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Last night, the Lakers were clinical again in their dissection of the Suns (except in the 3rd quarter, that is). Kobe Bryant wasn't even L.A.'s top scorer (Pau Gasol had 29 pts), but he completely controlled the flow of the game, and his facilitation made the Laker offense work (again, except in the 3rd quarter). Why do I keep bringing up the 3rd quarter? Maybe it was a coincidence, but the Suns' greatest success came in the period where Kobe had no assists -- Bryant had 9 in the first half, when L.A. staked itself to a 9-point lead; 0 in the 3rd quarter, when Phoenix roared back to tie the game; and 4 in the 4th, when the Lakers asserted themselves and re-took the lead for good.

Of course, that's not to say Kobe as a passer is always the best formula for Los Angeles -- after all, he had his typical 5 dimes in Game 1 of the series and was equally brilliant, scoring 40 points. But his facilitation was key for them last night, as their offense rose and fell based on Bryant's involvement as a playmaker and a scorer, sometimes simultaneously (Kevin Arnovitz has a good video about this very topic at True Hoop).

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This is a fascinating piece from RealGM's Chris Reina, which asks how much LeBron James and other megastars would earn if they were allowed to auction their free-agent services to the highest bidder without a salary cap or maximum salary rule in the CBA to restrict their earning power... Since Michael Jordan made a record $30 million in 1998, some agents feel LBJ would easily command that amount even if you adjust for inflation (that'd be $44 million in 2010 USD). Others felt he'd be worth in excess of $50 million, or would sign for a multi-year deal valued at more than $200 million (a la Alex Rodriguez in baseball). Another interesting note is that the length of the contract would be shorter than the long-terms deals signed for baseball sluggers because James is perceived to be a bigger physical risk because of his playing style and the greater contact he takes, plus his reliance on unparalleled athleticism.

But all of that is largely irrelevant for now. As for how much LBJ will actually make next summer, the best estimate is $126 million ($21 million/year) over the next 6 years, followed by another 6-year, $180 million contract starting in the 2015-16 season. Of course, which team gets the privilege of paying him that much is still anybody's guess.

(Hat tip: TrueHoop.)

Listening to Bill Simmons talk to Chad Millman on the B.S. Report, they mentioned how a good play was to bet for a young team (like this year's Thunder) to come out and lay an egg in their first playoff game because they feel pressure and don't know how to handle it yet. They pointed to last year's Blazers-Rockets Game 1 as a situation where a young team came out at home, favored, with a crowd full of energy, and they fell flat, failing to cover the spread. So my first thought was, is this a real trend or just one of those "seems like it happens a lot" theories that don't hold up under close scrutiny?

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