Laker Blues…
As a quasi-Laker fan I'm happy to celebrate the dominance that LA has enjoyed over the past couple of seasons. I enjoy watching Kobe Bryant reaching even higher than we thought the top of his game reached. I enjoy watching Phil Jackson play the NBA the same way a cat plays with a mouse before she eats it. Always seemingly in control and never panicked.
Whether you follow the Lakers the way I do, you're a die-hard fan or anything in between, you have to be more than a little concerned with the current Laker funk. I know it's only two games but this current Laker stew that's being cooked stinks of failure and complacency. The only player excelling since Gasol's hamstring injury is Lamar Odom. This is great for Lamar but seemingly horrendous for the Lakers as no one else seems willing to step up from the bench crew.
Jordan Farmar had a nice scoring night against an average Dallas squad but apart from that there's no spark from the bench at all. Sasha Vujacic, Derek Fisher and Josh Powell are just horrible to watch. (With the exception of Fisher's defense... I can handle that!)
They make me cringe when they shoot the ball these days and they make it look like they've been sitting out of Basketball for a year.
Sasha and Derek putting their heads together is like watching two hippos try to walk a tight rope. It's going to end badly...
There's no underestimating the value of Pau Gasol in this equation. Now I'm not saying he's the "hardest" guy in the League but I certainly think the inside-outside game that he is a catalyst of, certainly holds the Lakers in better stead.
As for Kobe, well it's easy to consider the finger injury, the knee injury, the elbow injury etc. The only trouble is, Kobe still continues to shoot tough fall-away jump shots during the 4th quarter of close games. Surely his brain isn't injured too?
It's the Milwaukee Bucks that visit the Lakers tonight in LA and after only emerging victorious by one point in overtime last meeting, the Lakers are vulnerable at best. It kicks off an interesting week for the Lake Show with a visit to San Antonio, Dallas and then back home to attempt to avenge their latest loss to the Clippers.
Milwaukee present a definitive challenge to LA. The Bucks have a good presence inside and the Bogut vs Bynum match-up will be great to watch. I'm most excited to see if Phil will give Shannon Brown significant minutes guarding Brandon Jennings. I think Brown's mixture of speed and strength will provide the perfect counter. Either way it will be entertaining! I'm predicting a triple double for Lamar Odom also... I see 14p, 16r and 10a for the lanky number 7.
Jennings could destroy the Lakers... or provide the perfect opportunity for Shannon Brown to arrive.
Buckle up no matter who you are, as when the Lakers experience the Blues, it seems everyone has a lot more to talk about.