When you think of Kobe Bryant, you think of heart, determination and the will to win. Nobody can or will ever question the integrity or the pure love of the game of the man and that is why he is one of the greatest players in NBA history. But even for legends, father time catches up to them eventually. Over the last year Kobe has suffered an Achilles injury that sidelined him for eight months only to return to the court for all of six games and fracture his knee. He did continue to play on the fractured knee and well I might add, leading the Lakers to a victory. But Kobe isn’t the only aspect of the Los Angeles Lakers that is hurting.

After an impressive 2012 offseason where the Lakers formed a team of Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol, the team struggled mightily mainly with injuries and never found a way to get it “clicking”. Howard would eventually leave Los Angeles for Houston, leaving the Lakers empty with an aging roster. Coming into the 2013 season, the Lakers weren’t projected to do anything and so far they have lived up to that hype or lack of it. Even with some exciting wins and close games, fans have become restless watching the team they love become mediocre. With a seemingly endless supply of nagging injuries, the 2013 season seems like a lost one at this point.

If Kobe stays out and the Lakers continue on the path they’re on, they might have a chance to draft a player like Jabari Parker. By TonyTheTiger (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

The Solution:

I have never been one to condone “tanking” because I believe that it isn’t fair to do and makes for a bad impression on a franchise, but in some cases, I can understand why teams would do it. After coming back from the Achilles injury, Kobe proved that he could still do his normal “Kobe” things on the court but after suffering another injury, I believe that he should just sit out the rest of the season. As a fan of basketball, this hurts me to say because of the kind of player he is but I think it is the best thing for him and the Lakers. Lets be honest, the Lakers aren’t coming close to winning a championship this season, which is the goal for Kobe and the Lakers. If they are lucky, the Lakers would make the playoffs and get bounced out in the first round again. For some teams around the league that is alright because it means they are at least in the conversation. For the Lakers, though that kind of situation is unacceptable. The worst possible place to be in NBA standings is being a mid-level team, and that is what the Lakers are at the moment.

The Lakers should have Kobe sit out the rest of the season so that he can take time and recover fully from both his injuries and rejuvenate his 35 year old body back into amazing shape for the new season next year. He only has a certain amount of playing time left so why come back and risk possible injury again during a season that is meaningless in this ultimate goal. Also, the Lakers finally have a first round draft pick this season in what is considered maybe the deepest draft since the LeBron draft back in 2003. Get a really good draft pick and take a very young good player to help the team for years to come while matching that with all the cap space that the Lakers will have in the offseason, it seems like a great plan.

Kobe has always been a very prideful player, never wanting to give an inch or relax for a second. But for once in his career, he should sit back and relax as he prepares for the challenges that will face him in his final years in the NBA, trying to get that coveted sixth ring.

The Los Angeles Tankers? Think again.

Mike D’Antoni deserves credit for the Lakers start to the season after a season of criticism. By Chamber of Fear, via Wikimedia Commons

The Purple and Gold are 9-8 after 17 games without Kobe Bryant. Their record is something that nobody around the NBA expected, except for maybe the Lakers themselves. A team that was constructed with mainly one-year minimum salary contracts is winning and even when they lose they are interesting. For Lakers fans, this is a pretty awesome sight considering all the frustration from last season. It may only be one game over .500 right now but that’s a huge accomplishment for this team.

Coming into the season, the Lakers were expected to be a sub .500 team. After losing Dwight Howard, the Lakers were supposed to drop even farther in the standings. So far this season, though, this team has showed fight and determination. Players like Wesley Johnson, Jordan Farmar, Chris Kaman, and Shawne Williams made the Lakers certainly younger, longer, and more athletic than they were last season and it’s easy to see the improvement.

As much as everyone, including myself, criticized Mike D’Antoni last season we have to give him some credit. He has taken a team of career bench players and made them relevant every time they step out onto the floor.

So far this season, the Lakers have fought and grinded for wins, including victories over the Clippers, Rockets and Warriors. This team really seems to like one another and they are fun to watch. They play with hustle, heart and without fear or expectations, which is why they are having success. Fans can enjoy watching this team play and that is what makes it fun. I expect this trend to continue for the Lakers especially once Kobe comes back and look for them to make a run at making the playoffs in the tough Western Conference.

Much has been made recently about the Clippers decision to cover up the Lakers championship banners and retired jerseys during Clipper home games and I don’t understand why. When the Clippers have a home game they deserve to be able to make it their own arena and just because they share the stadium with the Lakers doesn’t mean that they need to keep Laker stuff all around.

Covering up the purple and gold is a ploy by an organization that finally is looking to step out from under the huge shadow of their big brother. The Clippers may have covered the banners up but everyone still knows what is behind the cover. As a NBA fan, I wish the Clippers luck this season as they try and become a powerhouse NBA team.

Staples Center is home to both the Clippers and Lakers but is more known because of the purple and gold. By Prayitno from Los Angeles, USA, via Wikimedia Commons

I find it extremely comical that now that the Clippers are relevant, the “fans” have started to come out of their shell and support the team. Before the “basketball reasons” incident from a few years ago, you could walk down the street in Los Angeles and not see a single Clippers anything, no billboards, no merchandise being worn, nothing. Although I will admit that the Clippers have become the most exciting team in Los Angeles, they will never be the city’s favorite. Since the Lakers moved to LA, they have built such a strong fan base that their dominance will never be broken — no matter how good the Clippers become. Even though the Clippers are now a title contender, based off their history they are still a borderline NBA franchise until they prove otherwise. One division title in the 43 years the organization has been around is not a great track record. Many people would disagree with my take on who runs Los Angeles, but until they win anything, I stand by my statement. If they do end up winning anything I will be the first to take it back.

After winning a team-record 56 games last season, the Clippers seemed to finally be able to break through and make a run at an NBA title but ended up being bounced in the first round and ended up having only two more playoff wins than a depleted Lakers team without Kobe Bryant. People might look at that statistic as irrelevant but to me that says a lot about the two teams that share Staples.

This season looks to be different with the addition of Doc Rivers and some new players and time will tell. When the Lakers and Clippers are talked about, many people use the words “bragging rights” pertaining to the regular season wins. For me though, the Clippers can have all the regular season wins against the Lakers they want because at the end of the day championships are what matter most. Last time I checked the tally was 16-0 in favor of the purple and gold. If the Clippers ever want to be associated with the Lakers as a great franchise, they will have to do more than cover up the Laker championship banners in the building and start adding some of their own. Fans and analysts can talk all they want about Los Angeles being a Clipper town now and they aren’t wrong about them being the better team, but Los Angeles is and always will be a Laker town.

Losing a game is never a good thing in the NBA or any sport for that matter, but even losing sometimes has its positives. As for the Lakers, a night after a very impressive pre-season opening win, the team looked a little bit different than the night before and played different as well. Insert Steve Nash and Pau Gasol into the rotation and fans can pencil in another win, right? Wrong. Yes,  the Lakers may have lost the game but there were a lot of positives from this game that the Lakers organization should take away.

Despite the loss and a struggling offense, Pau Gasol led the Lakers in his pre-season debut. By Howcheng (Own work), via Wikimedia Commons

When the Lakers did score, they were lead by Pau Gasol and the so-far pre-season Laker MVP Xavier Henry. It seemed as if every shot Henry was taking went in for the young kid. He finished the night with 15 points on four of seven shooting. Another young player who stood out was forward Marcus Landry. Despite air-balling his first two shots, Landry ended the game with 13 points. In his debut, Steve Nash posted a zero in the points column but contributed five rebounds and six assists.

The Lakers as a team struggled most of the night and didn’t give the Staples Center fans much to cheer about, but two plays stood out from this night.

The first was on a behind the back left handed pass from Steve Nash to Steve Blake in the corner for a wide open three-pointer which he graciously drained. Then there was Darius Johnson-Odom throwing down a huge dunk on top of taller defenders late in the fourth quarter. At one point for about three to four minutes late in the fourth quarter, the Lakers lineup of Darius Johnson-Odom, Marcus Landry, Elias Harris, Xavier Henry and Eric Boateng were outplaying the Nuggets whom had Ty Lawson and Javale McGee on the court.

Sometimes, preseason trends don’t carry over into the regular season. Let’s hope this defensively-solid attitude does and that the offense comes around.

Ahh the NBA season is upon us in the form of pre-season games. While the pre-season may not count towards actual standings and won’t show what teams are really capable of, it does provide a chance for coaches and fans to watch as younger players try to prove themselves on the court and earn their right onto the team. This is especially true for the Lakers this pre-season. With injuries limiting Steve Nash and Pau Gasol, the youngsters and role players are getting a chance to make a name for themselves with coach D’Antoni.

Without Nash, Gasol and Kobe, the Lakers beat the Warriors showing promising talents. Maybe Kobe does have something to smile about this season. By LDCross, via Wikimedia Commons

They were hustling back after offensive possessions and were flying to guard the ball. The energy they brought was unlike anything we saw from a D’Antoni-run team. Only allowing 95 points to the Warriors was impressive as the Warriors played their starters and main role players most of the first half.

Without Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol, the young Lakers led the Warriors starters by three at halftime. Granted Xavier Henry earned the lead on a half-court heave at the buzzer but a lead is a lead nonetheless. Free agent signees, Chris Kaman and Nick Young led the way in the first half for the Lakers and really set the tone for the rest of the game. In the second half Jordan Farmar and Xavier Henry carried the load with a 12 point and 27 point games respectively. Henry showed off what everyone thought he was capable of doing when Memphis drafted him number 12 overall back in the 2010 draft. If he keeps this kind of play up, he will most certainly be granted a roster spot and it would be well deserved.

It may have been just one game but that one game showed a lot of hustle and heart from a team that really needs a lot of both this year. If Kobe, Nash and Gasol can all come back and play to the level we have grown to expect from them, this might actually be a scary team in the Western Conference. I’m not saying that the Lakers would be a championship contending team. I do, however, think they could become a team that nobody wants to see come playoff time. Also, this was the Lakers first pre-season win since 2011 and Mike D’Antoni’s first of his Laker career. Keep up the good work, boys.

The Lakers have Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash, Pau Gasol, Jordan Hill, Metta World Peace, Steve Blake, Jodie Meeks and Robert Sacre. That is eight players and the Lakers normally like to have 13-14 players on the roster, which means there will be some new faces wearing purple and gold this coming season. Unfortunately for the Lakers the only contracts they can offer to free agents is the veteran minimum because of their salary cap problems and the unwillingness to dig themselves deeper as they await the 2014 offseason, where they now that Howard left, will only have Nash’s 9 million on the books.

The Lakers will look to re-vamp the team in 2014 offseason but as for the 2014 regular season, it remains to be seen. The Lakers will likely try and build a team around Gasol at the center and Kobe Bryant, something which worked quite well if anyone remembers.  I do agree that the Lakers need to get younger and more athletic just to keep up with some of the teams in the NBA but the money situation puts them in a tight place. The Lakers will and are looking to add shooters to the team to help spread the floor. Familiar names such as Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic have come about but who knows with rumors nowadays.

Many people especially now that Howard has bolted have been quick to immediately throw the Lakers out, saying that they will be at the bottom of the standings but I for one disagree. The starting lineup of Gasol, Hill, Metta, Kobe and Nash is still pretty good and can make a run in the playoffs, just not for a title. But because the Lakers are the Lakers and not winning a title is considered a failure, I believe the team should “tank” unless they can find a way to make a huge splash of a trade. The 2014 draft is considered to have one of the better draft classes in a long time so falling in the standings for a year and drafting a good young player wouldn’t be such a bad idea. Who knows when Kobe will return, even though I believe it will be opening night and while Kobe and the rest of the Lakers might not like the idea, it makes more sense than to just be another mediocre team in the Western Conference without a chance to win the title.

Have Kobe come back fully healthy and play a little bit and then come back in 2014 full strength and hopefully take a pay cut to remain with the team to help with salary purposes and add leadership to the new core of Lakers. This is a strange time in Laker land but I think Laker fans would accept one year of “tanking” so that we could come back even stronger the next one. The Lakers will have trouble tanking and while that’s a good sign, they do have something going for them and it’s that they will have their checkbooks open and ready come the 2014 offseason.

The Lakers didn’t exactly have a banner year. By Sgt. Joseph A. Lee, via Wikimedia Commons

What if I told you in the beginning of the 2012-2013 NBA season that the Los Angeles Lakers with Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol on their roster would end up crawling their way into the playoffs and finally getting swept in the first round? You wouldn’t believe it, would you? You might call me crazy or a doubter but it’s the unfortunate reality for Lakers fans.

Beginning with high hopes for another run at an NBA title, this year ended up becoming one of the longest and most bizarre Laker seasons in the history of the franchise. Looking back, we should have seen this coming right? They did start out the season 1-12 including going 0-8 in the preseason and to me looking back on it, we should have seen that as the first big red flag. After two straight championships then followed by two second-round playoff exits, Lakers’ management decided it was time to shake things up and they did so in a huge way. By adding All Star center Dwight Howard and former All Star Steve Nash to a roster with Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, the Lakers looked primed to chase their 17th title. Add-in veteran Antwan Jamison and Jodie Meeks and things in Laker land seemed pretty good. As the season started, the Lakers fell to a 1-4 record through the first five games and fired coach Mike Brown and replaced him with offensive-minded Mike D’Antoni while spurning Hall of Fame coach Phil Jackson in the process.

To many fans’ and players’ disgust and disapproval, Mike D’Antoni was named head coach of the Lakers. Unfortunately for the team and their fans, the change of the coach didn’t help much as the team fell to a horrid 17-25 record at one point. Over the last 40 games, the Lakers had one of the league’s best records 28-12 and things finally started to look in the right direction for the Lakers. But the injury bug bit and fate decided that it just wasn’t meant to be for the Lakers. Pretty much every single player on the Lakers roster got hurt this season. With the team struggling to make the playoffs, Kobe Bryant tore his Achilles with just two games left. It was a bitter way to end his season after yet another outstanding and age-defying year by the Black Mamba. Barely sneaking into the postseason, the Lakers drew the San Antonio Spurs in the first round.

The Spurs had been banged-up themselves with injuries of Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker and many wondered if the Kobe-less Lakers could manage the upset. But, after game-one of the series, you could tell that the Spurs meant business and the Lakers were going to be no match for them. The Purple and Gold would end-up getting swept in the first round of the playoffs for the first time since the 1960s including a 31-point loss at home. It was the worst loss at home in franchise history. What a fitting way to end the bad season by getting swept on their home court. The only Laker star in his prime, Dwight Howard, even got ejected a little into the third quarter in what may have been his final game as a Laker. Looking back on it, I should have seen that the Lakers season was doomed from the start.

So what now?

This upcoming off-season might be one of the biggest Laker off-seasons in recent memory because of the many decisions that Jim Buss and the rest of the Lakers front office has to make. No longer do they have hall of fame owner Jerry Buss to help make decisions.

Many questions linger. What will they do with Pau Gasol? What will happen with Dwight Howard’s future with the Lakers? What will happen with Kobe trying to come back from the Achilles injury? Where do Antawn Jamison and Earl Clark fit in during the next few seasons? And most importantly, will Mike D’Antoni return as the coach of the Lakers? All of these questions will be answered in the coming months, but my answers to all these questions if I was the Lakers GM/owner would be as follows:

I think they should keep Pau because his versatility as a passer and shooter is something that most big men in the league don’t have and is a huge value to the team. Not knowing if Howard is going to stay is another reason to keep Pau for another year. In the worst case scenario, Pau is there for another season, then becomes a free agent and over $18 million comes off the Lakers’ books in 2014.

As for Dwight Howard, I believe that he will stay with the Lakers and sign a long-term contract for two reasons. One: where else is he going to go? Houston? Dallas? Atlanta? If Dwight wants to win like he says he does, then staying in Los Angeles should be priority number one. What other team is going to put talent around him to win? And what other fans are going to put up with all his drama? As for the second reason it is strictly Howard’s image and ego. His image has already taken a hit from his Orlando days and if he left the Lakers after one year, he would be playing for three teams in three years. This isn’t the profile of a franchise cornerstone.

Kobe Bryant has defied basketball odds time and time again but this will be his greatest test, coming back from an Achilles tear. I believe that he will come back stronger than ever. That is all I will say because questioning this man’s will and heart for the game is shameful and shouldn’t ever happen.

Now, on to the bench for the Lakers, I think they should re-sign Antwan Jamison for another season and keep him as a veteran for this team. He provides leadership and a unique shooting and cutting ability that can still help. I also think they should re-sign Earl Clark back just to have a younger, athletic player on the team that has played a season with all the players and knows the system. But they shouldn’t just stand pat. Jim Buss should try to sign another player or two that can help out the team like Nate Robinson and/or Kyle Korver to improve the team’s shooting.

The biggest question aside from the Howard drama is what to do with D’Antoni. To me, Mike Brown re-signing with the Cavs is a blessing in disguise for the Lakers. It eats up some of the salary that the Lakers still owe Brown and would make it so if they did indeed fire D’Antoni like most Laker fans and media members want to happen, it would equal them just paying Mike Brown if you add up D’Antoni’s and the rest of the money owed to Brown. I think they should fire D’Antoni and not because he was a bad coach because he was a good coach under all the scrutiny he endured all year. That being said, he isn’t the right coach for this team and the Lakers management needs to realize that. The team wasn’t even running his offensive system all season. How can you have a coach who doesn’t even run his own system? My message to the Lakers: Fire D’Antoni.

I cannot go as far to say that this was the worst season in Lakers history. They did make the playoffs. But it has to be one of the mot disappointing seasons in recent memory. I attended the final game of the season where the Lakers got swept by the Spurs and the atmosphere in the Staples center was unlike any I have every seen there before. It was clear that the fans were still very supportive but you could sense a huge disappointment among them — and rightfully so. The season was doomed the day the front office planned it out and the Kobe injury was the cherry on top of it. Hopefully next season will be better for the Lakers and that starts with the critical moves needed to be made this offseason. Hopefully Buss, Kupchak and company can find a way to restore the Lakers to the proud franchise that we all are used to seeing out there on the court.

Difficult to watch. Painful. Heartbreaking.

These are just a few descriptions to describe the scene in the Staples Center as Kobe Bryant limped off the court on Friday night. Many people in the stands or people just watching the game didn’t think too much of the injury, they just knew that he was having a very hard time and needed to leave the court. The man was in obvious pain and the fans knew it.

Lakers fans hope Kobe can get back to the court soon. By Keith Allison from Kinston, USA, via Wikimedia Commons

The injury looked bad, but nobody knew what was coming within the hour. It was a torn Achilles, out for the season and possibly the end to an era in Laker-land. After all he is going to be turning 35 this coming August and there has been much speculation of his retirement after his contract expires next season. The man the Laker faithful has looked to as a God was now finally looking human. Kobe has made a living off of defying odds and playing through a number of countless injuries and somehow still producing at his incredible level but not this time. When asked postgame if this was something he could just rest and shake off, Kobe said with puffy eyes, a sign of the Mamba breaking down, “I can’t walk”. And for anyone who read Kobes’ 3:00 AM rant on Facebook, it showed you his disappointment and love for his team and the city he plays for.

So, what now? Where does a Laker franchise go from here? For the last 17 years, Kobe has been the “man” and now he’s hurt. In the midst of one of the strangest and longest Lakers seasons in recent memory, it seems that he was destined to finally get hurt. Every member of the starting five has missed time this season with injuries from Nash to Pau to Dwight and so on. They had a coaching change going from defensive-minded Mike Brown to offensive powerhouse Mike D’Antoni. In my opinion, the season has been a complete failure since the day that the management spurned Phil Jackson and went with D’Antoni to coach the team. That being said, D’Antoni can coach and is good at it, so props to him for what he has done with all the distractions. Still, he isn’t the right coach for the Lakers. Many people will look at the extreme amount of minutes Kobe played before the injury including playing all 48 minutes against Portland, a game I was in attendance at. But in reality, Kobe needed to play all those minutes just to put this team into position to make the playoffs. Kobe knows his body better than almost any athlete I have ever seen and he wanted to play. It isn’t as if Kobe said no and D’Antoni forced him to go into the game.

As for Kobe and the Lakers, I don’t believe that he is done. He just can’t be. He is too good and too strongly motivated to get that coveted sixth ring to be done. Luckily for Kobe he didn’t tear his ACL or anything as serious like that. An Achilles tear is serious but is recoverable. He is expected to be out six to nine months, which would put him in perfect position to start the season if all goes well. Kobe is a freak when it comes to healing from injuries and despite the fact that he has never had to deal with this serious of an injury, I expect him to recover and be ready to chase the trophy again. But for now, Bryant is a spectator and coach on the bench as his team tries to make the playoffs without him.

What now?

It is now Dwight Howard’s time to step up and take control of his team and prove to the management and the fans that he is the building piece that we all believe him to be. It’s his time to shine and earn his money. I believe the Lakers will still make the playoffs and could possibly make a small run depending on whether or not they make their shots. Dwight Howard has already led a team to the NBA Finals once before in his career, only to be bested by Kobe and the Lakers. The part that makes me and many other fans so upset is all the hard work this team has put in to put themselves in position to make the playoffs after such a horrible start even with all the distractions and injuries throughout the season. The timing of the injury and just the injury in itself to the player is wrong.

This highly touted Laker season has been horrible for the players, for the fans and for the city of Los Angeles. A season that started with so much hope and happiness after acquiring Nash and Howard has turned into an injury-prone year where the team is barely holding onto the eighth seed in the West with two games left. If someone told me that in the beginning of the year, I would have laughed and brushed it off but now it has become a nightmare of a reality and the cherry on the top of this misguided season is now the unfortunate injury to Kobe.

Kobe is more than a basketball player to the city. He is a role model, a leader and most importantly a person who has given L.A. hope for his whole career with the purple and gold. His passion for the game of basketball and his raw will to win is unlike anything anyone has ever seen since Michael Jordan stepped foot onto a court and it seems we may never see a player with that mentality again in the NBA. With his killer instinct, you better believe the Black Mamba will be back and better than ever. The man has too much motivation to prove everyone wrong not too be.

Like the current Laker team, the 2003-2004 Laker team had much hype going into it. Adding hall of famers Gary Payton and Karl Malone will do that to a team, and they ended up making it to the NBA finals only to lose to the one-year wonder Detroit Pistons.

You may be wondering why it matters, since it was almost ten years ago and the current team looks nowhere close to a championship-contending squad, but the current team and the 03-04 has the same makeup of players. It was the last time that a Laker squad had this much “star” power on the roster and I found it very interesting the differences and similarities from the two teams. Lets check it out:

2003-2004 Lakers:

Coach: Phil Jackson

Record through 54 games: 35-19

Center: Shaq, 21.5 PPG and 11.5 rebounds per game

Power Forward: Karl Malone, 13.2 PPG and 8.7 rebounds per game

Small Forward: Devean George, 7.4 PPG and 4.0 rebounds per game

Shooting Guard: Kobe Bryant, 24.0 PPG and 5.1 assists per game

Point Guard: Gary Payton, 14.6 PPG and 5.5 assists per game

Key Bench Players: Stanislav Medvendenko, 8.3 PPG

Derek Fisher, 7.1 PPG

Kareem Rush, 6.4 PPG

Mike D’Antoni’s free-wheeling coaching style has cross-crossed the Lakers, leaving them structureless. By Keith Allison [CC-BY-SA-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Coach: Mike D’Antoni

Record through 54 games: 25-29

Center: Dwight Howard, 16.3 PPG and 11.8 rebounds per game

Power Forward: Pau Gasol, 13.4 PPG and 8.0 rebounds per game

Small Forward: Metta World Peace, 12.9 PPG and 5.6 rebounds per game

Shooting Guard: Kobe Bryant, 26.8 PPG and 5.6 assists per game

Point Guard: Steve Nash, 11.8 PPG and 7.4 assists per game

Key Bench Players: Antawn Jamison, 8.4 PPG

Earl Clark (who now is starting), 8.1 PPG

Jodie Meeks, 7.8 PPG

The Lakers currently sit at 25-29 through 54 games, while the 03-04 team went  35-19.

Why is this team so bad? I have the answer in two words: Mike D’Antoni. In 03-04, Phil Jackson knew how to get players to play with each other and do it well. It’s obvious D’Antoni does not.

I truly believe that if Phil Jackson had been hired instead of D’Antoni the Lakers would at least be contending and starting to play the kind of basketball that we all expected them to be at this point in the season. I have said from the beginning that D’Anotni isn’t the right coach for the Lakers and I stand by that.

But it isn’t completely his fault. The lineups of Howard, Gasol, Kobe and Nash have only played in 17 of the 54 games together, a difficult situation for any coach.

The Lakers have been decimated by injuries throughout the season, including Dwight Howard, who is still playing hurt. When Jordan Hill went down, the Lakers found a replacement in Earl Clark who has turned out to be a pleasant surprise. But when Pau Gasol went down in Brooklyn a few weeks ago, the Lakers’ playoff chances went from hopeful to doubtful. Losing Pau was a huge blow to an already-hurt team and it has shown in their play, losing three of five since the injury.

Now rumors have been swirling of trading Dwight Howard because of the poor play and the fact that he may leave at the end of the season.

In my opinion, in order to make sure that Howard stays, the Lakers should part ways with D’Antoni and find a coach that will realize how to utilize the players he has and won’t bench a key cog on two NBA championship teams.

Mike D’Antoni is a good coach with a very high basketball IQ but neither him nor his system fit into what the coach of the Lakers should be. This Laker team is too talented to be playing this poorly and I for one don’t believe it’s all the players’ fault.

The sooner the Lakers front office realizes that, the better and the franchise can get back to its winning ways. At least the 2003-2004 Lakers made it to the finals and although they lost, I’m sure if you ask any Laker fan at the moment if they would take a loss in the finals as opposed to not even making the playoffs – they would take that in a heartbeat.

We’ll see what kind of heart this star-driven version 2.0 of the purple and gold have in the second half of the season.  Stay tuned.

With the Super Bowl right around the corner, the time of year has returned once again. This particular pocket on the calendar serves as the preparation point that will give way to the onslaught of sport for the year to come.

As we speak, New Orleans is being blitzed and invaded by 49ers fans and Ravens fans alike, not to mention the straight-up football fans and “party fans” that are piling in. It is Bourbon Street, after all.

Even the First Super Bowl Party gets a little loose! By White House (Pete Souza) / Maison Blanche (Pete Souza) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

We know the pageantry and performance of the big game won’t disappoint. The annual pinnacle of American sport never lets us down, and even if the scoreboard is lopsided, one of your friends at the party seems to always end up that way as well, making the whole Super Bowl party experience a let-down-free zone.

Pushing all the rif-raf to the peanut gallery, the 49ers open, and will most likely remain, favorites – and with good reason. Colin Kaepernick is a dynamic force that is currently surfing the wave that most young phenoms always seem to – “they don’t even know where they are right now.”

The combination of Colin Kaepernick riding the whitewash of momentum, coupled with his elite, dual-threat ability coming of age right before our eyes, makes the 49ers an extremely dangerous favorite. The 49ers could win by a slim margin or a big margin. This is something you can’t necessarily say about the Ravens.

If the Ravens get over, it will be a ‘Rice, Rice, Flacco to Boldin or Pitta 3rd down conversion’ type of game. The deep bomb to Torrey Smith is something I don’t really see the defense of the 49ers allowing, given the prowlace their two all-pro safeties.  At the same time, I would also be foolish if I didn’t consider the magic a retiring Ray Lewis and his defense seem to have going.  Underdogs can still overachieve.

Analysis of the game aside, the unbridled fun of the Super Bowl also serves as a recognizable signaling of the year to come in all other arenas of sport.

The NBA all-star game is on the horizon, and unfortunately for most fans, the taste of purple and gold is impossible to remove from the palate of NBA water-cooler talk everywhere.

Dwight Howard throw-downs have been few and far between so far this season. By Fido (Flickr: Bucks @ Lakers) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

I know everyone is exhausted with the revolving Laker discussion, but the reason the Lakers continue to hoard the headlines is a reason you rarely equate with this franchise – their ineptitude.

Give me an “A” or give me an “F,” right?  Unfortunately, “F” sells in a huge way, and sadly, sells even more than “A” does – but you can’t blame the Lakers for all the attention they are recieving.  Another main reason the Lakers are hogging print and air waves is because nothing around the rest of the NBA is making waves.

The Heat are dominating in their defense of the title. The Celtics, Knicks and Rose-less Bulls are still nipping at their heels in the East.  Great.

In the West, the Thunder are still running, the Spurs are still lurking, and the Clippers and Grizzlies are still up-and-coming. Great.

Yawn.  Alright!  I’m awake!

Moving on — what or who else looms near this time of year? You got it – everyone’s favorite worst guy ever, the infamous “bracket guy.”

Unrightfully so, no one pays an emphatic amount of attention to the national NCAA basketball scene until March rolls around, but when it does, get ready to throw down your bracket and your bucks.

Cinderellas will be the overlying theme as they always are, and golden chariots will turn back into pumpkins in the end like they always do – but the overall saga of March never comes up short.  One.  Shining.  Moment.  I’m welling up just thinking about it.  No I’m not.

Seamheads are beyond hyped this time of year as well. Everyone is a potential pennant winner in spring training, and pitchers and catchers report in less than a month.

With the Giants coming off another World Series Championship and the Dodgers having huge expectations, the rivalry only looks to get juicier. By andyrusch (http://www.flickr.com/photos/asrusch/5748267516/) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

Money, money and more money has morphed a perpetual big-market underachiever into the new West coast version of the New York Yankees. Trading for the gigantic contracts of super stars has given way to monumental stadium renovations for the Dodgers, which will create more revenue, and eventually give way to taking on even more gigantic contracts of super stars.

Moneyball may get you to the dance, but big money allows you to go home with the prom queen in the end. The Dodgers have officially taken on the new face of baseball’s dark side, and will become even more of a polarizing team than they were before.

Spoiler alert: yes, the rebels eventually win in Star Wars, but in baseball the empire always eventually wins in bulk. Blue thinkers finally realizing gold once again could be right around the corner.

From progression to regression – congratulations on almost killing your sport one more time, Gary Bettman. Hockey is back, but now the few casual fans that existed before care even less.

Kings captain Dustin Brown hoists the cup, a trophy of a dying sport. By Eric Chan from Hollywood, United States (DSC00815 Uploaded by JoeJohnson2) [CC-BY-2.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/2.0)], via Wikimedia Commons

On a positive note, the Kings raising the banner was beyond due.  It was an awesome run last season and a championship that was well deserved for Kingdom loyalists — but the realistic future of hockey has essentially become a dimming light, one that now can barely even be seen by a telescope in the night sky of the American sporting realm.

It wouldn’t be an all discussion without mentioning eagles and earplugs, two associations about to start the longest campaigns of any professional leagues in the United States. 10 months?  Forget campaigns, try marathons.

There are niches in our sports melting pot that absolutely live for the PGA and Nascar circuits. And strangely enough, they couldn’t be more polar opposites.  Its the quietest sport and the loudest sport.  Its the high-class perception and the low-class perception.  And given the differences, it’s kind of ironic how the hardcore fans of both circuits would probably never get along, yet the 19th hole and the 5th wheel effectively serve the same purpose.  I guess that’s one thing everyone can agree on – booze.

So there it is and here it comes – the great American sporting landscape.  And with all of the anticipation and excitement on the horizon, there’s honestly nothing I can see that could put damper on the cornucopia of sport all of us fans are in line for, could there be?

April 15th. Yea, the smartass went and did it.