The trade that makes too much sense

Jason Kidd officially said he wants out. So what that everyone knew that already. It'd be like Brittney Spears officially announcing to TMZ that indeed, she is completely insane. This gives us a chance to discuss how the Lakers could obtain Kidd and puts some more pressure on the Nets to actually entertain Laker offers for Kidd -- if those offers are being made by that genius we call Mitch Kupchak.
Anyways, after just five minutes of playing with the NBA Trade Machine, here's what I conjured up. It seems like this trade makes too much sense for both teams.

The Lakers get: Jason Kidd ($19.7 million per year, 2 years left) and Jason Collins ($6.1 million, 2 years left)
The Nets get: Lamar Odom ($13.2 million, 2 years left) Kwame Brown ($9.1 million, 1 year left), and Jordan Farmar ($1 million, 2 years left)

Let's start with the Nets. They get a terrific up and coming point guard in Farmar who has proven he can play at an elite level. Farmar is 14th among all point guards in PER even ahead of Kidd.

He's shooting 49 percent from the field, 40 percent from 3-point range, and averaging 10 points a game in just 21 minutes.

The Nets also get a expiring contract (Brown), who creates $9 million dollars in cap space.
And they get Lamar Odom, a tradeable commodity who can play a multiple positions. Sure, the Nets already have Richard Jefferson and Vince Carter, but it's not like they're gearing up to the win the title this year. It's time to break up the Nets. They have a new general manager in place and he's going to want to put his own stamp on the organization. In the meantime, they can stick Odom at the 4 and go small with Odom, Carter, Jefferson, Farmar/Marcus Williams and Kwame/Josh Boone.

Eventually they can throw Odom and likely Carter, who's gonna want to leave soon in a deal to get a legitimate post player.

In the meantime, the Lakers get a second star next to Kobe and more importantly, a star that won't take shots away from him. Once Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza come back, the Lakers would have Kidd, Kobe, Ariza, Ronny Turiaf and Bynum with Derek Fisher coming off the bench. If they want to go small, they could put Kobe at the 3 and put Fisher in with Kidd in the backcourt, sending Turiaf to the bench.

Jason Collins makes sense because it gives the Lakers a backup big man who's good in the locker room, a local kid (went to Harvard Westlake), and can play defense. The Nets don't want him because he makes $6 million a year, averages 1 point a game, and they have a nucleus of young big men (Boone, Nenad Krstic, Sean Williams).

Of course the two teams discussed as possible trading partners thus far have been Dallas and Denver. According to Mark Heisler of the LA Times, sources say the Lakers "are not expected to be a player" in the deal. Heisler also said Phil Jackson is thought to be skeptical of the deal.
That's likely because Jackson's triangle offense is a no point guard offense.

As a man named Habil once said. Go figure.

The Lakers snap three game losing streak: Thanks to 20 points from Sasha Vujacic and a near triple double from Kobe, the Lakers fended off the Knicks despite playing no defense, 120-109.

Lebron vs. Kobe

Lebron owns Kobe says Paul Oberjuerge of the Daily News. Here are a few of the stats to back it up:

In the past three games, Lebron:

• has outscored Kobe 111-87
• out shot him 49.4 percent to 41.5
• has won all three games, and the two before that as well

Love for Ronny:

Ronny Turiaf was listed on John Hollinger's list of the top 15 sleeper players in the NBA.

Must read: Jerramy Stevens is lower than scum. It's a little bit long, but Stevens makes Michael Vick look like a choir boy.

More shocking revelations: Remember the must read story I posted last Thursday I called the saddest story I've read in a long time? Well, apparently there's more to the story. The coach who lost his ex-wife and son in a murder suicide is now being accused of sexual contact with a minor.

In case girls basketball interests you: Here's my Daily News article on Oaks Christian, who's coached by former CSUN star Andre Chevalier.

As always, an updated Lakers +/- (through 43 games) Lakers: 28-15 5th in West

Fisher +131
Kobe +267
Turiaf +50
Odom +131
Mihm -16
Walton +121
Bynum +236
Farmar +118
Radmanovic +134
Brown -35
Vujacic +48
Crittenton -40
Karl +4
Ariza +5
Mbenga +2

Up Next: at Detroit Thursday 4:30 p.m. PST KCAL

Sportscenter giving love to the Sentra

On Sportscenter's top plays the other night, No. 1 was a highlight of a student at Providence making a halfcourt shot to win a car. Here's how the anchors described the action:

John Anderson: "Tell him what he's won!"
Steve Levy: "A Mercedes?"
Anderson: "No, a Nissan Sentra. Not bad. It's wheels. You're a college kid. Chics dig that."

Arizona basketball is like the Sentra right now. It's not always reliable but it's effective and gets the job done. That is when it's clicking on all cylinders. And of course chics dig Arizona basketball, or at least Arizona basketball players.

Jerryd Bayless doesn't think he's 100 percent right health wise, but he sure is playing like he's 100 percent.
Bayless is averaging 24.3 points, and 5.6 assists in his last three games. He's also shooting 58 percent from the field and is 19-20 from the free throw line in that span. The common denominator. All three have been Arizona wins, including an upset of then No. 6 Washington State and a beating of Washington in which Bayless shot 9-11 from the field.

The Wildcats went from 1-3 in the Pac-10 to 4-3 and a tie for fourth with ASU.

Up next: at USC Thursday 7:30 p.m. FSN

Chics aren't digging the Lakers right now and neither am I for that matter. They've lost four of five and Kobe feels like he has to score. Although he scored his 40 points on just 17 shots against the Mavs, the ball movement has slowed to a standstill. And for some reason, the Lakers just can't shake the Cavs and Lebron. Phil Jackson is 1-5 against Cavs coach Mike Brown.

Kobe says he's not worried but the Lakers were 1st in the West just 12 days ago and are now sputtering. After Tuesday's game against the Knicks, they start their nine game Grammys road trip.

It would be nice if the Lakers would actually shoot with nine seconds left and a three point deficit, rather than take a shot when time had already expired. Running a pick and roll when you know the Cavs would trap Kobe probably isn't the smartest thing Phil has done in his coaching career.

Having Luke Walton in the game isn't either. That $30 million deal he received before the year is looking worse and worse. Not only was he not ready to shoot when he caught the ball with two seconds left but judging from the fact that he's attempted three 3-pointers in his last seven games and has made a total of 0, it's not likely a contested three at the buzzer would have had much chance of going in anyway.

Trevor Ariza would have helped too. Instead of Walton holding Lebron to 39 points, Ariza would have been his primary defender and would have at least made it more difficult for the Chosen One.

Also I now feel old because the Kobe Bryant/Eddie Jones matchup on Friday night reminded me of first watching Jones as a rookie and the battles he had with Kobe at practice. He's now 36 years old. Thirty Six. Wow. The veterans in the game were Jones and Fisher, two Lakers I clearly remember being drafted, and now they are nearing the end of their careers.

Chim in the LA Times:
Clippers beat writer Jonathan Abrams discussed the Clippers crowd at the end of his article about the Clippers/Grizzlies game and threw in some stuff from my buddy John Champ.
Champ was the one screaming "that can't be 45."

"The crowd of 11,072 was so sparse that the loudest cheers came from a contingent of three Clippers fans a couple of rows behind their bench.

And how quiet was it, on '70s Night here, no less?

They yelled out Dunleavy's play numbers after he did, just in case a player didn't hear it. When Dunleavy called "45," which resulted in a ball lost out of bounds, one screamed in agony: "That can't be 45."

The Clippers previous road win came against the Grizzlies (13-31), more than a month ago, 98-91."

I have only one favorite team in every sport. I'm very strict about this rule. You can't have a strong vested interest in another team because when you're two favorite teams play each other, some kind of doubt or confusion, even at a small level will kick in. But that doesn't mean I don't enjoy watching other teams play. This year my second favorite team is quickly becoming the Portland Trailblazers. The same Blazers who used to be my most despised team. The team with Rasheed Wallace and Damon Stoudamire and a bunch of thugs disguised as basketball players.

But this Blazers team is different. Forget their recent success or their long winning streak. I still don't think they will make the playoffs ahead of teams like the Jazz and the Rockets. But this is a team who's legitimately humble, enjoys playing the game, and has actual good chemistry. Check out the Oregonian's blog about just how fun these guys are to be around.

Help Rudy Gay withe dunk contest: The Memphis Grizzlies forward is asking people to send in videos to help him get ideas.
So go out there, lower your backyard hoop to 7 feet, grab your video camera, and get started.

Check it out: My Daily News article on Cal State Northridge, which is now 6-0 in the Big West, and its blowout win over Long Beach State.

As always, an updated Lakers +/- (through 42 games) Lakers: 27-15 6th in West

Fisher +140
Kobe +260
Turiaf +59
Odom +121
Mihm -16
Walton +115
Bynum +236
Farmar +101
Radmanovic +140
Brown -61
Vujacic +31
Crittenton -38
Karl +4
Ariza +5
Mbenga +5

Up Next: vs New York Tuesday 7:30 p.m. PST FSN

Lakers face crucial upcoming stretch

There's little use in delving into the details of the Lakers/Spurs game last night. Like Tim Duncan said in his postgame comments, "It was a tale of two halves." The Lakers played well in the first half, then did the opposite in the second half, and lost 103-91 in what the LA Times called missing a great chance. Kobe let the game come to him in the first, then forced shots in the second. Kwame Brown was Kwame Brown, aka really bad, aka a team low -23. Ronny Turiaf was Ronny Turiaf, aka energetic, efficient, and effective, aka a team high +13. Phil Jackson was Phil Jackson, aka oblivious to the above stat.

The main topic of discussion should be the Lakers upcoming schedule. In the span of about a week, the Lakers went from being first in the West to 6th in the West. That's how wide open the conference is. The top 10 teams are separated by a total of 6 1/2 games. The top five teams are within 1 1/2 games of each other. So what does that all mean?

If the Lakers go on even a small losing streak, they can not only fall out of a good playoff spot, they can actually fall out of the playoffs completely. Even with how well they've been playing early in the season. The Jazz who are currently 24-18, and are out of the playoffs in the West would be the No. 4 seed in the East.

The Lakers play at Dallas, a Cleveland team that always gives the Lakers fits, the Knicks, and then at Detroit, before going on a 9 game roadtrip. The good part is most of the games are against the weak East and the Lakers have actually been good on the road, 11-7. But there is no doubt about it, this stretch will be crucial to make sure the Lakers don't suffer the same fate as last season.

Have you noticed Lamar Odom is becoming the enforcer? He committed several hard fouls last night including one in the final minute and a half when he decked Tony Parker. And I mean decked. You could argue, upon watching the replay that he was a.) not going for the ball and b.) intentionally trying to send a message.
Odom also decked Ray Allen in the loss to the Celtics, inexplicably. But that's what I like to see. The Lakers could use that kind of toughness. Some might think it's a cheap shot, but in the 80s it was commonplace. It's like the shot that Robert Horry took on Steve Nash in the playoffs last season, and completely changed that serious around because the Suns overreacted.

So nice, we'll do it twice: In the latest bracketology, Arizona is projected to be a No. 8 seed and face Purdue. Or in other words, exactly repeat last season.

How good is the Pac-10? Ten of the first 33 picks in the 2008 NBA draft are projected to be Pac-10 players, by NBAdraft.net. That's almost 1/3 of the draftees, in one 10 team league. All the other five major conferences have 14 combined.

In all 15 Pac-10 players are projected to be drafted. The only thing scarier about the Pac-10 is next year's potential draft class. NBAdraft.net expects 5 of the top 13 players in the 2009 draft to be Pac-10 guys.

Did you know? That in the last 18 seasons, the Western Conference has had the No. 1 pick only five times. And one of those times was the Clippers selecting Michael Olowokandi, so that doesn't really count. So how come the East has been so consistently bad for a decade?

You know its bad when Clippers make fun of the Knicks:

"I would only make deals to help our future -- anything else is suicide. Anything else and you become the New York Knicks. Now if you want to do that and take on big contracts and long-term deals to potentially hit a home run or get some kind of turnaround, that's not the direction I would go as a businessman or if I owned the team."

--Mike Dunleavy Sr.

This will be the only time I ever talk about tennis:

But I had to post this because I wish all or at least most top athletes would act and talk like this. In today's age of athletics, James Blake is a breath of fresh air.

The following is part of an answer Blake gave to a reporter who asked how much he will regret never getting past a Grand Slam Quarterfinal.

"I think I still have a newspaper clipping of when I was about 12 or 13 years old, when I was -- I think I was the Athlete of the Week in the Connecticut Post. It said in there that my dream is to play in the U.S. Open. Not to win a round, not to get to the second week, not to win, it was just to play in it. I've surpassed that a little bit now.

A lot of people would think that every time this happens it seems normal to me now. Every time I walk out on Arthur Ashe Stadium it doesn't seem normal. It seems like I'm still living a dream. I'm so happy and proud to be there. I know how much sacrifice has gone into it and how hard I've worked. I don't ever want to lose that feeling of it being abnormal. I know how abnormal my job is. I know how surreal my life is. I know how lucky I am to be here."

Must read: This is the saddest story I've read in a long time.

As always, an updated Lakers +/- (through 40 games) Lakers: 27-13, 6th in West

Fisher +145
Kobe +258
Turiaf +71
Odom +135
Mihm -16
Walton +121
Bynum +236
Farmar +119
Radmanovic +144
Brown -57
Vujacic +27
Crittenton -38
Karl +4
Ariza +5
Mbenga -2

Up Next: at Dallas Friday 5:30 p.m. PST KCAL

Lakers win, Kwame doesn't cry

For anyone who thinks Kwame Brown answered his critics and played better against the Denver Nuggets, you are completely and utterly wrong. The Lakers won DESPITE Kwame.

TNT sideline reporter Cheryl Miller tried to confuse everyone with her "you guys really tried to get the ball to Kwame?" questions, and even though Kwame ended with 11 rebounds and just two turnovers, he continued to be ineffective. The +/- ratio is not always telling of what happened in a game, but in this case it does. Out of the 8 guys who played over 23 minutes, only two had a minus rating. Kwame and Luke Walton, both of whom stunk up the joint, played little to no defense and couldn't make an offensive move unless defenders were out of sight.

Kwame was -14. Walton was -7. On the other hand, Ronny Turiaf who came off the bench was +30. Kobe, who had a season high 11 assists was +21.

I guess the best part was that Kobe and company is enough to offset the destruction of Kwame and the absence of Andrew Bynum.

Kwame Kares

Kwame Brown apologized to his teammates for the way he reacted to the booing during Thursday's game against the Suns in which he had seven turnovers and eight points. He really should apologize to the fans, though, for his continued poor effort. Catching the ball is something you learn when you're five years old. I would rarely if ever boo a player on the Lakers, but there are times like Thursday when booing is warranted. Kwame is a grown man. He's 25 years old and he's in his 7th season in the NBA. This sensitivity issue that he has is childish.

"Once i started getting booed, I started playing hot potato with the ball," Brown said, according to the LA Daily News. "

Apparently there's two things Kwame failed to learn in school. Catching and acting appropriately when criticized (i.e., not crying).

Anyways, here are the only times fans should be allowed to boo a player on their own team:

1. If it's obvious the player is giving much less than full effort. I'm talking to the point where the only time he dives for a loose ball is when there's a gun to his head. I'm talking Vince Carter type effort in Toronto.

2. If the player criticized or made any derogatory statements, toward the home fans or the home city.

3. If the player commits a heinous crime (i.e. killing dogs) and then tries to make a mockery of the justice system by smoking weed before he goes to trial, even though the judge told him not to do drugs.

4. If the player says he's holding out for a larger contract because he has to feed his family.

5. If the player is named J.D. Drew.

6. If the player signs a huge contract in the offseason and then shows up completely out of shape to start the season, resembling Tractor Traylor or Stanley Roberts. Sometimes you see the player munching down at the buffet while the rest of the team is warming up.

7. If a player turns the ball on 23% of his possessions, according to John Hollinger's stats. (That would be Kwame Brown.)

Trade Kwame but not for him

ESPN's Chad Ford suggested the following as one of the trades the Knicks could make to fix their squad. While the trade makes sense for the Knicks let's hope the Lakers aren't dumb enough to pull the trigger.

In exchange for Eddy Curry, "The Lakers could also put together a deal that included Kwame Brown's expiring contract and one or two of their young players like Jordan Farmar, Javaris Crittenton and/or Trevor Ariza."

I would show you what this trade looks like on the trade machine but Ariza can't be traded with another player until two months after he was originally traded to the Lakers, per NBA rules.

Anyways, the worst part about this deal is Eddy Curry's salary which still has two years left on it following this season with over $9 million in each of the two seasons.

The second worst part is Eddy Curry is a fat underachiever. The only thing he'd be good at is being fodder for Phil Jackson's jokes. So you trade one year fodder (Kwame) for two more years of fodder.

Third, Curry would have to be a back up center once Andrew Bynum comes back because you can't play the two of them together, or you'd get beat down the court on every possession. So you'd be paying huge money to a backup center and the Lakers haven't been that dumb since Sean Rooks.

Fourth, you'd be giving up good, young, and inexpensive players in Ariza and Crittenton/Farmar, and that would make little sense.

All this for a 7-footer who averages 5 rebounds per game in 28 minutes.

What does the DJ in DJ Mbenga stand for?
Trevor Ariza is out for 8 weeks, Lakers sign DJ Mbenga to a 10 day contract.

Trivia answer: Not sure where the J in DJ comes from, but his full name is Didier Ilunga Mbenga. Good times.

No Joke

From the NBDL: "Keith Closs, whose height and shot-blocking potential got him a five-year, $8.5 million contract from the Los Angeles Clippers back in 1997, is coming off the bench for Tulsa (and he now stands 7-5 if you include his blown-out afro)."

He also gets his ass beat in this infamous youtube video.

As always, an updated Lakers +/- (through 39 games) Lakers: 27-12, 3rd in West

Fisher +154
Kobe +270
Turiaf +58
Odom +153
Mihm -16
Walton +122
Bynum +236
Farmar +122
Radmanovic +144
Brown -34
Vujacic +32
Crittenton -38
Karl +4
Ariza +5

Up Next: at San Antonio Wednesday 6:00 p.m. PST ESPN

Arizona's still not good, Just Saying

How does Nic Wise play half as many minutes (19) and outrebound Jordan Hill (38) 7-3?
Yes, the Wildcats won 79-75. Whew. But I'm just saying. This is certainly a troubling time for Arizona basketball.

With people, aka message boards, already calling for Kevin O'Neill's head, this was as close to must win as Arizona has had. If Jerryd Bayless and Chase Budinger play well, the Wildcats are hard to stop. They combined for 45 points. But they have to play well or else Arizona loses.

That's the key to every game.

You know how announcers always have their keys to the game before tipoff, listing things like "win the battle of the boards," or "play tough defense."
Well for Arizona, they need to scrap any keys to the game except this one: Bayless and Budinger must both have good games or don't bother playing the game (unless they're playing Oregon State).

The Wildcats (12-6, 2-3) have 13 regular season games left. Their streak of 20 win seasons, currently at 20 is in minor jeopardy. If we add a guaranteed Pac-10 tournament game and a not guaranteed NCAA tournament game, that would make 15 games. Arizona would have to go 8-7 in those games, assuming they lose in each tournament. That would mean having to go 8-5 in the regular season. Now UCLA still looms twice, as does Washington State. Let's say that's four losses right there. Games at USC, at Oregon, and at Washington aren't going to be easy either. There's a legitimate chance Arizona not only snaps that streak but also that it doesn't finish above .500 in the Pac-10.

Up next: vs. Washington State Thursday 5:30 p.m. PST FSNAZ

Buller's new favorite player: Meet Deron Washington. He plays for Virginia Tech, he's a great dunker with jams like this one and these three and plays like this one and he kicks people in the nuts.

Shout out to T-Mac: McGrady earned a lot of respect from me after he discussed how his perspective on life has changed following his trip to Darfur (I wrote about this in an earlier blog) and that respect is only growing after this week:
From ESPN.com, "McGrady, who made the rare admission this week that he'd forfeit his starting spot if the rules in place allowed him to because "there's other guys definitely having better seasons than me."

Now only if only every guy who doesn't deserve to start an all star game would do this.

This will probably be the only time I ever discuss hockey, but I have to: This is the sickest hockey goal I have EVER seen.
Make sure you watch the instant replay.

A new nickname for Marcus Camby:

UCSBChampers (10:53:05 PM): u see cambys line
Baller 11 15 21 (10:53:11 PM): tonight?
UCSBChampers (10:53:13 PM): yea
UCSBChampers (10:53:18 PM): 24 boards
UCSBChampers (10:53:21 PM): 11 blocks
UCSBChampers (10:53:31 PM): nuff said
Baller 11 15 21 (10:53:56 PM): jezzus
UCSBChampers (10:54:34 PM): he likes them boards
Baller 11 15 21 (10:54:51 PM): just blocks and boards...like hes building a house
Baller 11 15 21 (10:54:55 PM): hes a construction worker
UCSBChampers (10:54:58 PM): haha

Baller 11 15 21 (10:58:03 PM): fucked up

Baller 11 15 21 (10:58:05 PM): but lol

Baller 11 15 21 (10:58:33 PM): thats camby new nickname. the construction worker

The King of Suck

Who would have thought at the beginning of the year, that we'd be saying, "Man, we need Andrew Bynum back desperately."

It's not just the absence of Bynum though. It's the presence of Kwame Brown. It's like having a great professor and then having that professor leave and be replaced by a professor who's not only bad but is teaching the wrong information.

Here is Kwame's play by play during the first 5 minutes of the third quarter in the Lakers 106-98 loss to the Suns. If you don't believe me, check the actual play by play. The Lakers were -6 during that stretch.

11:40 Commits foul
11:22 loses ball (turnover)
10:32 misses one of two free throws
10:03 called for traveling
9:37 misses dunk
9:10 loses ball (turnover)
8:18 misses layup
7:52 throws away pass (turnover)
7:16 commits foul

There was not one point in that stretch where did something positive. Not one.

Kwame's final stat line: 8 points, 7 turnovers, 0 assists, 0 blocks, -17

Check out Kwame's layup drill. It's hilarious.

greenmachineAZ (10:07:51 PM): Kwame Brown is the Smush Parker of centers

greenmachineAZ (10:07:55 PM): would that be a fair assessment?

romoballa (10:08:18 PM): that's being mean to smush parker

greenmachineAZ (10:08:30 PM): is it?

greenmachineAZ (10:08:33 PM): I mean

greenmachineAZ (10:08:44 PM): they are both probably the worst in the league at their respective positions

Kwame's a winner: In the Sports Illustrated Players' Poll this week, the question asked which player gets the least out of the most talent?
The winner: None other than Kwame Brown with 17% of the vote. The next four were Tim Thomas 10%, Eddy Curry 7%, Vince Carter 6%, and Dark Milicic 5%.

The Lakers shot just 38 percent, partly because they had only five assists in the first half. The triangle looked more like a rectangle and the defense allowed the Suns to shoot 52, 50, 81. Field goal, 3-point and free throw percentage.

As always, an updated Lakers +/- (through 38 games) Lakers: 26-12, 3rd in West

Fisher +149
Kobe +249
Turiaf +28
Odom +133
Mihm -16
Walton +129
Bynum +236
Farmar +94
Radmanovic +144
Brown -20
Vujacic +22
Crittenton -31
Karl +5
Ariza +5

Up Next: vs. Denver Monday 7:30 p.m. PST TNT

Arizona not quite as bad as Kwame: But the Wildcats are now 1-3 in the Pac-10 and hurting. Even Jerryd Bayless couldn't save Arizona from shooting 37.5% in a 56-52 loss to Stanford.
It's not often an Arizona team scores just 52 points. When your senior leader (Jawann McClellan) scores 0 points though, it's not a surprise the offense is struggling.

Up Next: at California Saturday 5 p.m. PST FSNAZ

Kurt Rambis talks triangle: An interesting Q&A with Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis on True Hoop. Rambis discusses what the Lakers try to accomplish in the triangle offense and how it differs from other offenses. Here's an excerpt.

True Hoop: If I'm a fan watching on TV, how can I tell if the triangle is "working?" How can I tell if you're running it well?
Rambis: Any time you see that ball is not being dribbled a lot in the half-court set, it's probably working. If you see the ball being moved around, and players making their respective cuts, those are good signs.
That said, within the triangle, you can do almost anything that you see other teams do, whether it's a high screen and roll or a wing screen and roll.
You can do all that within the triangle. We can do it, however, without yelling out "FIST UP, FIST UP!" and then the opposing coach is screaming to his players "HIGH SCREEN AND ROLL!"
We can get into a high screen and roll through the reactions of our players.

In preparation for tonight's AZ game

A classic line from ESPNClassic: I was watching the 2004 Arizona/Stanford game on the Classic and caught this statement from Dick Vitale.
Vitale: "Lute Olson was telling me today, he was raving about a kid Daniel Dillon who he can't wait to get from Australia."

That Arizona collapse by the way, doesn't get any easier to watch. Maybe it was a precursor to the Illinois debacle. Damn you Nick Robinson.


Three high school recruits who committed to Arizona have changed their minds and given verbals to ASU. All three were four star recruits and one, Ryan Bass will reportedly head ASU's 2008 class. I can't possibly imagine what kind of spin Mike Stoops puts on this disaster. It's distressing to hear any recruit backing out of his verbal, but it's a lot more distressing to hear they've signed with the Sun Devils. I have trouble fathoming how Stoops will save his job this year considering the majority of last season's defense is gone and his recruiting prowess has taken a hit. His pride, I'm sure has taken a hit as well after the recent developments.

The Wildcats did nab a 335 pound lineman from St. Bonaventure (Ventura) High School. The problem is he's a 3-star recruit and most websites list him at 360, which could either be a good thing or a bad thing.

According to this ESPN column, Bobby Petrino is an evil, evil man and should not be around your kids. Memo to young coaches, don't be like this guy.

Roman Veytsman... E-S-P-N

That was my best Rachel Nichols impression. As many of you know I was in Bristol on Sunday and Monday and unfortunately, I didn't get to see her during my time on the ESPN campus. I did briefly see Stacy Dales and the bearded guy from Dream Job, whose name I just found out is Al Jaffe.

Anyways, I didn't miss either of the Laker games thanks to a New York bar and tivo. I was able to catch the thrilling Sonics/Lakers game over drinks at a place called Tonic on 3rd avenue in Manhattan. By the way, all New York bars look exactly the same to me. They're narrow and long, and by contrast to the rest of the country relatively small.

The great thing about the East coast bar scene is that you can watch games while you're out drinking. Now of course you can do that on the West Coast also, but if you head to the bars at 7 p.m. and continue drinking till close, you are what they call an alcoholic. I got to the bar at 10 and was able to watch the entire game, yell at the television, and be in the company of sports fans. That's an atmosphere the West Coast doesn't quite have. Of course having your sports day start at 7 p.m. and not 4, makes those three hours much harder to deal with. Also having the Pepperdine/Gonzaga start at midnight isn't all that appealing unless you are an insomniac.

Speaking of insomniacs, I'm going to have trouble sleeping because the Lakers without Andrew Bynum look scary. Here's why:

1. In two games against the West's hungry and downtrodden, the Grizzlies and the Sonics, the Lakers won by a combined three points and one of the games took overtime.
2. Kobe took a combined 69 shots and looked like he was back in the gunslinger/"give me the ball and get the fuck out of the way" mentality.
3. Kwame Brown is now starting at center. Need I say more?
4. Bynum's injury came at almost the exact time the Lakers began to fall apart last year. That Lakers team was 26-13. This one is 26-11 and first in the West. Yeah, that's not a typo, the Lakers are FIRST in the West.
5. The Lakers upcoming schedule looks like this: Phoenix, Denver, at Spurs, at Dallas, Cleveland, Knicks, at Detroit. The Pistons game is the start of a 9 game roadtrip and 12 out of 13 games on the road.

Let's just hope Kobe is not demanding a trade after that stretch, Bynum isn't making cell phone videos about Kobe, and Ric Bucher isn't back on ESPN with a new tan claiming we'll never see Kobe in a Laker uniform again.

College Hoops at its finest
I watched an Illinois/Wisconsin basketball game from 2003 on ESPN classic the other day and was stunned to see how many NBA players were on the floor. The Illini were ranked No. 14 and the Badgers were No. 24. Illinois had Dee Brown, Deron Williams, Luther Head, Brian Cook, and James Augustine. Wisconsin had Devin Harris and Alando Tucker, but their best player was Kirk Penney, who averaged 16 points, 6 rebounds and 3 assists that season.
Deron Williams, in his freshman season was the 8th leading scorer on his team.

As always, an updated Lakers +/- (through 37 games) Lakers: 26-11, 1st in West

Fisher +160
Kobe +257
Turiaf +24
Odom +136
Mihm -16
Walton +140
Bynum +236
Farmar +91
Radmanovic +144
Brown -3
Vujacic +13
Crittenton -24
Karl +5
Ariza +4

Up Next: vs. Phoenix Thursday 7:30 p.m. PST TNT

Must read: My front page Daily News article on then rise of Cal State Northridge basketball

Bayless is More

You think Arizona's a slightly different team with Jerryd Bayless in the lineup, huh?

Here's an actual conversation from the ESPN crew announcing the game:

Brad Nessler: "There's nothing less about the Bayless part."
Jimmy Dykes: "Oh my!"
Nessler: "Should be Bay- More instead of Bayless, he just keeps giving us more."

Indeed, Bayless was in a giving mood. He had a career high 33 in an 85-71 road win over a very good Houston team.
He made the same amount of free throws, 18, as the entire Houston team. He led an offense that shot 61 percent from the field. He attacked the rim, he made 3-pointers, and he proved that a Bayless led Arizona team is a hell of a lot different than a Bay-less team. Without him, the Wildcats went 1-3. Without him, they're not a tournament team.

It's good to have him back.

Lute Olson speaks: Olson says he's seen every Arizona game but has no comment on divorce.
Up next: at Stanford Thursday 8:30 PST FSN

287 Washington State's strength of schedule, worse than Cal State Northridge, who was actually on ESPN's Bubble watch.

The Lake Show

The Lakers are 8-1 when Kobe scores less than 20. But they're 11-2 when he scores 30 or more, and that's a lot more fun to watch. He had 37 in a 110-105 win over the Milwaukee Bucks. Andrew Bynum added a career high 17 rebounds to go with 25 points in what's becoming a much more common statline.

As always, an updated Lakers +/- (through 35 games) Lakers: 24-11, 3rd in West

Fisher +169
Kobe +258
Turiaf +17
Odom +142
Mihm -16
Walton +150
Bynum +235
Farmar +79
Radmanovic +144
Brown -5
Vujacic +13
Crittenton -27
Karl +4
Ariza -11

Up Next: vs. Memphis Sunday 6:30 p.m. PST FSN

Check it out: My Daily News article on Simi Valley basketball's win over Thousand Oaks. Simi is 15-1 and has only lost to Compton Dominguez, by one.

20 Reasons why Buller is an idiot

1. He doesn't know who Jimmy V is.
2. He does know who Cashnova is.
3. He likes Vince Carter.
4. He likes Michael Vick.
5. He longer likes the Falcons, his former favorite team.
6. He now likes the San Diego Chargers. He picked them because they went 14-2 last year.
7. His best friend is Puff.
8. Puff is 10 years old.
9. He cancels on his personal training clients constantly.
10. Sometimes, he cancels 5 minutes before he's scheduled to work.
11. His vocabulary consists of the five following phrases: Boss, Hog, Hoggin, SK for life, and making the emu sound.
12. He once pulled of Nick Kindel's shirt for fun.
13. He also pulled off Nick Kindel's pants...for fun.
14. He also constantly tries to pull off Larry's shirt.
15. He once asked if we could beat the best wheelchair basketball team in the world.
16. He thinks Dermarr Johnson could average 10 points per game in the NBA.
17. He thought Adventures in Hollyhood was a good show.
18. His favorite activity is lounging.
19. He doesn't give a fuck about wake.
20. He only likes songs that have the word "Boss" in it.


Also, in honor of Buller, here are the keys to winning a game of anything:

1. Play with a sense of urgency
2. Take it one play at a time
3. Take care of offense and defense
4. Give 110%
5. It is what it is
6. go out there and just play hard
7. Worry about us
8. Don't beat ourselves
9. Come out here and play our game
10. Play with good chemistry

Bittersweet

Two funny things happened last night:
The Lakers treated the New Orleans Hornets like they were another one of those rebuilding, under .500 teams, and people were actually excited about an Arizona/ASU basketball game, completely disregarding the fact that the Wildcats had won 24 of the previous 25 games.

Turns it out they were right. It was a great game. I also have not yet seen it, except for highlights, but several people failed to allow the tivo process to work effectively. Apparently, people can only withhold the score for one night, so watching a game on tivo the next day is a no go.

Anyways, I can't be happier with the progress the Lakers have made and I fail to see any similarities between this year's team and last year's squad which had a similar record at this point in the season. Remember, the Lakers started last year 26-13 before Phil Jackson decided to demote Andrew Bynum to the bench. Let's hope he doesn't have a brain cramp again.
The Lakers destroyed the Hornets in every aspect of the game during a 109-80 rout. The bench played well, the first unit played well, and Kobe once again didn't even have to score more than 20 points. He had 19 to go along with 7 rebounds and 7 assists.

On the other hand, I can't be any more saddened by the state of Arizona basketball. Fans and message boards are already moaning about Kevin O'Neill's inadequate coaching, the Cats' best player continues to ride the pine with an injury, already being "day to day" for four games, and the depth on the team is so weak, O'Neill brought freshman Zane Johnson in to play 8 minutes, ridding him of his redshirt season.

The Wildcats lost 64-59 in overtime, and spurred conversation of an actual rivalry.
The best player on the floor wore a Maroon and gold uniform. Who would have thought that the most talked about freshman in the state of Arizona would not be Jerryd Bayless but James Harden.
I'll continue to say this, without Bayless, Arizona will have trouble making the NCAA tournament, and with him, the Wildcats are no better than a No. 7 or 8 seed.

Up next: at Houston, noon PST, ESPN2

This makes me happy: The Suns are having chemistry issues.

Say goodbye to those USC football championships: A first look at the book about Reggie Bush reveals the Trojans controversial saga involving their former Heisman trophy winner is far from over.

As always, an updated Lakers +/- (through 34 games) Lakers: 23-11, 5th in West

Fisher +153
Kobe +239
Turiaf +14
Odom +140
Mihm -16
Walton +149
Bynum +217
Farmar +90
Radmanovic +144
Brown +8
Vujacic +13
Crittenton -23
Karl +7
Ariza -8

Up Next: vs. Milwaukee Friday 7:30 p.m. PST ESPN

More girls' hoops: My Daily News article on the Muir girls basketball team, which is 14-1 to start the season.

Fisher and Chips

Twenty six points, 5-of-5 on 3-pointers, 10-of-11 from the field, four assists, in 28 minutes. No. Not Kobe Bryant.
That's last night's line for Derek Fisher in the Lakers 117-101 win at Memphis.
Fish has proven that he's not just a feel good story and a locker room leader. He's a clutch shot maker and a key component for the Lakers offense.

In the past 16 games, in which the Lakers have gone 13-3, the ball movement has been nothing short of superb. In fact, I believe this is the best the Lakers have run the triangle since...ever. That's right, even better than the three Lakers championship teams when Shaq or Kobe's individual talents were good enough to overcame not sharing the ball.

The Lakers are third in the NBA in scoring at 107.5 points per game, trailing only the Warriors and the Suns yet the Lakers are not known as a fast break, helter skelter team. The Lakers take 8 less 3-pointers a game than the Warriors, so they're taking good two point shots. They're also third in the league in assists and third in field goal percentage. Now that's offensive efficiency and you better believe having D Fish in at one of the guard spots alongside Kobe has been a big factor.

Mike Stoops refuses to play against real football teams: Check out Arizona's football schedule next year. The Wildcats' three non conference games are against Idaho, Toledo, and at New Mexico. I hope the home fans enjoy the Mud Hens and the Vandals. I guess Stoops is trying to go the Jim Tressel route by compiling the easiest possible schedule. Unfortunately, the Pac-10 is miles ahead of the Big 10 in competition, so Stoops and the Cats will have it much tougher after the third game. Maybe this scheduling strategy will add a win or two and get the Wildcats into a bowl game. That would be worth the change, but the fans certainly miss out on watching some of the best college football has to offer.

Don't be stupid Pete Carroll: The USC coach will reportedly discuss the Atlanta Falcons job with owner Arthur Blank. The bottom line is college coaches don't do well in the pros. Not in the NBA, not in the NFL. I can recall two college coaches being successful. Larry Brown in the NBA and Jimmy Johnson in the NFL. I'd love to hear about some other ones, but they just don't exist. Like Nick Saban and Bobby Petrino in recent NFL lore and Mike Montgomery in the NBA, college coaches and pro teams need to see the light.

Two big games tonight: Lakers at New Orleans Hornets and Arizona/ASU basketball = exciting day of hoops. The Daily Wildcat's Michael Schwartz writes that ASU is catching up to the Cats.

Check it out: My Daily News article on the Chaminade girls basketball team.

As always, an updated Lakers +/- (through 33 games) Lakers: 22-11, 6th in West

Fisher +145
Kobe +223
Turiaf -8
Odom +131
Mihm -16
Walton +141
Bynum +207
Farmar +72
Radmanovic +144
Brown -11
Vujacic +13
Crittenton -36
Karl +4
Ariza -29

Up Next: at New Orleans Hornets Wednesday 5 p.m. PST KCAL

A BCS sham

This was the worst bowl season ever. The hundreds of non-BCS bowls had little entertainment value to begin with, considering so many of the teams came in with 6-6 or 7-5 records, but what set this year apart was the lack of even one good BCS bowl game. Long gone are the days of an epic Texas/USC Rose Bowl or a Boise State/Oklahoma Fiesta Bowl, apparently.

This year's BCS Bowl game scores: Rose Bowl, USC 49 Illinois 17, Sugar Bowl, Georgia 41 Hawaii 10, Fiesta Bowl, West Virginia 48 Oklahoma 28, Orange Bowl Kansas 24 Virginia Tech 21 (but the game was never really close, VT never led and scored a late TD to pull within 3).
The national championship game featured a team that wouldn't have even been in my top 10, but the Buckeyes of Ohio State played such a cupcake schedule that they somehow managed to fool the BCS computers.

USC/LSU, Georgia/LSU, West Virginia/LSU. Take your pick. All would have been more even matchups.

For some reason, the Big 10 sent two teams to BCS bowl games, both of which were blown out of course. Most people thought they would be blown out so it's not like it was a surprise. It was a complete mockery of the system when two Big 10 teams make BCS bowls, but only one team from the Pac-10, arguably the best conference and at least the second best conference, makes it.

West coast Bias:
I heard a lot of people during the offseason saying the Eastern conference is catching up. While reading John Hollinger's article on his all stars for this year (you need insider), I realized the preseason talk was complete bullshit.

According to the article here are some of the players who will not make the Western Conference all star team.

Guards: Tony Parker, Deron Williams, Josh Howard, Tracy McGrady, Brandon Roy.

Deron Williams, yikes

Sports Illustrated was acting like he was the second coming of an Oscar Robertson/John Stockton combo and he doesn't even make the Western conference all star team. With Chris Paul and Steve Nash ahead of him, and possibly Baron Davis, there's really no argument to put him on.

Forwards: Carmelo Anthony, David West, Pau Gasol, Kevin Durant

Centers: Chris Kaman, Marcus Camby, Al Jefferson, Andrew Bynum

The West's second team would give the East's first team a lot of trouble.

Boom goes the Bynum

Remember when Laker fans wanted to trade not just Andrew Bynum for Jermaine O'Neal but Lamar Odom and Bynum for O'Neal. Oooops. That would have been a slightly more than minor trade blunder. Not to boast or anything, but I've been a self proclaimed Jermaine O'Neal hater for a while and am not surprised by the dip in his productivity nor his affinity for taking mid range jumpers only.

Bynum put up 23 and 13 rebounds last night in a 112-96 win over the Pacers, while O'Neal had a pedestrian 13 and 4. Maybe patience or in Mitch Kupchak land, inactivity, has paid dividends. Not much else to report from the Pacers game aside from, the Pacers are awful. I'm not even sure how they have 16 wins. They traded Al Harrington and Stephen Jackson, both of whom are thriving, for Mike Dunleavy and Troy Murphy (and Ike Diagu, who's a bust), who are white and that's about it. I guess when you take Stephen Jackson away from Jamaal Tinsley, you get less altercations at the club. Notice how I said less. Tinsley still found a way to be around gunshots, but with Jackson it could have been a lot worse. In Indiana, it's no longer about wins and losses, but more about not getting capped.

Speaking of being capped, is Larry Bird so untouchable that he's become immune to criticism. He's running that team into the ground and if you switch him with Isaiah Thomas, we'd hear a lot more about his mistakes. Of course Bird has yet to say "Fuck these white people."

I have all your CSUN basketball coverage: CSUN beats league favorite UC Santa Barbara and sits in first place in the Big West

As always, an updated Lakers +/- (through 32 games) Lakers: 21-11, 6th in West

Fisher +140
Kobe +206
Turiaf -5
Odom +112
Mihm -16
Walton +135
Bynum +190
Farmar +61
Radmanovic +144
Brown -10
Vujacic +13
Crittenton -41
Karl +4
Ariza -37

Up Next: at Memphis Grizzlies Tuesday 5 p.m. PST KCAL

Wildcat season for Ducks

After the Oregon State game, I was concerned about the team's offense. Without Jerryd Bayless, the Wildcats were having trouble scoring 25 points in the first half. After the Oregon game, an 84-74 loss, I'm worried about the defense. When you allow a team to shoot 56% from the field, like Oregon did, with a coach who's noted as a defensive specialist, there's a lot to fret over.

As the Wildcats have done numerous times this year, they fell behind in the first half...by a lot. In this case it was 19 points. Like they have also done time and time again, they came back with a much better effort in the second half. But against Oregon, a team with five good shooters, the matador defense Arizona came to play with was not enough for a victory.

Jordan Hill, who had a solid game with 12 points and seven rebounds, literally played matador defense. And I'm not talking about Cal State Northridge Matador defense, which is actually pretty good. I'm talking about having three fouls for 18 minutes of the second half defense when you say Ole and let the Oregon guards drive by for easy layups.

Kevin O'Neill had to leave him out there because the Wildcats have no other big man. Where was Kirk Walters?

gatosalvajech (2:00:26 PM): hes the only person in the history of the planet to suffer from mono for a year and a half

gatosalvajech (2:01:02 PM): hes terrible i wouldnt want him in anyway

Aside from the easy baskets in the paint, Oregon also shot 45% from 3-point range, and like always when a team shoots well from beyond the arc, many of the 3s were wide open looks.

So the bottom line is this: With Bayless, the Wildcats are a top 3-4 Pac-10 team. Without Bayless, they are a 6-7 Pac-10 team.

Bad news for the Chase Budinger stay one more year fan club: Budinger was aggressive all game, taking the ball to the basket and looking like his usual deadly self from three. He scored 30 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and took 22 shots. He did not hesitate. I wonder sometimes why it takes coaches to tell him to be more aggressive over and over again. He's arguably the best shooter in the country and he defers to his teammates too often. It's like this sense of insecurity that he has and needs to shed.

Also, the most entertaining part of this game was in the first 10 minutes of the first half when Budinger and Oregon's Bryce Taylor put on a shooting display.
With 15:25 left in the first half, Budinger made a jumper. Next possession, he came down and hit another jumper. Following possession, Taylor knocks down a 3. Two possessions later, Budinger another jumper. Then Taylor another 3. Then Budinger hits a 3, and finally Taylor answers with a 3. It was 3 minutes of an old-fasioned shootout. It was fun to watch.
Budinger 9 points in 2:16, Taylor 9 points in 1:39.

Up next: vs. ASU Wednesday 6:30 p.m. PST FSNAZ

Lakers send Sixers to the NBDL

Speaking of not playing an defense. The Philadelphia 76ers didn't even pretend to play on the other end of the floor in the Lakers 124-93 win. The Lakers shot an absurd 66% while being over 70% for much of the game until the 2nd and 3rd stringers (Coby Karl) played the fourth quarter. That is the best shooting percentage in a game for the Lakers since 1984.

I keep telling Phil to play Ronny Turiaf more. Turiaf got his first start since November 30, and produced 15 points, 4 rebounds, and tied a career high with 5 blocks. His energy completely depleted any chance the Sixers had of even competing with the Lakers, who play five of their next six games against losing teams.

Evan Javaris Crittenton, nicknamed the black Steve Nash, by one of Buller's Rising Stars kids, got into the action. He scored a career high 19 points.

The most ridiculous moment of the night came when James Loney did an in game interview with Joel Myers and Stu Lantz. Either Loney is really, really soft spoken, or he was high as a kite. He must have said a total of 15 words in like 10 questions. The highlight was of course when he was asked to describe th adjustment between Houston (his hometown) and LA.
" Out here people try to get their hustle on," he said.

As always, an updated Lakers +/- (through 31 games) Lakers: 20-11, 6th in West

Fisher +113
Kobe +174
Turiaf +8
Odom +85
Mihm -16
Walton +112
Bynum +160
Farmar +72
Radmanovic +144
Brown +2
Vujacic +13
Crittenton -29
Karl +8
Ariza -30

Up Next: vs. Indiana Pacers Sunday 6:30 p.m. PST FSN


Around the Pac-10 from Thursday

ASU beat Oregon 62-54.
ASU coach Herb Sendek is taking this team places in his second year at the helm. James Harden, a McDonald's All American, is an under the radar freshman despite the billing. Don't forget this is the same team that lost about 10 games by three points or less last year. They were close but missing a head coach, and now that they replaced the always confused Rob Evans, the Sun Devils have a chance at making the NCAA tournament and have earned official sleeper status.

OJ Mayo scored a career high 34 points but USC lost at California 92-82 as the Golden Bears make 11 3s.

Speaking of underrated, Ryan Anderson might be the most overlooked superstar in the country. He's 13th in the nation in scoring and leading the Pac-10 at 22.2 points per game in addition to his 9.4 rebounds per game, good for fifth in the conference. He's also shooting 54% from the field to boot.

Food for thought: I know Kevin Durant is head and shoulders above Adam Morrison as a basketball player. But I thought I'd just point out that aside from points per game, they weren't all that far off in their rookie years. The biggest difference is in John Hollinger's PER.

Durant vs. Morrison
Durant 41% field goals
Morrison 38%
Durant 31% 3-pointers
Morrison 34%
Durant 4 rebounds per game
Morrison 3
Durant 2 assists per game
Morrison 2
Durant PER 15.67
Morrison 7.91

Check it out: My Daily News article on Simi Valley basketball dominating Moorpark.

Arizona Trouble

Arizona's offense without Jerryd Bayless is in as much trouble as this former U of A student and Arizona beauty queen (pictured above), who is facing kidnapping charges.
Unlike this hina who had her ex boyfriend tied up and beaten, the Wildcats weren't as aggressive.
In today's 76-63 win over Oregon State, Arizona:

1. Scored 26 points in the first half, a game after scoring just 24 in the first half against Memphis
2. Didn't score in first 3 minutes
3. Chase Budinger didn't score in first 10 minutes and had just two first half points
4. Didn't attempt a free throw until 4:42 remained in the first half
5. Was down by as much a 7 in the first half

By the way, this was against an Oregon State team that:

• Has lost 25 straight in Tucson, with its last win coming in 1983.
• Was without 6-foot-11 center CJ Giles, who has played well this season after transferring from Kansas.
• Lost at home to Montana State.
  
• Was picked to finish 10th in the Pac-10.

At one point in the game the lineup was Nic Wise, Daniel Dillon, Jamelle Horne, Fendi Onobun and Budinger. If you're the opposing team wouldn't you focus your entire defensive scheme on Budinger. Who else in that lineup is going to score?

Remember these guys?

PG Laval Lucas Perry
SG Jesus Verdejo
SF JP Prince

Could have used them right about...now.

Food for thought: Have you ever seen a hot mail lady? Is there like a calendar, "Girls of the Post Office."

Up next: vs Oregon Saturday 11 a.m. PST FSN

Who wears short shorts

The Lakers wore short shorts and wound up on the short side of a second blowout loss to the Boston Celtics. The 110-91 drubbing came while Trevor Ariza wore Michael Cooper high socks and Magic Johnson knee pads, Kurt Rambis rocked his old glasses and mustache, and most players' spandex underwear was longer than their shorts.

You can't blame the shorts for a 35 percent shooting effort, the worst of the season. Especially when the Lakers went back to the regular size shorts in the second half and continued to work on their mansion by laying bricks. Kobe's 6-25 and 0-6 from beyond the arc isn't going to do it either, and I bet his arch nemesis Ray Allen felt pretty good about that.

It just goes to show you the Lakers still have a long way to go. Call me crazy, but I'm still more scared of the Suns and the Spurs than I am of the Celtics. When you play this hard for 82 games, you will have a hard time sustaining that energy throughout the playoffs, and that's even if everybody stays healthy. I know Rajon Rondo didn't play, but the Celtics have been a model of stability thus far. They haven't been through any adversity together. What happens when they hit rough waters? We'll see, but I'm not ready to crown them the team to beat. The road to the finals goes through San Antonio and Phoenix.

Because of New Year's festivities and other assignments, I didn't get a chance to talk about the win over the Jazz. Here's what I wrote right after the game. Obviously this was before the Lakers laid an egg against the Celtics. Goes to show you that the same team can look completely different just a few days apart.

The Lakers reminded me of those old Army commercials last night.
"Be all you can be."
You couldn't play much better than the Lakers played last night. A season high 34 assists, on 43 field goals. A season high 75 points in the first half. Kobe 32 in three quarters. All five starters in double figures. The bench scores 41 points. And sitting out the starters in the fourth.
Doing it against a Jazz team who blew you out earlier in the season and booed Derek Fisher for no good reason feels even sweeter.

Wild about the Cats: As much anxiousness and anticipation I felt in preparation for the Arizona/Memphis game, it was all quickly drained when I saw Jerryd Bayless on the bench in street clothes. This was supposed to be a measuring stick game and it wasn't. At this point, I think Bayless is more invaluable to Arizona than Chase Budinger. Plus the Bayless/Derrick Rose matchup would have been fun to watch. But without Bayless, it was almost like there was no reason to play the game. Arizona had no chance and the game wasn't even fun to watch. The Wildcats put up just 24 points in the first half and had trouble scoring all night long. Back in the day, (or for the past 20+ years) Arizona was known as one of those teams that didn't need a shot clock. Without Bayless, the Wildcats often got into their sets after 15 seconds already ran off the clock. The ball movement was poor and the result was poor shots at the end of the clock. Regardless, it would have been a completely different game with Bayless in there and thus there's nothing to take out of the game for both teams. Just a wasted trip to Memphis and a wasted game.

In good news: Chris Mihm is out 3-4 weeks with a sore Achilles.
Now if only Mihm's injury is contagious to Kwame Brown. For all of you who've re-fallen in Love with Mitch Kupchak, remember he resigned Mihm to a two year contract this offseason. Good times.

Thanks to the BCS for not having a single bowl game worth watching so far. I can't remember the last time the Bowl season has been this bad. Cheers to one day having an eight team playoff format.

As always, an updated Lakers +/- (through 30 games) Lakers: 19-11, 6th in West

Fisher +94
Kobe +154
Turiaf -16
Odom +85
Mihm -16
Walton +93
Bynum +134
Farmar +60
Radmanovic +144
Brown -3
Vujacic +13
Crittenton -42
Karl +5
Ariza -44

Up Next: vs. Philadelphia Friday 7:30 p.m. PST FSN

Check it out: My Daily News article on Hart winning the Hart Classic behind Michael Montgomery, who scored 36 points and is going to Cal State Fullerton on a baseball scholarship