Lakers

en Kobe Bryant was handed the Bill Russell MVP trophy on Sunday night after leading the Los Angeles Lakers to an NBA championship, he officially became a Jedi Master - one who can force his will on his own team as well as his opponent. If LeBron James is the MVP of the NBA, then Bryant is the MVP of a galaxy far, far away.

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Sometimes it is way up, and sometimes it is way down.

When the Los Angeles Lakers season tipped off, the Odom Meter was running low as all eyes were on Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. The casual fan and longtime basketball experts were curious to know whether the two 7-footers can co-exist when paired in the post in Phil Jackson’s triangle offense. That meant Odom was relegated to the bench, a move he openly accepted but with some reluctance. Trade rumors started flying around Staples Center.

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Kobe Bryant is not the Lakers' most valuable player this season. What? Yup, sounds utterly ridiculous but it's true. Bryant may be the best player on earth, but the title of Lakers MVP belongs to Pau Gasol. As good as Kobe Bryant is (and he's very, very good), the game is still played inside-out. NBA championships are won with the big guys in the paint, not with the guys who make the "pretty" plays.

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Before we crown the Lakers world champs for the 2008-09 season, let's taper down the myopia and look at this team from an unbiased viewpoint. The Detroit Pistons sent the Lakers back to reality after easily winning at Staples Center on Friday, Nov. 14. I discovered three things from that game.

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Lakers will win the NBA Championship! Well at least that what the NBA GM's think not like they know! I want to know who you think will win and Y !! Church

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The Los Angeles Lakers center and one of the most revered and beloved athletes in Europe and around the world.

Gasol told Yahoo! Sports: “Some of us didn’t feel comfortable doing it just because to me it was a little clownish for our part to be doing that. But the sponsors insisted and insisted. I think it is just a bad idea I guess to do that, but it was never intended to be offensive or racist against anybody.

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Three years and $15 million is not much of a contract by NBA standards, but the Lakers should get their money's worth.

Sasha Vujacic, a key part in the team's playoff run and the

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NBA title for 22 years, the Boston Celtics slapped a good old fashioned 131-92 whipping on the Lakers in Game 6 and raised their 17th championship banner.

The 2008 Celtics have bridged the gap in their rich basketball history. From Hondo to Rondo. From DJ to Walter Ray. From Kevin McHale to Kevin Garnett. From Larry Legend to the The Truth.

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be playing at optimum level by his and our standards, but the reigning MVP has managed to keep his Lakers in the series despite averaging less (down from 30.6 to 26.4) and shooting poorly (from 48.8 to 42.4).

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Brown, Kendrick Perkins and James Posey to put their hands on the Lakers, the triangle offense became very disjointed. There was no flow to the game. It felt like a Knicks-Heat game from the mid-90s crashed the 2008 NBA Finals.

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Leon Powe just beat the Lakers.

Leon Powe. Yup. That Leon Powe.

Leon F. Powe (the F stands for something that rhymes with "ducking") was the difference in Game 2 and is the reason why the Celtics are up 2-0 in the series.

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pulling a Willis Reed-like return in Game 1 to lead the Boston Celtics to a 98-88 victory over the Lakers before a gushing Boston Garden crowd, Paul Pierce (aka The Truth) admitted he is feeling sharp pains in his right knee and revealed that if Game 2 was played Friday he would be a scratch.

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lost by great players.

No matter how many times you play out the 2008 NBA Finals between the Lakers and Celtics in your head and break down all the matchups, the fate of the series will be in the hands of Kobe Bryant and Kevin Garnett.

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triangle offense seems to be the perfect approach to beating Celtics' defensive scheme because the Lakers have the most efficient and balanced offense in the league.

However, the long layoff could hurt the

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Minogue's name is back on the billboard charts.And now the NBA is joining in on the '80s theme.The Lakers and Celtics were destined to play in the NBA Finals. At least that's what David Stern has been hoping and praying for since the playoffs began.Two storied franchises.Two teams that have combined to win 30 NBA titles.Two teams that launched a popular slogan in the 1980's...NBA ACTION, IT'S FANTASTIC!The Celtics dominated the '60s.The

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San Antonio Spurs get robbed of a victory? Is the NBA leaning heavily towards a Boston Celtics-L.A. Lakers NBA Finals matchup?

The answers: Yes. No. Yes.

Fisher fouled Brent Barry. The Spurs know it. The

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After the Lakers' unbelievable 89-85 comeback victory in Game 1, a few thoughts ran across my mind.

One, the San Antonio Spurs cannot guard Kobe Bryant. Never had. Never will. Kobe was absolutely right when he said, "I can get off any time I want" (he meant basketball term "getting off"). Once Kobe finally escaped the bermuda triangle he was on in the first half, the league's MVP took control of the game.

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fighters barely throw punches and use the whole round to study how each fighter moves.

Well, the Lakers and Spurs know each other so well that both teams' scouting departments will be taking the next two weeks off. There is no need to study. The

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The Spurs are playing the Lakers in one half of the NBA's version of the Final Four. For those who care, the Boston Celtics and (yawn!) the Detroits Pistons are playing in the Eastern Conference finals. This also means the NBA's worst nightmare ratings wise is still alive: a Spurs-Pistons NBA Finals. Yikes!

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The Lakers-Jazz series went six games but I never felt the Jazz really threatened the Lakers in the Western Conference semifinals.

The Jazz are a nice team but they lack a true superstar. They don't have a player who Shaquille O'Neal calls "assassins." Utah has borderline all-stars in Deron Williams and Carlos Boozer, but it doesn't have a player who can single-handedly destroy an opponent's gameplan. A player who can put a team on his shoulders on offense and carry them to victory. A player like Kobe Bryant.

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ven if the Utah Jazz manage to tie up this seven-game series, I still feel very confident about the Lakers chances of advancing to the Western Conference finals. Here are five reasons why:

1) The Jazz still looks like a one-trick pony. Utah is a great home team but have yet to put a dent on the

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When the King, David Stern, handed Bryant the Maurice Podoloff trophy Wednesday night before the Lakers dismantled the Jazz in Game 2, the moment felt more like an overdue coronation. The MVP trophy finally landed in the capable hands of the best player in the game rather than the best team player.

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billboard charts.And now the NBA is joining in on the '80s theme.My gut feeling says that the Lakers and Celtics are destined to play in the NBA Finals. At least that's what David Stern is hoping and praying for.Two storied franchises.Two teams that have combined to win 30 NBA titles.Two teams that launched a popular slogan in the 1980's...NBA ACTION, IT'S FANTASTIC!The Celtics dominated the '60s.The

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The Lakers' regular season has had so many turns it mirrors the insanely entertaining Mr. Toad's Wild Ride at Disneyland.

From Kobe Bryant's temper tantrum last summer, to Andrew Bynum's sudden rise and unexpected fall (or dislocation), to Monday's show-stopping overtime victory over the Golden State Warriors, the

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The defining moment of the Lakers regular season is upon us.

The next four games will tell how good and how far the Lakers have come this season: at New Orleans on Friday, at red-hot Houston Sunday, at Dallas next Tuesday and the finale at Utah on Thursday.

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The game against Sacramento Tuesday night was a clear picture of what the Lakers are and will be in the playoffs: offense, offense, offense and hopefully get enough stops late in the game.

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title!

He took 25 shots mostly against first-rate defender Raja Bell and made 16 of them in the Lakers' 130-124 victory over the Suns. Taking 25 shots in a game is nothing new to Kobe. He can take shot 25 shots in his sleep. But Wednesday night against the Suns, Kobe's shot selection was perfect. It seemed like all his FGAs were good looks and were well within the framework of the offense.

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Lakers officials are not publicly saying it but trading for Pau Gasol signaled three things: 1) Kwame Brown was unable to shake off the public criticisms and desperately needed a new address, 2) Kobe Bryant finally got his wish and having an All-Star sidekick means he'll remain a Laker for life, and 3) Andrew Bynum's knee injury is a lot more serious than what the team is revealing.

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this planet (besides Steve Kerr) who thinks the Shaq deal is good for the Suns and bad news for the Lakers? My feelings went from "euphoria" when the Lakers got Pau Gasol to "grave concern" upon hearing the news that Shaq was back in the West.

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When Pau Gasol was gift-wrapped by the Memphis Grizzlies to the L.A. Lakers, one Western Conference GM said, "Are you f***ing kidding me?" As for my reaction? I say, "CHAMPIONSHIP!"

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