It has become quite apparent 2 games into the 2011-2012 NBA season that Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers are in trouble this season. Bryant is playing his usual great quality game but it appears the the Lakers are a mess while Andrew Bynum is sitting out the first 4 games of the year due to his suspension.

Even with Bynum, do the Lakers have what it takes to make some noise this year?

I don’t think so.

Kobe is a year older, and has had two “mad-scientist” procedures performed on him by a doctor in Germany. He just suffered a slight tear in a ligament in his shooting hand. He claims it cannot get any worse, but over a grueling schedule due to the shortened season, there will be a lot of wear-and-tear on his wrist.

Add into the fold the recent news of his pending divorce, and Kobe is getting press for all the wrong reasons. How will he cope? I am guessing that the egotistical Kobe will be the usual Kobe Bryant everyone either hates or loves. He is to sociopathic to allow something like a divorce to bother him.

You can bet that NBA teams will perform a vintage “Karate kid” and sweep the wrist. All scouting reports and pre-lakers matchup practices will make sure of this. Any time Kobe takes it to the rack, expect to see hacks going directly at his wrist. This defensive strategy will be implemented league-wide to try and slow down the league’s best player.

The second fact is that there is no point guard worth mentioning on their roster. Whoever the Lakers face, their PG match ups will be a nightmare. During their second game, the Kings starting back court lit the Lakers up for a combined 47 points. You simply will not win when players can score like this.

Lamar Odom being “given” to the Mavericks. This move makes zero sense. You don’t just give away the 6th man of the year. Odom is a jack of all trades, and does it in a 7-foot frame. You just don’t let that get away. Period. And if you do, you get at least get something for it.

All said and done, the Lakers are not near being a championship caliber team after the moves they made. If they do manage to make a big trade this season, it will further deplete and disrupt the lineup, but perhaps it might give them some hope for the next season.

To get someone like Dwight Howard you will have lose Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, which will leave the lakers with Kobe, Dwight, and Metta World Peace.

Yikes.

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers championship and “Threepeat” hopes had the door emphatically slammed shut this week after Dirk Nowitzki and the Dallas Mavericks shocked the basketball world,  sweeping Los Angeles in four games.

Credit is due to the Mavericks, as their recently discovered toughness – influenced by the Tyson Chandler effect – soundly demolished the Lakers in 4 straight games. However, had the Lakers actually played as a team for even one game, they would have not been swept away in such a devastating fashion.

Not only were all the Lakers deficiencies exposed during the series, but questions now arise regarding how the Lakers move forward, and whether or not Kobe and the current makeup of the Lakers has a legitimate chance at challenging any time soon

The concept of team chemistry immediately comes to mind when addressing the first issue in Lakerland. There appears to be some sort of off court rift between Pau Gasol and Kobe. If the Lakers are to find a way to get back on track, reconciliation between the leagues most skilled power forward and the leagues most arrogant superstar must be first on the Lakers organizations agenda.

Restructuring the franchise must address the following needs for the Lakers:

Head Coach

This is the one position that is changing with absolute certainty. Phil Jackson has made it clear he is stepping down as the Lakers head coach. But will Brian Shaw get his chance to run the Lakers? Whoever it is, expect that there will be no way the players net yield on the floor will be as plentiful as it is with Jackson.

Point Guard – Derek Fisher

Fisher needs to retire. He has little left to offer his team as a full time starting point guard in the NBA. Steve Blake has proved he can run a team as a full-time starter, but teams seem to do better with him coming off the bench. If a Dwight Howard trade does happen, look for the Lakers to also try to improve here.

Shooting Guard – Kobe Bryant

Kobe is starting to look his age. His injuries and wear and tear finally caught up with him, and he looked like a mere mortal against Dallas. Of course, Kobe will never have to worry about a thing, as whatever he wants, he gets.

This does not bodes well for Gasol’s future with the Lakers.

Center – Andrew Bynum

The Lakers should trade Bynum while he has any value left. Bynum imploded this year in the playoffs, and at this point in his career it is hard to believe he is going to get it together mentally, or play a complete season without injury. Fortunately for the Lakers, Bynum is less injury prone than Greg Oden, and has value still.

Bynum  could be implemented in a system that caters more to him, and gives him more touches, thus allowing him to have major market value.

Power Forward – Pau Gasol

Gasol is the most valuable player on this team behind Bryant. It is truly a shame that he might be on the way out simply to appease Bryant, the aging star on the decline. If Bryant gets his way, it will be some combo of Kobe, Lamar Odom, and whoever else they can keep while liquidating the leagues best power forward in an attempt to rebuild.

Small Forward – Ron Artest

Artest has fallen off the planet as a NBA player. His game has worsened so bad that his disappearance was the only thing going unnoticed against the Mavericks. He barely contributed, and his suspension didn’t help either. Apparently, the Lakers will likely be stuck with Artest, unless Mitch Kupchack  can create a whopper of a trade.

Expect the Lakers to be one of the most active teams this summer.

The Dallas Mavericks have shocked the sports world (this writer included, whom predicted they would be eliminated effortlessly) taken the first two games from the Los Angeles Lakers, in Los Angeles, and now have a commanding  2-0 lead heading back to Dallas for game 3 of the Western Conference Semifinals.

What has been the difference?

Other than Dirk Nowitzki, it has to be the defensive influence of Tyson Chandler on the back line for the Mavericks defensive efforts, and the stellar performance of the Mavericks bench.

Kobe Bryant has painfully seen his efforts go to the wayside as his Lakers cannot get it together.

Los Angeles second unit was a massive drop off from the starters. The entire Lakers bench totaled 12 points, meaning J.J. Barea matched the Lakers bench in scoring himself.

Lamar Odom delivered a horrid 3-12 from the field, and “contributed” a plus/minus of -18 for the game, making him, statistically speaking, the most ineffective player on the court for the Lakers.

If the Lakers fail to capture game 3 in Dallas, it will be come much clearer that Kobe and the Lakers will be thinking about the Threepeat that could have been, while sitting at home watching the rest of the playoffs.

Dirk will be in a strong position against the Lakers, and it will be interesting to see if he can rise up and close out the series. Only three teams have ever come back after losing the first two games in a playoff series.

Dirks’ Mavericks happen to be one of the teams on the losing end, having lost in the NBA Finals to the Miami Heat in 2006 after winning 2 games. Will history repeat itself? Its hard to count the Lakers out while Kobe Bryant is on their team, but history is against them.

Memphis Grizzlies vs.  Oklahoma City Thunder

If Zach Randolph continues playing basketball the way he is now, it is hard to imagine any team stopping the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies are the first team since the Golden State Warriors in 2007 to be the #8 seed to knock off the #1 seed.

Memphis emphatically dismantled the San Antonio Spurs in 6 games, and it would likely have been five games had Manu Ginobili and Gary Neal missed those unbelievably clutch 3s in the waning moments of game 5 to push the game into overtime.

The Thunder have Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to combat Zach Randolph and Gasol. They also scored at the trade deadline and stole Kendrick Perkins away from Boston (Boston will regret this move before their post season is finished) for Jeff Green.

In fact, the Thunder’s roster boasts Perkins, Serge Ibaka, Nick Colison, and Nazr Muhhammed to throw at Marc Gasol and Randolph. That is a lot of depth, and expect the Thunder to wear out Memphis as this series goes on.

But we cannot forget that Marc Gasol dominated Tim Duncan in round 1, and when paired in the front court with Randolph the two mutated into some sort of mythological, twin-towered beast for the Grizzliest whom terrorized the Spurs.

This series should come down to the performance of two players performances that will decide the outcome:

Can Russell Westbrook can keep his turnovers low and push the transition game?

If Westbrook is on so are the Thunder, this has catastrophic results for most opposition, and makes life more pleasant for Kevin Durant on offense by reducing his load, and saving his game for the 4th quarter.

If Zach Randolph continues to dominate the game as he did in round 1? How will he handle the myriad of never-ending size the Thunder throw at him?

The Grizzlies might make this a series, but it is hard to bet against the Thunders talent and depth.

Prediction: Thunder in 7

Dallas Mavericks vs. Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers will be facing off against the tallest version of Dallas they have ever experienced in the playoffs.

The Mavericks will have Dirk Nowitski, Tyson Chandler and Brendan Haywood – three seven-footers- to battle Andrew Bynum, Pao Gasol, and Lamar Odom – another three seven-footers – which will take away the height advantage the Lakers used on New Orleans in round 1.

Even though the height might be equal in numbers, it does not account for the fact that the Lakers talent level over-matches the talent of the Mavericks.

Jason Kidd has the upper hand over Derek Fisher at point guard, but how do the Mavericks have any chance whatsoever at slowing or doing anything to disrupt Kobe from imposing his will on them?

Jason Terry or DeShawn Stephenson, maybe even Corey Brewer, perhaps. Brewer is the better defender of the group, but his limited offense (major offensive regression this year) and lack of playoff experience with a winning club all but rule this out the chance of making an impact.

Rodridgue Beabois is lightning fast, but at 6’2″, he has no chance to stop Kobe.

This gives the Lakers the ultimate advantage, and should be allowed to dictate most of the pace of this series.

The Lakers are simply overall a much better team.

I would consider predicting a sweep, but can’t beat against a sweep if Jason Kidd is involved. Even at the age of 38, Kidd can still be expected to will Dallas into stealing at least 1 game.

Prediction: Lakers in 5

It was reported today that the Houston Rockets, Los Angeles Lakers, and New Jersey Nets have agreed on a three-way deal sending Sasha Vujacic and a first round draft pick to New Jersey, 2009 #11 overall fist round pick Terrance Williams to New Jersey, and Joe Smith to the Los Angeles Lakers.

The New Jersey Nets have secured 5 first round picks now, and can offer Denver a much more enticing trade offer for Carmelo Anthony than the New York Knicks. It remains to be seen if Carmelo will bite in terms of an extension if the deal happens, but Russian oligarch Mikhail Prokhorov will likely step in for the hard sell.

Even if the Nets give up a couple first round draft picks, Derrick Favors, and the expiring contract of Troy Murphy, the Nets will still have soem decent pieces in place to build around Carmelo: Devin Harris and Brook Lopez, and a handful of first round picks to fill in the gaps.

Even if the Melo trade doesn’t come to fruition for New Jersey, look for someone to take Murphy’s expiring deal, and the Nets will have options moving forward with a wealth of first round picks.

It will only be a matter of time before head coach Avery Johnson places Sasha Vujacic in his doghouse. If an ultra-laid-back Phil Jackson cannot find a use for him, how can a high-stung coach like Johnson put his services to use?

No get no ring for riding the pine in New Jersey Sasha..

Sure Vujacic hits threes, but his self serving nickname “The Machine” is better amended and rebranded as “the Foul Machine” based on how he plays. The guy is a head case who sincerely believes he has never committed a foul. Perhaps he will replace Troy Murphy’s role as the player at the end of the bench.

So Vujacic’s role will remain the same, he will just have to learn to embrace losing while being unable to do anything about it. Fun times for Sasha. At least he gets to marry Maria Sharapova.

Terrance Williams has a new lease on life joining the Houston Rockets. He will have a chance to develop his game under Rick Adelman, one of the more savvy coaches in the league with a reputation for squeezing the most out of his talent. Williams possesses the tools but seems to be lacking focus at this stage in his career.

If Williams can get his mind right, and adjust to the Rockets system, he has the potential to make this deal continue to make Darryl Morey’s genius as a GM grow.

The Lakers started their quest for a Three-Peat by receiving their NBA Championship rings before their first game of the 2010-11 season. We did a piece that covered last years rings here at Protect the Paint, so it is only right if we continue to do so again.

Kobe is running out of things to say.

This years edition of NBA Championship Rings feature all sorts of tantalizing features, including actual pieces of leather from the game 7 ball.

Talk about pulling out all the stops. The rings also have 16 over-sized diamonds to signify the 16 titles the Lakers have won, and each ring given to the players has an actual 3-dimensional sculpture of his own face. Talk about cool.

Thank you Michael, Kobe, Shaq, Triangle, and Zen!

Phil Jackson can now confidently compete with Liberace due to all the jewelry Jackson now possesses.

Ron Artest is already creating a stir by selling raffle tickets in order to raise money for charity, awarding one lucky raffle winner the chance to own a ring with a 3-dimensional diamond sculpture of Ron-Ron. The money raised will be donated to mental health therapy.

My precious.......

Ironically, the more I mull it over, the greater disturbed I become. Definitely not because of Artet’s generous gesture, but likely more so because staring at Artest’s face for a long enough period of time might drive anyone over the edge. Perhaps he helps many with mental illness at the cost of driving one to madness?

All in all, the Lakers are looking like strong candidates to win their 3rd consecutive title, and as the season progresses, raffles are won, people go crazy for the purple and gold, it will be great to see who wins/loses, and who who loses their sanity staring at a sculpture of Ron Artests face along the way.

Wouldn’t it be crazy if the winner of the raffle actually ends up suing Artest because the ring drives him or her crazy?

Steve Blake made one of the smartest free agent moves of the summer (pay attention Amare Stoudemire), swapping teams in Los Angeles, going from pretender (the Clippers) to contender (the Lakers) after agreeing to sign a -year contract worth $16 million.

Blake is a considerable upgrade to Derek Fisher.

He rarely turns the ball over, is an adequate defender, and is a lifetime 39% 3-point shooter. From strictly a basketball strategists point of view, this percentage is bound to be inflated due the vast variety of wide open shots role players on the Lakers receive. Hint hint: Trevor Ariza.

Blake should increase the Lakers' chances at a Threepeat

Now, image Steve Blake standing on the dock of a quiet and calm, massive lake, with a huge bin filled with basketballs beside him. This is what Steve Blake shooting 3 -ointers will be like for the next 4 years. Steve Blake grins, Steve Blake wins.

The Lakers just got a great upgrade at the guard position, and Derek Fisher is no longer an issue. Great move Mitch Kupchak, now you just have to worry about a insanely jealous Sasha Vujacic trying to injury Blake to get more minutes. Let the games begin!

Kobe Bryant just finished another stellar playoff performance landing him his 5th NBA Championship. He has possibly positioned himself atop the centerpiece of the mantle of Laker greats alongside Magic Johnson, Kareem Abdul Jabbar, Bob MacAdoo, Jerry West, Elgin Baylor ,and Wilt Chamberlain.

I know most of the “Lakeshow” nation might disagree, but I feel it is safe to say that no matter how many rings Kobe wins by the end of his career, there is no way the “Lakeshow” nation should be allowed to compare Kobe Bryant to Michael Jordan. Period.

The main distinguishable fact when debating this is taking into consideration the starting center of any of Jordan’s championship teams, and compare them to Kobe’s.

Jordan won rings with centers: (1st Three Peat) Bill Cartwright, Will Purdue,  Scott Williams, Stacey King, (2nd Three-Peat) Luc Longley, John Salley, Robert Parish (43 years old at the time), Brian Williams (aka Bison Dele), Bill Wennington,  and Joe Kleine.

Kobe had Shaquille O’Neal to lean on during his first Three-Peat, and let’s just say Shaq is, at worst, extraordinarily better than any of those centers on their best day.

Kobe currently has a slew of 7-foot talent in Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Andrew Bynum on his current roster. This compilation of 7-footers includes All Star and two big men who are far above average by NBA standards. Only once you start mentioning D.J. Mbenga are you close to entering the “Jordan Zone” of Championship centers.

So, Kobe might be the best Los Angeles Laker ever. I am sure you will get a plethora of arguments the spaning the different generations of Laker Nation arguing Magic vs. West vs. Kobe vs. whichever Laker that person grew up watching win NBA Championships.

No matter which Laker you select it becomes abundantly clear after reading the list of centers Michael Jordan played with during his championship reign that there never be any real argument that supports Kobe being better than Jordan, ever.

Kobe Bryant was spectacular in game 5 of the NBA Finals in Boston. He took shots that bordered on ridiculous and yet made them almost effortlessly. For a brief moment during the third quarter, the possibility of the Lakers turning things around and pulling out a much needed road win began to enter the thoughts of the Celtics fans.

Unfortunately for Kobe, his effort was wasted due to the fact that his supporting cast continued their recent disappearing act from game 4 into and throughout game 5. What about game 6?

Will a switch of scenery back to Los Angeles revive the Lakers hopes for back to back championships?

You know Kobe will be hoping for his team to wake up, and justifiably so. Other than the oft-hobbled Andrew Bynum, who looks as though he is stunting the longevity of his career while playing on a torn up something-rather simply because he wants to win, there is not another Laker who is stepping up to back Kobe.

Kobe depsarately needs help.

To be fair, Bynum is rather useless out on the floor due to his injuries. Perhaps if we could build some sort of device to remove and transfer his effort level and then, say, divide it and then install it inside the bodies of Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom, the Lakers would have a much improved chance than they do currently of winning two games in a row against Boston.

Unless the Lakers make drastic moves, or if Phil Jackson can somehow channel his inner chi and turn it into an internal rage, the Lakers are in serious trouble.

It makes my heart go out to Kobe in a similar vein of Dwyane Wade wasting his talents the past few years in Miami.  Watching Kobe’s masterful performance go into the wastebasket because nobody else could step up and help him. It’s actually quite shameful.

Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and “Bad-shot-Ron” Artest, this means you.

Wake up, or your season will be all for naught.

Hopefully for the Lakers, Kobe can use some of that magic on the court to inspire his teammates to help him out.

Ray Allen sett the NBA Finals records for 3 point shots made with 8 during game 2 of the NBA Finals. In game 3 he missed all 8 3 point shots taken. Making matters worse is that his horrendous shooting ended up a blasphemous 0-13 total from the field in game 3.

The end result is that the Celtics again find themselves facing a one game deficit to the defending champion Los Angeles Lakers for the second time of the series.

Can anyone tell me what just happened?

If Ray Allen hits 3 of those 8 pointers, which anyone who think is possible when Ray Allen is shooting, the Celtics win the game.

Not to discredit the leadership and amazing play of Derek Fisher during the 4th quarter, but seriously, what in the world happened to Ray Allen?

Derek Fisher, according to AP Sports Writer Jimmy Golen, attributes the poor shooting by Allen to his legs:

“We obviously didn’t expect him to go 0 for 13, but it’s a tough gig for him to run around offensively the way he has to and then have to guard Kobe on the other end,” Fisher said. “I mean, that takes anybody’s legs out. It takes my legs out chasing him. So there are going to be nights maybe when his legs aren’t there because he’s having to work so hard on both ends, but we won’t see 0 for 13 on Thursday night, that’s for sure.”

That is sweet of D Fish to make excuses on Ray Allen’s behalf, but this is the time of the season where you are not allowed to be tired, not allowed to take a play off, and for someone who is famous for shooting the ball at an unbelievable level, and having jsut made NBA history the game before, you must do just that.

You must deliver, or else your record will fade into the fog of the minds of fans of the team that lost the series.

This ebb and flow from game 2 to game 3 by Allen has to mark one of the worst regressions in the caliber of performance coming after the game in which an NBA history is made.

Really though, if you think about the bright side, the only possibly direction Ray Allen has to go at this point is up, so the potential odds for the Celtics to show their resilience and bounce back in game 4 for a win is seemingly in their favor.