At this rate I’m going to have a heart attack by Monday. I can’t handle of all of this. The level of play is just unbelievable. There is no way I could possibly gather everything into a collected amount of thoughts, so for now enjoy another night of bullets recapping last night’s action.
Gotta start with Kobe vs. Shaq. Lakers vs. Suns. Some people (ESPN) are calling it the game of the year. Hmmm I wonder if that has anything to do with the fact that they were the one who televised. Nah, couldn’t be. Sidenote….don’t you hate when ESPN thinks that something “significant” is about to happen so they put that annoying red ESPN logo in the upper right corner. Ugh. Here are my thoughts on the game.
The Lakers have an unbelievable swagger right now. Watching them they are absolutely oozing confidence. And it’s not just Kobe it’s the whole team. Pau’s celebrations, whether it be yelling or pulling the jersey. Kobe nodding and saying ‘yes’ to the crowd going to the bench 15 times. They LOOK like champions.
Speaking of Kobe, while he may not be the best player in the league right now, Kobe Bryant is still on a completely different level. This may be the best Kobe we’ve seen in years. He trusts his teammates, believes in management and finally sees that championship window open again. Tonight he found the perfect balance between a team game and taking over when it was completely necessary. That was probably his best 40 point performance that I can remember.
These Lakers are deep. They have 10 guys who can contribute on any given night. You know you’re going to see Kobe, Pau and Odom. Give credit to Phil because he goes with the hot hand. Tonight he played Fisher and Vujacic late in the game because it was working. Just like Doc Rivers with his perfect team, lets not forget how good of a coach Phil Jackson is when he has his blueprint in effect. This is molded simlarly to a Bulls team, if you think about it its quite scary.
Before we all jump on the Lakers bandwagon, lets not go overboard with the hyperbole people…the Phoenix Suns are a great team as well. I can already see the Shaq trade is going to work out much better than anyone thought it would have. A Suns team with Shawn Marion probably gets decimated by this Laker team. Do they need much more than 15 and 9 from Shaq? He’s shown he can rebound and that he is still a presence on both ends of the floor. And that he isn’t going to slow their offense down. All of the doubts are gone: watch out for Phoenix. I mean look how comfortable Amare was tonight at the 4. The box score says it all (37 pts, 15 rebs) but now he doesn’t have to pretend he can play post defense.
We’re nowhere near done people, here’s what else you missed out on:
- Battle of the Beasts in Toronto. I apologize for not mentioning this game last night. Dwight “Superman” Howard vs. Chris “Kryptonite” Bosh. That’s his new nickname after tonight. For all you Howard fans, Dwight had 37 and 15. For all you Howard haters, Bosh dropped 40 on Dwight, shooting 14/16 from the field. He missed two shots in 39 minutes people. I know we rag on the East but imagine a playoff battle between these two. Sheesh.
- I hesitate to say Chris Paul demolished Jason Kidd, but damnit if he didn’t own him tonight. Kidd has more turnovers (6) than assists (5) in addition to 8 points and 6 rebounds. Paul on the other hand almost had a triple-double on Mr. Triple-Double. 31 points, 11 assists, 9 steals and 5 rebounds. CP3 has to be in the conversation for MVP with LeBron at this point with the Hornets currently sitting atop what could end up being one of the toughest Western Conference’s of all time.
- Golden State 119, Boston 117. BD with the game winner over Tony Allen to sink Boston. And this won’t get any pub at all but it was a tremendously entertaining game. The Celtics lose their second straight on this tough road trip while the Warriors improve to 12 games over .500. And are still in 9th place in the West. Wow. Boston clearly has to get back to playing defense, again giving up 110+ and again losing.
- Someone please tell the Pistons that the All-Star break is over. A blowout loss at home to Orlando was a head-scratcher…being down 20 to Milwaukee is even worse. Granted the Bucks tried everything to give it away before finally getting the win but still. Pistons are clearly bored right now so lets not even think about saying they won’t be in the mix when it counts. It’s just interesting that the Pistons can’t stay motivated for an entire year. You’d think they’ve won the championship three years in a row.
- Maybe Mike Bibby WAS the problem in Sacramento. I know its only been two games, but the Kings are 2-0 since Mr. Bibby became an ex-King. Not to mention they definitely survived when Udrih was running the show. Bibby had 17 points and 3 assists in his return to Arco, or as I like to call it one less than Brad Miller. Ron Artest continues his audition for whatever contenders want him: 29 pts, 7 rebounds on 9/12 shooting. Ladies and gentlemen, that is what you call a great line.
- I told you the Knicks were the most interesting bad team ever. Last night they rally to win an overtime game in Washington. And just like the Knicks, everytime they show a glimpse of that talent and make you start thinking they make you feel stupid. Example: tonight’s 40 point loss at Philadelphia. The Knicks gave up 37 in the first quarter. I think that says enough.
Finishing up this post with thoughts on the Kurt Thomas trade. The Spurs clearly did it to have insurance in the playoffs against the insane inside combos that Phoenix and LA present. Francisco Elson clearly sucks and Kurt Thomas is a major league upgrade. He’s a banger and can nail a midrange jumper. I don’t like that they lost Brent Barry though, he’s been known to nail big threes in the postseason. I’m sure they’ll find a way to replace his perimeter shooting but I don’t like losing that aspect just to get bigger. But I forget they still have Michael Finley and will find a way to get Robert Horry out of hibernation in time for the spring.
Also…Bill Simmons is an idiot. More on that tomorrow. I need to see if I can get some sleep.