At the top of the Western Conference, the Lakers are playing a game none of us have seen before. Keep it coming yall. Who would have thought that they would be sitting on top 60 games into the season?
I didn't. I didn't get a chance to see the first 20-30 games of the season, so I missed Andrew Bynum's blossoming and the cohesion that took place in the locker room. Of course the biggest news since then is the acquisition of Pau Gasol. What an amazing trade! As good as Pau is as an individual, he fits in even better with this Laker team. Phil Jackson can run plays with Pau that he couldn't run with Shaq because of Pau's ability to stretch the defense. Yet the full impact of Pau Gasol is not limited to his individual skill or coachability. It is the boost in confidence to the other players on the team that has sustained this early success for the Lakers. Farmar, Vujacic, Turiaf, and Radmanovic are playing better and better. Finally, it seems for some of us, the Lakers have someone else who can shoot the ball or score on a consistent basis besides Kobe.
While Kobe's assists are up this year as he has taken on more of a facilitating role in addition to being the leading scorer, his game is freed by Lamar Odom's versatility. Lamar has flourished in his do-whatever-it-takes role as Kobe's swingman. Lamar has been a great floor general and is comforted even more now that Pau has taken away the pressure of being the second scoring option. Odom feels like he can score when he's comfortable now which allows him to play his own game.
Sasha! The Machine! Man, his jersey sales (if they make a Vujacic jersey) must be soaring as high as his confidence right now. His growth, along with Jordan Farmar and Vlad, has changed the dynamic on the floor. Some people are wondering why they haven't seen the unhuman Kobe plays, where he takes on all 5 defenders and somehow gets the And1 with an impossible move. Well, Kobe used to force those shots because he didn't have the trust in his teammates to hit the open shots. Granted, the argument can be made that they weren't able to get used to shooting in the game because he never passed the ball. This year, he made an effort to change his game to involve his teammates and it has paid off. Now when he drives the lane, he simply drops it off to a cutting Ronny-Pau-Lamar, or kicks it out to Sasha-Jordan-Derek-Vlad for the corner triple. Of course Kobe's passing had to improve this year for this style of play to be successful and the growing pains have come in the form of more turnovers by Kobe.
Derek Fisher, God bless him for returning, added yet another dimension. The Lakers need a strong point guard so Lamar and Kobe don't have to handle the ball, call plays, and direct traffic all at the same time. And who better than a veteran of the 3peat-Jackson days who is familiar with the offense and the players. Derek's scoring consistency and calm-collected attitude on the court has made the younger guys comfortable as well.
Luke Walton is the only player on the team who has been left out in this unprecedented year of growth for the Lakers. His struggle this year is ironic. For the past 3-4 years when the Lakers have been struggling as a team, Walton was one of the more consistent players helping them stay afloat. Now, as the team is growing into the playoff team they want to be, Walton seems to be stagnant. His shot is off, and passing ability hiding somewhere he can't get at. Hopefully the excitement of the playoffs will bring out the Luuuuuuuuuuke in him.
As for Bynum and Ariza, I can't comment. Just as I came back home they both went out with injuries. Ariza should be coming back soon, and Bynum a bit later. If both of them play like everyone says they played before they went out, I think the Lakers will be fine.
Scratch that. The Lakers are arguably the best team in the league right now, making a run at the right time in the season when most teams are falling prey to the monotony of the 82-game season. And when Bynum and Ariza come back, there will be an air of excitement for the final 10-15 games of the season heading into the playoffs. I cant wait!
...Keep it fresh
- Neil
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Thursday, February 7, 2008
Continuing the story
Well, this started as a travel log and a way to communicate with friends and family. I think that it can still serve one of its purposes even though I'm back in LA and only a phone call away. One lesson I learned from traveling is that it is very difficult and even more important to process my own thoughts in some form. Whether on a daily, weekly, or unscheduled basis documenting my thoughts is a great way to reflect on my life and gain a better understanding of myself. As for why I choose this medium to do it; when I am consciously aware that the whole world has access to my brain at their fingertips, I think that sharing my thoughts will have the added effect of provoking thought in others. And that is something we need to do more with each other.
I had a conversation recently with a friend about the Obama campaign. Naturally, we began discussing what and why we were attracted to his campaign over any of the other candidates. One of the points we both agreed on is that Obama seems to have the charisma and energy of a leader that is not shared by any other candidate. And this is where it got interesting...
...because the focus that popular media highlights is "the issues." Where do the candidates stand on health care, "the war," social security, the environment? The candidates are applauded or criticized for their positions and their plans to change (or maintain) current policies. Finally, the candidates themselves point out weaknesses or inconsistencies in their opponent's campaigns. This is the presidential race (race...why are we in such a hurry?). This is the way it has been for as long as I have been alive.
But what else is there that motivates and inspires someone to exercise their "inalienable" right to vote for their future leader? Well, theres leadership. Theoretically, in our democratic society people are the ultimate leaders of the country. As a collective group, aren't we the ones who have the power to effect change in our own society? Yet, today we shrug that responsibility (and in turn surrender that potential power) and expect the government to do it for us. People expect the government to fix the housing crisis and stop the pollution of the environment and stop raising taxes and make sure that nothing interferes with the sale at The Gap on Sunday. When did people lose faith in their own ability to make a change? Unfortunately, the current administration gladly accepts its paternal role (human greed for power is a terrifying force) as it steers us further and further away from the true democracy we are supposed to have. Political officials are sometimes referred to as "public servants", yet so little of what they do is public and even less in an effort to serve someone other than themselves.
What I believe a leader of this country should do is incite people into action, motivate cooperation to change that which they believe needs change, and inspire us to become the the democracy that we fake to the world today. Essentially, when I hear Barack Obama speak on "the issues," I am not merely in general agreement with his proposals, I share his professed values and I feel this desire to work towards achieving something. I actually want to help the government because I believe in it. If people regain trust in the work of the government, then taxes will not be a burden, voting wont seem such an obligation, and Lou Dobbs and Bill O'Reilly will hopefully finally be out of a job.
Two more things come to mind. One, the fact that people may read this and write it off as unrealistic idealism speaks about as clearly as anything to the rigidity in our culture. And two, that this post turned out to be nothing like I imagined it would be when I started.
Keep it fresh.
- Neil
I had a conversation recently with a friend about the Obama campaign. Naturally, we began discussing what and why we were attracted to his campaign over any of the other candidates. One of the points we both agreed on is that Obama seems to have the charisma and energy of a leader that is not shared by any other candidate. And this is where it got interesting...
...because the focus that popular media highlights is "the issues." Where do the candidates stand on health care, "the war," social security, the environment? The candidates are applauded or criticized for their positions and their plans to change (or maintain) current policies. Finally, the candidates themselves point out weaknesses or inconsistencies in their opponent's campaigns. This is the presidential race (race...why are we in such a hurry?). This is the way it has been for as long as I have been alive.
But what else is there that motivates and inspires someone to exercise their "inalienable" right to vote for their future leader? Well, theres leadership. Theoretically, in our democratic society people are the ultimate leaders of the country. As a collective group, aren't we the ones who have the power to effect change in our own society? Yet, today we shrug that responsibility (and in turn surrender that potential power) and expect the government to do it for us. People expect the government to fix the housing crisis and stop the pollution of the environment and stop raising taxes and make sure that nothing interferes with the sale at The Gap on Sunday. When did people lose faith in their own ability to make a change? Unfortunately, the current administration gladly accepts its paternal role (human greed for power is a terrifying force) as it steers us further and further away from the true democracy we are supposed to have. Political officials are sometimes referred to as "public servants", yet so little of what they do is public and even less in an effort to serve someone other than themselves.
What I believe a leader of this country should do is incite people into action, motivate cooperation to change that which they believe needs change, and inspire us to become the the democracy that we fake to the world today. Essentially, when I hear Barack Obama speak on "the issues," I am not merely in general agreement with his proposals, I share his professed values and I feel this desire to work towards achieving something. I actually want to help the government because I believe in it. If people regain trust in the work of the government, then taxes will not be a burden, voting wont seem such an obligation, and Lou Dobbs and Bill O'Reilly will hopefully finally be out of a job.
Two more things come to mind. One, the fact that people may read this and write it off as unrealistic idealism speaks about as clearly as anything to the rigidity in our culture. And two, that this post turned out to be nothing like I imagined it would be when I started.
Keep it fresh.
- Neil
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