The Association

Five Questions About the Phoenix Suns

By Craig Kwasniewski

The Phoenix Suns roll into Staples Center tonight to face the Lakers and who better to probe into the NBA's early season surprise than Phoenix resident and current Suns media member, Brett Pollakoff (oh and the co-founder of this here site). Let's get it rolling... five questions about the Phoenix Suns with Brett's responses in italics:

1 - So is Channing Frye looking like the Trevor Ariza lite that I suggested when they acquired him? (I've been carpet bombing Brett with emails claiming Frye could be the next Ariza... we'll see how that plays out this year.)

Um, not defensively. But for a center to be able to step out and shoot threes, it really opens things up. He's shooting a much lower percentage from downtown on the road than at home, but he's been solid shooting 20-footers either way.

2 - If PHX squeezes out a 50 win season will Nash get his second "I didn't expect this from Phoenix so because of that I'll give their leader the MVP" MVP award?

Yeah, no. HOWEVER ... he has singlehandedly had more assists than the other team in 3 of the Suns' 8 games so far, and he has two 20-assist games already this season. He only had 5 20-assist games in his entire career, so it's safe to say he's feeling rejuvenated.

3 - But seriously, we both expected a good season but not this good of a start.  (No seriously we both felt the Suns would improve after Shaq left because they have the right blend of talent, coaching and experience, but we both felt they were more of a 7 or 8 seed.)  Are they deep enough to keep this up?

The Suns have had 4 different players lead the team in scoring, so they're versatile and deep. The key will be for them to keep playing with high energy, and for their bench (guys like Jared Dudley, Goran Dragic, and Lou Amundson) to continue to produce. But the strong start is only building those guys' confidence.

4 - Will the Amare trade talk at the deadline mess this up?

I just found out that Amar'e has a player option after this season for 1 year and $17.7 million. If the team is winning and he's happy, the team doesn't need to trade him, and he can choose the big payday in PHX for one more season before doing the whole free agency thing.

5 - And finally, we're talking coach of the year stuff if they win 50 because of the same "I didn't expect this" factor that the media always rides.

Coach of the Year usually goes to a top 2 or 3 team in the conference, so the Suns would need to keep this up all season. There's a long, long way to go, but he would have to be in the conversation given the way he's gotten the team to play together and especially the way he's getting the most out of a group of unheralded players off the bench.

One last thing, Brett's been grinding it out and blogging constantly on the Suns the past year and a half and was dutifully rewarded with full media credentials with photo ID.  It's VERY cool when you actually see it.  To go from jerkoff blogger to fully credentialled media member in a two-year span is amazing and a testament to all the talent and hard work... congratulations Brett!

Thoughts on the Draft Day Trades

By Craig Kwasniewski

I'm not really up on all the players drafted yesterday since the only NCAA hoops I watched all year was from the Las Vegas Hilton on the first weekend of March Maddness... Basically my knowledge on the college scene falls somewhere between Stu Scott and Rick Kamla (or Vanilla Scott as I like to call him).

So here are my thoughts on the trades from the past 48-hours:

1 - Shaq to Cleveland:  Props to the NBA media for not overreacting and proclaiming the Cavs the 2010 NBA Champs. Props to Danny Ferry for going "all in" and taking a chance on Shaq, hoping to convince LeBron to re-sign in 2010.  And props for Donald T. Sterling 2.0 for completely ruining one of the NBA's greatest franchises and killing Steve Nash's final years as a player.  This trade has way more questions than answers. 

Will Shaq play second fiddle to the league's biggest alpha dog?  He thinks Kobe was bad but LeBron runs EVERYTHING in Cleveland.  His teammates, his gags, his front office... this is LeBron's team.  From Penny to Kobe to Wade... all three All-Stars were young and didn't have the locker room pull that LeBron has.  Kobe was stubborn and always battling Shaq to be THE number one, but Shaq always had the Lakers roster and coaching staff on his side.  Shaq is clearly the outsider in Cleveland, will his ego accept being a number #2?

And don't tell me that he settled in with Phoenix as the #2!  Just one season in, the Suns were slowing things down and dumping to Shaq just like all the previous teams he played for.  Now we're hearing that Nash requested the Suns trade away Shaq.  He's 37 years old and he's never changed his demeanor as a player.  Why would he change now?

Will Shaq have patience for Mike Brown, the guy who was thoroughly out-coached by Mr. Master of Panic Stan Van Gundy?  As the Eastern Conference Finals showed us (and as I've been literally screaming for years!), the Cavs have one play in their offensive playbook.  Just one!  High screen and roll for LeBron where his options are: 1) step back for a three, 2) drive down the lane, 3) pass to the corner for a three, 4) hit the rolling big man to the hoop.  That's it!  But LeBron is so damn talented that he normally overcomes defenses (well expect when playing the Lakers, Orlando or Boston, but NOBODY seemed to remember this during the regular season DESPITE THE LAKERS SWEEPING THEM!!!)  Anyway, Mike Brown is CLEARLY the worst head coach that Shaquille O'Neal has played for (and yes that includes Terry Porter and Del Harris).

The Cavs now have their first low-post option since a pre-lockout Shawn Kemp in 1998.  Will Mike Brown add a second page to his offensive playbook and post up Shaq?  What happens when they face Orlando during a regular season game and start trailing?  Will Shaq DEMAND the ball during timeouts or will Mike Brown freeze up (like in the ECF's) and just ask LeBron to save them?  How soon before Shaq realizes the huge gap in ability between Mike Brown and Stan Van Gundy?

Does this trade make LeBron Tom Hagen?  Or is he Connie?  One of Shaq's best quotes was his comparison of his superstar teammates to the Corleone Family.  Penny Hardaway was Fredo (hilarious), Kobe was Sonny (temperamentally very true) and Dwyane Wade was Michael (maybe).  There's really only two left, Connie and the adopted Tom Hagen.  The way I see it, Steve Nash and LeBron is Tom Hagen who was one of the smarter and more appearance-savvy members of the Corleone Family... much like LeBron.  Nash as Connie totally makes sense considering Connie was the least valuable sibling in the Corleone family (BTW - Nash and Shaq combined for ONE playoff victory)... HOWEVER her actions did lead to Sonny’s death. And Nash did eliminate Kobe twice in the playoffs.

2 - Vince Carter to Orlando:  The Magic gave up virtually nothing and got a former All-Star to add depth to the defending Eastern Conference Champ AND/OR a quality back-up plan in case Hedo leaves.  A brilliant deal!  If Orlando gets 80% of Vince Carter from his All-Star days AND they re-sign Hedo you're looking at the favorites in the Eastern Conference.  They added scoring and athletic depth and another player that will force defenses to spread out and give Howard even more space to score from down low.  If Howard expands his low-post game (which he will), the look out, this might be the next NBA Champs.

If Hedo leaves, they are still one of the top contenders.  With Carter they'll get a player like Hedo who can clear out defenses and iso during crunch time.  But I think Hedo will stay in Orlando.  Now all of this depends on Carter's motivation... which should be high now that he's closer to a NBA title than ever before.

Here's my question... With Cleveland and Orlando making major moves, will Boston try to counter?

3 - Richard Jefferson to San Antonio:  Spurs get Richard Jefferson for left-over garbage (Bowen, Oberto and Thomas).  I guess Popovich is no longer complaining that the league needs a trade czar because this is almost as one-sided as the Gasol trade last year. In fact, one could argue that the Grizzlies got more because of Marc Gasol... a promising big.  The Spurs trade old size and defense and get a proven athletic scorer in Jefferson.  This trade gets the Spurs back in the second round of the playoffs but it doesn't counter the Lakers size.

Now if the Spurs can somehow find a way to sign Rasheed Wallace, then they become the odds on favorite in the West. 

4 - Jamal Crawford to Atlanta:  Wow another high-scoring player with ZERO basketball IQ!  Just when you though the Hawks were the dumbest team in the NBA, they just found a new level of supid-itude (a way of saying suckitude except with stupid).  I really can't find a proper word for how dumb this team is... but what do you expect from a team whose head coach's game face is the "who farted??" look!  Such a MEH trade!

5 - Amare to Golden State:  This isn't official until July 8th (or until EVERY Phoenix Suns season ticket holder skips town) but it looks like a done deal.  So in two seasons the Suns go from the SSOL, high-scoring, high-impact, fun to watch and with several All-Stars and a major contender to NOTHING.  What a shame!  Robert Sarver IS Donald T. Sterling 2.0 make no mistake about it.  

Initial trade rumors have the Warrior sending Curry over with Biedrins, but now I hear they're keeping Curry.  So why give up a relatively young annual All-Star with a very exciting game for absolutely nothing? 

Knock on the Clippers all you want but since they moved into Staples Center they've at least tried to assemble a team with talent.  Mis-guided efforts aside, every season Clippers fans at least have a small glint of hope when they look at their roster (Barron Davis, Marcus Camby, Eric Gordon, Blake Griffin... these are players with talent!).  But teams like Phoenix, Memphis, Sacramento and Charlotte don't even try... they're a lottery team BEFORE October!  Why plunk down hard earned $$ to even watch this crap.

Watching Phoenix dissolve into this garbage is sad.... Screw you Sarver!

Phoenix Mercury's Jersey Sponsorship... The Future of the NBA?

By Craig Kwasniewski

Trying to make ends meet in tough economic times the Phoenix Mercury of the WNBA is putting a sponsor on the front of their jerseys. My first reaction?  Well this is the WNBA, do I care?  No really, do I care????  Of course they need to make money because in this economy the NBA is no longer subsidizing the WNBA and this looks like a last ditch effort to make ends meet in the fledgling women's league.  I get it.

But then I thought about it a little more... every major professional sports league has jersey sponsors except for the big three and a half (hockey of course) in the US.  Times are tough and the league is facing the first salary cap reduction ever and many of the non-playoff teams saw huge drops in attendance.  Television money is maxed out so a good way t make extra revenue is to sell jersey sponsorship.  Major League Soccer was able to pull it off with very little backlash so why not the other sports?  The timing is perfect especially with all the new exposure in places like China and Europe.  The NBA sold literally millions of jerseys in China the past  3 seasons, just imagine the exposure if the jerseys are sponsored.

So really this Mercury thing looks more and more like a test run from the NBA front office.  Let's see what kind of exposure and revenue this generates.  Will the very few WNBA fans fork out the dough and pick up the new jerseys?  Will the Phoenix Mercury be able to survive this season with the extra money?  It's all a test.

The way I see it, this will be a MAJOR bargaining chip in the upcoming CBA.  Will the NBA do revenue sharing or is this a team by team basis?  If so, will this create financial imbalance the likes of the English Premier League?  How much will this be shared with the players?  Will they continue to raise the salary cap?  And most importantly, how will fans react when they see traditional jerseys like the Celtics, Bulls, Knicks and Lakers with say AT&T slapped on the front instead of the team name? 

It works with european soccer leagues but will it sell here with fickle and tradition-happy fans?  Below is Josh Childress's Olympiacos jersey... the future of the NBA?  What do you think?

Monday Morning Point Guard

By Craig Kwasniewski 

Here are a few takes from the past weekend of hoops: 

Does Steve Nash realize he's a defensive sieve?:  How does it go... if you can't pick out the defensive liability in the room, then YOU are the defensive liability...or something like that. Rajon Rondo and later Paul Pierce took turns playing H-O-R-S-E (or is it G-E-I-C-O?) on Steve Nash all Sunday afternoon. Finger rolls, 5-foot runners, 10-foot jump shots... they literally took uncontested shots anywhere on the floor as soon as they noticed Nash was matched up on them. I really would love to see exactly how many points were scored specifically on Nash alone because I saw something like 65 maybe 70. Does it bother the two-time MVP winner that everyone he defends drops a career-high on him?  He's a modest, intelligent and introspective guy, does he understand that he's the worst defensive player on his team? I actually like what he brings to Phoenix and hope he sticks around for a few more seasons, but the Suns need a young defensive-oriented two to help out on defense.  Somewhere at the Glendale, AZ Applebee's is a solemn Terry Porter screaming, "EXACTLY!!!!" 

Question for Pistons Fans: Do you like A.I.? This isn't a rip on Allen Iverson because quite frankly he's one of my favorite ballers of all time. But do Pistons fans blame A.I. for Detroit's sudden collapse? Since the Billups-Iverson trade, the Nuggets are clearly the 3rd best team out West whereas the Pistons long run as a title contender has come to a crashing halt. Are there very audible groans when A.I. puts up the occasional 4-16 night? Or is there a reverence for one of the best players in the past 25 years? Seriously, I'm curious how Detroit feels about watching A.I. on a nightly basis. 

In my opinion, and this is why I do this site, A.I. is just a pawn in the NBA money game. Dumars traded for A.I. to clear up cap space next year and the Pistons are stuck with a terrible coach and a poorly assembled team. This summer makes or breaks Joe D's legacy as a GM. Does he clear even more salary for 2010 or does he make a move (via free agency or trade) that saves the franchise? To me, Pistons fans have to look at the recent track record: drafting Darko, hiring Flip Saunders, hiring Michael Curry, and trading Chauncey... any questions? 

Kobe and the MJ fade-away: Boston Sports Guy pointed it out during one of his 1,312 anti-Kobe rants... Kobe Bryant is developing the same post-up fade-away that MJ lived off from 1996 to 1998. What better time to work on a low-post game than during Bynum's (hopefully not) annual knee injury. The Triangle Offense sets up nicely for it and MJ carried the Bulls to three titles with the virtually unstoppable move. You can see Kobe hasn't completely mastered it but there were a few nice spurts, especially during Friday's OT win against the Hornets. This is the one MJ signature move that Kobe NEEDS in his arsenal if he wishes to play until his late 30's. It conserves energy and is hard to defend, as Jordan showed during the 2 years in D.C. that never existed. 

Larry H. Miller's passing: I never knew the guy, I never attended a Jazz game and I've never been to Salt Lake City, but I feel the NBA lost a HUGE personality when the Jazz's owner Larry Miller died. The league needs to honor a guy that has made a franchise located in Salt Lake City (one of the smallest TV markets in professional sports) one of the most successful in NBA history. I'm not a religious man, but you have to credit a guy for skipping out on a few of the NBA Finals games that *HIS* team was in. Simply reaching the Finals is a rare opportunity and Miller stuck to his religious beliefs and sat out all games on Sunday.  Now THAT is dedication!  I hope for the Jazz fans that the next-in-line (his son?) runs the franchise in the same manner. The NBA needs more owners like Larry Miller. 

I love me some me: Is there anything cooler than seeing your name on the jumbotron? Once a year the Lakers honor their upper deck season ticket holders with a halftime snack (beer, wine, chips and salsa) and a meet and greet with the ticket reps in a private suite. It's a small but very cool gesture and they put your name in lights. Friday's game against New Orleans was my turn and as you can see (and to establish my NBA street cred) I've been a season ticket holder for 10 seasons (BTW - that's not me in the Gasol jersey). 

And finally... 

Rip off Jack Nicholson + Die = Academy Award: Simple math eh? Heath Ledger blatantly rips off Jack Nicholson from The Shining (even down to the tongue thing!) and he's THE GREATEST ACTOR IN THE WORLD! I know this is a hoops blog but does a below average 8 hour long comic book movie really deserve any Academy Awards? Seriously, all this means is that we'll get yet another 321 more comic book movies this summer. YUCK! Heath Ledger was a good actor but TRUST ME, years from now people will react with the same "huh??" as they do now with Marisa Tomei's award from My Cousin Vinny. Oh and Mickey Rourke deserved the Best Actor Oscar!

 

The Suns Remind Me of the 95-96 Knicks

By Craig Kwasniewski

Tell me if this sounds familiar:  a veteran-laden team that was a championship contender for 4 straight seasons, replace their iconic head coach with a completely different philosophy who loses the support of the veterans, gets fired and is replaced by the only assistant holdover from the previous regime.

Back in 1996, Don Nelson replaced Pat Riley, tried to change the slug-it-out-for-48-minutes style into Nellie-ball. Halfway through the season, the veterans realized they couldn't win with Nellie's uptempo style and revolted. Out goes Nelson and in comes Jeff Van Gundy, who brings back the old style with instant success as the Knicks over the eventual 72-win Bulls on national tv. Eventually the Knicks would bow out to the Bulls in the second round in a very competitive five game series. Three seasons later the Knicks are in the 1999 Finals and Van Gundy becomes a Knicks legend.

The same scenario exists in Phoenix. The roster, or more importantly the two best players in Nash and Stat thrive in the up tempo Seven Seconds or Less style. Under Terry Porter, like the Knicks with Nellie, they didn't have the roster to fit his style and became shockingly very average despite having 4 All-Stars, 2 MVP's and 2 first ballot Hall of Famers. Maybe Alvin Gentry can have a similar resurgence as Van Gundy or maybe not, but this change needed to happen. And like the Knicks-Bulls series in 1996 maybe the Suns have one more strong effort against the Spurs this postseason.  The Suns have far too much talent to be sitting outside of the playoff picture and Nash and Shaq don't deserve to end their careers outside looking in.  So props to the Suns front office for correcting their mistake on the fly.

Now it's up to Sarver to keep Stat for two more years.

316 Report: Suns Close the Door on the 7 Seconds Era After Trade

by Craig Kwasniewski

Boris Diaw and Raja Bell for J-Rich... Is that a good deal? Will this save the setting Suns 2008-09 season? How long will Larry Brown put up with Diaw's antics (taking games off, showing up in October out of shape, etc.)? Here are a few quick thoughts on the second trade of the day:

Phoenix Suns - What is the hell are they thinking? The Suns ship off outside shooting and defense in Bell to get an athletic slasher to go along with resident slashers Barnes, Hill and Stat (who is a slashing power forward off the pick and rolls with Nash). So with their biggest weakness being a lack of consistent perimeter shooting, the Suns dump another jump shooter. So OF COURSE load up with another slasher, they already have a very immobile Shaq clogging the lane (for the 50 games he plays) so it makes perfect sense.

And Nash's game of dribbling in, around and through defenses (which is spread out and guarding all the perimeter shooters during the Seven Seconds or Less era) to create open shots, how will he react with defenses packing it in?

During their losing streak to NOLA, the Hornets continually spread the defense with quality three point shooters, creating lanes for CP3 to roam through. Basically beating Phoenix at what used to be their bread and butter. Now the Suns are force feeding this new identity under Terry Porter while half the roster prefers the old one. I can't see this deal working at all.

Charlotte Bobcats - They dump one of their best offensive players for an old Larry Brown guy and a very not so Larry Brown guy. Raja Bell owes his NBA career to LB for finding and starting him back in 2001 with the 76ers. Bell will bring that defensive win-the-right-way mentality that LB is trying to instill in Charlotte. What he lacks in offense Bell will bring in leadership and heart. Boris Diaw is not a Larry Brown guy!!!! He shows up in training camp out of shape, he wanders defensively and takes random games off. What's the over/under before he's in Brown's doghouse? 2 weeks? 24 hours? 7 seconds?

Anyway, if I'm one of the 1,321 Bobcat fans who give a crap, I'm wondering where they're going with this deal. Bell seems more like a final piece to a championship contender and not a starter for a lottery-bound team. Maybe Charlotte was keen on clearing J-Rich off the payroll.

That being said, here are a few notes from the Suns-Lakers game from my seat in Section 316:

Lakers went 2007-08 down the stretch. Phil Jackson, probably tired of blown leads, poor finishes and Vujacic's slump (9 points is the five previous games), went with Gasol, Odom, Kobe, Vujacic and Fisher in the final six minutes. This is, the same lineup the Lakers used down the stretch during their playoff run last season. It worked to perfection as the Lakers held the hot shooting Suns in check and closed out nicely for a 115 - 110 win.

Teams are zoning the crap out of the Lakers. Forget defensive breakdowns, the Lakers biggest problem is their inability to score against zone defenses. You'd think that a team with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and several decent shooters wouldn't have any trouble against a base 2-3 zone but they do. Their perimeter guys are too tentative and keep waiting for Kobe to bail them out. One simple adjustment is putting the sure-handed Gasol in the high post and cutting Odom or Bryant to the hole should open up some easy hoops. Seems very basic, no?

Barnes and Hill kept Phoenix close. Grant Hills gave a good impression of 1997 Grant Hill last night hitting his J's and locking down defensively. Mix in a hot shooting Matt Barnes from beyond the arc and a very short-handed Suns gave the Lakers all they could tonight (a good sign for coach Porter, who almost lost control of the team last week.)

Bynum looks out of shape. There were too many rebounds that rolled by and too much of a tentative offense from Andrew Bymum to have me believe that he's in mid-season shape. Maybe that's also why Jackson benched him down the stretch. Whatever it is he's too young to let a loose rebound roll to Phoenix for an offensive board.

The Suns future. The J-Rich trade seems like the beginning of a few more deals down the road. They're one slasher too many and keen on changing from the 7 Seconds or Less era. Coach Porter survived a potential mutiny last week and shipping Diaw and Bell to NBA hell in Charlotte might ignite a fire to carry them through All-Star break. The "play hard or go to Charlotte" mantra will carry a lot of weight.

Steve Kerr Can Learn a Thing or Two From the Hornets

by Craig Kwasniewski

New Orleans came through with a very impressive 108-95 win at Phoenix last night despite missing Tyson Chandler and losing Peja Stojakovic early in the second half.

The Suns were obviously gassed from Wednesday's win over San Antonio as they didn't match the energy or effort of the Hornets and opened trailing 14-2 at home. But that wasn't the real reason why the Suns lost nor was it Chris Paul shouldering the offensive load down the stretch nor was it all those UGLY turnovers by the Suns (which seems to be their new calling sign in the Shaq era).

What really lost the game was the 1-4 set that New Orleans ran in the last half of the 4th quarter. David West comes over at the top of the key to set a pick on CP3, freeing him up to do one of the following:

1 - Hit West for a pick and roll dunk.
2 - Hit Rashual Butler in the corner for a three.
3 - Hit Mo Pete in the other corner for a three.
4 - Dribble to the right a little and sit back as the defense rotates over to close off the lane… and then hit James Posey for top of the key three.

As long is the threes are falling, there's no way to stop that. And Butler and Posey hit EVERY SINGLE SHOT last night.

The funny thing is that the Hornets crunch time set was straight out of the Phoenix Suns circa 2006. And that's the difference between teams... the Suns no longer have consistent deep threats. This is where Steve Kerr dropped the ball. They need 3 or 4 guys who can stretch the defense and allow Stat and/or Shaq to roam the lane off pick and rolls with Nash. Instead, the defense can collapse and dare the likes of Grant Hill, Matt Barnes, Leandro Barbosa and Raja Bell to hit from three… which they can't. (BTW - This is also why the Lakers start Radmanovic over Odom, he's consistent enough from the perimeter that defenses can't just camp out in the lane.)

It's a little surprising to see a GM that earned his rings as a perimeter jump shooter completely ignore that aspect of the Suns roster. Does he always want to be the HORSE champ after practice? Does he still think he has a shot at player/GM with the Suns? The Hornets are LOADED with perimeter shooters, playing to CP3's strength of breaking down defenses and finding the open man... again much like Nash has been doing his entire career. But he can't do it with this roster.

Fun With The Phoenix Suns

by Brett Edwards

Thanks to the awesome people in the Suns' Communications Department, I've been spending a lot of time covering the team this pre-season for AOL Sports and FanHouse. This is nothing more than a link dump to those posts, so if you've seen my work there already, feel free to mark this as "read" in your RSS reader.

Referees Need Preseason Games Too

Steve Nash's Thoughts on the Suns Playing a Preseason Game Outdoors


Some Words With Hawks Coach Mike Woodson

NBA Hair Watch: Boris Diaw Is Growin' It Out

Amare Stoudemire Says Suns Are Ready to 'Mean Mug' This Year

Apparently, Sam Smith Asks Shaq the Same Questions Every Year

New Suns' Coach Terry Porter Discusses the Upcoming Season

Video: Steve Nash's Thoughts on Baron Davis' New Diet Plan

Apparently, Shaq Still Hates Kobe

by Brett Edwards

Although we at The Association are firmly Kobe people, this video of Shaq busting a freestyle rap on the reigning MVP is way too funny not to post. I believe "tell me how my ass tastes" is now the official catch phrase for the rest of 2008, and I fully expect Obama to roll that one out when he's elected President this fall.

Kobe Almost Waited Too Long to Rally the Lakers

By Craig Kwasniewski

I got home from Staples Center 3 hours ago and I'm still buzzing from game. It's an incredible feat that the Lakers rallied from down 20 against the defending champs in any case, but to happen in Game 1 of the Western Conference Finals... it's just another chapter in this great rivalry.

Anyway, was it fatigue from extended airline issues or the emotional Game 7 win on Monday that aided in the Lakers rally? Did the extended rest along with the early start (the stadium was half-full at tip because of LA Traffic) throw the Lakers off and allow the lead? Definitely yes to all of those. Here are some other thoughts from what I saw in my seat in Section 316 (bear in mind I'm a little drained):

Down 20, I thought Kobe waited too long to take over. Here's a text that I sent my friend Matt at Basketbawful as the Spurs took a 20-point lead with less than six minutes left in the third quarter:

Kobe lost this game by not setting an aggressive tone. No excuses in playing possum. Game 1 is all about sending a message and the Lakers failed miserably in that. I wish I could change the channel.

I really felt that the Lakers needed to open Game 1 with a similar flurry as they did with Utah. The Spurs were weary from a long series against NOLA and I figured the Lakers would roll. Instead, Kobe opened the first half in full-blown facilitator mode. Four minutes into the game it was quite obvious that both Odom and Fisher were still in Salt Lake City and Kobe needed to become aggressive to get the Lakers out of their funk. Instead, he continued to play facilitator until the 8-minute mark in the third quarter. They won, but it might have been a lot easier.

Is it too early to block-quote myself? Of course not! Here's what I wrote about Manu Ginobili yesterday:

Spurs fans can claim Manu Ginobili as their postseason savior but as he's continually proven in his playoff career he's still very inconsistent. He'll kill the Lakers for a few W's, but not for an entire 7-game series.

Well, Manu was a non-factor with 10 points while shooting 3-13 from the field. But Spurs Nation need not fear, I fully expect Manu to return with a 20-plus effort on Friday.

Speaking of no-shows, where were Odom and Fisher? Seriously what the hell happened to Lamar Odom last night? This is what continues to plague his career. For every brilliant 18 and 14 game with excellent defense he comes back with a stinker like last night. The Spurs defense never allowed him a lane to the bucket and his frustration translated on defense with several dumb fouls (like the And-1 against Oberto). He's always due for a thoroughly crappy game in every series, but unlike Ginobili, I'm not sure he'll be better in Game 2. He even had trouble against the older and shorter Michael Finley. The Lakers can't beat the Spurs with Odom in 2002 Sacramento Kings mode.

After being the difference-maker in the Utah series (the Lakers won every game that he was not in foul trouble), I was stunned by Derek Fisher's disappearing act. Tony Parker thoroughly killed him, blowing by him and scoring at will. And he was worse on offense, going 1-9 from the field killing several fast breaks along the way. At least Jordan Farmar's quick hands and feet allowed him to stick with Parker.

What happens next for the Spurs? Any other team in the league (especially the Suns) would have a major letdown after blowing such a huge lead. But as long as Greg Popovich is running the show, I see a more determined Spurs for Game 2. I expect the them to space the floor out on offense and open lanes for Manu Ginobili to create or get to the freethrow line. I don't see too many line-up changes...yet (they'll start Thomas in Game 3 just to make the series more physical).

What happens next for the Lakers?Will the Lakers learn from Game 1 and bring a playoff effort at the start or will they believe that no lead is insurmountable and trail most of the way? The latter would be true in the Shaq-Kobe era, but I think these Lakers will come out strong from the get-go. Odom will try to open aggressively going for his 4 dunks (his theory this post season is that he needs 4 dunks a game to be effective). If Fisher continues to struggle against Parker, I expect Farmar to get more minutes. But Lamar Odom will be the key for Game 2 as he needs to counter the expected scoring from Ginobili and the expected drop-off from Radmanovic.

The Bynum surgery. Just a quick thought on Andrew Bynum's arthroscopic knee surgery yesterday... what took the Lakers so long? The guy's been out of action since January and *NOW* he has surgery? Come on!

I HATE American Idol: And finally, since I'm not a fat woman or gay I could care less about that damn show. After last night, I hate the show even more! Across the street at the Nokia Center were the American Idol Finals and traffic all over downtown LA was absolutely terrible. Mix in the early start and the game lacked a playoff atmosphere at tip-off.