Lakers star Kobe Bryant is surrounded by reporters at the team's practice facility in El Segundo. (US PRESSWIRE)

You can’t blame Kobe Bryant for looking and feeling a little surly these days.

On the eve of training camp and the start of the 2011 free agency period, the Lakers thought they had All-Star point guard Chris Paul in a three-team deal. Just hours after the CP3 trade began circulating, commissioner David Stern nixed the trade citing the NBA-owned New Orleans Hornets were not getting enough in return.

Days after the Paul trade fell apart, the Lakers moved popular teammate Lamar Odom, the reigning Sixth Man of the Year, to the defending champion Dallas Mavericks. How did Bryant react to the news? He said “I hope management knows what they’re doing!” Not exactly a ringing endorsement for general manager Mitch Kupchak and team executive Jim Buss.

Then, on Wednesday, the Clippers – the junior varsity team of Staples Center – landed the coveted Paul, and the Twitterverse started blowing up with plenty of chatter on how the Clippers have now surpassed the Lakers as the No. 1 in Los Angeles.

Two days later, on a very windy Friday afternoon in Southern California, TMZ reported that Kobe’s wife, Vanessa, filed for divorce citing “irreconcilable differences” and asked for joint custody of the couple’s two daughters. TMZ said Vanessa is ending the 10-year marriage because Kobe has been unfaithful.

Talk about a rough last 48 hours for the Black Mamba! No wonder he left Friday’s practice without speaking to the media and was extra terse with reporters on Thursday when he was asked about the CP3 deal to the crosstown rival Clippers.

Despite all the trouble in Lakerland, Kobe Bryant remains focused on the task at hand, which is to chase his sixth NBA championship ring and a 17th title to the Lakers franchise.

Bryant reportedly looks great in practice and his troublesome knee seems to be healing well. Bryant still has 7-footers Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum to lean on offensively and defensively, and he still has good friend Derek Fisher by his side when things get crazy in the locker room. Newly acquired forward Josh McRoberts is a terrific athlete who will add energy and punch off the bench, and could start on occasion should Bynum or Gasol gets hurt. And don’t think for one second that the Lakers are done wheeling and dealing. They are still in play to obtain All-Star center Dwight Howard and they are still in the market for a point guard.

There are lots of questions left to be answered for the Lakers, including how the team will function without Phil Jackson’s trusty triangle offense and how long it will take them to trust first-year head coach Mike Brown. But one thing is for certain, Kobe Bryant is still one of the best players in the league and he will never allow the Lakers to play second-fiddle to anyone, especially the Clippers.

Kobe will file all the negativity surrounding his life and use them as motivation. Don’t ever count out Kobe Bryant and the Lakers.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter @onemanfastbreak.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Los Angeles Lakers star Kobe Bryant has been offered $3 million to play 10 games for Virtus Bologna in Italy. (GETTY IMAGES)

Kobe Bryant recently said it would be a dream to play in Italy. Well, that dream could soon become reality as Virtus Bologna says it has reached a verbal agreement with the 33-year-old Los Angeles Lakers superstar that would pay him $3 million to play 10 games in 40 days in the Italian League.

Assuming the NBA lockout persists, and there is a strong possibility the regular season won’t start on time, playing in Italy is the better option for Bryant. It is not like Kobe is getting a job at an exterior painting company in Vancouver. He’s going into an ideal situation. He can take his daughters on an extended European vacation, take his beautiful wife out shopping in Milan, enjoy some rest and relaxation in Venice, and play basketball on the side. That’s a great gig! Besides, playing in the Italian League is a heck of a lot better than running around the country looking for the next charity league game that hopefully includes some NBA players.

Kobe has already done Rucker Park and the Drew League and he absolutely dominated because, let’s face it, both were glorified scrimmages and the competition bordered on ridiculousness. Kobe loves a challenge and playing in the ultra-competitive environment of the Euroleague would be more beneficial to him than any Mike Brown training camp.

The deal includes a provision that would allow Bryant to return to the Lakers as soon as the lockout is lifted, so that should keep Jerry Buss from falling out of his poker chair. Virtus is trying to convince other Italian League owners to agree to changing the schedule so the deal is far from done, according to ESPN’s Chris Broussard.

Broussard says Virtus – which hasn’t won a league title since 2001 – wants to load up home games in October and host them at larger arenas to accommodate the throngs of fans expected to flood the league from Oct. 9 to Nov. 16 if/when Kobe signs the contract. Broussard also reported that other Italian clubs may jump in and offer Kobe a better deal, so this could turn into a bidding war.

Several NBA players, including J.R. Smith and Wilson Chandler, have signed to play overseas and Bucks forward Chris Douglas-Roberts signed with Virtus and is already practicing with the club. But having Kobe Bryant, arguably the most popular athlete in the worth, in the Italian League would be a monumental event. It would be comparable to watching the cast of “Jersey Shore” going an entire week without drinking alcohol and pumping their fists in Florence.

What makes this thing real enticing for Kobe is the fact that he has a soft spot for Italy. He spent the better part of his childhood there, it is place where he first fell in love with the game while watching his father Joe “Jellybean” Bryant, and he speaks the language.

”Italy is my home. It’s where my dream of playing in the NBA started. This is where I learned the fundamentals, learned to shoot, to pass and to (move) without the ball,” Bryant recently told Gazzetta dello Sport in fluent Italian. ”All things that when I came back to America the players my age didn’t know how to do because they were only thinking about jumping and dunking.”

Bryant added, “It’s a huge honor for me to return to Italy. It’s home for me. It’s always been a dream for me to play in Italy. We’ve got to wait and see what happens.”

Here are two key issues for Bryant to consider: training camp with the Lakers won’t be the same this year and the season is not likely to start on time. The Lakers now have Mike Brown running the camp, and because of the lockout he won’t have a full training camp to implement his schemes and philosophies, it will be a total cram session. Also, Brown will be hard pressed to change the culture in L.A. in a month because he’s following the great Phil Jackson.

The Lakers ran the triangle offense for a decade and it resulted in five NBA championships. Brown has only been to the NBA Finals once and his Cleveland Cavaliers were swept by the San Antonio Spurs in 2007. There is nothing Brown can tell Kobe that Kobe has not heard before. This union is similar to the situation the NFL’s Indianapolis Colts endured when Jim Caldwell took over for Tony Dungy to coach Peyton Manning. Caldwell may be the coach in title, but the Colts are Manning’s team.

The same scenario for the Lakers. Brown may be the coach, but the Lakers are Kobe’s team. Basically, all Brown will be asked to do is manage Kobe’s minutes, and that is it. Would it surprise anyone if Kobe waved off Brown during the final 10 seconds of game? Not me. In fact, it wouldn’t be a total stretch to see Kobe call an audible and run an old Phil Jackson play instead of a new Mike Brown play.

So, if you are Kobe Bryant, here are your options: slog through an NBA boot camp with a coach who underachieved in Cleveland or spend a month in Italy where he’ll be treated like a god? It’s an easy choice.

Michael Jordan didn’t get the opportunity to play in Europe, so that’s one more reason for Bryant to consider.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him @twitter.com/onemanfastbreak.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Pau Gasol is the emotional leader of the Spanish national team. (FIBA EUROBASKET)

Pau Gasol took the brunt of the criticism during the 2011 NBA playoffs when the Lakers were swept out of the second round by eventual champion Dallas.

Gasol didn’t play his best during the series, and at one point he appeared so out of it that Lakers coach Phil Jackson was seen chastising his star forward basically telling the Spaniard to snap out of his funk.

Rumors swirled all over the Internet that Gasol was having issues with his girlfriend Silvia Lopez Castro, then it was compounded when teammate Shannon Brown tweeted that he was not having an affair with Pau’s girl (memo to
Shannon Brown: if nothing was going on then why tweet about it?)

L.A. Lakers star Pau Gasol with his girlfriend Silvia Lopez Castro. (GETTY IMAGES)

Gasol is one of the nicest NBA players you will ever meet, and something was clearly bothering him last season. More often than not, Pau wears his emotions on his sleeve and he needs to be highly engaged in order to be effective. So, it is important for Pau to regain his confidence and it starts with European Championships in Lithuanian.

Laker fans are hoping that playing for his country and being with familiar faces should help Gasol’s mental state. Sorta like going back home to your mom’s house for some good old-fashioned home cooking to clear your mind. As a bonus, Pau gets to play with his brother, Marc.

So far, the Gasols are rolling through the competition at the European Championships. With the Gasols in the post and international stars Juan Carlos Navarro and Ricky Rubio in the perimeter, Spain may have the most complete team at EuroBasket 2011.

In Spain’s 77-68 victory over Germany in the second round, the Gasol brothers combined for 43 points (Marc had 24 and Pau had 19) to down Dirk Nowitzki’s squad. Spain’s lone loss in the tournament came against Turkey, which is led by Hedo Turkoglu and Omer Asik.

As long as the Gasol brothers are firing on all cylinders, Spain should capture the gold medal at EuroBasket 2011 (although France and host nation Lithuanian are capable of derailing that plan). The top two teams in the tournament earn automatic berths to the 2012 London Olympics.

Popularity: 3% [?]

Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum (right) goes up for a shot against Dallas Mavericks center Tyson Chandler. Bynum and the Lakers were swept by Chandler and the Mavericks in the second round of the Western Conference playoffs. (US PRESSWIRE)

Two words come to mind after the Lakers were swept by the Mavericks in the 2011 Western Conference semifinal series: heartless and classless.

The Lakers, the two-time defending champions and the model franchise for the past three decades in the NBA, did not display the heart of champion nor the poise of a champion in Game 4 at Dallas. The Mavericks eliminated the Lakers in spectacular fashion, dropping seemingly endless 3-pointers in a 122-86 win, ending the Lakers’ reign and sending Phil Jackson into early retirement.

What compounded the embarrassment was the way the Lakers reacted in the fourth quarter. With the game out of reach and with just nine minutes to play, Lakers forward Lamar Odom gave Mavs All-Star Dirk Nowitzki a hard shoulder check 23 feet from the basket. Odom’s flagrant foul resulted an ejection.

But that wasn’t enough. Moments later, Lakers center Andrew Bynum joined Odom in the locker room after he intentionally threw an elbow to the ribs of J.J. Barea as Barea drove to the basket, sending the Mavs guard to the floor hard. It was a dangerous move that could have ended Barea’s season. Mike Tirico called it “bushleague,” and Hubie Brown, one of the most respected men in the game, said “amen” to Tirico’s claim. It was a despicable act by a player who totally lost his cool and didn’t know how to accept defeat. It’s a loser’s mentality.

The cheap shots did not sit well with the Maverick, as well Laker legend Magic Johnson. Johnson said, “In Game 4, the Los Angeles Lakers embarrassed the organization by getting blown out by the Dallas Mavericks. Classless acts on physical and hard fouls by Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum. That should have never happened. You have to show class when you win, and you have to show class when you lose. And the Lakers did not show class in Game 4.”

Two games prior to Game 4, Ron Artest delivered a forearm shot to Barea’s head during the final moments of a Laker loss at Staples Center. It resulted in a one-game suspension for Artest, as he had to sit out Game 3.

Those three incidents have no place in basketball. Magic is completely right in saying that the Lakers were classless in defeat, which is a shame because it showed poor sportsmanship from all three players involved. There’s a different between hard fouls in the heat of the moment during a series when the games are still within reach, and cheap shots. Those were clearly cheap shots. There are unacceptable and it shows the true character of a person. It’s easy to ride the wave of emotion when things are going well, but it’s hard to swallow a bitter defeat. However, losing doesn’t give anyone the green light to start get violent against the competition.

Odom said he did what he did because he was embarrassed. Bynum said he wasn’t disappointed in himself for nearly sending Barea to the hospital. Well, if Bynum is not disappointed in himself then it is extremely disappointing to hear his response.

Popularity: 8% [?]

Chris Paul scored 27 points, grabbed 13 rebounds and dished out 15 assists in leading the Hornets to a victory in Game 4 against the Los Angeles Lakers in the first round of the 2011 Western Conference playoffs. (GETTY IMAGES)

Chris Paul is having fun again, and that’s bad news for the rest of the league.

After two injury-plagued seasons, the Hornets superstar point guard is back in the mix in terms of BPG (best point guards), and he’s proving all those naysayers wrong for doubting he’d ever return to his old form.

Chris Paul is still the best point guard in the NBA, despite all what you’re hearing from the experts who have fallen in love with Derrick Rose. Nothing against Rose, who deserves to be the 2010-11 NBA MVP, but he’s more of a lead guard than a true facilitator. Rose is more dangerous when he’s scoring. Paul is more dangerous when he’s setting up his teammates, which is a true definition of a point guard.

“Chris Paul . . .  that was one of the better performances that I have ever seen in the playoffs,” said Hornets first-year coach Monty Williams after Paul’s triple-double against the Lakers in the first round of the playoffs. “A lot of guys have performances where they score. He scored, he dished it out, he rebounded; he made tough, tenacious plays. A lot of times when that ball goes up and the rebound is a 50-50 ball and you see a 6-foot guy go up and get it just describes his heart. He makes me look better as a coach.”

Williams added, “Chris doesn’t have to score to control the game. He can pick his spots.”

The most impressive part of Paul’s triple-double against the Lakers was his 13 rebounds. The points (27) and the assists (15) can easily be attained, but grabbing 13 rebounds by a 6-foot guard (and that’s probably pushing it) is just mind-boggling.

“When you get to the playoffs, no one feels sorry for you,” Paul told reporters during his postgame press conference after Game 4. “They don’t care what’s wrong with your ankle, what’s wrong with your knee or anything like that. This is where players are made. I just looked at it as a great opportunity, for us as a team, to forget about the [regular] season and try to seize the moment.”

He added, “I play with a chip on the shoulder day in and day out. I’m not trying to make a statement. There’s nothing that I’m trying to do new or anything like that. I’m just being me.”

Paul’s relentless pursuit of the ball is a microcosm of how the Hornets were able to extend the two-time defending champions to six games. Even though the Hornets lost the series, Paul embraces being relevant again. “I’m just so thankful. This is my way of life. They pay me to do this,” Paul said. “I’m just happy I get to hoop.”

Spoken like a guy who truly loves the game and loves his job.

When healthy, nobody in the league can do what Paul does. Offensively, he runs the offense, he sets up shots for his teammates, he destroys a defense with his dribble penetration and when all else fails he has found his shooting stroke, which had been missing for most of the season. Defensively, Paul is a pest. He gets through screens and has extremely quick, strong hands, which allows him to disrupt a team’s offense.

“I just try to impact the game, whether its rebound or defending or getting those guys open shots. Just trying to be a point guard,” said Paul.

Paul will be a free agent at the end of the 2012 season, so there’s a 50-50 chance he’ll leave New Orleans. If he stays, the Hornets will remain a contender. If he leaves, basketball in New Orleans will become a ghost town.

Joel Huerto is the publisher and editor of OneManFastBreak.net. Follow hi on Twitter: twitter.com/onemanfastbreak.

Popularity: 2% [?]

Despite getting a boost from the return of Manu Ginobili, the Spurs went down to the Grizzlies in Game 4 and now trail in the Western Conference first-round series 3-1. Since the NBA expanded to 16 teams in the playoffs, the eighth-seeded team has only beaten a top-seeded team three times. The Grizzlies would like to make it four.

Zach Randolph buried a critical 3-pointer late in Game 3 to help the Grizzlies win 91-88. It’s the second time in this series a Memphis player hit a huge 3-point shot to bury the Spurs. The Spurs were clipped by the Grizzlies in Game 1, thanks to Shane Battier’s 3-pointer and the unclutchness of Richard Jefferson, who missed a wide-open 3-point shot from the top of the arc that would have sent the game into overtime.

So which higher seeded team is in big trouble? The Magic? Spurs? Or the Lakers?

Fourth-seeded Orlando trailing fifth-seeded Atlanta, 3-1, is not that shocking, although seeing Dwight Howard score 46 points and watching the Magic still lose is a bit of a surprise. But during the regular season, the Hawks defeated the Magic three out of four times so their victories in Game 1, 3 and 4 can’t be considered a stunner. The Magic-Hawks series should be a competitive one, and it could very well go seven games. The Magic can still recover because Howard gives them a chance every night. However, Hedo Turkoglu and Jason Richardson need to step up their game and start knocking down shots.

The Lakers’ loss to the Hornets on Sunday can be described in one word: aberration. The Lakers demolished the Hornets in the Game 3 and have regained home-court advantage.

You can’t put too much stock into the Hornets’ victories in Game 1 and Game 4 because the Lakers are still the better team and, for whatever reason, the defending champs looked a little sluggish in the last game and were caught off guard by the pesky Hornets and the rebirth of CP3. Look for the Lakers to rebound in Game 5 and travel to New Orleans with a 3-2 lead in the series.

However, the same can’t be said about the Spurs. The Grizzlies have stood toe-to-toe with the Spurs so far and have not played like a No. 8 team. Memphis’ frontline of Marc Gasol and Randolph have dominated the paint, and unless the Spurs frontcourt players have a growth spurt, the Grizzlies will have the upperhand inside as long as they keep feeding Gasol, who has outplayed Tim Duncan so far, and Randolph in the low block.

The Spurs can still win this series, but it could go six or seven games, which can’t be good for Old Timmy Duncan’s legs and Ginobili’s sprained elbow. And the longer this series goes, the more confident the Grizzlies will get and they’ll start to believe that they can actually pull off the upset.

Photo credit: US Presswire – Spurs forward/center Tim Duncan reacts after a foul call during Game 1 of the Spurs-Grizzlies playoff series in San Antonio.

Popularity: 1% [?]

Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol have reached the NBA Finals three consecutive years. Can they make it a fourth this season? (GETTY IMAGES)

Since the L.A. Lakers acquired – or stole, depending on how you interpret the historic heist – Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies in 2008, the Lakers have been to the NBA Finals three consecutive years. They lost to the Celtics in 2008, defeated the Magic in 2009 and outlasted the Celtics in seven brutal games in 2010.

As the 2011 NBA playoffs is about to begin, the Lakers are once again heavy favorites to reach the NBA Finals. This will be their fourth consecutive trip into June, which is unchartered territory. Not since the Showtime Lakers (1982-85) has an NBA team logged so much playoff mileage. It’s equivalent to almost two full regular seasons. So, the biggest question facing the Lakers in the 2011 playoffs is this: Do they have enough left in the tank to advance past the Western Conference and reach a fourth straight NBA Finals? The answer lies in the legs of Andrew Bynum. If Bynum stays healthy, the Lakers should be back in the Finals. If not, and Bynum has shown to be vulnerable to knee injuries (he hyperextended his right knee recently against the Spurs) then the West is wide open.

FIRST ROUND

(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (8) Memphis Grizzlies
The Spurs shot out like a cannon and ran away with the best record in the West, but they didn’t exactly finish the race strong. Gregg Popovich carefully managed the minutes of Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker to save their legs for the playoffs. Now that the playoffs are here, it will be interesting to see if San Antonio reverts back to its methodical approach or maintains its uptempo, 3-point attack. Ginobili injured his right arm in the regular-season finale, and if this latest injury turns out to be serious the Spurs’ title hopes could be dashed. The Spurs split their season series with Memphis so the Grizzlies will be a tough out. Prediction: Spurs in 6.

(4) Oklahoma City Thunder vs. (5) Denver Nuggets
Nuggets coach George Karl publicly wanted a matchup with the Mavericks because he thinks his speedy squad will be negated by the extremely fast and athletic Thunder, who now has a defensive anchor in Kendrick Perkins. This series will be a track meet, with speedsters Ty Lawson and Raymond Felton in one lane, and Russell Westbrook and Eric Maynor in another. Prediction: Thunder in 5.

(3) Dallas Mavericks vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers
This will be the best first-round matchup. The Blazers, bolstered by the addition of Gerald Wallace, will give the Mavs all they handle and then some. LaMarcus Aldridge will probably draw Tyson Chandler because Dirk Nowitzki won’t be able to guard Aldridge in the post. The key to the series will be guard play, and the Blazers have an advantage over the smaller guards of Dallas. And if Portland can get 20 quality minutes per game from Brandon Roy then the Mavs are in deep trouble. Prediction: Blazers in 6.

(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (7) New Orleans Hornets
The Lakers swept the Hornets during the regular season and they should sweep the Hornets again in the postseason. The Hornets simply do not have enough size to compete with L.A.’s formidable frontline, and Chris Paul needs to play out of his mind just to eek out a game against the defending NBA champs. Prediction: Lakers in 4.

CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS

(1) San Antonio Spurs vs. (4) Oklahoma City Thunder
A classic battle of The Old & the Beautiful” against “The Young & the Very Restless.” The Spurs swept the Thunder during the regular season, but their last contest was in February and the Thunder have since retooled their starting lineup and now have Perkins to protect the basket, grab rebounds and set hard screens. Perk also brings a nasty streak to the mix, something the Thunder sorely needs. Originally, I had the Spurs winning this series in seven hard-fought games. But Ginobili’s sprained right arm could be troublesome for Gregg Popovich and Co., and without a healthy Manu the Spurs become extremely ordinary. The Thunder pushed the Lakers to limit last year, and this year they push the Spurs out of the playoffs. Prediction: Thunder in 6.

(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (6) Portland Trail Blazers
The Lakers-Blazers rivalry reached a fever pitch in 2000 and 2001 when the Blazers, led by Scottie Pippen, Rasheed Wallace and Brian Grant, gave the Lakers all they can handle but just couldn’t get over the hump. It’ll be the same story this season as the Blazers will make this a very competitive series with their depth and defense, and may even push this thing to the limit. But in the end, the Blazers’ perimeter players will have no answer for Kobe and their frontcourt won’t  be able to keep up with the Hollywood Hills (Gasol and Bynum). Too bad Roy is a shell of himself these days because the Blazers really need the old Brandon Roy to knock off the champs. Prediction: Lakers in 7.

CONFERENCE FINALS

(2) Los Angeles Lakers vs. (4) Oklahoma City Thunder
This series features two teams from polar opposites of the basketball spectrum. In one corner you have the two-time defending NBA champs with a history full of superlatives. The Lakers are led by one of the all-time greats in Kobe Bryant and L.A.’s three-headed frontcourt of Gasol, Bynum and Lamar Odom is unrivaled in the league. In the other corner you have a franchise that originated in Seattle, but is still very much in its infancy stages. OKC is led by a couple of 22-year-olds: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook. It’s Youth vs. Experience. Power vs. Speed. The Rebel Alliance vs. the Evil Empire. Durant, the young Jedi knight, vs. Kobe, the Jedi master. If the Lakers-Thunder sequel is anything like last year’s epic struggle, basketball fans are in for a treat. Despite getting significantly bigger with the acquisition of Perkins, the “Fast & Furious” Thunder still can’t measure up to “The Big Lake Show.” Prediction: Lakers in 7.

Joel Huerto is the editor and publisher OneManFastBreak.net. Follow him on Twitter at: twitter.com/onemanfastbreak.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Lakers forward-center Pau Gasol is defended by his brother, Marc Gasol, during a Lakers-Grizzlies game at Staples Center in Los Angeles. (GETTY IMAGES)

The Grizzlies came into Staples Center and embarrassed the defending NBA champions 104-85. The Lakers have now lost three of their last four home games, and the one win was a four-point struggle against the lowly 76ers. Is there trouble in L.A.?

“We didn’t execute well, and defensively we were poor,” Kobe Bryant told reporters on Sunday night after the loss, the Lakers’ 11th of the season. “We’ve just got to come out focused and ready to play. It’s tough when you have to try to regenerate that energy every single night. It starts individually. You have to look at yourself and try to find things to get you going. Right now we can’t beat anybody, but we’ll be fine.”

Phil Jackson agreed with Kobe about the lack of focus, but the Lakers head man also got very specific during his postgame press conference regarding the team’s struggles offensively.

“It’s a matter of focus. We didn’t use our strengths, which is our inside players,” Jackson said. “Pau gets nine shots during the course of a game, some of it is his own responsibility, but we didn’t use that focus that we have in the ballgame.”

Jackson continued, “We started off the game with Pau scoring six out of our eight points, but he didn’t score again in the half.  He’s too good of a player for a game like that.”

Translation, Jackson wants Kobe and Co. to FOCUS on getting the ball inside to Pau Gasol and, to an extent, Andrew Bynum. The Lakers have the best low-post players in the league the Zen Master wants his team to initiate their triangle offense through their big men and play the game inside-out, something Kobe and Co. failed to do against the Grizzlies.

“As a result, we get behind early in the third quarter on some stupid plays. You know, poor passing, poor transition defense,” Jackson explained, “and Kobe has to screw up the game and start energizing the team by going one-on-one and takes the rest of the guys out. As a consequence, that did bring us back in and it did gives us a little run and we did get the game back a little bit, but we couldn’t sustain it. And we just went right back and made the same mistakes again.”

Gasol is not really an in-your-face-demand-the-ball kind of guy, so Jackson is basically acting as his mouth piece in this case. Remember the old Shaquille O’Neal line of “feeding the big dog.” Well, the Lakers need to feed their Spaniard if they want him to remain hungry for a third consecutive NBA title.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Kobe Bryant wore his emotions on his shoes - his Grinch shoes - during a much hyped Christmas Day showdown with the Heat. (ASSOCIATED PRESS)

The L.A. Lakers, quite simply, were Ho-Ho-Ho-rrible against the Miami Heat on Christmas Day. The two-time defending NBA champions left an awful stench at Staples Center after a 96-80 loss to the traveling circus from South Beach.

It got so bad for the Lakers that coach Phil Jackson joked he developed hemorrhoids sitting on the bench. During his postgame presser, Kobe Bryant broke his silence with the media and promised to “beat” the message of accountability into his teammates when they return to practice. Now, you don’t want to be on Kobe’s bad side. Anyone who challenges his authoritarian position they either get traded (Shaq O’Neal) or forced into retirement (Karl Malone).

Bryant and the Lakers were embarrassed on Christmas by LeBron James and Dwyane Wade – his two buddies from the 2008 U.S. Olympic team. Bryant is not a very good loser so getting punked by two guys, who are considered his chief competition for BPITG (Best Player in the Game), really put the Kobester in a very salty mood.

“I’m going to kick some [butt] in practice,” said the man who wore Grinch-like shoes on Christmas. “It’s going to get through. I’ll beat it in their head until it gets through.”

Bryant had a feeling the Lakers weren’t going to play well coming into their much-hyped game against the Heat on Christmas Day. The Lakers are 4-8 on Christmas Day since 1999 and last year LeBron and his former team, the Cleveland Brons, ruined the holidays by destroying the Lakers by 15 points and turning the normally docile L.A. crowd at Staples Center into a dog pound, tossing their foam fingers onto the court.

“We always [stink] on Christmas,” Bryant said. “I don’t think we’re mean enough to be able to show up on Christmas Day and play. They should just take us off this day.

“I think these games mean more to our opponents than they do to us. I think we need to get that straight. We need to play with more focus and put more importance on these games. I don’t like it.”

Bryant is one of those rare superstars who is never completely satisfied. He knows how hard it is to three-peat, and he is concerned that this year’s team is not as hungry and may have either gotten fat (Andrew Bynum), burned out (Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol) or unfocused (Ron Artest).

Bryant plays to win championships, and anything else is a major disappointment. You won’t see any division championship banners hanging at Staples Center. It’s all about the gold ball. Bryant plans to play in June each and every year. And even though he already has five chips, Kobe is ALL IN each and every season.

Popularity: 10% [?]

LeBron James told reporters on Friday that he wouldn’t mind seeing less teams in the NBA, a stance that goes against the players’ union. Union president Derek Fisher just so happens to be on the other side of the court today when the Los Angeles Lakers host LeBron and his BFF Dwyane Wade and the Miami Heat at Staples Center in the marquee game of the NBA’s Christmas Day schedule.

Fisher told ESPN News’ Sara Walsh on Friday, “I’m going to be real. Other than just going out and playing against a good team, it’s not necessarily personal. Of course, I want a win against the Heat on Christmas Day. That’s the best gift I can give myself.”

Things just got more interesting in the budding rivalry between the Lakers and the Heat.

Fisher is one of the more politically correct people in the league, so he’s not going to drag this brewing issue to the media. However, don’t be surprised if Fisher sends LeBron a little message in the form of a forearm to the chest. Remember the Luis Scola play? Things could get a little testy. Here’s a look at the matchups:

Dwyane Wade could be matched up against Kobe Bryant for much of today's highly anticipated contest. (GETTY IMAGES)

GUARDS: Other than Dwyane Wade, the Heat really don’t have much while the Lakers have a wealth of experience in the backcourt with Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, Steve Blake and Shannon Brown. The only way this position matchup evens out is if Carlos Arroyo or Mario Chalmers has a career game – which is probably not going to happen. It will be interesting to see if Wade guards Kobe for the majority of the game. If he does, Wade’s offense will suffer a little bit because he’ll have to waste a lot of energy on defense. If he doesn’t, then his buddy LeBron will likely draw the assignment, but that would mean Wade would have to guard Ron Artest which is no walk in the park either. EDGE: LAKERS

FORWARDS: LeBron James will likely face Ron Artest in a head-to-head showdown worth the price of admission. Artest may be the only player in the league who can dislodge LeBron off the box, and the Lakers don’t have to send an extra defender toward LeBron because Artest can play him straight up. The Chris Bosh-Lamar Odom matchup is an interesting one. Both are lefties and both are streak shooters. Against any other team, Artest and Odom should prevail. But against a Heat squad with two All-Star forwards, the Lakers will have their hands full. EDGE: HEAT

CENTER: The Heat may have The Big Three but the Lakers have The Hollywood Hills in Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. Gasol will start the game, but expect Andrew Bynum to have a major impact in the game off the bench. Outside of Zydrunas Ilgauskas, the Heat don’t have another 7-footer who can bother The Hills. Gasol and Bynum are matchup nightmares for 29 teams in the league, and the Lakers are nearly unbeatable when both are healthy. The Heat will be at a severe disadvantage. EDGE: LAKERS

COACHING: Erik Spoelstra is one of young, bright coaches in the league but, let’s get real, he’s facing a living legend in Lakers mastermind Phil Jackson. End of story. EDGE: LAKERS

PREDICTION: LeBron and D-Wade need to be extra special for the Heat to have a chance, while the Lakers just need to play their normal game to take control of the game. Lakers win, 99-93.

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