Legendary Lakers’ center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar deserves the statue he craves in front of the Staples Center.  The only statue in front of the building that might be more deserving of being there is Magic Johnson.  The Lakers need to do the right thing and build the statue while Jabbar is still alive and in good health…..it’s only right.  Jabbar was inducted into Basketball’s Hall of Fame back in 1995.  He played in 1,093 games in his 14 years with the Lakers and he averaged 34.3 minutes, 22.1 points, 9.4 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.  Jabbar is #2 in games played (1,093) in Lakers’ history.  He’s also #3 in points scored (24,176), #2 in rebounds (10,279), #6 in assists (3,652), #1 in blocked shots (2,694) and he’s #6 in steals (983).  Jabbar should have a statue in front of the Staples Center with him shooting a Sky Hook.

32-year old shooting guard Kobe Bryant is still playing at a very high level for the Lakers.  Bryant played in 82 games (all starts) last year for the Lakers and he averaged 33.9 minutes, 25.3 points, 5,1 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.2 steals per game.  Bryant has now played in 1,103 games (955 starts) in his first 15 years with the Lakers and he averaged 36.4 minutes, 25.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 4.7 assists and 1.5 steals per game.  Bryant is already the Lakers’ all-time leader in points scored (27,868), games played (1,103) and three pointers made (1,418).  He is also #7 in rebounds (5,829), #3 in assists (5,154), #2 in steals (1,653) and he’s #7 in blocked shots (576).  The Black Mamba still has it despite dealing with knee issues all of last year.

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed 41-year old Mike Brown to a 4-year, $18.25 million dollar deal.  The 4th year of the contract is essentially a team option as they can buy Brown out for $2.5 million bucks if he’s not getting the job done.  Brown was the NBA’s Coach of the Year in 2008-09 with the Cleveland Cavaliers.  He led the Cavs to a 66-16 (80.5%) record during the regular season and they were 10-4 in the playoffs in 2008-09.  Brown coached the Cavaliers for five years in which he compiled a 272-138 (66.3%) record during the regular season and a 42-29 (59.2%) record in the playoffs.  The Cavaliers fired Coach Brown to try to appease LeBron James so he would stay in Cleveland.  That didn’t work, so Brown has landed on his feet in L.A.

65-year old head coach Phil Jackson appears ready to call it a career.  He led the Lakers to a 57-25 record (69.5%) during the regular season and he was 4-6 (40%) during the playoffs in 2010-11.  Jackson has been the head coach of the Lakers for 11 years in which he compiled a 610-292 (67.6%) record during the regular season and a 118-63 (65.2%) record during the playoffs.  Jackson helped the Lakers win 5 NBA Championships in his 11 years in charge.  Jackson likely finishes his NBA career with a 1,155-485 (70.4%) during the regular season and he is 229-104 (68.8%) during the playoffs.  Jackson has won 11 NBA Titles as a head coach and that is the most in league history.  Whoever follows Phil Jackson as the Lakers’ head coach will likely be under the microscope from Day #1.

The NBA has suspended 23-year old center Andrew Bynum for the first five games of the 2011-12 season due to his uncalled for cheapshot on guard J.J. Barea of the Mavericks in the Lakers’ Game #4 loss.  Bynum played in 54 games (48 starts) for the Lakers last season and he averaged 27.8 minutes, 11.3 points, 9.4 rebounds, 1.4 assists and 2.0 blocked shots.  He has now played in 332 games (240 starts) in his first six years in the NBA and he is averaging 24.3 minutes, 10.5 points, 7.1 rebounds, 1.1 assists and 1.5 blocked shots per game.  Bynum has only played in more than 65 games 1 time in his NBA career (2006-07), so having him miss 5 games to start next year (assuming that he’s still on the team) isn’t such a big deal.

The Lakers played like they didn’t care on either end of the court today.  They only shot 37.8% from the floor today while they allowed the Mavericks to shoot 60.3% from the floor and 62.5% from three point range (20 of 32)!  Kobe Bryant led the way for the Lakers today with 17 points, 3 rebounds and 1 assist while only shooting 7 of 18 from the floor.  Shannon Brown (15 points, 2 rebounds and 3 assists) and Ron Artest (11 points, 2 rebounds, 2 assists and 2 steals) also had semi-decent games for the Lakers today.  The front line stunk it up for the Lakers in this game as Pau Gasol (10 points), Lamar Odom (10 points) and Andrew Bynum (6 points) showed no heart at all.  Odom and Bynum were ejected late in the 4th quarter due to cowardly cheap shots on Dirk Nowitzki and J.J. Barea.  This is likely the end of a Lakers’ era as Phil Jackson is going to retire this summer.  The Mavericks pounded the Lakers and sent them home in 4 games!

Last season, Pau Gasol was a beast near the basket in last year’s playoffs, as he had as much to do with the NBA Championship as Kobe Bryant did.  This year though, Gasol is getting pushed around….especially in this series as Dirk Nowitzki is really dominating him.  Gasol has played in all three games against the Mavericks so far in this series and he is averaging 36.3 minutes, 13.3 points, 9.7 rebounds and 3.3 assists per game.  That is just not going to get it done.  Gasol is the key player today, because if he doesn’t play well, the Lakers season is going to be over.  Gasol has now played in 9 games (all starts) in the playoffs so far this year and he is averaging 36.0 minutes, 13.4 points, 7.8 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 1.8 blocked shots per game.  But, he is only shooting 42.2% in the playoffs which is awful for a player of Gasol’s skill set.

The Mavericks outscored the Lakers 32-20 in the 4th quarter last night as they appeared to want this game a lot more.  Andrew Bynum led the way for the Lakers last night with 21 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 steal.  Lamar Odom got the start in the place of the suspended Ron Artest and he filled up the stat sheet with 18 points, 6 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  Kobe Bryant pitched in with 17 points, 4 rebounds, 6 assists and 1 steal.  Pau Gasol (12 points, 8 rebounds and 2 assists) and Shannon Brown (10 points and 3 rebounds in 19 minutes) also pitched in offensively for the Lakers last night.  The Lakers need to wake up soon or their season is going to be over as they are down 3-0 to the Mavericks in this series.

The Lakers were outscored 42-32 in the second half last night as the Mavericks looked like they wanted this game more….and they got it.  Kobe Bryant led the way for the Lakers last night with 23 points, 9 rebounds, 3 assists and 5 steals.  Andrew Bynum also had a really good game as he had 18 points, 13 rebounds, 1 assist and 1 blocked shot last night.  Pau Gasol had another off night as he only shot 5 of 12 from the floor to finish with 13 points, 10 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  Ron Artest pitched in with 11 points, 6 rebounds, 2 assists and 3 blocked shots before being ejected from the game with less than a minute to go.  The Lakers are now down 2-0 in this series as it shifts to Dallas for the weekend.

The Lakers were outscored 25-16 in the 4th quarter last night and it did them in.  Kobe Bryant led the way for the Lakers last night with 39 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal and 1 blocked shot.  Pau Gasol (15 points, 11 rebounds, 7 assists and 1 blocked shot) and Andrew Bynum (15 points, 12 rebounds, 2 assists and 1 blocked shot in 31 minutes) also had solid games for the Lakers last night.  The Lakers are now done 1-0 to the Mavericks in this series.