Kobe is back!

Kobe hit another game winner last night against the Grizzlies. I was very pleased with his performance. His shooting was tremendous and he was very controlled in his game. More importantly, he was very clutch at the end of the game. He basically won the game for them. Once again, the Lakers prob didn't have any business winning the game after the Grizzlies fought back and regained the game. However, they left the door open and Kobe took it and closed it shut on the Grizzlies. Kobe was Kobe. His ankle looked good to me on three nice dunks I saw he had in the game.

Another side note is the comparisons to Lebron. Lebron is great, in fact, spectacular. I just want to stay numbers and stats don't tell everything. I believe I've mentioned this before. I look at Lebron's stats. Honestly, his career stats in my mind blow away Kobe's. Lebron is as close to a triple double average you can probably get to in the current age. His numbers are what I like to do in a video game. Good amount of rebounds, assists, scores a lot of points. On top of that he gets to the line 10 times a game, shoots %50% from the field, and shoots decent from 3. He does it all and has it all. However, this is where watching and just knowing the game makes the distinction. If you went by the numbers, you probably would just say Lebron > Kobe easily. Most experts of the game, however, would probably still say Kobe is the best. Its just a matter of watching and seeing what he does. Its not all about the numbers. If you watched last night's game, you'll know what I mean.

Trades, trades, trades!

With the trading deadline over, a lot of trades were made near the deadline. Some of the major moves in my mind are T-Mac on the Knicks, Nate Robinson in Boston, Caron Butler and Brendan Haywood on the Mavs, Antawn Jamison on the Cavs, and Kevin Martin on the Rockets. T-Mac will have a chance to show what he has left, but the Knicks care more about the money they will now have after this season to go after players like Lebron and Wade. Amare wasn't traded, a deal I guess just couldn't be figured out. Its interesting that the Cavs have the best record in the NBA, and yet made a trade for Antawn Jamison. I hear this is to appease Lebron and hopefully keep him in Cleveland.

Update: I guess it was an easy decision for the Cavs to make the trade because the Wizards will buy out big Z and most likely he will return to the Cavs. So basically, the Cavs will lose no players and gain a pretty good one with the trade.

All-Star Letdown

The All-Star weekend I don't think was as good as I thought it would be. I think a lot of that was the disappointment from the dunk contest. Its probably unfair expectations on these athletes to make original incredible athletic dunks. Congrats to D-Wade on winning the MVP, he played a great game. I think Lebron played pretty good too. It could have been a co-MVP thing.

I WAITED FOR THIS!??!!

The Slam Dunk Contest was horrible, horrible, horrible. Nate was okay, but I wonder if it was one of those things where he played to the level of his competition. I was so psyched to see Shannon Brown do some crazy stuff (as well as so many others I read). He did some lame crap. He didn't even advanced to the final round. What a disappointment. The other NBA events were okay. Still pretty much boring to even a big NBA fan like me. Besides the dunk contest, I think the 3pt shootout is the next big thing. I thought it was pretty good this year. Paul Pierce really impressed me. He is really shooting it well this year. Good for you Paul. Your shooting it great. I watched the events with my wife and best friend. We all agreed that Kenny Smith was very annoying. My friend mentioned how Kenny likes to hear the sound of his own voice. When he said that, it rang a bell in my head of "So true!" Kenny def speaks so much like he likes to listen to himself talk. His over narration and "trash-talking" just annoys the hell out of me. Barkley is annoying as well. Also, watching the event, the commercials are so cycled and boring as well. Not really great. I was waiting all this time for it and getting excited. It should have been a huge event but I felt like it was a huge letdown. The crowd wasn't even into it most of the time. I don't think Shannon will be invited back for it now.  I know Shannon can dunk 100x better than what he showed. Jeez, what happened?? As a side note, Mr. 720 aka "Air Up There" is one of the best dunkers I've ever seen.

Kobe news

So Kobe missed the game where the Lakers played the Jazz in Utah. Guess what?...the Lakers beat the red hot Jazz pretty easily without Kobe. The Lakers just looked focus and determined. Pau has brought  his play back up. He is playing like a beast. Coincidentally, it was with Bynum out. Its silly to say this, but Pau plays so well with Bynum out, its almost worth it to have Bynum out. Bynum is a great player, but to me Pau and Bynum haven't combined their play to the best level yet. Perhaps that is yet to come. However, the way that Pau is playing now, its almost like I feel like Bynum should sit out. Thats just how dominant Pau has been playing. Also, Lamar picks up his play tremendously. Going back to my first point, I think the Lakers were better off without Kobe these past 3 games. The wins, focus, and determined play I think prove the point. Kobe is also missing the All-Star game. That allows Kobe to have a good rest period to come back stronger. That version of Kobe will help LA tremendously. Kobe was trying to be Kobe but just couldn't and the Lakers were using him like that. With Kobe gone, it forced the guys to run the offense like they should. I'm looking for Kobe to make a push the second half of the season and match the level of Lebron. However, Lebron has been playing so out of this world. Lebron has improved so much. The weaknesses I saw in Lebron's game I saw in years past are essentially gone. I can't even think of much weaknesses with his game. He is playing so well right now.

Dunk Contest!!

The Dunk Contest will be coming up this weekend. I am so excited!! Watching the dunk contest is so much fun with the right people. Its the event I look most forward to. NBA tv is showing a marathon of previous years of dunk contests. There have been some great contests and some real crappy ones. I think one problem is whenever they try to have all these restrictive rules. I think its stupid. By the way, the wheel that was used to determine what dunks to emulate was one of the dumbest things ever added. Also the requirement to use someone with your dunk is kind of dumb too. I think that should be up to the person. Here is what I think the rules should be. The rules should be simple. Have at least 3 rounds. Don't limit what can be replaced/made dunk/missed dunk rule crap. Basically give each contestant a 1-2 minute time interval in each round to do the dunk they want. That way you give them a chance to do the dunk they want and don't penalize them for a silly slip of the ball or mis-timed jump. I think the dunk contest would be a lot better. If they miss a dunk attempt a lot, then it will probably lower their score because the judges would see the number of attempts. Also, I would love for the NBA to release how they choose/pick contestants. I wish fans could vote for competitors. They vote for All-Star starters, why not dunk contestants? Let NBA players who want to participate put their name out there, and fans vote who they want to see. Perhaps raise the prize money to get in some of the better players. Another cool idea I think could be "height classes." As in fighting you have weight classes, why not height classes for the dunk contest. That way you can have the best dunker under x, y, or z height. Then you have a final dunk off of those best dunkers. You have more competition and allow more guys to compete. I think people who love to watch dunk contests would appreciate it. Also, watching these dunk contests, you realize how annoying some of the announcers are. I like Kenny Smith as an analyst, but as someone talking about the dunks, he is annoying. Most of the guys are. Maybe I'm just being a hater.

Kobe should rest

Kobe hasn't played the past couple of games for the Lakers due to his ankle sprain. He is known as a "warrior" who fights through injuries. Missing the game stopped his 235 consecutive game streak. Surprisingly, the Lakers looked good beating Portland in Portland and the Spurs at home. They were two solid wins. The Lakers hadn't won in Portland in forever. Granted, they are injury prone but they seem to have the Lakers number there no matter what. However, solid play from everyone made for a good win. Same thing for the Spurs. The Spurs have been playing better and looking to take advantage of Kobe's absence. However, the guys stepped up again and it was great to see. Bynum was out for that game too and Gasol just had a monster game. Phil Jackson stated its nice to have Kobe (even if he's a little injured) because he provides that X factor that allows you to win. I have been watching a lot of the Laker games. Recently, as Kobe's injuries have slowed him down, he really hasn't helped the team. My analysis is that Kobe is hurting the Lakers directly and indirectly. He is hurting them directly because in some of the game he tries to be "Kobe" but he just can't do it. His shot is terrible or he can't drive like he usually does. Indirectly the guys depend on him too much and rely on Kobe to be Kobe. There were a few instances that Kobe relied on himself too much and didn't trust his teammates. That was the rep of the old Kobe, however, Kobe has been able to use his teammates more appropriately the past couple years. Don't get me wrong, there were times where Kobe definitely picked up the play for the Lakers, but there were times I was like "what are you doing!?" I understand that Kobe will play if he can walk, but I don't know if thats the best thing. He knows his body though. He is not one to wait until something becomes 100%. My assessment is you need to rest until your better enough where your not shooting/doing stuff your struggling to do. I'm sure Kobe will be back and I'll be glad to see it. However, I think I would like for him to miss this next game before the All-Star break and use the break to rest up and come back a little stronger. Kobe is still the man, but I think he can rest a little. With him missing games, its forced other Lakers to step up more. I think knowing that Kobe isn't playing puts more focus into the guys. I think this will be good for the long hall.

Quick notes

* The Cavs are playing unbelievable. They are rollin and playing great. Lebron is the MVP and best player right now.
* Lakers are so-so. Not playing great, but not playing terrible. Need to pick up play. Kobe shooting a little better, but he keeps having these nagging injuries bothering him (Only had 5 points in last nights game!!).
* Celtics have not been close to their championship ways. They are searching to get it back.
* Kevin Durant is ballin. Doing a great job in the past few games, scoring especially.
* Jazz and Nuggets are playing very well and kind of under the radar.
* Ready for All-Star weekend to get here!!

Lakers vs Grizzlies

I'm currently watching the Lakers game against the Grizzlies on NBA League Pass. Kobe has already surpassed Jerry West's scoring record. I wrote an announcer bias blog a while ago. The Grizzlies announcers are pretty badly biased. They are obvious haters of the Lakers, but I understand. However, here are a couple of actual quotes from the announcers in the game.

Regarding a shot called a 2 pointer when initially thought it was a 3 pointer. Review proved right call was made. Announcer comment - "It was the correct call, but I don't like how it was made". Hey - a correct call is the correct call, they would def LOVE it if it was FOR them.

Regarding a 3 pointer made by Kobe. Rudy Gay just made a 3 pointer that swished. Kobe made a 3 that bounced in. "He made the shot, but on the streets it wouldn't have counted." - Really? Really? on the streets it wouldn't have counted?? interesting. Sounds like plain Kobe hating.