Trust Me, This Lakers Team is Great
Posted by Flea on January 23, 2006, 3:40 p.m. ET

it has been a rough month and a half for the lakers without the great
lamar odom
and of course without our resident cake enthusiast (better lay off
the sauce) and muscle in the paint............. kwame brown
the victories that the lakers have enjoyed have been amazing
the fact that they have been able to beat both dallas and san antonio
while being so underhanded is a real tribute to the greatness of this
laker team
the lakers are starting to move the ball more fluidly than i have
seen since the magic johnson era
kobe bryant is playing unbelievably well
and making his teamates better, which was the only part of his game
that was lacking up until this season
he is now a complete player
one the alltime greats
and destined to win another championship with the lakers
and they have a great chance to do it this season
phil jackson has the players running the system well
and certainly commands their respect and they believe in him
which is the unifying factor for any team
no doubt they can run the triangle with even more precision
not to mention rotating over on defense (come on guys!!!)
but still they are playing the system well
and believing in each other
and it is a joy for me to see in laker world
if phil jackson is not coach of the year it is a travesty

however, the lakers have been wearing down without kwame and lamar
and are in dire need of their return
they have lost several games they should have won
partly because of their maddening tendency to play down to the level
of their competition
but also because they are just stretched too thin and don't have the
strength in the paint
i dont know exactly what the numbers are, but lamar and kwame
probably average about 15 boards a game between them
and this deficiency in their absence has been their downfall on many
a dismal night
last night andrew bynum got 15 boards against a newer and stronger
golden state team which was beautiful(he also shot 4 for 4)
but he has yet to learn how to be a power down under consistently
but damn i love that kid!!!
he is great! will be one of the best centers to ever play the game!
did i mention that he and my beautiful daughter sunny have the same
birthday of october 27?
maybe they'll be best friends one day and sunny will have great laker
tix and take her mom and i to the game and we will cheer and eat hot
dogs
and they will have their birthday party together and i'll get my
meters cover band together to play at it
in any event...we really need lamar
what he brings to the lakers is crucial
kobe is the heart of this laker team
but lamar is the blood that pumps through it reaching all the
important parts of the body
and kwame is still on his upward arc and is our inside man we need him

i am so proud of the lakers though
when i see a lineup of turiaf(dig that new finger in the light socket
hair!), jordan farmar, sasha vujacic, the radman, and luke out on the
court
and they are winning the game.....i feel so proud of the unity of the
team
and how they believe in each other
and it makes me more happy than when they had the best record in the
league in the shak years and they had only a fragmented belief in the
love and unity
they have all been playing well and like a team.........purple and
gold.......go lakers

i did not feel disappointed when chris weber chose the pistons over
the lakers
i think chris will have a better career in michigan and i hope for
him to have a heartfelt connection with the whole scene over there
without a doubt he would be an asset to any team, and though he no
longer is a banger and slammer
he is a great player
but not crucial to the laker team and we already have two big guys
who can shoot well in lamar and b cook
not to mention lamar's great passing ability......

in enemy territory...
the thing that i am excited to see right bout now though
is the nuggets now that carmelo is back
i think that he and the answer are going to be phenomenal together
and that nuggets are really gonna step up and be a threat in the west
i think that kid steve blake is a good point guard too
early to tell, but it seems to bode for an explosive and thrilling
combination
all depends on the chemistry.....
whats up wiith kenyon martin? is he injured all year or something?

speaking of question marks
where is latrell sprewell?
has he just silently retired and disappeared forever from our nba world?
the guy was a dynamic and exciting figure for years
and then poof he vanishes
weird
probably made more money else where since that 8000zillion dollars he
was getting wasnt enough to feed his children
hahha just joking
that was a pretty silly comment he made though
but he was the best player on that knick team with alan houston and
marcus camby
and i really like alan houston and dont hold that exorbitant paycheck
against him
even though he dropped 50 on the lakers one night to bum me out

the suns are too good it is not fair
the small little part of my basketball heart that is not jealous is
wildly impressed

anyways............

Give It Away? No Way, But I Could Make Room in My Heart
Posted by Flea on January 24, 2006, 2 p.m. ET

my band played in charlotte, north carolina this evening
it was a pretty fun show, we were doing our thing
and when, in mid rock i look down stage left
and who is standing there rocking to the groove but emeka okafor and
sean may...
that was a trip
being in a successful rock band and living in l.a. i have been around
a lot of famous people
but for me, being such a hardcore basketball fan
and that the worlds of rock and basketball rarely collide
i never meet those guys
i guess i kind of like it that way
that way they stay as mythological heroes to me
and if i never meet 'em it's easy to hate all the guys that aren't on
the lakers
but i gotta say meeting those guys was such a great experience
they were down to earth, smart and funny guys
i'll never be able to hate the bobcats again, even though they beat
the lakers in triple overtime a few weeks ago
and they stayed for a whole 2 hour blasting red hot chili peppers show!
they like music!
i will always bleed purple and gold and lakers will always be my team
but in the eastern conference......go bobcats!
(unless the bizarre experience of a laker bobcat final ever comes to
pass)
we also met jb, an assistant coach at charlotte
those guys are so cool man..........
emeka and sean....didn't both those guys win the final four in
consecutive years?
guys at the beginning of long great careers!
god bless em!
woulda been cool had adam morrison come too, but...............
bet i'll see him in may at the rage against the machine show in
coachella......

anyways, hopefully lamar coming back on friday for the lakers against
the bobcats
lamar odom! triple double trouble! soul man number one!
as much as i like sean and emeka
lakers are gonna have to put the hurt on 'em
yup, i hope those nice bobcat guys have a great season and stay
healthy and have long and happy lives
but i hope the lakers crush their world on friday
conflicted?
me?
never!!!