The Lake Show

Let's see. We'll have the Kobe beef and the kung Pau.

I don't write a ton about pro sports to the depth that I'll write about the Illini. A big part of that is because my favorite teams (the Reds, Bengals, and Knicks) have been terrible. The Yanks, Pats, and Lakers are the teams that I admire most, so I root for them after my favorite teams are out of contention. This usually happens 4 weeks into the season. Of the teams worth of admiration, the one that I actually like the best is the Lakers.

I've always been a Laker fan. A big part of this was growing up in Cincy in the mid-80's. It was either the goofy, white Celtics, the ugly Pistons, the not-quite great Trail Blazers or Jazz, or the Magic/Riles/Showtime Lakers. I always loved watching Magic and Kareem as a kid. I didn't know anything about basketball, but I liked watching those guys. But, the Lakers were relegated to my 2nd favorite team after I moved out to NY.

The Knicks were on TV a lot, and at that point, Magic had gotten AIDS, my man Nick Van Exel couldn't quite get the Lakers into the playoffs, and Riles had come back to NY. I found out that Riles was a local kid who played ball at Schenectady HS, before going to Kentucky for college. Lots of connections emerged. My buddy Joe's uncle did some regional scouting for Riles. Our HS coach's old man was the coach for those old Schenectady HS teams, and he had played with Riles. So my loyalty to the Knicks made sense. Plus, I got to root against those candy-assed Bulls.

Flash forward a dozen years. The Knicks are a train wreck, coached by Isiah, who I never liked. I hated the Pistons for dethroning my Lakers, and I also hated him for his stint with the Pacers (when the Knicks were jostling with the Pacers to be the 2nd best team in the East). I lost a lot of loyalty when they couldn't make a good enough of a roster to keep my man Jeff Van Gundy interested enough to coach. I still want them to do well, but they're largely unwatchable. I've become a Jazz fan now that my guy D-Will is there being awesome. But not in a passionate way. I want them to do well, but I root more for D-Will. But through it all, I'm still a Lakers fan. I've always been a Kobe guy. I think that he's on par with MJ, which is blasphemy here in the cornfields of Illinois, but I've always argued that he'd be the best player ever. LeBron may have some issues with that statement in 10 years. But right now, Kobe's the best player in the world, has been since 2000, and probably will be for the 2 or 3 seasons.

Kobe and the Lakers had been looking for an inside presence since the departure of the Diesel, and now they will have two legitimate ones in a few weeks, once Babyface Bynum returns to the lineup. With the triangle offense, you ideally run things through the post, though having an elite wing option lets you do otherwise. Lamar Odom isn't a true low block option, but is a wing-4, but the Lakers had been a decent team without having a legit post option for the last couple years simply because Kobe is stellar. Now, with the emergence of Bynum as not only a shot blocker and rebounder, but a legit offensive option, the Lakers made the jump into the top 5 of the West. There was still the problem of depth inside - Ronny Turiaf was the 2nd best interior player, but was very limited (think Kurt Thomas w/out the range). Enter Pau Gasol. He's a better scorer than Bynum, though not quite the shot blocker. But he'll rebound and run. Immediately, he steps in to become the starting 5. When Bynum comes back, the Lakers will have a very good frontline with depth, and should be able to legitimately play Bynum and Gasol together (though we'll have to see how they can defend the pick and roll with that lineup).

The Lakers may be the best choice in the West right now. The Hornets are good, but they don't have any playoff experience. Ditto for the Blazers, who are also very young. The Nuggets are intriguing, but are sort of shallow - they're only running 8 guys right now. The Jazz are still not quite there (need more shooting). The Rockets are mystifying. The Warriors are like the Suns-lite. The usual suspects are a little off. The Spurs are old/injured. The Suns are limited in potential and match up horribly with the Lakers. And the Mavs have no killer instinct. The Lakers have the best player, a solid outside shooter in Fisher. Two legit low block options in Bynum and Gasol, and a wing guy in Odom who can play the game inside and out. Their bench has Turiaf coming in as a solid big, Bill Walton's son as a point forward, Trevor Ariza as a legit defensive stopper and energy guy, Jordan Farmar is an athletic point, and Vujacic can come in to give energy and jack 3's. That makes for 10 legit NBA players, a nice mix of youth and experience, and a bench full of options to help with matchups.

We'll see if any of those guys can slow down Tim Duncan in the playoffs, since the Spurs are still the favorite until they lose. And it'll be interesting to see how good the Pistons and Celtics really are. But right now, I'm liking the Lake Show.

-Chairman