123 days, 19 hours, and 30 minutes. Offseason. The absolute worst time of year.
As I worked to Assimilate into my role as taxpayer and integral part of the labour force, this offseason was particularly memorable. My usual offseason birthday saw me turn well into my 20's and for For the first time in my young life, I thought about finally taking myself seriously. I thought of my health and well-being. I thought of my spiritual self. I thought of poverty, drought, and struggle. I thought of my future. A wife and 6 lil Laker fans. I thought about the betterment of my fellowman. It was about that time. The crossroads... Tiptoeing on the iceberg that separated my childhood and my life as a bonafide adult, and I was slowly falling onto the latter. Then November 1 came... Lamar drops 33 points! 13 boards! 7 assists! King Bynum dominates in his first start and the Mamba-less Los Angeles Lakers thump the title-contending suns!
Then, I thought again. God bless the NBA.
L.A. 110 - Phoenix 103
The Los Angeles Lakers. My immortal lover. How good did they look on opening night? I won't let you decide. (For most of you who don't know, this site is not, in any way, impartial)
The Good:
No Kobe, no problem. - Although my heading may sound catchy, #24 is still, and will always be, the only man that can take this Laker team to the promised land. However, The Black Mamba's absence may have worked well for Lamar and the rest of the supporting cast. If Kobe had played opening night, it might have destroyed an entire pre-season of struggling toward productive teamwork within the rest of the Laker squad. Fortunately for us, they succeeded.
The first three quarters of the 2005-2006 regular season revolved around good execution from the Lakers, perfecting the triangle, and scoring slack was happily picked up by Bryant. The last 25%, however, involved Kobe dropping his scoring average, FGAs, upping his assists, Kwame learning to catch interior passes, Lamar thriving, Mihm dying, Smush crying, and the overall flourishing of the triangle. The Lakers dominated that portion of the season and was a Tim Thomas HGH steroid scandal (which I still believe is true) away from unseating the speedy Suns.
The Bad:
Hole in the middle!
The Lakers have holes.
Andrew Bynum is a great young big man. He will become an all-star, possibly even a superstar. However, My Lakers are playing for the now. If you don't believe me, ask Mitch why he used his mid-level on the Radman (Who will play better once his shooting hand heals and stops trying to look like the Passion of the Christ). Bynum will have his 20s and 10s, but he will also have his 2 point nights, his 1 attempt outings, and the almost inevitable rookie wall. We cannot have a 19 year old starting center in a conference dominated by bigs. We will not survive.
Chris Mihm is out for the season. Ouch.
Thus, the only man that can save us is Mr. Brown. Yes, I said it. Kwame needs to continue from the momentum he finished with last year and thrive in his role as the Lakers starting center. If this can be done together with Bynum's daily Kareem filled improvement as he comes off the bench, we will be fine.
X Factor: Ronnie Turiaf is not, by any means, another Mark Madsen. This man can play, wait and see.
The Ugly:
Smush Parker is ugly. He puts the F, in fugly. If I was him, I'd be ugly. In other words, this man takes ugly to whole new level.
William 'Smush' Parker is terrible. Decision making? No can do. Defense? This man can't guard a dying snail. 'Nuff said.
We all know that Phil doesn't rely heavily on his floor generals, but come on, we need a smarter pg. Derek Fisher, Ron Harper, MAGIC JOHNSON, and now Smush?? NO CAN DO. Our offense is among the most structured in the NBA. With a point man of Smush's IQ, we cannot get past teams such as the Spurs, Mavs, and Suns.
As I worked to Assimilate into my role as taxpayer and integral part of the labour force, this offseason was particularly memorable. My usual offseason birthday saw me turn well into my 20's and for For the first time in my young life, I thought about finally taking myself seriously. I thought of my health and well-being. I thought of my spiritual self. I thought of poverty, drought, and struggle. I thought of my future. A wife and 6 lil Laker fans. I thought about the betterment of my fellowman. It was about that time. The crossroads... Tiptoeing on the iceberg that separated my childhood and my life as a bonafide adult, and I was slowly falling onto the latter. Then November 1 came... Lamar drops 33 points! 13 boards! 7 assists! King Bynum dominates in his first start and the Mamba-less Los Angeles Lakers thump the title-contending suns!
Then, I thought again. God bless the NBA.
L.A. 110 - Phoenix 103
The Los Angeles Lakers. My immortal lover. How good did they look on opening night? I won't let you decide. (For most of you who don't know, this site is not, in any way, impartial)
The Good:
No Kobe, no problem. - Although my heading may sound catchy, #24 is still, and will always be, the only man that can take this Laker team to the promised land. However, The Black Mamba's absence may have worked well for Lamar and the rest of the supporting cast. If Kobe had played opening night, it might have destroyed an entire pre-season of struggling toward productive teamwork within the rest of the Laker squad. Fortunately for us, they succeeded.
The first three quarters of the 2005-2006 regular season revolved around good execution from the Lakers, perfecting the triangle, and scoring slack was happily picked up by Bryant. The last 25%, however, involved Kobe dropping his scoring average, FGAs, upping his assists, Kwame learning to catch interior passes, Lamar thriving, Mihm dying, Smush crying, and the overall flourishing of the triangle. The Lakers dominated that portion of the season and was a Tim Thomas HGH steroid scandal (which I still believe is true) away from unseating the speedy Suns.
The Bad:
Hole in the middle!
The Lakers have holes.
Andrew Bynum is a great young big man. He will become an all-star, possibly even a superstar. However, My Lakers are playing for the now. If you don't believe me, ask Mitch why he used his mid-level on the Radman (Who will play better once his shooting hand heals and stops trying to look like the Passion of the Christ). Bynum will have his 20s and 10s, but he will also have his 2 point nights, his 1 attempt outings, and the almost inevitable rookie wall. We cannot have a 19 year old starting center in a conference dominated by bigs. We will not survive.
Chris Mihm is out for the season. Ouch.
Thus, the only man that can save us is Mr. Brown. Yes, I said it. Kwame needs to continue from the momentum he finished with last year and thrive in his role as the Lakers starting center. If this can be done together with Bynum's daily Kareem filled improvement as he comes off the bench, we will be fine.
X Factor: Ronnie Turiaf is not, by any means, another Mark Madsen. This man can play, wait and see.
The Ugly:
Smush Parker is ugly. He puts the F, in fugly. If I was him, I'd be ugly. In other words, this man takes ugly to whole new level.
William 'Smush' Parker is terrible. Decision making? No can do. Defense? This man can't guard a dying snail. 'Nuff said.
We all know that Phil doesn't rely heavily on his floor generals, but come on, we need a smarter pg. Derek Fisher, Ron Harper, MAGIC JOHNSON, and now Smush?? NO CAN DO. Our offense is among the most structured in the NBA. With a point man of Smush's IQ, we cannot get past teams such as the Spurs, Mavs, and Suns.
We need to trade up by the All Star Break. Nothing less.
X Factor: Jordan Farmar can play!!! However, like Bynum, the Lakers cannot contend with a 19 year old starting point guard. If Phil can slowly assimilate him into the system and give him more second half playing time, it might just work.
The Results:
Regular season: 52-30
Playoff performance?: Another article.
Championship contenders?: A whole other article.
For now.... Go Lakers!!!
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