Kobe Smash

The last four nights have reaffirmed one of the last remaining truths in the NBA -- you do not, under any circumstances, want to schedule a contest with the Lakers after Kobe gets clobbered.  The Lakers took a few sizable lumps in their trip to the Rose Garden (where, for the record, L.A. has a rich history of losing), but have followed up that loss with back-to-back 102-point scoring efforts (both wins) against the two toughest defenses in the Western Conference.  I guess we know which way we should throw our money in all future Laker games following a loss.  Oh, and they clinched a playoff spot.  I do have some slight bias, but I wonder if the Lakers might have had a chance to shoot for 70 wins if Andrew Bynum wasn't the secret lovechild of Greg Oden and a stork.

Not a great deal of mockery in tonight's post.  TNT loves to line up their top-tier match-ups on Thursdays, and with neither game disappointing (unless you're a fan of a good, old-fashioned 88-76, 2005 Spurs-Pistons Finals battle-royale), tonight shall be a night of rejoicing!  Just sit back for the next few minutes, and realize that for one miraculous night we will not be subjected to the following teams: Timberwolves, Clippers, Kings, Grizzlies, Wizards, Bulls, Bucks, Bobcats, Nets, Pacers, and Thunder.  I feel at peace.

On top of all of that, there appear to be almost NO fantasy implications thus far, aside from perhaps Trevor Ariza moving into the starting lineup and drifting gingerly onto some desperate owner's radar.  We'll still drop a fancy little bullet-point list into the post, but fantasy buffs beware, brevity is hot right now.  No theme tonight; not going to waste a bullet on a night with two names.

Pick Up Now!

• Matt Barnes - Not 100% sure why, but Barnes continues to get minutes in Phoenix.  I get the feeling that it might have something to do with his aggression.  Come back with me to a simpler time, if you will, when Matt Barnes was a goofy UCLA undergraduate.  A Cal point guard moved swiftly towards his goal, the basket, and was rudely greeted by one of the most directed "elbow-to-skull" attacks that I've ever witnessed.  That play alone, which occurred in 2002, makes Matt Barnes the best defensive player on the Suns current roster.

With a watchful eye:

• Trevor Ariza - Moving into the starting lineup is generally a good thing, though I'm not sure in this case.  Ariza had become the king of the bench-moles with his all-out effort, but now finds himself competing with Kobe, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Derek Fisher for shots.  Keeping one eye on Trevor couldn't hurt, but maintain caution.

And as long as we've got a post on the shorter side of average, FS,OD is calling forth the ancient art form of the "pree-vyoo."  Baseball season is only a few short weeks away, and it's time I laid some groundwork for a transition.  This site is primarily dedicated to the fantasy craft, so it's going to be darn near impossible to give requisite attention to both the NBA fantasy playoffs and the MLB draft.  With that in mind, I am going to opt to stick with the NBA fantasy season until its conclusion in just about 4 weeks.  For more on baseball drafts, consult the Yahoo! experts, Rotoworld.com (as usual), or just do a Google search using my custom bar at the top-right of this page.

After one week of action, this website continues to grow stronger.  Today marked the greatest fan activity (I have reports, just trust me) since the site's inception.  Until the morrow!