Lakers88

Here is my revised list (totally forgot a couple obvious ones the last time):

1. Dwight Howard

2. Andrew Bynum

3. Kevin Garnett

4. Tyson Chandler

5. Chris Bosh

6. Al Jefferson

7. Roy Hibbert

8. Marc Gasol

9. DeMarcus Cousins

10. Tie between Joakim Noah and Al Horford

1. Kobe Bryant

2. Dwyane Wade

3. Manu Ginobili

4. Joe Johnson

5. James Harden

http://espn.go.com/nba/

That is completely ridiculous. ESPN must think Kobe is washed up or something. Derrick Rose only played half of the season last year, and will be out for at least a good portion of this season. He should not be in the top 5, and he is not that much better than Westbrook either. LeBron is in prime now, but he is not even close to when Kobe was in his prime. At 34, with 16 years in the league, and an assortment of injuries. Kobe still averaged 28-5-5 in the regular season, and 30-5-4 in the playoffs. Kobe at the end or out of his prime is still better than about 98% of players currently in their prime. If at all possible, he is the closest player we have to another Michael Jordan. BTW, the five players combined have six championships, and Kobe has five of them.

He has been working out with the Lakers recently, though he can't be resigned by them until March. I believe that Fisher can be effective in a mentoring role as a 3rd string PG, who can come in emergency for clutch situations. He is clearly not a starter anymore, and should not be used for more than 10-15 minutes. But he still hit some clutch shots for OKC. The only problem is that the Lakers have Blake, Duhon, Morris, and Goudelock all at the PG position already, and adding Fish makes them even older.

http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on-basketbal...

Pau Gasol will play center while Dwight Howard most likely misses the start of the season. That means the starting power forward position will go to either Jordan Hill or Antawn Jamison.

LeBron plays as much PF as SF these days.

I don't understand how LeBron can be compared to Michael Jordan. LeBron is not even on Kobe's level, let alone MJ. LeBron just got one championship, and he was very fortunate to win it too. Kobe has 5, and even he won't be better than Jordan. But he is the closest player we have to Michael Jordan. IMO, LeBron is a few notches above Scottie Pippen.

They look alike, have the same number and same build. And they were both drafted in the second round. Beyond that, they both are lanky, athletic defenders, and similar to Ariza when he got traded to the Lakers, Ebanks jump shot has improved. I think that Ariza has a little more range than Ebanks at this point and may be a better overall scorer at this point. But Ebanks has gotten better. When World Peace returns, added to Ebanks and Barnes, small forward will be one of the Lakers' strongest positions. Each of them will be used on (most likely) Durant in the next series.

Question about a music video and artist?

I assume the video is recent. There is a female singer with red hair and the video had a white background and she was gyrating and then rolling on the floor with black paint, and there was a twin mannequin wth red hair also. Does anyone know who the artist and what the name of the song. I saw it once.

I think pound-for-pound, Bynum is the best center in the league. To me, Andrew is harder to stop down low and may be more dominant than Dwight. Andrew has better post moves, better footwork, longer arms, and he is actually bigger and stronger that Dwight. Andrew is a better free throw shooter, and can even hit from about 10 feet. Bynum is underrated as a defender, because of his presence, it is hard to score on him inside. Howard is obviously more athletic and can step out and guard perimeter guys. But if I were to choose a center right now, regardless of Howard's injury, I would choose Bynum.

With all of the alleged turmoil and problems about the Lakers, they are 37-22, in 3rd place. Just because Fisher and Odom are not on the Lakers does not mean they cannot still contend for a championship. They are 4.5 games behind the Spurs, but if there is a second round matchup, LA can beat them on the road. They still have core players from the championship team: Kobe, Pau, Andrew, and Metta. Kobe has really had an MVP season, and if his team had a slightly better record, he would be in the MVP talks. When Bynum and Gasol are on their games, no team can really stop them inside because they can just play volleyball with the rim. Bynum is the most dominant center in the West, and arguably in the league. He just completely overwhelmed the enitre Spurs frontline. Sessions has been a tremendous addition and makes the Lakers a different team. He can penetrate, find the open man, can shoot, and can guard the quicker PGs. Pau Gasol is still a top 5 PF, and Metta World Peace has seemed to really hit his stride since the All-Star break. The much-maligned bench still has good contributors in Barnes, Blake, McRoberts, and Murphy. I think the fact that they beat the Spurs in San Antonio without Kobe sends a message to the West and the league that they are still capable contenders.

There is a good chance that the NBA champion is going to come out of the West this year. Chicago and Miami seem to be too vulnerable to me at this moment to really win a title. Of course things can change. It seems that no matter how many major trades and free agent signing have taken place, the East still cannot close the gap with the West. For instance, the West has 10 .500 or better teams, compared to 8 for the East. The Bulls (albeit without Rose, and mostly without Rip) have lost 4 straight against Western teams, three of them at home. OKC blew out the Bulls and the Heat, Denver has the best record of any team against the opposite conference, with a 15-2 record, and they are only a #7 seed. Phoenix and Utah have winning records against the East, and they are out of the playoffs. Oddly, the only Western playoff team that has a losing record against the East is the LA Lakers, for the time being. They should handle the Nets tomorrow, bringing them to a 9-9 record.

I have been saying that as great as the Heat are, they are vulnerable inside. They do not have a monster in the paint. Bosh is a skinny finesse guy, and Haslem and Anthony are undersized. Juwan Howard is too old. The Lakers overwhelmed them with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, the Magic have already beaten them twice, because they have absolutely no answer for Dwight Howard. The Bulls beat them once. The common theme is that all of those teams are big inside.

He had 18 and 16 tonight on the Celtics. For a guy who is maybe 6-8, he is impressive in how he attacks the boards and the energy he plays with. Somehow, he slipped in the draft. He has been on a tear with rebounding and shot-blocking ever since he became a starter. And he has been putting up points too.

It was unfortunate to trade Derek Fisher, and his clutchness and leadership will clearly be missed. But the Lakers have upgraded the PG position significantly. Sessions is young, and knows how to run a team. He is a decent shooter, and he has quickness and can penetrate, and defend a lot of the quicker PGs. The Lakers are solid at that position with Sessions, Blake and Goudelock. I like Jordan Hill as a backup C and PF. He is definitely an upgrade over Murphy and McRoberts. He plays with energy, he can rebound, block shots, defend, can score down low and has a 15-foot jumper. I believe the Lakers are improved, and they are possibly legitimately back in contention.

The Bucks and Cavs are right on their heels at the 8th seed, only at a game behind. Even the Pistons have an outside chance, at 3 games behind.

When Metta plays like this, the Lakers are a different team. When he plays like this, the Lakers look more like a contender. He was aggressive, engaged, played solid defense on Pierce, and showed his old Ron Artest intensity in that little scrum with Pierce and KG.

He definitely should be. Kobe is averaging 29-6-5 at 33 years old, 16 years in the league, with a broken nose, concussion, torn ligaments in his wrist, a twisted finger, and coming off of knee surgery in the summer. Plus, the team is only 2.5 games out of 2nd place in the West, they can win the Pacific, and they still have an outside chance of catching OKC, at 6 games behind. Kobe has willed this team in spite of aging players, and in spite of the trade of Lamar Odom. Kobe is definitely more deserving than Prince James, and as great as Durant is, he does not have the credentials that Kobe has. Pound for pound, Kobe is the true MVP.

IMO, if judges were there, the dunk contest should have been Paul George against either Derrick Williams or Chase Budinger. Jeremy Evans would have been gone after that weak camera dunk he did, and he may go down as the worst dunk champion ever. George and Williams brought some creativity. George jumping over two teammates, particularly one that is 7-2, and then dunking in the dark, was very impressive. Budinger had some nice dunks too, even if the blindfold dunk was questionable and gimmicky. But regardless, it was more impressive than Cedric Ceballos' dunk.