did you blink? NBA thoughts...

Apparently...according to Hollinger we dropped a spot from #3 to #4. I wish I could remember his comment during our brief stint ranked in the top 3 all league. It was some Kobe slight where his point was basically when Kobe doesn't play well the Lakers are actually better.

Portland just ticked off 10 in a row. I have to respect the way they flipped that organization. A distinct transformation from the Jailblazers. And this is without Oden. This is a team to watch in the next few years.

Bynum...Can the kid really keep this up? Phil said he may come off the bench when Kwame returns. [are you havin' a laugh?] . This hasn't been Phil's best coaching in his Laker tenure, but you have to play this kid big minutes with Kobe. You have to love the Kobe to Bynum lobs. We see it more every game.

Happy Hoops, & Happy Holidays!

Who's Not Honoring Me Now? IV

3-0 last week including a win at Denver. People who rank the Nuggets higher than the Lakers make Bart sad.

#6 - Sagarin/usatoday.com
#7 - Schuhmann/nba.com
#10- Meija/cbssportsline.com
#8 - dime magazine
#7 - Hollinger/espn.com
#8 - Steyn/espn.com
#9 - Burns/si.com
#10- Murphy/covers.com


The comment at covers.com: "Three strong offensive showings in a row have masked the fact that the Lakers aren't playing a lick of defense."

Hey! Oh... wait, that's kinda true.

I Kidd, I Kidd

I'll be damned if Bill Friggin' Simmons didn't come up with a plausible "Kidd to the Lakers" trade scenario:

Los Angeles gets Kidd, Augustine and Madsen; Orlando gets Radmanovic; New Jersey gets Kwame, Telfair, Crittendon and a lottery-protected No. 1 from the Lakers in 2008; Minnesota gets Garrity, Vujacic and $600,000 from the Lakers.

That... just... might... work? I hate anything that breaks up a really good bench right now, but at the same time that's a trade that brings in a star without giving up Bynum, Odom, or Farmar:

Starters
- Kidd
- Kobe
- Odom
- Turiaf
- Bynum

Bench Mob
- Farmar
- Fish
- Luke
- Ariza
- Mihm

Garbage Collectors
- Mad Dog
- Coby
- Whoever the hell "James Augustine" is

Royce with the blocked shot

A player pulls up and shoots over Jamaal Tinsley:

Tinsley's group had arrived at the club in three cars owned by the player -- a Mercedes, a Rolls Royce and a Dodge Charger. Thompson said a group of people gathered around the Rolls Royce and gave Tinsley a hard time about his cars and his earnings.

After Tinsley and friends left, they realized they were being followed by a gray Chrysler and a dark pickup truck, Thompson said.

Instead of going home, Tinsley's group pulled into the Conrad Hotel, a downtown luxury hotel, where the shooting began. Tinsley's Rolls Royce was struck by several bullets, and five bullet holes were found in the Charger, police said.

Better trade him and JO to the Lakers then. (Actually, please don't.)

Lakers Noogie Nuggs

Jon Barry is fine, but while Farmar was getting torched by AI, he actually said "why don't they put Fisher on him, he's a good defender." If by that he means, Fisher extends his defend so far past the 3 point line that when he inevitably gets torched, he's failed to guide the offensive player to the help defense" then I agree.

Lamar looked totally lost. He really shouldn’t shoot threes.

This just in: Kobe is incredible. Iverson had 49 points at the end of the third quarter. Kobe came in and held him to 2 points. (oh yeah, Kobe also scored 14.) I know the NBA is a team defensive game, but that still falls on the individual player- you have to slow the guy down, move him against his tendency and, when he gets past you, guide him to the help. Kobe guards the best guard or small foreword whenever it matters and still carries the offensive load.

This Laker team (which I don’t think highly of) would beat any of Jordan’s Bull teams. Although, whether you use 1980s refs or 2007 refs might matter.

Every Man has a Price

"I got a call from my agent wondering if I wanted to do a commercial with [Wade] and I said, 'Yeah' " [Clipper Paul] Davis said.

"He said, 'The only thing is . . . you kind of, sort of, get dunked on.' "

"I said, 'Well how much is it for?'

And he told me and I said, 'I'll get dunked on for that.'

Oh Kwame, Where Art Thou?

Gotta love home-and-road back-to-back games... pretty much set the Lakers up for defeat in Utah, not that they didn't help by playing like crap anyway. I have to believe they can come up with a schedule a little more fair than that.

Anyway, Orlando and Dwight Howard tonight. I can't believe I'm saying this, but boy would it be nice to have Kwame healthy to guard that beast in the post. Someone -- I'm looking at you Chris Mihm -- needs to use all 6 fouls against him.

Also the homecoming for Mo and Cook. Hopefully the fans show them some love, unlike those crackers in Utah inexcusably booing D-Fish.