A response, of sorts, to a recent fanshot that addresses Kobe Bryant, perceptions about his greatness, big-man requirements for a dominant team, and the duty of fandom.

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I was inspired by this post when I saw how inspirational the Kobe Bryant bling was. I mean, dedication to our Lakers team is what makes being a fan so damn awesome. Unfortunately, I lack the money to invest in the hardcore bedazzler-style that my co-fan has for his Kobe jewelery. It's all good though, because I've learned one thing about fandom; it doesn't matter what anybody says, my opinion is RIGHT.

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Someone will probably roll out the rough cut any minute now, so I thought I'd bring the smooth cut.

I was thinking about Delonte West the other day (weird I know), when it donned on me. He is the ultimate enigma, a veritable walking monument to the non-existent lovechild of Kid n' Play, Redhead Kingpin, and Lucile Ball. Pump it hottie! He has such an original look (Gloria liked it, no?) you have to wonder, anybody else look like him? What about other players? Any doppelgangers out there?

Seriously though, how great is Delonte West? Well, let's make a game. Posts should be about players who look alike, look like famous people, not so famous people, etc. Here's some to start out with.

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Hello all,

It's been slow the past few days, so I thought I would make another "Lebron James vs. _____" post. Sure, I know we've done this ad infinitum, but hey, aren't we tired of the usual LBJ vs. Kobe/MJ, etc threads? I know I am.

I did some research, and I was able to come up with something rather interesting. Lebron James and the 16th President of the Untied States, Abraham Lincoln, have a lot in common. In fact, a run down of their similarities is quite eerie (<--- that's a hard word to spell, btw, if you can't remember it...).

Abraham Lincoln and Lebron James similarities:

• They were both tall. Abraham Lincoln was between 6'4" to 6'5" in height, with his air max 1861s, he probably stood about 6'7". Lebron James is 7' tall. Or something.
• They were both from Ohio. Okay, not really, but the Midwest can claim both Abraham Lincoln (by way of Illinois, via Indiana, via Kentucy), and Lebron "Akron's Son" James. As a side note, this guy is also from Akron. I guess the D-bag tree grows tall in that part of the country.
• Both of these men are considered "Great Americans". Lincoln is hailed as one of the best Presidents EVER for his handling of the Civil War, abolishing slavery, and other gnarley stuff like his invention (Patent No. 6469) for a device to lift boats over shoals. A shoal is a fancy word for sandbar. Lebron James is hailed as a "Great American" formerly by Clevelandonians, currently by South Beaches. Also some guy named "John Hollinger".

Due to the many and sundry similarities, I thought it would be good to continue this post in a Lebron vs. Lincoln fandango of fun. At the end of this post, I feel confident I will be able to honestly say who is better. More after the jump (no really, it says "THE JUMP" when you make one of these posts).

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Hello all,

I had to sit through not only Dirk effing Nowitzki and Steve Nash winning the MVP a few years ago, I then had to stomach LBJ and all his lackeys proclaiming him the greatest.

Now what? Seriously, with the recently hatched Threesome in Miami, LBJ's stats will take a massive dive. You've got three offensively minded players who will need to share the ball. All of them like to play out from the post to drive or work the screen-and-roll.

Although the three may be able to get their 20+ a night, rebounds and assists will most likely fall as the ball is shared between the three. The dominance that Lebron showed stat-wise is going to be impacted by two more scorers, one who will get his share of rebounds (bosh), and another who will have his share of assists (wade). LBJ's stats will therefore go down, as the other superstars get theirs.

Here's a look at the year, 2010:

LBJ: Rebounds 7.3 Assists: 8.6 Pts: 29.7

Bosh: Rebounds: 10.8 Assists: 2.4 Pts: 24

Wade: Rebounds: 4.8 Assists: 6.5 Pts: 26.6

These players have had the lion's share of stats for their respective teams, and will have to share the ball accordingly. All of the Stars stats will dip next year, especially as they attempt to learn how to play as a team, share the ball, and take on different rolls.

Enter new contenders.

I really see the possibility that Kevin Durant, Chris Paul, or even Kobe (longshot), will be legit contenders for the MVP crown.

Time will tell, but the LBJ lock on the MVP over the next few seasons appears much less likely. Until the new Heat team can figure out who's going to do what job, I feel they'll look a lot like this next year. You know, with the blind leading the ... well you get the picture.

So Amare Stoudemire just signed with the Knicks for $100 million dollars (around that). This is for a guy that can't play defense, can't win, has no heart, and wears glasses that are no where near as cool as these guys.

AND...

To put that in perspective, this dude makes (pro-rated over the next 5 years, without consideration taken for the 1-2 leap years we'll experience in that time) $2283 dollars and change per HOUR. Yeah, he makes that much per fucking HOUR. So, when this bitch sleeps, he'll get paid around $18,624 dollars. Take a crap for 15 minutes? Sweet, he just made a cool $570 bucks.

Wow, wtf New York?

Seriously, he could probably buy my city. And for what? A guy that might score 30 points in a game? He also might get 2 rebounds, and land in foul-trouble.

Oh well, what the hell.

$100 million dollars? Can you believe that shit? Wow.

That is all.

And to think they could have spent that on Ammo...

In the last three years I can't recall seeing the Lakers play with any sort of... urgency. Sure we could look back to the Houston series, or maybe games 6 versus Denver/Orlando. Okay, well maybe not. I can't say those games were played with urgency either.

Something the Celtics have proven is that the team that plays with fire, urgency, and hustle, is going to win the game. The 50-50 plays, the rebounds, steals, and defense, are all generated with hustle and activity. These things lead to second chance points, fast breaks, and stops. All things we've been missing since game 3. We can feel robbed about game 2, but the truth is after game 3 we haven't played with any sort of "urgency".

Well, here we are, down 3-2, in our house. I think we'll see some playoff basketball tonight from the Lakers that will leave the recent flood of immigrants from the CelticsBlog stunned and concerned. This series is not over. I don't care if the Celtics "play better on the road", they will not play like they did in Boston. They will be outplayed. They will lose.

Now, I fully expect a bunch of long-winded rebuttals to this piece. So what. Let's chat after tonight, because only then will we really know.

Hey ya'll. Well this series has gone exactly two games longer than I wanted it to. I can't stand the Celtics, and I'm sooo tired with the bully-then-victim attitude of their team, coach, and fans. Someone will win two out of the next three, and take the championship home. I'd like to point out some important factors going into what looks like another "must win (cliche much?)" game for both teams.

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Exorcizo te, omnis spiritus immunde...

Kobe Bryant is starring in a new roll, folks. He's taking the lead part in his own personal version of The Exorcist.

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Hello all,

If you're like me, you were drawn to this website because you are a Laker fan, and have found a home with the funny writing, insightful commentary, and active game-posts. Ammo shows up from time to time, as well as a wrathful Brian Shaw.

Since joining, however, I've been nudged in a different direction. After posting a comment defending Derek Fisher and his arsenal of intangibles I drew the ire of a certain Mr. Fishmore. Needless to say, I was put off about the constant "hate" for one of my favorite players. I believe Dex or CA had used "stats" to point out how Derek was hurting the Laker's offense. Stats? This isn't baseball, with it's easy-to-assess stop/start analysis pitch per pitch. This was Basketball, where a game is in constant motion. How can one really use stats? I think Dex said something like, "stats are here to stay, get over it or leave" (paraphrased). Jerk! How could he be so cold? Well, he was right, and it's changed my outlook on basketball (thanks!).

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One of the things I've noticed about our interior defense is the total lack of charges our team draws. Aside from Fisher, and maybe Artest and Kobe a couple times, I can't really remember our guys taking a charge. We continue to see our bigs jumping straight up with their arms above their head (so as not to draw a foul), or going for the block when they have great position down low. Why not take a charge?

Case in point, I distinctly remember a call Lebron got against Odom during the Christmas Debacle. LBJ drove in against Lamar, who had great position. Instead of taking the charge, Lamar throws his arms up and is bumped away by Lebron, resulting in a foul.

Has anybody else noticed this?

(Maybe they're tired of getting hammered by the beast that is Ammo during practice, and don't want to subject their bodies to further punishment?)

I was pondering moving or changing the starting lineup because Artest is injured when I started to think about some issues of late. Bynum hasn't been effective the last half-dozen games or so, and looks to be in some sort of funk. It also appears very hard to get touches for both Pau and Drew at the same time. In fact, I was watching when Pau and Drew were stacked on one side last night vs. the Kings. Everytime Pau would get the ball on the perimeter to feed Drew, the Kings defender would sag back, knowing that Pau didn't have the range to hurt them. This happened about... 2-3 times, but illustrated a weakness having them both in the game when Drew is being unproductive.

Why not do something like this?

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Hello all, chiming in after the loss to the Nugs.

Rarely have I seen the Lakers perform so poorly. Wait, check that. Rarely have I seen a team as gifted as the Lakers perform in such a piss-poor manner in any professional setting. I guess I could think back to other ugly games and seasons over the past few years; the let down loss and blow-out against Boston in the finals; losing to Detroit in 2004. Thinking out loud (threw my keyboard) in reality I don't think I've EVER had to witness such a frustrating performance over the past 20 years!

As fans, as the paying multitudes that buy the gear, purchase the tickets, watch and cheer, we deserve more than that! Calmer fans may be able to look to the next game. Not I...

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Hello everybody, first time fan post.

I've been watching the Lakers since the early 80s. As a young man I loved wearing an Atlanta Hawks jersey, thought Moses Malone was the greatest (named my son Moses by the way), and had a blast watching 'Nique, Spudd, and everybody else. As a native Californian though, I've always been a fan of the Lakers, and revelled in their glory through the 80s, into the 90s, and most recently at the turn of the millenium. Finding this blog makes me feel a bit normal now, in that "oh there's other people like me after all". It's hard explaining the Lakers to my wife, but it's great to hear my two year old shout "Lakers" at the top of his lungs.

I'd like to post some observations as a long time fan that will hopefully spark some comments. No stats, no popcorn machine, just comments from a dude that watched the game...

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