Kobe Bryant

So after watching the Cavs play for the last few weeks, and being a current Southern Cal Resident, I came to a few thoughts.

First LeBron is playing better than Kobe, and has more years left in the NBA than Kobe does.

Continue reading "Should the Lakers trade Kobe for LeBron?"

By winning his fourth NBA championship and his first Finals MVP trophy, Kobe Bryant elevated himself to legend status. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Winning an NBA championship is kind of like graduation. You work all year to accumulate points and once it's done, you get to enjoy a big celebration in June.

Continue reading "KOBE EARNS MASTER'S DEGREE IN LEADERSHIP"

This is easiest Question for MVP in awhile. My only confusion is why is WADE so Strongly mentioned?  Wade is a great player and had an amazing season but if you look back to recent history whe

Continue reading "MVP Chatter!! Lebron Kobe Wade?"

No matter what deficiencies that lineup has, Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher can compensate for it. We may never see that lineup, let's hope Phil Jackson at least gives it a chance in a game.

Continue reading "New Lakers Team? Odom to Remain a Starter?"

With big matchups this week between the Lakers and Cavs, Lakers and Celtics and Celtics and Spurs, we are starting to get an idea of who are the best teams in the league. So I decided to look at the whole league and see where I think the teams fall.

Continue reading "NBA Rankings Feb. 10"

The Los Angeles Lakers have sent Vladimir Radmonovic to the Charlotte Bobcats in exchange for Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown. I am not a huge fan of the trade. I like Vlad's game and with Bynum out we need all the height we can get, Vlad is 6'10 and can play the 3 or the 4 position. The obvious benefit is that this summer the Lakers will have more cap room to resign Trevor Ariza and possibly Lamar Odom as well if he takes a bit of a discount. I don't see much playing time for Morrison or Brown with the team, whereas I believe Vlad could have still helped. I thought at first this may be a pre-cursor to another deal but it looks like Morrison and Brown will stay.

Continue reading "Lakers Send Vlad to Charlotte"

The Lakers travel to Boston tonight to take on the Celtics in Boston for the first time since... well... all Lakers fans know where I am going. It was a game Laker nation had marked on the schedule as

Continue reading "Lakers-Celtics"

Andrew Bynum has left tonight's game against the Grizzlies with a right knee injury after Kobe Bryant fell on his knee. X-Rays are negative but an MRI is scheduled for tomorrow in New York. Thi

Continue reading "Bynum Goes Down with Knee Injury"

Five straight double-doubles from the Lakers big man, and no I'm not talking about Pau Gasol. Lakers center Andrew Bynum looks to be over coming any mental blocks left over from last year's injury. Ov

Continue reading "If Bynum Keeps this up... Lookout!"

never thought we would have this discussion: Who is the next Michael Jordan? Everyone keeps saying Kobe Bryant or LeBron James is the next Michael Jordan. They will never touch his status.

Continue reading "The Boston Celtics: The Next Michael Jordan"

a matchup of the top two teams in the Western Conference Farmar dropped in 14 points in his return. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 22, Trevor Ariza had 17, Pau Gasol 16, and Andrew Bynum 15 in

Continue reading "Farmar Returns with a Bang"

42 points, then 23 points, a typical back to back for Kobe Bryant, only this time it wasn't Kobe leading the Lakers in scoring. It was young center Andrew Bynum. Obviously you do not want to get over excited about two games, but hopefully this is a sign of something from young Bynum. Today will tell more when he goes up against Tim Duncan and the San Antonio Spurs. Even though Bynum's big games came against low ranked teams, if he can build some confidence from these games and carry it on, it will make the Lakers that much better.

Continue reading "Bynum Picking it up, LO too?"

I have an idea for tonight's game between the Lakers and the Cavs, instead of spending all night comparing Kobe and LeBron, let's just sit back and enjoy watching the two best players in the NBA play.

Continue reading "Kobe vs. LeBron"

Porter. The Lakers already have already beaten Pheonix twice by an average of nine points and Kobe Bryant only averaging 33 minutes in those two games. If this is the only competition in the Pacific Division, the Lakers can coast to the playoffs, only having to suit up for the Spurs, Mavs, Utah and maybe Denver or a healthy Houston. New Orleans is on the verge of falling apart, and Portland (as much as we all love them) could have a chance at anybody in the West besides the Lakers (as witnessed opening night). When there are less than five teams in a conference that can challenge you or your record, you are in good shape come playoff time. The Lakers play sixteen games against far inferior division opponents, if Kobe and Gasol can rest, Farmar can get more experience during the season, and the bench staying happy logging minutes, this Lakers team should breeze into and through the postseason.

Continue reading "2008-09 Los Angeles Lakers"

Anyone happen to catch that Laker-Mavs game last night?

Anyone else notice another game the Lakers were trailing in and somehow come out with a win?

Yeah, I know they were at home and Dallas is a team that no one really knows what to expect from, but they were on a five game winning streak coming in.

Continue reading "Lakers Roundup"

(Triple-Threat: Dribble)

As predicted, the Lakers beat the Kings last night 118-108. 

Although the Lakers did commit 18 turnovers, five of which belonged to Andrew Bynum, they came through with the game on the line. The Kings trailed by as many as 19 points before Bobby Jackson helped put together a 21-6 run. However, when you have the ultimate closer in Bryant, there's never really need to worry. With 6:17 left in the fourth, the Lakers took control and the young Kings' hopes were shot. 

Continue reading "Lakers vs. Kings 2008"

 :Sighs:

It seems as if the Lakers are on cloud nine right now. What is LA's MVP guard thinking about. Is he thinking about how they just demolished the Nuggets on Friday? The scoreboard only says that they won by 14, but Carmelo Anthony's FG% exposes the Nuggets. Anthony shot 5-19 including 0-3 from beyond the arc. The Lakers smothered him on defense. They realized that Anthony is Denver's energy. Phil Jackson had this to say about the strategy used:

Continue reading "Lakers vs. Nuggets 2008"

One of the things that bothers me most in sports is when superstars switch teams. This especially bugs me when it comes to the NBA, and it happens more and more as the years go on. Think about some of the best players of all time Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, and Bill Russell to name a few, they never switched teams. You can pretty much count Michael Jordan in that group too, most people do not even count his years in Washington.

Continue reading "Superstars Being Traded"

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Like Wyclef Jean sang, if I were president….. 

That commercial where Kobe Bryant, Alex Rodriguez and Michael Phelps parade around a living room in boxer shorts and pink oxfords a la Tom Cruise in ‘Risky Business’ will be forever stricken from our televisions and our memory banks.

Continue reading "If I Were President..."

gainst a team playing their second game in a back to back, what do you do? It's always nice to have Kobe Bryant as an option. Bryant scored 14 of his game high 33 points in the fourth quarter t

Continue reading "That's Just Kobe Being Kobe"

This should help to keep Kobe Bryant around as well as Bryant can opt out after this season. He knows that having a good center can help him reach that ultimate goal of another championship. Ke

Continue reading "Bynum signs extension"

blowing the Clippers out by 38 points, the Lakers proved that the Staples Center is always home.

Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 16 points, and eight rebounds while shooting 5-for-12. However it was Jordan Farmar who really shined with 15 points, and five rebounds and assists. I knew he was going hard when late in the fourth, Luke Walton, four points, threw a high-arcing alley-oop to a cutting Farmar and amazingly, he caught it and threw it down. Simply put, it was salt in the wound after that.

Continue reading "Lakers Vs. Clippers 2008"

Lakers looked pretty good on opening night defeating Portland. Kobe had good across the board numbers with 23 points, 11 rebounds, and 5 assists, including a nice scoring streak in the second half. Pau Gasol scored all 15 of his points in the first half.

Continue reading "Opening Night"

There are still a lot of people out there who feel like Kobe Bryant still does not have enough support to win it all.

Bynum being healthy changes this team, more important than on offense Bynum gives them that defensive presence in the middle that was lacking at the end of last season. If he can block shots, rebound, and put in a few offensive boards that contribution alone should be enough. Kobe is going to continue to be the best player in the game and with a versatile big like Pau Gasol contributing for a full year this team is going to be tough to beat.

Continue reading "Lakers Preview"

I mean let’s be honest I can’t give you Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul they’re already stars. So instead I have to dig for the Most Improved Player of the Year and challenging things like that. The good news for me though is the Rookie of the Year is always easy because we already know before the season starts, who the GM’s are going to pick. So if I pick who the GM’s pick I look like a genius.

Continue reading "The Next Movement: M.I.P.O.Y. and R.O.Y."

defense, which to date had been their staple, Team USA counted on their offense to bail them out.

Kobe Bryant:  Kobe Bryant, arguably the greatest player in the league, was saddled with foul trouble, picking up two fouls in the first quarter against Spain.  In the second half with the game on the line, Kobe, rather than driving the lane, more often than not relied on his perimeter jump shot.  While Kobe’s box score might not necessarily reflect a poorly played game, there were several times late in the game when Kobe settled for ill-advised jump shots.  Long ones.  While he ultimately proved to be the hero by hitting key baskets late, those could easily have gone the other way.

Continue reading "Redeem Recap: How USA Almost Lost ..."

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In the greatest gold-medal game in the history of men's basketball in the Olympic Games, Kobe Bryant proved beyond any reasonable doubt that he is the best player in the world.

When Spain got to within two points at 91-89 with about eight minutes left in the fourth quarter, the United States, a team loaded with a number of all-stars, called on No. 10 to close the game and all

Continue reading "KOBE SAVES TEAM USA, LOOKS AHEAD TO LONDON IN 2012"

t reared his ugly fat head and sprouted some venemous verses towards his former sidekick, Kobe Bryant.

Shaquille O'Neal, the 35-year-old former purple and gold Daddy, went on stage at a New York nightclub and went B.I.G. on us. The Diesel grabbed the mic and took shots at Bryant. The Big Cactus rapped about how Kobe couldn't win without him. He said that, "I'm a horse. Kobe ratted me out. That's why I'm getting a divorce." And he repeatedly asked the question, "Kobe, tell me how my ass taste?"

Continue reading "SHAQ AND KOBE...AND THE RIFT GOES ON"

A few weeks ago, I wrote that the 2008 NBA Finals will come down to Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett.

I was only half right.

Through five games, the Finals have been all about Bryant and Paul Pierce. Bryant may not be playing at optimum level by his and our standards, but the reigning MVP has managed to keep his Lakers in the series despite averaging less (down from 30.6 to 26.4) and shooting poorly (from 48.8 to 42.4).

Continue reading "THE TRUTH ABOUT THE NBA FINALS"

s bandwagon.  Not to be a diehard fan but to root for them in this NBA Finals.  I figured Kobe Bryant was ready to take that final step in becoming an all-time great and win his first Shaq-less title.  Now, four games into the NBA Finals, with the Lakers down 3-1 after blowing a 24 point lead in game 4, I am ready to end this Kobe talk until further notice.  And that could be never again.

Continue reading "The Black Mamba? How about the Gardner Snake"

eltics in your head and break down all the matchups, the fate of the series will be in the hands of Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett.

I've always believed that to win an NBA title, your best player has to be at his absolute best when it matters most. When you review past Finals MVPs, it's going to look like a Hall of Fame induction speech.

Continue reading "NBA FINALS: BLACK MAMBA VS. THE BIG TICKET"

This NBA Finals will be the most watched Finals in a couple years. I myself have not watched any in quite a few years since the Spurs and Pistons were so frequently in them. No offense to them but they are just not exciting teams to watch. I would much rather watch Kobe light up the Celts great D for 50 points or the Big Three of Boston. Tim Duncan is just not an exciting player to watch. Not only are the teams fun to watch but each of the matchups are interesting:

Continue reading "Celtics vs Lakers Breakdown"

Kobe Bryant can feel it. He can see it. He can almost taste it.

Like a true Black Mamba, Bryant senses that his prey, the San Antonio Spurs, are weak, wounded and ready to be taken out. The Lakers took a 3-1 series lead Tuesday night in San Antonio thanks to Bryant and can close out the Spurs Thursday night at Staples Center.

Continue reading "LAKERS, KOBE ONE WIN AWAY FROM NBA FINALS"

A player who can put a team on his shoulders on offense and carry them to victory. A player like Kobe Bryant.

There are only a handful of players like Bryant in the NBA - a true game-changer with a killer instinct. The Cleveland Cavaliers have that player in swingman LeBron James. The San Antonio Spurs have center Tim Duncan. And the New Orleans Hornets have point guard Chris Paul. The other player I would consider in this class is Dwyane Wade of the Miami (the 2006 version). It's no surprise that the Cavs, Spurs, and Hornets are all still alive in the playoffs.

Continue reading "LAKERS: BRING ON CP3 AND HORNETS ..."

Kobe Bryant finally has the hardware to validate his status as the world's best basketball player.

When Shaquille O'Neal branded Bryant "the best player in the game" back in the 2001 playoffs, it has only been spoken but never printed that Kobe is the most valuable player in the league. Now, it's official. When the King, David Stern, handed Bryant the Maurice Podoloff trophy Wednesday night before the Lakers dismantled the Jazz in Game 2, the moment felt more like an overdue coronation. The MVP trophy finally landed in the capable hands of the best player in the game rather than the best team player.

Continue reading "M.V.P. STANDS FOR K.O.B.E."

Kobe Bryant

Why he’s the MVP:  He is Kobe, that’s why.  This guy can take over any game and win it by himself.  He has matured this year and has become a better team leader.  I often see him giving the younger guys on his team some advice.  He went from wanting out of LA to being the leader we all waited for him to become after Shaq left.  He is an assassin and I wouldn’t want anyone else in the world right now if I had one shot to win a game.

Continue reading "Tight NBA MVP Race? Not In My Eyes"

 

If Kobe Bryant is not named MVP this season then there is something seriously wrong with the voting process.

After his 41-point masterpiece against Phoenix in Shaquille O'Neal's Suns debut last Wednesday, I saw a player who is on a mission. I saw a player who has dropped the "hot dog" off his plate and has become more efficient on offense and equally determined on defense. The Kobester looks totally zoned in on winning another NBA title!

Continue reading "KOBE IS PLAYING LIKE AN MVP"

We have been waiting for this moment for months.  No, I’m not talking about the Jason Kidd trade to go through (which it did today).  I am talking to about the second half of the NBA season to begin.  The first three and a half months can be such a drag, and usually are but in the second half, everything picks up.  It is a two-month stretch run to the playoffs.  This is the time when teams like San Antonio and Detroit flip their switch on and look to be playing their best when the playoffs begin.  The flurry of trades that have gone on in the last two or three weeks has just made the second half that much more interesting.  The NBA season is about 20 games too long and it kills ratings but now is the time to jump on the bandwagon.  These next couple months of the regular season and the playoffs are going to be some of the best basketball since the ‘80’s.  The NBA, where exciting happens.

Continue reading "The NBA, Where Only the Second Half ..."

Later, the feuds with Kobe Bryant were quite depressing. The year that the team lost both Phil Jackson and Shaquille O’Neal was one of the low points in the team’s history. I remember feeling very pessimistic about the future… Well, Phil Jackson returned but Shaq did not. I remember that first pre-season game that Phil came back to us. Lucky to be in attendance, I was part of the standing ovation that rejoiced in his homecoming.

Continue reading "Shed a Tear for Shaq"

uture hall of fame inductee.  Turning in unremarkable outcomes in recent seasons, players like Kobe Bryant garner more headlines for what they say then what they do. No one seems that excited about Phil Jackson anymore and the team is more of a tourist attraction now. “Real” fans have a tough time getting decent tickets to the games since they are a place for celebrities and wanna-bes to be seen as part of the fake L.A. scene.  (Fake L.A. scene as in the one that the transplants come here and try to make, not the one that really exists!) Only one of them, well actually two are real Los Angeles Lakers fans. 

Continue reading "Lakers? Clippers?"

I can still remember where I was when Kobe Bryant was accused of hurting that young woman in Colorado. I believe that was the beginning of the end. While I kept an open mind at first, I eventually soured to the whole thing. This young star had lost some of his luster in my mind. After things blew over and he started bad-mouthing Shaquille O’Neal and Phil Jackson my attitude toward him was tainted further. This is not endemic to Los Angeles either; other players have made mockeries of the teams that pay them millions. Now don’t get me wrong – I can totally appreciate trying to get the most salary from your employer. I am also a staunch proponent to speaking up when you think something is wrong. But honestly, some of these NBA divas go too far! I guess when I hear complaints about one of the best centers to ever play the game and a hall of fame caliber coach; I have to scratch my head.

Continue reading "Hope for the NBA?"