Good morning!

REPOST FOR LAKER LOVER

Laker Lover,

82games.com's sortable clutch stats really only shows two things:

1. Kobe is actually ridiculously close to LeBron.
2. LeBron has played in far, far, FAR more clutch situations than Kobe. (Look at minutes)

Read this: http://tinyurl.com/24knmg

here's what it boils down to: lebron's played in way more clutch situations than Kobe because Kobe's been busy blowing out teams. but when he needs to operate in the clutch, he's still the clutch master. lebron ain't got nothing on him in the 4th.

Hey, this is my second post on this blog. The first was yesterday. First off, I have tickets to the LAKERS vs. mavericks in Dallas on March 18th and I will be sure to try and give some live updates and post after the game.

Second, I would still like to be added to the LAKERS rollcall and the CHAMPIONSHIP bandwagon if there's still room.

Onto the lebron vs. KOBE argument, this is truly not an argument and KOBE knows it. He continues to demonstrate that he is the best player in the game by simply going out and WINNING and not worrying about the MVP vote or lebron.

KOBE understands he is NEVER going to get the love that lbj gets, he understands that he simply came to the league a bit to soon. People didn't want to forget about MJ just yet and here was this KID doing all the things that the great MJ did, only he was younger and doing it against a SUPERIOR league and against SUPERIOR teams.

MJ NEVER played in a league this tough, as a matter of fact, when the league was a bit tougher in MJ's younger years, I think you'll notice alot of scoring from MJ and alot of singular accolades, but when facing the TOUGH teams he simply couldn't get the job done. Then as the league went through a dip in talent, when Magic, Bird, Isaiah, and many others were seeing the end of their careers and there were way less TOUGH GOOD teams to deal with, all of a sudden he starts winning championships in an inferior league and everyone starts calling him the greatest ever.

I would of loved to see those BULLS in this NBA today and the past few years, can anyone say, Spurs, Suns, Pistons, Lakers, Celtics, Jazz, and more through the last five to seven years or so. I'd love to see how many championships his airness and his bulls would of had in THIS past 8 years.

I talk about MJ when comparing KOBE to someone else, not LBJ, because lebron will NEVER be anywhere near that. The only person KOBE has to worry about rising above is a ghost that should have been long forgotten by now. If KOBE can win a couple more championships, I'd like to hear the arguments then. Will people continue to compare KB24 to whiny, arrogant, impetulent kid named lebron that is simply a product of overhype that has never done anything except get his team through oneof the weakest conferences we've ever seen only to be BLOWN OUT OF THE WATER by a SUPERIOR western conference team, 4-0, or will they compare him to an over rated ghost that dominated the league when IT was in one of it's weakest moments.

Whether you agree or not, this is how I feel, KOBE is the greatest player of ALL-TIME, but he will never get that love because of WHEN he came into the league, and the JEALOUSY that was waitng there for him. Granted, his attitude early on his career hurt him with people, but at some point you have to get past that, he was a 17 yr. old kid, yet had more cahonas than any Laker on the court his rookie season, was it then or his second season that he took those shots against the JAZZ when everyone else on the floor was AFRAID to be the guy that missed. Not KOBE, he showed then and he shows it now, HE WILL NEVER BACK DOWN, HE WILL NEVER BE AFRAID, HE WILL TAKE THE SHOT, MISS OR MAKE, AND HE WILL DEAL WITH THE CRITICISM, BECAUSE WITHOUT TAKING THE SHOT YOU HAVE NO CHANCE, BY TAKING IT, YOU HAVE A CHANCE TO BE A WINNER, HE IS THE BEST, AND YOU WILL KNOW IT BY THE TIME HE'S DONE!

I am not rooting for KOBE to win the MVP because he DOESN'T CARE about the MVP. He told the whole world what he cared about when Phil Jackson had every player stand up at their first practice this year,

Phil said, Stand Up, give your name and some information about yourself.

Kobe's response when he stood up,

"I'M KOBE BRYANT AND I WANT TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP!"

Then he sat down, nothin about MVP, nothing about best records, or single minded goals, "I WANT TO WIN A CHAMPIONSHIP!"

That's all you need to know about Kobe "BEAN" Bryant, KB24, MAMBA24, THE ASSASSIN!

LAKER 4 LIFE

Johnny Z

I would say Warriors vs. Lakers most likely. At the rate of Suns losing games, they might be landing in the 9th spot. Suddenly, the Suns got flat-footed and the Tiny Tims of Denver like AI and Carter are just too fast for oldie Nash and Barbosa.

Well, it is too premature to suggest that Lakers will be there in the top, any consecutive losses could bring down a leading team, so I say there are still a lot of games to be played. W/o Bynum's defense on the middle, it is hard to jump into conclusion because we're still soft in the belly but we have the finishing left & right hookshot on Pau and the unstoppable Kobe in the 4th Q. I hope Luke W. will be unstoppable too, or rather I wish no more T/O's, that'll be a good game for him.

Oh and by the way...

GOOOD MOOORNIIING, Y'ALL!!!

AK,

"In 8 games with Shaq, Phoenix has only held opponents to those figures or below twice. They're getting smoked defensively. Is it ALL because of Shaq? No. But thus far, they looked like a considerably better defensive team with Marion. Which makes sense, because Marion is a much better (not to mention versatile and complete) defender than Shaq. Which is why the supposed rationale for bringing in O'Neal made no sense to begin with."

The thing I don't get is that between members of the media, nationally, in Phoenix and some in Miami, how were there not more people that saw this coming? The Suns were talking about improving defensively when Shaq is one of the worst defensive centers in the league. And the Suns are now one of the 5 worst defensive teams in the league.

If there's one positive (other than the fact that the Lakers quickly took the division lead after the trade, which I also called btw, haha), it's that we'll be able to enjoy Steve Kerr's analysis on TNT relatively soon.

Hello LAL blogger friends!
Really like the kudos going out to LO! Finally. It helps his confidence going into playoffs.

Purple and Gold blogger team: we need to keep giving LO his props. We need him to show up in May/June. And maybe, just maybe some of that will rub off on Luke.

GO LAKERS!

ESPN's Tim Legler predicted a Lakers v. Spurs in the WFC with L.A. winning in Game 7. What do you guys think?

Oh yeah: happy b-day Shaq! Here's my wish: hope your team shows up for the playoffs.

Congrats to D-Fish on his LA proclamation day!

xtro,

I think it's possible if we have homecourt advantage and Bynum and Ariza return to their previous form. We're too soft defensively and on the boards to beat the Spurs as currently constituted.

Xodus,

It was the owner's idea to get Shaq..Kerr's job is safe.

Demise of SUNS also important from one little angle, no matter how bad Lakers play in th future, they would not fall lower than 4th place as a division leaders.

Forget about Bynum today folks.....we know he's still in the pool.

AK/BK: What about Trevor - is the cast off? Wasn't there supposed to be an update with him this week?

Xodus/DanDan/PsychedLakerGirl/DK,

I haven't heard anything new about Ariza or Bynum, but I'll be at practice today and will ask if there have been any developments.

Xodus/Zen,

I imagine SportsCenter meant or said "season-high" rebounds for Shaq last night.

I'm not buying the idea of Phoenix "needing time to adjust," and not just because I was convinced from minute one this was a bad deal. It's simply not practical. For starters, the West is too tight. Too much time "adjusting" and a team could find itself out of the playoffs. Beyond that, how much time will this take? Another 5 games? 10? After the first week of April? Do you really want to head into the playoffs just starting to become comfortable with each other? Or worse, still not playing well? Teams like that have a tendancy towards early exits.

Honestly, if this big of an "adjustment" period was part of the master plan, the plan needed more time at the drawing board.

AK

I'm a Homer. Plain and Simple. Kobe is clutch and no statistic is going to change my mind about that. No sense in arguing who is better. Lebron or Kobe. Just as Kobe is chasing MJ's 6 titles, Lebron is still 3 behind from Kobe. King James can march his Cavs to the finals 10 times in the next 10 years but if he can't win...

Xodus,

"The thing I don't get is that between members of the media, nationally, in Phoenix and some in Miami, how were there not more people that saw this coming?"

But they did see it coming. Remember when the trade first went down, EVERYONE killed the trade for the first day or so. Then Shaq got "MAD" and held a press conference. "When I get mad, I tend to do things like win championships." He called out Wilbon by name, and all of a sudden a lot of writers and reporters CHANGED THEIR MINDS. "Oh Shaq's still got it. Shaq's gonna put them over the top."

Shaq is and always has been a CON MAN. Of course he was a great player, but he never had any WORK ETHIC, and that is death for a big man's career. He came into training camp overweight EVERY SEASON.

But he makes the writers laugh and they were AFRAID of being on the wrong side of it, so they just rolled over and started saying, "I think it could work." They believed him instead of everything their eyes and guts told them. Maybe i was because they knew he wasn't trying in Miami, so they decided he would "turn it on" in Phoenix.

It's the downside of having these personal relationships with the players. I'm not the biggest Hollinger fan but this was a case where numbers told the whole story before it happened and Hollinger was against the trade from the beginning. Of course, Hollinger does not work the locker rooms like a beat reporter, so he wasn't "compromised."

Now these same writers that said it would work with Shaq have to wait, wait, wait until the last minute to jump off the Shaq bandwagon because they've already flipped once.

" L.A. Phoenix first round matchup are increasing. "

Possible -- Suns can have 23 loses before the end of the week -- but I think they'll nut-up against Utah. if they don't they are in deep do do -- That's the scientific term

-----------

Zen,

"Kobe is stubborn and thinks he can play on one foot and one arm behind his back."

In some circles they call that being a warrior. Let tranquility guide you Zen.

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

Xtro,

"ESPN's Tim Legler predicted a Lakers v. Spurs in the WFC with L.A. winning in Game 7. What do you guys think?"

Don't like it if/because:
1. Bynum is not back
2. Spurs have home court.
3. Legler is a dumbass

Good Morning Charles!! Good Morning Mamba24!! Good Morning Blog Family!!

Another beautiful day in LA LA Land!!!

LBJ - dropping 50 on the Knicks, nice job, you are a fantastic talent, but I'll still take Kobe

We've finally got a few games at home. The players get to spend time with the family, chill at the homestead for more than a couple of days without a game every other night. We cannot take these teams lightly but the pressure is not as high, so let's relax and get the shot back young ballers. Let's remember the defensive rotations and how we share the ball and get back to that beautiful style of play we know we are capable of.

And don't forget...

SAY IT LOUD AND SAY IT PROUD!!!!

KOBE FOR MVP!!!
KOBE FOR MVP!!!
KOBE FOR MVP!!!

I really enjoyed John Krolik's breakdown pt. 1 of Kobe vs. Lebron. He has a relatively balanced perspective and brings novel ways of looking at the same old arguments.

Hi AK,

Baron Davis said this morning that he thinks Phoenix needs another 10 games or so to learn to play with Shaq..Don't know if that means much, but he did say it.

Man I hate Peter Vesey!! He said last night that he felt Kobe, Lebron, and Paul all have been playing MVP ball this year..But then added: But Lebron is taking a team of nobody's to the playoffs.

First you put up incredible stats, but your team is not good enough for you to win MVP.

Then you put up above average stats, and your team is too good for you to win MVP.

Kobe took a crappy team to the playoffs 2 years ago, had his best year ever, and still didn't get MVP.

But some of the media guys are nervous...This should be Kobe's year and some members of the media are trying their best to not make it happen.

re: the spurs. I don't think we've played them since
we got Gasol. I'd like to see that before guessing
abut Lakers vs. Suns.

Xodus,

re: why more people didn't see the problems with
Shaq on the Suns.

They were to busy remembering Shaq of 7 years
ago, spent too much time listening to the Big
Soundbite, spent too little time watching the fat man
waddle up & down the court.

Guys,

Here's an email I sent to J.A.Adande. It's a long one so pass on by if you not interested.

JA Adande,

Hello and how are you?

Regarding the Kobe vs. Lebron MVP debacle. I have read and watched numerous points for both players. The most intriguing of all Analyst, Writers and Bloggers are your Radio and TV arguments as to why Kobe shouldn’t win the MVP. In all honesty, that alone suggests a personal bias due to your constituency to some other player during the Mini Dynasty with the Lakers. I am not going to get into Statistics, pads and numbers. Here are my rebuttals to your arguments.

Your first point about the 6 losses that Cleveland earned when Lebron was not playing is feeble. Wasn’t Lebron out 2-3 games with a pathetically mild pinky injury? You do realize Kobe has three significant injuries to his shooting hand pinky and producing numbers arguable with your king? That will also serve as an end all to your numbers comparison.

Your second point about Lebron being cheered by opposing teams for MVP is also weak. Lebron has not established a hated legacy from opposing teams. (Kobe on the other hand has been hated by all.) All from the Colorado incident, the supposed break up of the 2003-2004 teammates of Karl Malone-Shaq-Payton, and the Diaries of my beloved coach.

Let’s use the New York game when the fans cheered your King. Do you realize how bad the Knicks have been the last few years? I believe the Chinese Circus came for half time and they received more cheers than Nate Robinson’s attempted right hook to Carmelo Anthony.

Now let’s examine the recent game of The Lakers vs. The Kings. The hatred of the Lakers by Sacramento fans is etched from the mouth of Derek Fisher; considering he just mentioned as a Warrior and Jazz player, Fisher was still getting booed. Now for Sacramento having that many Laker jerseys and bellowing MVP chants is a remarkable anomaly. Judge the calibration of that MVP cheer compared the bottom feeding Knicks.

Third point. Jamaal Mashburn and Greg Anthony stated that Kobe has earned the MVP due to the history of his continued greatness. You brushed that point as if it was nothing. How does pertain to Lebron’s recent greatness in the weak east? Maybe we should remove unspoken rituals of Rookie duties and on the game hazing of players testing neo player’s mettle. Perhaps the title of Captain should be relinquished to Damon Jones; after all he is interesting on the microphone. Also rookies should be called first year guys and remove the Rookie Sophomore challenge from the all-star game. Lest you forget, the way you had to move up from LA Times to ESPN.

My point is Kobe has earned his MVP in far more formidable years than Lebron. Don’t get me wrong, James is awesome and MAY surpass Kobe and Mj’s accolades. (I doubt it. He is more a Dominique Wilkins great than Kobe or his Airness great)

Why Kobe is MVP. Kobe wanted a trade from the Lakers and he showed up to work and gave no less than 100 percent to his team. He is playing with a bad injury and will post pone surgery to FIGHT FOR AMERICA. He is a major draw from hated established opponents home courts. He has solidified this season’s allure of the Lakers, clamored and appreciated like a Team of Bullfighter’s displaying the greatest cultural show. He has changed his tarnished image and can be an example to children and adults that you can move on and learn from your mistakes. That is the MOST VALUABLE PLAYER for this league and era…

The Former Shaq guy,

Charles.

Actually sorry it wasn't sportcenter that said the career high of Shaq..It was NBA TV. They were wrong..

I just thought about this..If you really think about it..Lamar Odom was traded for Marion after all if you look at it long term!