CHAMPS!

We were just getting back from sea trials in time for Thursday's game 7 match up between our beloved Lakers and the hated Boston Celtics. Attendant responsibilities at work have prevented us from commenting on it until now.

After the game, Ron Artest thanked, among others, his psychiatrist. In the history of post-game shout-outs we can't recall a player calling out his shrink. Such was this season where the Lakers put it on cruise control the last few weeks of the season only to turn it back on for the playoffs and their rematch with the Celtics, which for such a storied rivalry has been pretty one-sided in favor of the Celtics.

Game 7 was no oil painting as the late great Chick Hearn would say but it was the glamour boys from Tinsel Town who absolutely gutted-out a first-ever Game 7 win against the Celtics, overcoming horrible shooting and a 13 point deficit to take the championship. It was a role reversal of perceived stereo-types between the two teams that made the victory all the sweeter.

We thought of Pops after this victory who moved out to the West Coast the same year the Lakers did in the early 60s. More and more of the ghosts, curses, bad memories and bad history are being cast aside as these Lakers lay claim to being the most successful franchise in team sports history.

B-Daddy has some thoughts on the victory and how it stands against the backdrop of the Celtic-Laker rivalry, here.


(pictured above is the unspoken MVP of the team, forward/center, Pau Gasol without whom these two-straight championships would not have been possible.)

Defining

Let’s face it. This was huge. It was not the biggest game for the Lakers in the past four years. That designation is reserved for an elimination game in the coming playoff series against either the Spurs or Hornets or the NBA Finals thereafter. It was, however, the most important victory for the Laker franchise in the past 4 years. The 4 years since Shaq left and the years immediately succeeding that departure where the Lakers flirted with mediocrity.

Its not hyperbole to say these types of victories are the ones that define teams. Playing in the most hostile arena in the NBA, the Lakers were not content to rely on the home-court advantage and wait for home-cooking on Sunday back at the Staples Center. They do what all good, aspiring to be great, teams do… they took care of business, finishing off their opponent by ruthlessly ripping the heart out of the Utah Jazz last night in Salt Lake City, a place where the Jazz had lost only 4 games all season, 108-105.

The Lakers doubled, last night, the amount of victories the 2nd round road team now has in these playoffs. The record now stands at 2-22. And they accomplished what two other conference semi-finalist teams, the New Orleans Hornets and Boston Celtics, could not: Game 6 victories in the opponent’s arena. This bodes well. Again, this was huge.

With this victory, the Lakers officially put it all behind them: Eagle, Colorado, Kobe’s video cell phone rant, the supposed lack of leadership in the front office, questions about Mitch Kupchak’s competence as a GM, Kobe’s trade demands…. Stick a fork and more in all of that. Its done…over with. Living in the moment and leaning forward towards their next most important victory.

For now, the Lakers can now sit back and relax, rest and treat some of their aches and pains and watch the Hornets and Spurs beat each other up in their Game 7 on Monday night.

Kobe gets his and... the best response ev-ah.

In the worst kept secret of the NBA season thus far, it was made official today as Kobe Bryant was awarded the league MVP. And as much as we hate to agree with the Conventional Wisdom that held that this was more or less a life-time achievement award, we agree. He was probably more deserving of the MVP in years previous when he was dragging the Lakers into the playoffs as an #8 seed in the West while being surrounded by stiffs like Kwame Brown, Smush Parker and Vlade Medvedenko. While finishing with the best record in the rugged Western Conference this season, it just shows what winning can do for people’s assessment of your individual performance.

And all this is just an excuse to share something NBA-related that occurred a couple of months ago. We came in on a conversation on ESPN Radio half-way through while driving home from work where the two radio hosts were banging unmercifully (but rightly) on some local Orlando hack that was making favorable comparisons between forward Hedu Turkoglu of the Orlando Magic (as well as a native of Turkey and an adherent to the Religion of Peace… its relevant, trust us) to L.A. Laker legend and Hall of Famer, James Worthy.

While the two hosts were in process of savaging this guy, Greg Anthony, an ESPN NBA analyst called in to the show. Since Anthony wasn’t privy to the conversation, one of the hosts set the whole thing up again explaining the sportswriter's case for similarities between Turkoglu and Worthy.

This host then asked Anthony: “So, Greg….whaddya make of that?”

Anthony: “…....Worthy’s a Muslim?”

Like comfort food

For about as long as we can remember, if it’s a Sunday afternoon in the spring in SoCal, it means yardwork while listening to the playoffs and the Lakers on the radio. After a few years absence, it good to have them back in the 2nd round. (And though Spiro Dedes does a fine job as play-by-play guy, things have never seemed quite the same without Chick Hearn).

Just a quick assessment: the Jazz are going to run no less than 3 guys at Kobe (Matt Harpring, Ronnie Brewer and Andrei Kirilenko) and their collective 18 fouls in order to wear him down. Carlos Boozer is going to muscle-up on Gasol so the free man in this scheme now becomes Lamar Odom. No, the apocalypse is not upon us but we’ll be able to see it from here if Odom is not mentally up to the challenge.

P.S. Thanks to the Atlanta Hawks for not wasting our time today with their game 7 effort against Boston. Seriously. It was obvious from the first few minutes that they weren't up to the task so we didn't invest any time or emotional energy.

Welcome Back Big Fella

And not a moment too soon. B-Daddy here, lifetime Laker fan. (Yes, even when Vlade Divac was the starting center and Nick "the quick" Van Exel ran point.) Dean commented here and here on what a great deal the Pau Gasol trade was for the Lakers. Fast forward a month, and the Lakers go 15-4 and take leadership of the Western conference. Then on March 14, he injured his ankle in a loss to New Orleans and the Lakers drop to a 5 and 4 won-loss record. But he's back in the line up tonight against Portland. As I write, the Lakers have built a ten point lead with Gasol in the line up. No guarantee of a win, but looking good.

I really believe this line up has the talent and desire to contend for the championship. My concern is that with injuries and late season trades, they haven't really played together as a team for very long. Getting by the Spurs, who always play great team ball under coach Pop, will be a big challenge. Still, I look forward to a deep run into the playoffs and a great season next year.

Still Can't Believe the Lakers got Gasol for #54 and a couple of draft picks Kupchak would've screwed-up anyway

Back in the '02-'03 season, the Lakers started wearing white uniforms for their Sunday home games and bumped up the start time for these games from 7:30 to 6:30. We're assuming the early start is a nod to folks who have work and/or school the next day... and to Jack Nicholson's after-game social schedule. And the white unis have that special Sunday go-to-meet'n-and-brunch vibe to them. We like.

Anyway, Lakes take on the Sacramento Kings this evening and can extend their lead in the Western Conference to 1-1/2 games over the San Antonio Spurs who lost earlier this afternoon to the in-desperate-need-of-a-victory, Phoenix Suns, 94-87, who are now 4-6 since acquiring Shaq.

LAST, click, LAST, click, LAST, click, LAST, click, LAST, click....

From 2:30 P.M. to 3:15ish, that was the button on the remote getting the workout of its life as both the UCLA Bruins (at Arizona) and the Lakers (at home against the Dallas Mavericks) were locked-up in tight ones and we were going back and forth between the two in frantic fashion.

The 4th-ranked Bruins hung on 68-66 against the Wildcats for their 7th straight victory against them. Story from SI.com here. (By the way, our man, Billy Packer was kicked out west to broadcast this game for CBS. At this very moment, Packer is well into a 4-5 hour in-flight harangue of his broadcast partner Jim Nantz over how this Sunday afternoon game will put them back in New York 3 A.M. EST and how that will just shoot to hell the entire Monday work day and why couldn't they do a Saturday game instead and.... bitch, bitch, bitch....)

The Bruins have been getting a lot of love nationally as both Jay Bilas and Andy Katz of ESPN have called UCLA the best team in the nation. UCLA’s ability to lock-down teams with their pressure man-to-man and ability to create turnovers out top with guards Darren Collison and Russell Westbrook remain their strong suit.

We worry though at times that as good as the guards are on defense, they play a little out-of-control on offense, a cardinal sin come tournament time. Also, Josh Shipp, a junior, who is/was supposed to be that go-to guy in the Bruin offense…. that guy they could look to get them a bucket or go to the rim to draw a foul and get to the line in crunchtime in the same manner Aaron Afflalo was the past two seasons for the Bruins, is experiencing a crisis of confidence right now. He scored only 7 points on 3-7 shooting and didn’t look comfortable doing it. Whatever is ailing him, hopefully he gets it worked out soon.

We’re going to keep a close watch on things because as much as we like this team, the sometimes skittish guard play and Josh Shipp’s apparent regression has us worried.

Now about these Lakers… They won 108-104 in OT against the Mavs with Kobe Bryant dropping 52 points. They have now won 11 of their last 12 and as of this posting are a ½ game ahead of the Spurs in the West who are playing the Nets this afternoon.

Barring catastrophe, Kobe appears to be the favorite to win the MVP this year. If he does so, we will file the achievement under “irony” as he probably should’ve won it in any of the 3 prior seasons. Kobe actually has some players around him this year like Pau Gasol and emerging young talents like the injured Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar and Ronny Turiaf.

You know, the Lakers just might win an NBA championship if they can find a way to contain Lamar Odom’s room temeperature basketball I.Q. In the last :30 of regulation, Odom missed two free throws that would’ve stretched the lead to 3, completely lost Dirk Nowitski allowing him to drain a three to tie the game when everyone in the house knew he was going to get the ball and finally, with 2 seconds left, tie ballgame and Laker ball at midcourt, Odom threw a horrible inbound pass to Kobe which was easily batted away by Jason Kidd forcing OT.

Phil Jackson needs to be held accountable for that decision, though. Upon seeing Odom trot to the sideline to take the ball to inbound it, we figured there was a 50-50 chance that the ball wouldn’t even reach its intended target.

When Bynum makes it back from his injury, we foresee some lineup changes that will probably result in less playing time for Lamar. His physical abilities are phenomenal but the guy drives us absolutely nuts with his mental execution or lack thereof.

All in all, not a bad day of hoops here in SoCal.

We'd a Done it for a bag of Chips

Kwame Brown… Pau Gasol…. And why can’t we wipe that smile off our face?

The Lakers traded Samaki Walker’s stunt double, Kwame Brown, rookie guard Javaris Crittenton an two 1st round draft picks for Pau Gasol of the Memphis Grizzlies. Story from SI.com, here.

The fact that the Lakers merely rid themselves of the dreadful Brown would’ve made our weekend but that he was part of a package that landed Gasol, a pretty consistent 20 and 9 guy throughout his career has us giggling like little school girls.

Is giving up two first round picks too much? We don’t think so. The reality of the situation is this: Kobe is in his 12th year (yeah, no kidding) and barring injury we feel he’s got maybe another 3-4 top flight years left in him so the Lakers are on the clock.

Gasol is the low-post threat the Lakers were missing when starting center Andrew Bynum went down with a knee injury 2 weeks ago (he’ll return in 6 weeks) and he is the type of player Kobe has been begging for since Shaq left town 4 seasons ago. So the added benefit here is that we Laker fans won’t have to suffer through any more “will he or won’t he” talk regarding Kobe’s future with the Lakers for the foreseeable future.

Finally, it moves talented head-case Lamar Odom from the #2 scoring option to the #3 where he’s much more comfortable.

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All in all, not a bad day. Crunch - crunch.

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Programming Alert: The Substitute attended the Hillary Clinton rally on the campus of San Diego State this afternoon. We hope to have pix and the story later on.