Compare Kobe to his Airness and people gasp in disbelief one would dare compare selfish Kobe against the GOAT. Number 1 argument: 6 titles to 4 and none as a sidekick. 6 Finals MVPs to 1. 5 MVPs to 1. 6-0 Finals record to 4-2. I can continue to shoot numbers, but what's the point? MJ was an extraordinary player who was loved by fans and media alike who propelled him to godlike status and has had a number of players emulate him hoping to be the next Michael Jordan. Penny Hardaway, Vince Carter, Jerry Stackhouse (no joke), Grant Hill, Harold Miner(Ah, yeah) to name a few. Compare Mamba to MJ and right away haters state look at the numbers, yet people already place the most recent NBA golden child in a pedestal without the numbers. The numbers that matter according to haters. ESPN "expert" John Hollinger states the Chose One King Crab is closing on Michael Jordan and is the Best Player since Michael Jordan. See it here
Ok, so King Crab's great individual season makes him the greatest since MJ. Are you phocking serious John? You get paid for this? I just find it hilarious that one is quick to point out Kobe's shortage of milestones when it comes to comparing him to MJ, but the chosen one, no problem there because the best is yet to come. Ha, the hate is unreal.
King Crab will be MVP again contrary to popular belief he is not the youngest: Unseld,Malone,Kareem,McAdoo, Pettit, Wilt, and Russell all were younger than LeBron. Wilt and Unseld as rookies, Kareem and Russell on their second year. Biggest impact by rookie, please, Wilt changed the rules, Kareem made the Bucks instant contenders, Magic and Bird changed the face of the league, the Admiral caused the biggest turnaround, Shaq was an instant All-Star, Tim Duncan joined a handful of consistent ALL-NBA since rookie season, but King Crab who made the playoffs until his 3rd season, is the rookie with the biggest impact, whatever you say.
And now he is the air apparent to his airness, and before you go thinking I idolize MJ, let it be know that there is four teams I despise: The Celtics, Kings, Clippers and the Bulls. I don't care if Lakers don't make the playoffs as long as they beat this teams every year. So, no, I am not a fan of MJ, personally I don't believe he is the GOAT, he got way too many breaks by the refs, he didn't need them, he was a skilled player on his own. But for argument's sake, lets compare LJ to MJ, the player he idolizes and wants to honor by never wearing his number again and going to the number 6, the number worn by another hall of famer who has almost double the titles MJ had, would of had the same if not more Finals MVP if the award was around then (BTW that award now carries his name, hmm. did the GOAT get snubbed?, How dare they!), would of had several DPOY if the title existed, won and unprecedented 11 titles in 13 years including and unbreakable 8 in a row.
King Crab is a ridiculous gifted baller, but let's not get ahead of ourselves. Will he be the greatest ever? That depends on how you define "greatest". Would I take him over any other player past and present, no. In my opinion the Big O (Oscar Roberston for you novices who don't appreciate the ballers that had mad skillz but no 24 hr media do document it), Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Jerry West, and Michael Jordan were the most well rounded and high IQ players to have stepped on the floor. Too bad West and Big O don't have but 1 ring to show for. There's also a number of players I would take before LBJ, players like Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, & Kareem who would dominate in any era I would select first. This players mind you did not have the luxury to play right after high school, they accomplished their feats without the advantage of 3-4 more years, no 3 pointer, and against a more physically punishing league. Ask who the greatest is, more often than not you'll hear Jordan, not from me though. So, anyone's merits are compared to his, thus Kobe falls way short in accomplishes, but King Crab is the next Jordan? ZERO Titles, 0 Finals MVP,1 Final appearance, 1 MVP, 1 Scoring Title, ALL NBA 3x, 2nd Team 2x, All Defensive 1, All-Star 6 (Which with the fans voting it's a joke). Why don't we wait until he wins his first title, if ever, before comparing him to one of the all time greats, I mean if Kobe doesn't come close due to only "1 title since the the first 3 were all Shaq" why isn't the same threshold for King Crab?
Damn haters, wonder what other bs they'll come up with
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Lakers Stung
3 years ago the Lakers bench mob was outstanding 'til Ariza and Bynum got hurt, but they kept their stellar play, last year was decent but not great, this year is just awful, with the exception of LO. The most recent no show by the Lakers bench was the primary reason for the Lakers dropping one in New Orleans. Hornets benched outscored the self proclaimed bench mob 42-12 with their first points coming up sometime in the 3rd quarter. Now the bench isn't sole to blame, the two All-Stars were the only ones that showed up to play. Ron Ron 1/8 from downtown, LO more fouls than FG and assists, and no double figures rebound, WTF? Khloe got him drained? Fish 3/11 total, but 1/7 from treys my God, abysmal. On the other side CP3 orchestrated an outstanding team effort to blow out the Lakers only to allow them within striking distance. The Hornets went to the line 34 time to the Lakers 22, conspiracy? No way, Hornets were by far more aggressive and LA kept settling for long shots. Frustrating performance is sugar coating it.
Player of the game: CP3 small double double 13 pts, 14 dimes, ran offense smoothly, dissected the Lakers so called defense.
X-Factor: Rook Darren Collison took up where CP3 left off, gave Hornets a nice boost and kept the attack rolling, outplayed all Lakers PGs by himself.
Should Have Been Benched: Let Shannon Dunk, ha! He even missed that, Shannon missed all his 4 FGs, 1 rb, no show on defense, what the hell happened to this bench?
Laker Hater: James Posey has been a thorn on the Lakers ass since '08, he hit double figures for the first time since 2/8, man o man, do players love playing the Lakers.
Kobe Paces Victory With Near Triple Double
Typical NBA, one day a team looks lazy and lost,then the next day they like contenders. Of course the Rockets were undermanned and still put up a fight, kind of takes the joy of a win away when you know they'll be seeing better competition in the playoffs. The Lakers are still down a big piece with 'Drew still out, and the several others ailing one way or another, and you know if he doesn't get enough credit, Luke is an important piece, and they've missed him too, he's a fine role player when he's not toooo unselfish. Well here are the awards:
Player of the game: Kobe Bryant. Pau may have led the team in scoring but Mamba's near triple double get him back on track after one of the worst performances I've witnessed from him.
X-Factor: Derek Fisher. Old 0.4 has not been consistent as of late, but he shows the reason he still playing in crunch time. Yes Aaron Brooks made him look like a statue at time, but c'mon he does that to most guards, in this case Fish came through perfect from downtown 3/3, 6/8 total and just 3 dimes in 22 minutes, nice bounce back game.
Should Have Been Benched: Josh Powell again looked lost and contributed very little, fortunately he only played 8 mins, but c'mon bench, to do your part.
Laker Hater: I would love to see how many career highs have been set against the Lakers. Players just bring their A game versus Lakers regardless of their record. In this case it was rookie Jermaine Taylor who had his career high by half-time, hater indeed.
Overtime: Back in 2004-05 season when the big Whatever He's Calling Himself Now, was "ran off" by Kobe, several teams pounded on the Lakers. People seem to forget that before the injury bug hit the Lakers hard, they're were on track to make the playoffs, but it was only due to Shaq not being there right? Yet, Phoenix missed the post season last year, oh yeah, he's back in the west, it's a tougher conference. The same conference Kobe has been in since '96-97 and is on track to go to his 3rd straight Finals appearance. Yet teams treated a victory against the Lakers like if they were still conteders, LA's other team fans actually gave them a standing ovation, that was laughable, but goes to tell you the Lakers are still a big draw even on their off seasons.
Saturday, March 27, 2010
8 for 11
Eight of my picks were correct the most surprising being the Jazz losing to the Pacers, Bucks were missing Bogut and lost Delfino during the game to a scary fall, here's to a speedy recovery, you hate to see a player go down.
While the victory was not improbable, the way they dominated the champs was. Of course I'm talking about the OKC former Sonics who stampeded over the Lake show and looked nothing like the team that clamped down versus the Spurs two days ago. OKC outplayed and out hustled the Lakers to the point of record setting proportions. Don't let the score fool you, it was not that close, if you can call a 1 16 point lost close. The Lakers were held to 47 points after three, are you kidding me? 18 turnovers and just 7 assists and it seemed those were in garbage time. It was an all out poor performance and hope they show more backbone today versus Houston. Durant was great with 26 it was not spectacular he only went 1/7 from downtown as Ron Ron was there to bother him. Unfortunately hoops is not a 1 man sport and KD's supporting cast clearly outplayed the champs. 4 of 5 starters for OKC scored double figuers led by Russell Westbrook who scored at will. Krstic had a double double including 8 rbs and the only player not in double figures Sefolosha made his mark with his D on the Mamba and made him look more earth worm. Two players scored in double figures and Gasol was not one of them he scored 9 on 3/10 and 5 rebs, Artest was worse 2 pts 3 rbs on 1/6 shooting including nil from downtown, Bryant was just as bad 4/11 shooting for 11 pts and NINE turnovers! Damn, WTF, are the these the reigning champs? Disappointing is an understatement, great game by the up and coming Thunder though, they're developing quite nicely.
Player of the game: Russell Westbrook did not play like a second year player and took it to the champs time and time again he set the tone and his team mates kept it going.
X-Factor: Thabo Sefolosha accepting the challenge to go against the future hall of farmer and former MVP and making him look ordinary. This is not the first time I've seen this from him, more and more Kobe is losing his ability to dominate 1 on 1.
Should Have Been Benched: Damn! Where do I start, the whole Lakers team as only Josh Powell, no kidding is the only one who had a decent night, albeit in serious garbage time, but at least he kept playing. If I had to single out one player it would be Mamba though, 9 turnovers, that is not superstar material and if you're not producing sit your ass down even if you are the team's best, some games you just don't have it, take the night off, and let your team take of it.
Laker Hater: Nenad Krstic is not a bad player but this was only the 2nd double double of the season, and he did only in 22 minutes.
Overtime: The Thunder had won 5 straight quarters until major garbage time. They also ended a 12 game losing streak to the Lakers dating back to the Emerald City days.
Lakers just avoided their worst total assists game dating back to the Minneapolis era.
Kobe next milestone is becoming the 12th player with 26,000 points, it will not happen this year, he will need to average 38.7 pts to accomplish that
While the victory was not improbable, the way they dominated the champs was. Of course I'm talking about the OKC former Sonics who stampeded over the Lake show and looked nothing like the team that clamped down versus the Spurs two days ago. OKC outplayed and out hustled the Lakers to the point of record setting proportions. Don't let the score fool you, it was not that close, if you can call a 1 16 point lost close. The Lakers were held to 47 points after three, are you kidding me? 18 turnovers and just 7 assists and it seemed those were in garbage time. It was an all out poor performance and hope they show more backbone today versus Houston. Durant was great with 26 it was not spectacular he only went 1/7 from downtown as Ron Ron was there to bother him. Unfortunately hoops is not a 1 man sport and KD's supporting cast clearly outplayed the champs. 4 of 5 starters for OKC scored double figuers led by Russell Westbrook who scored at will. Krstic had a double double including 8 rbs and the only player not in double figures Sefolosha made his mark with his D on the Mamba and made him look more earth worm. Two players scored in double figures and Gasol was not one of them he scored 9 on 3/10 and 5 rebs, Artest was worse 2 pts 3 rbs on 1/6 shooting including nil from downtown, Bryant was just as bad 4/11 shooting for 11 pts and NINE turnovers! Damn, WTF, are the these the reigning champs? Disappointing is an understatement, great game by the up and coming Thunder though, they're developing quite nicely.
Player of the game: Russell Westbrook did not play like a second year player and took it to the champs time and time again he set the tone and his team mates kept it going.
X-Factor: Thabo Sefolosha accepting the challenge to go against the future hall of farmer and former MVP and making him look ordinary. This is not the first time I've seen this from him, more and more Kobe is losing his ability to dominate 1 on 1.
Should Have Been Benched: Damn! Where do I start, the whole Lakers team as only Josh Powell, no kidding is the only one who had a decent night, albeit in serious garbage time, but at least he kept playing. If I had to single out one player it would be Mamba though, 9 turnovers, that is not superstar material and if you're not producing sit your ass down even if you are the team's best, some games you just don't have it, take the night off, and let your team take of it.
Laker Hater: Nenad Krstic is not a bad player but this was only the 2nd double double of the season, and he did only in 22 minutes.
Overtime: The Thunder had won 5 straight quarters until major garbage time. They also ended a 12 game losing streak to the Lakers dating back to the Emerald City days.
Lakers just avoided their worst total assists game dating back to the Minneapolis era.
Kobe next milestone is becoming the 12th player with 26,000 points, it will not happen this year, he will need to average 38.7 pts to accomplish that
Friday, March 26, 2010
'07 Rematch, and Present vs. Future Superstar
Eleven games tonight:
Jazz at Pacers Jazz just spanked the Raptors, no reason why they shouldn't do the same to a lesser team, they have a chance to steal the division title from the slumping Nuggets and avoid facing the Lakers in the 2nd round. Jazz win.
Wolves at Magic This might get ugly, the reigning East champs should have no problem disposing of the T'pups and Pietrus should take the day off Magic win big.
Hawks at Sixers One more loss will eliminate Sixers from playoff contention, it's inevitable, but should may play the part of spoilers and steal one from the Hawks. Hawks are better but I think they're the sole east team that can be potentially upset in the first round. Sixers win.
Nuggets at Raptors two teams trying to stop slides, Nuggets should win, but their play has been poor as of late, it's really a toss up, but I'll pick Nuggets.
Wizards and Bobcats Jordan's boys are getting closer to the first playoff bid, while not a clincher just yet, it's always good to be playing well at the start of the playoff especiailly against a lesser team. Cats win
Kings at Boston Hey the Nets stole one why can't the Kings, of course without Tyreke Evans, this game should go into garbage time early much to my dismay. Leprechauns win and clinch division title.
Pistons at Nets The Nets get closer to not the being known at "that" team they are still in pace to lose 70 games. They win tonight though
Heat at Bucks Both teams have played well the last 10 games, this should be a good game as they are currently in 5th & 6th place. Bucks have won all 3 previous games, this should be no different Bucks win.
Knycks at Suns Mike D'antoni comes to town and should feel right at home as Suns pummel the mecca of basketball
Cavs at Spus Funny two days ago I was cheering against the Spurs and I'll be rooting for them today, don't care for Crabs unless they're playing the leprechauns, care for them even less now that they got Diesel, Spurs win, they need to show league they're still a threat.
Champs at Thunder Should be the game of the night, I'm looking forward to Captain Ron taking on the challenge of making Durant work for every point. OKC is fine team, but it's not their time, Champs win an entertaining one.
Jazz at Pacers Jazz just spanked the Raptors, no reason why they shouldn't do the same to a lesser team, they have a chance to steal the division title from the slumping Nuggets and avoid facing the Lakers in the 2nd round. Jazz win.
Wolves at Magic This might get ugly, the reigning East champs should have no problem disposing of the T'pups and Pietrus should take the day off Magic win big.
Hawks at Sixers One more loss will eliminate Sixers from playoff contention, it's inevitable, but should may play the part of spoilers and steal one from the Hawks. Hawks are better but I think they're the sole east team that can be potentially upset in the first round. Sixers win.
Nuggets at Raptors two teams trying to stop slides, Nuggets should win, but their play has been poor as of late, it's really a toss up, but I'll pick Nuggets.
Wizards and Bobcats Jordan's boys are getting closer to the first playoff bid, while not a clincher just yet, it's always good to be playing well at the start of the playoff especiailly against a lesser team. Cats win
Kings at Boston Hey the Nets stole one why can't the Kings, of course without Tyreke Evans, this game should go into garbage time early much to my dismay. Leprechauns win and clinch division title.
Pistons at Nets The Nets get closer to not the being known at "that" team they are still in pace to lose 70 games. They win tonight though
Heat at Bucks Both teams have played well the last 10 games, this should be a good game as they are currently in 5th & 6th place. Bucks have won all 3 previous games, this should be no different Bucks win.
Knycks at Suns Mike D'antoni comes to town and should feel right at home as Suns pummel the mecca of basketball
Cavs at Spus Funny two days ago I was cheering against the Spurs and I'll be rooting for them today, don't care for Crabs unless they're playing the leprechauns, care for them even less now that they got Diesel, Spurs win, they need to show league they're still a threat.
Champs at Thunder Should be the game of the night, I'm looking forward to Captain Ron taking on the challenge of making Durant work for every point. OKC is fine team, but it's not their time, Champs win an entertaining one.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Lake Show Comes to the Alamo
Great way to start this road trip, no matter who wears the uniform, it's always good to see Lakers beat Spurs, don't matter if they're undermanned, it didn't matter to Spurs and their fans when the Lakers were hurting. It was most satisfying for my young cousin who is die hard Lakers fan see them win live as he attended his first Lakers game. Sweet.
The game was a tale of two halves as second year player George Hill, smoked LA with 20 points in the first half to compliment continuing stellar play by Manu Ginobili. Kobe however did finish this game and although not huge numbers the last trey he hit sunk the Spurs. Fish was the only starter not to hit double figures and LA also got 20 from the bench. The Lakers frontline was outstanding with Gasol having a quiet double double, and LO coming up big, with 19pts and 13 rbs, and finally Artest who caused plenty of havoc getting 5 steals and plenty deflections, it sure looks he's getting ready for the post-season, he'll get a chance at some quality scorer in Joe Johnson and the explosive Kevin Durant. Let's hope Lakers ride this momentum the whole trip.
Player of the Game: Ron Artest, he seemed to be all over the place, disrupting the offensive flow of the Spurs, classic Ron Ron.
X-Factor: Both Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar combined for 19 points, hitting 5/6 from downtown, all shots seemed to come timely and helped LA grab the momentum, now can they keep it up.
Should Have Been Benched: Sasha should have stayed in the bench, he contributed absolutely nothing in a measly 3 minutes of play, the Machine has been broken down way too long, it seriously needs an overhaul.
Laker Hater: Apart from Manu and Hill, the rest of the Spurs played so bad no one qualifies to be hater, I guess that's a good thing.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Today's action
The Lakers face their long time rival Spurs in a possible preview of the first round. Last time, Bynum held his own against Timmy, but the big Band Aid is out of service tonight. The Lakers also were without Pau and Kobe did not finish the game, still the Lakers stormed back from 22 to cut it to 6 before Spurs finished with a big run, beating LA by 20. Both teams have key players out, but as usual I expect the Spurs role players to step up, it is the hated Lakers after all. Spurs win, no matter who wins the silver & black, Spurs for the most part play well vs. the hated Lakers.
Mamba moves to 12th place all time scoring tonight
Also playing,
Magic at Hawks: Orlando has dominated the Hawks this year. Hawks need game to show they belong with the east elite, Hawks win.
Tattoos at Leprechauns: Melo & co are coming off a loss, I’m hoping they take it out on the boys in green, but on second night of a back to back, doesn't look to favorable. Boston wins.
Wizards at Pacers: No significance, both teams are lotto bound. Pacers win.
Jazz at Raptors: Jazz are hanging on to 4th in the West, but they have been as great on the road, but it is the Raptors, Jazz win a close one.
Wolves at Bobcats: Bobcats getting closer to their first ever post season, 'Cats win
Kings at Nets: If Nets hope to avoid label of worst team, this is a night to steal a win, Kings while decent, are young, Nets win.
Crabs at Hornets: CP3 is back! Too little too late I think, it's too bad injuries took theri tool this season, Cavs win, just playing too well right now.
Sixers at Bucks: Fear the deer, the most surprising team this season vs. one of the most dissapointing, Bucks win
Rockets at the former Sonics: Two very surprising and entertaining teams , Rockets trying to stay alive, but man Durant continues his rise to superstar, OKC wins.
Grizzlies at The City: Grizzlies would be in 6th place in the east, they are lotto bound in the west, they are on pace to finish at least .500 for the first time since '06. This should be a hell of game if you like fast paced basketball, both teams are young, & athletic, and Warrios have nothing to lose, Warriors win.
Previous game
It's a late I know, but I wanted to go ahead and include the first review I ever did.
The champs hosted the Wizards on Sunday, a sure win for anyone who knows how to bounce the ball, and but as usual The champs lost focus, or go bored and allowed the wiz’s to come back from 26 down to 8 pts, are kidding me?! If you’ve been a Laker fan in the last decade, this is not new, even in their first title run 10 yrs ago, the Lakers played subpar and raised come playoff time, they however had a young inspired Diesel, perhaps the only player able to switch it on and off in his prime. Although the outcome was never in question it’s frustrating sitting through a lackluster performance, but hey a win is a win right? Both Lamar and Fisher took only 4 shots, making 1. L.O. needs to be more aggressive than that, he did get his usual 13 boards and 3 denials, but got too cute at times turning the ball over 5 times, the Lakers as a team had 17 turnovers, it was sloppy and kind of disappointing except for the W.
Player of the game: Kobe Bryant even though it was a quiet game for him his 20 first half points gave the Lakers a lead the Wizards could not overcome in 2 quarters, close but not probable.
The champs hosted the Wizards on Sunday, a sure win for anyone who knows how to bounce the ball, and but as usual The champs lost focus, or go bored and allowed the wiz’s to come back from 26 down to 8 pts, are kidding me?! If you’ve been a Laker fan in the last decade, this is not new, even in their first title run 10 yrs ago, the Lakers played subpar and raised come playoff time, they however had a young inspired Diesel, perhaps the only player able to switch it on and off in his prime. Although the outcome was never in question it’s frustrating sitting through a lackluster performance, but hey a win is a win right? Both Lamar and Fisher took only 4 shots, making 1. L.O. needs to be more aggressive than that, he did get his usual 13 boards and 3 denials, but got too cute at times turning the ball over 5 times, the Lakers as a team had 17 turnovers, it was sloppy and kind of disappointing except for the W.
Player of the game: Kobe Bryant even though it was a quiet game for him his 20 first half points gave the Lakers a lead the Wizards could not overcome in 2 quarters, close but not probable.
Laker Fan For Life
What's up hoops fans. Thank you for visiting my inaugural post as I give you a piece of my mind regarding the reigning NBA Champions, Los Angeles Lakers and those who look to dethrone them.
I have been a Lakers fan for 23 years and follow them each season on their quest to NBA supremacy. Before being a Laker fan I am first a basketball fan and will credit where credit is due, although I hope the Celtics go 0-82 each season, I must show respect to those living legends who proudly wore their colors and are symbolic with their proud franchise.
So here it is, my unbiased view on the Lakers and the rest of the league. Each Lakers game reviewed will be followed by the following end of game honors:
Player of the Game (The player who without him, the team loses)
X-Factor (Role player who stepped up and contributed greatly in the outcome of the game)
Should Have Been Benched (Player whose effort was most dissapointing)
Laker Hater (That player who picked the game vs Lakers to end a slump or have a surprising good game)
Overtime: Facts or not well known knowledge in the current and past seasons
I have been a Lakers fan for 23 years and follow them each season on their quest to NBA supremacy. Before being a Laker fan I am first a basketball fan and will credit where credit is due, although I hope the Celtics go 0-82 each season, I must show respect to those living legends who proudly wore their colors and are symbolic with their proud franchise.
So here it is, my unbiased view on the Lakers and the rest of the league. Each Lakers game reviewed will be followed by the following end of game honors:
Player of the Game (The player who without him, the team loses)
X-Factor (Role player who stepped up and contributed greatly in the outcome of the game)
Should Have Been Benched (Player whose effort was most dissapointing)
Laker Hater (That player who picked the game vs Lakers to end a slump or have a surprising good game)
Overtime: Facts or not well known knowledge in the current and past seasons
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