Ur telling me... I got him on my fantasy team! And not to look too far ahead but, even if we don't win it all this year, this is the beginning of a dynasty! Bynum, Gasol, Farmar, Turiaf, all under 30. And as long Kobe can play, we will be a top tier team. The Spurs are aging rapidly, and Ray Allen, KG, and Paul Pierce have their days numbered. To me, Portland and New Orleans are teams to worry about in the future, but noone has Kobe or a frontline to match Gasol and Bynum.
Aw Man I Know...But It's hard For Me To Picture Any Other Team Hoisting The Trophy BUT The Lakers..... Kobe Christ Will Deliver Us To The Promised Land...
Yea I'm a Real Big Lakers Fan.With Andrew Bynum,Paul Gasol,and Odom playing the 3 spot WE will control the paint on any team.Plus it doesn't hurt to have the best player in the game. :icon_toast:
Naw he said the BEST player in the game. That'd be Kobe Bean Bryant. He who plays suffocating defense along with monster offense. He who will win MVP this year. He who jumps over moving vehicles. <object width="425" height="355"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/7hWJkdUMiMw&hl=en"></param><param name="wmode" value="transparent"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/7hWJkdUMiMw&hl=en" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object> (fake, but still cool)
Yep, they absolutely CRUSHED the Spurs. Lakers win their last game, and they win the Western Conference! :yes:
My friend owns a sports bar up here in Big Bear. The years where the Lakers aren't expected to do much in the playoffs, maybe a handful of Laker fans in there watching the playoffs. The years where they are expected to contend, standing room only, place packed to the rafters. Since they look like they have a good shot this year, all those Laker flags and front running Laker fans can come out of the woodworks.
Exactly. My point was that all the front runners are starting to emerge now. I guess all the "hard core" Lakers fans just happened to stay away the past few years when the team wasn't expected to have a good shot at winning. You could walk in during playoff games and there were some people in, but nowhere near the crowds when they are the favorites. I pay almost no attention to basketball, so I'm pretty objective as far as that goes. My personal observation, is that the Laker flags and fans are much more evident when they have a pretty good shot at winning, but that goes for most teams. I just find it funny how many people swear they are hardcore fans, but where the hell are they when the Lakers barely make the playoffs, and aren't expected to make much noise?
ahh, got it. No doubt there are fair weather fans in every sport. Winning brings out reason to tune in. For me, I started being a Laker fan after the Clippers left. Then the last couple of years I got a little pissed off at Kobe's attitude. But he seems to have come around this year and is really playing some inspired ball. I certainly wouldn't call myself as a hard core Basketball fan. But, I love to hate the Pistons and Clippers!! :icon_toast::icon_toast:
Not being a basketball fan, the Clippers leaving meant nothing to me. But I didn't like how Donald Sterling tried to paint it as being San Diego's fault for not supporting the team. Around that same time, the San Diego Sockers were winning indoor soccer titles and filling that same arena. If you give the fans a good product, they will come out. Sterling is a jerkoff who evidently has no real desire to win. He'd rather be second fiddle in LA, than have Anaheim all to himself. I just don't get his philosophy.
The education of Andrew Bynum The education of Andrew Bynum http://sports.espn.go.com/espn/page2/story?page=granderson/080417&sportCat=nba&lpos=spotlight&lid=tab4pos1 Do you remember what your life was like at the age of 17? Were you a know-it-all? A rebel who didn't listen to your parents, or was too insecure to ask any of your many questions? What about at 18 or 19? Some of the biggest mistakes all of us have made happened during our late teens, as we wrestled with who we wanted to be, who we were expected to be, and who we actually were. And, thankfully, most of us spent that trial-and-error period in obscurity. Andrew Bynum had no such good fortune. He has gone through this error-prone maturation process in the public eye, while also juggling media scrutiny and the unrealistic expectations of fans. Although Bynum says it's unlikely he'll return from his knee injury any sooner than the Western Conference finals -- assuming his team is still playing -- this has been, without question, the year he finally silenced his critics. Not an easy feat when you consider that, less than a year ago, he had to endure the frenzy surrounding a proposed Jason Kidd trade and the subsequent remarks made about him by someone I'm sure he thought he could trust. Remember, back in '05, Andrew Bynum was the youngest player ever drafted into the NBA. "Andrew Bynum? What the f---?" Kobe Bryant reportedly said on tape last spring. "Are you kidding me? Andrew Bynum? F------ ship his *** out." The kid was 19. True, it was Bynum's choice to enter the NBA. So, no, he should not be coddled. True, he's a millionaire now, and appears headed toward a much bigger payday in the not-too-distant future. And true, no one's ever died from being publicly criticized. But as I sat with Bynum -- and teammates Jordan Farmar, Ronny Turiaf and Sasha Vujacic -- recently, I couldn't help but feel a little sorry for him. Fame and fortune can buy you fancy cars, and get you seated quickly in a city's hot restaurant, but they cannot buy back the one thing we all take for granted -- youth. You get only one crack at it, and for the most part, Bynum traded the latter part of his to be a Laker. On the outside looking in, it seems like a no-brainer swap. Hell, on the inside looking out I'm sure that swap is still pretty sweet. But as the soft-spoken Bynum reminded me, that decision comes with a fairly heavy price. "I was so young when I came into the league I didn't really have a chance to do any of that stuff," he said. "And so it's tough, especially dating, because I am famous now, so it's hard to tell if a girl likes you for you or because you're a basketball player." With everything else going on with you emotionally, could you imagine going through your late teens having no idea whom you can trust with so much at stake? When all you want to do is go out and meet a girl or a guy and just hang out, without worrying if all the person sees is what you can do for them? Those words from Kobe had to sting the young center. When you throw a talented kid into the very adult world of professional sports, there is a certain amount of arrested development. Some teenage athletes have the skill set to be successful at the game they are being paid to play, but not the wherewithal to comprehend the other games that life offers. Something as simple as who pays for dinner can be interpreted in a multitude of ways, and yet neither scenario offers very much insight into whether or not what the other person is saying to you is actually the truth. It's as if your life is being directed by M. Night Shyamalan, and you constantly have to have your guard up, looking for the twist at the end. Sometimes these kids turn out OK, like Kevin Garnett. Sometimes they have to go through a rough patch before getting it together, like Jennifer Capriati. And then there are those who just never should have been put in that situation in the first place, like Eddie Griffin. The thing is, you never really know who can carry what until they pick up the load and start their journey. If they're blessed like Bynum, they have a strong family structure that can help them along the way. But not even the love and support of the world's greatest mom -- and it's my understanding Bynum's mother is in the running for that award -- can make up for the kind of lessons that can be taught only by life. As the other men spoke of dating, and college, and going out, the 20-year-old Bynum sat quietly, wide-eyed, hearing about a world he knows nothing about and never will. That is a burden Bynum has to carry publicly. That is a burden he has to carry alone.
Lakers did what they are supposed to do against a weak, undisciplined defensive team. But I still don't see them getting out of the 2nd round especially if they face the Jazz.
Lakers were 3-1 against them in the regular season, I agree that they're a better team than the Nuggets though, but I'm not expecting the Lakers to beat the Jazz with relative ease. And really it's not like the Jazz have a tough matchup either, the Rockets aren't that good they had that win streak but since then they've been a .500 team (maybe below don't remember). All they have to do is stop Tmac and they win.
Thats true, but they still took 2 games on the road. You got to think that Jerry Sloan will find away to slow the game down and take advantage of the Lakers below average defense. I would have to say that the Lakers advancing past 1st round is some major progress. Just hope that Kobe doesn't get all whiny again this offseason after they exit from the playoffs.
:lol::lol::lol::lol: :icon_rofl: @ The Jazz.... Just For That....When Kobe Claus Comes To Town Your'll Recieve Lumps Of Coal.....:icon_rofl:
I don't want Kobe Claus coming to my town. But seriously, I still think that the winner of the Spurs/Suns series will take the west this year. You need to be a good defensive team to make it to the finals, and the Lakers right now suck at that. But if the Lakers can keep this team together they have a great chance of getting back to the finals before Kobe retires.
