FanNation

Basketball Jesus: CHAMPION! said 01/23, 07:10 AM
Kobe's played his heart out this year, and would definitely deserve to win the MVP. However, the Lakers are set up for a fall.

Last year, the Lakers were 26-13. They finished just 42-40. Why? They got hit hard with injuries. And you know what? The same thing is happening this season.

Andrew Bynum's going to be out for the next few weeks with a fairly serious injury. We all know how instrumental he's been in the Lakers success. He's averaging a double double, while playing LESS THAN 30 minutes a game. Will he be the same when he returns?

Trevor Ariza and Chris Mihm will be out for the next few weeks as well. I know, they're just 'role players', but hey, role players have made the Lakers a great team this year. Even more importantly, the Mihm and Bynum injuries leave KWAME BROWN at center for LA.


With the rash of injuries, I don't see the Lakers finishing out the season strong, and they'll finish just shy of 50 wins. For the past 6 seasons, the MVP has been on a 50 win team.

I'd take LeBron James over Kobe. Kobe's supporting cast is vastly superior, and we've definitely seen how valuable James is to his team. When he was out with an injury earlier this year, the Cavs were 0-6.

Basketball Jesus: CHAMPION! said 01/23, 04:54 PM
Carmelo Anthony played only 14 minutes in that game against the Lakers because of any injury. I wouldn't really consider that game to be a completely legit win.

Here's what I do know. The Lakers needed OT to beat the Sonics, and lost to the Suns, who they had beaten twice with fully healthy lineup. They will feel the crunch with all these injuries.

To be honest, I think the Cavs will rebound and end up in the neighborhood of 50 wins. Bear in mind that 1/3rd of their losses came with LeBron James in the lineup. Even after he came back, he still looked to be a little hurt. However, now that he's been given ample time to recover, the Cavs are streaking. They've won 9 of their last 10 games.

No doubt, Kobe's a great scorer. And, at this point, I think LeBron is just as good a scorer (if not better). However, LeBron is a lot better at passing the ball. He's not only leading his team in scoring, but is leading the Cavs with 7.4 assists per game. Keep in mind that LeBron doesn't really have that many great offensive players to pass to either.

Basketball Jesus: CHAMPION! said 01/25, 05:10 PM
Forfeited Turn