Kobe Bryant has been a polarizing figure ever since he entered the NBA world, and people have been arguing his place in league history for quite some time. But still, his work so far in his career is amazing and is surely on the same level as the legends of the league.

Bryant is no doubt not as loved as Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson or as praised as Michael Jordan, but one thing is for sure, only one or two players in NBA history have a résumé that compares to Kobe’s.

Bryant just recently passed former teammate Shaquille O’Neal for fifth on the NBA’s all-time scoring list, just another accolade to add to his already astonishing career. However, people will always have something negative to say about Bryant and will find a way to put down his accomplishments.

As Rey Moralde wrote on The No Look Pass: “Obviously, it’s easy to compare him to Michael Jordan. But I feel like we will never, ever fully appreciate his career because of these never-ending comparisons. It’s always going to be like this:“Kobe Bryant did this… BUT Michael Jordan…”

No matter how amazing Kobe has been in his 16 seasons, there will always be those who claim that he has not done enough. If Kobe scores 50 points, there will be a comparison to Michael Jordan, if he records a triple-double he will be judged against Magic Johnson and if he hits a game winner, his numbers will be put up against the other players in the NBA.

For some reason, Bryant is always being compared to someone just so the notions that he is the best player in this generation and the closest thing to Michael Jordan will be erased. How about instead of seeing how Kobe matches up with the all-time greats, we look at how amazing his stats and achievements are?  His body of work is nearly unprecedented, but we tend to overlook those feats.

Already in his 16th season, Bryant has won five NBA championships, two Finals MVPs, one regular season MVP, he is a 14-time NBA All-Star, nine time All-NBA and All-Defensive First team and now the fifth leading scorer in league history. As for Michael Jordan, he is third all-time, but Kobe is only 3,691 points away.

There is no doubt that Kobe Bryant is one of the greatest players to every lace up basketball shoes in NBA history, but is he getting the credit he deserves? Lakers fan clearly appreciate what he has done on the court, but those outside Lakers Nation have not been as quick to applaud him.

However, that debate has taken a back-seat and the focus now turns to the whether or not Kobe is the greatest Laker of all-time. In terms of league-wide appreciation, that nod goes to Magic Johnson, as for game-changing, that award should be shared by Magic and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar; but by looking at the raw numbers, Kobe far surpasses both of those players.

In fact, Bryant became the Lakers’ all-time leading scorer last season after already being the franchise leader in games, minutes played, field-goal attempts, three-point field goals and three-point field goal attempts. On top of that, Kobe became the franchise leader in most free throws and most field goals made this season.

Despite the numbers and the already amazing career, Kobe Bryant’s legacy is still not complete. Perhaps the reason why Kobe is always being compared to the NBA’s greats is because people expect more and want more out of him. Or perhaps is could be because some cannot accept the fact that Kobe Bryant is creeping up on Michael Jordan and his seemingly ‘untouchable’ career.

Still, one thing is certain and should never be put into question. There may never be a time where we will ever see a player who is as goal determined as Kobe Bryant. There may never be a player who can start a debate with Michael Jordan. So instead of criticizing him and trying to put-down his achievements by flooding him with comparisons, sit back and enjoy the show the Black Mamba has put together for the stage will not be lit forever. Eventually the time will come when Kobe will call it quits, so make sure you can get as much of number 24 as possible.

Anyone who is even slightly interested in the Lakers understands that the team is in desperate need of a young, athletic point guard. This has been surrounding the Lakers for a couple of years now, but has been in the spotlight since the Lakers were swept out of the playoffs by Dallas last season. There is no disrespect for Derek Fisher, as he is one of the most influential Lakers of all-time, but as time goes on, the problem with the point guard position becomes more and more apparent.

With Tuesday’s news that Derrick Caracter had been cut from the team, leaving room for an acquisition to be made to the current roster, it seems as if Mitch Kupchak is starting to get the wheels in motion to relieve this problem. What moves are ahead and who those moves involve are pure speculation, which is normal for Kupchak to keep things under wraps. The problem could be solved or be relieved for the short-term, we simply do not know.

However, one thing has surfaced this season that was welcomed but not expected by Laker fans. Phil Jackson was widely known for not giving many minutes, if any at all, to rookies or second year players. For the first half of this season thus far, new head coach Mike Brown, seemed to follow Jackson’s approach to this concerning rookie for Charleston, Andrew Goudelock.

Then, Steve Blake went down and Mike Brown turned to the other rookie, Darius Morris, to fill in as reserve for the already struggling Fisher. This experiment didn’t work. On the January 25th matchup against the Los Angeles Clippers, Brown put in Goudelock as point guard reserve, but this time Brown tried something different. Goudelock played 20 minutes, which was the longest he had played all season long, trumping the 13 minutes he was on the court on Christmas Day against Chicago.

In that January 25th game, Goudelock scored 14 points, on 5-8 shooting and 2-3 from the three, helping the Lakers to beat their newfound rivals, the Clippers, in a thrilling game. Since that game, Goudelock has not only impressed Mike Brown and the Laker fans, but Kobe Bryant as well. In fact, in the time since that Clipper game, the Black Mamba himself has given Goudelock a nickname of his own, the ‘Mini-Mamba.’

When Goudelock has played at least fifteen minutes, he is averaging over 10 points per game, shooting 51 percent from the field and shooting 50 percent from the three, where the rest of the Lakers are still struggling. Goudelock has seemed completely confident in his shot, especially his three-point attempts and has displayed a running jumper, nicknamed the “Glock Drop” by Lakers Nation, that seems to be a fan favorite.

Goudelock recently stated, “I think I was kind of in awe when I came out here playing with some of these guys. I didn’t know where to fit in or how to do it. The talent has always been there, but I didn’t really know how to put it all together. These last few games, just running point guard, I think I’ve been more aggressive to simplify things, not trying to think too much and just play my game, and I think it’s working out for me.”*

He added, ”I think the biggest thing I learned, though, was that you have to be confident. You can’t be intimidated, and you can’t be shy out there. I’d played against guys who went to the NBA, so I knew the talent level and what I had to do to make it.”**

Laker fans need to remember, Goudelock isn’t technically a point guard. He is a shooting guard. He added, “I’ve never played point guard before, so I’ve definitely had to make adjustments. It goes back to Charleston for me. I played four years there, and coach (Bobby) Cremins taught me so much about everything, including attitude. We played big schools every year, and we did pretty well against them.”**

Speaking out on Goudelock’s recent play, Mike Brown said, “He’s definitely stepped in and taken over that role. He’s been ready whenever we’ve called on him and has done a good job. He’s very confident out there. He knows what we expect of him, and he tries to deliver. He’s not intimidated by the pressure of playing in the NBA; that’s for sure.”**

Is Goudelock a solution to the point guard situation currently facing the Lakers? No. However, his consistent performance and confidence has been a great addition to the Lakers’ struggling bench. As Laker fans are all too aware of, one key way to continually win and compete long-term, the bench needs to consistently produce. Goudelock has been doing exactly this so far this season, which is quite impressive for a second round draft pick rookie.

*Source: LATimes.com | Mark Medina

**Source: FoxSportsWest.com | Joe McDonnell

The road woes continue for the Lakers. After dropping a tough loss against the Utah Jazz on Saturday, the Los Angeles Lakers (14-11) lost another close one to the Philadelphia 76ers (18-7) Monday evening.

On a night that saw a brilliant first half by Kobe Bryant (24 points in the first half on 8-14 shooting, with four three pointers), who moved into fifth place on the all time scoring list by passing former teammate Shaquille O’Neal, the Lakers once again failed to maintain a lead late in the game and came up short in a 95-90 loss.

The Lakers were up 50-46 at halftime, but Bryant’s performance was the complete opposite in the second half, scoring just four points on 2-12 shooting.

Midway through the fourth quarter the Lakers held a 82-76 lead over the 76ers and looked poised to pull away for a victory built on the solid post play of their big men, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. Bynum (20 points, 20 rebounds; eight offensive) and Gasol (16 points, 11 rebounds) dominated the paint, and had several lob plays and creative inside passing between the two of them. Bynum began to play like a true All-Star and dominate the game: grabbing offensive rebounds, getting put backs, altering shots, blocking shots, and pulling down defensive rebounds.

But then, all of that stopped and it went downhill for the Lakers.

The Sixers’ sixth man, Lou Williams, torched the Lakers with several clutch plays and was unstoppable towards the end of the fourth quarter en route to 24 points.

Kobe tried to will the Lakers to victory, but was swarmed defensively, and forced into taking tough shots towards the end of the shot clock on several plays. The Sixers’ defense also made it difficult to get the ball inside to the big guys, mainly Pau Gasol, who was forced far outside of the paint down the stretch.

It was the Sixers’ depth that really won the game, however, as their bench scored more points than their starting unit with 49 points compared to 46 for their starters.

The balanced scoring for Philadelphia was quite impressive, led by Williams’ 24. Jrue Holiday finished with 13 points and six assists; Andre Iguodala with 12 points, five assists; Joe Meeks and Thaddeus Young with nine points apiece; Spencer Hawes with eight points and five assists; Nikola Vucevic and Evan Turner with eight points apiece, and Lavoy Allen with four points.

As for the Lakers, no player outside of the “Big Three” (Bryant, Gasol, and Bynum) reached double figures. Derek Fisher and Metta World Peace combined for 10 points on 4-13 shooting. Of the four reserves who made it on the court, only two produced. Andrew Goudelock scored nice points on 4-6 shooting, and Troy Murphy chipped in with seven points on 3-5 field goals.

Next Page: The Breakdown

According to Sekou Smith of the NBA’s Hangtime Blog, Mike Brown has been suspended for the incident in Utah over a missed foul call. As you can see in the video, Mike Brown went pretty hard at the ref and his momentum might have accidentally carried him into slightly bumping the ref.

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“Brown has been suspended for tonight’s game in Philadelphia and fined $25,000 for making contact with a game official and failure to leave the court in a timely manner following his ejection in the Lakers’ loss to the Jazz Saturday night in Utah.” – Sekou Smith

Coach Brown came out after Saturday’s loss and spoke about the technical and ejection:

“I was trying to give our guys some extra juice. I wish I wouldn’t have put my team in a hole or predicament like that, Now I need to make sure that I don’t do it again in the future”

The team will be coached tonight by assistant coach, John Kuester, who has previous head coaching experience from his time in Detroit last season.

Last night in Philadelphia Kobe Bryant overcame Shaquille O’Neal on the all-time scoring list. While statistics are useful in determining the impact of a player, the box score is merely quantitative, and it in no way encompasses all the details that determine a player’s greatness.

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar holds the top spot on the NBA all-time scoring list, at 38,387 points. Yet, if you wander around the outskirts of the Staples Center, the only Lakers whose silhouettes have been immortalized in bronze are that of Magic Johnson, Jerry West, and Chick Hearn.

Each had an impact on the Lakers organization and its fans, in their own unique way. Johnson dazzled fans with Showtime, brought five championship trophies to the city, and even after the curtain closed on his career, continues to serve the Los Angeles community. West epitomized the spirit of competition, and although he only won a single title as a player, his ingenuity manning the front office brought a total of seven titles. Hearn captivated fans with his voice; the mystique of his color-commentating still resonates with fans, and his patented phrases still being used around the league.

There’s more to gaining the affection of fans than just inflating the stat line.

While the separation between Bryant and O’Neal on the list of the NBA’s all-time scorers is likely to be within close proximity, that is, until Bryant passes up the next person, where they’ll each fall on the spectrum of Laker greats is an entirely different story. Earlier last week Bryant told The OC Register’s Kevin Ding that surpassing O’Neal on the points list was “inevitable.” Bryant surpassing O’Neal as the greatest of Lakers wasn’t just inevitable, it was destined.

There’s a passage in the recently published O’Neal autobiography, Shaq Uncut: My Story, co-written with Jackie MacMullan, which succinctly identifies the biggest difference between the two superstars.

He was so young and so immature in some ways, but I can tell you this: everything Kobe is doing now, he told me all the way back then he was going to do it. We were sitting on the bus once and he told me, “I’m going to be the number one scorer for the Lakers, I’m going to win five or six championships, and I’m going to be the best player in the game.” I was like, “Okay, whatever.”

Bryant cared too much and O’Neal didn’t care enough.

It wasn’t as if Bryant was the second coming of Nostradamus. His predicting that he would become the Lakers number one scorer—a feat he accomplished just a week or so ago in terms of field goals—might’ve been more bravado than tea-leaf reading, but making such a bold statement said more about Bryant’s personality and how it was completely opposite of O’Neal’s.

Next Page: Conflicting Personalities

After one of the busiest beginnings to this year’s condensed season, the Los Angeles Lakers finally had a chance to sit back, take a deep breath, and relax as they only had seven games in 14 days.

Despite suffering their second home loss of the season to the Indiana Pacers, the Lakers bounced back as they took on their newly appointed cross hall rivals, the Los Angeles Clippers in a hard fought battle. In spite of trailing for more than 75 percent of the game, the Lakers showed determination and fight throughout their play allowing them to prevail and come away with a much-needed victory versus the Clippers.

The Lakers have been an up-and-down team in terms of their performance. They look good one day and then the next day they leave fans wondering if this was the same team they witnessed play the game before. This is due mostly to the fact that they are still not comfortable or confident running the offensive system that first year Lakers head coach Mike Brown has established.

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However, a possible glimmer of hope has arrived in rookie shooting guard Andrew Goudelock. Regardless of having a horrible start to the season, the rookie has scored in double digits in four of the last six games and seemed to have sparked the Lakers outside shooting. With Steve Blake still suffering from a rib injury, the Lakers bench has been struggling to score, but Goudelock has come in and filled Blake’s shoes. The Lakers will only get better as they await the return of Steve Blake to their bench’s arsenal. With Blake and Goudelock continuing to knock down their open shots, and especially the three-point ball, this team is a force to be reckoned with.

The purple and gold have started their toughest road trip of the season, the dreaded Grammy trip. They are away from home from February 3-12, while playing six games and two back-to-backs. They will go up against Denver, Utah, Philadelphia, Boston, New York, and Toronto. This trip will be a good test for the Lakers to measure where they are as a team and see what they still need to work on.

After surviving a fourth quarter surge by the Denver Nuggets on Friday night, the Lakers kicked off an important road trip with a win. This was only their third win of the year on the road, and if they want to be an extremely successful team playing away from home they cannot continue to have mental lapses, especially late in games. They have to play with poise and confidence, trusting each other while staying aggressive. The team that is the aggressor during the game, particularly down the stretch, is usually the one walking away with the victory.

Another key objective to winning on the road is not getting away from what is working the best at a given moment, feeding the hot hand. Friday night against the Nuggets, Andrew Bynum had 15 points in the first half, he was dominating the post, but in the third quarter the Lakers went away from him and he did not attempt a single shot.

When Bynum and Pau Gasol are on the court together, the Lakers have the advantage against just about every team in height, but they often stop feeding the post and shot an abundant amount of 3-point shots. They are tied for the third worst in the league in three-point shooting percentage, and when they start shooting only three-pointers is when they get into trouble. The Lakers have to make the game easy for themselves do be a good road team.

Next Page: The Upcoming Schedule

It’s safe to say the eyes of Lakers Nation will drift away (at least momentarily) from the hardwood on Sunday, instead squarely focusing in on the match up between the New England Patriots and the New York Giants as they battle for football supremacy in the world’s most watched sporting event.

With kickoff rapidly approaching we thought we’d take a diversion from our normal hoops talk to prep for the big game and share a few insights for those of you planning on throwing or attending a Super Bowl party this weekend.

But we didn’t just want to spout off our own opinions on the matter. No, we wanted expert advice.But who do you turn to for such input? Well, fortunately, I was lucky enough to sit down with Ky Henderson, editor-in-chief over at ModernMan.com.

At Modern Man they’re always doing their best to provide keen insights into the male lifestyle, gadgets, fitness, sports and pretty much anything else you can think of that guys might be into. Basically, if anyone was going to be able to lay down the law concerning Super Bowl party etiquette, set up, issues of man cave, snacks and other frequently asked questions, it would be Ky.

Here’s a few insights he shared that we’d like to pass along to Lakers fans getting ready for Super Sunday.

Hope you enjoy.

If people are coming over to your house to watch the Super Bowl they’re going to expect one thing above all others: That they get to watch the game! What’s the minimum size/specs for a TV that the host should possess or rent if he plans on throwing a Super Bowl shindig?

It’s all about the size of your room. Prevailing wisdom is that you shouldn’t sit much farther away from the TV than twice the screen’s size. But as long as people can see the TV (you of course need to have a decent LCD, LED, plasma, or projection TV) you’re probably fine. What’s arguably more important is to have multiple TVs. Chances are people will be milling around in the kitchen — that always tends to happen at parties — so you should have a TV set up in there as well.

There is a classic Super Bowl viewing party dilemma: Do you extend invites to only the most die hard football fans in your peer group or is it a social event where any Joe and his girlfriend will be allotted an invitation? Put another way, what’s more important, watching the game or having a party?

Whether you make it a hard-core viewing party or a casual viewing party is totally up to you. Just make it clear to the people you invite what the vibe will be — a hardcore party, a casual party, or somewhere in between. Chances are your potential guests have multiple party options, so let them make an educated choice. Plus, that way, you won’t have anyone whining about it and annoying you.

What makes for the best Super Bowl party setting (man cave style basement, open air living room, etc…)?

Unless you’re just having a few buddies over, you should ideally have a couple of different environments set up. For instance…

(continue reading Super Bowl Party 101 over at Touchdown L.A.)

The last week saw some ups and downs for the Lakers, and finished with the team leaving L.A. for their longest road trip of the season. The team played three times over the past week, and managed to post a perfect record of 3-0. Following last Saturday’s disappointing loss the the Milwaukee Bucks, the Lakers have strung together three consecutive wins and will look to make it four tonight in Utah.

Game Recaps

The Lakers hold off a feisty Nuggets team for their third road win of the season. The Lakers got their most impressive road win thus far, defeating the Nuggets 93-89 amidst a snowstorm in Denver.

L.A. rides three-point barrage to defeat the Charlotte Bobcats. The Lakers may be the worst three-point shooting team in the NBA, but on Tuesday night against the Bobcats they rode the three-point wave to a convincing victory.

The Lakers finally get their second road win, defeating the Timberwolves in Minnesota. L.A. entered this game with a 1-7 record on the road, and after losing to the lowly Milwaukee Bucks the night before needed a win to get back on track. They were able to find that win, despite a late run by the Wolves.

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News of the Week

Kobe Bryant named Western Conference Player of the Month for games played in December and January. After a tremendous start to the season, Bryant was given the award for the 14th time in his career.

Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard says he will not sign an extension if traded to the Lakers. After seemingly adding a new team to his list every week, Howard took one off his list when he announced Friday that his desire to be traded to the Lakers no longer existed.

Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum named as starters in the All-Star game. This was the 14th appearance for Bryant in the All-Star game, and just the first for center Andrew Bynum. The Lakers will have two starters on the All-Star team for the first time since sending Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal to the game.

Pictures of Kobe Bryant working out with the Celtics during pre-draft camps surface. Everybody has become so accustomed to seeing Bryant wear the Lakers’ signature purple and gold that the thought of him in another uniform seems somewhat preposterous, especially when that uniform belongs to the Lakers’ most bitter rivals.

The Lakers celebrated two anniversaries over the past week. The first came on Feb. 1, which marked the four year anniversary of the Pau Gasol trade. The following day, Feb. 2, marked the three year anniversary of Kobe Bryant’s impressive 61-point outburst at Madison Square Garden.

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Lakers Nation TV

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After scoring a season high 48 points in a 106-73 victory over the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday, the Lakers’ bench finally showed some signs of life and hope. Led by rookie Andrew Goudelock and Troy Murphy (12 points apiece), the bench showed that they can score and be effective. A good amount of the points came in garbage time, but the reserves definitely had a positive effect on the game, and helped hold the Bobcats off so Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol could get some rest in the 4th quarter and log under 30 minutes.

Here’s how they did it, and how they should try to continue to play for the remainder of the season:

The reserves made good on 10 three-pointers out of 14 attempts (a whopping 71 percent!) and had 15 assists. Andrew Goudelock continued his prolific play off the bench, and Troy Murphy connected on all four of his three-point attempts.

Logging big minutes were Murphy with 27, Goudelock with 25, Matt Barnes with 22, and Jason Kapono with almost 20. These four won’t always get this many minutes, but they can definitely all earn valuable minutes with this team if they continue to play well.

So, what exactly went right for the Lakers’ bench?

They swung the ball around the perimeter, and jacked up three pointers with one of the Lakers’ talented big men in the middle.

Okay, so now that we saw what went right, how can the Lakers’ bench continue to be successful?

Play like the Orlando Magic.

Yes, you read that correctly. The Lakers’ bench needs to play the way the Orlando Magic has played ever since they drafted Dwight Howard.

No, the Magic haven’t won a championship with Howard, but they did make it to the NBA Finals in 2009. Dwight Howard has been the “Defensive Player of the Year” three times in a row, but Orlando has never been considered a very good defensive team. However, Orlando has been successful in the past (this season excluded) by placing four shooters around their dominant big man.

Why can this work for the Lakers?

This can work for the Lakers because we are not asking the Lakers to change their identity, nor their bread and butter. The Lakers starters should still rely on getting the ball inside to Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, as well as let Kobe Bryant create shots for himself and others. This offensive scheme has seemingly picked up over the last couple of weeks as the team is adapting to head coach Mike Brown’s new system. The Lakers are not a three-point shooting team by any means, and should definitely not try to be.

However, the bench can be successful with this style of play. While averaging a league low 19.4 points per game this season, the bench has nothing to lose by playing a “live by the three, die by the three” style of game.

The starters are already logging heavy minutes because the bench has failed to produce a lot of offense this season, and the Lakers are in desperate need of offensive production. Tuesday proved that the reserves can be successful with this style of play. It won’t work for them every single night, as it never does for three-point shooting teams, but perhaps it will help more than it will hurt. There honestly isn’t much to lose.

So, exactly what should they do?

Next Page: How to Make this Work

After a long wait, we’re proud to announce the launch of our new LKRS NTN app for Android Users. Much like the Lakers Nation iPhone app we have had for the past year called “L-Nation” (for now, changing it soon to LKRS NTN), the app has a slew of features that will help you stay up to date with all that’s happening with LakersNation.com

• News Feed for every single LakersNation.com article that comes out.
• Twitter Tab – Never miss a minute of the action with our Twittercasts
• LNTV – Catch up on the latest episode of Lakers Nation TV as you’re cruising the streets.

Those are just a few of the features we have for you.

Click on this link to download the app to your Droid and please let us know what you think.

We’re always trying to do our best to make sure you never miss out on any Lakers News, so we hope this helps.