Kobe and Lakers Ruin Shaq's Debut In Phoenix

All the talk was about Shaq's first game with his new team, the Phoenix Suns. And who is the perfect team for Shaq's debut, the Los Angeles and Kobe Bryant. Shaq was surprisingly in a lot better shape than expected. He was able to play almost 30 mins and looked strong down the stretch. He started off slow with some missed free throws and turnovers but played decent in the second half. One area that he seemed to really help was in creating opportunities for Amare to get offensive rebounds and shots. Amare excelled next the the big fella, getting 37 pts and pulling down 15 boards. All in all Shaq played better than expected but not good enough to contend for a title. The Suns have to learn to play some D, to give up 130 points is ridiculous and no team will ever win a title like that. With Shaq and the Suns garnering all of the attention before the game, Kobe seized the moment and played brilliant. As he does in every cluth situation Bryant showed why he is the best player in the world. When he wants to score, he scores, there is nothing anyone can do about it. He can get his shot off where ever and when ever he pleases. He dropped 41 going16-25 from the field. Odom and Gasol also had great games. Overall very impressive performance by LA, they seem to be clicking on all the right cylinders. As long as Kobe's finger stays "ok" and Bynum comes back healthy, the should be the Western Conference's rep for the Finals. Hell right now they are playing the best basketball in the league, and this is without Bynum. Its scary to think what is possible when he gets back!

Time To See How Much Fuel The "Diesel" Has Left In The Tank

This seems like eons ago, a happy Shaq and Kobe together. Its been three struggling seasons since the departure of Shaq for Miami, but finally the Lakers have got the pieces around Kobe to be a championship caliber club. The first few years without Shaq looked bleak for Bryant, having to carry the team with 40 and 50 point games just to keep it close. Then there was Bryant's legal troubles, everything seemed to be on the decline for Bryant. As for Shaq nothing could have been better, pairing with Dwayne Wade the Heat captured a NBA Championship in 2006. It was going great for Shaq, he was living life and just being the normal "Shaq". Then came this season, Bryant's future in LA at the start of the season looked dismal. There were trade rumors swirling around the world's best player, but nothing was ever executed. Instead, the Lakers began to gel and young Andrew Bynum started showing signs of brilliance. Then in a stunning move Laker GM Mitch Kupchak was able to aquire former All-Star Pau Gasol from Memphis for basically nothing. This shot the Lakers up the Western Conference totem pole. Now the Lakers are considered a top 3 contender for the title. As for Shaq this season hasn't started too well. After an injury plagued and poor start to the season for the Heat, Miami decided to ship O'Neal to Phoenix for Shawn Marion. Many have questioned the Suns (myself being one) logic in bringing in the 7 ft 330 pounder, especially with the up and down system they run. But the Suns and Shaq both seem to think this is gonna be what puts them "over the top". Tonight is our first glimpse of Shaq in Phoenix and how convenient he will be going against Kobe and the Lakers. Should be a very entertaining game, but I have to go with my boys, Lakers by 8.

Who's Next In The NBA Swap Meet

It all started with Mitch Kupchak's grand theft of Pau Gasol ( and from what I hear Mitch isn't done yet but ill get back to that), and it sure has snowballed since. Once the Lakers acquired Gasol, you could hear all of the Western Conference GMs take a collective gasp. Since then each contender has feverishly tried to get that "next piece to the puzzle". Next in line to booster their roster was the Phoenix Suns, they put a deal together which sent Shawn Marion in return for Shaq. Then in a lesser known deal the Spurs picked up Damon Stoudamire to give some depth to their backcourt. Now its Jason Kidd back to Dallas where it all began for him. The question is who's next? The Nuggets have said to be in talks with the Kings, trying to acquire Ron Artest. There are grumblings from Laker Land that Mitch is back on the phone lines trying to put together a deal that would send Laker Lamar Odom to the Wizards for All- Star guard Caron Butler. This would be Caron's second stint in LA, hopefully an improvement from his first run. A little over a day until the deadline, so there will be plenty of possible scenarios hinting the espn airwaves in the next 30 some hours, so stay tuned.

RA