}
JEANIE BUSS, ROB PELINKA AND THE FUCKING MIND BLOWING FRONT OFFICE!!
The best thing to happen to the Lakers BEFORE THE POST-SEASON EVEN STARTED was Magic Johnson saying "I stink at this, so I quit!" As I and the vast majority of Lakers Nation hoped that Rob Pelinka would follow his ass out the door, Jeanie Buss had other ideas. Keep Pelinka? Are you serious? ADD Kurt Rambis to the brain trust? WTF? Good bye to Ryan West? What?!!! Rob Pelinka is running away with the EOY Award. Once again, the professionals knew more than we did. Rob Pelinka had a vision all the way down to Boogie Cousins' replacement (when there were other options). As a former agent, he clearly understood personalities to match skill sets and chemistry and .... voila!! Did he give up too much to get Anthony Davis? LOL!! When you think about it, would Kobe Bryant have chosen a dumbass to represent him all those years?
A+++
FRANK VOGEL AND THE COACHING STAFF
I've been wondering if Vogel was secretly Pelinka's choice all along, especially given how quickly they inked him after Ty Lue cried. Seriously, wasn't Ty Lue the frontrunner perhaps just to appease LeBron? Did Pelinka know that Lue would whine about the same deal that Frank Vogel would be honored to take? Was Pelinka testing Lue to see how much he valued the opportunity to be the next coach of the Purple & Gold? And once again, did Pelinka and Vogel know more than we did when we hired Jason Kidd who, for some reason, Lakers fans still don't want on the staff? And what about Phil Handy and Lionel Hollins? Other than pretty shitty play calling after a timeout, Frank Vogel has pushed all the right buttons and has a solid rotation that I must applaud. There's so much more to discuss, but let's just give him his COY grade.
A+
THE TRAINING STAFF
Judy Seto has done an outstanding job keeping this team relatively healthy. Other than Rondo missing some time (let's call that "load management"), Kuzma getting off to a rough start health-wise (and otherwise) and Avery Bradley down for a bit (as expected), we have been one of the healtiest teams in the Association. What a breath of fresh air! HAVING SAID THAT, my father would be all over my case for jinxing us with these remarks. He would have "shooshed" me!
A
LEBRON AND AD
I was skeptical. I was wrong. Why waste words.
A+
EVERYONE ELSE, AKA THE ROLL PLAYERS
With the exception of Kuzma, just wow! Everyone started off the season wanting to rid of Rondo and KCP and both of them continue to grow into their roles. KCP has always been better when he started and played shooting guard, so Avery Bradley's injury was a blessing in disguise for him and the team. Rondo is a sponge and gets better and better with each passing game. Come playoff time, we get Playoff Rondo! As for Kyle Kuzma, we need to be patient. Two-thirds of the season remain and he got off to a late start with that stress whatever-the-fuck injury and now his ankle. He is still trying to figure himself out in the flow of the offense, but his defense has been outstanding and overlooked. By the time the playoffs role around, he will be a lethal weapon. Patience. The other guy Lakers Nation is bitching about for some fucking reason is Danny Green, who is doing EXACTLY what Danny Green does. My eyes see the Lakers best role player since Derek Fisher, but maybe that's just me. To go cliche on you again, he's "a perfect fit." Troy Daniels, Quinn Cook and Jared Dudley are all doing what they are beig asked to do, and Avery Bradley has been outstanding. Finally, what about Dwavale McHoward? Holy fucking shit! JaVale McGee holds his own against seemingly every starting center and Dwight Howard gives us so much defensive energy off the bench that he should be a candidate for Sixth MOY! Second units are supposed to bring an offensive spark and outscore the opposing second unit, but in our case, Dwight comes in and shuts them down like Deion Sanders used to take away half of a football field in his prime. KobeMVP888's favorite Laker? DWIGHT HOWARD! Well, then again there's the Defensive Player of the Year and GOAT - the Great Caruso!! No more need be said about him.
A-
24-3 .. A+
) I thought the Lakers gave too much only relative to the corner AD had painted Pels management into. Having said that, I would've given them all that and more in real value talent. The results speak for themselves. Health? Shhhhhhhhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!! The supporting cast has been incredible. Credit to Pelinka for signing them. Credit to the coaches for guiding them. And credit to the players for sacrificing and behaving professionally. 