So Kobe’s not playing tonight.
Hmmm. Am I the only one that thinks this isn’t funny anymore and could be a little more serious than he’s letting on?
Granted, the only thing this means in roughly the next 10 games (should they lose them ALL) is the possibility of slipping to 2nd place in the West. It isn’t very likely that the Lakers will be catching the Cavs for 1st place overall and home court advantage.
Or could they?
I am not 100% sold on the idea of Jamison walking in there and making an immediate impact nor am I 100% convinced that Z is coming back. I heard he was looking for a buyout/release but it hasn’t happened so ….. I’m left to ask, why not? Clearly it wasn’t part of the contract or they’d have let him go 5 minutes after the ink dried. I wonder how much of an impact his absence will have on the Cavaliers defense. They are offensively strong now, no doubt, but I think it hurts their defense immensely without him. Only time will tell.
With the trade deadline FINALLY DONE (someone pass me a martini, let’s celebrate) we have some fairly decent transactions that have taken place. Three of which I see as being winners. One I witnessed firsthand last night (Mavs/Suns) and the other I see on paper as being a very legitimate reason that the Western Conferences bottom half might see a clear shift in about 30 days.
I was lucky enough to attend the DAL/PHX game last night thanks to the Mavericks front office and the lovely Sarah Melton. Terrific seats and a birds-eye view for the latest addition to the squad: Caron Butler. Now, I have known Caron Butler back to the days when he was on the Lakers and back then he was just coming up. Since then he has come a long way. I believe his talent was wasted around a lot of guys who wanted to play “me” ball in Washington and, to his credit, he did what he COULD with what he HAD back there. In Dallas however, he seems to fit right in. Setting up shots for others and moving the ball seemed to be his specialty last night. While there was a lot of significant lead changes on both sides last night, Dallas toughed it out in the 4th and got some serious stops when it counted and put Phoenix away. That being said, I still think that Dallas will have a tough time in the playoffs and Phoenix has, quite simply, NO SHOT at making them considering how Oklahoma City, Houston and Sacramento, has been playing consistently as of late.
With the latest acquisitions, I think the Rockets will make a serious run starting March 1st into the middle of the month, leaving room for the Kings to rise up in the standings if they can come together quickly. Although the Rockets will miss Carl Landry, I believe that Kevin Martin will be a great addition for them. He was clearly not working in Sacramento with Tyreke Evans and although everyone wanted that to be a match made in heaven, if you watched them play together, you just knew it wasn’t. Carl Landry to the Kings will give SAC back their “youthful glow” and I think will be what they needed and hoped Kevin Martin would be, a great sidekick to Tyreke. The Rockets are a team that will embrace a veteran (who has still got it, in my opinion) like Kevin Martin.
Oklahoma City, although having made no moves in the “NBA Swap Meet” has a tough schedule ahead of them but I still believe they will be contenders for the 8th seed above Phoenix. Phoenix just doesn’t have enough drive and desire. You can see it in the way they play. They lack heart and, as everyone knows, DEFENSE. Turning it on for 5 minute spurts doesn’t win you games, guy. Just ask the Celtics.
I'm sure there will more trades in the next few days that hadn't yet been finalized and maybe even a free agent acquisition or two (I hear Rashad McCants is working out for the Mavs tomorrow) so, like KG would say, anything is possible. All I know is that it's go time for the Lakers AND the Celtics tonight. Lakers to prove that they can win against what everyone considers to be a contender WITHOUT the Bean, and the Beantown Boys to prove they can actually play 48 straight and beat a team that is missing it's star player. Like Popovich said last week: "If we win, it doesn't mean much but if we lose, it might mean everything."
STAY TUNED
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