The Best Lakers Squad I've Ever Seen

No one wants to see you fall more than when you're on the top.

That's what the 2000-2001 Lakers had to deal with. The newly-crowned champions had to deal with something the squad hadn't dealt with before: having a bulls-eye on their back every single time on the hardwood floor.

The team didn't know how to deal with the responsibilities and maturity that went along with being a champion. Just because the team won a championship didn't mean they were automatically more mature. What needed to be learned through experience was how to handle the newly acquired power and allure.

This was very well documented in the sudden emergence of the Shaquille O'Neal - Kobe Bryant feud. Both had something they never had and each wanted more, but both had different ideas on how to get it.

I hate to admit this, but I get bored with the regular season (I'm already bored with this season). Give me the playoffs, when and where the Lakers are supposed to be every season. But the regular season was what the fresh-off-a-championship team needed; time to figure out how champions were supposed to prepare and compose themselves on the court on a nightly basis.

This was the greatest Lakers team I saw play. Not because of the regular season, but for what they did in the playoffs. They ended that season on an 8-game winning streak and were the second-seed to the Spurs.

The 2000-2001 Lakers had a great mix of young and old. Horace Grant and Ron Harper, mixed with Derek Fisher and Robert Horry. A defensive-minded role player like Rick Fox, with always savvy Brian Shaw waiting for Phil Jackson's call.

LA didn't have an easy road ahead of themselves either. They faced the Portland Blazers, one year removed from a 7-game series against the same exact squad. After that, they were up against the division rival and upstart Sacramento Kings.

What was beautiful about this Lakers squad was the dominance the team could turn to... Shaq's in foul trouble? Kobe's ready to crossover Doug Christie then posterize Vlade Divac. Kobe missing his shots? Feed the Diesel and run them over.

This team was hungry. They were out for blood.

Then came my favorite series of all-time: the number one-seeded San Antonio Spurs versus the Lakers who were embarrassed in 1999 against them. Let me start on game 2, when any other team would have given up. They were down by double digits, lost their coach, and were away from home. LA had already stolen one, so it would have been understandable to pack it up and go home with a win in the pocket.

Nope, not this squad. This game shows why they are different than others. Resiliency. Bend, do not break. One basket at a time, determination. This team had learned all they needed from Phil during the season, they could take it from there: "we got you coach, take a shower." On the way home with a 2-0 lead.

Yes, home to the embarrassment party. Fisher dropping 3's, Shaq dropping no-look passes, and Foxy fastbreak dunks. These Lakers embarrassed the #1 seeded Spurs by 39 and 29 back at Staples.

After an Allen Iverson step-over, the Lakers dream of a perfect playoff was killed (*dead* when Chick said "good luck Tyronne, I'll send you a card" in regards to guarding Iverson).

But they went back on track to sweep them after the initial loss. 15-1. Four straight sweeps. Yes, I say four straight sweeps because they swept the Sixers after losing game 1.

Los Angeles repeating with an emphatic response to the regular season. Think about it, their 8 straight wins to end the season coupled with the 11-0 start to the playoffs gave them 19 straight in the most important time of the year. 19 straight!

When today's Lakers lose today I lose myself for a second... then I remember this 2000-2001 squad. A regular season to determine how to handle yourself as a champion, then rediscover why you have that feeling: Larry O'Brien was in Staples Center at the end.

Today's Lakers will not go 16-1 this year, but here's hoping they discover what the 2001 champions did: there's a reason why you're a champion, remind the rest of the league.

Ron Artest = a more skilled Rick Fox
Andrew Bynum & Pau Gasol = together might match Shaq's dominance, emphasis on might
Josh Powell = Ho Grant waiting on the bench for his call
Derek Fisher = Ron Harper
Kobe Bryant = an older, wiser, and better, well, Kobe Bryant
Lamar Odom = more skillful Robert Horry, one day he'll appear all of a sudden and win you a game or two.
Shannon Brown = Devean George
Luke Walton = Slava Medvedenko (sorry had to throw my man out like that)

Shaq'a'Cav

It's time for the Shaq-haters to come out of the woodwork (not like they don't already voice their hate). But it's time to start the hating: "He jumps to the best situation" ... "He's too old" ... "He will never win again" ... "He's a bum"

We've heard them all.

I'm one of the biggest Shaq fans on the planet. Followed him while at LSU. Made sure I didn't miss a Magic box score or game (when I could watch them on the West Coast) when he was with Orlando. Dream-come-true when he joined the Lakers. Supported him when he was on the Heat. Still didn't hate on him when he was traded to the Suns. Laughed at his rap last summer.

My opinion will never change about him - he's accomplished too much on the basketball court. Numbers don't lie, and he has put them up.

However, anyone that thinks the trade puts the Cavaliers over the proverbial hump is delusional.

This never works. You don't trade for one piece and expect immediate results. Especially one of Shaq's age. Kareem at 37 - with his game - yes, it works.

Lebron is playing out of his mind right now, but pairing him with an aging Shaq will not give you a ring. Not with Orlando reloading today. And not with the Celtics getting healthy.

This last ditch effort to appease Lebron James will go up in flames. Shaq and Lebron will be giving their exit interviews after the second round next year.

The Celtics would not have won by acquiring Kevin Garnett alone. They needed Ray Allen to complete that team.

Yes, if Shaq was a few years younger I could see them getting the pieces around them within two years to get Cleveland a championship. But after this experiment fails, Shaq will be gone and we will have a summer of questions about where Lebron is heading.

Now, if the Cavs get Rasheed Wallace... then we're telling a different tale.
Mo Williams, Lebron, Insert Name, Sheed, Shaq. I take that team over the Celtics and Magic.

The Panic Button

Did the Phoenix Suns push the panic button a little too early when they made the trade for Shaquille O'Neal? Growing up a Los Angeles Lakers fan I have become accustomed to teams feeling inferior to the Lakers.

They are the team to beat, every year, no matter what. Anytime a team goes into the Lakers' house they play their very best. Playing in front of Hollywood stars and seeing the championship banners in the rafters can do a funny thing to opposing teams.

The Suns obviously made the Shaq trade in response to the Lakers acquiring Pau Gasol for Stone Hands and a bag of chips.

Is it going to work out for the Suns? Early indications are no. Shaq looked horrible Sunday versus the Detroit Pistons (3-8 from the field, 1-8 from the foul line) but he did get 11 rebounds in the loss. In their win versus the Boston Celtics he had 4 points on 1-5 shooting, while grabbing 14 rebounds.

Shaq is not going to get 15+ shots in a game, probably will not get 10 shots in a game, so the offense is going to have to come from Amare Stoudemire and Steve Nash. Stoudemire has looked great with Shaq taking up the paint, but how much of the load can the dude take on?

Five to six minute bursts each quarter for Shaq is probably the best way to go for the Suns. Sad to see a giant fall in front of our eyes.

That is what they are missing with Shawn Marion over in Miami: his versatility to do what they need. Shaq will do a couple things for the Suns: rebound (when he feels like it), take up the paint, get a couple of alley-oop dunks. With Marion they had three-point shooting, rebounding, his driving to the basket, defense on the opposing teams' best player, assists... the list goes on.

Perhaps Mike D'Antoni saw the smile on Phil Jackson's face post-Gasol trade and thought to himself, "I want that."

Shaquille O'Neal To The Suns

Shaq back to the West on a team other than the Los Angeles Lakers? No, you are kidding me right?

And to the Lakers' fans most hated team in the West right now, the Phoenix Suns.

Many question this trade, as do I. But you never know what is going to happen when you have a motivated Shaq (see Miami Heat title in his second season with them).

What the Suns have essentially done with this trade is give themselves two-and-a-half years to raise a banner in the US Airways Center. Steve Nash is getting older, they traded a young player in Shawn Marion, Amare Stoudemire cannot do it on his own, Grant is almost over-the-Hill, and O'Neal is running on fumes.

If Shaq can stay healthy then this move is brilliant for the towers of the West, an area that the Suns struggle in (see Suns v. Lakers). Stoudemire and O'Neal on the frontline is a pretty formidable combination.

Of course, this move was made as a reaction to the Lakers acquisition of Pau Gasol in last week's trade. The Suns already struggled against the Lakers this year with big man Andrew Bynum, and now have to worry about covering two seven-footers.

I was hurt when Shaq was traded to Miami following the Lakers 2004 NBA Finals exit at the hands of the Detroit Pistons, and swore that I would support him as a Heat player until he won a championship. But there is NO way that I will be supporting him in a Suns uniform.

If the Lakers and Suns meet in the playoffs look for a very heated matchup between the two squads.

Phil Jackson has already taken a shot at Shaq and his age saying to reporters, "“There are deteriorating returns for a guy who’s 7-foot-1, 300-whatever-he-is.” He did later say that he would be a force again if he could get his playing legs back.

Shaq I am your biggest fan, but seeing you in a Suns uniform is going to make me puke.

Bynum - The Next Shaq

Andrew Bynum continues to work his way towards receiving the NBA's most improved award, and as each day passes he is looking like the man who is supposed to replace Shaquille O'Neal.

On Friday evening he had 25 points, a career high 17 rebounds, and 3 blocks against the Milwaukee Bucks, but unfortunately sprained his knee last night against the Memphis Grizzlies.

Well Friday, Bynum had a Shaq-like interview in which he dropped the F-bomb after the game:

Oh little 20-year-old innocent Bynum dropping the F-bomb and then saying "Ooops."

Thank goodness for digital TV recorders because I got my Friday started off on the right foot with some great laughs on this one.

Here is to Bynum having his knee heal up real quick.

Oh Snap! - Magic Johnson Edition

Earvin "Magic" Johnson is weighing in on the Kobe Bryant-Lakers drama and it points a strong finger at Bryant in this edition.

"If Kobe would have been smart, he would have mended those fences with Shaquille, let Shaquille be 'The Man' and we wouldn't be in this position," Johnson said. "Now, after four years later, he understands that he can't do it by himself. Now he's blaming the organization, and some of that blame should be on him and some on the organization."

Wow. That is some heavy stuff to put out there for 24 to read. It was the worst day of my life as a Lakers fan when Shaq was traded to Miami. It hurt me so bad that I immediately got a Miami Heat jersey with his new number "32" on it, and swore up and down that he would win a championship before Kobe. Even though I was a lifetime Lakers fan.

It always comes up in conversations when I am talking to my friends about the Lakers... what if they had stayed together? They could have ruled the league for a decade. Kobe wanted full control of the reins a little too early. Shaq was reluctant to give even a little piece of them up. Two stubborn men killing a franchise. The sky was the limit with them on the same squad.

Johnson also had some harsh words for the management:

"I'm upset with the management because there should only be one voice coming out of the Lakers organization."

Both statements are true. But the question that I want answered is: why Johnson is out of the loop on this whole situation? He owns about 5% of the team and certainly should be kept up to speed on what is going on, instead of being an analyst on the outside looking in. Clearly management is screwed up right now in LaLa Land and needs to be straightened out, fast.

Johnson had said on TNT that he thinks the Lakers brass needs to make a decision on Kobe Bryant within a week or two to let everyone move on. He pointed out the Bryant's uncharacteristic misses at the free throw line are directly related to all the trade talk.

Magic Johnson is the man and it has to hurt Bryant to hear those statements. The West Coast MJ (the only true MJ IMO) made the right choice in going public with these comments. It has to be tough for the living definition of a teammate to see his love, the Lakers, go down in flames, for now.

Mic'ed Coaches

You have to love it! This video is Not Safe For Work (unless you have some headphones or your boss does not mind profanity). It is of Auburn defensive coordinator, Will Muschamp, celebrating a defensive stop with some nice language.

Not that we are naive to think that this does not go on throughout every field of sports, but when we hear it on TV it makes us all let out a little "tee hee" when it hits our ears.

I think one of the funniest moments of profanity on live TV was with Shaquille O'Neal with John "Peanuthead" Ireland following a Lakers win over the Raptors. *Update* Thanks to the internet skills of my sister, I was able to find the video:


Shaq: "My message to (commissioner) David Stern is get some people in there that understand the game and don't try to take over the f***ing game because people pay good money to see good athletes play."
Peanuthead: "Shaq you're on live TV."
Shaq with a blank stare: "I don't give a sh*t."

Antoine Likes To Eat

Miami Heat coach Pat Riley does not appreciate the eating habits of Heat forward Antoine Walker. Riley is upset about the conditioning of Walker, as he went into camp out of shape.

Walker must be on the Shaquille O'Neal diet because he has 15 percent body fat and is 17 pounds over his listed weight in the Heat media guide. Riley also had a problem with Walker's conditioning last season at the midseason point; enough to suspend the forward for four days.

Maybe he was eating his fear away after he was robbed at gunpoint in Chicago this past summer?

Walker knew the standards that were acceptable based on his suspension from last season, so how could he do this again? And Riley does not think he will be at the proper conditioning level until January? I do not know how they can keep this guy on the team. He has an obvious motivation problem, and with a team looking for all the scorers it can because of Wade's health, there has to be some serious punishment.

I say Riley put him on the Hollywood 48-hour diet (it should be readily available since they are in South Beach), for 168 hours. Too bad no one will take Walker's contract, because the Heat would unload this guy immediately.

Bravo to Riley for calling out his player in the media and making sure his players are in the optimal shape to play ball. There is no way he could run the hell out of them like he did with the Showtime Lakers, but this is the next best way to do it: embarrass your player to the whole nation.

*Disclaimer: please excuse the lack of photoshop skills*

Just Copying Big Brother

If the rumors are true like they are being reported from numerous sources in Miami, then Miami Heat superstar Dwayne Wade is splitting from his wife. This comes just weeks after teammate and "big brother" Shaquille O'Neal filed for divorce from his wife Shaunie.

These guys are going to take Miami Beach by storm; the groupies are lining up as we speak to get a chance to gold dig get a piece of the two stars.

You know Shaq had to give Wade a little nudge:
"Yo Flash, we can rule Miami like no other if we were both single. There are no other superstars in this town, lets do this! Who is going to take all the babes, Trent Green? You want that to happen?"

Wade should date Rihanna, she is quite the looker.

*Update: it appears that Wade may be dating actress Gabrielle Union. I would still take Rihanna though.