AK,

"Frankly, I consider scenarios involving a head-shaved, 400 lb. Kenyon Martin talking about "the horror" more likely than these guys getting through the season without a serious dust up."

Just fricken awesome.

Brilliant! Brilliant, I say!

GO LAKERS!

JUST CHECKING IN

I have bad news, My hang nail injury suffered a setback while on the golf course today. It couldn't have come at a worse time either, I was taking everyones money (as usual) by my exceptional play and my golf buddies were getting a little irritated with me, but what do I care, I am the best.
Anyway, I drove it in the rough next to a tree and couldn't take my normal swing so I had to swing left handed. This caused extra friction on my hang nail which made it worse than before. Normally I just re-tape it but it didn't work this time. Suffice to say my doctor said I needed immediate surgery (band-aid) and to rest for up to 12 weeks.
This of course is very disheartening as my golf group was just beginning to jell as a team (albeit lighter in the pocket) and now they won't have their star player.
They seemed to take it well though as I heard laughter and hoorays in the locker room as I was taking a shower.
My golf coach offered his condolences and told me not to worry and to take all the time I needed to fully recover. He had a bounce in his step I've never seen before. Poor guy is just devastated by the bad news.
I'll continue to keep everyone up to date on my hang nail, don't worry when I get back we will be unbeatable.

Hey guys, can you stop all that hoop and hollering, I'm blogging about my injury!!!
Here's hoping the team does bad...err I mean great without me. I can tell they already miss me.
Boy there's a big celebration next door.

Till the next update, I have to start rehabilitation immediately so I can be with my team family.
Hey guys...let me in.... this isn't funny... open the door.

Unleashed the Big Beast!

Bynum, Gasol, Ariza, Kobe, SunYue

Bloggers

Here's something to make you say hmmmmmmm?

As Steve Nash helped re-define the MVP........Most sportswriters were saying the best player on the best team in the regular season should win the award............Right?

Riddle me this; Why did most writers in the ESPN poll pick the Lakers to win the title....................yet overwhelmingly picked LeBron to win MVP...........????

AK can you help me??

"As Steve Nash helped re-define the MVP........Most sportswriters were saying the best player on the best team in the regular season should win the award............Right?"

Nah, Kevin Garnett didn't win it despite being the best player (No way Paul Pierce was the best player on the Celtics) so there goes that argument. Analysts have been picking Lebron to win it before the seasons and they have been wrong 2 times already. Only the regular season will tell if Lebron, Kobe, or CP3 will win the MVP.

-blitz

Boston - going out on a limb here but how great would it be? Just picture it... peace and unity gone. Garnett and Pierce at war. Allen pouting. The Boston press howling, fans throwing stuff. I kind of like it. Let's get the ball rolling with some internet rumors. Anybody else hear that Pierce is in rehab right now?

Posted by: dave m | September 12, 2008 at 08:28 PM

Well, rehab is all the rage now so he could recover from that rumor, but have you heard that he is running a dog fighting ring from his basement?

LakerTom,

Good, you put up the links on Rosen that counters several posts of your posts about the Beast. While I envy your optimism in believing on self proclamations, at our age & time spent in watching kids grow up, I guess there has to be allowance to be wary with what they claim to be. To see is to believe and provide conclusion later based on our personal take than mortgaging the farm based on someone's hearsay. i think Bynum as a player is OK but at 20 years old, does he have the courage to jump w/o fear of being injured. On the other end, mean players will find ways to hurt Bynum or Kobe's achilles heels in order to paralyze the Lakers. Nowadays, there is no more room for idealism to say that bums and bad players are no longer around in this league. In fact, they professionalized their despicable intentions. A tough guy like Artest could have performed that role. Turiaf did that role last year and got suspended one game in the Utah series and he behaved like a lark afterwards. Mbenga was never utilized to provide as an armour security for our moneyed players: Kobe and Pau. Who will protect our triumvirate? It is Powell, Mihm or Odom, Luke, Vlad and so on...? Precisely, that is what we have expected from Mitch this summer to get athletic players who are at least 6'7" & above with muscular build that can shoot and bang as well. He got dunkers within farmar's height and our Made in China, Sun w/c is a long way to go before he becomes a banger.

Troll Man,

"Hey guys, can you stop all that hoop and hollering, I'm blogging about my injury!!! Here's hoping the team does bad...err I mean great without me."

Yeah right, you're the blogger with delusion of grandeur and thinks the universe revolves around you.

Winning does cure everything. As it did with the Lakers in the early season last year. That was Buss's great hope after all the turmoil of last summer, that the team would start winning and Kobe would become invested in that, which he did.

Any team that feels like they have all the pieces to win, but haven't after a couple of years, is on the bubble to implode. When the expectation is a championship and you feel like you have the best team assembled, you start looking for reasons why it didn't happen and that can turn any organization against itself.

In that respect, I honestly feel like Dallas and PHX are the biggest contenders. For both teams, I'm not sure even winning in the regular season can cure their ills because it's just a big waiting game until June. It's been a real blow to those organization's pride when they realize that a squad built with Dirk at the core or Nash and Amare at the core haven't been able to get it done. You start looking at the pieces, the coaches, the philosophy, etc and wondering which aspect you have to "fix". God forbid you discover that you might have to build around someone else.

I'll go even further and say that there are teams that should implode. That stubborness is the only thing keeping some squads from getting better. I have always said that there aren't enough "true" franchise players to go around. If you don't have access to one you have to find another way to contend.

Every team is faced with this type of situation at one time or another. The real indicator of an owner's mettle is their track record in dealing with it. No matter what, the Lakers never seem to be out of the Championship conversation for too long. One of the many reason why it's great to be a Lakers fan.

"The odds of Bynum's undergoing a full return to glory are 1:2."

I wish bynumb well in his recovery, but the odds are probably correct, maybe the same for Oden.

As center, bynumb is of course subject to the worst beating of any of the other positions - that knee will be tested by bigger, stronger men who will force bynumb to bear their weight in the paint.

Besides the physical aspect, there is the mental part of rehab. bynumb hasn't played competitively for - what - 7 months now? In the back of his mind, he will be compensating for his fear of injury by being more cautious, and will be less interested in banging inside.

Then there's the presence of gasaul, who plays much differently as a PF than odomb. The learning process will coincide with learning how to play with a weakened knee.

In the end, bynumb will need to look up to AMARE for the hope he desperately needs.

Repost

Hey Butler,

Who do you think has/will have a bigger contribution to the Suns, Shaq or Charles Barkley. And my second question is, if Shaq and Barkley had a race who would win?

Regards,

MJT

Pfunk36,

"Here's something to make you say hmmmmmmm? As Steve Nash helped re-define the MVP. Most sportswriters were saying the best player on the best team in the regular season should win the award..Right? Riddle me this; Why did most writers in the ESPN poll pick the Lakers to win the title.....yet overwhelmingly picked LeBron to win MVP......???? AK can you help me??"

Well, the foundation for your question doesn't quite hold, because the MVP gets picked on regular season results, so whoever theoretically wins the title isn't a factor. More importantly, Nash winning his first MVP hasn't created any firm trends that "the best player on the best team gets the MVP." That happened with Nash's first trophy and Dirk in 2007. But Nash also won in '06 when the Spurs had the best record and Kobe won in '08 when Boston had the best record. And if you look the rest of this decade, only Shaq ('00) and Duncan ('02) won while playing as the best player/best record, meaning the mindset you cited was truly never in existence pre or post Nash.

Beyond that, it could reflect some thinking that a healthy Bynum might diminish some of Kobe's stats (for the "numbers" crowd). The panel also predicted the Cavs as an East elite and winning the Central, which certainly creates the requisite "upper echelon" record to compliment James' stats. Maybe they just think LeBron will have a more impressive individual season than Kobe, even if Kobe's on a better team. I really don't know, but I also don't find LBJ winning MVP such a mind blowing, eyebrow raising idea. It's not like the panel coughed up Jake Voskuhl's name. Even if you think Kobe is the better player (and I personally do), it's not like LBJ is so far behind in the rear view mirror that a legit discussion can't take place.

AK

Badfinger,

Is that your fav band? Huh...

Anyway, you sez:

"You are the ancient Rolling Stones playing halftime at Super Bowl XL. You will tip the season with a 163-year-old starting lineup: Shaq (36), Amare (25), Hill (36), Bell (32), Nash (34)."

The Stones still get lingerie tossed on stage, so not a bad comparison, though I think the SUNS' collective wives (SHACK notwithstanding) have forbidden extramarital sex.

Now, it's a valid argument, this age thing. But wasn't that what they said about the "old" Celts this past season? The lakers are younger by far...and lost by 39 in Game 6 to the grandpas.

And, let's not forget the SUNS have the best training staff in the league, a staff that is best equipped to keep the old fogeys healthy and limber.

I mean, what's better for the 2008 season - a 36-year-old healthy SHACK who averaged 14-11 last season with the SUNS, or a questionable 21-year-old bynumb who avgd about the same?

MJT asks:

"Who do you think has/will have a bigger contribution to the Suns, Shaq or Charles Barkley. And my second question is, if Shaq and Barkley had a race who would win?"

Well, Barkley was in his prime when he came to PHX. He had incredible games such as putting up a 44-25 Game 7 vs. Shawn Kemp and the Sonics.

SHACK of course is in the twilight of his career and isn't the best playa on the team, as Barkley was. AMARE is by far more potent at this stage.

But SHACK'S impact has been positive. The SUNS had to trade the Matrix because he would have left this summer anyway, and the SUNS were already paying him 17.5 mil, so to get a player who has championship exp and can shore up the SUNS' woeful interior rebounding and size issues, at 2.5 mil more per year was a good bet.

The trade changed everything about the SUNS, unfortunately in a way; but as brilliant as D'ANTONI was, the lack of defense ultimately kept the SUNS from winning the title (and some help from Donaghy, Stern, injury gods).

Though others see doom in PHX this season, already the mood is positive from what the playas have been reporting. Much like the Celts last season, the SUNS now have proven veterans with promising rooks and a deep bench. And a black ex-PG coach known for toughness with a defensive mindset.

Xodus,

Thanks for the link. Karl, how can you expect me not to get overly exciting about Andrew after watching him? How can any Lakers fan not be smiling from ear to ear about Drew?

Here is a pretty funny video of Drew blocking Paul Pierce. I had not seen this before. Lakers fans will love this:

http://tinyurl.com/5v5pq5

Make way for the Era of the Beast. Contract extension to be announced next week.

Tom

Edwin, I heard the dog rumor from www.allcelticplayersarethedevilsspawn.com

Great, the Blazers are probably going to sign Shaun Livingston. That's all we fricken need.

Urgh.

http://tinyurl.com/5ldzog

GO LAKERS!

Pfunk36/AK,

I believe that MVP has as much to do with positive press, endorsements, and television commercials as it does anything else. Journalists are effected by hype almost as much as everyone else.

Now that Kobe has turned the corner in terms of receiving consistent positive press again, he'll be a favorite to win the MVP again. Why? Because the Lakers are going to rock this year and the Cavaillars (the OTHER spokesman for sports drinks and stuff like that) will be a fourth or fifth seed in the East.

GO LAKERS!

FANTASY SPORTS IS RUINING FANDOM…

First off, I am not one of those old farts like John McCain who doesn’t email, text message, or understand or embrace technology and the Internet. In my time, I have owned and run software development and web consulting firms, can write and debug business software applications, and currently work as the controller for a $15M sales hi-tech distribution firm specializing in digital signage, post production, streaming, AV, and broadcast hardware and software. My social networking is more Linked-In than FaceBook or MySpace, but I understand first hand how technology has rewritten the rules by which sports as a business today must play.

My problem is that this same technology has allowed so-called fantasy sports to flourish, contributing to the continued slow death of the die-hard fan. Along with modern free agency, the over-expansion of professional sports, the explosion of video games, and the intentional internationalization of sports, more and more fans are foregoing their loyalty to specific teams and players and instead becoming fans of the sport in general. While I love basketball and will watch almost any teams at any level play, I just do not get how Lakers fans can join a fantasy league and draft and root for Celtics, Spurs, Suns, or players from other teams that are rivals.

I joined a couple of fantasy leagues way back when and just could not understand how any Lakers fan could find pleasure and satisfaction by drafting and rooting for LeBron James or Amare Stoudemire or Kevin Garnett. When I watch games with my son or other Lakers fans who have fantasy teams, I just grit my teeth when I find them rooting for a guy on the other team to make a basket, get a rebound, or complete an assist EVEN when they are playing against the Lakers. To make it worse, sometimes these guys put money on their fantasy teams which just completely dilutes their once proud Lakers fandom.

I have now made a rule that nobody can watch games at my house with their blackberries or iPhones if they are in a fantasy league. And nobody is allowed to root for a player on the other team. My son complained stridently but I told him I would rather watch the game alone than have to see fans rooting for the Lakers on offense and then some a-hole on the other team when the Lakers were on defense. As far as I am concerned, fantasy sports suck. I actually believe they are one of the key reasons why we get so many crazy trade ideas and screwed up rosters proposed on the blog. It’s just more proof of the constant dilution of true fandom by fantasy sports. You won’t find me wearing a Lakers jersey and rooting for Paul Pierce. I don’t know whether I can say that about Long Time or the rest of the fantasy ballers. I just wish they would take off their purple and gold when they do that. Or make sure there are no children around.

JMHO.

Tom

LakerTom,

I really enjoyed your post about fantasy sports.

I agree.

GO LAKERS!

By the way, does anyone want to request a Bio-Chrono Reading for any Laker player or member of Laker management, coaching staff, or ownership?

GO LAKERS!

say goodbye to DJ Mbenga. I think he's getting some really bad advice, asking for more than the minimum. WHO is going to pay that? We got him off friggin WAIVERS last season, hello? Why does he think he was on waivers to begin with?

The Lakers signed this C.J. Giles who clearly fits the "project" label but... that's what Mbenga was so... what do we need Mbenga for if this guy will work hard and listen to Kareem? This guy should grovel at the feet of Kareem if he has any sense at all. Kicked off 2 teams? This is it. He makes the most of this chance or he probably blows any chance of making it in the NBA. How could he not improve having Kareem Abdul... FRIGGIN Jabbar teach him how to play? That's like having Paganini as your personal musical coach.

http://tinyurl.com/6bhanu

This is it. One more no-turning-back moment for Giles, who is 22 now and finds himself between his hometown of Seattle and the spot where his college career dead-ended in Corvallis, Ore. He's preparing to enter the NBA draft.

He stands 6 feet 11 inches, so tall and so skilled that he remains a marvel even in the mind of the man who kicked him off Oregon State's team in January.

"The most talented, athletic player I've ever coached," said Kevin Mouton, former Oregon State assistant and interim head coach. "Ever. In 16 years of coaching."

Jon,

>>>>>This could be the best season ever since we first
>>>>>beat the Celtics back in 1985.

>>>>>It could truly be Great.

I agree 100%, Jon. But I still think there will be a lot of drama. It comes with the territory (LA) and the expectations (championship). LOL.

Tom

Jeff,

www.samcassellsfacekeepsmeupatnight.com.
*snort* that my friend is classic.

Edwin Gueco,

"Somebody here talked about himself in the golf links which is purely abuse of blogging, yet AK/BK did not censor it. They censored JonK, MikeT or Pfunk expression of passions and yet this gutless troll talking about himself which was never solicited got thru."

Two things.

1) The "golf" post, while certainly random, seemed to be a joke/satire of sorts. While I didn't personally get it, there was no real "harm" intended (that I could see), so I don't see what the problem is.

1) On the overwhelming whole, Jon K's "censored" posts were threats of physical violence against other readers, which are obviously against the rules. Mike T has written posts that were almost purely personal attacks or too centered along topics (religion, politics) that we expressly asked not be discussed at length. And if memory serves, Pfunk36 has NEVER written a post that didn't go live, because he's always respected the blog rules.

You need to get your facts in order and in the proper context before talking about what we "censor." Or just leave that duty up to us- as it's our job- and don't worry about it. But either way, spreading misinformation creates a false impression that BK and I don't need to be correcting.

AK

Stay Thirsty My Friends,

I think C.J. Giles is just a training camp body. Do you something else to be true?

LakerTom,

How do you think there will be drama this year? Is C.J. Giles the guy to bring the drama?

GO LAKERS!

Edwin Guerco,

Thanks for the defense.

I'm very surprised by AK's response regarding my posts because his response is simply untrue.

I feel the K Brothers and I have acheived a healthy degree of understanding regarding conflict of ideals when it comes to posting, but I am very disappointed with AK's response to your post. It is pure mischaracterization.

GO LAKERS!

Tom,

Right on bro, I feel the same way about fantasy sports. How can you root for some of these guys?? I'll agree that "fans" aren't what they used to be.

BTW, What is your take on the Niner's this year?? I know this isn't the right thread, but I would like to hear your insight.

dan

Long time Laker Fan,

I sent an email can you confirm you got it?

it's funny, we both switched to CJ Miles instead of C.J. Giles... hmmm... Miles/Giles/Trials... whatever... the Tall Dude!

LakerTom,

It's OK not to post if you don't have anything to say. Your last post:
Bashed republicans;
Stated how "Talented" you are;
Put down anyone who plays fantasy sports;
Stated your intolerance for anyone that doesn't root as you do;

Intolerant, hateful, and a braggard. Very nice example. I would argue again that your chronic drug use over decades has left you less "Talented" than you think of yourself.

PS How do you like the latest polls?

Dave M,
Did you hear that he is taking pole dancing classes to impress his "special friend" Sam?

AK,

By the way, I'm hoping that the reason you've forgotten why so many of my posts have been deleted is because the majority of these deleted posts occurred during gametime threads when a hell of a lot of people were posting over a short period of time so I'm sure a specific post would be easy to forget amidst an onrush of other posts OR because BK deleted them and didn't mention it to you.

I don't know.

Anyhow, whatever. It's not really a problem anymore, but I do understand Edwin Guerco's comments. It is sometimes as a blogger difficult to understand how trolls (from our perspective) seem to get a free pass, but other passionate fans (and frequent contributors to the blog) seem to receive greater scrutiny.

Off to watch the Bruins march to victory!

GO BRUINS!

GO LAKERS!

LakerTom,

"The Lakers are nothing but drama and there is no reason to expect that to change."

You may be right, but I hope you're not. For someone as passionate as I am about the Lakers, I really don't like the drama. I like team unity and victory.

GO LAKERS!

First a prayer for all involved in that horrific scene in Chatsworth -- -----

Now for something completely irrelevant by comparison:

MJT:

I'm sorry to tell you, but Butler is not in the business of answering anything coherent on this blog. If you really want him to answer your question, go ahead and look him up on the Suns blog under the handle "GrandCanyon" , referring to the space between his ears. Mr. Jab and Hide actually acts more civilized over there -- although that's not saying much.

dave,

>>>>>It's OK not to post if you don't have anything to say.
>>>>>Your last post:
>>>>>Bashed republicans;
>>>>>Stated how "Talented" you are;
>>>>>Put down anyone who plays fantasy sports;
>>>>>Stated your intolerance for anyone that doesn't root as you do;

>>>>>Intolerant, hateful, and a braggard. Very nice example.
>>>>>I would argue again that your chronic drug use over decades has left
>>>>>you less "Talented" than you think of yourself.
>>>>>PS How do you like the latest polls?

LOL. I don’t think parroting what John McCain said about himself and technology was bashing on Republicans and my “bragging” was just to make a point that NOT all old farts over 60 are technically inept or handicapped. As to hateful, at least I didn’t physically threaten anyone.

Not to say that the post was one that I was particularly proud of or put any real thought into. It was just a rant I spit out on a boring Saturday morning with an hour to spare. LOL. Much like your response to me IMHO. Not much to post about these last boring days before the season starts. I could try NOT to post but my “addictive” personality just cannot stay away from the Lakers blog and “fantasy sports” has long been a personal “hot” topic for me.

Would I have had a more successful life without my “chronic drug use over decades?” Perhaps, but nowhere near as interesting or as much fun. I would also comment that my affection for the hemp has probably caused me less physical and mental problems over the years than faced by those who have a similar love for the grape or nectars of the gods that pervade our society.

As to the polls, as I said earlier, they are disappointing but it is still only the end of the third quarter. I expect a reversal in the next few weeks as the truth slowly percolates to the surface and reality sets in. Win or lose, there is no better system in any country in the world than ours.

Love your basketball posts even if your politics don’t make sense. Have a nice weekend. :-)

Tom

Edwin,

"That's also the problem with you. You are a hot headed moderator. You are being accuse of being unfair and here you try to paint someone as creating false impressions. You always put yourself on the supreme and superior over and above other bloggers like us, cannot receive stirring rebukes, cannot complain on blog rules, w/c you also violate once in a while. Read your rules and ask yourself if you are perfect and never violated them."

I have no problem with readers expressing dissatisfaction, nor do I consider myself supreme over anybody. We're more than happy to hear complaints, even if that's not a guarantee that we'll change something. But I do have a problem with you (or anyone) expressing dissatisfaction through misinformation, which is what you did.

For example, saying that I've deleted Pfunk's "expressions of passion" is not only false, but particularly problematic because a lot of readers know he and I have had a history of heated arguments. If they hear you say that I've deleted his posts, they might think I'm making this personal and that's not the case. For whatever differences Pfunk and I have had, he's always respected the blog rules, which is why, to the best of my recollection, he's never had a post deleted. I needed to correct your statement right away, and I didn't appreciate being put in that position.

You're also right that I've probably violated the rules in the past. I've never claimed to be perfect and I'm sure I've been hypocritical at times. But even acknowledging that, there are still rules to be enforced and it's up to BK and I to do that. I guarantee we don't do it with absolute perfection, but we still do our best. Either way, I felt like you were making a mountain out a molehill, as the expression goes, which is why I was saying, this really shouldn't be your concern.

AK

Badfinger sez:

"Badfinger says: Come and Get It"

Since you dodged the question I brought up, I'll restate my challenge to you.

You suggested the SUNS are too old to win. And I responded by reminding you that they said the same thing about the Celts last season, but not after the "old" Celts tore the "young" lakers a new one (39 pts in Game 6).

So, is age really what laker fans are pinning their hopes on this season in terms of facing older teams such as the SUNS and spurs and Celts?

I would think after the lesson kobey and his young peers got in the Finals, the hope for an advantage based on age would be replaced by a hunger for defensive improvement. But memories are short on blogs...

Laker Tom and other anti-fantasy-league bloggers,

There is a very positive side to fantasy leagues. They get
you to pay attention to players on teams other than your
own once in awhile.

While it is nice to focus your cheering on your own team,
and the majority of my cheering does go to the Lakers,
participating in a fantasy league encourages you first to
investigate the tendencies of other players in the league,
and then to watch games involving teams other than your
own team. I don't feel that my watching more basketball
games makes me less of a Laker fan.

And when I'm watching a game with one of my fantasy
players on it, I couldn't care less whether they win or lose
the game, I'm just cheering for my players to get stats.
But I do pick up on the strengths and weaknesses of the
team a bit.

Laker Tom, let me ask you this. If you happen to flip on
a game next season where Golden State is playing
against Memphis (for example), would you cheer for
Ronny Turiaf? even a little bit? There's no real reason
for you to cheer for him, since he's not a Laker. And in
fact, he was "disloyal" to the Lakers - he could have re-signed
with them for the qualifying offer and stayed with the team.

But I know I will cheer for Ronny when I see him playing
against anyone but the Lakers. So why is it worse to
cheer for Danny Granger or Travis Outlaw or anyone
else?

And besides, it's not like your team is assigned to you. You
get to pick your team. Personally, I would never pick a
Celtic for my team, as it would make me sick to my stomach
to cheer for anyone in a Celtics uniform. But I don't really
"hate" most of the teams in the league, so I have no qualms
about cheering for Dirk Nowitzki or David Lee or someone
else if they're on my team.

And if they're playing the Lakers that night, then the
fantasy allegiance ends there. Last season when the Lakers
played the Knicks, you can bet I wasn't cheering for David
Lee.

Jon K - If you joined a fantasy league, you could probably
easily pick a team of all Lakers and Clippers. And if you
got a little bit of luck at the top of the roster you could have
a decent chance of winning - Kobe, Marcus Camby, Baron
Davis, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Chris Kaman and
Lamar Odom are all well respected fantasy players, and
you could plug in Sasha for 3's, Fisher and Farmar as
2nd & 3rd point guards, and have a pretty balanced team.
You're not likely to get every one of the top guys, but you
could certainly get 8 or 9 players of a 13 man roster from
the home teams and do pretty well in the league. Maybe
you could plug the holes with ex-lakers or players from
UCLA &/or USC.

Oden and Bynum if both are 100% healthy could bring a new era of dominant big man in the league. I look forward to their match ups in years to come.

Portland will be the most formidable foe the Lakers will have to face in the next decade as well.

First, Blazers starting unit has star power and fully equipped at every position. Oden at Center, Aldrige at PF, Webster at SF, Brandon Roy at SG and Blake at PG. This matches up well with Lakers starting unit.

Bynum -Oden
Gasol - Aldridge
Odom - Webster
Kobe - Roy
Fisher - Blake

Just as the Lakers have a young talented bench, the Blazers also have it and maybe more..

Mihm - Pryzbilla
Vlad - Frye
Ariza - Outlaw
Sasha- Fernandez
Farmar - Bayless

And third, Lakers Coach is the best in the league with Pops and others but are they past their prime, while the Blazers has up and coming most talented Coach in the league in Nate McMillan.

Blazers is more set than the Lakers with no forseeable turnover in their future from stars, bench and Coaching staff in the next five to ten years.

Lakers will have the edge in the next two years against this team, but on the Third year Lakers without a Coach, without a Point Guard when Fisher retires, and BYNUM and KOBE feuds over whose team it is. Lakers will be in trouble.

Who will the Lakers brass choose then at the time. Can the Lakers make both Kobe and Bynum stay happy and focus just on winning? Will Kobe give way to Bynum like Shaq never did for him? Will it be more like David Robinson making way for Tim Duncan? Should Bynum wait patiently until Kobe hands it over to him, like Kobe never waited patiently until Shaq was ready to turn it over? Or was Shaq had no plans of turning it over to Kobe, that's why Kobe sensed it and responded with moving out if he can't drive his own team.

I just do not see Oden and Roy having a star status problem. I thinlk this two will set the example and become great leaders on their team. Nate also does not have the huge ego of Phil Jackson.

Lakers must take two Championships in 09 and 10, without a smooth turnover on Leadership (Superstar and Coach) it could end up fast on the third year. Hollywood drama style over again.

Let's hope it does not happen. Unless ofcourse you prefer drama over NBA FInals?

So the question is, who is the next Lakers Coach to bring Leadership and balance with and an emerging young beast in the paint Andrew Bynum and a Global Superstar starting the downhill of his career but still the most dangerous assasin in the game.

Lakers need to start planning.

AK,

Think we need a game. Or at least a new thread. The blog is getting pretty antsy. You and jon are at it again. I’ve been at it with Pig and Jon and went after dave m thinking he was eric m. Elle’s been creating anti-Celtic websites and urging you to get out of the basement rather than rallying for women’s rights or sociologic causes. Even Edwin’s ready to lay it down. I think it’s time you released the news that the Lakers just signed Andrew Bynum to 1-year $50M contract and Phil has decided to start Luke Walton at small forward. LOL.

Tom

Okay, seriously...

Ex, I'm not putting your post through because LT's McCain reference was clearly just a off-handed joke and the post itself wasn't politically-centric at all. It doesn't merit a response breaking down the truthfulness of a commercial campaign, which can take things WAY off track.

Having said that...

Laker Tom, we've expressed before that we don't want this blog becoming political, so there's really no need to try and slip a McCain reference in, even one that appears incidental. Against my better judgment, I allowed it to slide, because it felt harmless enough, but in retrospect, I shouldn't have. Nor should I have been in a position to make a judgment call about whether or not to delete an otherwise fine post because of an unnecessary reference or have to email you asking you to rewrite it. Please honor our request, which we've now made several times. Unless it has something to directly do with basketball or the thread's topic, there should be no mention of McCain, Obama, Palin, Biden or any of the election's other central characters or plot lines. We've made this very clear and are getting tired of saying so.

And if either of you (or any reader) happen to see something that perhaps shouldn't have slid through (BK and I can't catch everything), just let us know, let us address it, and leave it at that "bipartisan" solution.

If you have any concerns about the matter, please email me or BK.

AK

Elle,

>>>Did you hear that he is taking pole dancing classes to
>>>impress his "special friend" Sam?

You misspelled "Satan"

>>>Did you hear that he is taking pole dancing classes to
>>>impress his "special friend" Sam?

You misspelled "Satan

You know I'm sad that Satan with all his money and power still can't afford to do something about that face, someone call Doctor 90210!

Just want to poke my head in for one soapbox moment.

AK/BK-

I just want to speak on behalf of myself, and hopefully the rest (if not the majority) of the blog- You two are doing an absolutely PHEONOMANAL job. It's hard enough to rein us in during the actual season, but to do your best to keep a lid on a bunch of very smart bloggers going absolutely stir-crazy during the offseason, trying to talk about ANYTHING to keep ourselves occupired. When tempers flare, you guys do your best to settle the moods, but you guys are inherently fair and just blogmasters. Not everyone can keep calm (or at the very least attempt to) the eclectic readership that participates on a daily basis, especially one that wants the season to start so very badly.

I raise a bottle of Heiniken to you, and I would like to ask the rest of the blog to join me in saying this- We thank you guys, even though we can be an arrogant to the point of wanting to find out where we live so you can come punch us in the face. You give us a place to vent, and even though we cross the line, you're like the cool parent that actually tries to explain to us what idiots we are instead of telling us to go to our room WITHOUT DESSERT.

Again, you guys have an awesome haven for us here- We got two months left, hang in there, AK/BK, hand in the fellow bloggers- with a season this long, the season itself will only be that more sweet.

Steps off of sopabbox.

::Starts slow clap::

AK,

I think this link expresses the present level of our conflict.

http://tinyurl.com/6mddfs

GO LAKERS!

Edwin Gueco,

"Our made in China"...Sun....

OK,

24-Kobe-African American
16-Pau-Caucasian from Spain, that's in Europe,you know
9-Sun-Edwin covered that
7-Lamar-African American
17-Bynum-African American
18-Sasha-Caucasian from Slovenia
()Mitchell-not worth wasting my time on
()Josh? from Clippers-African American (a modern day version of a freed slave)
Walton-Caucasian, probably with mix of European heritage, I would guess somewhere in his blood there is Irish
(10)Vlad Rad- Caucasian from somewhere, (bad joke: Transylvania, which is not next to Pennsylvania, you knuckleheads, and if he has to exchange his USD$ for Euro's, when going home, then he's screwed,like the rest of us, just on a bigger scale)
Jordan-1/2 Caucasian-1/2 African American (I believe being of the Jewish faith does not enter into this recap of ethnic background. Judaism is a religion, not an ethnicity)
(2)Fish-African-American
(31)Mihm-Caucasian

I give up.....

SUN YUE, pronounce it "Sooon", btw, that's his last name, do some research.... on the court he is "a basketball player"...it would bug me, and maybe some other hypersensitive people, but I don't want to keep hearing "The Chinese player".....hey, you know what, there are alot of Asian players in MLB now, I wonder how many of them wear their MBZ emblems gold plated around their necks, that's a classy look...in other words, MLB should have banned jewelry from their players a long time ago. Yes, I remember the days of Norm Nixon and his gold chains, but I think it's a little more professional looking to not look like the 1st of Nordstroms, and yes I know, it's not Nordstrom stuff, it's custom.

As i look out of my front window, I see my white man neighbor mowing his lawn. I think I'll go get some gas from the Shell station down the street and see if I won the Lotto by asking the Korean man to check. Then, I'll go to the market and drive carefully in the parking lot because there are Asian women driving Mercedes Benzs' and Lexus'......pluralazation rules may have been violated, I (the Asian American man) apologize.

Have a great day, in the good ol' USA.

h.

Sadly, these same people predicted a not so favorable Lakers season (in years past).

Sadly lol.

So I'm not a big fan of "pundits" per say. Especially since all those bandwagonners jinxed us lol.

Go Lakers!

AK,
If you go back through the posts, you will see that that is not the first time that that comment has been made. And seeing as it is in line with one of the campaign arguments, I have a hard time seeing how you can just call it "a joke". It was pretty clearly intended as a political statement.

To LGC's and other trolls...

One of your own, Bill Simmons is actually giving Kobe props for his Olympic play and proclaiming him the best player in basketball. Here's the excerpt from his latest Mag column.

"Third, for most of the Games, Team USA had an alpha dog issue. Was this Kobe's team or LeBron's? Fast-forward to 8:13 left: Fernández's three cuts the lead to two; the crowd is going bonkers. Spain's bench reacts like a euphoric 15-seed during a March Madness upset, and the U.S. calls timeout. All along, my biggest fear had been a tight game and multiple USA guys saying, "I got it!" Instead, everyone deferred to Kobe, who made some monster plays to clinch it. Know that in the history of the NBA we have never had the best-player-alive argument resolved so organically. Incredible. Kobe, you have the Lord of the Flies conch. Use it wisely."