This is not a prediction post by NBAObsessed. That is my upfront disclaimer. This is news from the Los Angeles DailyNews. They have actually mentioned 37 ways that the Lakers will be Champions of the NBA again.

Here are my top 10 from the list:

12. George Karl still coaches the Denver Nuggets.

Don’t get me started on George Karl, but he is a big disappointment as a pro coach. Maybe he did well last year or maybe he just needed Chauncey Billups.

15. Yao Ming … MIA.

With Yao out, Houston is out.

18. Listen … The San Antonio Spurs’ roster just got another day older.

This is a huge concern with both San Antonio and Boston.

Kobe Bryant is probably 35 out of the 37 reasons

24. Kobe Bryant … where do we start?

This does not even need comment, but here we go…Kobe is right up there with LeBron, only Kobe has a contributing cast.

13. Mark Cuban’s best player is still a tall gawky German guy.

Dirk Nowitzki is a great player and has delivered zero titles. Is it his fault that in close games Dallas will call a timeout and then draw up a play for Dirk to shoot a turnaround jumper from 30 feet?

9. Four games against the Clippers during the regular season. Four aut-o-matic clicks in the win column without having to check into the scorer’s table.

The Clippers need a new owner and until they have one they will be the Clippers.

2. Derek Fisher wrote an autobiography this offseason called “Character Driven: Life, Lessons and Basketball.” It concludes: “The high I’ve experienced since we closed out the (Orlando) Magic (in last year’s NBA Final) hasn’t worn off … I’m driven and I see no sign of that changing. My eye is firmly fixed on the rim and no opportunity is going to pass me by.”

Derek Fisher is a gamer. It is no surprise that he shows up in so many big games.

11. Phil Jackson broke the tie last year with Red Auerbach for most career NBA coaching titles. He has 10. Why not turn it up to 11?

Phil may not be the best coach ever, but he always wins and has tons of big game experience. It is time for everyone to admit that fact.

36. Let’s face it: The NBA wants it to happen.

Just ask David Stern!

37. Ron Artest, the new pink elephant in the room, said before deciding on joining the Lakers he considered playing for Olympiacos or Panthinaikos, the two biggest teams in Greece. Living in L.A. already must seem Greek to him. Maybe that’s good. The Lakers can pay him in Euros, and it doesn’t go against the salary cap. And if he’s daring enough to go up in the stands during a skirmish, he’s more likely to run into someone like Michael Clarke Duncan.

If Artest makes it through the season without controversy, then the Lakers will be dueling the Celtics for the Championship.

Those are the Top 10 reasons the Lakers will win it all!

My top 10 reasons are simpler: Kobe, Kobe, Kobe, Kobe, Kobe, Kobe, Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol, Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant!
Photo source Newscom

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Sometimes the NBA can take on a whimsical tone with events going beyond reality causing what we know to be totally false. How else can you explain the sudden disappearance of the volatile aggressive Ron Artest that we all have come to know and love? Still, that is what has happened in La La Laker land, where the milk and honey flow in the form of Kobe Bryant, Phil Jackson, and a roof of championship banners.

Ron Artest signed a long term contract for 34 million bucks to play for Phil Jackson’s Lakers and the thought was that Ron would bring some toughness to a lineup that features the ultra talented Bryant and the finesse playing Pau Gasol.

Ron Artest pre-Laker guarding Kobe Bryant

In Phil Jackson’s mind there are still questions about when Ron is going to bring the necessary aggression to the floor to add a weapon that the Lakers will need when they play teams like San Antonio, Orlando, or Boston, in other words, the big boys in the league.

“He still looks like he’s standing around watching the other guys play at times, and he’s not involved as much as I would like him to be involved,” Jackson said after watching Artest play 26 minutes,

14 seconds against the Kings.

Asked if he believed Artest was deferring too much to his teammates, Jackson said, “Yeah, yeah, I think he’s got to find his way in the post and do some things that asserts himself and put pressure on his teammates to get him the ball in the right spots.

“He’s trying to be the right guy and try to fit in and not try to crowd his way in there, but he’s got to do that. I’m going to have to force him to do it.”

Artest admitted his immersion to all things Lakers remains a work in progress. He also said he’s been reluctant to charge into the mix, particularly offensively, because he’s studying the Lakers’ pecking order in their triangle offense.

source

It is quite the opposite of what many of the experts felt would happen. The dynamic that was expected consisted of Phil and Kobe and other veterans attempting to keep Artest in check so that the locker room did not implode and the chemistry that has produced the high level of Laker play would remain.

NBAObsessed has argued before that Ron Artest will be good for the Lakers. See this link.

Some disagree, but Artest good for Lakers

Time will tell.

Image: Zuma Press

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ESPN does this thing where they get together a bunch of basketball experts that vote on the NBA conference teams to see who will end up in the NBA title game.

Well, this was a tough vote. The Los Angeles Lakers won in a landslide. Geez that is hardly news. The champs added Ron Artest to the lineup and resigned Lamar Odom and those two are just bit players on that team. You have to recognize that the Lakers are Kobe Bryant’s team first last and always. Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum give them plenty of size and firepower to go around. On a pure team basis, maybe only the Boston Celtics come close in overall talent.

On paper, the multifaceted Artest is an upgrade, of course, even over a talented player like Trevor Ariza, whom Artest is replacing as the Lakers’ small forward and defensive stopper. But Ron-Ron has a well-earned, well-known rep as a disruptive, often maniacal force: Just four months ago, he was ejected twice in the playoffs versus the Lakers.

The offseason has been no quieter. Stories emerged about Artest visiting the Lakers’ shower in Boston unannounced to address Kobe while Artest was a member of the Sacramento Kings, and taking a team bus in his underwear while with the Houston Rockets, both incidents happening in the past 15 months. Then there was his head-spinning torrent of tweets and a bizarre rap tribute to Michael Jackson, for whose album “Thriller” Artest selected his latest uniform number and latest Twitter name, ThugRaider37, replacing his former moniker, 96TruwarierQB (Google it), which itself was a small reminder of what took place at his previous stop, Indiana, which was very eager to move him to his next destination on his one-of-a-kind NBA journey.

Could this be the beginning of a beautiful friendship between the Lakers and Ron-Ron? Could Artest play the tough-guy role that Dennis Rodman perfected for three Bulls championship teams under Phil Jackson? Sure.

But all in all, it’s quite a roll of the dice by a team that was sure to be favored to win it all anyway.

source

Will Ron Artest upset the Kobe Bryant apple cart?

Not to be counted out the San Antonio Spurs received the second most votes and any team with Tim Duncan can never be counted out. The Spurs picked up Richard Jefferson, but the rumored pickup of Rasheed Wallace never happened. Perhaps if the Wallace deal had taken place the Spurs would have received many more votes.

For now, unless Ron Artest explodes the Lakers, it appears the Lakers are the team to beat in the West.

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And the winner is…
But first a word from our sponsor…You! Hey, you, click on some of those ads off to the side and keep this blog a rolling. Rolling, Rolling, Rolling.
Now back to Billie Crystal as he announces the best player pickup in the off season…
Drum roll ta ta ta ta tata.
Richard Jefferson by the San Antonio Spurs.
Come on up Richard.

Congratulations and guess why you were number 1?

Jefferson (14 votes)
The first big move of the offseason will prove to be the best move, more than one-quarter of our voters said. RJ is the piece that will get the Spurs back into the West’s elite. Jefferson’s shooting numbers were down last season with the Bucks, but he shot 40 percent from beyond the arc and still knows how to score. Playing in a winning atmosphere certainly will help matters, too.

Most important, perhaps, is that RJ has been healthy for the past two years — something the Spurs’ big three has not been — and he’s still on the right side of 30. If he proves to be the perfect fit, the Spurs could push the Lakers for the Western Conference crown.

source

Duncan will have Richard Jefferson to help him to the NBA Title

Squibster take: This one stood out for me, because Richard Jefferson has been a quality player on a couple of confused teams. Now he won’t have to be the team leader. The Spurs have plenty of those guys. He can do what he does best and slash to the basket. Spurs may be once again looking at NBA title contention.

O’Neal to the Cav’s – does Shaq have enough left in the tank?
Artest to the Lakers – can Phil Jackson handle this guy? If he does then Phil goes to the Hall of Fame without retiring.
Carter to Orlando – Plenty of O, but will he deliver the D?
Marion, Miller, Turkoglu, and Wallace round out the field with Rasheed to the Celtics maybe paying the biggest dividends.

Photo source Newscom

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The Lakers picked up Ron Artest and say what you want about the guy, he can be a terrific basketball player and the Lakers are hoping by surrounding him with strong minds and a solid coach and a winning tradition that they will be able to contain the rest of Ron Artest.

The ace in the hole for the Lakers would have been Lamar Odom. Only Lamar is thinking about going to Miami to play with Dwyane Wade, instead and he may do it for less money and more respect.

Lamar Odom to Miami?

It will be interesting to see how this plays out, because the Lakers will need Odom to repeat. No Odom and things get a lot more interesting in the West.

According to Wojnarowski, one source said that the Odom-to-Miami deal is “Close, but it’s not done.” It would be a huge pickup for the HEAT should they pull it off, and a huge loss for the Lakers. Kobe Bryant has said all along he thought Odom would end up back in Tinsletown, but now it’s pretty much anybody’s guess. Either way, he’s going to win some ball games, though it seems more likely the Lakers would give him the better shot at another ring.
source

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There will be many that will disagree with the Ron Artest move to L.A., but you will not find me to be one of them. The Lakers just won the title and that is no time to sit still. Those of you out there that have won a title in anything will understand that statement. Those of you that have not will be mystified.

It works like this. You fight hard, get lucky, work hard, play D, hit some big shots, get hot, come together, get a break or two and the next thing you know, your team owns the NBA Championship trophy. Now comes the hard part. You have convinced yourself that you are great and you may be, but there was also the get lucky, hit big shots, come together, etc. stuff that helped you get there.

Changes will be needed and Ron Artest will be a big change for the Lakers.

Ron Artest will soon help Kobe to seek another NBA title

Still some will disagree.

The Lakers have all the shots they need, Kemo Sabe, and they don’t need Ron Artest taking them out of their offense, shooting shots he that should not, making it possible that more efficient players are unable to do their thing. Yes, Ron Artest shot 40 percent from behind the arc last season. But he also shot 40 percent inside of it, and that’s … awful. That’s just not good. While taking fewer than four free throws a game.

source

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A team posing as the Houston Rockets showed up at the Forum for a game 7. It was a testament to fortitude that the Rockets were still in this series at all. Just who were these Rockets, anyway? They were led by Scola and Brooks in scoring.

Who?

You know, Scola and Brooks. Oh, you were probably wondering about that Yao guy and the one named McGrady. Those two were not seen at the scene. It was more up to Battier and Artest. My thoughts exactly, do you want to trust your playoff fortunes to Battier and Artest?

Pau Gasol in the 3 man jumping drill

It did not matter as Pau Gasol and half of Hollywood led the Lakers to a huge 51 – 31 advantage at half and then just coasted to victory. Pau had 21 points and 18 rebounds. Kobe had a slightly off day with 14 points.

With Gasol scoring 21 points and grabbing 18 rebounds, the Lakers looked like the conference’s top-seeded team, not the maddeningly inconsistent one that was pushed to the decisive final game by the undermanned Rockets.

The Lakers dominated the paint on both ends, forcing the Rockets into turnovers and bad shots, and owning the backboards. They had an 8-0 lead a few minutes in and widened it to 25 points on Gasol’s jump hook shortly before halftime.

source

Now the Nuggets and Chauncey Billups come into tinsel town on Tuesday. Stay tuned.
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Houston has McGrady go down to injury.
Detroit has Iverson go down to injury.

Enter stage left…Ron Artest.
Enter stage right…Rip Hamilton.

It is the Rip and Ron show. Together they return. Separately they drive their teams to new heights.

Yes, Houston, we have a winner and it is delivered by Ron Artest.
Yes, Detroit, we can beat the Boston’s and Orlando’s as long as we have a big time performance from Rip Hamilton.

Ron Artest?

When the Houston Rockets acquired Ron Artest, you read in this space that he was brought in as a replacement for Tracy McGrady, not as a complementary piece. I wrote that at the time because I believed that Artest was the perfect fit for the Rick Adelman system – a fit that McGrady could never be. Adelman knew that, he communicated it, and GM Daryl Morey made it happen.

source

Rip Hamilton?

The Pistons are 2-0 since a back injury took Iverson out of the rotation, and those two wins came over two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference: Orlando and Boston. Hamilton recorded 31 points (11-18FG) and six assists against Orlando, followed by 25 points, nine assists, and six rebounds against Boston. The chemistry that’s been missing is back, and it’s no coincidence that it’s returned as Iverson sits.

source

Oh, by the way, the Nuggets came into Detroit tonight and Chauncey Billups put up plenty of daggers for 34 big ones, but Rip had 21 and the Pistons won the game.

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The trade rumor mill is cranked up and some of them are just outstanding. The silly part is they may all come true, because while you are still harping on the Pistons for trading All Star Chauncey Billups for AI, GM Joe D only took him for a free tryout, increased attendance, and a salary of 22 mill that comes off the books. In other words, you don’t know why a team trades for a player.

This rumor you have to love just for the shear unbelievableness. Is that a word? If not, it should be just for this case and this case alone.

Anyway, it looks like the final straw for the little 3 in New Jersey of Kidd, Jefferson, and Carter. Vince was the last one left.

Vince Carter to the Rockets. How messed up can you get? You have body breaking down Yao, gotta have the ball and never will win a playoff Tracey McGrady, and never going to move to Detroit Ron Artest. Now you want to add, gotta also have the ball and never going to win the playoffs Vince Carter to that lineup?

The Nets and Rockets have exchanged trade proposals and continue to talk, according to league sources and sources close to the Nets. One scenario has Carter and Josh Boone going to Houston for Ron Artest, Carl Landry and Luther Head.

source

If the trade does go through then Ron Artest would be shipped out of town and head back to New Jersey. Why do some teams just think individual talent will win games?

(This story was posted in Hoopsworld)

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Man, today there was this crazy thought rolling through my head. What if the Pistons had kept Chauncey Billups and Iverson had stayed on the Nuggets?

Nowhere to go with that thought, so how about taking a look at how some of this player movement and coaching movement is working out?

Chauncey Billups from Detroit to Denver
Denver is 7 – 3 in their last 10 games and in 1st place

Allen Iverson from Denver to Detroit
Detroit is 4 – 6 and in second place.

Ron Artest from everywhere to Houston
Houston is 7 – 3 and in 1st place

Jermaine O’Neal from Indiana to Toronto
Toronto is 3 – 7 and dead last in the Atlantic Division

Rick Carlisle to coach Dallas
Dallas is 8 – 2 but only in 4th place in the Southwest

Terry Porter to coach Phoenix
Phoenix is 5 -5 and in second place behind the Lakers

Mike D’Antoni to coach the Knicks
3 – 7 and 4th place in the same division as the Celtics

Mo Williams to Cleveland
9 – 1 in the last 10 and first place over the Pistons

This is a fun one
Elton Brand from L.A. Clippers to Philadelphia
Baron Davis from Golden State to L.A. Clippers
Corey Maggette from L.A. Clippers to Golden State

76er’s 4 -6 3rd place
Clip’s 2 – 8 5th place
Warriors 1 – 9 but still in 3rd place

Which just begs the question, what if Chauncey Billups had never left the Pistons?
Photo source Newscom

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