Lakers: 8-0 Perfection

The Lakers are winning basketball games. That's all you really need to know.

Win vs. Rockets by 2
Win @ Suns by 8
Win vs. Warriors by 24
Win vs. Grizzlies by 19
Win @ Kings by 12
Win vs. Raptors by 5
Win vs. Blazers by 25
Win vs. Timberwolves by 5

So half their wins were by double-digits and three of them were last-minute competitions. What's good about that is the fact that every significant contributor on the roster besides Bynum is healthy and we've been able to see the situational line-ups for the squad.

For the last 6 minutes against the Rockets: Blake/Brown/Bryant/Odom/Gasol.
For the last 6 minutes against the Raptors: Fisher/Brown/Bryant/Odom/Gasol.
For the last 6 minutes against the Wolves: Fisher/Bryant/Artest/Odom/Gasol.

I think it's pretty much all mind games for PJ at this point. He knows he can't hurt Derek Fisher's psyche, so he gave Blake the ultimate confidence boost by putting him in a position to make a big play at the end of his very first Laker game ... which he perfectly did by sealing the game with a three off a Kobe kick-out. And then Phil knows he has complete mental dominance over Ron-Ron, so he's not afraid to play the hot hand and stroke Shannon Brown's ego when he's having a productive night. Not many people thought Brown would be logging heavy minutes with the Blake and Barnes additions, but he's proven to be far too valuable to ride the pine in the early going.

And it's only up from here. When Bynum gets in game shape, the NBA collectively goes on big-man-potential watch. He's strickly a role whenever he's hobbled by a knee injury, but he's still got the skill set, size, and intelligence to be an All-Star center. I still believe it, at least. Regardless, he'll instantly bring the team defense up a significant notch with his interior rotations and intimidating shot-blocking presence. Pau and him haven't seen many days where their offensive games clicked perfectly on the same night, but as long as the two of them add up to around 1.5, the Lakers are sitting pretty. Lamar seems more focused than at any point in his entire career, so a soft 6th man demotion should do none to deter his stellar production so far this year. It's crazy how those World Championship games seemed to prime him perfectly in a strange pre-training camp way to get him in amazing shape with a clear mind. His minutes won't even see a real drop with Bynum back since Ratliff/Caracter's collective floor time and a little bit of Matt Barnes' clock will make up the difference.

I got a great feeling about this team. Screw all the pre-season commentators trying to make Kobe's knee and age the non-LeBron headline as a reason why the Lakers weren't going to be able to three-peat. Maybe the stats simply don't compute as pretty for the squad with a top-two shooting guard of all-time, the best post player in the world, the most versatile 6'10" big ever seen, three of the grittiest perimeter defenders in NBA today, and a flurry of outside threats and veteran leaders that are collectively headed by the greatest coach in any professional sport ... ever. Maybe. But who cares? Does the computer get sad when it gets its calcumatated numbers wrong (just go with me on that one word)? The answer to that question is "no." Unless they wire those kinds of computers to have emotions now. Which is entirely possible with John Hollinger and Kevin Arnovitz' conniving asses. I don't even know. But even if that reference is rendered completely superfluous, the Lakers are a band of killers. No Brandon Flowers. Get ready for #17.

Team Highlights:
Scoring - 1st in the league at 112.1 points per game
Rebounding - 4th in the league at 46.1 rebounds per game
Assists - 4th in the league at 24 assists per game
Points Allowed - 11th in the league at 99.6 points given up per game

Individual highlights:
Kobe Bryant
Averages: 24.1 points, 5.8 rebounds, 4.3 assists, 1 steal
Best Game: 30/10/12 triple-double with 3 threes against Sacramento
Pau Gasol
Averages: 23.4 points on 55.1% shooting, 10.8 rebounds, 4.8 assists, 1.5 blocks
Best Game: 20/14/10 triple-double on 9-13 shooting with 3 steals against Portland
Lamar Odom
Averages: 15.8 points on 62.1% shooting, 10.8 rebounds, 3.4 assists, 1.3 3PM on 66.7% shooting
Best Game: 18/17/5 double-double on 8-12 shooting with a steal against Phoenix
Ron Artest
Averages: 10.1 points, 3.4 rebounds, 2 assists, 2 steals
Best Game: 17/1/4 on 7-11 shooting with 3 threes and 2 steals against Sacramento
Derek Fisher
Averages: 8.9 points, 2.4 rebounds, 2.6 assists, 1.38 steals, 1.0 3PM on 57.1% shooting
Best Game: 14/1/3 on 5-6 shooting with a three against Golden State
Steve Blake
Averages: 6.9 points, 1.6 rebounds, 2.4 assists, 1.8 3PM on 50% shooting
Best Game: 14/1/2 on 4-6 three-point shooting against Toronto
Matt Barnes
Averages: 9.1 points, 3.5 rebounds, 2.4 assists
Best Game: 16/14/2 double-double with a block and steal against Memphis
Shannon Brown
Averages: 9 points, 1.6 rebounds, .9 assists, 1.13 steals, 1.5 3PM on 50% shooting
Best Game: 16/1/1 on 6-9 shooting with 4 threes and 4 steals against Houston

... and Free Enes.

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NBA 2011 Opening Night Notes

Hand gesture ... TECHNICAL!!!

The Heat lost and the Lakers won. Get used to hearing that once the playoffs roll around.

With all eyes on LeBron for his Miami Heat debut, he proved the old adage that you can take the King out of Cleveland, but you can't take the underachievement out of his teammates. I've heard that since I was a kid and never quite understood it until last night. James attempted to carry the team with his shooting touch in the second half and wound up with 31 points, 4 rebounds, 3 assists, and 8 turnovers in a loss to the defending Eastern Conference champs. Those were the kind of stat lines that Kobe initially got killed for in his early post-Shaq seasons. But oh well, it was just one game against a tough defense and Miami's got 81 more games to figure out how to creatively come up short before the postseason begins. Having the rest of his team shoot a collective 38% from the field? That's just unoriginal. Props to Chris Bosh for being scared to death by his twin Predator KG (8 points on 3-11 shooting) and Dwyane Wade for having a rusty hamstring (4-16 shooting and 6 turnovers). With James Jones slated to get all of Mike Miller's shots, it's going to be a long road to recovery hinging on that thumb.

Two Celtics notes: Shaq gained 100 pounds since his Cavalier postseason debut and Paul Pierce pulled off a day one version of his oh-my-God-I'm-injured-and-embarrassed-in-a-heap-on-the-ground-so-I-better-be-dragged-back-to-the-locker-room-so-I-can-make-my-triumphant-reentrance-two-minutes-later-with-no-ill-effects-of-my-potential-career-ending-injury shtick. It's pretty much what he's known for now.

Now onto the Lakers-Rockets! Yao is gonna be good, even in his limited minutes. He managed to foul out in his short stay, but he did all of the incredibly Ming-y things last night that made him such a pivotal force before his foot collapsed. Kevin Martin will effortlessly thrive as mass point producer as long as he has Yao and Brad Miller at the high post looking for him on cuts. He's always been a great scorer, but now he'll prolly finally be efficient. Aaron Brooks resumed his role as a Laker killer with 24 points and 9 assists, so that was refreshingly painful.

But the Lakers found a way to prevail. Shannon Brown pulled off his best Kobe impression in the fourth and notched 4 threes to finish with 16 late points. Thankfully, Kobe also pulled off his best Kobe impersonation throughout the first three quarters and managed 27 points, 5 rebounds, 7 assists, and only 1 turnover. I was gonna write a column about how stupid it was for everyone and their mom acting like KB's crappy preseason shooting was an actual issue that proved his decline with age, but Kobe replied last night with his game and a win so I wouldn't have to. They're the two-time defending world champions, three-time defending western conference champions, and now they've upgraded their roster. Steve Blake surprisingly took over for Derek Fisher in crunch time and knocked in the dagger to add to the last of his three triples on the night. Matt Barnes worked his butt off and forced some action while he was in there, pulling down 5 boards and finishing with a +12 plus/minus score in his 16 minutes of playing time. Theo Ratliff notched two blocks in his limited time and will continue to do that every night in relieving Pau until Bynum makes his way back. The Lakers have their eyes past the Heat already. Get ready for the three-peat.

Oh, and Gasol had 29 points and 11 rebounds. That's pretty good too. And nobody cares about the Suns-Blazers.

... and Free Enes.

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2010-2011 Portland Trailblazers

The question: how many games is Greg Oden gonna play? The answer: who cares? The Blazers are made to be awesome with or without him. Of course they'd rather have him shatter all expectations and come through with abandon to be an MVP-caliber center, but that's probably never going to be in the cards. Honestly, Nate McMillan would be completely happy if he just got 10 rebounds and 2.5 blocks for 70 games.

2010-2011 Portland Trailblazers

Point Guard: Andre Miller/Jarryd Bayless/Patrick Mills
Shooting Guard: Brandon Roy/Wesley Matthews/Elliot Williams
Small Forward: Nicolas Batum/Dante Cunningham/Luke Babbitt
Power Forward: LaMarcus Aldridge/Jeff Pendergraph
Center: Marcus Camby/Greg Oden/Joel Przybilla

For all intentional purposes, Rudy Fernandez won't be a rotation player in Portland or any other squad on this side of the Atlantic Ocean. So they've pretty much swapped out him for rugged, fit-in-the-system wing defender Wes Matthews. Along with Nicolas Batum, that's quite the perimeter defensive combo. And even in his old age, Marcus Camby is still the best defensive mistake eraser in the game. With that core plus whatever spot minute contributions come from Oden and Joel Przybilla, the rest of the lineup can concentrate on the offensive side of things. And that's good, because Andre Miller, Brandon Roy, and LaMarcus Aldridge are definitely prone to focusing on that aspect of the game a little more intently.

The lead guard tandem of Miller and Jarryd Bayless brings a nice change-of-pace component to the Blazers' offensive attack. Miller is big bodied and pounds the ball with intent and makes the team run smoothly while Bayless is a speedy attacker who can force his way to the rim and finish with power. Both guys work well with Roy as the do-anything wing scorer to complement them, and Bayless is especially glad that Steve Blake slid his way over to the champs' roster to free up backcourt minutes. Coming back from a summer resting since his surgery, Roy should be able to get back on track as an elite all-purpose scorer. He's so hard to check for the fact that he came into the pros with an insanely balanced and smooth game and has steadily improved every aspect of it. If he can keep healthy, he fits flawlessly in with this group and makes everyone else a bigger threat. The one drop off on this year's Blazer squad is going to be the long ball with the departure of Fernandez and sharpshooter Martell Webster, so Roy will have to take the initiative to force the action and create even better opportunities for this team. With a lot to prove from not being able to effectively finish out last season's early playoff exit, Roy will be up to the challenge.

LaMarcus Aldridge is the most important guy during any given Portland game. If his confidence is high then he's capable of scoring every single possession. He puts up 18/8/2/1/1 on 50% shooting as a lanky 6'11" big who can maneuver his way inside just as well as step out with considerable range. It's a nightmare matchup for pretty much any squad he faces. With all the other bigs on the team more capable of tangling it up under the basket, Aldridge has free range everywhere else to mess up the defensive schemes. He's due for an even bigger breakout year to replace Zach Randolph as a natural All-Star forward in the Western Conference, minus all the known drug habit baggage. And the funny thing is that I think a healthy Greg Oden on the floor would make Aldridge's game shine even better. Their skill sets are so complementary of one another that you would think they should vie for top front court duo in the league. But nah, they're still behind Pau & Bynum, Yao & Scola, (one would assume) KG & Shaq, (one would assume) Griffin & Kaman, (one would assume) Boozer & Noah, and (one would assume) Big Al & Okur. So on second thought, maybe they're not even close to being the best ...

I think the no-longer-nicknamed-Jailblazers should improve about 4 games to be in the mid-upper tier of the West and get past the first round as a highly competitive dark horse. Roy should return to elite form, LaMarcus should up the ante, Greg Oden has about a 51% chance of playing 50% of the season, and the rest of the role players should all continue their seamless blue collar work under Nate McMillan's direction. So there ya go.

Prediction
Regular Season: 54-28
Playoffs: Eliminated in Western Conference Semi-Finals

... and Free Enes.

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2010-2011 Los Angeles Lakers

It's crazy that the Lakers just competed another three-peat. Now Kobe just gets to spend the rest of his career attempting to be better than Michael Jordan since he's already matched him. I'm just blown away. It's frickin' unbelievable!!!

That's gonna be my opening paragraph in a post about nine months from now.

2010-2011 Los Angeles Lakers

Point Guard: Derek Fisher/Steve Blake
Shooting Guard: Kobe Bryant/Shannon Brown/Sasha Vujacic
Small Forward: Ron Artest/Matt Barnes/Luke Walton
Power Forward: Pau Gasol/Lamar Odom/Derrick Caracter
Center: Andrew Bynum/Theo Ratliff

You think the Lakers got rougher last year when they signed Ron-Ron? Please. Matt Barnes and Steve Blake are twice as nasty as the Tru Warrior. I've always thought Barnes was simply a punk. That's all. But he did regularly seem to get under Kobe's skin in a way that made him take terribly forced shots to try to prove a point. I'll just be glad that he'll be implementing his crap tactics on other players this year, spelling Artest as his bench mob counterpart. And in the weirdest of all weirdness, Blake seemed to contain Kobe somehow even better. I, no joke, think he was the best one-on-one defender specifically on KB24 last year. I don't know what it is about the diminutive white guy besides the fact that he isn't intimidated by anyone. Ever.

The crazy thing about this Lakers squad is the roster consistency that they've been able to maintain over their last three years of NBA Finals visits. The one and only roster shift of last year was swapping Trevor Ariza for Ron Artest and the only shift this year is swapping Jordan Farmar for Steve Blake and finding out how to split the back-up wing minutes between Barnes and re-signed Shannon Brown. That's it; no other rotation player has changed at all. This extended familiarity with the triangle offense between Bryant, Fisher, Odom, Bynum, Pau, and Walton make this team more and more formidable and well-oiled on a yearly basis. Everyone is only getting more efficient (if you excuse Derek's age and Walton's paralyzing back problems). That's why I, and every major analyst personality, have no fears in the blending of Blake and Barnes with last year's champs. All of the major ball-dominators responsible for implementing the offense every possession are already in place and understand their roles perfectly. This cuts down the burden on the new guys to a minimum of knowing where to spot up and getting out on fast break opportunities. All the off-ball movements will come naturally with time.

What I'm getting at is this team is the exact same as they were last year ... with bench upgrades. If Theo Ratliff has literally anything left in his shot-blocking tank then even he's an upgrade. The rookies aren't going to be responsible for any production as of yet and every single position has a starter-worthy back-up in case of foul trouble, style match-ups, or even extended injuries. It's that simple. This year's team will be better than any of the Laker squads that went to the Finals in the last three seasons. So why shouldn't they win it all again? I don't even think the Heat are going to make the Finals this season, so I'm definitely prematurely re-handing the Championship trophy back to the guys already holding it.

There are a few potential worries, but they're already accounted for. Fisher's age? Blake is completely capable of backing him up for extended minutes or even taking over the starting slot if the torch needs to be passed. Artest's (Laker) sophomore slump? He honestly wasn't a major key to the offense for any extended period of last season at all, so he can only get more comfortable and effective in the offense in his second year. His high this season was only 22 points in a game, doubling his average. His defense and effort are incapable of falling off, so what's going to be the on-court problem? Kobe's decline? Kobe's not declining. Did you actually watch the playoffs? 29-6-6 in the postseason after he didn't even look to intently score for most of the first round series. He's the best player in the game. Bynum's injury-plagued history? The Lakers are used to not having him for half the season now. He plays like an absolute monster whenever he's on the floor without Pau, but he regresses when paired with the Spaniard and not given all the same touches. But who really needs someone else to be effective in the post when Gasol's on the floor? Everything Bynum provides is essentially a bonus to this insanely talented Laker squad. The only thing he needs to provide consistently is defensive effort.

I don't know what else there is to say. If Sasha regains his self-proclaimed "The Machine" shooting ability ... bonus. If Shannon Brown improves enough to keep his spot in the rotation and provides regular SportsCenter highlights and the occasional three-pointer ... bonus. If Luke Walton shakes his back injury and becomes the perfect director of the second unit ... bonus. If Derrick Caracter is in crazy shape and is frickin' good as a rookie that he leaps ahead of Ratliff in the rotation ... bonus. If Lamar Odom magically becomes consistent ... well that's never gonna happen, so forget it.

Prediction
Regular Season: 62-20
Playoffs: NBA Champions

... and do the John Wall.

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Retooling a Champion

I know it's kind of crazy to talk about the needed reconstruction of a back-to-back world champion, but I feel the need to. The Lakers are going to need to cement two glaring spots in their roster if they hope to end the 2010-2011 season with the insanely unprecedented accomplishment of Phil Jackson's fourth three-peat. And here are my hopes for those spots ...

We're losing quite a few locker room soldiers this offseason. Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar, DJ Mbenga, Adam Morrison, and maybe Josh Powell are all likely to aim for a few more bucks than the Lakers are willing to pay for guaranteed back-up guys. I'm going to pencil in Derek Fisher for a return, but it's probably going to be at a reduced role for the first time if Mr. Buss' wallet has anything to say for it. The two needs that that leaves the champs with is a starting-caliber point guard as well as a wing who preferably is a knockdown shooter.

This two part checklist will have to be accomplished in tiers. We'll either have to snatch a top tier wing with the full midlevel exception and a lesser-noted PG with whatever pennies are left, or the other way around. For the wing position, the prime candidate is easily Mike Miller. And the Lakers for sure know that. The early word is they've already thrown $30 million at him and are trying to force him into an immediate agreement on it. It's easy to understand why, as Miller is probably one of the ten best long-range bombers in the league today, hitting 48% of his 3s last season with the Wizards. If he can stay healthy for the length of the season, an Artest/Miller wing combo next to Kobe Bryant is perfect for literally any individual situation. Next to Miller, I like T-Mac as a darkhorse candidate. If he's serious about wanting to win a fricking playoff series in his career, he just needs to sign with L.A. regardless of the money. If those guys happen to fall through, the 2A, 2B, and 2C options are guys like Raja Bell, Matt Barnes, and Anthony Morrow. If you can add a feared defensive specialist like Bell or Barnes in addition to Ron Ron, the Lakers can shut down any backcourt in the league. Any of these guys instantly add a far favorable stretch shooter who can get on the floor, unlike an Adam Morrison-type guy who is strictly a mop-up player. Who cares if Kobe innately hated these competitors when he matched up opposite against them?

Tier 1: Mike Miller, Tracy McGrady
Tier 2: Raja Bell, Matt Barnes, Anthony Morrow

Or L.A. could go a different direction with the MLE and offer it all to try and steal Steve Blake. Although the guy seems to be a guaranteed candidate to change teams darn near every single year, he's the kind of younger, heady veteran who could pick up the Triangle Offense pretty quickly and flourish specifically in that lead guard role. He's a tad taller at 6-3, which is what Phil prefers, and he just makes solid decisions with his 3-point shot and passing ability. He's a guy who's only averaged double figure points once in his career, but he's still a highly coveted player due to him having a seemingly perfect game to be the heir to Derek Fisher's place with the future Kobe Bryant era Lakers. The next group of potential point guards include Earl Watson and Luke Ridnour. Earl is completely deferential and as strong a defensive presence at the 1 as you will find, while Luke is the creative plug-in point who would hopefully nestle into a comfort zone since he wouldn't need to force the action as much as he previously did with Seattle and Milwaukee. After that, we might have to try to squeeze whatever is left from Gilbert Arenas' shooting partner for minimum money.

Tier 1: Steve Blake
Tier 2: Earl Watson, Luke Ridnour
Tier 3: Javaris Crittenton, anyone else

If only to fill out the league's required roster minimum, the Lakers might have to pick up their 2010 second round draft picks, Devin "Guy Who Ruined UK's Season" Ebanks and Derrick "UL Flunky" Caracter. And regardless of if we may have to look into flipping Lamar Odom for either cap relief or completely unforeseen available talent, I'm inclined to believe that the 2011 season will be another banner year for the Los Angeles Lakers. Phil Jackson wouldn't let it happen any other way.

... and do the John Wall.

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