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!

The Raptors’ playoff hopes are…

The Toronto Raptors’ playoff hopes are still alive, but barely.

The Boston Celtics are without Rajon Rondo and Jared Sullinger for the remainder of the season. The Celtics usually use only an eight-man rotation. They don’t really have anybody to step up in place of their injured players. Now Jason Collins, Chris Wilcox, Fab Melo and Leandro Barbosa will have to play more minutes.

Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce will have to play 35 minutes a game, which, due to their age, could lead to injuries.

The Celtics are presently 24 – 23 with 35 games remaining. All they need to do is go 16 – 19 to get to 40 wins, which should be enough to hold onto 8^th and final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference.

The Raptors have to pass the 76ers and the Pistons before they can worry about catching the Celtics.

The Raptors’ current record is 17 – 31 with 34 remaining. If they want to reach 40 wins they must be 23 – 17 the reminder of the season. It is not going to happen.

The Dwight Howard injury will now force the Los Angeles Lakers to keep Pau Gasol. I can’t see them trading Gasol to the Raptors for Andrea Bargnani. The presence of Rudy Gay makes it plausible for the Raptors to go after Gasol. In a weak Eastern Conference, Gay and Gasol can elevate the Raptors to contenders immediately.

Colangelo will attempt the Gasol trade once again in the summer. Bargnani fits the Mike D’Antoni offensive system which encourages the power forward to shoot three point shots.

Do you believe the Raptors’ playoff hopes are still alive?

Enjoy your day!

The Lakers beat the Thunder…

The Los Angeles Lakers have now won 2 in a row after they won a big game against The Oklahoma Thunder on Sunday. It is the Lakers’ 1^st win against a team in the top 4 in the Western Conference. Their record is 1 – 8 against the Thunder, Spurs, Clippers and Grizzlies.

The Lakers (19) are presently 5 games behind the Houston Rockets (24) for the final playoff spot in the Western Conference.

During the next 12 games, The Los Angeles Lakers will play against 8 teams who have a record under .500 and only 4 against teams above .500 (the Nets, Heat, Clippers and Blazers). The Lakers could possibly win 10 out of their next 12 games and make a serious run at a playoff spot.

The next games are important because they will get the Lakers to the trading deadline. The Lakers have to decide whether they are trading Dwight Howard or not. The next 12 games will dictate how they will handle the situation.

The management team has to believe the pride of the Lakers’ players will make a great run to the playoffs and maybe upset a top seed in the 1^st round.

I still believe the Lakers will make the playoffs.

Do you believe the Lakers will make the playoffs?

Enjoy your day!

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!

Is Dwight Howard playing to his potential?

Dwight Howard is averaging 18.4 points, 11.7 rebounds and 1.9 assists. I understand why Shaquille O’Neal gets on Dwight Howard for not being 25 points and 15 rebounds a game player on consistent basis. Howard is the most physically dominating player in the NBA.

I will compare his double-double statistics against 2 players. Double-double means a player has more than 10 in 2 different categories. I will compare him with players who get their double-doubles’ with rebounding and points.

Dwight Howard has played 21 games this year and registered 12 double-doubles games. He is averaging 18.4 points and 11.7 rebounds per game. The 2010-11 season he played 78 games and registered 66 double-double games. He led the league in this category. He had 22.9 points and 14.1 rebounds per game during that season.

This year Love has played 9 games and registered 8 double-double games. He is averaging 21.2 and 14.2 points per games. The 2010 – 11 season Kevin Love recorded 53 consecutive double-double games during the season.  He finished the season with 73 games played and 64 double-double games. He finished second to Dwight Howard. He had 20.2 points and 15.2 rebounds per game during that season.

Zack Randolph this year has played 18 games and registered 15 double-double games. He is averaging 17.6 points and 12.9 rebounds per game. During the 2010 – 11 He finished fourth in the double-double category with 75 games played and registered 53 double-double games. He had 20.1 points and 12.2 rebounds per game during that season.

Kevin Love and Zack Randolph are not athletes who spend a lot of time working out with weights. Neither one is known for their abilities to out jump or be quicker than anybody. These 2 men rely on their hustle, determination, positioning and basketball smarts to accumulate their rebounds.

Love and Randolph are very good scorers who can score in a variety of ways. They can shoot, post-up and make their free throws.

Dwight Howard needs to elevate his scoring abilities and rebounding desire. He is the most dominant physical force in the NBA who needs to realize that certain aspects of his game should have grown with experience, practice and knowledge of the NBA game. Howard statistics should have a great disparity between him and the rest of the league.

I agree with Shaquille O’Neal, Dwight Howard should be putting up much better statistics than he has done so far. Howard has won many accolades 3 time defensive player of the year, 4 time rebounding champion, 2 time shot blocking leader, 4 time first team all defensive team to name a few. I am waiting for his offensive accomplishments to catch up to his defensive production.

Has  Dwight Howard reached his full potential?

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!