It's all relative, folks
Injury news out of El Segundo after Thursday's practice wasn't overwhelmingly good. Chris Mihm looks surprisingly spry after having a big honkin' surgical screw removed from his foot and could return starting in April. After that, though, the news gets less encouraging. Andrew Bynum is still in the pool and on the elliptical machine. No real estimate on when he'll be back, but he's better off than Trevor Ariza, who still can't get out of the walking boot he's been wearing to protect a broken foot. He could miss the rest of the regular season. At least Kobe has figured out how to play through his pinkie pain, and (knock on wood) shouldn't have to miss time because of it.
But as they prepare to host the Clippers tonight at Staples (7:30 pm, FSN)- here's where the relative part comes in- the Lakers realize things could be a lot worse. After an all-too-brief run to respectability, injuries have laid waste to the LAC this year, dropping them back to a familiar place at the bottom of the Pacific (Division, not Ocean). Now the franchise is in some serious limbo, facing an offseason that could be good, could be Armageddon, or just about anything in between. As center Chris Kaman rather graphically points out here, the Clips haven't beaten anyone good this year, and Phil Jackson is focused on making sure the Lakers don't allow them to buck that trend.
Mike Dunleavy might not lay big odds on the upset. He still believes the Lakers are the best in the league. In that notebook, too are health notes on Kaman (sat out practice Thursday) and Tim Thomas (questionable for tonight).
More MVP talk, this from former Daily News writer Ross Siler's blog with the Salt Lake Tribune:
"There's been an increasing amount of chatter about the LeBron James/Kobe Bryant showdown for MVP this week in the Jazz locker room.
Deron Williams marveled at James' line of 50 points, 10 assists and eight rebounds Wednesday against New York, but the consensus seems to be that Bryant deserves to be MVP by virtue of being older and having led the Lakers to the West's best record.
As someone who voted for Bryant last season, I'm inclined to think the same way. The one thing that gives me pause would be voting for somebody who made as vocal a trade demand as Bryant did last summer, one that threatened to destroy his team.
There's no disputing what Bryant has done this season, but as recently as training camp there were questions about whether he cleaned out his locker in protest. I'm leaning toward James right now, especially given the two games he had against the Jazz."
Siler is as solid and thoughtful a beat writer as there is working in the NBA, so this gives you an idea of the different things voters struggle with and how they arrive at a decision. Kudos to him for making his though process public and letting people hold him accountable.
John Hollinger calls LeBron the league's best.
Dirk? Not thrilled about the suspension that kept him on the sidelines in Dallas' loss to Houston Thursday night.
An interesting exchange between a writer and an agent.
FlagrantFowl:"-Fowl Out:
Hey Flagrant Fowl how you been doing, we missed
you. Thats a cool tag line "Fowl Out." That should be
your closing stamp from now on. Good to have
you back. D@mnnnnnn It seems that the whole lLAKER
Blog family is comming back.
I THINK I LIKE IT MIKEY!
Posted by: MAMBA24 | March 07, 2008 at 12:27 PM
The Lakers will be wearing their tribute to the Latino players uni's tonite I think..
I liked those baby blue uni's they wore before..
As for tonites game, I hope they get better ball movement like they had a few games back and we locked down defensively. I am looking for a better all around effort from our team..Build momentum!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: lakersrydeordie | March 07, 2008 at 12:29 PM
Who the heck cares about the MVP!
We want the Title.
Bottom line. So does Kobe.
It's going to be a no win situation for Kobe regarding the MVP topic. They're lauding Lebron for the same things they were trashing Kobe for last year.
The MVP race is like the Oscars. A big joke and just completely relative and subjective and somewhat random.
The Championship is what you can't argue about. Who wins the last game of the year.
Posted by: jq | March 07, 2008 at 12:30 PM
Mamba--
Please add me to the Fire The Freakin Idiot's bandwagon...
Posted by: tajluck | March 07, 2008 at 12:33 PM
OK enough is enough on the lebron talks ... on the mvp talks ... enough hating ... so lets do it this way ... think of the harshest curse word in your vocabulary and repeat after me ...
#$#%$%$%^^#! the MVP!!
#$#%$%$%^^#! the MVP!!
#$#%$%$%^^#! the MVP!!
Our boy Kobe has been wreacking havoc in a tough western conference ... treating us to gems like 63 points in 3 quaters, 81 points, pushing the suns to the brink of elimination with smush and kwame .... show me a laker fan that was not screaming with pride when we went up 3-1 on our division rival and I'll show you where AK is stashing the millions the latimes is paying him (ha ha BK u ain't know AK got another deal under the table hunhh ) ....
And on Lebron, y'all need to stop the hating. He ain't out there on TV screaming I'm the best, he ain't out there screaming I'm the MVP, his coach might be yelling it but when asked Lebron called Kobe the better player, he ain't my assist game is better or nothing like that ... and the one u all love is quick to put Lebron in his top 5 players in the league .... so what's the motivating the debates, what's motivating the hate besides a legion of fans that don't understand how to appreciate two of the best in the league today ...
Kobe doesn't need his fans to fight this battle for him, it is enough that y'all believe, cuz it means you hear what his game tells us every night he graces the court, it means you hear what his heart constantly screams
The general consensus among his peers is he's the best so let d league keep the mvp ... kobe doesn't need an award to prove he's the best and he wouldn't trade a single championship for da mvp award even if he'd wracked up say 11 championships .... it aint a crazy idea if you can dream of an 40 yr old kobe letting a 31yr old bynum carry the team for all 4 quaters and then closing out the game when a savvy chris paul tries to bring down the dynasty .... with that kind of a retirement party to look forward to, why do any laker fans feel the need to fight for the mvp
Posted by: Taliq | March 07, 2008 at 12:38 PM
Jon,
Nice job. I have to admit I pretty much agreed with every one of your points. And yes, I did google blue scorpion venom. LOL. Go, Obama. Go, Mihm. Go, Kobe.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | March 07, 2008 at 12:38 PM
jq,
You're right, but it's become a matter of principle. I mean, dude, Kobe has NEVER won the MVP! What are we living in Bizarro World or something?
NO MVP? NO PEACE!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | March 07, 2008 at 12:43 PM
jq I'm with you d whole ditch da mvp debate but I'm smoking that green right now so allow me to throw a different angle on da mvp defination just for the fun of it ...
Most Valuable Player of the league ... why not lets define it as in terms of the player that brought the most value to the league in terms of revenue ... to measure it lets use the most extensively used metric for value $$$ money $$$ ... and to counter to some extent the effect of playing in a large city lets just count road games ....
So the mvp would be the guy that draws the largest crowds in road arenas ... the guy that inspires the terrible teams in the leagues to bring their A game if only for one night ... the guy that would cost the league the most (road) revenue if he retired today ...
I rest my case ...
Posted by: Taliq | March 07, 2008 at 12:46 PM
Hey Mamba,
Nice to see you around...thought you had left us. All is well in Lakerland and when it all comes down to it, the league can stuff the MVP prize where the sun don't shine. Give us the championship trophy and we're good!
What sounds better? "I HAVE 4 (possibly more)CHAMPIONSHIP RINGS" or "I WAS THE MVP OF THE LEAGUE EVERY YEAR FOR MY ENTIRE CAREER BUT WE NEVER WON A CHAMPIONSHIP"
People talk so much crap about the MVP award representing "the player who makes his teammates better" yet in every conversation involving Kobe, people bring up his "Q-rating", is cockiness, his demand for a trade, his supposed selfishness.
I say SHOVE IT!! Give it to your boy Lebron who'll be sitting at home watching the finals just like last years MVP Dirk Nowinski!!
Posted by: EastCoastJessie | March 07, 2008 at 12:46 PM
Mamba24,
>>> This will be like beating up on your Lil Bother. Please LAKERS don’t hurt them.
Sorry o glorious leader of the blog. No can do. Lakers must have killer instinct and destroy EVERY opponent from here to the Championship parade. NO MERCY to any team from here on out. The Lakers must strike FEAR into every coach and player in the NBA who stands in their way. No more Mr. Nice Guy. This is WAR. The Purple & Gold must transform into combat fatigues, and the players must slash across the floor with every blade of their Swiss Army Knife. In short, take no prisoners, spare no lives. The trophy is ours. GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Rick Friedman | March 07, 2008 at 12:55 PM
EastCoastJessie,
That WOULD be sweet if LeBron wins the MVP.
America will say, "Wow! The NBA really did a Nowinski!" as the Cavs are swept in the first round.
NO MVP? NO PEACE!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | March 07, 2008 at 12:57 PM
Edwin Gueco,
Absolutely agree on Turiaf and Mbenga. Is it just me or is Mbenga completely underachieving on the defensive end considering his size? He needs to take on Turiaf's mentality and just start pounding in the paint. I'm not asking for a lot -- just an energetic, ferocious player that crashes the board and gets involved on D.
Posted by: DK | March 07, 2008 at 12:58 PM
taliq,
Money talks. Excellent point. If I were Kobe, I would negotiate commission on road ticket sales as part of my next contract. LOL.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | March 07, 2008 at 01:05 PM
looks like the replay is happening...
In rare do-over, Hawks and Heat to put full game back in NBA's books
Associated Press
MIAMI -- Dwyane Wade typically takes the first few minutes of games to find a rhythm and get his Miami Heat teammates involved in the offense.
He won't have that luxury Saturday night, since the outcome could be decided in a mere 51.9 seconds.
The Heat will visit the Atlanta Hawks to replay the final moments of their game that began Dec. 19 and was originally played to an overtime decision, one eventually erased from the books by the NBA because the Hawks' stat crew erroneously said Shaquille O'Neal had six fouls and kept him off the floor for those final 51.9 seconds.
After learning O'Neal only had five fouls, Miami cried, well, foul. The NBA agreed, ordering a rare do-over, the first since 1983. When the suspended game resumes, it'll be Miami's ball, with the Hawks leading 114-111 late in overtime.
"They better not give me the ball," Wade said. "I might shoot a 3 right away."
Suffice to say, a bit has changed since this game started.
Back at tip-off, when Heat guard Chris Quinn corralled the tap to open the game, Alonzo Mourning's knee was intact, Shawn Marion and Mike Bibby were in the Western Conference and O'Neal was still residing in South Florida.
Mourning suffered a season-ending, and possibly career-ending, knee blowout in the first quarter. Bibby wasn't yet on Atlanta's roster, and Marion -- who played a game on Dec. 19 for Phoenix -- was still weeks away from being traded to Miami for O'Neal, who ironically was the one reinstated by the NBA to this game and now won't be part of its conclusion.
"It's going to be strange," Marion said.
The league will allow some of the newly acquired players to be part of the active rosters for the suspended game, which Atlanta thought it won the first time around, 117-111. All of the stats accrued in the first 52:08 of the Dec. 19 game will count once the game actually ends on Saturday night, meaning Wade's numbers will improve -- he already has 36 points and 10 assists.
"It was tough that it happened that way and we had a chance to win that ballgame," Wade said. "It would have been a good win for us at the time. But it didn't happen."
The outcome, now anyway, is largely irrelevant to the Heat in terms of salvaging the season's won-lost record, since Miami is already resigned to missing the playoffs.
"At that time, when we played then, we were fighting," Heat coach Pat Riley said. "We were fighting for position and fighting for every inch. We filed a protest because we felt there was wrongdoing and we were awarded that and we will play it. That's just the way it goes."
But the Hawks could pick up two wins Saturday night, since the teams will play a regularly scheduled game 15 minutes after the suspended matchup ends. Atlanta is one of seven teams in a cluster for the final two playoff spots in the Eastern Conference.
The Hawks are doing all they can to lure fans into their building early, offering discounted sodas and hot dogs and free swimsuit calendars to the first 3,000 people arriving for the game.
"I'm asking all Hawk fans to pack the building early, so we have the home-court advantage," Atlanta rookie Al Horford said in a video message on the team's Web site. "We need the sixth man to get in and get loud."
Posted by: DK | March 07, 2008 at 01:05 PM
Taliq speaks words of wisdom.. y'all should smoke some of that green with him, kick back, relax and enjoy this championship run. F... the MVP unless it's the finals MVP
Posted by: machiavelly | March 07, 2008 at 01:06 PM
How about KB24 dishing 10 assists to Coby Karl tonight? That should quell the naysayers.......
Posted by: PsychedLakerGirl | March 07, 2008 at 01:06 PM
Jon K.
I had this huge argument with myhusband last night over the same thing...he's just googoo gaga over Lebron and I'm not impressed with him at all. I kinda dislike him actually.
My thing is...Lebron has 50 points in a game and everyone says MVP, best player yada yada...Kobe does the same and he's selfish. Wanna know what his response was???? Lebron gets 50 points but he also get 10 assists. Needless to say, he didn't get any last night and we went back and forth on the issue. Lebron is averaging a little over 7 and Kobe a little over 5 and Lebron a had a much better supporting cast than Kobe had in the last 3 years. I went back to the trusting his teammates thing. Lebron could depend on his role players while Kobe could not. Why have his assists increased this year? He's an idiot...I don't know why I married him anyway.
Sorry...just venting.
Posted by: EastCoastJessie | March 07, 2008 at 01:06 PM
Sorry but I am REPOSTING THIS FOR YET A THIRD TIME, can anyone, anyone I ask, confirm if that is Kobe's LIKENESS TNT uses during the TNT show and just before they break for commerical. The image strongly resembles Kobe in a basketball move. I vaguely recall a game or a photo of him in that particular move as though he were driving under a basket before he made a dish to a teammate for a basket..
If it's him, is he getting TNT royalties for that?
Posted by: lakersrydeordie | March 07, 2008 at 01:12 PM
jon k,
"You're right, but it's become a matter of principle. I mean, dude, Kobe has NEVER won the MVP! What are we living in Bizarro World or something?"
At the beginning of the season, #24 introduced himself at a team meeting thus:
"Hi my name is Kobe Bryant and I want to win a championship"
So jon k if you must make a bold statement ... why not put your heart behind this one instead
NO CHAMPIONSHIP? NO PEACE!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Taliq | March 07, 2008 at 01:14 PM
The Hollinger article is interesting because he goes way beyond saying that Lebron is the MVP. He writes simply that Lebron is far and away the best player in the league, and will be for years to come, whether or not he wins the MVP this year or not (he won't --it's Kobe's year)..... he really only mentions Kobe in passing, grouping him with D-Wade...He's entitled to his opinion, and I may agree with him in his main point, I think Lebron is the best player in the NBA - but he should have made it clear that Kobe is a close second at least, or a different kind of equal, and compared the two...D-Wade is a shell of his two years ago self, and I'm afraid his career will go the Penny Hardaway route if he doesn't take some time off to heal himself...
Posted by: 10milliondollarzen | March 07, 2008 at 01:14 PM
which side r u on kissing their ass
Posted by: blingbling | March 07, 2008 at 01:16 PM
EastCoastJessie,
I understand your frustration. When I got married about a year and a half ago, it was understood that she was required to become a Lakers fan.
That's not a joke, and she knew it. I didn't make her cheer for the Dodgers, or Angels (she's a Rockies girl), but she knew the Lakers were a must.
I'd have to say, it's been a success. When we went to see the team she used to cheer for play our Lakers, she was cheering for the purple n gold THE WHOLE WAY even louder than I was!
Let our life's stories be a lesson to those younger ones out there... the relationship can survive different ethnicities, different tastes, different family styles, but you can NEVER comprimise the Lakers.
Posted by: Tim-4-Show | March 07, 2008 at 01:16 PM
Good Afternoon Charles--Good Afternoon Laker Nation
These new injury updates should put some more urgancy into maybe picking up someone to fill that 15th spot for insurance purposes if for nothing else--the problem--which position do you add the insurance...
Here's hoping Mitch can pull off one more coup...
I really would like to see the Lakers explode tonight for a wire to wire---but either way I will of course take a win...
GO LAKERS!!!
Posted by: Floyd | March 07, 2008 at 01:17 PM
Oh yeah, I do know why I married him...he kinda looks like Kobe...just a foot shorter.
Posted by: EastCoastJessie | March 07, 2008 at 01:18 PM
Big Ups Mamba24!
as long as the Lakers keep rollin'... i'ma be alright
Ridin' the Championship Wagon 'til the wheels fall off!
Hold it Down, Mamba... Hold it Down!
-Fowl Out
Posted by: Flagrant Fowl | March 07, 2008 at 01:22 PM
Tim-4-Show
Oh believe me, I made sure he was a Laker fan but he fell off when Shaq was traded. He didn't appreciate my "he's overrated anyway" talks after the trade. I got the "you see" comments after that fluke of a championship he won in Miami but guess who's laughing now????? Karma is a *****!
Posted by: EastCoastJessie | March 07, 2008 at 01:23 PM
EASTCOASTJESSIE:
I'm personally for married couples staying together, not separating. But, if there's one good reason for it, it's rooting against the Lakers. If your significant other does that, then hey, you gotta do what you gotta do.
Priorites, right?
Go Lakers!
CALI KING
P.S. Speaking of bandwagons, how about the "Leaving your husband/wife/girlfriend/boyfriend because they root against the Lakers" bandwagon? Wonder how many members there are out there.
Posted by: CALI KING | March 07, 2008 at 01:24 PM
I'm also eager to watch the Nuggets and Spurs. I really think Denver matches up VERY well against the Spurs, so if we can pull out the W tonight, we may just have a half game edge in the morning.
Posted by: Tim-4-Show | March 07, 2008 at 01:24 PM
MAMBA24 - PLEASE add me to the 55 and 60 win bandwagons...
I used to be there but not any more.....
Don't know why....
Want to die....
LOL!
Posted by: justanothermambafan | March 07, 2008 at 01:24 PM
TIM-4-SHOW:
"The relationship can survive different ethnicities, different tastes, different family styles, but you can NEVER comprimise the Lakers."
Words to live by, my friend.
CALI KING
Posted by: CALI KING | March 07, 2008 at 01:27 PM
LeBron is like the Biggie Smalls of the NBA. Kobe is like the Tupac.
East Coast, West Coast... and Tupac was the greater artist.
Posted by: Tim-4-Show | March 07, 2008 at 01:30 PM
Kobe hatin' alert...
J.A. Adande: (3:58 PM ET ) I'm going to put this out there so people can stop making this same mistake: every time I see this argument, people leave out the fact that Kobe had Lamar Odom riding with him. Wouldn't you rather have Lamar as your sidekick than Larry Hughes. Is'nt that a good place to start? I'll take Z over the Laker centers from last year, but after that how much better were the Cavs than what the Lakers had?
Lamar Odom?? For a guy from L.A. to argue that Odom is a legit second star is beyond ludicrous. Odom is good for rebounding, but the Cavs are one of the best rebounding teams in the league with Z, Varejao, Gooden/Wallace.
Related to that point, remember how a year ago all Hollinger could talk about was how great/underrated the Cavs' front line was for rebounding and defense? Now that he's amping up his Lebron-for-MVP campaign, that line of reasoning has mysteriously vanished from his writing.
These guys barely even make an attempt to conceal their bias. Think back to Kobe's team from '05-'06. That Smush Parker was the starting point guard is only the tip of the iceberg. As pathetic as Kwame Brown and Luke Walton are/were as starters, it was actually WORSE that that to start to season. Brian Cook and Chris Mihm!!!!! And we are supposed to believe that was markedly superior to what the Cavs have?
Posted by: McGarnagle | March 07, 2008 at 01:32 PM
EastCoastJessie,
Some basic thoughts on the matter....
1) There is East Coast bias in the media. (More people live there--play to the ego of your audience).
2) LeBron James has the Nike Media Machine behind him and the tacit media support of the NBA as "The Next Future Great". (We Are Witnesses! King James!)
3) Let's be honest with ourselves. We live in a country where 60% of Americans cannot find America on a map and we get passionate about whether or not there should be a consitutional amendment against flag burning. Most people are not intellectuals, have low critical analytical skills, AND are heavily influenced by the media. SO... if LeBron is being marketed as The Chosen One ("We Are Witnesses!") most people will believe it. Thus the imbalanced popularity of LeBron.
4) I don't like LeBron because he said he'd leave Cleveland "if it kept him from being the first billionaire athlete." First of all, that's lame. Second of all, I don't think another True Great (Baylor, Bill Russell, Chamberlein, Kobe, Magic, Jerry West, Michael Jordan, Kareem... even Shaq) would have (had) that mentality. What made them Great is that they wanted to win and that urge was as strong or stronger than any other urge in their personality. I do not think that LeBron James has an obsessive urge to win, and he, himself, has hinted as much in interviews where he states, "[I] don't want to go out every night and kill everybody every time, not like Kobe."
5) LeBron's not that great a guy. LeBron hasn't donated any money to the private Catholic high school where he attended without having to pay tuition for four years, which kept him out of trouble. In addition, I'm in Cleveland right now and people have told me who have met him that he's a bit of an egomaniac and I was told of two circumstances in which he did not act appropriately towards women. Let me put it that way. He's kind of a creep.
6) If you're not a Lakers fan or you are not a competitive athlete, it is easy to dislike Kobe. His singlemindedness and his past terrible choices in Colorado have marked him in the mind of many Americans. Still, he's the best player in the NBA and has been for at least four years.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | March 07, 2008 at 01:34 PM
Careful; where you step Laker Naiton! There's fresh troll poop!
Posted by: toad | March 07, 2008 at 01:37 PM
Winning a championship is priority #1,2 and 3.
But I am disturbed that Kobe isn't the overwhelming favorite for MVP. I predict a riot if Anyone not named Bryant is given the award. Most everyone on here knows, that an MVP means nothing unless you win the championship, but I feel slighted by the media and NBA...Because they are consistently holding Kobe's past transgressions against him. He is a basketball player, not a humanitarian. And for what it is worth, I saw footage of Kobe helping some of the New Orleans refugees build houses, and I hate how he gets no publicity for doing good things. Fact is during All-Star weekend, Kobe was helping kids and families of New Orleans, when Lebron was running around with Jay-Z wearing a Yankee hat. It is distrurbing that fans of Clevland love him so much, even though he itches at bolding to NY. If this is a race outside of team wins and individual play, Kobe has always done things to help the community without asking for notoriety for it. Once again, I know the award is meaningless, but the recongintion outside of external factors, and without bias will put my woes at rest. It is time for people to move on from Eagle, Shaq(who was actually the baby about the situation), and a plea for help in this last off season. Look at the body of work and the position the Lakers are in. No "expert" was even close to taking the leap of faith on the Lakers, while all of us on the blog were ceartain of it. Time for the media to turn the page, and start to reconginze the masterpiece at hand. They let things go with Jordan(Gambling, Extra Marital Affairs), it is only fair to do the same with Kobe. Speak out Lakers people, and speak loud, spread the word, and leave no person without the thought. This is our year:
COY - Phil Jax
GMOY - Kupchak
MIP - Andrew Bynum
MVP - Kobe Bryant
2007-2008 NBA Championship - Los Angeles Lakers
Posted by: Nik Kannan | March 07, 2008 at 01:39 PM
10mill, Wade is done like a TBone steak on Charles Barkley's plate! So long for him and his TMobile fav 5 commercial making asz, thinking his FIRE is way hot...
Posted by: lakersrydeordie | March 07, 2008 at 01:43 PM
I say let LBJ have the MVP award. The last three years it was given to the wrong person. Nash, Nash, Dirk??? Duh, duh, dumm. Neither Nash or Dirk could deliver in the end.. Dirk barley showed up to even receive his trophy. It has become and over rated award, the substance watered down. Years down the line people will look at the stats, the rings, and accomplishments of all the above, hopefully they won't ask... WHY? Why didn't Kobe ever receive one. Stern needs to get a hold on things and put the voting in past players, and coaches hands. The writters can't even stay consistant from year to year on what's considered. "Championship" rings much louder.
That's where were headed! Lakers!
Posted by: LakerFaze | March 07, 2008 at 01:44 PM
Funny how Hollinger raves on and on about LBJ's game against the lowly Knicks, but fails to mention Kobe's 52, 10, and 4 against a very good Mavs. All points that were NEEDED.
Posted by: wondahbap | March 07, 2008 at 01:44 PM
Lakers for championship. i don't care if Kobe wins mvp, just win the hardware... that should be good enough to show everyone that.. they're wrong.
Posted by: khang | March 07, 2008 at 01:46 PM
Good Afternoon Mamba24! Good afternoon Charles! Good afternoon Jon K!
Greetings from Texas!
I really hope that we can get Coby Karl some extended PT today - maybe even have him bury a few threes too. I really hope we can rest the starters for the entire 4th quarter, and if we're lucky, get Coby Karl a chance to get one of those dwight howard-esque super dunks like he did against ATL.
Mamba24, if you are so gracious and if you have the time in your busy schedule, I would like to humbly request that you put me on the "Coby Karl has the best dunk of the Laker's 2007-8 Season" bandwagon. I would be forever in your debt.
Lake show victory tonight! Let's go Lake Show!
Posted by: Caliphilosopher | March 07, 2008 at 01:50 PM
I think we need to stop freaking out about the MVP. It's out of our hands and to an extent out of Kobe's hands. I think he'll win the MVP this year because he hasn't won one yet and if he doesn't win one this year he may never get one. But who knows?
Posted by: Xodus | March 07, 2008 at 01:52 PM
Good article by Hollinger on the Suns. Shaq is ok at 13 and 8 – if only the Suns had a guy that can get 16 and 11, but could also defend the perimeter -- -- oh! oops!!
http://tinyurl.com/2ywxb9
Posted by: HmrHed | March 07, 2008 at 01:54 PM
Hey. A couple people asked about playoff rosters- my understanding (and I asked a couple people to confirm) is that it works the same as it does in the regular season. They've done away with all the limitations of yesteryear.
If I hear different, I'll let you know.
BK
Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | March 07, 2008 at 02:05 PM
HmrHed - That's a great point!
Actually, I think that in the off-season, there's a guy who plays for the heat that Phoenix might be able to pick up if he opts-out of his contract...
Posted by: Caliphilosopher | March 07, 2008 at 02:09 PM
Mamba - glad to see you back -
just a quick shout out - thanks for consistently reminding us why it's so great to be a Lakers fan.
Funny how anti-Lakerites accuse of us many things, but never seem to address the simple and obvious truth:
Rooting for the Lakers is fun.
Posted by: The D | March 07, 2008 at 02:09 PM
Hey Sigh...I agree Its time the MVP voting got taken out of the hands of the media and itno the hands of coaches and GM's..It just seems theres too much of an agenda...you wonder what criteria people really use.
Hi Edwin Gueco sir..how are you?Thanks for your interest.I love talking about myself so i'll reply... I was working for an art publishing company but the kiwi gal (to steal a Bill Simmons phrase although shes no more kiwi than Simmons is still relevent) didnt appreciate the hours I put in nor me coming in after work related nights on the sauce and parking myself in front of the computer and lakers blogging (it was these nights that bad kiwi would come out on the blog)...so I packed in my job and we spent two months in New Zealand doing some travelling,hanging with my family and hobbit spotting.After I accomplished my dream of sandboarding down mount doom we came back in the UK but I'm still happily unemployed...with, I might add,some serious restrictions on my blogging time! I'll be trying to chip in when Im allowed though..Im happy about the season and feel vindicated for supporting laker management but also feel terrible for losing my patience with the Kobester - never again.
Happy new year to you my man.
Posted by: Kiwi | March 07, 2008 at 02:13 PM
If Lebron were in L.A and Kobe was in Cleveland, I bet most of the writers would be picking Kobe for MVP. It's about getting the L.A market pissed off for marketing purposes!!
Posted by: zen | March 07, 2008 at 02:15 PM
Re: Ross Siler
his "rationale" proves to me that there will always be something to hold against kobe.
his OFFSEASON rant is reason why he's not the MVP of THIS season?!?
unbelievable. seriously... i simply can't believe that's his rationale
Posted by: CBuck | March 07, 2008 at 02:18 PM
Bling
Relax man, you have friend in me. Us trolls gotta stick together.
Posted by: Fire32 | March 07, 2008 at 02:21 PM
EastCoastJessie,
you wrote: I had this huge argument with myhusband last night over the same thing...he's just googoo gaga over Lebron and I'm not impressed with him at all. I kinda dislike him actually.
my response:
Perhaps you should ask your husband if he's got a thing for BIG, BLACK men? [ joke. ]
Whenever people start talking about how Kobe doesn't
help his teammates I always bring up SMUSH & Kwame.
[ Not even AK has a response for them. ]
Perhaps you could ask him to compare the records and
personnel of the knicks and mavs to assess the worth
of 50 pt games?
If he's still unreasonable ... might I suggest paddling
his bare bottom? He'll probably like it if he's so hung
up on the burly man-child known as LeBron. [ joke ]
Finally, accept that *YOU* are, in fact, his better half
and accept the numbskull for who he is. A lovable,
ignorant, ... DONKEY!
Posted by: hobbitmage | March 07, 2008 at 02:21 PM