Ringing in the New Year with the Lakers, Part 2

Yesterday I listed the resolutions that I want to see the Lakers’ best starting five make. Today I’m going with the bench players.

Vladimir Radmanovic: Channel the spirit of Dennis Rodman.
No I don’t mean I want to see Vlad dye his hair, get tattoos and body piercings, or wear wedding gowns. Although as Phil Jackson recently put it, it appears that the Lakers’ free agent acquisition over the summer is a “space cadet” so it might not be too long before we start seeing some odd behavior from him. He’s already got the long hair and headband going. Who knows what’s next. What I actually meant with the Rodman reference is that I want him to start grabbing rebounds and playing hard defense. Seriously, how is it that a guy who’s 6’10” has a career average of only 4.5 boards per game. It’s not like he hasn’t had playing time; he’s averaged almost 26 minutes per game for his career. Obviously the fact that he’s a perimeter player prevents him from getting many offensive rebounds, but that doesn’t explain why he doesn’t get more defensive rebounds.

Andrew Bynum: Develop a killer instinct.
As much as I’ve been pleased with Bynum’s development this season, I have become concerned by Bynum’s seemingly easygoing nature and Phil Jackson’s criticisms regarding his work ethic. When I see him get interviewed or read his quotes I sometimes wonder if he has the passion to be a great player. (I wonder about his skills too when I see him play, but he does seem to be improving.) The good thing is that I had these same questions about Yao Ming. If in a couple of years Andrew ends up playing at a level anywhere near the level that Yao was playing at this season, I’ll be a very happy fan.

Jordan Farmar: Lean to play defense in the NBA.
I didn’t watch Farmar that much during his time at UCLA so I wasn’t sure exactly what type of player he was going to be. My friend El Jefe watches more Pac-10 so I asked him his opinion of Farmar. He didn’t have much to say but he did say that Farmar played good defense. The Lakers have needed good defense at the point guard position for some time now so I was pleased. Imagine my disappointment when I saw Farmar in NBA action and kept seeing opposing point guards drive right by him. I have no idea what happened. My guess is that Farmar hasn’t adapted to the NBA game yet, at least defensively. I’ve been pretty content with his offensive game and am hopeful that his defense will come along.

Sasha Vujacic: Start seeing a shrink.
Despite the occasional flashes of competent play from Sasha, including a nice effort in the Lakers win over Orlando on Wednesday, I can’t help but wince every time I see Sasha on the floor. Every time I see a basketball in his hands I get a feeling that something bad is going to happen. I still can’t believe that he gets as much playing time as he does. My friend Vayacondios has a theory that Sasha has some compromising pictures of Phil Jackson with a donkey and that’s why Phil plays him so much. The more likely reason is that by all accounts, Sasha plays well in practice. Unfortunately for the Lakers, he usually can’t duplicate that success when the game counts. It has to be some sort of mental block and I really think Sasha could benefit from seeing a mental analyst or therapist.

Ronnie Turiaf: Stop being a foul magnet.
In less than two seasons, Ronny has become one of my favorite Lakers. I love the energy and hustle that he brings to the team and I’m very grateful that he seems to have gotten past his heart condition. I would love to see him on the court more often but it’s tough to get much playing time when you average almost one foul every five minutes. One particularly bad game was against the Atlanta Hawks. He got four personal fouls in about five and a half minutes. Hopefully as he gets more NBA experience he’ll start figuring what he can and can’t get away with.

Brian Cook: Continue to improve my game.
It’s been a bit of a tough season for Brian Cook. He hasn’t gotten that much playing time for a variety of reasons. But he’s played decently since becoming a starter during Lamar Odom’s absence. Hopefully he can continue to develop his game and complement his smooth shooting touch with some good defense and rebounding.

Maurice Evans: Continue playing hard.
Even though I didn’t know much about Evans when the Lakers acquired him, I liked what I saw when I looked at his statistics. He has been a solid acquisition and I have been pleasantly surprised by his offensive game. He hasn’t been the defensive stopper he was rumored to be, but he seems adequate enough on defense. So far he’s been well worth the second round draft pick the Lakers gave up to acquire him.

Chris Mihm, Aaron McKie, and Shammond Williams: Get traded for a serviceable player.
Combined these guys are making about $7.4 million and yet they are contributing almost nothing to the team. You can’t really blame Mihm for his injury. I don’t even really blame McKie and Williams. It’s not their fault Mitch Kupchak, the Laker’s general manager, foolishly decided to sign them. But I can’t help thinking that $7.4 million is a lot of money and could probably get you a decent player. Although it’s unlikely, it would be great if another NBA team wanted to dump some salary and the Lakers could cast off these guys.

Even if none of the players adopt any of these resolutions, I’ll be more than happy if the Lakers continue playing as well as they have so far. The NBA seems to be wide open this year with no truly dominant team. San Antonio, Dallas, Phoenix, and Utah are all very good teams, but they all seem vulnerable. If the Lakers do resolve to improve their defense, Lamar comes back soon, the rest of the team stays healthy, and they continue to play as a team, who knows what the Lakers might do in the playoffs. I’m not saying this team is going to win a championship, but I wouldn’t be shocked to see them in the Western Conference Finals.

Ringing in the New Year with the Lakers, Part 1

I’m not much for making New Year’s resolutions. When you have as many flaws and deficiencies as I do, it’s hard to figure out where to start. But that doesn’t stop me from advising others on what they should resolve to do. So in keeping with the New Year’s spirit, and even though it’s a little trite, I present to you the resolutions I’d love to see made in the Los Angeles Lakers locker room.

Smush Parker: Play every game as if this was my contract year.
Lots of Laker fans were upset with Smush and wanted him off the team after the dismal performance in last spring’s playoffs. Part of the reason Jordan Farmar has been so readily embraced by Laker fans, aside from the fact he’s a decent player and is a hometown boy, is that he’s seen as Smush’s eventual replacement. But I have a soft spot for Smush since I saw him play in the Long Beach summer league in 2005 and thought he would make the team. Also, without Smush’s steal there would have been no victory in that amazing Game 4 against the Suns. But I’ve been really bothered by the way he’s played this year. I just want to see him play with more intensity, like he did in his 18 point third quarter of last night’s win against the Orlando Magic. Smush will be a free agent this summer and if he wants a shot at a nice contract (probably from another team), he’s going to have to pick up his hustle on the court.

Kobe Bryant: Stay healthy for the rest of the season.
It’s hard to improve much when you’re already one of the best players in the league. I wouldn’t mind if he focused a little more on his defense, but my real concern is that he stay on the court. With Lamar Odom out for the near future, the team would obviously be devastated if Kobe had to sit out any time during the next month or two.

Luke Walton: Become a little more athletic.
I’ve already written about how I’ve been impressed with the development of Luke’s game. He has struggled a bit recently due to Lamar’s absence and his own injury on his non-shooting wrist, but he is still finding a way to contribute to the team’s success. But one area where he still needs help is his defense. It’s not his fault he’s a little slower than the players he’s guarding, but it would be nice if he was a little quicker.

Lamar Odom: Grow another MCL.
This is probably the least likely resolution to be fulfilled given that as far as I know, it’s medically impossible. The Lakers have played surprisingly well without Odom, who sprained his MCL earlier this month, but they’re going to need him to get back ASAP if they plan to make any noise in the playoffs. It’s unlikely, but I would really love it if Odom came back by the end of January and the Lakers could manage to get home court advantage for the first round of the playoffs.

Kwame Brown: Earn my money.
This resolution is almost as improbable as Lamar’s. When the Lakers lost to the Washington Wizards earlier this month, I was again reminded about how much I’m disappointed by Kwame and how much I detested the Lakers trading away Caron Butler. It’s bad enough that he’s only averaging 8.7 points and 6.2 rebounds. What really rubs salt in the wound is that he’s getting paid about $8 million to do so. I’m not sure what the problem is. He has the physical gifts, aside from the small hands made of stone. He probably doesn’t have the right frame of mind, but sometimes I think that he just doesn’t get enough touches. Whatever it is, it seems unlikely that Kwame will earn his money and reach the goal set by Phil Jackson before the season of averaging 15 points and 10 rebounds. At the very least he could give a little more effort.

That takes care of the team’s best starting five. Check in tomorrow for the rest of the squad.

Fight Night at MSG

Over the summer I raved here about how Carmelo Anthony was the best player on the United States men’s basketball team. My friend Rich took exception to that. He argued that Carmelo was just a punk who would be in jail if he didn’t pay his friends to take drug raps for him. Rich was making reference to a couple of incidents. Earlier this year, Anthony loaned his car to a friend who was pulled over and cited for marijuana possession. Back in October 2004, Carmelo carried a backpack with an ounce of marijuana in it as he was boarding a plane and got caught. Another friend of Anthony’s claimed the pot was his.

Of course immediately following Saturday’s brawl between the New York Knicks and Denver Nuggets at Madison Square Garden I got an e-mail from him saying, “See, I told you so.” Yup, that’s the kind of friends I have.

After reading Richard’s e-mail, I went to find a recap of the game on Yahoo Sports. Then I tuned in to ESPNEWS to see the footage myself. At first it didn’t look that bad and that the main culprits for escalating the tensions were J.R. Smith and Nate Robinson by going into the courtside seats. And then I saw it. As things were quieting down, Carmelo decided to sucker punch Mardy Collins, the player who committed the flagrant foul on J.R. Smith to start the whole mess. That punch is one of the most cowardly acts I have ever seen.

If you’re going to throw a punch during an NBA game, at least be a man about it. Don’t throw the punch while someone’s guard is down and starting running away like a scared five-year old. As bad as Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson’s conduct was in the Detroit/Indiana melee a couple of years ago, at least they didn’t run away. I would have a lot more respect for Anthony if he had stood up to Mardy Collins after the punch and not run away from Nate Robinson, who happens to be about a foot shorter than him.

While I still don’t see the connection between being a pothead and throwing a sucker punch at an NBA game, I do admit that my impression of Carmelo has been tarnished. I still consider him one of the best players in the game. He’s leading the league in scoring and has guided his team to the playoffs every year that he’s been in the league. I just hope he learns a thing or two from the 15 game suspension that he has received from the NBA.

When I first heard that the suspension would be for 15 games I was a bit surprised. I was expecting between 5 and 10 games. Obviously the NBA is trying to make a statement that such behavior will not be tolerated and the suspension would not have been as long if Ron Artest had not gone into the stands in that Detroit/Indiana brawl. While I understand the league’s position, I still consider the punishment unfair and don’t consider the incident that grave. Frankly the incident was a pillow fight in comparison to the University of Miami/Florida International University fracas that took place a couple of months ago.

However, I do approve of the $500,000 fine the NBA imposed on both the Knicks and Nuggets since I felt that the coaches of both teams were somewhat culpable in the incident. It appears that Isiah Thomas of the Knicks ordered the flagrant foul after the Nuggets head coach George Karl left his starting players with a minute left in the game and a 20-point lead. Karl defended his actions by saying that his team had a habit of blowing big leads and that's why he kept his starters in. But did he really think the Knicks could overcome such a large deficit in a minute. I just don't buy it. Regardless, now that David Stern has made his decision and the punishments have been handed out, hopefully we can avoid another Fight Night at an NBA game for the foreseeable future.

Being Jack Nicholson

Have you ever imagined what it would be like to watch a Los Angeles Lakers game from Jack Nicholson’s courtside seat at Staples Center? Unless you’re obsessed with the Lakers like I am, the answer is probably no. Well, I have and last Sunday I had an opportunity to get a glimpse of what it’s like when I attended an epic battle between the Los Angeles D-Fenders and the Colorado 14ers.

At this point you’re probably thinking to yourself “What in the world are D-Fenders and 14ers?” Actually, before Sunday I had never heard of the 14ers myself. Well it turns out that they are both teams in the National Basketball Development League. The NBDL, or D-League, was set up by the NBA as something of a minor league. Players that aren’t quite ready for the big time can spend a year or two in the D-League seasoning their game in the hope that they will eventually get called up.

So now you might be wondering, "Pocho, you attend Laker games regularly, why would you want to go to a D-League game?" That’s where Jack Nicholson comes in. Most NBDL teams are affiliated with two or three NBA teams. The Lakers decided to do things differently and own their team, I would imagine so they might have more control over the development of their players. So they went ahead and bought their own team, the D-Fenders. This year, the D-Fenders are playing their home games at Staples Center before Laker games and anyone with a Laker ticket can get admission.

Normally that still wouldn’t be enough to get me to a D-Fenders game. But this week I got a promotional e-mail from the Lakers that the first 75 Laker season ticket holders that arrive would get courtside seats for the D-Fenders game. I asked my friend Vayacondios if he was interested in going and being as obsessed with the Lakers as I am, he was up for it.

We arrived at the game a little late but the courtside seats were still available. From years of watching Lakers game I knew exactly were Jack Nicholson sat and made a beeline for his seat next to the opposing team’s bench. It was a whole new world. It actually felt a little surreal being that close to the action. I could actually see the players, when the 14ers’coach wasn’t standing in my way, instead of distant blurs that I see from my regular nosebleed seats. I could hear the coaches complaining about the calls and the players yelling encouragement to each other. I even felt like I was more a part of the game as the players walked by me to substitue into the game and loose balls bounced my way.

Sure, instead of Kobe vs. Wade I was watching Von Wafer vs. Devin Green, but it was still a good time. Speaking of Devin and Von, both former Lakers had pretty good games. Devin had an outstanding first quarter in which he scored 13 points and helped guide the D-Fenders to a narrow lead at halftime. Von, playing for the 14ers, had a big second half and ended the game with 29 points to help rally the 14ers past the hometown team. He also had the line of the night as he walked past me and my friend during a timeout and said “They better stop playing that [bleeping] zone.”

Of course my friend and I weren’t allowed to stay in those seats for the Lakers/Spurs game. Nicholson actually didn’t even show for the Spurs game, so it’s not like he was going to need the seats. Nevertheless we had to head to the top of the arena to our regular seats. Fortunately the Lakers strong effort helped me forget about how far away I was from the court. It was a big victory to finish off the first quarter of the season in which the Lakers played 16 out of 20 games at Staples Center (including one “road” game against the Clippers). After going 14-6 in that stretch, hopefully the Lakers can carry the momentum as they head out to Texas to face the Rockets and Mavericks. Those two games will probably give us a better picture of how far the Lakers can go this season. But that picture won’t compare to the view I had at the D-Fenders game. Now if only I can figure out a way to sit courtside for a Laker game.

Goobye Mr. Maddux

After helping lead the Los Angeles Dodgers to the postseason earlier this year, it looks like Greg Maddux is packing his bags and taking his 333 career wins and heading south to sunny San Diego. The 40 year old pitcher will be getting a two year deal worth about $20 million if he pitches enough innings in his second year with the Padres.

I can’t blame Maddux for taking the deal. Nor can I blame the Dodgers for not making more of an effort to keep Maddux, especially if, as Foxsports.com reports, they have reached an agreement with free agent pitcher Jason Schmidt. I was really excited over the summer when the Dodgers were able to trade for Maddux since I figured he would help get the Dodgers into the playoffs. But I also figured, along with all other Dodger fans, that he was probably only going to be a rental and would be leaving Los Angeles at the end of the season.

The only thing that bothers me about Maddux’s farewell is the fact that he’s going to a division rival. Given that San Diego’s PETCO Park is one of the friendliest stadium for pitchers, I expect Maddux will have his share of success next year and that success might keep the Dodgers out of the playoffs. It also hurts that if the Dodgers had offered Maddux arbitration and Maddux had signed with San Diego, the Padres would owe the Dodgers a draft pick. Apparently the Dodgers feared Maddux would accept and be awarded too much money in the arbitration. It’s unfortunate, but I still can’t blame the Dodgers or Maddux for the decisions they made.

A couple of other players that will be packing their bags are J.D. Drew and Julio Lugo. Not only will they be packing their bags but they can also share a flight, as both of them will be playing for the Boston Red Sox next year. It’s a little ironic. For the last couple of years it seemed that the Dodgers had been making an effort to become the Boston Red Sox West with the acquisition of Derek Lowe, Nomar Garciaparra, and Bill Mueller and the hiring of Grady Little. Now it’s the Red Sox that are going after one-time Dodgers.

While Lugo had some nice games for the Dodgers, his departure will hardly be noticed. I learned about the signing last night while watching ESPN News. This morning I went on to the Los Angeles Times site and read the Maddux/Drew story and found no mention of Lugo. I just found that a little amusing.

As for Drew, I won’t rehash the issue of whether he was morally right or wrong to opt out of his contract. He got his money so I’m sure he and his agent Scott Boras will be happy now. I am a bit bothered by the rumors I heard before the signing that Boras had mentioned Drew to the Red Sox prior to Drew’s exercising his option. But I’m just so happy to be rid of Drew that I don’t even really mind the tampering.

I’m also hopeful that the signing might help clear the way for Manny Ramirez to become a Dodger. While I’m somewhat excited by the signing of Jason Schmidt, who has been one of the National League’s best pitchers over the last five years, and the return of Nomar, I still really want to see the team acquire a big bat. Sure Manny is a bit of a diva and his elevator might not go all the way to the top, but you can’t deny he knows how to hit. Hopefully Dodger’s GM Ned Colletti will figure out the right pieces to send to Boston to get Manny without giving up too many of the Dodger’s young players. Now that the picture is a little clearer with all the recent signings, maybe it will finally get done.

Heee's Baaack

For the first time in 15 games, Kwame Brown was back in the starting lineup as the Los Angeles Lakers center in their game Thursday night against the Utah Jazz. But I guess there was a slightly bigger story and a return of another sort in last night’s victory over the Jazz. And as often is the case in games taking place at Staples Center, Kobe Bryant was the focus of that story.

In his most dominant performance of the year, Kobe scored 52 points in three quarters and shot an unbelievable 73% from the field. Earlier in the day, I was talking to a friend and while he said he was happy that the Lakers have been playing well this season, he confessed that he missed the old Kobe and wondered if Kobe would ever be the same.

According to him, the new Kobe, wearing number 24 this season, just wasn’t as explosive. He could barely dunk. He couldn’t finish lay-ups. He was averaging 11 points less than last year. Sure he had knee surgery in the off-season, but he was also entering his eleventh season in the league so my friend wondered if we had to be content with a good Kobe and forget that only last season, some were calling Kobe the best player in the game.

I told him that Kobe would be fine and that he was starting to look better. I said the only reason he struggled in the last two games was because the referees didn’t call any fouls. And even in the last game against Milwaukee, I was impressed how he tried to will the Lakers back by making six three-pointers. But even I wasn’t expecting to see what I witnessed on Thursday night.

Early in the game I was actually concerned about Kobe’s play. I actually thought he was taking too many shots. While I enjoy watching Kobe’s incredible performances, in order for the team to have more success and maybe even win a championship, the other players have to be more involved. But he was making almost all the shots he took. I also figured he was upset, and rightfully so, after the Lakers’ loss to Michael Redd’s 45 points and the struggling Bucks in their previous game. So I cut him a little slack.

All those concerns were washed away at the end of the first half. Kobe’s regained explosiveness was showcased by a thundering slam dunk in which Bryant jumped from a step or two inside the free throw line and appeared to jam over the entire Jazz team. He seemed to carry the momentum into the third quarter in which he scored 30 points and just couldn’t miss and almost single-handedly turned a 12 point Laker lead, into a 22 point blowout. If there were any questions about Kobe regaining his old form, he unequivocally answered them with that amazing performance.

As for Kwame Brown, with Kobe getting 52 points, there weren’t a lot of shots to go around. He missed the two shots he did take in 22 minutes of play and collected only five rebounds. He did have a few nice assists but overall I was not impressed by his performance. Andrew Bynum wasn’t much better and they were both outplayed by Ronny Turiaf. I’m not sure if Phil will stick with Kwame in the starting rotation. I would probably go with Bynum just so he gets more experience sooner rather than later. But to be honest, with the real Kobe back, it might not really matter.