Kobe's looking better!

After looking like absolute shit for most of the game against the Hornets, Kobe has been on beast mode.  His shooting percentage is waaaaay up, and he's made every clutch shot he's taken lately! It's good to see him coming around, I'm actually kinda glad all of this drama with Kobe's shooting percentage and Bynum's attitude happened when it did!  I like seeing some of the lakers a little bit (or a lot) pissed off! It seems to give them a chip on their shoulders and it seems like both Bynum and Kobe have responded! Bynum came off of an injury and almost didn't play, then went on to drop 36 points, I definitely like that.  All of the drama I think might help Ramon Sessions as well, we have high expectations for him, but all of the drama has allowed him to ease his way in a bit.  With that said, I have been extremely impressed with his play.  His ability to get to the basket and score quickly still makes me surprises me, we just haven't seen that from a lakers PG in a few years and it's great!!!   I'm still very confident going into the playoffs, the only team that really scares me out west is the Thunder.  Yeah, they are very scary, but they definitely can be beat!!! It's gonna be exciting to watch the last stretch of games! Buckle up!

Fisher signs with Thunder

Well it's official, Derek Fisher is once again with a team other that the lakers!  Fisher signed with the Oklahoma City Thunder today, and may even play tonight as they face the Clippers.  I'm definitely not excited to see him play for the Thunder, but I am happy that he didn't join the heat or the spurs!  I'm not sure what it is but I haven't yet developed the HATRED for the thunder that i already have for the spurs and the heat.  I have a lot of respect for Kevin Durant, so I'm glad to see him get the opportunity to gain from Fisher's leadership and experience rather than Lebron.  As for the idea of Fisher being a Spur, it just wouldn't seem right considering they are the team he victimized with the most memorable shot of his career.  With all that said, good luck Fisher, I hope we don't have to cross paths in the playoffs! 

And ya never know, maybe you could even sign a minimum contract with the lakers in july to finish your career as a laker!

Kobe Zoom VII as seen in the ALL-STAR GAME

Kobe's All-Star shoes were pretty over the top, but I was digging the glow in the dark sole 

The Kobe System

This has been out a while, still funny though

Lakers Trade Talk

Feeling Like Waldo

Let me start off by saying that ONLY the lakers would get robbed of a perfectly legit trade by the NBA.  The trade that the lakers tried to make for chris paul was just as fair and maybe even better than the trade that was allowed with the clippers.  The commissioner was just afraid that he would look as though he had a laker bias but whatever.  What's done is done, but that mishap has led to the loss of a disgruntled Lamar Odom, and started the ball rolling on Gasol's ever descending confidence.  Now that's all done, it is what it is, but David Stern single handedly put the lakers in a hole this year!!!!   Now, on to Dwight Howard.  I still feel like the lakers have a shot at him but I honestly don't think he is worth giving up both Gasol and Bynum for unless we get Jameer Nelson in the Deal.  The size of Gasol and Bynum is still a huge advantage, I'd rather see them move some other pieces to at least get a decent point guard.  One of the more recent rumors is that the lakers are looking at bringing in Michael Beasley from the wolves.  I live in Minnesota so I watch almost every game that beasley is a part of.  I will not argue his talent for one second, but he is inconsistant and often seems to wreck the wolves chemistry all by himself.  If the lakers can get him for a pick or a couple of out bench players fine, but if they end up getting gasol out of LA, the lakers are in deep shit!!!!  My basic philosophy around trades for the lakers is that they don't move gasol unless they can make a significant upgrade at point guard.  The trade idea that I like the most is Carl Landry and Luis Scola for Gasol, I think that would be a decent trade for both teams!!!!  I guess we still have a few weeks to see what happens, I'm just praying that the lakers do SOMETHING!!!!!

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!

#KOBEINTHECLUTCH

Imagine if they pulled some shit like this!

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!