Yeah, I thought Nash and Howard were the missing keys to the Lakers. Nash would distribute the ball well. Howard would play good inside defense and score inside as well. But no, it was just Kobe that needed to change his style of play. Not to mention Metta World Peace too. He's been doing really good lately for the Lakers. Racking up a decent amount of points every game. Earl Clark is showing effort too. This might be the beginning of their big run to get the 8th spot. But come playoff time, I'm not sure if they can beat an OKc team or Spurs team. It's still early though.

Yeah, I always expected the Lakers to make the playoffs, and if Kobe continues to be a facilitator, they have a good shoot. I think they can definitely get a better record than the Blazers. As for the Rockets, it's hard to say. They dropped seven straight not too long ago, and five of those games were against sub-.500 teams.

Right now, I'd say the top six in the West are pretty much locks. There may be some shifting around seed-wise among the Thunder, Spurs, and Clippers, as well as among the Grizzlies, Warriors, and Nuggets, but it looks like it'll be a battle between four teams (assuming this isn't a fluke on the Lakers' part) for the last two seeds.

Also, looking at the standings right now, I'm baffled by how Chicago has managed to wriggle its way into the top three of the Eastern Conference without their star point guard. I mean, they really don't have any legitimate stars beyond Rose. Deng is alright--sorta borderline All-Star level--and Noah, while a great rebounder and defender, isn't the greatest offensive player. I guess a lot of it is because they're an elite defensive team. Not sure how good Rose will be when he returns, but if he can provide any sort of meaningful contribution, even if he's not the same player he was before, the Bulls have a legitimate chance at the title.

Lakers are fighting for the 8th seed and they're getting closer to .500. With Kobe now passing a little more, it helps other players get their shots.

And thoughts on the Rudy Gay trade?

It's obvious with the Rudy Gay trade that the Grizzlies are planning for the long term. I haven't watched the Grizzlies play this season, but judging by Gay's efficiency (or lack thereof), I don't think it'll affect them that much. They picked up an experienced player in Tayshaun Prince and cleared up a lot of cap space.

As for the Raptors, they picked up a nice asset in Gay, and it seems like he might be able to work better in that environment. I'm not really in a position to make a proper assessment though, as I don't follow either team closely.

I think the Heat are in a very good spot now. Lebron is on a hot streak. His shot percentage has been sky high. He's probably the best player in the league right now. He holds way too many skills. He can play any position, and is dominant in the paint. His shooting is improving a lot. Plus of the other guys like Wade, Bosh, Chalmers, Allen, Battier, etc. have his back. Also, about all the talk with Lebron vs Jordan. They're both great and successful players. But there is only one Michael Jordan and one LBJ. Let's put it at that.
 
Lakers, despite all the drama and inconsistent play, they're tied up with the Blazers. But if Lakers do make it to the 8th seed, they will not beat an OKC team or Spurs team.

In other news:

-Warriors slip five games and fell down to the 6th seed
-Blazers lose 5 in a row
-Grizzlies doing fine without Rudy Gay
-Raptors showing improvement with Rudy
-All-star weekend starts tomorrow

Thoughts on the players selected for the dunk and 3pt contests?

-Grizzlies doing fine without Rudy Gay
-Raptors showing improvement with Rudy

As I predicted, haha.

I think the Heat are in a very good spot now. Lebron is on a hot streak. His shot percentage has been sky high. He's probably the best player in the league right now. He holds way too many skills. He can play any position, and is dominant in the paint. His shooting is improving a lot. Plus of the other guys like Wade, Bosh, Chalmers, Allen, Battier, etc. have his back. Also, about all the talk with Lebron vs Jordan. They're both great and successful players. But there is only one Michael Jordan and one LBJ. Let's put it at that.

Some people will say Durant, others will say Kobe, but in my opinion, LBJ is the best player in the game right now, period. A few years ago, when he signed with Miami, I expected his stats across the board due to Wade and Bosh, but not only has he remained consistent with his Cleveland years, but he has also improved his efficiency tremendously. His FG% is tremendous, and he's hitting more than 40% of his threes this season. That's usually territory reserved for sharpshooters. In fact, his three-point percentage is better than Ray Allen's. It's mind-boggling how good the dude is.

Whether or not the Heat will win another championship is certainly a point of contention right now. The Heat have the best record in the East, but it's clear that the West is much stronger. The Spurs, Thunder, and Clippers all boast better records than the Heat right now.

Thoughts on the players selected for the dunk and 3pt contests?

Dunk contest: The dunk contest has sucked in the past few years, and they'll never match up to the dunk contests that TFB members participate in. They should actually bring in some dunk specialists and pit NBA players against them. Nonetheless, it does look slightly more promising this year, at least in the East. Gerald Green and James White get up high (heads over the rim), and Terrence Ross is a pretty emphatic dunker. In the West, things don't look quite as good, but it should be one of the better dunk contests in recent years.

Three Point Contest: They shoot threes. That's it. Nothing really interesting about it. They're all solid picks though. I'm expecting Ryan Anderson or Stephen Curry to win.

I expected his stats across the board

I expected his stats to drop across the board*

Almost a month late. The Heat are really dominating right now to the point where they would do a Harlem Shake video. Also, Kobe Bryant sent to the locker room because of pain in his elbow. If this is a major issue, it could blow up the Lakers run to 7th-8th seed.

Looks like it's just a stinger the reporter guy just said.

Well, Lakers have finally gotten past the .500 mark, and I wouldn't be surprised if they stay at or above it for the rest of the season. They're ninth in the West right now, but I could see them beating out the Jazz for a spot in the playoffs.