NBA Power Rankings Part III

Now that football season is now over and we don’t have to hear any more about the Pat’s quest for 19-0 and perfection… I say welcome to basketball season.

It’s been a busy week in early February with two teams in the ultra competitive Western Conference pulling off blockbuster deals.

Both trades involve Laker big men… past and present… and should spice things up a bit come playoff time.

Of course I’ll address the Lakers’ deal first. How Mitch Kupchak pulled this one out of his you know what I’ll never know. He was able to trade one of the all time greatest busts for a legit All-Star… shipping Kwame Brown and Javaris Crittenton and a couple draft picks for Pao Gasol. Laker fans love this deal and teams around the league are scared shitless.

Now, unlike many NBA experts, I’m not ready to proclaim the Lakers as the favorites yet… they still haven’t advanced past the first rounds since Shaq left town… but our roster is looking better by the minute. Come playoff time, not many teams will be able to boast two seven footers and a 6’11 guy in their starting front court, not to mention the game’s best player in the backcourt. The trade for Gasol will keep the team afloat while Bynum continues to recovery from a knee injury and adds depth to the roster when Andrew returns.

A starting five of Bynum, Gasol, Odom, Kobe, and D-Fish is looking pretty promising right now. Our already talented bench gets even deeper with the likes of Farmar, Walton, Vlad-Rad, Ronny, Sasha, and Ariza when he gets healthy. When we get back to full strength, I don’t think any team in the league can match are starters or our depth. As good as its looks right now, there are still plenty of questions to be answered before we even begin thinking about making a serious run at the title in June.

First, will Bynum return to form in March? You never know how young players react to injury, especially when the injury occurs in the middle of their development.

Second, is 20 games enough to get everyone on the same page? This is why we pay Mr. Jackson $10 million a season. To put it all together. Plus having a big who can pass, shoot, go inside or out, and actually catch the ball won’t hurt.

The last question is what moves will other teams make? In acquiring Gasol the Lakers basically laid down the gauntlet. Just as much as the deal improved the team, it was also a statement. We are back and ready and willing to do the damn thing. Bring it.

The Phoenix Suns were the first to respond by dealing for an aging, falling apart, but always ready to stab the Lakers in the heart Shaquille O’neal. I agree with most people that Shaq is pretty much finished; he can’t score, run the floor, stay in shape, rebound, defend, or fit in with the Sun’s run and gun offense. But there is something inside me telling me that with another chance to get back at the Lakers, Shaq will all of a sudden drop 25 pounds and be ready to roll in the playoffs. I hope I’m wrong, but he’s done it before. That’s the thing about Shaq, he’s too lazy, unprofessional, and child-like to be in shape and try hard all the time, but when he finds a reason to get motivated, look out. Most people think he’s too old and worn down to turn it on now that he’s playing for a contender. But believe me, there’s a reason Phil Jackson declined to comment on Shaq’s conditioning. There is not very much that motivates Shaq, but anything Lakers certainly has in the past and we’ll find out soon enough it still does.

About a week or so away from the all star break, here’s a look at how the league stacks up.

30. Heat (9-38) Unloading Shaq and his monster contract and getting Marion in return is huge for the Heat. Out of it this year, but a good start towards rebuilding.

29. Timberwolves (10-37) Garnett deal not looking that bad after what Memphis got for Gasol.

28. Grizzlies (13-25) Hard to believe a deal involving Kwame Brown was the best one on the table.

27. Sonics (13-33) Durand and Co. can still be proud of recent wins against the undermanned Spurs and Cavs.

26. Clippers (15-31) Knew it would be a long year without Mr. Brand. Welcome back to the lottery Clips.

25. Knicks (14-35) Not as dysfunctional as earlier in the season. I still say trade everyone except for Nate Robinson and David Lee.

24. Sixers (19-30) Will likely take another step in rebuilding by dealing Andre Miller before the dealine.

23. Bobcats (18-31) Has too much talent to have this poor of record in a weak Eastern Conference.

22. Bucks (19-31) One of the bigger underachievers this year. At least they drew 200 million viewers in the second battle of Yi and Yao.

21. Bulls (19-29) Still haven’t recovered from Kobe trade rumors. Hard to believe they’re only a game and half out of the playoffs.

20. Pacers (20-30) Granger looking like one of the better up and coming talents.

19. Nets (20-29) Kidd wants out, but the real problem is the ridiculous contract they gave Vince Carter.

18.Hawks (21-24) Young teams finally improving. Looks like they are playoff bound, even with a below .500 record.

17.Kings (22-25) Hometown Kings getting healthy and getting better. Still won’t be good enough for the post season, so look for a flurry of deadline deals.

16. Wizards (24-24) Recent slide has them back to .500 mark. How will team adjust to return of Arenas and his 25 shots a game?

15. Raptors (26-21) Solid team, but not mean enough to get anywhere in the playoffs.

14. Trailblazers (28-20) Coming back down to Earth, but definitely still in the mix in the Western Conference.

13. Cavs (27-20) Probably should be higher because Lebron is that good. But they play in East so record should be better.

12. Rockets (28-20) Yao and T-Mac still trying to live up to the hype in Houston.

11. Magic (32-19) Never thought I’d say it, but Turgolou and Howard a solid 1-2 punch.

10. Warriors (29-19) Doubt C-Webb will take them to the next level, but the Baron of Davis is getting it done as always.

9. Nuggets (29-19) High octane offense but Camby the only guy on the team that even tries to play defense.

8. Jazz (32-18) Right when people started wondering about them, they rip off 10 straight W’s.

7. Lakers (31-17) At full strength could be higher, but can’t have bad losses like the one to the Hawks if they want a decent seed in the West.

6. Mavs (33-15) After the Lakers and Suns improve, you know Cuban will make something happen, Jason Kidd maybe?

5. Hornets (33-15) Chris Paul is a freak and as long as he is on their roster they’ve got a chance.

4. Suns (34-15) Banking on Shaq at this stage of his career may not be the smartest decision.

3. Pistons (35-13) Getting it done as usual. I expect to see them in the conference finals again.

2. Spurs (31-16) Record not as sexy as some others and health is an issue, but champs coasting through regular season knowing what lies ahead.

1. Celtics (37-9) Gets top ranking because of record, but injury to KG something for Bostonians to be worried about.

Snoooooooooooooooooop!

I must apologize for the absence. I know its been a hot minute since I've posted anything new but is it just me or is the new Snoop Dogg song, Sensual Seduction, the best song ever! And does anyone agree with me that video is even more amazing?! Keep up the good work Snoop and don't let your pointless reality show that's a complete ripoff of Run's House slow you down!




This has nothing to do with music, but click here to check out one of the most creepy/disturbing videos ever made!

The Lake Show

Looky looky, guess who's the number 1 seed in the Western Conference if the NBA season ended today? That's right, your Los Angeles Lakers. And if your name isn't Ronny Turiaf, you need to get a little bit more excited about that.

It's a skeptical jubilance though, as Andrew Bynum will be out for 8 weeks due to a leg injury. I'm not sure whether to be happy that the Lakers are capable of this, or wary because the Lakers seem on the verge of a Dodgers-esque collapse after losing an emerging superstar to injury. Who knows if the Lakers can regain the mojo that they had with Bynum in the line-up. All I can say is that we are a hell of a lot better off than any Laker fan thought we would be at this point in the season.

I still think that Kwame needs to go, and I hate that Bynum's injury has put off any chance of getting rid of him or Odom (I almost broke my brand new TV when Lamar was taking crucial 4th quarter and overtime shots against the Sonics, and of course bricking every GD one of them!). But what the Lakers need now is another big man, and the rumors are flying that the Lakers have contacted Chris Webber, who I can suspend some mild hatred for and let him play for the Lakers, because at least he knows how to run a pick and pop, can rebound, and can actually hit a 19-21 footer. Vlad's injury seems to be hurting the Lakers a bit more than I thought, and I even found myself looking for Phil to put in Sasha during a game before remembering that he was hurt as well. Farmar is still playing tremendously but that second unit now looks a little more lost than it did earlier in the season. With Javaris Crittenton getting more PT, the second unit is now Farmar, Crittenton, Trevor Ariza, Ronny Turiaf, and either Lamar or Kwame. Where is the offense coming from in that unit. Usually only Farmar, with Crittenton making some one on one plays but not really running the offense, and Ariza making some slashes here and there. More depth at this time is definitely the priority.

Now for Kobe. I understand that Kobe will take over a bit more, and that's fine with me. But what I don't want to start happening, is for the other players to regress back to the last previous years, and just stand around waiting for Kobe to make a play. During the Sonics game, Kobe had no choice but to take over, as no one seemed to want to run the offense and create anything for anyone else. The need to play the same way that they were playing while Bynum was there, and just shift Kobe into the post role and give him a few more plays. But all the Kobe haters (like Steve Hartman) need to see what Kobe does for the Lakers, even when he is forced to take over the offense and shoot more: He hits the big shot. That's what he does. So as much as people can criticize him for being selfish or whatever they want to criticize him for, they need to realize that he wins games for us.

So get on board with this team, and start praying that Bynum's injury only really lasts for 4 weeks, and we maybe add another piece along the way.

#1 With a Bullet

After a long Christmas break, we're back for more. Congratulations to Clayton Fisher for winning the first Go Blue Radio contest, going 24-8 in his bowl predictions. Stay tuned for other contests to come, and hey, you might actually win something next time Clayton!

Just a few thoughts on the 2007/08 NCAA Bowl Season:

- What a way for Michigan's Lloyd Carr to go out. The seniors played great, and finally got that bowl victory they've been needing. It just seemed like one of those games where Michigan would lead the entire way, outplay a team, should have a huge lead, and then lose at the end. But the defense held tough and brought out Tim Tebow's true colors. (Speaking of Michigan, with Arrington and Manningham going to the NFL and Mallett heading elsewhere, Hot Rod better figure himself out quick, or the Wolverines are going to have a down year next year with either a backup/freshman starting QB and not too many/young playmakers.)

- So Illinois and Hawaii lose big, and most people are going crazy saying that USC and Georgia deserve some of the national championship. Really? So you beat a crappy Hawaii team that everyone in the world knew you were going to beat, and a 3 loss Illinois team that Michigan handed it to and Iowa(?!) held to 6 points can't keep up with you, and you both think you deserve the title? That's what the regular season is for my friends. Don't lose to the likes of Stanford or South Carolina, and maybe you'll be in that championship game. It's called the championship game for a reason, because the winner of the game wins the title.

- Fox sucks.


Now on to what's really been killing me lately:

Lamar Odom.

The Lakers have an unbelievable 16-5 record over their last 21 games, and are playing out of their minds. Their are shooting well, and only played 1 bad game over that stretch, against Boston. The second unit has beaten every other second unit in the league, with Jordan Farmar, Trevor Ariza, and Ronny Turiaf anchoring that line. Farmar has become a legitimate 3 point threat, and Ariza's defense has been stifling. Fisher has been a scoring machine (and finally stopped turning the ball over) and Kobe has been his usual self, while at the same time allowing the role players to fill their roles. Bynum has emerged as a star, with a plethora of low post moves, great defense and shot blocking, and a veritable rebound machine. The lob pass is back in full force as Bynum throws down at least two oops a game. Even Vlad Rad and Sasha have played well.

The only one holding them back in my opinion has been Lamar. I know I know, he fills up the stats. But about the only thing I ever notice him doing well is rebounding. He falls off in games, especially defensively, shoots random shots, commits weird fouls, and I am genuinely scared when he has the ball on offense. Remember over the past few years how you felt when Sasha had the ball on offense and was driving to the hoop? You were frustrated/scared/unsure of what was going to happen next, and the usual outcome was Sasha committing an offensive foul or throwing the ball out of bounds. Lamar makes me feel that way now, and almost every shot he takes makes me scream "Nooooooo". Even worse, every time the Lakers are in a grove, shooting well, making a run, Lamar kills it with a bad shot.

It's difficult, because his stats are not bad. But it's the little things that kill me with Lamar. So he tackles Ray Allen, draws a one game suspension, and how do the Lakers do without him? Only beat Philly by 31 points, shooting 66.2% from the field. I know the only option is a trade, but I wouldn't want to package anyone on the Lakers (minus Kwame, Mihm, Karl, Sasha, or Vlad) with him that people would actually take. Plus who would we get for him? I don't know. All I know is I'm tired of watching Lamar Odom continuously kill runs or take late-in-the-shotclock/game shots that should only be taken by Kobe.