Early Look At Possible Moves

After that disappointing loss, a lot of Laker fans are looking for answers. Fortunately, there is the imagining a trade game to create some [false] hope and take away a little bit of the pain of losing this game. [Personal note: This game hurts MUCH more than when I broke up with my ex.]

All of these moves will be assuming that Bynum is back healthy, as I do not know if there is any major trade we could do without a healthy Bynum.

Lakers Trade: Lamar Odom, Chris Mihm, future 1st round draft pick
Miami Trades: Shawn Marion

Rationale: With Gasol and Bynum at the 4 and 5, Marion is a better defender and 3 point shooter than Odom. Marion is also a solid defender. LO enjoys South Beach and had his most productive season there. Furthermore, if the Heat are forced to select Beasely, Odom's 'versatility' and rebounding would make him a better fit at the 4 and a better complement to him. Furthermore, it would cost more to keep Marion after his contract runs out.

Alternate: Pau Gasol instead of Odom in the aforementioned deal.

Rationale: With Bynum in the low post, Marion could stretch the floor and Odom could be a better high post player. Furthermore, Marion is an inevitable upgrade in terms of grit. Gasol would give Miami a talented center and would essentially have a more talented version of the team with which they won a championship.

Lakers Trade: Lamar Odom, future 1st rounder, and an additional player
Clippers Trade: Elton Brand

Rationale: Brand would provide a "banger" that is sorely needed by the Lakers and would be a tremendous upgrade in terms of interior rebounding and "grit." It does not look like Brand will stay with the Clippers and this would give them assets to work with. With the loss of Maggette, LO could be a solid facilitator.

Alternate: Paul Gasol instead of Odom

Rationale: Same on Lakers end, and for the Clippers a possible"twin towers effect" with a talented sf in Thornton and possibly a talented sg Eric Gordon.

Lakers Trade: Lamar Odom, Chris Mihm
Grizzlies Trade: Brian Cardinal, Jason Collins Kyle Lowry, #5 Draft pick

Rationale: Grizzlies get a tangible player and would have a core of Conley, Miller, Gay, Odom, and possibly a center with some upside in the draft. The Lakers get rid of Odom's contract and would get a solid prospect at #5. Kyle Lowry should also motivate Farmar.

The Audacity Of Hope - Game 4 Review

I am speechless. Perplexed. Sad. Angry.

The second half took a combined thousands of years off of Laker fans and hundreds of hairs off of my head. I have no way to rationalize this loss. It is simply painful even to analyze.

Phil Jackson was out coached. He would have been even if the Lakers eeked out a victory. This entire year, the Lakers have been prone to what happened today, that is, letting teams back in, rather than putting the game away. Today, it cost us. It’s hard not to place some of the blame on Phil Jackson. The entire second half, the Lakers had poor spacing and/or lack of ball movement. The Lakers DO have a potent offense. However, it is not maximally effective, unless, there is a decent amount of off the ball cuts, or on the ball cuts. (a.k.a. penetration inside) One particular play stood out to me. The Lakers had all Odom at the top of the key, Farmar at the left wing extended and Sasha at the left sideline. All three were behind the 3 point line. This, while objectionable in itself as 3 players were space so poorly, was compounded by the ball being in the hands of Kobe who was at the right wing behind the three point line. No one cut. The Lakers did get lucky and got fouled, but Ronnie missed both. This will be a lasting example of the inability of the Laker offense to follow the basic tenets when struggling.

[I would like to note that I also angry at two specific plays. One on the late possession where Paul Pierce pulled a Manu and got the call from the official WHOSE VIEW WAS OBSTRUCTED. Honestly, perhaps a challenge system would not be so bad if refereeing is going to be so inconsistent and egregious. A second play that maddened me was the uncontested left handed lay up by Ray Allen. Where was the rotation? Where was Pau? Or Fisher? Simply disheartening to see such a remarkably bad breakdown so late in a game]

[Also, on a lesser note and more cheerful Jeff Van Gundy called Mike Breen, "Marv"]

This brings me to my last, and titular point. Regardless of the situation, we must hope. Hope is a basic human desire. Hope gives us strength. It gives strength to everyone that possesses it, from the immigrant that hopes for a better life to a fan who hopes for a better series. We must not lose strength nor belief until the very end if we are true. It is indeed possible for us to win 3 straight, although not very plausible. We must be as we want our team to be. The Lakers need to have heart and play with desperation and passion such that we may, at the least, avoid seeing the Celtics celebrate on our home floor after winning the Larry O’Brien trophy. It seems a bit inane to hope at this point, but hope we must, for how depressing would the world be without hope.

Piercing Through Misrepresentations

I do not get surprised often, but I am very surprised at this moment. I am surprised that a mainstream media member, the accomplished Bill Plaschke would do what Buzz Bissinger expects bloggers to do. Plaschke was quite explicit in his criticism of Pierce. I for one am quite pleasantly surprised with this take. There is no hesitation in this column, no fear that it would be mistaken for a fan blog. Normally, I would at least partially those that cry a lack of journalistic etiquette in Plaschkes’s tone in column, but I will not today. Why? Because I agree with Plaschke. Paul Pierce is no Willis Reed. Please, for the love of Gotham, stop that comparison. I may not have been alive for that game, but I have seen it, and as with anyone else that has seen it could tell you, it was nothing similar to what Paul Pierce “suffered.” It was all too theatrical, highlighted by the wheelchair. The sight was so ridiculous that it has even managed to take the spotlight off of other major story lines. I shall end this section of this post with a quick personal story. A part of knee (which I believe to be my tibia) sticks out notably and gives me pain. Even with that, I’ve gotten bumped quite hard and/or awkwardly on my knee many times without so much as missing a minute of action. Are you to tell me that a professional athlete, that came back from multiple stab wounds to play all 82 games the following season has a lower pain threshold than a hobbled blogger? This could simply be me, but something sure did look fishy.

Oldie But Goodie - Coby Karl Getting The Rookie Treatment

Don't Flip The Script On What Works

I have been meaning to write this post for a couple of days now, ever since rumors arose that Flip Saunders may have lost his job over his recent loss at the hands of the Boston Celtics. However, due to time commitments to work as well as my increasing school work as finals week approaches, I was not able to publish this before what I meant to warn against happened, Flip got fired.

If this season has shown us anything, it is that drastic changes, (unless the changes are based off of insanely one sided moves, such as the Celtics acquiring Allen and Garnett,) do not work. Look no further than the Phoenix Suns as the perfect example of how such changes negatively impact a club’s future. The Suns’ already had a limited window for having a good chance at winning a championship, namely, until Steve Nash stopped being Steve Nash. However, they had a shot at being contenders with a core of Amare - Marion - Diaw - Barbosa, given that they added a capable point guard. They also had a coach that some people, including myself, feel changed the landscape of professional basketball by his focus on offensive basketball. Then, the trade for Shaq occurred. A few months later, the celebrated coach found a ‘better’ home in the team that had been the laughing stock of the NBA.

A perfect contrast to the situation of the Suns is that of my Los Angeles Lakers. The Lakers are now in the finals. Why? One reason is that the previously much maligned Mitch Kupchack stood still, even amid trade demands.

I’ll concede that Flip deserves some blame for that monumental collapse last year. Would I still have the same argument then? Yes. I would be less convinced of my own argument? Yes. Look why change now? Why throw a first time coach into the fire now? Look the Pistons’ ‘window’ is rapidly closing, and this move may have just shut it. When was the last time a first time coach won the NBA finals? If that is the goal, then why change everything now?

Before I finish this point, I inquire those of you that have not read this, to read this brilliant post from the excellent Grizzlies’ blog, 3 Shades of Blue.

Of course the glory days didn't last long in Memphis. By Thanksgiving the
following season Hubie was gone and the team was in a slow painful fall back to
a losing program. Oh sure, it didn't happen right away. Memphis made the
playoffs for two more years but the embarrassment of three consecutive sweeps in
the playoffs and three coaching moves over the next four seasons doomed what was
supposed to be a promising beginning in Memphis.

I know it is a bit of a strech to comapre the Grizzles' long road to detsruction to a possible one with the Pistons, but the similarities are simply there.

Lookalikes! Sasha Vujacic & Rafael Nadal

The Machine meets The Machine on clay. Sasha Vujacic and Rafael Nadal, respectively.

Post game Thoughts - Lakers - Spurs Game [It was not a foul, What has Pop been Thinking............]

• Spurs have no reason complaining on that last play. Miller and Smith made great points on 'Inside The NBA.' Barry should have leaned in to make the foul more obvious. Even then, it should have not been a two point game. The play just before it, it looked like the ball hit the rim before going off of the corpse of Robert Horry. Thus, the Lakers should have had the ball with 5.6 seconds left, with the Spurs forced to foul. Even a play or two before that, LO's block looked fairly clean. Finally, the Spurs got generous calls the entire game until then. If they could not capitalize on that, why should they have to be bailed out?
• Looks like Pop followed what me [and others] have been saying and played Barry more in place of the corpse of Finley. I am just confounded as to why it took Pop this long to make such adjustment. I'd assume Finley is about -90 total for this series by now.
• Also, why does Pop not play Kurt Thomas? He can defend, shoot, and rebound better than Horry, and would not pass up an open 4 footer........
• I was really impressed with the maturity of the Lakers. Luke Walton affirming that he was struggling even though he was scoring in the first half, and Kobe noting that he took the shot too early with about 28 seconds left.
• Odom and Fish had decent bounce back games and provided the momentum killing plays when needed.

Pregame Notes - Lakers - Spurs Game 4

[Random thoughts before the game..............]

• Right, left! - Even though its been duly noted that Manu is a left hander, and that The Machine has been one of the few people to actually realize this, Ginoblii still lit up Los Angeles in Game 3. However, he did a lot of the damage on step back threes, and Sasha should continue to play the left. If he is going to continue hitting contested threes at a 72% clip, the Lakers simply have to accept it.
• Early success inside - Lamar Odom seemingly has the psyche of a 5 year old. As such, he needs to have early success for him to gain confidence. Thus, look for the Lakers to be in trouble if Lamar continually misses easy shots inside, early.
• Energy is the name of the game - The bench, ignoring the resurgent Farmar, was simply not very good. Even if they are being outscored, the Laker bench, the 'bench mob,' needs to be energetic on defense, and hopefully cause some turnovers. Furthermore, on offense, off the ball cuts, and an inside out game are necessary for success with Kobe on the bench.
• Pop not Doc - My criticism for Doc Rivers has been well documented. However, I was critical of Pop for his substitution patterns in game two, and Pop responded by showing that he was no Doc Rivers. Look for more usage of the effective Barry if one of the corpses, such as Finley, is struggling.
• Focus on Tony - As much the average viewer would like to focus on Eva, the Lakers need to focus on keeping Parker outside. Good things happen for the Spurs when Parker can penetrate effectively.

The Machine's Head Band

ESPN's Shelly Smith is reporting a peculiar origin for the head band for the one known simply as "The Machine." Apparently, it was given to Sasha by the captain of the Laker girls. No wonder why I've heard of stories where people of both sexes were jealous of his hair.

A Tale of Two Coaching Matchups

Even though the Couch Potato gave only 6/10 bags for this weekend's action, today's NBA action, composed of two Game 6s, look fairly promising.

When one look at these games, even superficially, one difference between the two games stands out.

Coaching.

One game features two HOF coaches, one the longest tenured and consistently good, and the other possesses 9 rings. This contrasts sharply with the other game, which features two coaches, whose luck has been significantly better than their coaching.

Which much of the media may have ignored just how significant this is, this match up between Doc Rivers and Mike Brown will go down, for me, as the match up of two of the worst coaches in NBA playoff history. Bill Simmons (good luck on your situation with ESPN) has done a great job of sharing the skills of Doc Brown. Although, I have to admit, I was stumped to see Doc Brown following the conventional wisdom and leaving Rajon Rondo out there after he started playing well. However, this one game does not mask multiple silly substitution patterns utilized by Doc. Mr. PER, John Hollinger, gives light to one of the more dumbfounding grievances is his latest work for ESPN, the question as to why the corpse of P. J. Brown is getting more burn than the productive Leon Powe.

As for Doc Brown, it is simply frustrating for me. Just as Boston hired a good defensive assistant coach in Tom Thibedeau, the Cavaliers should look at hiring a good offensive assistant/associate coach for the Cavs to show that their run last year was not just a fluke, and to entice LeBron to stay rather than bolt Madison Square Garden or The Bronx. Look, it is NOT a good idea to get LeBron the ball 30 feet from the basket on the wing, especially when the spacing is so poor such that 3 defenders can collapse on LeBron without fear of a major penalty.

Just thinking about those two wasting the talent they had been given is frustrating.

Just watch the games for the difference. There is so much more ball movement and off the ball cuts in the Jazz-Lakers series. There is quite a bit of beautiful basketball there, with the exception of some unnecessary fouls and turnovers. The beauty of the game comes from the coaches. Perhaps Doc and Mike should be watching the game following their own for some ideas.

On Home Court Advantage And Refereeing

Warning: This post may have been influenced by a bitter Laker loss.

14-1. 14-1. That is a great, almost incredible record, in most sports and in most situations.

14-1

Let that sink in. Now, that is the record of home teams in the Conference Semi-Finals of the NBA Playoffs. Considering the intensity of playoff games, simply pay attention to the magnitude of such a record. It serves as an exemplar of the gargantuan power that home-court advantage has in the NBA.

But what causes such an advantage?

Is it as conventional wisdom says, due to the impact that sleeping in one's own bed has? Or is it due to the home team simply played with more passion and energy and the associated energy of the crowd?

Maybe?

I however, would like to suggest an additional reason for such a disparity.

Referees.

Coming off the Tim Donahey scandal, refs had been under much scrutiny until the incredible race out West took away much of that scrutiny and attention. It would be silly to deny that home teams get the "breaks" from the referees. Look no further than today's Lakers-Jazz game for some proof. With Utah up 2 in Utah, with the ball, Carlos Boozer decked Derek Fisher with an elbow, taking out Fisher and Gasol, who was help up by Fisher's body (on the floor), and thus created a 5-3 for the Jazz. Needless to say, the situation was compounded when a touch foul was called on Lamar Odom to set up a 3 point play. On the opposite end of the floor, even with the Laker player missing the field goal attempt, such a "foul" was not called.

Furthermore, another practice in NBA officiating that concerns me regards how flagrant fouls are assessed. Such fouls are assessed based on the player-floor contact rather than the player-player contact. Such an act is completely against the spirit of the call, which is based on intent and original player-player contact. Why must a team be put at a disadvantage when a big fouls a more fragile or smaller player who the falls in an awkward manner? Or when, a player takes off without proper balance gets contact and falls awkwardly?

Please do not misconstrue this post as having no solid points. I, like many, would like to see games being decided due to ability, rather than some referees.

Another trial they must endure.

While im freezing in the cold, sitting outside my classroom, waiting for it to begin, I might as well write a bit, to excersize my subpar skills. [I actually envy that guy in the picture, as atleast he has a fire, where I have a laptop for heat]

Now on to the news. The shocking and deflating news for Lakers fans has just been confirmed. Now I doubt Kobe would actually miss 6 weeks but then is another trial for the Lakers team that has been very much tested, whether it be through a trade demand or through Kwame Brown with 7 turnovers in a minute. Just when it seemed bright, this happens. Now, I am no expert, but I have no doubt that Kobe Bryant would return in fewer than six weeks if he actually elected to get surgery. But, with Ariza and Bynum still out, the Lakers may suffer in the ever so tight West. But alas, time will tell. As a laker fan, I hold the rosiest outlook. My scenerio: Kobe plays through this, improves on his fg% by taking better shots and leads the Lakers to the promised land. As fierce a competitor as Kobe is, I would not put it past him to make himself better even through pain.

POW and The Superman

If anything can bring me back, its some ridiculous deals in the NBA. Luckily for me, we have two. Before I ramble on, I think its worth noting how rare this is. When was the last time two legitimately franchise changing players were traded within a week of one another? Same thing can be said about the ridiculous Western Conference this year that has precipitated these moves. The tenth best team in the West has a notably better record and is notably better than the fourth best team in the East. TENTH. Its going to be remarkable and sad to see two more than capable teams missing out, but I digress.

The Pau Gasol trade is what i would call a double addition trade. The first addition comes from the fact that Pau is a world class player, the leader of one of the best national teams, as well being a solid 18 and 8 player. He was the franchise player in Memphis and landed in Los Angeles which possesses the Mamba as the franchise player. Furthermore, when healthy, Andrew Bynum also has the potential to be a #2 option, thus taking even more pressure away from Pau. Then, we must note that the lakers are getting a boost by the simple subtraction of Kwame Brown. The much maligned Brown could be counted on dropping a few passes and missing a few layups per game. No wonder the Lakers looked much better in the game w/o him and before Pau arrived.
Since Pau has arrived, many things could be noted about the Lakers game. (Hey, Im writing this in an insanely boring class so lay off my diction) First, Pau can draw fouls. I don't think many anticipated this but this aspect of his game, the quick first step he has, and his ability to utilize a variety of shots and moves creates trouble for the opposition. Next, Pau's length allows him to finish, in a way Kwame Brown probably could not even fathom. However, Pau's interior D is questionable, although the return of Trevor Ariza (seemingly forgotten to most of the major bloggers) and 'Drew (as Kobe calls him) should help.

The other major trade, the BIG fella going to the run run run run run Suns is much more interesting. Does Shaq have enough left? Who knows. However, what is known is that Shaq's defense had been declining rapidly and it seems unreasonable to look at him as a defensive and rebounding specialist as the Suns want him to be. I wouldn't be surprised if he gets in foul trouble quickly. shaq's fouls per minute has reached the highest point of his career. (It is worth noting that Mark Blount is playing better than Shaq was at the center position. On the bright side, Pheonix does get a piece to contend with in playoff time once the run run run style fails. Only time will tell what this means for the Suns, but the simple thought that they did this to react to something done by the lakers makes me, as a laker fan, happy.

Magical Land of New England....... For Now

You have to give it up to New England. When has there ever been a city where EVERY single sports team has been so good? Never might cover that answer. Everything seems set up for perhaps the best year for a single city in the history of history. The Celtics are 24-3, the pats are undefeated, and both are challenging for the best single season ever had in terms of victories and other stats by any team. O, before we forget those Red Sox happen to be the World Series Champs. What could go wrong?



The first sign came with Boston College. BC was undefeated poised to be in the BCS championship game, even if they lost one of their final five games. They possessed an extremely good QB, perhaps the best seen in Boston College sports since some guy named Doug Flutie. But alas, BC fell, and fell hard. 2-3 hard. A record thats is unacceptable in any conference, even the SEC or PAC-10, let alone in the Big East. Now they are playing in a bowl, but a meganingless bowl, played even before the New Year has passed.



Now let us look at the remaining teams, with the patriots up first since their season is closer to finishing. True, their 15-0 season has been historic, and they have areally good shot at being the first team in the history of the NFL to go 16-0. Granted they have a all-world Q in Tom Brady and a WR core that is probably the best ever assembeled. But there is indeed a blueprinted, revealed by Jimmie Johnson, that shows potential. The Ravens, the same team that gave the Dolphins their first win, came eve so close to defeating the Patriots. How did tehy do it? Pressure on Tom Brady and iwth a solid running game. the Jags and the Colts both possess the ability to duplicate that style and thus have the potential to defeat the pats. They are both physical in the front [Especially now with the lack of the more finesse but al-world DE Dwight Freeney] and quick and physical in the Secondary. They have the ability to shut down the run and to keep up with Randy Moss and the rest of the wide reievers. Yes, the Colts did defeat to the Patriots, but who wouldnt with Ryan Morehead as their second WR. Even if Marvin Harrison is not fully healed and fully himself, the development to Anthony Gonzalez should be more than enough to supply Peyton Manning with a solid target on top of the Pro Bowler Reggie Wayne. As for the Jags, they possess a QB that makes LESS mistakes than Brady, and the best running tandem in the NFL. With the older front seven of the pats, their running game night indeed end up being the Kryptonite to the Pats. So dont make plans for the Super Bowl parade yet New England. I doubt that would be wise.



Next, let us examine the Boston Celtics. They have the best trio in the NBA today with one of the most versatile playes in KG, one of the better scorers in Paul Pierce as well as perhaps the best pure shooter in Ray Allen. They have a great offense yet also possess an incedibly good defense and have an amazing muti digit point differential. But they have yet to beat a healthy San Antonio Spurs or their own nemesis in the weakly east (Where Atlanta is in the fourth Seed), The Detroit Pistons. I doubt that unless the Pistons collapse again, as they did to LeBron last year, taht Boston would even make it to play for the NBA Championship let alone win it. Now assuming that they make it such point, there existsno guarentee that they can defeat the team coming out of the west. San Antonio looks like a better version of Detroit, with more shooters and possesses the defensive prowess to slow the Big 3 and make Paul Pierce go into the Simmons defined Hero Complex thus causing all kinds of problems for Boston. Another team, that can defeat the Celts in the rejuvinated Lakers, especially with the gargantuan improvement with Andrew Bynum. Sunday marks a big mathc between these two long time rivals and may be a guage for how things may transpire.



But for now, I wouldnt buy copious amounts of Champagne if I were one of the Boston teams.

NBA part 1: The Good

Now that I have finished my freshman post, lets move on to a new topic in a new sport.

The Good

Portland Trailblazers

What has happened in portland is nothing short of a culmination of exceptional coaching and hard work by the players themselves. Remember when everyone was verating Nate McMillian on walking on his franchise, the Sonics to coach the then Jailblazers? Just a couple of years later, he looks like the coach of the year. Their winnings treak has been impressive to say the least. Brilliant play from all players, especially Brandon Roy, looking like a poor man's Kobe at this point, has helped. But ultimately the recognition has to be given to the staff for turning around what looking like another trip to New Yotk for the lottery.

Atlanta Hawks

With the magical ride happening to the trail blazers, Atlanta is perhaps the most overlooked team in the NBA. Atlanta has been a surprise, with the play of Marvin Williams being a pleasant surprise. I doubt fans will forget that the Hawks passed on Deron Williams and CP3, but atm, thing do not look too ad for the Hawks. They are fourth, yes FOURTH, in the east, albeit a weak conference, while boasting a respectable 15-12 mark. This team may not make the news considering what is happening in Portland, but they deserve their recognition. Mike Woodson and his staff have to be in the COY running. Again, Joe Johnson and Josh Smith are possible all stars taht wont get the cal due to them playing for the Hawks, but they too deserve recognition. I for one intent to give them their recognition.

Los Angeles Lakers

A dynamic young player coupled with an established great veteran. Ring a bell? While this version of Superman and Robin may have the big man as Robin, the story is looking promising in Los Angeles. Andrew Bynum is playing like a young Shaq, terrorizing the interior with his ability to finish with punishing strength while boasting the ever important length. As Bynum develops more post moves and utilizes them more he'll probably be the best center in the west. O before I forget Kobe is playing great basketball,and is actually trusting his teammates. The lakers are perhaps the most dangerous team in the west atm, and if the bench plays as well as they've been playing, we could see a rematch of some classic 80's matchups in the final.