Feb.28 at 12:03 pm

Bigi says:
Fiiiiiiiiiirst!

Feb.28 at 12:05 pm

Bigi says:
I’ve said it before but if the Lakers win tha West Kob is the MVP.

Feb.28 at 12:08 pm

TADOne says:
…

Feb.28 at 12:13 pm

Eboy says:
Yes, Mutoni, the possibility of your boys incredibly historic 55 win season is so hard to keep the rest of the basketball world’s excitement in check. I’ve never seen a team in my 25 years+ of basketball watching that has been so good.

Feb.28 at 12:20 pm

Krayzie Bone says:
ouch the sarcasm hurts all the way up here eboy. I don’t think their bench is that great. There are a couple of good players, but I think its pretty ordinary. However their starting unit is amazing right now, and if bynum meshes, they’ll be deadly. I don’t know about this year, but next year they hoist the trophy imo.

Feb.28 at 12:28 pm

peteb80 says:
It’ll be interesting to see which overhyping is getting people tired quicker: Lakers or Celtics? While the Celtics made a very strong push for my hate earlier in the season, the Lakers have taken the lead and may keep it for good.

Feb.28 at 12:31 pm

Eboy says:
Krazie, I actually have never hated the Lakers, if anything, it was them who gave me my first taste of basketball greatness in Magic’s first year. I cheered for them with Magic during the Showtime days, when the held together with Cedric Ceballos, Elden Campbell, Nick the Quick and the Shaq years. They were never MY team, but I loved their style. They sucked for a couple of seasons and now that they’re back on the winning track and the world is up their collective as*es. It’s just annoying. They are a good team, but the overt love for them is just a tad ridiculous especially by people who know nothing of their legacy before 2000.

Feb.28 at 12:34 pm

Marcel Mutoni says:
i can’t wait for tonight’s massacr, er, game, eboy.

Feb.28 at 12:41 pm

niQ says:
best bench?.. the only ppl doing relatively anything as of late are susha and farmar..
as for bench i would have to go with either the raptors or boston

Feb.28 at 12:42 pm

Eboy says:
Cute, Marcel, not original of course, but cute. If your boys f*ck around and lose the game tonight, I’ll expect something interesting from your fingers tomorrow morning to explain how a tradegy of such epic proportions occured. But you should be ok.

Feb.28 at 12:46 pm

Captain America says:
Lakers have a great rotation going. Kudos to Phil Jackson and crew. The bench brings energy every game and are just hitting their stride.

Feb.28 at 12:46 pm

Russ Bengtson says:
There was basketball before 2000? NO WAY!

Feb.28 at 12:47 pm

Russ Bengtson says:
And their bench probably isn’t the most talented or anything, but they believe. That counts for an awful lot.

Feb.28 at 12:48 pm

Eboy says:
I agree with that, Russ.

Feb.28 at 12:50 pm

anders says:
best bench must be detroit…

Feb.28 at 12:52 pm

Myles Brown says:
My favorite team is better than your favorite team….

Feb.28 at 12:52 pm

Marcel Mutoni says:
if they lose to miami tonight, eboy, i’ll eat my slippers.

Feb.28 at 12:55 pm

Russ Bengtson says:
They also know and accept their roles. I don’t remember hearing about any Lakers demanding more playing time or sulking because they don’t get enough shots.

Feb.28 at 12:55 pm

TADOne says:
I’m more shook picturing Mutoni in slippers and pajamas.

Feb.28 at 12:56 pm

Eboy says:
Actually Myles, both teams you like are better than my sorry ass team.

Feb.28 at 12:57 pm

TADOne says:
That’s because Kobe would air their a$$ out on a camera phone in a parking lot, Russ.

Feb.28 at 12:57 pm

Eboy says:
Don’t do anything that harsh, Marcel. I actually am cheering for every opposing team for the rest of the season so they are guarenteed the most lottery balls.

Feb.28 at 1:00 pm

Todd D. says:
As a Celtics fan, did I mention how great it feels to have the best record in the league? Oh, well it’s equally tremendous. I’d love a Finals reunion of the Lkaers and Celtics, how cool would that be?

Feb.28 at 1:01 pm

Joel O's says:
The Lakers bench is, honestly, good… now that they ARE the bench and not masquerading as starters, which they were for the last few years.

Feb.28 at 1:01 pm

TADOne says:
….

Feb.28 at 1:09 pm

Marcel Mutoni says:
while we’re here: can miami be banned from being shown on national tv until they’re at least a .500 team? it’s as if the networks are showing their games just to torture us.

Feb.28 at 1:12 pm

TADOne says:
So no Miami games till 2010? Sounds about right.

Feb.28 at 1:12 pm

TADOne says:
Of course, that wouldn’t be fair for Beasley.

Feb.28 at 1:12 pm

Joel O's says:
Hmmm, Marcel. Miami doesn’t win much now, but they’re not unwatchable. There are a whole bunch of teams with better records which aren’t tremendously exciting to the average fan. It’s funny how fast people jumped on and off the bandwagon though, and must really pi$$ Heat fans off.

Feb.28 at 1:13 pm

Eboy says:
I agree.

Feb.28 at 1:15 pm

Marcel Mutoni says:
miami is not necessarily unwatchable, but they don’t deserve to be on national tv every week (which it seems like they are). it’s a shame tv schedules are so rigid, because teams like the hornets should be getting a lot more attention.

Feb.28 at 1:17 pm

Eboy says:
No Mutoni, they ARE unwatchable, believe me.

Feb.28 at 1:18 pm

Russ Bengtson says:
TV schedules shouldn’t be so rigid, period.

Feb.28 at 1:32 pm

Krayzie Bone says:
I wasn’t saying that the sarcasm hurt because I was a fan. I’m indifferent to the organization, and to Kobe. I’ve always liked Pau, but I think they’ll win because of the asymmetry of the trade and because they were good before it. I was saying the sarcasm hurt because it was a good line.

Feb.28 at 1:50 pm

RV says:
didn’t radmanovic (sp?) complain about shots last yr? Or was that earlier this year?

Feb.28 at 1:51 pm

Adrian Zapata says:
San Antonio has the best bench.

Feb.28 at 1:52 pm

Russ Bengtson says:
No one takes Halfpipe seriously anyway.

Feb.28 at 1:57 pm

stoned_raider says:
They will have the best bench when bynum comes back to start. They will have Ariza, Farmar, Radmonavich, Vujuacic, Turiaf, and maybe even Chris Mihm can come back to do a decent back up center job. Don’t forget Coby Karl, and Mbenga!!

Feb.28 at 2:11 pm

TMT says:
Ya’ll keep hating on the lakers and during playoff time we’ll all be singing “LA… LA LA! LA! LA!” just like soccers Ole.

Feb.28 at 2:13 pm

Krayzie Bone says:
I will forget Karl And Mbenga. Ariza has shown potential this year, but he still hasn’t made an impact in the league. On the bench however, he’s an servicable player. Farmar is a talent, Radman is ok but sulks too much. Turiaf does dirty work, and Vujacic has contributed as well. Not on your life are they the best in the league, but they are good enough for the 10-15 they get a night to ensure that the starting 5 can pound an opponent into the ground without risking their bodies.

Feb.28 at 2:20 pm

TADOne says:
Can’t have a party without a DJ.

Feb.28 at 2:24 pm

matt the jazz fan says:
When Manu comes off the bench, he INSTANTANEOUSLY makes the Spurs’ bench the best in the league. Hurts to say that but it’s true (IMO).

Feb.28 at 2:36 pm

Reggie Evans says:
@Eboy - I am offended by your second comment - I was up their collective as*es from DAY ONE!

Feb.28 at 2:41 pm

RV says:
if the suns can pull off signing Barry and the now rumored giricek, then Barry, Leandro, giricek, diaw and skinner may be a better back up 5, at least until Bynum returns

Feb.28 at 2:49 pm

Krayzie Bone says:
Manu coming off the bench is some sort of trickery. The guy averages 31 minutes and 21 points. He’s not really the prototype of a bench player, since the starter at his spot will be averaging 17 minutes (though he could be in a 3 man rotation at the 2-3 spot). I think that the Jazz have the deepest bench in the league.

Feb.28 at 2:50 pm

RV says:
I usually look at if the bench players would start on any other team, guys like Coby and DJ would definitely not start anywhere, Ariza couldn’t even start on the knicks full time, and even sasha may not, only Farmar, Turiaf, Radmonavic would, and Bynum and Mihm, but they’re injured

Feb.28 at 2:53 pm

RV says:
I agree Manu isn’t really part of the Spurs’ bench, they only have Damon, Thomas, and Finley as guys who’d start, and probably Udoka

Feb.28 at 2:53 pm

Reggie Evans says:
They’re the best bench players that are supposed to be bench players. As opposed the bench players who are supposed to be starters. Well, Jordan Farmar is the only one that fits the bill on the Lakers.

Feb.28 at 2:56 pm

RV says:
Utah’s bench got shorter when Fisher left, and Korver just replaced Giricek, so they only have Korver, Millsap and Harpring as guys who could be regular starters, and MAYBE collins

Feb.28 at 2:58 pm

RV says:
Similar to what russ said, they accept their roles, so I think they’re the best bench for the Lakers, but not the best in the league, they fit the Lakers’ system and compliment the others well, but talent wise, not the best.

Feb.28 at 3:03 pm

Krayzie Bone says:
That I can wholeheartedly agree with. They fit, which is very important. The Rock’s motto applies to bench players in the league. The Raptors have the most maddeningly inconsistent bench in the league. 1 night, any one of their smalls can score a (relative) tonne on you. Other nights, they’ll collectively go for 13.

Feb.28 at 3:03 pm

G Diesel says:
Remember this: Out of the 9 times that a Phil Jackson team has won 40 games before losing 20, they won the championship 9 times.

Feb.28 at 3:14 pm

Krayzie Bone says:
interesting stat. Pointless stat of the day: Ginobili is averaging the 5th best points per minute in the league (exlcluding guys who don’t actully play that much ie. Jerome James 42 points per 48 minutes).

Feb.28 at 3:16 pm

RV says:
I’m sure Phil knew that before saying that great teams win 40 before losing 20, and there’s probably several other unusual stats like that, some in their favor and some that are not, but Phil likes mind games, so what better way to motivate and boost his team’s confidence?

Feb.28 at 3:25 pm

Stewie Griffin says:
It’s gonna be interesting to see how Phil manages the transition when Bynum comes back. If the Lakers roll like they do right now with Bynum back in the roster, they’re gonna be almost unstoppable.

Feb.28 at 3:29 pm

RV says:
another pointless stat of the day: the rockets are 17-1 when Carl Landry plays more than 10 mins and 20-19 when he doesnt, just saw that on ESPN,, but Manu is definitely a beast when he wants to be

Feb.28 at 3:49 pm

Krayzie Bone says:
I don’t like per 48 stats because players productivity drops as the game gets longer. If Lebron could give 48 every night, he would.

Feb.28 at 3:51 pm

tt says:
i hope Mr. Mutoni doesn’t have to eat his slippers lol.

Feb.28 at 3:57 pm

Reggie Evans says:
G Diesel: Past performance does not guarantee future results. PJ also never lost a first round playoff series before the LA-Phoenix matchups.

Feb.28 at 4:42 pm

Ben Osborne says:
Where’s Bodie?

Feb.28 at 8:31 pm

B. Long says:
Young Drew & Spanish Fly are gonna be sic together. With Sasha playing like he practices and Ronny doing his best Big Ben in Detroit impressions for 20 min a night there gonna tough to beat. Oh yeah that Bryant kid isn’t playing to bad either…

Feb.29 at 5:08 am

underdog says:
Farmar is great.

Feb.29 at 9:25 am

Bruno says:
no way l.a. has the best bench, but for me, they now have the best starting 5 (considering bynum in)
think about it
* kobe, the #1 in the nba
* gasol, scoring and rebound guarantee, proven player
* odom, a very versatile player that can do it all, and now, as a 3rd to 4th option, can be that god player from years ago
* bynum, improving his game a lot
* fisher, not great, but very solid and expierience PG i go with lakers this year, and hope that the nba show that Kobe is the MVP
last year was just as ridiculous as jason kidd losing that mvp on his killing year

Feb.29 at 11:39 am

Bruno - Brasil says:
tell you what… if the lakers are not champs this year (unless its injuries), popovich has to be recognized as top 5 coach history
yes, cause only san antonio can stop the lakers and pops is gonna have to study the lakers veeeeery well, so, bynum out for that long can be positive… lakers will be even better in the playoffs, at least i hope for it.
not a lakers fan, but kobe deserves it!
its terrible to see such a great player with so many haters. kobe is the best ball player since jordan… EASY. NOT A NEW JORDAN, OF COURSE, BUT THE BEST SINCE…