All-Star weekend take away…

Kobe Bryant is trying to make himself relevant by playing shutdown defense and talking smack with LeBron at the All- Star game.

LeBron James is the best basketball player on the planet. There is no disputing it.

Kobe Bryant is a great scorer. I never thought he was a great leader. This year’s Lakers debacle once again shows Kobe can’t lead a team. He can’t say that the Lakers didn’t have enough talent on the team. Dwight Howard and Steve Nash are two players who have won many accolades during their NBA careers. Ron Artest was a key member of the Lakers’ last championship team.

Yet Kobe blames everybody but himself for the lack of team chemistry and leadership. Mike Brown was fired early into the season and was portrayed as the problem. He must be feeling better now because clearly the team hasn’t really played much better with Mike D’Antoni as coach.

Can anybody please explain to me why Steve Nash is in a commercial with Magic Johnson and Chris Paul? Unfortunately, Nash has 2 MVP awards, which make him one of the all-time greats. It is my biggest pet peeve that he won 2 MVP awards. I believe he deserved 1(the second one only). Nash is not one of the NBA’s top-5 point guards of all-time.

A two-time MVP couldn’t help the dysfunctional Lakers get together and challenge for home court advantage in the NBA playoffs. Instead, they are fighting for their playoff lives.

I have a feeling Chris Paul won’t sign with the Clippers in the summer. The Los Angeles Clippers should’ve signed him during the season. Paul is saying he is happy being a Clipper and wants to stay with the franchise. Raptors and Cavaliers fans remember what happened to those organizations when the stars left for Miami. There is no rumour presently saying that Paul is leaving. It is just a feeling that I’m getting.

I’m happy the Toronto Raptors’ Terrence Ross won the dunk contest. I hope he doesn’t become the next Gerald Green. Green has been in the NBA seven years during which he won the 2007 dunk contest andappeared in a few other dunk contests. He has made absolutely no impact in the NBA.

The dunk contest should be eliminated from the All-Star weekend. I see much better dunks on You Tube from players who aren’t in the NBA.

I was impressed by Kyrie Irving winning the 3-point contest this weekend.

The All-Star game itself was boring. The NBA can’t force players to play harder. An idea that is circulating right now is to add 3 roster spots to each team. This may lead to a more competitive game.

I have been involved in park basketball games which were much better game than the All-Star game.

Enjoy the second half of the season!

Dwight Howard or Pau Gasol…

The Los Angeles Lakers have lost their minds. Coach D’Antoni has benched Pau Gasol to play Dwight Howard.

Pau Gasol, as a member of the Lakers, participated in 3 NBA Finals and won 2 NBA Championships. Gasol had no problem playing with Andrew Bynum in the triangle offense. Gasol has a multitude of post moves that Howard should be asking Pau to teach him. Gasol is a great passer from the post or foul line position.

The reason why it is not working with Dwight Howard is due to Howard’s low basketball I.Q. Howard is a physically dominant force that never had to learn the intricacies of basketball. He participated in 1 NBA Finals and lost. He is one of the most popular players in the NBA because of his victories in a dunk contest. He has been in the NBA 8 years–yet his fundamentals have not improved. Howard doesn’t have any go-to post moves, and his free throws percentage is pathetic.

Maybe Coach Phil Jackson’s triangle offense would have forced Howard to improve his game by becoming a good post player, passer, and pick setter.

Coach D’Antoni seemed to have been asked to use an offense Howard is familiar with from his Orlando Magic days. That was a terrible mistake and now the Lakers are paying the price.

The NBA has had a multitude of teams that won many games with two big men playing together. The offense is called a high-low, meaning 1 person is at the foul line area and the other player is posting up. They would read what the defense was doing and move the ball accordingly to score baskets.

I remember watching Tim Duncan and David Robinson, Chris Webber and Vlade Divac and recently Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. All those combinations include 2 seven footers who were able to be successful together. Only Chris Webber and Vlade Divac didn’t win an NBA Championship.

Howard will be a free agent at the end of the year. The Lakers should just admit their mistake and trade him. The NBA game is not a dunk contest. A player needs to score in a variety of ways, set up teammates for easy baskets, make their free throws, defend without fouling and rebound.

Gasol is a much better player than Howard in every facet of the game. Don’t be fooled by the media or Howard’s athletic ability.

Who do you think is the better player: Howard or Gasol?

Enjoy your day!

The Los Angeles Lakers are 9 – 12 …

Coach Mike D’Antoni’s dream turned into a nightmare. The roster he is presently coaching has on it the youngest player in history to reach the 30 000 plateau, a former 2 time NBA MVP award winner, 3 time defensive player of the year, 4 time rebounding champion, players who have made the all-star team a multitude of times, and multiple members who won at least 1 NBA title.

Kobe Bryant is scoring 28.6 points a game. Steve Nash has been hurt. Dwight Howard is scoring 18.4 points and 11.7 rebounds a game. Pau Gasol is scoring 12.6 and 8.8 rebounds a game. Gasol has been put on injury list due to knee tendinitis.

Despite the injuries, there is enough talent on the team to win most nights. What is wrong? Howard doesn’t have a post game, which means the perimeter players are not getting open 3’s. Gasol should be the number one post option because he can score with his back to the basket and is a good passer.

The Lakers’ defense, which is anchored by Howard, World Peace, and Bryant, hasn’t been good. The team defense has been atrocious. They never replaced Matt Barnes or Trevor Ariza, who can defend against quick players on the wing on a nightly basis and hit a three-point shot when necessary.

The Los Angeles Lakers would be making a huge mistake if they traded Gasol to the Raptors for players who have never won anything in the NBA (Andrea Barganni and Jose Calderon). A healthy Gasol and Nash will help the Lakers dangerous in the playoffs.

I have no doubt that the Lakers will make the playoffs.

Will the Lakers win a playoff round?

Enjoy your day!