Kiwi,

"To the relief of yourself,Mcgarnagle,and probably anyone with the name Mamba, I have once again decided to be in full support of Kobe for the duration of time that he remains a laker"

That was a great relief Kiwi welcome back to Mamba's fold. Hold on to the next two years, I think it will extend to four more years. If we don't contend at the end of this season, let's clear some caps (the way Jerry West did in '95) to get Zero from the free trade zone.. Can you imagine Kobe, Arenas, Odom, Bynum and Crittenton? You can compete in the Olympics with that first team in '08.

One win creates RELIEF, beating the Rockets on the opening day, erases DOUBT, consecutive wins increases HOPE, leading the West Division by Christmas establishes FAITH, contending the top 3 in the West by March brings out the Lakers' PRIDE, reaching finals in June turns Jimbo into a saint (?) PUT OUT THE UTZ' BANNER,

Baffled,

the difference between $20 Million and $15 Million is 5 FREAKIN MILLION DOLLARS!

ALSO, THAT 20 MILL IS MORE LIKE 10-15 MILL AFTER TAXES

kiwI,
"when the cock crows three times you will have started your own blog...or maybe you'll just tell Mcgarnagle to stop repeating himself."
No, No, No, My friend it is not I that is the Judas. It is all the fault of the serpent.

Mamba24,

You know after yesterday i finally came to the realization that maybe the Buss family really does not deserve all the respect they may demand. Seeing the way Jimmy was dressed (which AK also mentioned... no way you should be in that attire being a GM/Owner of a proffesional sports club) is just part of it and only scratches the surface. The daughter is dating the Phil Jackson who is twice her age.. fine. Ok, Jerry himself is running around with these young girls getting DUI's.. Sounds more like an episode of Jerry Springer. I won't make racist remarks but i get the impression over and over that this is just another case of a disfunctional family from the trailer park who struck gold. These are not decent people, no class whatsoever, so therefore i am convinced now without a doubt i belong on the SELL THE LAKERS BANDWAGON...

Mike T,

"Kobe met with management the other day with his agent. Whatever was spoken of in that meeting has been met with satisfaction by Kobe Bryant and that's why he's happy."

Actually, that was not true. Saying Rob Pelinka (Kobe's agent) was there at the practice site and met with management was one of the false rumors brought up by the Loose Cannons. Even in the interview Kobe gave outside the facility, one of the reporters asked Kobe about it and he said "No, his agent didn't talk to anyone".

Just wanted to make that straight.

FOR ANYONE OUT THERE:

Does anyone have a quote from Kobe recently that says he does not want to be traded anymore? Even something that says something along the lines of "I want to remain with Lakers for the rest of my career" would be cool too? Let me know. Thanks.

IT IS HUMOROUS

It is actually humorous the thinking that Kobe will be the SAME on any other team in the league. I seriously doubt that Kobe would florish as he is with the Lakers on any other team in the league.

PJ LETS Kobe play outside the triangle offense it should be called the Kobeangle, because Kobe hasn't played any triangle since Jackson has been coach. There is a reason Shaq and the others complained about Kobe NOT passing the ball. This was not due to his knowledge of any triangle offense, it was because Kobe doesn't understand team ball.

I can't imagine anyother coach in the league allowing Kobe to shoot outside the offensive flow as much as he does with the Lakers. Granted Kobe is talented and also does make some clutch shots. However he also at times shoots his team out of contention by taking insane 3's or turns the ball over at inopportune times during 4th quarter stretches.

After 12 years in the league 2-scoring titles and 3 NBA championships it would seem that Kobe would be able to learn how to play a 'TEAM GAME'. Never in sports history has the venacular 'NOT TRUSTING' his teammates been used. The players the Lakers have assembled are PROFESSIONAL Basketball players who get paid a salary, just like Kobe to play the game of Basketball. They are not some stiffs picked up off the courts on Venice Beach to just show up.

This coming season should be interesting to see if Laker teammates 'FREEZE' Kobe out of games by not passing him the ball in clutch situations and going to Bynum or Lamar Odum. After all, the other Laker players have contract responsibilities as well as responsibilities toward their families so upping their production and value can help them more working out their next contract negotiation.

It is a bit late but Kobe has no recollection except in high school athletics on what it takes in being a team leader with a group of men. A lot of it has to do with maturity, however at the ripe old NBA age of 29, one would think that should have happened a few years back. I still can't imagine what went through his head while making millions of dollars and known worldwide as a sports athlete, why this idiot who just got married and had a child, goes and does what he did in Colorado with someone that was broke and nasty!!! For the life of me, that makes no sense at all. I guess that is just Kobe for you, making no sense while outside the lines of a Basketball court.

OUT!!!!
The truth

Man like KL Gunner and others need any more ammo for Kobe material

"I enjoy doing it for players who I can see have a will. He's extremely talented and he has a great work ethic. . . . It's very easy to pull him aside and help him out.

Excuse me, isnt it the LEADERS job to seek out and lead everyone not just those who have a will?

Hold on Ill call Duncan and tell him to stop encouraging all his teamamtes because some lack the same will he does. While I am at it Ill call Tom Brady and tell him to stop passing to the open receiver because he doesnt have the same will as Brady.

Ridiculous!

A bit offtopic what with the Lakers--Kobe hoopla, but does it bother anyone else that once again PJ is putting more emphasis on the offense instead of defense and rebounding? Granted having to play fast (7 seconds or less) requires solid rebounding, but when it comes to half court rebounding, we're still left out of position...and even at times, any and all rebounding.

I understand that we don't exactly have a ton of athletic, physical players, but at the very least, in these games we could practice rotations, and defensive sets. As of yet, all I've seen are games filled with defensive woes. But hey at least this one was a win. Right?

Zen,
That wasn't bad for a first try, but it was much too concise. You need to take up at least five times as much space.

Designmao,

"why do teams we root for have a responsibility to us fans? i don't get it at all. anyone?

Yes, essentially because all those contracts of every dollar earned came from a Laker fan. The famous battlecry: there should be no taxation without valid representation. Right now, fans are not represented they are just the source of income of the player, GM and the owners.

I get where you are coming from Edwin, thanks for the reply. I guess for whatever fault kobe has in all this, it all comes down to the Management for they are the one serving us the product to which we paid for.

I think it is simple as that, i just dont get why others still cant see what the problem is.

Mamba 24,

Put me into the JIM BUSS IS A CANCER bandwagon please.

Also Zen, your post as MT was hilarious. You can tell by MT"s post he doesnt even know how badly he was burnt, lack of fuctioning brain cells most likely.

>>>THE JACKSON JOURNAL II: 2007-2008 Season
>>>By Michael C. Teniente

THE TENIENTE JOURNAL: one game only

So, since much of Mike T's posts seem like pure conspiracy theory against Phil
Jackson, I decided to review the game with MikeT's assessment of it in hand.
Here are my notes on the subject:

>>>...
>>>This was a great game and a perfect example to make my points.
>>>
>>>In the Kwame effect the Sonics scored 18 points when Kwame was pulled
>>>from the game. Before he was replaced Fisher had just been fouled. When
>>> Fisher hit his two free throws the score was 18-18.

I reviewed that part of the quarter, and Mike T is correct. Kwame played from the
start to when the score was tied 18-18.

>>>Kwame Brown 0 shot attempts, but scored 1 point, during this time.

The 1 point was scored when Kwame missed a dunk, but was fouled from behind.

What Mike T neglects to mention (and anyone else can review the quarter and
confirm this) is that 14 of the 18 points by Seatte were scored on layups, dunks,
or free throws after one of the Sonics drove to the hoop and got fouled. And
Kwame was playing with the first team for the full 9 minutes he was in the game.

Kwame did alter one shot in the lane, which was good, but he also had Chris Wilcox
out rebound him and put the ball back in, he had his man (Robert Swift) beat him
down the floor on a fast break for a layup, and he stood and watched as Wally
Szczerbiak drove to the hoop for a layup. He should have bought a ticket for
that one.

>>>Now lets fast- forward to the 3rd quarter. The score at the start of the quarter
>>>had the Lakers leading 64-47. That’s a 17-point lead. In the first 4:03 of the
>>>quarter the Sonics outscored the Lakers 15-3, which made the score 67-62
>>>Lakers. What was most interesting about it was that the Sonics scored the first
>>10 of those points on the inside. Lay-ups.

Okay Mike T. Let's look at the details of that 15-3 run.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

2-0 Swift posts up and gets a layup over Mihm (OLE! True matador defense)

- Kobe misses a jump shot.

4-0 Mihm is guarding Swift in the high post. Ridnour throws an alley-oop to Wilcox
over Ronny Turiaf.

- Radmanovic fumbles a pass from Kobe out of bounds

- Kobe steals the ball from Wilcox trying to post up

4-2 Farmar hits a 20 foot jumper

6-2 Durant misses a 3. On the long rebound, most of the Lakers are out of
position so Ridnour goes 1-on-1 with Mihm and drives by him for a layup.

6-3 Ronny misses a shot, Mihm gets the rebound and gets fouled trying to put it back

8-3 Wilcox makes an 8 foot hook shot over Ronny

- Ridnour steals a pass from Kobe (intended for Mihm, but it never got there)

10-3 on the ensuing break Ridnour drives to the hoop, but Mihm is waiting for him,
so he drives back out and passes to Swift, who hits a 14 foot jumper over Rad.

[[[ note at this point - the first 6 points, not 10, were layups. But in Mike T's favor,
two of those layups were under-defended by Mihm]]]

- Ronny tries to post up in traffic and gets the ball stolen

11-3 on a pick and roll, Kobe and Ronny both guard Durant, Swift comes down
the lane hard and Mihm rotates over and fouls him, preventing a dunk. Swift makes
1 of 2

- Mihm posts up swift and turns it over

13-3 On the turnover, Farmar is first back on defense and takes Damien Wilkins.
Durant passes ahead to Wilkins who posts up the smaller Farmar & hits an 8 footer
over him (Mihm is in the lane guarding Swift).

- Lakers keep passing the ball back and forth on the 3 point line leading to a
3-second call

15-3 Durant hits a 20 footer.

Okay, so there's the 15-3 run Mike T was so critical of Mihm for. Granted, it started
out just like Mike T preaches it, 2 of the Sonics first 3 baskets were by layups
defended by Chris Mihm.

On the other hand, the first 6 were the only points scored on layups or dunks in
the whole 15-3 run. The only other time it came close, Mihm fouled Swift to
prevent a dunk. And furthermore, Mihm was back quickly on defense on the
turnovers by the Lakers. There were no fast break layups or dunks. In the first
quarter, Kwame was repeatedly beaten down the floor by his man.

So is Mihm to blame because Jordan Farmar was the only person who could
manage to hit a jump shot during that stretch? The Lakers hit a dry spell and
Seattle was playing more aggressively because they were because they were
behind.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

>>>At this point Kobe Bryant took matters into his own hands and dropped 16
>>>of the next 18 Lakers’ points, while Seattle scored 13 points.

Note: Mihm scored the other 2.

>>>That extended
>>>the Lakers lead to 15-points and made the score 85-75 with 3:07 left to play.
>>>At this point Kobe was pulled from the game. During this sequence the Sonics
>>>scored 6 of those 13-points off of lay-ups.

Otay. Ignoring the Lakers end of things, let's just consider Mihm's defense

2 - 8 foot running floater by Ridnour

- on a missed shot Mihm battles for rebound and Wilkins knocks it out of bounds
If Mihm isn't there it's a putback dunk

- on a pick and roll, Mihm is left defending Durant, who drives the lane. Mihm
plays good d, so Durant alters the shot and misses it

4 - 2 free throws by Wilcox after Rad fouls him 12 feet out

6 - 20 footer by Kurt Thomas

9 - 3 pointer by Durant

11 - dunk by Durant on a fast break.

13 - Kobe thinks he's fouled on an alley-oop and stays at the offensive end to
complain - in the ensuing fast break Mihm initially defends Durant, but then
rotates onto Wilcox driving the lane and fouls him.

So, of those 13 points, only 4 were scored on layups or dunks, both on fast breaks.
Not 6 points, as Mike T stated.

And furthermore, in their half court defense, Chris Mihm played very well,
challenging a couple of shots and staying with his man. There were no half
court offense layups or dunks against the Lakers in that run.

>>>My point is this: It took a Kobe Bryant heroic flash to keep the Sonics at bay
>>> because they were attacking the basket almost at will.

That's just patently false. Most of their points came from outside jumpers. And
as I pointed out, when they tried to drive the lane, Mihm defended it well on
several occasions.

You want attacking the basket at will? Go review the 1st quarter with Kwame in.
14 of the 18 points were layups or dunks. No joke.

---

Okay, I think I've done the job well enough. If Mike T's "Jackson Journal" was a
scientific paper, then what I've just done is show that he falsifies the evidence
to support his conclusion. If all of his "Jackson Journals" are this accurate, then
it's clear he's just fabricating stats to promote his theory that Kwame is much
better than Mihm.

Mike T - An 8 foot hook shot from outside the lane is not a layup. A 14 foot jumper
from just inside the free-throw line is not a layup. Stop telling tall-tales and
accurately report the game and you will see that Kwame is no better a defender
than Chris Mihm is.

There was no layup drill by the Sonics when Mihm was in and there was no flurry
of blocks when Kwame was in. I'd say they played about equal defense in this
game. I may throw together a Kwame-reel so you can see him get out-rebounded
for a dunk, get beat down the floor several times on fast breaks, and stand there
and watch as Wally drives to the hole for a layup.

Note that the Sonics only really have one post-up player, in Chris Wilcox, and
Ronny Turiaf defended him. I think Kwame is a much better on-ball defender
than weak side defender, so this game didn't really show his strength as well as
some games do. I think Mihm is about as good a help defender as Kwame, if not
better.

My assessment of the 1st quarter vs the 3rd quarter: In the first quarter, Earl
Watson played point for Seattle. Good defense, not so good offense. In the third
quarter, Luke Ridnour played poing for Seattle. Good offense, not so good defense.
Thus a close, low scoring 1st quarter and a wilder high scoring 3rd quarter. Also,
Seattle was playing more aggressively trying to get back into the game in the
third, while the Lakers were a little complacent with their big lead.

But if Bynum can consistently play as well as he did, then it's a moot point - Mihm
and Brown will be scrounging for backup minutes to the 19 & 10 guy.

Preseason JJ one game only

"Making Jimmy Buss the final word means that it's Jimmy who Phil needs to make happy."

Now PJ strikes anywhere, he got the Buss girl, now he has to satisfy the Buss boy too. Who is AC/DC here?

Long time Laker fan,

That was nice rebuttal.

On a similar note, if an 14-footer is a lay up in Mike T's world, then can my 20-footer be a dunk in the bizarro Mike T world? It might be the only place where I will ever be able to dunk.

Mamba -

I have always been a charter member of both your "Jim Buss is a Cancer" and "No Faith in Management" Bandwagons. Kindly do me the honor of the formality of adding my name to them both.

By the way bad (in my opinion) story this morning. From Peter Vecsey:

"Nothing going on the Shawn Marion trade front, I'm told. He'll be with the Suns for the season and nobody associated with Phoenix is complaining. He's, far more complementary to Amare Stoudemire, Steve Nash, Grant Hill, etc., than, say, Andrei Kirilenko or Lamar Odom or just about anyone else in that caliber you can think of who's unhappy, coming off surgery, whatever."

Well Buss Boy & Kupcake have now gone 3-for-3 : No KG, No JO, No Matrix. Oops I forgot the 4th - No Championship

Mamba24,

OMG... that was probably the best post of the year. I'm in awe...

And so it was the Lakers scriptures were written. Hopefully in this version, Kobe will lead our Lakers to the promised land after 4 years of wandering through the wilderness...

Hey, I didn't know there was a Jim Buss is cancer bandwagon. Sign me up for some of that!!!

By the way, guys, dirty trick on today's blog title. Shame on you, even if that sinking feeling only lasted a few seconds.

exhelodrvr,
Yea i took my first crack at it. I knew it wasn't perfect, but I don't have a lot of time on my hands!

Well done Long Time Laker Fan. Your break down of the Mihm vs. Kwame is excellent. I think many suspected that Mike T. leaves out a lot of factors – cherry picks the facts if you will to make his case. I never have actually broken it down like you just did, I just knew from my observations that Mihm wasn’t THAT bad and Kwame certainly is NOT THAT GOOD! We all have our biases – but Mike T., I really think sometimes you go overboard with the conspiracy stuff, the pumping up of players you like and bagging on players you don’t like. That being said, it makes for interesting debate and on this round I give the win to LTLF in my opinion.

And my take is – if Kobe stays on board and he plays well – health will be the big key on how this year plays out for the Purple and Gold. Despite the lack of a second fiddle for Kobe, I still think there is a shot for them to do damage and surprise in the playoffs. This roster is not that much different than the roster that scared the Suns a couple years ago and last season busted out of the gate strong. We lost Smush – an awesome thing that makes the Lakes better than last year. Bynum looks to be improved by quite a bit – a good thing. Mihm may be rusty but he will at least give some depth on the bench at the very least. D. Fish may not be a top flight pg – he never was – but the leadership will help get us some more wins. The Lakers need to stay healthy and if they do and Kobaby doesn’t muck things up they could win 50 games. I realize I am a glass half full and there are plenty of legit reasons someone can point out why I am so wrong….feel free to do so. I just am going to sit back and enjoy the ride because I doubt it will be boring.

One last thing – one thing I am going to look for is to compare how the Lakers and Jazz fare. Will the loss of D Fish and what he brought hurt the Jazz and will he help the Lakers. I would love it if they faltered and Lakers rose. Then I could do some whacky analysis of why D. Fish is the sole reason for it.

Eagleboy.

zen,

"Did you see him look at his hand after a dunk? He wishes he was Shaq!"

I HAD TO SCRATCH MY HEAD ON THAT ONE... DID HE JUST THINK HE WAS SHAQ FOR A SECOND AND NOBODY WAS LOOKING?!? LOL, IT WAS AWKARD, LOL..WHATS GOIN ON?!?

as for long time laker fan,

38 points in the quarter says it all. OK, i'll take the high road and shave 4 points off the lay-ups. that means 18 points were off of lay-ups. Either way you cut it...38 points in the quarter doesn't cut it.

mike

I know it's early yet...but this is the best time to get the kinks out of the ol rusty engine lol.

Mike T,

"He has the knowledge of the game and for him not play Kwame Brown 32-33 minutes a game is not apply that knowledge. That would be manipulation because he does know, which makes his sin almost unforgivable."

Kwame was averaging near that amount when he was healthy. The dude destroyed his ankle and before that had a busted up shoulder. Do you think Phil might have realized that he could only play Kwame limited minutes because of Kwame's injuries? I don't know off hand but my guess is that Kwame was playing 27-30 minutes a game before he busted his ankle, and that was with a bad, bad shoulder.

lalakerlover-

10/10/3... i think the 3 blocks is a bit of a stretch. camby who has the knack for swatting averaged 3.3 last year. bynum doesnt have that kind of anticipation yet...

overall though i like the aggression that he has last night. same for farmar. consistency will be the key for these young guys.

Mike T,

"38 points in the quarter says it all. OK, i'll take the high road and shave 4 points off the lay-ups. that means 18 points were off of lay-ups. Either way you cut it...38 points in the quarter doesn't cut it."

I completely agree, 38 points in a quarter is garbage. However, everyone played defense like crap in that quarter, not just Mihm. For whatever reason they were flat-footed and slow, from the guards to the center.

I have a huge problem with lack of intensity of the defensive end. I know it was just a preseason game but I was hoping PJ would have called a timeout, sat the whole five that were out there down and put in Larry Turner, Elton Brown, Andre Patterson, and Coby Karl out there just to prove a point that if you don't bring it 100% of the time on defense that we'll put people out there who will. I don't care if it's Kobe or Kwame or Lamar, don't bring it, then sit.