http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/video/videopage?
videoId=3404386

Interesting video breakdown. They don't mention Laker's defense. lol.

Its been a long time coming, and I know Kobe didn't bring us this far to leave us hanging! LAKERS in 6, you have to battle the Champs in order to become a Champ. This is the perfect setting for our Lakers.

Charles,

Do you have Type 1 or Type 2?

GO LAKERS!

Kind of thinking PJ might hold out Trevor until G3/G4. If we are playing well @ home and can work off the crowd and initial energy - PJ might not want to use that bullet? He could then use Trevor as a strategic decoy to mix things up on the road. If they bring him in G1/G2 - it will give Spurs a chance to watch film and make adjustments accordingly. Throwing my thoughts out there.....

The D,

The Lakers use the same charter plane. Loose Cannons on AM570 just said it... NO was also having a convention and the 17 hotels in the immediate NO area could not accommodate the team needs.

Again this all per AM 570.

The D,

Dude, let's give credit where credit is due.

Eva Longoria is fricken hot! She may have terrible taste when it comes to basketball and basketball players, but that girl is smoking!

Is she talented? I really don't care. She is fricken hot!

GO LAKERS!

Jon K,

The type that doesn't make you enjoy fried rice and Sangria.

The type that makes doesn't allow you to eat Late Night Pizza with Lakers Legacy. (Thanks for the link btw)

The type that made me hold back from eating two sandwiches with PSLakerfan when he got me free tickets.

Type 2.

Spurs4Life,

Who took the coach in the back of the plane? Were you serving them Soda Water?

Anybody up for a joke? I need 3 amens. Trolls you may participate...

Jon K,

Thanks for the concern. I will check that out. A local radio personality Joe Grande had it done also on AM570 and said the same thing.

I will put research on the Duodenum, in my Addendum.

Best Regards,

Fist Pound...

AMEN Charles!!

magicman,
"Was he wearing the goggles, knee pads, and short shorts!??!?!?! LOL!!!!!!"

Do you think Tim Duncan likes it when Greg Popovich grabs his leg and rubs up and down?

Why not start Mbenga to guard Duncan? This way Gasol or Odom don't get into foul trouble and disrupt our offensive flow:

C Mbenga
PF Gasol
SF Odom
SG Kobe
PG Fish

Our bench would still be good:
PF/C Turiaf
F Vlad
F Walton
SF Trevor
SG Sasha
PG Farmar

This also helps in the matchup with Ginobli/Bowen. Bowen takes Kobe, Odom posts Ginobli. If Odom is at the PF, it's one less player for Bowen/Ginobli to worry about.

Mbenga starting would remind me of what Dallas did in '06 with Diop or Dampier on Duncan, leading to a Spurs defeat (though Duncan was battling a foot injury at the time). I just don't know if Pau can stay out of foul trouble enough since we need him on the offensive end.

Amen, Chuck...

We don't need to worry about the Spurs at all. I yelled up to my wife stating that SA won and that is who the Lakers will be playing and she stated just as long as they don't play Portland they have nothing to worry about.

Lakers in 5

Bynum Get Well, LakerNation prayers are with you tomorrow.

BD

exhelodrvr
Do you think Tim Duncan likes it when Greg Popovich grabs his leg and rubs up and down?

Has Manu ever been in a Turkish prison?

Where http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N0pi4X6hazw&feature=
related happens

Lakers in 6 if Ariza is 85 to 90 % healthy

Just thought about something that could be scary for the entire league.

Imagine if Portland gets the number 1 pick. Or the second. I know, it's very unlikely, but still, it can happen.

Imagine them getting Derrick Rose.

That would be one hell of a team... And it would be great to kick their butts every freaking year in the playoffs !!!

Saga

Did somebody say Airplane?

Jive Lady: Oh stewardess! I speak jive.
Randy: Oh, good.
Jive Lady: He said that he's in great pain and he wants to know if you can help him.
Randy: All right. Would you tell him to just relax and I'll be back as soon as I can with some medicine?
Jive Lady: Jus' hang loose, blood. She gonna catch ya up on da' rebound on da' med side.
Second Jive Dude: What it is, big mama? My mama no raise no dummies. I dug her rap!
Jive Lady: Cut me some slack, Jack! Chump don' want no help, chump don't GET da' help!
First Jive Dude: Say 'e can't hang, say seven up!
Jive Lady: Jive ass dude don't got no brains anyhow! Hmmph!

=)

The first two games will be crucial for the Lakers. If the Spurs steal one of the two, then the Spurs will win in 6. But if the Lakers defend their homecourt advantage, the the Lakers in 7.

Look, this whole season has been a great surprise. I joined the 35-win prediction club because the team was in turmoil. What a ride it has been. Not only watching each and every member of the team improve, not only getting Gasol (whom I thought could make an impact, while some of my fellow bloggers . . . well . . . didn't) but also watching Kobe Bryant have his finest season as a LAKER (not a PLAYER, mind you, a LAKER).

But the Spurs are the champs and are the best team in basketball until proven otherwise. I liken our situation to the Chargers vs. the Patriots. On paper, the Bolts should beat the Pats 7 times out of 10. But when it counts, the Pats get it done. Same with the Lakers and Spurs.

Victory IS possible. The team, while young, has enough playoff experience to win this thing. Here are the keys:

- SPREADING THE FLOOR. Don't let the Spurs compress the offensive sets. When the Lakers get good spacing and flow, they are almost impossible to stop. Ths Spurs jumbled and compressed the Hornets' attack at the end of the series, which was the difference.

- CONTAINING THE SUPPORTING PLAYERS. I cannot emphasize this enough. The Spurs Big 3 can hurt you. But the bench and role players -- Finley, Udoka, Oberto, and Cash Horry -- can KILL you. Ask New Orleans, who by all rights should have won that game. I'd be tempted to let the Big 3, especially Big Fundy, get theirs and lock down everyone else.

- THE BENCH MOB MUST BE PRODUCTIVE. If Vujacic, Turiaf, Farmar, Walton et al. can cancel out the Spurs bench, this series could be over in 5. That's a big if, since the Spurs bench has way more playoff and championship experience than LA's.

- ARIZA HAS TO GIVE THEM SOMETHING DEFENSIVELY. If he can have 1 or 2 good games, in the 2d half of this series, which will go 6 at a minimum, especially against Ginobili, whom I think the Lakers had in mind when they made the trade, the Lakers can win Game 5.

But I have to default to Spurs in 7. Have to. Champs are champs until they're not. The Lakers will win 1 home game big, win one home game close, and lose one. They'll need 2 on the road to win this series.

Go LA.

Amazing_Happens,

Kareem was great in "Airplane."

GO LAKERS!

***********This Article out of Sporting News****************

Possibly... The Greatest Laker Team EVER!

For entertainment purposes only, let's not discuss the Minneapolis Lakers World Champion teams. Let's keep the topic around the Los Angeles World Champion Laker Teams.

No greatest ever Laker team discussion can start off without mentioning the 1971-1972 Lakers. This team, with the Longest consecutive win streak (33) and one of the best overall records (69-13), will not only go down as one of the best Laker teams but also one of the best NBA teams. The NBA logo, Jerry West, along with the Big Dipper, Wilt Chamberlain, forged one of the best ever 1-2 punches the league has ever seen (both players are in the top 50 NBA players ever ranking). This team brought to LA its first NBA title, after several seasons of disappointment, by the hands of the Boston Celtics.

The irony of this particular team is the retirement of Elgin Baylor. Due to knee problems he was only capable of playing 9 games and retired. Had he been healthy, or the exposure of the medical advancements of today, that Laker team could have gone undefeated. Their 69-13 record stood as the best season ever, for 24 seasons.

For the record, before we go any further, the best Los Angeles Lakers team (in my humble opinion) was the 1987 & 1988 world champion teams. The 88 team finished with an impressive 60-22 record and became the first team to win back to back championship titles since the Boston Celtics' 68-69 team.

This team was the apex of the Showtime Years. A true, deep, love affair, between these Lakers and the city of Los Angeles existed and has never gone away. Although Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was on the downside of his Hall of Fame career, he along with Magic Johnson and James Worthy, delivered on a promise given to the city of Los Angeles, by their head coach Pat Riley, to repeat as champions. That parade celebration was the stuff of legends. This championship season acclimated the Lakers as the team of the decade, winning 5 championships in the 80's.

2000,01 & 02 Lakers - Strange Love Deluxe.
This period of Laker-Dom, was the epitome of Maze's hit song "Joy & Pain". The soap opera, that was the Lakers, dominated sports like no other. From their meteoric ascension to the inevitable implosion, this Laker period was never dull.

Although some of the personnel changed, the primary pieces remained the same. Resulting in the Lakers to become the 3rd team to ever 3-peat (Boston and Bulls were the first to accomplish this). From the incredible 4th quarter come back against the Portland Trailblazers, in 2000, to the unforgettable moments in sports history (Robet Horry's game winner in game 6 against the Kings, Kobe's Superman impressions against San Antonio and Indiana and Shaq's 3 Finals MVP's - to name a few), this Laker team will forever be remembered for what they did accomplish and for what was lost.

With all of that said, none of those teams possess the potential that next year's Los Angeles Lakers will provide. I know, I know, this season is just getting started and the Lakers will face the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. The current World Champions versus the young up-and-comers to challenge for the NBA throne. A great story, right? Sure, is, but like a kid waiting to open up his X-Mas presents, I feel that next year's team could possibly be a record setting/breaking team.

Let's take a closer look at the Tomorrow's Lakers:

Andrew Bynum. Young, confident and capable. Under the tutorage of Kareem and Rambis, this once prodigy has the potential of being one of the best Centers ever, to play the game. He has butter soft, sponges for hands that seem to soak up passes, in the tightest of spaces, with the greatest of ease. Excellent footwork and positioning has served this young stud very well. Once thought as a under-achieving child in a big man's body, this young man has taken the challenge and brought his game to a higher level. And he will be only 21 next season! This kid has the potential of carrying the Lakers, well after the Kobe Years.

Lamar Odom - He's simply the NBA's hardest cover. This athletic 6-10 basketball player can play EVERY position. That's right, EVERY POSITION (Offensive positions, just for clarity). His length and speed are an anomaly. He's the 6-9 point forward that Laker fans have been missing for years. The big guard that Phil loves and the perfect teammate of a highly driven Kobe Bryant. His ability to create off the dribble gives the Lakers an additional ball-handingly guard that does not require the outlet pass to get the fast break going. He simply grabs the rebound and pushes the rock down court, surveying the scene for a quick pass or a strong finish to the hole. What he lacks in a steady jumper, he has made up in skill and effort. Much of that skill and effort was heavily scrutinized before the acquisition of Pau Gasol. Since then, Lamar has settled into his role and has been on a roll, ever since. With his size and length, he offers the Lakers with the potential of having the Largest, Longest and Fastest Front courts that the NBA has ever seen.

Pau Gasol has all of the post moves and can score with either hand. Often questioned as being soft, the Spaniard has given the Lakers a solid post player, since the loss of Andrew Bynum. Considered a Forward, Gasol can play the center position. He, along with Lamar, have been given squads trouble. Like Lamar, Gasol has length and speed that only few can match, from the center position. A perfect player for the triangle offense, Gasol has the ability to hit the 15 to 18 foot jumper, sky hook with either hand, or finish strong over his opponent. Like many of the key pieces to the Lakers future, Gasol is still very young has a lot of mileage left in the tank, for future Dynasties to come.

Derek Fisher - The heart and soul of the Lakers. Derek Fisher is the glue that was gone, when the Lakers was in the wilderness, the past 3 seasons. Since his return back to LA, Fisher has provided heart and strength to a very young squad. In his 12th season, Fisher has also provided Kobe Bryant a confident outlet that he can depend on, at all times. Fisher has continued to provide timely jump shots and during the most desperate of times, while maintaining the cool of a savy veteran. The pride and determination of the Laker's organization is on display, every time Fisher takes onto the floor. His character, on and off the court is indisputable. In a season that has seen the Lakers’ heir apparent point guard, Jordan Farmar struggle in the playoffs, Fisher has been a steady "Little Rock”, which all championship teams need.

Kobe Bryant. The current MVP, Potential Finals MVP (for the next several years). Kobe couldn't have scripted a better scenario than the one he is currently in, with the Lakers. With the emergence of all of the Lakers' pieces, Kobe doesn't have to be "Kobe". Meaning, Kobe has become more efficient, forcing less and sharing more. That mindset will serve him well into his 30's. Similar to Jordan (no... I'm not comparing the two of them), Kobe will become more of a jump shooter who can finish, versus the constant driver he was, in his 20's. The truth however, is, with Bynum, Gasol and Lamar, Kobe doesn't need to and shouldn't want to.

Lastly the camaraderie between the Lakers has forged a bond and cohesiveness that will serve them well for years to come. Their role players: Farmar, Turiaf, Ariza, Walton, Vujacic and Radmanovic will continue to provide quality minutes off the bench, while allowing the starters to have confidence in their abilities.

This team is deep, confident and capable of making a strong push for the record books. The future is bright and potentially, a start into the best period ever, in the Lakers' aluminous history.

**Writer for Sporting News who doesn't like LA Fans****

Tomorrow night, the Spurs and Lakers will face each other in the NBA play-offs for the sixth time in the last nine years. In the previous five meetings, the winner of that series has gone on to win the title.

In the first decade of the 21st century, this has been the most significant rivalry in the NBA. After a two year, Kobe Bryant ego induced hiatus, the hostilities are about to resume. And even though my Spurs are decided underdogs in this series, I am glad to see its return.

With all due respect to Dallas and Phoenix, the Spurs’ rivalry with those clubs always fell short in intensity when compared to the one with the Lakers. The reason for this is simple – I actually kind of like the Suns and the Mavs. Until recently, Dallas was coached by one of my all-time favorite Spurs, Avery Johnson. Phoenix has always been a class organization and Steve Nash is one of my favorite “non-Spur” players. Truth be told, I even like uber-whiner Amare Stoudemire.

I have no such feelings for the Los Angeles Lakers. In fact, to be brutally dishonest about it, I can’t stand them. I have a very intense dislike for all things purple and gold.

It starts with the owner. Dr. Jerry Buss is a SoCal cliché – an older, toupee wearing, young chick chasing, fake sun tan having, pseudo Renaissance man. I don’t like Phil Jackson – the smuggest, most arrogant coach in NBA history. Kobe is devoid of anything that even resembles a personality.

And then there are the Laker fans. I could write a 10,000 word dissertation on why they are the most obnoxious fans in the entire world of sports.

I say all that so I can make this one point – just because I don’t like the Lakers doesn’t mean I don’t respect them. In fact, there is probably not a franchise, outside of the Popovich-Buford era Spurs that I respect more. LA, along with Boston, is the most storied franchise in NBA history. The Lakers represent what the Spurs are becoming – the benchmark for an NBA franchise.

Their past rosters read like a “who’s who” of NBA legends – Baylor, West, Magic, Jabbar and the greatest player ever, Wilt the Stilt. (I know I just earned a multitude of downward thumbs from the MJ faithful with that remark).

As for the present day Lakers, Buss is a shrewd businessman who transformed himself from a dentist performing root canals into a real estate magnate. He also leaves the basketball decisions to basketball people, for the most part. Jackson is a great coach, and KB will go down as one of the greatest players ever.

I even have to give some begrudging respect to the Laker fans. As a whole, they are well educated, articulate, knowledgeable and can run smack with the best of them.

Don’t misconstrue those words of praise. I still don’t like ya’ll – and I never will. My two favorite teams in the NBA will always be the San Antonio Spurs and whoever is playing the Lakers.

I am, however, really glad ya’ll are back.

Those are some mighty fine timepieces that Kobe gave his teammates. Heirloom quality stuff. They'd go real well with a Championship ring!

GO LAKERS!!!!