until Yao has that season-ending lower leg injury. Can't be too much longer.
  8. Detroit Pistons - It's a toss-up who's the more astute GM - Kupchak or Dumars. Kupchak does it Ninja-style, whilst Dumars is openly brilliant. Dare anyone to say the AI year will be a mistake.
  9. Orlando Magic - With the Man-beast in the line-up, on any given night this team can beat any given team. Howard is 3 parts Beast, 2 parts Gigantor, and 1 part haggis - all nasty.
  10. Philadelphia 76ers - Not quite working out the way it was envisaged, but this team has the tools to get the job done.
  11. Phoenix Suns - Slowing down the Suns isn't purely a function of Terry Porter's game scheme, it's a function of AGE. Shaq still hasn't had his required 20 games of rest yet.
  12. Toronto Raptors - Another team that promised much and fails to deliver on an almost-nightly basis. Jose Calderon leaks TOs like a sieve.
  13. Portland Trail Blazers - Man... I'm with Bill Simmons - I hope Greg Oden isn't Sam Bowie.
  14. Denver Nuggets - Looking the goods since the AI-Billups trade. Enver no more?
  15. Indiana Pacers - Days without Jermaine are long and tiring in Indiana. Being a slightly-over-.500 team flatters them.
  16. Memphis Grizzlies - Bit of a surprise. Some close games that they could've won... other than getting absolutely blown out by the Knicks. Geez...
  17. New York Knicks - Still don't believe it. The wheels are *going* to fall off this team.
  18. Tim Duncan playing like he's... Tim DuncanSan Antonio Spurs - State of disbelief. Spurs #18 on a power-ranking??? Say it ain't so Pop! Will lift when Manu/Mr Longoria get back, but not before.
  19. Dallas Mavericks - Better than this ranking, at least I believe. Still seem to be lacking something. Spine?
  20. Miami Heat - I dunno. Miami just don't seem like a .500 team.
  21. Milwaukee Bucks - Things are looking better than this #21 ranking for Milwaukee. Andrew Bogut beating Tim Duncan? Never thought I'd see the day.
  22. Sacramento Kings - Days of the Kings being a threat in the playoffs are about as gone as Chris Webber's sneaker deals.
  23. Chicago Bulls - Wow... I thought stability would have this group performing better. They certainly have a PG who rose to the occasion, but beyond that, little to cheer. Ok, they're young. Gotta be hurting them how well LaMarcus Aldridge is playing.
  24. Golden State Warriors - Gutted at the beginning of the season, should rise a lil' when Monta returns. Until then, the Dubs had better get used to lean times.
  25. Charlotte Bobcats - Would they be better off if Michael Jordan actually was the majority owner? Surely Robert L. Johnson's getting bored of losing...
  26. New Jersey Nets - Just basically marking time until 2010... that, and a lot of prayer.
  27. Minnesota Timberwolves - Sheesh... only the existence of the Clips/Thunder make life more bearable for Wolf-fans.the look on Maggette's face says it all...
  28. Washington Wizards - Talk about gutted.
  29. Oklahoma City Thunder - Thunder on the horizon? A very, very distant horizon.
  30. LA Clippers - This team - absolutely gutted by the loss of Elton Brand - tried hard to salvage pre-season moves. To no avail. The gulf between 1 and 20 exists at the Staples Center. The Clippers are the worst team in basketball.

Don’t fix what ain’t broke…

Written by Don on .

Recently there have been a lot of suggestions that the LA Lakers should trade Lamar Odom. The reasoning behind it is wide and varied, depending on which bit of ridiculousness is being pushed at that particular time.
"The Lakers should trade Odom while he still has value." "Odom can't be happy with starting on the bench, especially in a contract year." "Odom's level of play has declined, that's why the Lakers start him on the bench."
Emotion in motionQuite simply, with the roster LA has assembled, there's no way they should trade Lamar Odom. Whilst they're doing well, the Lakers would be incredibly foolish to do anything that might mess with the team as it's currently configured.

Explore the notions one by one...
1 - "The Lakers should trade Odom while he still has value."
Why? He is in the last year of his contract. Even if LA decides that they and Odom are headed in different directions, that's a substantial slice to come off the books at the end of this season to create space to sign someone that will fit in with the direction that LA envisage. $14,148,596 in space to be exact.

2 - "Odom can't be happy with starting on the bench, especially in a contract year."
Perhaps the most viable of the theories being flung around. Still, it begs the question: so?
Whilst it's altogether possible that Lamar Odom isn't happy with the line-up as it stands, it would make it even worse for him to react negatively.
It doesn't ring true of what we know of Lamar Odom anyway. Ever since he's arrived at LA, he's been team-first. And nothing that we've seen thus far this season would indicate that there's any truth in it. Still - unrest will only come when the team's not doing as well as it is now.

Again... so what?
Even if this postulation had some truth in it - what are his options? Whine and moan about playing at 6th, or become a vital member in a team that's currently the best in the West? If Lamar Odom can add a championship to his resume whilst playing as a substitute for the betterment of the team, it won't hurt his value much at all. And whilst it's very early days yet, it's not too great a stretch of the imagination to envisage Lamar Odom as being a candidate for 6th Man of the Year. If that were to happen, his value might even increase.

3 - "Odom's level of play has declined, that's why the Lakers start him on the bench."6th man of the year?
The most inane of the barrows being pushed in regards to Lamar Odom. Odom hasn't declined, and far too many people hold what he did in the last NBA Finals as an indication of 'who he is'. They conveniently forget the play of Odom that helped LA actually get to the Finals. Anyone who's been watching the Lakers, anyone who knows who Lamar Odom is realises that whilst he's starting at 6th, he is clearly one of the best 5 players on the roster (hell, he's one of the best 3 at the moment).
Phil Jackson starting him at 6th has nothing to do with his play... or rather, it's a testament to his play that the zen-master is using him in this way. Odom is being used much the same role that Gregg Popovich uses Manu Ginobli, or that Leandro Barbosa plays in Phoenix. Odom is the guy that comes off the bench and is better than anything the opposition's bench has to offer. It's not that LA have to start Odom on the bench, it's that they have the luxury to do so.
If the Lakers travel that rocky path back to the NBA Finals this season, Kobe will lead them there. But make no mistake, Lamar Odom will have shouldered a very large part of the load.
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