What happened to the mighty Suns?

Lakers 2
Suns 0

Feels good. Feels really good. Kobe for MVP.

I know it's not yet halfway through the season, but the gap in quality from the last couple seasons between these two has been completely eliminated. I'm loving the Lakers run, so far, but I'm not ready to call them a championship contender for this season. I am, however, ready to say that Phoenix is out of that discussion. Still San Antonio's to lose, but I guess Boston would have to be considered the only team that could stop them.

Lakers 119 - Suns 98

And folks, it wasn't even that close. FEELIN' YOU!

So proud of my boys for last night's insane performance on the road, sans Lamar. Watched all 48 minutes and was elated through just about all of it. They worked it with four point guards, even! Quite easily my favorite Laker game since Kobe's OT buzzer-beater in game 4 of the 2006 first round against Phoenix. Vlad Radmanovic for MVP! What a difference not having Smush Parker makes.

And now, an exchange between Suns fanatic Brent and Laker honk Alan...

Brent:
Sorry I didn't respond to your series of taunting texts. I passed out from lack of sleep at about 10 o'clock.

Anyway, the Suns seem to have a chronic early-season problem. It has happened the last three years (remember they went 1-5 to start the year last year, and lost their first game against the Lakers when they didn't have Kobe). That interior defense is atrocious, and if they think Boris Diaw and Brian Skinner are going to keep them guys out of the paint and keep them in games on the defensive glass, they are going to have a long season.

Also, Grant Hill needs to stop taking threes. His ranger is 19-feet and in. Mike D'Antoni was pissed at Phil Jackson for calling that timeout in the fourth quarter (he yelled at Phil, "It's alright, we have three more games.". Phil then told D'Antoni to "shut the fuck up." In the press conference afterwards, D'Antoni said, "I thought he disrespected our players, but he likes to play the mind games. That's fine. He might want to try to do it in playoff time when we bust them every time."

Always good to see the flames stoked in a rivalry. I guess the chemistry issues need to work themselves out over the course of the first month of the season, but Hill should be coming off the bench.

One thing I've seen that I really like: Boris has a 17-foot jumper. Other than that, Amare's interior D still isn't very good, Raja and LB are recovering from injuries that prevent them from shooting well (LB 0-for-4 from the FT line- injured ribs; Raja 3-for-17 in two games- tendinitis in ankle), and for some inexplicable reason, Marcus Banks is getting playing time in the first quarter (I'd rather see DJ Strawberry out there).

An early ass-kicking is a good thing. Wake up, people! It's no longer the preseason.

Alan:
Yeah, I still can't over how much we owned the interior. THIS IS WHAT HAPPENS WHEN WE PLAY DEFENSE!! Lack of defensive consistency has killed this team the last couple seasons, but last night? Wow. All I could think was, "Where the fuck is Amare?" And the announcers felt the same. All 12 Lakers got playing time and contributed... by halftime. This was one of those odd games where our bench was actually clicking on all cylinders. If only 2 guys a night -- say Radmanovic and Bynum or any such combo -- were hitting, this'd be a very solid team. But to have everyone on fire? Our shooting was unbelievable which points to some slop perimeter D from the Suns (you mentioned Raja and LB being hurt) which Screamin' A. Smith was crowing about at halftime . No Odom either, which probably was a good thing in this instance (everyone knowing they had to pick up the slack).

The Phil-D'Antoni spat amuses me. Given, the game was completely in hand when that TO was called, but I think the average age of the Lakers on the floor at the time was something like 21. They still need coaching, teaching, discipline. D'Antoni came off as a baby, really, because we all know Phil is into teaching the kids for future occassions.

Most importantly, I think Kobe came away from last night feeling a little less dejected about his predicament. Very interested to see how this unexpected whoopin' affects their intensity on Sunday against Utah.

Draft lottery madness!

Tonight's NBA Draft Lottery was shock galore.

1. Portland
2. Seattle
3. Atlanta
4. Memphis
5. Boston

Wow. Bill Simmons just had a coronary. And my buddy Brent (that's me doing my best Bill Simmons impersonation, although I should probably give Brent some ridiculous nickname like "Tub"), the most die-hard Phoenix Suns fan ever, is crying in his milk, right now. Obviously, Portland and Seattle are the huge winners of the Oden-Durant sweepstakes (duh!), while Memphis and Boston, owners of the two worst records in the league, are terrible losers (duh, again!). The Celtics brought this on themselves, though, as no cosmic universe worth it's salt would allow a team that just re-upped Doc Rivers to have a chance at Oden/Durant. Memphis? Forget 'em. Everyone else has (POW! I'll be here all the week, folks. Try the veal and tip your waitress).

Phoenix could've used that lottery pick in the hopes of making a play for Kevin Garnett. Guess the time has arrived for them to parlay their other two first-round picks and either Marion of Amare and probably their 1st rounder in '08 for that final piece to put them over. Question is: will that offer be better than what Chicago or the Lakers can come up with? Steve Nash had better hope so. The clock is ticking. And, honestly, I don't see the Suns parting with Amare.

And how scary did the Western Conference just become? Already light years better than the East, Portland and Seattle just stepped up as potential playoff teams for next season. That brings the total of Western Conference teams playing out the season down to three (Memphis, Minny, and Sacto). I just have to say it: relegation would be such a sweet play for the NBA. Stack all thirty teams in one table, have the top 20 in division one and the bottom 10 in division two. Switch out the bottom four from division one for the top four from division two every season, while the top 16 from D1 advance to the playoffs. Then we'll see some fairness for these Western Conference teams. No more of these 39-win teams making the playoffs. Not in my NBA.

Alas, my utopian NBA is but a pipe-dream. But at least I can dream.

Oh wait, did I mention that Isiah Thomas is the biggest idiot the league has seen in ages? I guess that goes without saying, huh? I know the Bulls are a fan.

Undoing Golden State's work

No, that's not a reference to the Warriors going down to Utah in five games. What Golden State accomplished in the first round (hell, up through game 3 of the Jazz series) jump-started the once-flatlining pulse of the NBA. But the Association has a knack for shooting itself in the foot and with the stupidity of the decision to suspend Amare "Shiver-Me-Timbers" Stoudemire and Boris Diaw for tonight's game against the Spurs, are dangerously close to eliminating the excitement that was initiated by the Warriors in round one and built upon by this tenacious Suns/Spurs series. The Wall Street Journal covers all views on why this was a bonehead move by David Stern & co. Know what the NBA hasn't had in several years? A rivalry. Guess it doesn't want one, either. After all, who cares about passion, intensity, and bad blood? Certainly no one interested in television ratings or fan approval, that's for sure.

Memo to the NBA: Stop worrying about "spreading the game" in some jerkhole village in China and get back to focusing on the here and now. Your product will be the better for it.

Desert Dogs

Don't know if anyone's noticed, but the Phoenix Coyotes are the hottest team in professional sports not named the Phoenix Suns. Gretzky's resurrection job with the 'Yotes begins with the ace-goaltending they've received from CuJo and the next super Swede, Mikael Tellqvist. They've been nails during this run.

Speaking of goaltenders, Dan Cloutier is out after hip surgery, so you'd figure the Kings would be improving defensively, right?? I mean, we've got the first Japenese player in NHL history on our side. Why wouldn't we be doing incredibly well? After all, Fukufuji only let in half of the six goals conceded to Atlanta, last night. In fact, during this current four-game-pointless streak, the Kings have conceded 20 goals! My lord, you call yourselves professionals? Thank heaven Anze Kopitar is there. He's been the one silver-lining to what may end up being the most embarrassing season in franchise history. The Flyers may beat the Kings for worst record in the NHL, but I'd wager that Philly still has a better team. After all, they did beat the Kings earlier this season. If LA doesn't get the "Ugly" award on Barry Melrose's podcast this week, I'll be stunned.

By the by, has anyone else noticed (wait, no, of course you haven't) that the NHL All-Star game will be played on a Wednesday? Just how far into obscurity has this league fallen? But then, baseball has their All-Star game midweek, too. Whatever, All-Star games are lame.

Just another 2-3 weeks

That's how much longer Lamar Odom will be out of the lineup with his sprained knee. The Lakers miss him terribly. They got a split on this 6-game roadie, but really should've had Charlotte last night. Especially after Kobe went for 58. Brian Cook's been filling in really well in Odom's absence, but until Lamar comes back, it's a coin toss whether this team will win night-in, night-out. We're good enough to beat Orlando, but fall to the Bobcats? Harsh. At least they're playing hard every game -- more than can be said of the last two seasons.

While it might be blasphemous to say, the recent run of form since Lamar left the lineup with a sprained knee suggests that he is the most valuable player on the team with regards to chemistry and cohesion in transition. Kobe might well be an MVP-candidate and has had some amazing performances that single-handedly lifted us to victory, but Odom seems to get our interior players more involved. This shouldn't be interpreted as a "Kobe is a ballhog" jab. On the contrary, he has vastly improved his ability to get teammates involved in the flow of the game. He's bought into Phillip's system, he's beginning to achieve that next level of super-stardom and credit the organization itself for helping Kobe along with that transition by providing him a supporting cast that is talented, athletic, energetic, and not named Devean George or Slava Medvedenko. It's much easier to be the consumate teammate when you can trust your supporting cast to chip in a few points here and there.

Up next: a New Years Eve homecoming (and reprieve) against the Iverson-less Sixers.

Switching gears to another NBA team I've been lucky enough to get a load of over the past week: The Phoenix Suns. There's not a more entertaining team to watch in all of pro sports, right now. The clash against Dallas on Thursday was epic, playoff intensity, but the Mavs found a way to beat Phoenix without scoring in the 140s: halfcourt defense. Of course, this all relies on made baskets and limiting Phoenix's transition attack, but in the 4th quarter, Dallas was consistently able to set up on defense and force the Suns down to 3-2-1 seconds on the shot clock. It did the trick and it neutralized, to a degree, that unrelenting speed of Leandro Barbosa. I tell you what, with the ball, I've never seen a faster basketball player in my life. The guy can slice anybody up.

The drive from LA to Phoenix

Did the 6-hour road trip last night (in time to watch Liverpool this morning) and listened to quite a bit of "the sports" on the radio. I don't even have anything fancy like Sirius or XM (again, what's technology?), but managed to listen to the entirety of the Lakers win over the Nets, the last few minutes of overtime in the Suns loss to Washington, and some post-game reaction/phone-in for the local University of New Mexico affiliate (?!?!?!) after their shock win over Wichita State in Vegas. In order...

- Kobe had the flew and still managed 21p/11a, but just like the Minnesota win on Wednesday, it was the bench that carried the Lakers. Very, very weird game. The second half was probably the streakiest half of basketball of all time. No flow, just two teams trading 11-0 and 9-1 runs. Very bizarre. Two things that I'd said before on this page which I'd like to repeat because they're worth repeating: 1) Marcus Williams is going to be a great point guard and could well be the steal of this draft. 2) His rookie counterpart Jordan Farmar needs even more playing time. I love the way he plays.

- Hard to fault Phoenix for not being able to extend their 15-game win streak into 16, given that they just arrived at the arena just a few short hours after a nightmarish return from Denver, but excuses are like a-holes, ultimately. Even so, 42p/14a from Nash and a narrow loss in OT to a team who is proving with every passing game that they can run with anyone. Gilbert Arenas is looking like a 1st Team All NBAer, thus far (it's gotta be him and Nash in the backcourt, right now). 54 points last night. 60 versus the Lakers, last Sunday. I wonder, quite honestly, with the Eastern Conference being as wide open as it is, why not Washington in the Finals? Miami's chances, evidently, rest entirely on Shaq's health. Detroit still represents a challenge, still, and Cleveland's always given the Wizards trouble over the last two years, so those are the main obstacles. Can Orlando keep up their pace? Obviously, no one from the Atlantic division is relevant. So given how good the Wizards have looked on this west coast trip, why not them as a darkhorse for the Finals. I tell you what, it would certainly spice things up for the league. Washington may not be a big TV draw, but they play a very attractive style and Arenas is one of the league's budding stars. Surely, just the sheer surprise of them showing up in the Finals is sure to perk a few ears up.

Also in the NBA, Iverson had an excellent Nuggets debut, but... yeah, a loss to Sacto. We'll see what this team is really all about -- both the good and bad -- when Carmelo returns.

- Explain this one to me: Local University of New Mexico affiliate broadcasting 100 miles west of Phoenix? (There's a San Francisco station, too, but that wasn't sports radio) AM 770 had all the lowdown after the Lobos upset of the top ten Shockers. From the sound of it, WSU didn't put forth their best effort, but it was pretty amusing listening to some of these UNM die-hards calling in. I swear, if you didn't know ahead of time which team they were cheering for, you'd think they sounded like fans of a program like Duke or Kentucky. Not because of the success, but the dillusion that they're entitled to such success. It's like no one's told them that they play in the Mountain West Conference and haven't made much noise in recent seasons. They slay coach Rich McKay as if his expectations are equal to that of Coach K or Bob Knight. Amazing. But on the other side of the coin, it's nice that even marginal programs have die-hards like that. The Pit in Albuquerque is still intimidating to play at.

One more college hoops note. Today's Ohio State v Florida game should be a good one, but there's a lot of juice taken out of it with the absence of Al Horford. It leads me to believe that the Buckeyes will land a road victory (and then repeat that success on the football field, Jan. 8th), but I don't think they'll get their best shot from Florida. For a true guage of where each of these teams stand, you'd need both sides healthy.