LeBron and the NBA Off-Season

I'm not a LeBron fan.  I'm a Kobe fan, so there's that, and there was The Decision, and mostly there's the fact that when you're the best baller in the world you can't moonlight as a flopper.  I don't like flopping, but some guys can get away with it.  If you don't have the best toolkit on your team and your ability to get the ref to whistle when there's no foul earns you playing time, well, it's hard for me to fault you for that.  Yet if you're the best there is at what you do, you can't be flopping around out there, and that's that.  Anyway, I'm no fan, but I applaud LeBron for going back to the Cavs.  Hell, career-wise a return to Cleveland is somewhat akin to taking a bullet for your hometown.

However, as much as people want to discuss LeBron and his big decision today--and it's big news, don't get me wrong--I think the bigger story is the way the NBA has been grabbing headlines of late.  Even when The Decision ruffled so many feathers once upon a when I don't remember there being so much discussion about the NBA's free agency period.  I know Melo's out there too, but off-season headline dominance has typically been a staple of the NFL, and to a certain extent the MLB.  I don't ever remember dealing with so much hype in regards to the NBA off-season.

Whether people like LeBron or hate him, and whether they like his return to Cleveland or not, this is a win for the NBA.  People are talking about LeBron and Melo.  They're talking about the alien known as Chris Bosh and there have been headlines coming out of Toronto--Toronto!!!  Yes, people are still talking about Donald Sterling and his adventures in insanity as well, but all this attention has to be seen as a major boost for a league that hasn't been this hot since MJ was tearing it up or Magic was going toe to toe with Larry.

The NBA is back, folks, and all this off-season noise could be setting the stage for a huge year on the hardwood.  Of course, if you're a Lakers fan like me, it's hard to relish all this enthusiasm, but it's there and Adam Silver has to be loving it.

Vino

Yes, call him Vino, because that man is aging like wine.  Last night, Kobe played 48 minutes and put up 47 points.  He added 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 3 steals, and he was credited with 4 blocked shots.  How many times did he turn the ball over during this stellar performance?  Once.  Keep in mind, this was only the latest in a string of rousing performances from one of the game's best players.

No one can dispute the fact that Kobe is still in the top five, and I still believe he's the best player in the league.  Think about how many games he has played, and think of how much he has been through this year.  To call this a turbulent season for the Lakers would be a grand understatement, and just look at how Kobe has performed.  The dude is a stone cold killer on the basketball court.  There are guys with better stats on the season, I know this, but examine their situations.  No one has worked as hard as Kobe Bryant this year.  No one.

Now, this isn't going to be the year that Kobe Bryant gets his sixth ring.  You know it, and I know it, but I'm not so sure that Kobe knows it.  The Lakers will make the playoffs, and sometimes strange things happen when it matters most.

Regardless, Kobe Bryant is on fire, and despite the fact that his squad is fighting to make the post-season, this has been one of his most impressive campaigns. 

These Lakers (Revisited)

It's official.  I'm all in.  Yeah, it may be foolish, but where Kobe goes, I follow.  I think it's going down.

That is all.

Read original These Lakers blog here.

These Lakers

What is it about these Lakers?  We're set for the NBA's awesome All-Star Weekend, a hell of a spectacle that should have the NFL taking notes, and it's pretty clear that the team that good old Jack and I cherish is awash.  It's ludicrous to think they could make the playoffs this season.  Let's be real: this Lakers squad has given us every reason to believe it's equally ludicrous to assume that they might play good basketball for an extended stretch at any point.  Given the talent involved, the whole situation becomes even more ridiculous, and yet I can't seem to give up on them.

I should have given up weeks ago when I was watching my team on TV and I realized that I had seen better play at the YMCA, and any illusions I held beyond that point should have been shattered when Pau hurt his foot.  For the record, after Gasol went down, I was still enough of a believer to watch that Thursday night game against Boston with a slew of Celtics fans.  That's a precious memory.  Yet I still found some reason to believe.  I mean, Kobe's out there with Dwight Howard and Steve Nash.  Metta World Crazy has to play nasty D and drill some big shots at some point, right?  Yes, I continued to believe.  Last night, I was convinced that a win against the Clippers would be the launching pad for a push to greatness in the second half of the season, but instead of a win I got to watch a massacre.  There's just no logical explanation for continuing to believe in this squad.

Forget about all that talent.  Forget about Kobe's quest for 6.  Forget about Dwight Howard being the best big man in the league right now.  Hell, go ahead and forget that last one twice if at all possible, because the dude just doesn't have the drive or the toughness.  As a consolation prize, he was blessed with a very nice smile.

And yet, as I get set to enjoy all the action the NBA has in store for us this weekend, I can't flush my hopes for this season down the toilet just yet.  I know it's stupid.  I know how this is going to end.  And I still believe this team can somehow scratch their way into the playoffs in spite of all that.  It must be Kobe, and despite his greatness, it's still foolish, but I'm all in.

I feel like an idiot for saying this, but I'm eager for a spectacular All-Star Weekend (which isn't foolish at all--NFL, PLEASE TAKE NOTE!!!) and I'm still down with the purple and gold.  Let's do this, Lakers!

Wow.  That felt even more ridiculous than I thought it would, but I'm still going down the ship.  Until then, maybe I'll get to see Kobe win a big game when he suits up for the West this weekend.