The Lakers time is now. It’s just that simple. For the first time since Shaq departed, Kobe and company have won over 50 games. With the return of Bynum and Ariza inching closer with each second, we will be as close to full strength as possible.
We have the talent. Do we have the work ethic and desire? It’s time to see if the Lakers can make it back to the Promise Land.
At the beginning of the season, who would have thought this would be possible. The team looked like an ABA team in pre-season, Kobe looked disinterested in even being there in Hawaii, players were talking like Kobe was already traded, and every member of Lakers Nation wanted to throw basketballs at the entire Buss Family; well, except for Jeanie.
Then something amazing happened. Kobe did not get traded, and just played basketball. That’s all he cared about, that’s all the entire team cared about. And boy were they playing well! They were the dark horse team in the West, as Kobe’s new found trust with his teammates had people reassessing their thoughts of what kind of player Mr. Bryant really was.
Heartbreak would then hit the Lakers like the comet hitting the earth in the movie Deep Impact. Andrew Bynum landed on Lamar Odom and went down to a knee injury for which was supposed to be 8 weeks. Trevor Ariza broke his foot shortly after, and the Lakers had more questions than answers as a season that looked so bright, now looked so dim.
After a epic 9 game road trip got started off on the wrong foot, with a heart breaking loss in Detroit, the Lakers did something that could have never been predicted. They landed Pau Gasol from the Memphis Grizzlies for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, and draft picks. A trade that is called one of the most one-sided trades that the League had ever seen.
The swagger was back in La-La Land. The Lakers went on to go an unprecedented 7-2 run on the longest road trip in franchise history.
An ankle injury that sidelined Pau Gasol for 9 games took a lot of bounce out of the Lakers step, however the Lakers stayed right near the top of the West.
With 4 games to go, we still have a one game lead over the Phoenix Suns, and still have a shot, (even though it’s a long shot, after the poor performance in Portland) to win the West.
Kobe Bryant has been the glue that has kept this team together. Playing through numerous injuries, really showing the warrior that he is. Without a doubt the reemergence of the Los Angeles Lakers into the Western Conference elite makes him the rightful MVP this season. However Lakers fans have been chanting MVP ever since Phil Jackson came back as head coach, as Kobe has played on that high of a level.
The reality of it is, Kobe probably won’t get the MVP. As people who hate him will find an excuse that makes no sense to us on why Chris Paul, Kevin Garnet, or LeBron James should get. I wouldn’t be surprised if Kobe finished 4th in the voting. Like Scoop Jackson from ESPN said, “Kobe is to the MVP, what Ralph Nader is to the Presidency.” He will never get no love. How sad it is.
Lakers fans need not be discouraged, because all this does is bring a Kobe Bryant that much more motivated and focused into the Playoffs, and makes the Lakers that much more dangerous.
No doubt about it, Our Time is here. Our Time is now. Kobe “The best player never to win, and probably never will win the MVP” Bryant has what he has always wanted a contender. Bynum and Ariza returns are around the corner.
How good is the Lakers team? We are about to find out!
The Cougar is a TLN Staff contributor, you can contact him at TheCougar@TheLakersNation.com.
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you keep referring to this “we”. did you get signed to a 10-day? did you get hired in the front office?
Why do you get so upset over that Varsity.
Lol.
hey i always say “we”.
its just habbit.
I always use ‘we’ too.
when you are a true/die hard laker fan,
you have to include th ‘we’ because you feel part of the team.
i always use that!
to many of these. your just saying what i already know. this like the fourth one ive seen titled “our time is now II”.
YA!!! WE!!! “We” as in Laker Fans!!!! “We” as in those of us who consider ourselves as much a part of the Lakers organization as do the players, coaches, management and owner! “We” the fans who watch night in and night out. “We” who cheer when they win and get brought down when they lose. “We” who were there from the beginning and will be there until the very end!
The Lakers aren’t just another sports team we root for. They are our hearts and souls! They need us as much as we need them!
“We” are the LAKERS!!
i always use the word “we” when im talking about the lakers, mainly cuz im a part of la, and thus a part of the lakers
lol, varsity is angry for people using a word, all i have to say is if u dont like it, dont use it
Wow, varsityoptimism… that comment was disgraceful, do you even follow this team?
Seeings though we ALREADY KNOW ‘OUR TIME IS NOW’(not being sarcastic,I just like putting it in ALL CAPS)let’s talk who Mitch(KING OF LA)plans to sign in the off-season so it can be ‘OUR DECADE’! SIGNMEMITCH.com, WHO WANTS TO BE A LAKER?
yeah i agree with u guys, i say “we” because i feel like the fans and i are all part of the team
Yup.
He says “WE” because “WE” are the Laker Nation and “WE” need to start noticing because “WE” are the best nation ever to live on this planet because “WE” rule
DCLAKER, I think Vlad has the most trade value plus he’s a bone head! If ‘WE’ can dump his salary and get a tough vet in the front court and backcourt, ‘WE’LL’ be good. ‘WE’ need some muscle and attitude. If Odom disappears in these playoffs, ‘WE’ go after Artest with all we have to replace him!
our team has all the pieces, except for one, which is a defensive point guard
Distributing lineup
PG Fish
SG Kobe
SF Luke
PF Lamar
C Pau
Slashing lineup
Farmar
Kobe
Ariza
Luke
Lamar
Shooting Lineup
Fisher
Farmar
Sasha
Vlad Rad
Pau
Free throws
Fish
Sasha
Kobe
Vlad
Pau
Fast Break
Farmar
Fisher
Kobe
Lamar
Ronny
Rebounding
Kobe
Ariza
Lamar
Ronny
Bynum
Expierenced
Fish
Kobe
Lamar
Pau
Mihm
Tall
Sasha
Lamar
Vlad
Pau
Drew
Defense
New PG
Kobe
Trevor
Lamar
Bynum
‘WE’ ROCK!!!
I hate to sound like an OVER 30 SUCKA but,I F$%&IN’ LOVE LAKERNATION(I’ve been game 4 vs The Suns 06 all day,My girl is MAD,she hates the Lakers,STUPID ASS).
BILLY K.,what about Jason Williams? His style of play could really elevate this squad,”WHITE CHOCOLATE” could return to the Jason of Old(WHOA). Your pretty good at picking who would fit The Lakers,who do you think?
THIS IS LAKERS!!!
You could have added Kobe in the Shooting Line Up also lol
The only thing i don´t like about this article is the
“kobe will never be MVP” thing, c’mon mennn be more optimistic, you know that this is his year, HE WILL WIN THE MVP. The only real challenge for the MVP is Paul. And, ok sorry but i got to say this in Spanish because i’m from México….Los Hornets van a demostrar en Playoffs que NO SON EL MEJOR EQUIPO del oeste, a Chris Paul le va salir lo novato en al Postemporada, créame, la presión le ganará, ya tendrá su momento y será el mejor PG de la Historia sin exagerar, pero por el momento es la ERA DE KOBE BRYANT!!!….SORRY PEOPLE, AND SORRY IF I ROTE SOMETHING STUPID IN ENGLISH LOL, I’M STILL LEARNING PEACE ALL
Bynum’s not gonna return this season. Ariza, maybe. So, not sure if the Laker’s time is now.
wow i hate people who don’t take fisher as a defensive point guard. HE is the most Underrated guard to ever play, just because of his stats. But, it’s the small things he does, causing offensive fouls, being the KEY of our triangle offense. When people say that Drew was the biggest change in the team since last year, I disagree completely. Yeah I know drew is our dominant 7 footer and our key to the championchip, but let’s face it, if we had Smush Parker instead of fishe, I doubt we would even hit 40 wins. Another HUGE key of Fisher, is his veteran knowledge, and he’s teaching Farmar his skills baby. You can’t stay feeling sorry for Fisher, He’s a HUGE Key to the lake show
i like fish but he isnt a pg guard…he plays like a shooting guard. he shoots a lot and doesnt rack up the assists like a pg is supposed to do. im guessing kobe or lamar lead the lakers in assists and they both arent the pg.
GTFO! Luke in the ANY lineup is ridiculous but especially in the SLASHING LINEUP… LOL funniest thing i’ve read all day!
Jason Williams and Mickael Pietrus(maybe JO next season,not all just one or 2).Mitch(Billy’s Pops) has already said it in numerous interviews(and a post on this site)that “WE” need one veteran,maybe at PG or SF/PF.
“White Chocolate” is a slasher,penetrater and facilitater(that takes weight off of LO,so he can score more).
Mickael Pietrus,let me say this….you put him with JF/KB/ARIZA AND AB(OR J.Williams at PG)on the floor together…..OMG!
I wouldn’t give up on JO too soon. Uncle Mitch would sign him in a heart beat now that Jo can opt out and now he’d have a “4 HEADED MONSTA” with Pau/LO/AB and JO(really 5 with Turiaf),WHO WOULD BEAT ‘DEM LAKERS!
We have the pieces to win it all but there are things that The Laker don’t do like ‘TAKIN’ IT TO THE RACK(except KB)’.We just need 1 or 2 “cheap” players and please….NO ARTEST!
no sasha vlad, farmar and fisher can all shoot better than kobe and we need someon in the center spot
fisher is a good defensive PG but he can’t guard players like tony parker, chris paul, deron williams, rajon rondo etc.
ok but luke can penetrate better than vlad ronny, mihm, and pau, there other PFs and lamar would be at bcenter so luke is our best option
the purpose of having a slashing lineup is to penetrate, kick, penetrate, kick, penetrate, kick, until you get a good shot
…..and with JO or MP and J.Dub you are guaranteed 70 or 70 plus(breaking the Bulls record of 72-10). IF THIS HAPPENS,I’LL BET $300!
Kobe’s new nickname is “CAPE”….
I believe it!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yURa9T0-Rjk
http://www.nba.com/lakers/multimedia/0708video.html
“We” are the best, “We” Have everything to win it alL. “We” Can win it. MAn i love saying We, varsity i thought you were the huge laker fan, “WE” ARE GOOD.
we need “DEFENSE”! J-Will plays none! M-Pet is another SF which we are backlogged at. D-Fish nor Farmar plays defense. A pg who plays defense is what we need. thats why our bigs are exposed now. also a tough rebounding PF to make some hard fouls. we are too soft!
If the Lakers improve their D and really step up for that challenge. Then I can say almost certain we are in the finals.
Remember we are an young team without much playoff experience. We really need to rely on Kobe and Fisher as the most experienced guys to take us to another level.
Let’s stay positive but not {Profanity isn't allowed on theLakersNation.com -- Please go back and edit your comment. Thank you.}y!
GO LAKERS!
“WE” be the “LAKERS” Fool!
Looks like Varsity got J.V.’eeed out, as in the junior league… We laker fans have spoken… heeheeheeheeheeheeheeeeeeeee
BREAKING NEWS.. AS OF NOW LAKERS ARE #1 IN THE WEST AFTER NEW ORLEANS LOSS AGAINST SACRAMENTO..
CHEERS.. LAKERS MUST TAKE CARE OF BUSINESS AGAINST THE SPURS TOMORROW..
Yes SHRIL,
Lakers are now #1. Win these 2 games, then Lakers are #1 in the west and Boston is #1 in the east.
1980’s welcome back!
Hey guys, guess what! I don’t know if anyone told yo this yet, but…if you look on http://www.nba.com/ , you’ll see that the Hornets LOST at Kings homecourt, that’s right lost! If we win tommorrow, we’ll be in an excellent position to be #1 in the West, including that the last Hornets game is at the Mavs’ homecourt, where the Mavs are 33-7 in the season. We have a great oppurtunity to be the #1 seed in the West even if we lose on Sunday, isn’t being a Laker fan right now the greatest (well…no, being a Celtics fan is more lucky because they don’t have as much injuries as us…but…we’ll still rule them in the playoffs with Bynumite back)!
The big dance is about to start, LET’S DO IT!
Not if Houston wins out, which is unlikely, but still very possible… Houston owns the tie-breaker against us, and even if we win out, but Houston also wins out, that puts the Lakers and Houston with an identical 57-25 record
Remember the haters in the beginning of the season…
They said the Lakers might not make the playoffs
They said Kobe will be traded
They said the Lakers are below the Clippers
They said the Lakers are no longer an elite franchise
They said the Suns will win the division by landslide
They have been proven wrong on all counts!!!
Hello, Mr. Foot… Meet Mr. Mouth!!!!!
Correction: If the Lakers win out and Houston wins out, and New Orleans also wins out, that would put all three teams at identical 57-25 records… This would give the Southwest Division Title to New Orleans, which has the tie-breaker with Houston based on a better division record… This scenario would give the #1 seed to the Lakers since they have the tie breaker against New Orleans, based on a better Conference record.
Yea Junan is right..
IF Houston wins out all of their remaining games.. Lakers will finish 2nd, cuz they hold the tie breaker. But Houston has to play Utah @ Utah.. let’s see if Utah takes care of biz for us, and lakers dont lay an egg against SAN and SAC
If New Orleans happens to lose a game in the last posted scenario, Then Houston wins the South West Division Title, Putting the Lakers at the #2 seed, based on the head to head tie-breaker, which Houston has over the Lakers.
Remember, If New Orleans also wins out, That gives the Lakers the #1 seed, regardless of Houston winning out… Get it?
its not real, he said so him self
what they did was film him jump, then film the car go by, then add it together.
think about it, would the lakers really let kobe take that big a risk.
forget the math guys! we’re in first…lets just win now!! utah will hopefully beat houstan, if not, we’ll take care of the post season this year =)
HORNETS LOSE! HORNETS LOSE! Wait, do we want to be the number one seed? This means we will play the nuggets/warriors in the first round instead of the Mavs (most likely the Nuggets). This is by far an easier matchup for the Lakers, but as far as entertaining basketball, not so much. This also puts us in Houston/Utahs bracket for the winner of the 4-5 matchup if things hold form as opposed to the winner of the 3-6 match up which is the suns/spurs. This definitely gives us an easier road although Utah in the second round would be a challenge, but as far as fun match ups a first round meeting with Dallas and a second round meeting with the winner of the suns/spurs would be awesome. This loss by NO tonight takes them from number one to possibly losing home court adv in the first round (that is if they lose to Dallas who are 31-7 at home and houston and san antonio win out). This NO loss also means that we can rest Bynum one series longer before/ get in playing shape before we face the winner of the suns spurs. Ron Artest, i sincerely thank you for your 4 threes in the fourth quarter tonight.
Seeding not only determines what teams will play each other in the 1st round, but also, in what bracket you will fall in the following rounds… VERY IMPORTANT!… This is how Cleveland got a favorable draw last year.
JBMONKEY, Well said, But, if San Antonio and Houston win out, this puts the Lakers in the #3 seed.
Reading some of these posts, it’s a good thing, nobody here is a Laker GM… no no, it’s a GREAT THING!… lol
I kinda liked the previous couple of articles from “cougar”, but this one was too dragging and discouraging.
The article took away a lot of my energy for today’s game.
I want to request TLN to officially take this article from this month’s archieve. It is full of negativity. I want to read from a writer who says “Why Kobe deserves MVP” and not “why kobe won’t win MVP”. and when was this artilce written… its way too stale…. esp in the everyday changing west. and the news on bynum and ariza… how incorrect. too many misleading stuff.
ps. to sasha: thnkx for missing the 3point. coz of you, we say a sweet dunk. I want to give sasha an assist for that: indirect assist.
i don’t feel like responding anymore to this read. The writer isn’t sure what to write after a point and starts bullshiiting.\\\\
what planet do you live on? Who said this when?? You are simply nuts.
Hes playing in the triangle offense. The Lakers use it, you should look into sometime. Fish is no where near level of paul or nash, but our offense isnt run like NOH or Suns, where the pg runs pick and rolls all night and pg orchestrates eveyrthing, thats why they get all the assists, the ball is in there hands 95% of the time.
IMAGINE THIS… Let’s just imagine for the sake of argument, that The San Antonio Spurs would play and win their game with the Kings on Monday (”BEFORE”) their game with the Lakers on SUNDAY… And The Rockets beat their next opponent, The Denver Nuggets… This would create four teams with identical 55-25 records after 80 games, which would be unprecedented… Based on the different tie-breakers that apply and take precedence for all of the four teams, WHO DO YOU THINK?, would be seeded #1 thru #3 and #5 (Division winner Utah at 53-27, being locked in at #4)… Remember, the Kings and Nuggets are non divisional, conference foes to the Spurs and Rockets, respectively.
Ahhh if that happens Houstan will be 2 and we wil be 3 and Spurs 1 and Hornets 5. i think so im not sure, all i know we wont be number 1 because HOustan leads series against us 2-1.
Guys…don’t worry, you know why we have no worries? Because the Hornets have their last game at Mavs’ homecourt, where they’re 33-7. Also, if the Lakers win @ Staples Center with Spurs, we’ll have a 1 game lead (or 1 1/2) over them, we’ll be in great shape, and if the Spurs win the rest of their games, we still have our last game with the Kings at “OUR” homecourt, where I predict a 10+ point blow-out win, which will have us be in a very good position to take the #1 seed in the West, which will be 3rd best in the league behind Pistons and Celtics.
Cougar don’t worry kobe will win the mvp. You don’t have to play victim for kobe. A case can be made for CP3 for sure. The guy has had an incredible year but kobe will prevail. So you will have to give up your excuse that people “hate” kobe.
these were said in the beginning of the season…i rmbr espn saying it over and over during the preseason
Kobe08-09 good guess, but incorrect…. #1 The top two division winners have priority over any second place finisher… #2 Since The Hornets,Spurs, and Rockets all split their respective games against each other, the next tie breaker is the best divisional record between them… The Hornets hold this tiebreaker over The Spurs and The Rockets, based on the best divisional record between them for the moment… This would give the Southwest Division Title to the Hornets(10-5), second place to The Spurs(10-6), and third place to the Rockets(8-8), in the Southwest division…#3 The Lakers, who are the Pacific Division Champs, split their head to head matchups with the Hornets, but hold the tie breaker over the Hornets, based on a better conference record between them… Hence, The Pacific Divison Champion Lakers overtake the Southwest Division Champion Hornets, for the #1 seed… #1-Lakers, #2-Hornets, #3-Spurs, #4-Jazz, #5-Rockets… Note; The Rockets would still have Home-Court-Advantage over the Jazz, based on a better over-all record.
Mr Juan… impressive. My head is spinning (and the Rockets are losing bad by the way!) You sound more intelligent than the avg contributor on this blog. Good research.
Thanks JBMONEYMAN,… Back to the real world, If The Lakers,Hornets, and Rockets finish with identical records, this still gives the #1 seed to the Lakers, even Though The Rockets own the head to head tie-breaker between them… Reason: The Rockets would finish second to the Hornets in their own Southwest Divion, based on The Hornets(10-5)division record versus The Rockets(8-8) record…This would match the two division winners which would be the Hornets and Lakers, and since the Lakers hold the tie-breaker between them, The Lakers would be seeded #1… The Rockets record, finishing second to the Hornets, would not apply to the Lakers… Only if the Hornets were to lOSE a game and finish SECOND to the Rockets, and The Rockets win all of their games and finish as the Southwest Division Conference Champions, would their tie-breaker apply against The Lakers,
Check out more Laker haters at NBA.com…. Check out the the article: (Bryant, Lakers Rout Spurs, Move to No.1 Spot in the West) written by John Nadal from NBA.com who states; Should the Lakers tie for the conference lead with Houston and New Orleans, the Rockets would be first, the Hornets second and the Lakers third based on how the three teams fared against each other… And these guys call themselves experts…? Man, how can The Rockets finish 1st, when they don’t even win their division, and how could the Hornets finish in front of the Lakers when The Lakers already own the tie-breaker between them… UNFREAKIN BELIEVABLE!