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Originally Posted by King Glorious
75% of the people in Miami may have been in favor of the Lakers trading Shaq. That's about it. Here in LA, it wasn't even close. Jerry Buss absolutely made the right decision IF it was coming down to a one or the other ultimatum. Sometimes, you have to sacrifice the immediate future for the long term good. If the Lakers hadn't already won three titles, then there may have been a different conclusion. The funny thing to me is that everyone says that if the Lakers had kept them both, they would have been able to win more. Correct me if I'm wrong but didn't they play together two more years after the three-peat and lose out both times, once in the conference playoffs and once in the league finals? They weren't showing signs that they were going to be better than San Antonio or Detroit even with both guys.
As for Kobe, he's an amazingly talented player. But please stop with all the talk about him being the MVP. He's in the discussion for sure but he's not the MVP. Before the Lakers made the trade for Gasol, the Lakers had just lost Bynum and went through a stretch where they had lost to SA, Phx, Dal, Det, and Clev while barely beating Memphis 100-99 and going to overtime to beat Seattle 123-121. They were looking just like they had in the previous couple of years, all Kobe and nothing else. With less of a supporting cast, LeBron James has done more. Now, all of a sudden they get Gasol and Kobe's the MVP again? I don't buy that. I think that the record since they've gotten Gasol has been misleading. They have played an absolute garbage schedule since the trade. In the 14 games, they've only played against five teams that are over .500. Now, granted they are 4-1 in those five games but look at them closer:
117-113 over Orlando. In the game, Howard was limited to 29 minutes and Turkoglu to 33 because of fouls. Orlando put up 44 on them in the first quarter and led the game with 1:49 left.
130-124 over Phoenix. That was Shaq's first game with the Suns and they gave up 124 points.
96-83 over Portland. Lakers led by only two going to the fourth. Brandon Roy didn't play.
111-119 loss to Portland. This time, it was the Lakers who wilted in the fourth, getting outscored by nine. Roy did play in this game.
108-104 over Dallas. Game went to overtime. Lakers shot 50 free-throws to 25 for Dallas. Bryant alone shot 27 and it takes a monster game from him to win. Dallas, the league's best free-throw shooting team at 82%, shoots 68% here.
So yes, they have been getting the job done. But when it comes to playing the good teams, they haven't been as dominant as their record seems since Gasol has come. In those five games, they have given up an average of 108.6 points a game and when it comes to playoff time, they are going to have to do better than that. I understand that Bynum's return will help a lot in that area but they have a lot of work to do. If I was an opposing team, I'd definitely be worried about the Lakers but I wouldn't be ready to hand over the trophy just yet. The playoffs are a different game and the Laker players outside of Kobe and Fisher don't have the experience that is crucial once you start advancing.
Back to Kobe and LeBron. I just don't see how people say Kobe is the MVP over him. LeBron's scoring more, rebounding more, averaging more assists, and is shooting a better percentage from the field. In two meetings this year, LeBron's team beat Kobe's both times. In the first game, the Cavs outscored the Lakers by nine in the fourth to win by four. LeBron had 33 to Kobe's 21. In the second game, the Cavs outscored the Lakers by five in the fourth to win by three. LeBron had 41 to Kobe's 33, including outscoring him 14-9 in the last quarter.
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