@TOM DANIELS... “Sir Round Mound Milk Dud Head Charles is right - the West will be a tough place come playoff time. Laker fans will be expecting fo-fo-fo and will turn on their guys when some of these series shape up as real battles. But there could be some real battles.”
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It’s a rare moment when I disagree with the great Tom Daniels but as George Mumford might say, the Lakers are in the zone and will meet each playoff round challenge with inspired heart and play. In other words, their asses are on fire. There will be no loss of focus or lack of effort to derail this juggernaut. The team to a man realizes how important it is to win this year’s NBA championship, to send Phil off to Montana with his 12th ring and his incredible fourth three-peat as a head coach and to finally tie the Boston Celtics for the lead in NBA championships with their 17th banner.
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I personally don’t think it matters who the Lakers play or whether or not they have home court. Bottom line, with Drew, Ron, and Lamar playing like they have been, the Lakers will not be taken to a 7th game in any of this year’s playoffs. With a little luck, they may even match or better the 2001 Lakers great 15-1 playoffs record. Kobe Bryant knows that this is his chance to finally tie MJ with his 6th ring. There is no way he is going to let this opportunity slip away. You don’t need to be a mystic to see the signs. It’s not just the record but the way the Lakers are winning that counts.
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While the competition may be better than last year in both the West and East, this year’s Lakers team with a healthy Andrew Bynum has improved far more than the their competition. How many times have we said that a healthy Bynum would elevate the Lakers to an entirely new level of play? Well, how about the impact of a healthy Bynum who is now focused on defense and rebounding? While other teams struggle with late season trades and injuries, the Lakers are rocking and rolling their way to what may be the greatest closing run in the history of the NBA. A season for the ages.
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@HOBBITMAGE.... I get where you’re coming from with Kobe and love the passion of your posts. I love Kobe as a player as much as you or anybody but you do him a great disservice and disrespect with your claims that he is not a team player or that he does not understand that you cannot win a championship without playing solid team basketball at both ends of the court. While Kobe may take too many shots or not shoot as efficiently as I would like, I have always said that I trusted him to do the right thing and to make the right play when it counts. I think it is an insult to peg him as a scorer whose nature is so set that he cannot learn how to be a better leader or teammate. He has clearly shown through the years that he has made great strides in both areas. His leadership and team play is why the Lakers are back-to-back champions and why they will win it again this year.
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@BAY TO LA... I don’t really believe that Pop is trying to get the #2 seed but you never know. After all, this is the guy who tanked an entire season to get the right to draft the Admiral. I also think that Greg probably understands that there are some advantages to being the #2 seed and not having to go through Memphis, Denver, and OKC to get to the Western Conference Finals. In other words, Pop probably realizes that it is not the end of the world to lose the #1 seed because there is a silver lining to that cloud. As it stands, I think the Lakers will overtake the Spurs and roll through whomever we have to play in the West as well as whomever we meet in the Finals. JMO.
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@LROB.... LOL. I remember your comments about Dallas. What team in their right mind really wants to face the Lakers in any round? Pop’s hope may be that if the Lakers have to go through OKC, Denver, and Memphis, that might be the Spurs best hopes of our getting ousted before the Western Conference Finals. Unfortunately, this Lakers team is not worried about any team.
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TOM

wow, that WAS fun.

congrats Melissa for asking some other questions. also, you're pretty cute...you're a hell of a lot cuter than MM or Brez...

re: mj vs kobe. rather than trying to split hairs or stats, i think that it is more useful to find the commonalities.both players, i believe,are not and cannot really be viewed as "team players" they have each, through their own processes, been able to rise above their amazing abilites to recognize that they will have to work and play with others in order to be successful. they have also been, i think, blessed with a coach, who has the wherewithall to guide them in a direction that seems counter-intuitive.that is why, neither was willing to buy into the team concept until they had a team that they felt safe with. even now, if people are not shooting well,this is when kobe will go into his black mamba mode and try to win it himself. tonite will be a good opportunity for the mamba to practice his facilitator side

i don't know if kobe has a real silly side. he just seems like a serious-minded person with great determination.he was being more personable in the interview

I'm not sure what I've said to make you think I'm calling that experience irrelevant. What I call irrelevant is what the Lakers record is compared to other teams in their respective threepeat year. They're not in competition with those teams. They could be worse than all of those teams and still win or they could be better than all of those teams and still lose. That the 1993 Bulls or the 2002 Lakers pulled it off doesn't make it any more or less likely that the 2011 Lakers will. Especially since the Lakers are in the midst of their 4th title run, something none of those other threepeat teams can say.

Teams like the Lakers, Celtics, and Spurs can never be counted out because they have shown the ability to overcome regular season doldrums and remain standing at the end but they still warrant doubt when they're not playing well. The Spurs are banged up right now and are in danger of losing their #1 seed, are they officially too old or are they just the Lakers of last year, sacrificing the last part of the season to get healthy and prepare for a playoff run? It's a fair question. For the Celtics, same story. When the Lakers had Andrew Bynum playing tentatively and Ron Artest with his head in the clouds, whether they still had "it" was a fair question.

For all of these teams, they have the experience, they have the players, and they have the history, but at some point, the signs pointing to them no longer being a championship team will be because they really are no longer a championship team.

Posted by: Bay to LA | March 31, 2011 at 12:17 PM

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I misunderstood you. I am fascinated by NBA history and how things tend to repeat themselves. Of course the Bulls' three-peat teams' records are irrelevant to what the Lakers do this post-season, but historical trends are certainly interesting from the standpoint that Phil Jackson has been there and done that under remarkably similar scenarios. Other than the 1998 Bulls, who finished with 62 wins, the '93 Bulls and '02 Lakers finished with relatively unremarkable 57 and 58 win seasons on the third leg of their three-peats. If by some longshot this Lakers team runs the table, a 62 win season could happen this time, too. What is even more interesting to me is that this year's team has gotten red hot after the All-Star break like Phil's second three-peat with the Bulls. So if trends mean anything, it appears that these Lakers may very well improve on the first three-peat Lakers.

There are some other interesting Phil Jackson records that are at stake. As we all know, he is 48-0 when his team wins Game 1 of a playoff series. I would love to see him improve on that and end his career undefeated in that statistical category. In my mind, that would be Dimaggio-esque (already is). Another one is that he's undefeated (11-0) when his team wins Game 3 when the playoff series is tied 1-1. Finally, he is 7-0 when his teams win more than 60 games (he's never won exactly 60)

No, these are not predictors of future events, but let's hope that he holds serve and that the Law of Averages kicks in. Otherwise, I agree wholeheartedly with your post.

MM - awesome - love these. Very light-hearted and gave me the gigggles.

Dallas or more importantly their head coach are definitely after us - don't forget - Carlisle is a Greenie and lost 2 or 3 championship to us. No love lost there no matter how perfect his hair is.

Cheers - PLG

My fav Q and Q was to Kobe - what NBA player's compliment would mean the most to you?

The BEST answer - I don't care about any of them.

HAHAHAHA!!!!!

Black Mamba, baby. He doesn't care what you think. He's just there to win.

teamwork doesn't mean that everyone has the same duties or skills. it has nothing to do with how many assists or points do or don't get scored. it has nothing to do with formulae or stats. teamwork is when people get together to accomplish a common goal. Kobe is a consumate teammate, and a better and better leader, as his career has moved him into the leader position. there is no argument in this, the final results speak for themselves. the Lakers are always in contention for the championship, even with Smush and Kwame, and that's mainly because of what Kobe does for the TEAM.

Posted by: mud | March 31, 2011 at 02:26 PM

HOLY CRAP!!! Someone understand me.

sweetness! Wish I could buy you a beer.

Kobe gave the rite answer when asked what NBA player's compliment would mean the most. Because Kobe is a 15 year veteran and the best player in the NBA so why would he care would any other player says about him. Kobe is here to win rings yessir.

Posted by: Jon K. | March 31, 2011 at 03:17 PM

So you know this is not a dating service unless want another blogger with stalker label. It all starts innocently, playing virtual gf and bf and then escalates into creepy stuff..be aware of ides of march young fella!

Funny and fun. Thanks Melissa.

Nice job Melissa! I like these little side interviews. It really helps break up the monotony of the same interview over and over.

Thanks.

Blex

I keep getting this steamroll feeling in regards to the Lakers, especially if they kill whomever they beat in th efirst round and go 3-0 or something. I think the Lakers won't match their 15-1 post-season record but I can't shake it that it'll be close.

This was quite funny and refreshing. Kobe was a good sport for a change. More work for Melissa.

Cheers to all in Lakerland.

Morning Crew,

Great win last night, I love our new warrior mentality and I like to see us pushing a team around for once.

Love Melissa's off kilter interaction. Could she do a series on what kind of music/art/theatre the players are into? MM do you have any control over this? Is she your flunky?

Anyhoo, still pop by just posting less frequently, I enjoy everyone's thoughts out on a page.

GO LAKERS!!!!!