Laker Blues…
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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.
Hey Brandon Jennings, we <3 you
Okay, the committee here at 2SOTH are sold on Brandon Jennings. 55 in three quarters is a historic event for a rookie, even if it does come against the Golden State Warriors. He has had a such great performances so far in this young season and the kid just looks more and more like a special talent.
Sure, his assists aren't sky high, but that is more a factor of who he plays with. When the mediocre cast around him in Milwaukee manage to knock shots down that he gets assists.
Brandon Jennings, you may be on the national radar already but you've earned a special rookie watch section here on Two Sides Of The Hoop. Enjoy that limelight young man. We are watching.
Milwaukee’s Best Brew…
Forget his last two plays in last night's loss to Chicago. Brandon Jennings is the real deal. Finishing with 25 points, 4 assists and 2 steals, Jennings showed me and anyone watching the game that he is a star waiting to shine.
His offense is unpredictable but effective to say the least. None of the Chicago backcourt could stay with him, and when the Bulls frontcourt sagged, Jennings simply scored. End of story.
The rookie endured a standard but horrible "no call" late in the fourth as Joakim Noah grabbed more arm than a fat chick in a nightclub at 3am. Still, Jennings made the shot and kept the Bucks in the game.
Brandon Jennings was disappointed but played a gutsy game against Chicago last night.
Derrick Rose was served notice last night that there's a new star Point Guard emerging in the Central Division. It will be interesting to see how he responds. The Bulls travel to Cleveland on Thursday and they renew their rivalry with the Bucks on November 20th at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee.
I'll have my eye on that game for sure.
Cleveland Boycott
We are officially ignoring everything about Cleveland for the next week. It's a train wreck that should sort itself out once Mike Brown gets fired and they get a coach who can organize an offense, but it's too horrid to watch right now. Plus there are lots of other great stories going on around the league. Examples being:
- Brandon Jennings (currently giving Derrick Rose an uncomfortable welcome handshake in their first meeting)
- Sam Dalembert showing proof of life against Boston
- Carmello Anthony starting the season so el fuego that there hasn't been a defense that can touch him and that's just from today.
It's probably best not to look at the carnage in Cleveland right now
Draft talk
So the draft lottery is today, and there is really only two studs in the draft, although we've heard talk of weak drafts before that turned out to be false alarms. So much of how these kids become successful relies on what team gets them in the draft.
I've only seen James Harden play two games, but I was really impressed with him, and think he'll be a great addition to a team at the 2. The Thunder would be great for him. Clips or Wiz not so much.
Stephen Curry is an interesting player too. Amazing scorer at the college level, and trying hard to turn himself into a point guard. Those kind of things rarely work out, but the reviews are quite good.
Hasheem Thabeet I think will be a complete bust. A real DeSagana Diop type situational player. Certainly not worthy of a top 5 pick, but someone will reach for him. I think the Wolves will tag him, just coz they are so dysfunctional.
I'm also interested in Brandon Jennings. Left for Europe after not gaining eligibility, and had a very so-so year trying to learn a pro-playbook and play with grown men. Yet he is still projected highly, so i'm missing something clearly. That's probably why the only GM job i've been offered recently is for the Timberwolves, but then they are trying to get everyone to take that job. Only Michael Myers would be interested in that much horror.
