D’Antoni vs Jackson: a Contrast in Coaching Styles

Los Angeles Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak said he chose to hire Mike D’Antoni over fan-favorite and 11-time champion Phil Jackson because he felt D’Antoni’s system would be a better fit for the Lakers current roster. Only time will tell though if he made the right decision.

Now no one doubts that D’Antoni’s system can be implemented on the fly much quicker than the triangle system that Jackson prefers, but Jackson’s coaching style and familiarity with the team’s core players may have ultimately led to more team success.

Kobe’s absence good for the Lakers?

Can the Los Angeles Lakers win without their superstar shooting guard Kobe Bryant in the lineup? Well Bryant has only been out five games while resting his bruised shin but the Lakers are 4-1 in his absence.

Everybody has pitched in to help keep the Lakers in the win column but if there is one lesson that L.A.’s big men will learn from Bryant’s absence is that things are so much easier when the Black Mamba is in the lineup.

NBA trade deadline marked by flurry of transactions

A lot of the big names that we have heard bandied about over the past few months stayed home but there were still a flurry of trades that occurred as the NBA trade deadline expired on Thursday.

Gasol for Rondo nixed: 5 reasons why Lakers should have made swap

Reports have surfaced that the Los Angeles Lakers turned down a trade for Boston Celtics’ point guard Rajon Rondo because they didn’t want to trade forward Pau Gasol. Sad because Rondo would have made the Lakers way more dangerous than Gasol could at this point. Here are five reasons why:

Fall from Grace for Lakers, Mavs?

Two championship caliber teams have started the season 0-2. While it’s too early to pronounce impending doom for the Los Angeles Lakers and Dallas Mavericks, there may be a lesson to be learned from their combined 0-4 start.

Post Man Cometh: Is Dwight Howard the Last Dominant Big Man?

I wonder if Dwight Howard feels lonely. With the retirement of Shaquille O’Neal and Yao Ming over the past year it seems like the era of the dominant 20-and-10 big man has come to an end. Once a staple of the NBA, teams are now happy to get a serviceable defender to play the post. For those of us who remember the glory days, it’s frightening to see skinny offensively-challenged centers like Joakim Noah and Tyson Chandler become coveted names in free agency.

The Chris Paul Controversy Isn’t Going Away Any Time Soon

The ink hasn’t even dried on the NBA’s new labor agreement and we already have our first controversy of the season. Thursday the Los Angeles Lakers, New Orleans Hornets and Houston Rockets announced a three-way trade that would have sent Chris Paul to L.A. and Pau Gasol to Houston. The Hornets would have received Lamar Odom, Kevin Martin, Luis Scola, Goran Dragic and a 2012 first-round draft pick in the deal but the NBA canceled the trade hours after it was announced yesterday.