Chris Paul or Dwight Howard?????

I'm drooling at the possibility of the Lakers landing Chris Paul and or Dwight Howard.  I think if they landed them both, they'd almost certainly be back in the finals.  I do feel like it's more likely that they only get one of them at best, so it's leading me to think about which one I would prefer.  I think what most people seem to be forgetting is that the Center position is definitely not the Lakers weakness.  Sure Bynum and Gasol have both had their ups and downs, but as a duo I still think they are probably the best starting front line in the NBA.  Howard is definitely better than either of them, there is no question about that.  I think that he would do best if we were able to deal Bynum, but manage to keep Gasol.  I think D12 would definitely make up for just about any weakness that Gasol has, and the fact that Pau can hit the 15 foot jumper would provide a lot more space for Howard down in the Post.  If Pau is gone and Bynum is there instead it would be better defensively, but Bynum and Howard pretty much have the same offensive game.  Either way, I suppose it wouldn't be a problem to have Dwight paired up with either of those guys.   Now when it comes to Chris Paul, it's pretty simple.  Paul is head and shoulders above what the Lakers have at the point guard position.  The absolute only reason to not get Paul would be because you wouldn't want to hurt your chances of being able to get Dwight Howard.  Now, everyone seems to be saying that Dwight wants nothing more than to go play with Kobe and the Lakers.  Chris Paul on the other hand seems to be more open to a lot of other places including the Knicks. So when I think about it,  I think the Lakers should go after a trade to get CP3 now, and take a leap of faith that Howard will enter free agency this summer.  I think that idea isn't far fetched at all,  all Dwight has to do is suffer through one more season in O-Town, and then he can bounce to L.A. this summer!!!!  I hope L.A. gets both of them immediately, but I stand by my logic that it might be easier to get Paul now, and get Howard this summer!

Bill Plaschke and T.J. Simers argue whether or not Kobe should play overseas!

Should Kobe take his Talents overseas?

As everyone I'm sure has noticed, there is a lot of talk about different players, including Kobe, possibly playing overseas if there is a shortened season due to a lockout.  I understand the thinking for many of the players, but is it really something that one of the NBA's greatest players of all time should do? I'm not so sure.....

There are definitely many pros and cons about playing in a foreign land.  The first positive is obvious, practice! What better way to stay sharp than to keep playing "competitive" basketball. While this is very important for many of the young players in the league, I'm not convinced that Kobe really needs to do this to stay in a groove. With all of his injuries the last few years, I think the time would prove most valuable if he can get his body as close to 100% as possible for when the season does begin.  Another positive, would be from a purely marketing stand point.  Playing overseas in front of different markets, especially in China (where there are 1 billion people) could be great for the careers of many of the up and comers in the League.   Once again though, does Kobe really need that? I'm sure it would turn him into even more of an international superstar, but how much could it possibly do for a guy that already sells the most jerseys in China.  The risks could be huge! Kobe would be less likely to be at 100% when the NBA season begins, and the risk for further injuries really might not be worth the risk!  I've pretty much made up my mind on the idea and my opinion is that he should stay home in the USA, unless

1. Several of the NBAs top stars sign on in teams that are in the league so that the competition is high
2. Kobe would definitely need a clause in his contract, allowing him to join the lakers whenever the season returns.
3. He get's offered a mountain of $$$$, not 1 million, I'm talking $10 million plus
4. He promises that the lakers will win the 2012  NBA title
5. If I can review all of the information presented in his offer, and allow Mr. Bryant to proceed.

That's It, so Kobe, let's  make a decision here soon!

#KOBEINTHECLUTCH

King James? Let's not get ahead of ourselves!

Back in 2001 I was reading an issue of Slam Magazine and I was looking through the names on their annual Slam High School All-Americans list.  I noticed there was a sophomore on the second team, and  I was like DAMN that's kinda crazy.  The name was Lebron James from St. Vincent-St. Mary in Akron, Ohio.  There was a nice article on him an issue or two later and soon after that the hype surrounding him spread to the main stream.  His high school played games in a college arena and a few of his games were shown on ESPN. As soon as I saw him play I knew he was the real deal! He already had an NBA body at age 17 and his athleticism was out of this world.  He could fly! and his passing skills blew me away for someone of his size.  I was a big Lebron fan back then, even had a poster of him up there next to Kobe and MJ.  

I was all about Lebron until maybe his second year in the league.  It's really kinda funny to me the way that I started to dislike him, because at the beginning it really wasn't his fault.  In my opinion, Kobe was the best player in the NBA starting somewhere around 2001.  You have no idea how many times I had to hear that players like Tracy McGrady and Allen Iverson were better. It was such a joke! Bryant had to be the best there was for literally 7 years before people would actually acknowledge that it was true!  Now Lebron on the other hand was seemingly anointed "King" almost the second that he stepped on to the floor!  For whatever reason Kobe had to do so much to get credit, and then Lebron marches in and overnight he's the best? Really?  I've never ever ever denied that Lebron could one day go down as the greatest player of all time, but I'm not gonna give him the crown based on his potential! I'm sorry! So it was really seeing him get all of the credit and glorification before he's actually put in the work that kinda started my Lebron hatred up to begin with.  It started more as a hatred of the people that put him up on the pedestal before he deserved it, more than anything!  Luckily for me, he has gone on to do more than enough to justify my disliking of him.

Imagine if they pulled some shit like this!

#FRESH

MJ KNOWS WHAT'S UP!

My reasons for being a Kobe Bryant fan

I feel like it might be a good idea to take a look back at how and why I became a fan of Kobe Bryant.  I really began paying attention to the NBA in the 90s. Living in Minnesota, we didn't have a team until 1989 and it was many years before Kevin Garnett showed up and made them relevant.  I admit that I did what the rest of the country did, and hopped on the Bulls bandwagon.  I was born in 1984 so I'm saying I was a child when I started liking MJ and the Bulls, I didn't even know what the term bandwagon meant.  Watching Jordan play was a blast and I was at the time as much of a Jordan fan as I am a Kobe fan today.  But I knew that Jordan's career was coming to a close and I wanted to find the next Jordan as many others did.  I knew of Kobe, but I started really paying attention when he won the dunk contest in his rookie year. He had many similarities to MJ and overall he was just an exciting young player.  I can in fact remember telling a friend that I was looking forward to Jordan's retirement so that I could see Kobe and Shaq win some rings.  I've always view Kobe a little bit differently than I view a lot of NBA stars.  He's well spoken,  he speaks Italian, and actually did well enough on his SAT to actually get into college (unlike KG).  So many NBA frustrate the hell out of me because they can barely even speak ENGLISH as their first language.  I've always just thought he was more intelligent and well rounded person than most of the stars in the league.  Now, on to the more present day.  It's no secret that Kobe's drive is second to none.  He is on a mission to be the greatest nba player of all time.  Whether he's already there, or he's on his way, or if he has no shot whatsoever, none of those statements will effect the effort that he will continue to put in on his quest.  He famously only takes a couple weeks off after the season before he starts his training again which usually has him up working before 5 o'clock in the morning.  In contrast you have guys like Shaq that make shitty movies, video games, rap albums, and visit Disney World during there down time.  Love him or Hate him, Kobe works hard!  I don't see how people can hate the fact that someone wants to be the best at what they do?  Kobe has 5 rings, been to the finals 7 times, but I have no doubt in my mind that he wants to win more championships more than any other player in the league.  There's been times when Kobe's tried to take the game into his hands and failed, I'll admit that, but you're never gonna see him shy away from the moment like Lebron did against Dallas.  Kobe won't go down without a fight period!  That pretty much sums it up for now, I'm sure I'll probably come back to this later and add more.

What's Beef?

 I decided to start off writing about something that has been making me ANGRY for a few years now.  People constantly attack Kobe for running Shaq out of Los Angeles, because he wanted to be the man.  First of all, I think it’s bullshit, second of all even if it was true, I could perfectly understand why he might want to. When Shaq came into the league, he was instantly one of my favorite players.  He was breaking backboards left and right and his personality was just as big as his game.  He was fun to watch and clearly he was enjoying life.  He owned Orlando, and then he owned LA.  The thing with Shaq is, he’s a complete freak of nature.  Over 300 pounds, and extremely athletic, like nothing the NBA had ever seen before.  The problem is, the fame was more important to him than the game itself.  With his amazing God-given abilities, he was gonna win championships without having to put his whole heart into it and he did.  He was content to be a great player, but I really think that if he had the work ethic of Kobe, he would have shattered records, and stacked the championship trophies to the ceiling.  Shaq liked to spend his off seasons hanging out at Disney world, and filming shitty movies about genies.  He loves having fun, and he loves the attention that comes with the fame.  I completely understand the way he is, but when you compare him to Kobe it’s obvious why they had issues. 

for the record, this is not me!

INTRODUCTION

I decided to start this blog for a couple of reasons. Number 1, I love basketball, I can watch any NBA game and find something that makes it worth watching. Whether I’m watching my Lakers(which needs no justification), or I’m watching the Wolves to see K Love get another double double, I’m gonna watch it and enjoy. So, my plan is to write about all kinds of basketball/nba related stuff. Number 2, I’m a huge Lakers/Kobe Bryant fan. I feel I might as well let it be known right away that I’m probably gonna be a little biased, I’d rather get that out of the way right now! I plan to do a lot of comparing Kobe to all the other great players, and shedding light on how I feel about many of the Kobe/Lakers developments both new and old. I know I’m not always right, and I’m more than happy to make some people mad! That’s all for now, check back, there should be some content soon!