Bleacher Report - Articles by Alex Buda

The Heart of Allen Iverson Back in Philadelphia

Alex Buda — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 03:38:48 -0500

Listen up kids, I got a story to tell you.

This story is a story you may or may not have heard.

You see, once upon a time, a young warrior, lost and without a path, finds a home in Philadelphia. In this city, he developed an identity. An identity so clear that he developed an objective.

The objective was to find his city's ring, but the path to get there was cruel.

For years he fought his enemies for the ring but he could not conquer them. One time he got close, but he was defeated by the men of large lakes.

After years of frustration he left on a new journey for the ring. His identity remained the same but the man who was once known as the answer became a question in himself.

A question of struggle.

A question of dominance.

A question of perseverance.

And somewhere along this path, he lost his identity and then he lost his way home.

So how do you like it so far?

I know, it's sad.

This warrior had an objective his whole life. He poured his heart into making this objective into a reality.

Try telling the other warriors practicing in their backyards—even as you read these words—that their dream is no more than a fantasy.

You see, when you pour your heart into something, it makes things fuzzy and it can make you think unclear.

He needed to move forward and took a big step in that by announcing his retirement from his journey of finding the ring.

But then something happened, an opportunity arisen.

He was given the chance to come back to the city he started in, the city he poured his heart into.

This was unexpected and surprising but he was given a choice. No matter what choice he made at this point, he knew that he could not go back.

The time lost between then and now was spent for growth and maturity.

He could of turned his back, but the only problem with that is, he retired without an identity.

This isn't about the ring anymore.

This isn't about the glory.

This is about redemption.

He was given his identity back but now his objective has changed. His objective is not to find the ring anymore. He left that behind. Now he is looking to restore his image.

Well, that's the story. Hope you...

...what's that?

What happens next you ask?

Well, it looks like we're just going to have to wait and see.

It seems as if destiny has taken its course, as he will start out by facing the city of Denver and Detroit.

Coincidence?

I think not!

Los Angeles Lakers Collect Rings and Win in 2009 Season Opener

Alex Buda — Wed, 28 Oct 2009 02:57:18 -0400

Regardless of the outcome of this game, everybody knew that tonight was going to be a good night for Los Angeles.

The banner was raised, the crowd cheered and everybody on the Laker's squad received a shiny new championship ring. Everybody, except one.

Ron Artest had to watch from the locker room as he wasn't a part of the team that won the championship but he's on the team that will be defending it.

Artest had a rough game bringing in 10 points, five rebounds, and four assists on 30 percent shooting while taking half of his 10 shots from the three-point-line.

Should I add that he also had four turnovers?

Yes, he didn't have his best performance out there on his first official night as a Laker but it sure wasn't from a lack of effort.

He ran the lanes, and he defended his man but he just wasn't hitting his shots. It's a little hard to find a rhythm when your taking half of your shots from beyond the arc and yet it didn't stop him from trying.

It looks as though Artest is still trying to find his place on the Lakers and as the season progresses we'll see where he falls into place.

Kobe Bryant had a good game tonight putting up 33 points, 8 rebounds, and 4 steals on 42 percent shooting, but it wasn't his best.

Shot selection is something Kobe has to continue to work on as the season progresses but this has been a weakness of his for his entire career and I don't expect him to start now.

Scoring 33 points is great but doing it while taking 26 shots isn't anything spectacular.

A rule of thumb for scoring is: if your point total is greater than your field goal attempts than you have had a good game. It's a good game but it can be better.

This is something that Michael Jordan was very good at during his career and was why he shot 50 percent for his entire career. He didn't just take shots, he picked and chose which shots to take.

This is one of many reasons why we can't compare Kobe to Jordan, yet.

The story of tonight was Andrew Bynum.

He scored 26 points and rebounded the ball 13 times on 60 percent shooting.

How about that?

Every season people predict that it will be his breakout season and every season we are left disappointed.

I doubt that will be the case this year because I'm telling you all tonight, that this is his year.

He can make the All-Star game. He has the talent. Let's watch him do it.

There's no doubt that Bynum is a presence in the middle and you can see Kareem's hard work on the floor when you watch him play.

He isn't a 17-year-old kid playing out of high school anymore. He's a man ready to take his place in the NBA.

He turned 22 today and he gave the fans quite a gift for what was already a very special night.

By the way, Happy Birthday Bynum.

Not everybody forgot it.

The Clippers shot better than the Lakers and they even out rebounded them but they lost to a final score of 99-92.

So what went wrong for the Clips tonight?

It's very simple actually. They sent the Lakers to the line 37 times where they converted 25 of them. The Clippers only got there 16 times.

That's your game right there.

The Lakers are a far more aggressive team and attack the rim. The Clippers had nobody to stop them and in turn, it resulted in a lot of fouls, as you can see when you compare the Clippers 27 personal fouls to the Lakers 15.

But a win is a win.

This is game one of 82 games and they have a lot of room for improvement. A lot of pressure is placed on them to beat the 72-10 record but as Kobe Bryant said tonight, "we're going to take it one game at a time."

NBA 2009: Examining the Best of the West

Alex Buda — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 02:24:00 -0400

Can you believe it?

The Season is tipping off in only 12 days.

The thrill, excitement, and highlight reels are back for another season of dramatic affairs and messy divorces.

This year seems a little preset already, and it hasn't even started. We have a pretty good consensus on who's going to be in the Finals, but we still have to play the season out, just for laughs.

I'm going to be taking a look at some of the western conference's top teams so we can have a better understanding at how the season will play out.

First up, we have the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Lakers had a amazing season last year and followed up by winning the championship. Then over the offseason, they traded swing man Trevor Ariza for the veteran defender Ron Artest in a free agent swap.

The best team in the west got better.

Ariza was a crucial reason to why the Lakers won the championship last season and people believe that because they lost him, the Lakers won't be able to repeat.

In a way, that makes sense, but that's completely disregarding the fact that the Lakers picked up a better, stronger player to take his place.

Artest has the strength and skill to guard the best player on the other team which will alleviate the defensive responsibilities on Kobe Bryant.

Remember last season when Bryant was struggling to guard Carmelo Anthony in the Western Conference Finals?

But he still managed to score crucial points in the final minutes of the games.

What if Kobe doesn't have to guard Carmelo?

He will be even more rested to score those crucial points.

Not only is he a better defensive player than Ariza but his offensive abilities completely out shadows that of Ariza.

He has the ability to be the top offensive player on a team and at 17 PPG, Phil Jackson can run offense around him. He is going to provide that consistent offense that Phil has always wanted from in Lamar Odom.

Oh, did I mention that they still have Lamar Odom?

His versatility allows him to play all five positions and although he is a pass first, shoot later type of player, the Lakers will have arsenal in their bag if either Kobe, Artest and Gasol are off their game.

Expect a big season from the Lakers, and don't be surprised if they hit the 70-win mark.

San Antonio will finish in second place.

They have really been underrated these past couple of years because of the age factor.

After the Lakers knocked them out of the Western Conference Finals in 2008, the Spurs lost all respect, even though they were in the Conference Finals.

People said that they were too old and they needed to bring in younger players, but it was their veteran leadership that won them four championships in less than a decade.

How does Richard Jefferson sound?

They already have Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, and Manu Ginobili.

Now they added another player that can score over 20 PPG which will bring in that offense that they desperately needed.

In case one of their top three players goes down with an injury, they'll be covered because Jefferson is an excellent shooter.

They also have a great developing player in Roger Mason Jr.

Mason was a surprise to everyone last year, as he helped the Spurs finish in second place, including some pretty big clutch shots.

He will be an X-factor for them again as they look to win a championship this season.

Not too far behind them are the Denver Nuggets.

I always looked at the Nuggets as an unfortunate team because they really do have a championship contending team but they won't be winning it.

One of the things they're missing in their championship checklist is poise, and as you all clearly saw in last years playoffs, they don't have it.

Poise is one of those things that doesn't come with a player. It comes with experience and chemistry.

As you grow with a team, you'll learn from your mistakes and realize that your reactions are more important than your actions.

When the Nuggets realize this, they will be that much better. But they still won't be winning a championship because they're still better teams out there.

This is unfortunate for them because as these championship contending teams start losing their edge, so will the Nuggets.

But it will allow teams such as the Portland Trailblazers to take over.

I can totally see the Trailblazers winning a championship early in this next decade but not this season.

They are still young and even though they did get better by adding Andre Miller, its not enough, not yet.

They really don't need to add any pieces for them for to win a championship in the future, they just need to wait for their players to grow, especially Brandon Roy, LaMarcus Aldridge, and Greg Oden.

They need a few more playoff losses before they can start seriously contending for the championship but those players should be their nucleus.

They already got Brandon Roy to commit to a long-term deal. With Aldridge and Oden's contract expiring at the end of the season they will look to do the same.

There have been a lot of changes made and there are some new rookies out there that we should keep an eye on but there is one thing that is pretty safe to say.

We're going to have a pretty fun season coming up.

Lamar Odom Re-Signs with Los Angeles Lakers: Now What?

Alex Buda — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 20:23:51 -0400

One of the most anticipated free agent signings of this offseason has finally come to a close and it's official: Lamar Odom will remain with the Los Angeles Lakers.

He will be signing a four-year deal worth $33 million dollars with a team option on the fourth season.

Dwyane Wade was actively pursuing Lamar Odom, even coming down to Los Angeles in person to talk to his former teammate and urging him to take less money to come back to Miami.

In the end, Lamar Odom made the right decision in coming back to Los Angeles because this is where he fits best and this is where he wants to be.

It was pretty obvious that he wanted to remain a Laker since he waited so long to make a decision.

Lamar Odom only used the Miami Heat as bait so that the Lakers would give him a better contract. If he really wanted to go back to Miami, he would have done it already.

The mere fact that he waited on the Lakers' reaction meant that he wanted to know how the Lakers would react.

Keep in mind, that this is also the team that traded him for an aging Shaquille O'Neal that was only able to put up a couple good seasons in Miami.

Now realizing what they let go, they made a strong effort to get him back.

Lamar Odom loves the city of Los Angeles, playing nine of his 10 seasons here. He started his career here in Los Angeles as a Clipper playing for four seasons before signing with the Heat and then being traded to the Lakers.

He publicly stated several times that he wanted to retire as a Laker.

And yet there were people out there who actually thought—or maybe they were just hoping—he would sign elsewhere.

So they got Lamar Odom back.

Great!

Now what?

Now they will win another championship.

That's right, I'm going to call it. You can't stop me.

The best team in the NBA made the biggest improvement by signing Ron Artest over Trevor Ariza.

It's very simple to understand, if you really want to.

Don't worry. We'll analyze this deeper for those who really want to deny it.

Lets first look at what the Lakers have going into next season.

Their starting lineup will consist of: Derek Fisher (PG), Kobe Bryant (SG), Ron Artest (SF), Pau Gasol (PF), and Andrew Bynum (C).

Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol are the All-Stars of this team. No doubt about it, it's their leadership, talent, and understanding of the triangle offense that has gotten them to an NBA Championship this season.

Then there is Derek Fisher, who is not an All-Star but is a veteran leader. He has won four championships with the Lakers under the triangle offense, and he has an understanding of the game that's makes him very important to the Lakers young guards.

After that there is Ron Artest, the only change on the Lakers roster. The only thing that Trevor Ariza was better at than Ron Artest was athleticism. Artest has the edge in everything else. But you will always have doubters who are hoping that this signing will end up as a flop.

But guess what?

These are the same people who hoped Lamar Odom would sign somewhere else. Artest will be able to guard players that wear Kobe down, meaning Kobe will have more energy to do his thing on the offensive end.

For example, if you looked at the Lakers-Nuggets series this past season, you will notice that Carmelo Anthony was no match for Trevor Ariza defensive skills because Anthony was much stronger than Ariza.

Kobe Bryant had to guard him and that wore him down, but not enough because he was still able to close games.

What if Kobe didn't have to guard Carmelo Anthony because we have someone stronger to do that?

Who may that be, you ask?

Ron Artest.

He can guard these players that give Kobe Bryant a headache, and not only that but if needed, he can produce points on the offensive end. There is no doubt that he has a better offensive and defense game than Ariza.

He has also matured a lot since the Nightmare on Pistons Street fiasco that suspended him for a season.

This is a much better player and he has proved it in his tenure as a Houston Rocket.

Next there is Andrew Bynum who has only been slowed down by knee injuries in the past couple seasons.

Rest assured that he will come back next season will a chip on his shoulder especially with the contract that the Lakers gave him. He has improved physically ever season and you can tell just by looking at him.

If you were a betting person, would you bet that Andrew Bynum's statistics increase or decrease next season?

That's a pretty impressive starting lineup if you ask me, and I challenge you to come up with one that is better—a real one.

Oh but wait, before I forget.

There is one more player for the Lakers that makes a difference. He's the whole reason, this article even came to be, Lamar Odom.

His versatility and leadership coming off the bench makes him one of the most valuable sixth men in the league. He can play any position and he gives the Lakers that spark off the bench in order to make a difference in the game.

Also, if one of the Lakers front line players goes down with an injury, it won't matter. Lamar can come off the bench and fill the void just like he did last season when Andrew Bynum was injured.

This is the best team in the NBA.

Shaquille O'Neal Doesn't Guarantee Cleveland Cavaliers a Title

Alex Buda — Wed, 22 Jul 2009 00:05:27 -0400

After being traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers, Shaquille O'Neal flew over to Cleveland and started chanting his new slogan: “Win a ring for the King!”

Lovely!

The delusional Cavalier fans—I'm not saying all of them are delusional, but let’s face it, every team has delusional fans—went wild and started planning their championship parade for next year.

While the rest of the world laughs at the biggest mistake of the offseason, and it didn't take very long for them to make it—don't kill me yet, let me make my point first.

Shaq is a very unique player and has certain abilities that only a limited amount of players in this league have. He's very dominate, and when he has the ball under the rim, all you can do is hope you have enough strength to hold him down for the foul.

He's also had a very successful career, helping lead the Lakers to three championships and the Miami Heat to a title in 2006.

But here's the thing, not every player is best for every team.

You see it all the time. A player moves from one team to the next and his stats either greatly increase or greatly decrease.

On top of statistics of the individual player, depending on the type of role you give the player, your team will either be better or worse.

Keeping that in mind, let’s add variable Shaq-x into the formula.

Shaq is one of those players who will "get his" and at this point of his career. I would say that "his" will be about 17 points per game, eight rebounds per game, and 59 percent shooting.

Considering that the Cavaliers didn't have a center who can put up those numbers last season, I would say that this is a good thing.

Not to mention that Shaq's mere presence on the defense is almost unmatched.

So thumbs up in those regards.

Anyway, the next question is the big question: How will Shaq fit into the Cavaliers' system next season and will this move result in a championship for the Cavaliers?

Good question.

Anyone want to get this one?

OK, I'll answer it.

The answer is...

He will fit in, but they are not going to win the championship.

I'm sorry.

Let me explain, I'll write slow.

The Cavaliers were very successful last season at playing in an up-tempo offensive game with excellent half-court defense.

Doing both at the same time is very hard because of what each side requires; I think that they were the best team in the league at getting the best from both ends of the floor.

So when you put Shaq into this type of team, you’re going to have some success.

Shaq will be able to do his thing on the defensive end, and if everyone else plays defense like they did last season, they will be one of the top defensive teams again.

But, they won't have the best of both worlds anymore in the sense that they will not be able to play that up-tempo game that produces a lot of their offense.

Between Shaq and LeBron, you'll get about 45 points. Mo Williams and Delonte West will play just as well as they did last season.

But that’s about all they have going for them offensive on a consistent basis. They don't have the depth to compete for a championship.

They'll be a 50- to 55-win team at best, which is very good, but when it comes into the playoffs, they will get exposed and they will be eliminated.

I think Cleveland made this move so that they will be able to compete with Dwight Howard, but it wasn't even Howard that destroyed them in the playoffs, it was Orlando’s three-point shooting.

And not to mention that the Magic completely destroyed their chemistry and will not be nearly as good as they were last season.

The Cavs needed to make a move to get LeBron to stay in Cleveland after next season, but this wasn't it.

On the surface, I get how people may think that adding Shaq is a step up into winning the championship, but if you want to understand something, you don't judge it by its cover, you open it up and read it.

I opened, I read, and my results are as follow:

“No ring for the King!”

Lamar Odom: Games, Changes, Fears

Alex Buda — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 14:32:19 -0400

The game of basketball is very similar to the game of life. In both basketball and life you have to maintain several types of relationships between people in order to be successful.

The Los Angeles Lakers won their 15th NBA Championship about a month ago. It was a really great thing for the city of Los Angeles.

The players came back from Orlando with their trophies in hand, and they celebrated together. Then they celebrated with the city of Los Angeles in that huge parade.

But then something happened.

The celebrations stopped, and now it is back to business.

Back to life.

The Lakers had three free agents this offseason in Trevor Ariza, Shannon Brown, and Lamar Odom.

All three players expressed great happiness in where they are at in Los Angeles, and all three expressed that they wanted to return to Los Angeles to defend their crown.

So of course they all signed back with the Lakers and they all lived happily ever after, right?

Wrong!

Shannon Brown did re-sign with the Lakers.

Trevor Ariza signed with the Houston Rockets, though, and Lamar Odom received an offer to sign with his former team, the Miami Heat.

What went wrong?

Everything seemed so Disney, and then it all went down the super bowl.

Well, life can be a fickle...you know?

Lets examine this closely to see why things happened the way they did.

Trevor Ariza left his exit interview saying that he "felt a lot of love."

It was pretty obvious that the Lakers wanted him to stay, and they offered him mid-level exception at $5.6 million dollars, which was a generous offer.

But then Ariza's agent made a mistake that ended up costing Ariza in a big way.

He played mind games.

When you go there, you'll start to notice that the feeling of "love" to soon go away.

Mind games worked very well for Sasha Vujacic last season when he threatened to move to Europe if he didn't get the contract he wanted.

So the Lakers took the bait and over-pursued him.

But what "The Machine" forgot to tell the Lakers was that he doesn't come with rechargeable batteries.

Que?

So now the Lakers are stuck with an overpaid player that really should just move to Europe after his free ride is over because no team will want to sign him.

The Lakers are not stupid, they learn from their mistakes...so when Ariza's agent started parading him around like he was Kobe Bryant, the Lakers shook their heads and said goodbye forever.

They realize that the NBA is a numbers game, and they weren't going to waste anymore time with these games, so they called Ron Artest.

Artest basically took the contract Ariza left on the table, and in a twist of bizarre coincidences, Ariza signed a contract with Artest's former team for not that much more than what he would of gotten in Los Angeles.

Ouch!

Ariza knows he messed up here, and although he tried to play it off as if he didn't care, you could tell by the look on his face during the interview afterwards that he knows he made a mistake.

You can't hide by smiling.

Ariza grew up in Los Angeles, and also went to college here. This is his home, and now he's going to have to move to Houston to play for a lottery team rather than playing for a team that he just won a championship with.

Well, now lets talk about Lamar.

Whether Lamar Odom signs back with the Lakers or not will dictate the rest of the Lakers offseason, and the following season for that matter.

So what happened here?

Well, Lamar wants a multi-year contract of $10 million a season. He also wants a locked-in fifth season. If you do the math, that's a five-year $50 million dollar contract, ideally of course.

Because in real life, he's not getting that contract.

The Los Angeles Lakers offered Lamar Odom two contract deals.

One was worth $36 million for four years and the other was worth $30 million for three years.

But these agents like to play games, and when the Lakers made that offer, Odom's agent, Jim Schwartz, was apparently too "busy" to reply back right away, and started negotiating with the Dallas Mavericks and Miami Heat.

The Lakers took that as a slap in the face and retracted their offer.

It's not about the money, it's about respect. If you want to maintain relationships with the people in your life, you have to respect them...because if you're selfish, they'll just leave you.

Why would anyone stick around for your BS if your only trying to get on top of them?

So then the Miami Heat offered Lamar Odom a contract worth $34 million for five years.

Ouch again!

Yeah, he gets his five years, but for only $6.8 million a season instead of the $10 million a season the Lakers offered him.

Once this offer went out another game began.

The waiting game.

Who caves first?

The Lakers and Odom belong together. They know they want each other by their side, but neither will speak out because they know they will lose power if they do.

But on the other hand, you can't wait too long before one or the other moves on.

So what happened?

Lamar Odom caved and called the Lakers' owner, Jerry Buss.

You can only hope that common sense sinks in and the games end, but that doesn't always happen.

Lamar Odom will now restart negotiations with the Lakers and hopefully they can come to an agreement very soon.

But even if they don't...

Even if Odom does sign with another team...

They have to remember that it's nothing personal. They had good memories together, and a championship to share.

It doesn't always work out.

Sometimes, it can get very easy to get caught up in the bitterness and start lashing out at each other because things didn't go the way you planned. But you'll be surprised how one simple phone call can change the course of things.

As for Ariza, I wish him the best with his new life in Houston.

He's a great player with loads of potential, and he'll have a better possibility of reaching that potential in Houston.

Trevor Ariza said, "I enjoyed my time in LA, appreciated my fans...but now it's time for me to move on, to start a new chapter, and I think this is the best place for me."

Indeed, even if you don't want it, sometimes you just have to move on.

Kobe Bryant or LeBron James: Toss-Up At MVP

Alex Buda — Mon, 29 Dec 2008 12:59:56 -0500

Stop the foolishness!

The MVP award of the 2008-09 season will go to either Kobe Bryant or LeBron James.

If you want you can make arguments for whomever your heart desires, but when it's all said and done, it will go to either one of those two. No one else has a shot. Nope, not one, not even a little bit.

First of all, in order to win the MVP award your team must be among the top records in the NBA.

If you look at just the last twenty MVP winners, you will see that ten of them came from the team with the best record in the league, eight of them came from the second-best, and only two of them came from third.

And those two players are Kobe Bryant last season and Steve Nash from the 2005-06 season. So only recently has the player from the third best team has had a shot at MVP.

I’ll repeat for emphasize for those of you who don’t get it: your team must win games! Therefore, if your team isn’t winning games, you will not win MVP. I don’t care if you score 81 points and average 35 points for the season. If your team does not win games, you will not win the MVP award.

Since it is fairly early in the season, I will take a look at the top four records in the league. You have the: Boston Celtics (.875), Cleveland Cavaliers (.867), Los Angeles Lakers (.833), and the Orlando Magic (.800).

This is the part where you go, look, the Magic are just as good as any of these teams and they just edged the Lakers in a close game a couple weeks ago. Why can't Dwight Howard get any love for MVP?

I mean, come on, this guy is having a monster season, leading the league in rebounds and blocks at 13.6 RPG and 3.6 BPG, while averaging 19.9 PPG at 55 percent from the field.

That's an outstanding stat sheet for a center and any coach would love to have Howard on his team but he is no match for Le-obe.

Can you imagine the outburst if Dwight Howard wins his first MVP over LeBron James—I’m sorry, King James?

There is no chance of that happening. He is too strong of an influence on the NBA to get beat over Howard this season.

Think about it, who has been the talk of the NBA season? LeBron James. Who has the MVP ballot in their hands at the end of the season? Those very same people hugging LeBron James' basketball sack.

I expect the Magic to cool off soon and distant themselves a little from the top three which will leave Howard in third place at the end of the season.

I can totally see him holding up an MVP trophy one day; it just won't be in 2009.

Next up, you can go after one of the Big Three. You got Kevin Garnett, Paul Pierce and Ray Allen. Also, if you’re a hardcore Celtics fan, you might even throw in Rondo, you know, just for laughs.

Because none of these players will win MVP.

Yes, they do have the best record in the league and have a very good chance at finishing that way for the second-straight season, but no player on that team will win MVP.

The leader of that team is Kevin Garnett so if a Celtic is going to win the MVP award, it is going to be Garnett.

Think about it, when Ray Allen got traded to the Celtics, no one had them winning a championship. Then Kevin Garnett got traded there and it’s lets all see who can hold on to the Celtics’ basketball sack longer.

Also, Pierce’s teammates make him better—it is not the other way around. He is a good offensive force, but he is not a leader.

Don’t tell me that he won Finals MVP, because so did Tony Parker. That doesn’t mean you’re the leader. He was by himself with the Celtics his whole career and didn’t do anything special. He was also on the brink of demanding a trade before Garnett and Allen came along.

So it’s settled, Kevin Garnett is the only MVP that can come out of Boston.

Kevin Garnett already won an MVP award when he was with the Minnesota Timberwolves. LeBron James has never won an MVP award.

This means that James already has an edge over Garnett and this also means that LeBron’s Cavaliers can be in second or third place and he’ll still have a better shot at MVP than Garnett.

I know it sounds stupid, but this is the logic used to determine the MVP winner.

It is this kind of idiotic logic that kept players like Michael Jordan from winning three straight MVP awards.

It gets old having the same MVP for more than two seasons. You need someone new and fresh.

Who’s newer or fresher than the fresh king of Cleveland?

So why does LeBron James deserve MVP?

Well how about leading his team 26-4 start while being undefeated at Home. Is that enough wins for you guys?

If it isn’t, then how about 27.5 PPG, 6.7 RPG, 6.4 APG, 2.0 SPG and he is doing all this while shooting 51 percent.

The only person that can stand in his way is Kobe Bryant.

Bryant is the reigning MVP so at the end of the season people will be like, well is he worth the back-to-back? He is good enough for that kind of honor?

Well, is he?

He is averaging 26.3 PPG, 5.4 RPG, 4.2 APG at 47 percent shooting.

This isn’t as impressive as LeBron, but there are things to consider which will make stat sheets futile at the end of the season.

LeBron is a very powerful small forward. The Cavaliers offense revolves around him and he can take it to the rim with brute force—hence the high shooting percentage.

Kobe is a more finesse shooting Guard and takes more jumpers because of this. He is also a better shooter than LeBron.

Just because you average a higher shooting percentage doesn’t necessarily make you the better shooter. It all depends on where you take the shots.

But I’m not trying to downplay LeBron James here. If he can get to the rim the way he does, he doesn’t need that much of a jumper, but it always helps.

All I am saying is that it’s not going to come down to stats.

It’s going to come down to how well the individual player can use his own unique talent to win games and make noise.

Remember, there are still two very important Laker-Cavalier matchups coming up, and you better believe that they will influence MVP votes.

At the end of the season it will come down to wins, these two matchups, and how much noise the player will bring for his team.

The more you keep your team in the headlines, the better your shot at MVP.

Since I am a Laker fan, I am going for Kobe, but if LeBron wins it. It will be well-deserved.

NBA: Examining the West

Alex Buda — Tue, 09 Dec 2008 19:27:29 -0500

We are about 20 games into this 82-game season and so far, there are a few teams that have really made a name for themselves as top contenders for the championship in the western conference and others are ready to count lottery balls.

When you look at the Western Conference, you see the Los Angeles Lakers, everyone else, and then the lottos. What is so surprising is the amount of lottery teams are in the Western Conference.

It’s safe to say that Golden State , Memphis , Sacramento , Minnesota , L.A. Clippers and Oklahoma City are not going to contend for the playoffs.

I’ve heard arguments that Golden State could be making a late season run for the playoffs and my answer to that is, no. Not the way they have been playing defense giving up about 112 ppg and allowing their opponents to shoot 46 percent. That’s not going to get it done any level.

Golden State is a talented team with players like Corey Maggette, Stephen Jackson, Monte Ellis and now Jamal Crawford. These players can take this team to the playoffs and believe it or not, compete for a championship.

But they’re missing something. The glue that sticks everything together and helps improve the chemistry, and this glue needs to come from the coach.

If Golden State is missing the glue then that would make Don Nelson the rubber that flings players around like missiles in hopes of outscoring their opponents.

Haven’t these people learned that it is defense that wins championships and not offense?

The Lakers came as close as any team I ever seen with offense as their primary attack, but in the end it was Paul Pierce smoking the cigar and for some odd reason Shaq wanted Kobe to taste his…

Anyway, that Game Six blowout should have been a wakeup call for all teams to play defense. It’s time for Golden State to do what several teams did this season and fire the head coach.

After the lotto teams we have Portland, Denver, New Orleans, Houston, Utah, Dallas, San Antonio and Phoenix.

These are the teams in the middle that will be close all the way around this season. There may be one or two of these teams that spurt off on their own but none of these teams will catch up to the Lakers.

Don’t get me wrong, these teams are excellent and have their own unique touch to the game but the Lakers are just too good.

Since there were no big roster changes over the offseason and everyone basically knew the triangle offense. Phil Jackson placed a great deal of emphasize on defense and Lakers came out of the gates tearing their opponents up on defense.

Lakers have only lost three games this season and can still chase after that 72-10 record, if they focus.

Lakers-Rockets: Lakers Still Untested

Alex Buda — Sun, 09 Nov 2008 18:48:11 -0500

After playing four games, this game was supposed to be the big test for the Lakers. I think they passed, don't you?

The Lakers came out in the first quarter and played flat-out terrible. I'm telling you Kenny, it was just terrible.

They played like a team that only played one game in the past week. Oh wait a minute, they did only play one game in the past week. So I'll excuse them for the turnovers, poor defense and sloppy play, especially when they played the last three quarters so efficiently.

They outscored the Rockets 34-20 in the second quarter to put them up two points at halftime. Something changed and that something was the bench mob. They emerged from the pine and completely out-hustled their counterparts.

Also, allowing Pau Gasol to play with the bench was not a bad move either. Pau Gasol dominated the boards at 15 rebounds while scoring a more than decent 20 points. When your team is as deep as the Lakers, you can afford to experiment a little if you're Phil Jackson.

Lakers are also learning that Defense wins games as they held their last five opponents ,including the Rockets, to an average of 85 points-per-game; currently the best in the league. They are doing this while scoring 106 points-per-game on the offensive end.

Granted, it's still extremely in early in the season to say that the Lakers have the best offense and defense in the league, but it will be interesting to see if they can keep the intensity up for the remainder of the season.

The Rockets so called "Big Three", which is Ron Artest, Tracy McGrady, and Yao Ming were held to 9-33 from the field at a mislay 28%. When your top three guys can't get it going, your chances of winning go down tremendously.

One more thing to note on the Lakers end is that they are all around balanced.

Kobe doesn't need to score a lot of points in order for the Lakers to win, but it's nice to know that he can if they need him to. He had a game-high of 23 points while Jordan Farmar led the bench with 16 points.

Trevor Ariza and Sasha Vujacic were also key factors on the defensive end. Vujacic only took three shots and made all three, two of which were three-pointers and one very sweet floater down the middle. But he has to be given some credit for his defense tonight. Him and Ariza played great defense on McGrady and helped keep him in check.

A true test for the Lakers? I don't know, I think the Lakers have yet to be really tested this season.

Lets see if New Orleans and Dallas can shake things up a bit.

Los Angeles Lakers Looking at Their Options This Offseason

Alex Buda — Sun, 20 Jul 2008 22:15:17 -0400

Not much is going on in Lakerland this offseason, but that doesn't necessarily mean that they are doomed for another run at the NBA Finals.

As expected, Trevor Ariza exercised his contract option for next season. Ariza has proved this past season that he can run in the triangle offense, and they need him for his great defense. He is a good slasher—which will be key to his scoring success next season when he plays with Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol.

With defensive players busy trying to contain those two, Ariza can easily make a name for himself on the court.

Also, as expected, Chris Mihm exercised his contract option for next season. It would have been foolish not to. After all, who wouldn't like to make $2.5 million dollars for sitting on a bench?

But lets not be too hard on Mihm. In case you have forgotten, before the ankle injury in the '05-06 season, he was averaging a decent 10.2 PPG to go along with 6.3 RPG. He's got a good hook on him and has shown that he can step out and shoot a nice mid-range jump shot.

He hasn't been the same since the injury, but he did have successful ankle surgery back in January, and came back in time to get his few minutes of fame in the NBA Finals. Mihm's minutes obviously wont be the same, but he's a good enough backup for Bynum and Gasol.

Ronny Turiaf will be coming back as a Golden State Warrior next season and it's sad to see him go. He was without a doubt the most energetic player on the Lakers roster, and he brought a spark off the bench that the crowd won't soon forget.

But as far as NBA Economics 101 is concerned, letting him go was the correct choice to make.

Golden State offered him a very large contract that the Lakers simply couldn't match. They are already paying luxury taxes up the wazoo. Matching that four-year, $17 million dollar contract would not only make those worse—but also force them to forfeit any hopes of re-signing Sasha Vujacic.

With that kind of contract, the Warriors are looking to give Turiaf a much larger role and the Lakers can't do that. So long, Ronny, and good luck on your new team.

As long as I brought up Vujacic, lets talk about him next. In a contract season, Vujacic was able to put up career-bests in points at 8.8 PPG, while shooting 43.7 percent from the three-point line.

But the Lakers learned quickly from their Luke Walton mistake, and didn't take any chances by offering Sasha a pathetic one-year qualifying offer of $2.6 Million.

How dare they insult "The Machine" with this? Who do they think they are? Sasha is looking for a contract like his buddy Luke, but Lakers are timid to give him something like that.

I do expect the Lakers and Vujacic to come to an agreement soon. He recently changed his agent, which is only delaying communications. Also, it doesn't look like he can catch a break like his good pal Ronny.

What is the key to getting Sasha back in a Laker uniform next season? More money, more money, more money—and a few more years won't hurt.

Sasha is valuable to the Lakers. He is a good defender who knows how to annoy players. Not to mention that killer three-pointer that is becoming more consistent every year.

The Lakers already announced that they will not be bringing back Ira Newble. Who's that, you say? Don't worry about it.

However, the signing of DJ Mbenga is sort of interesting. Mbenga wasn't much. He was basically signed to fill the roster, and if they re-sign him for another season, it will be for the same reason.

In the coming months, Lakers have a decision to make on Coby Karl. They have a team contract option that they can decide to use.

Karl played the bench warmer role last season but the crowd loved him. They cheered him on and chanted his name. They want him to succeed, and he's not a bad basketball player.

He's got potential—but then again so did Kwame Brown. We all know how that turned out. He's not a bad player to invest some money into, and he can come in off the bench at times and get the crowd pumped up.

The Lakers have a couple second-round draft choices to decide on as well—Joe Crawford and Sun Yue. 10 Players are guaranteed a contract next season. If Vujacic, Mbenga, and Karl return, then the Lakers could still sign these two for a full 15-man roster. Yue and Crawford are great prospects, so it will be interesting to see the results of that.

Trade rumors haven't been circulating around the Lakers much this off-season, except in the case of Ron Artest. He has been in Laker trade rumors for so long that most people are expecting nothing to happen.

You always hear, "Kobe Bryant and Artest are great friends. They will be able to work together. Artest will give the Lakers the lock-down defense they need at the forward position." While I'm not arguing that, I'm not exactly condoning a trade to the Lakers for a few reasons.

Yeah, I'm going to say it—he's a loose cannon. It seems like he flip-flops everyday on his status with the Sacramento Kings. Sometimes he wants to be a King for life and other times he wants to be traded.

The reason why he got traded out of Chicago and Indiana is going to be the reason why he could be traded out of Sacramento. He has a bad reputation.

The Lakers were two wins away from winning the NBA Finals this season. Will Ron Artest push them over to get the two wins next time, or will a healthy Ariza and Bynum do it?

If they want to get Artest, they will have to take on Kenny Thomas's ridiculous contract, and they will have to give up Lamar Odom. It doesn't look like Mitch can put together another Gasol miracle in this situation.

Artest is a great player, shooter, and defender—but he's not worth the investment. Especially with what the Lakers have.

Odom is streaky, but he can dribble with the best of them and works great in the triangle offense with Gasol and Bryant backing him up. Throw Bynum into the mix, and move Odom back to his natural position of small forward, and I see an even better Laker team.

The Lakers don't need to make drastic changes.

They just made it to the NBA Finals.

As the old saying goes, "Sometimes the best trades are the ones you don't make."

Don't mess with the old sayings.