Craig Mitchelldyer-US PRESSWIRE

It’s been confirmed that Brandon Roy is going to make a legitimate comeback after retiring due to deteriorated knees.

The 27-year-old 2-guard had a bright future and some billed him as the next Kobe Bryant after his first four seasons in Portland were all wildly successful. Roy was the cornerstone for the Blazers’ efforts to rebuild, and had the knees bent the right way, they might have been the young, draft-built championship team before the OKC Thunder made it cool.

Of course, now that he’s coming back, there’s speculation as to what kind of form he’ll be in, and who he’ll play for. Among those teams rumored to be a landing spot? Your always-involved-in-drama-and-high-profile-acquisitions-laden Los Angeles Lakers.

The reasoning behind it is fine: The Lakers desperately need depth and someone to create their own shots outside of the Lakers’ big three. LA was hurting for instant offense off the bench, as well as a formidable backup to Kobe Bryant. They also need more perimeter scoring, and someone who can spot up and knock down an open three, while also having the ability to slash just enough to make defenders think twice about bodying up as close as they can to prevent an outside shot.

Brandon Roy is the perfect man. Like, four years ago, at least.

Because there’s no way in hell Brandon Roy’s going to do any of those things effectively. The dude’s knees are long gone; cartilage doesn’t regenerate and Kobe Bryant’s innovative put-my-own-blood-back-into-my-knee-after-spinning-it-a-few-times surgery is in its beta stages. Are the Lakers really going to rely on a surgery that may not be as effective as it was on Kobe’s knees (although, Kobe had his worst season in quite a few years, but talking heads on TV don’t seem to notice)? Hell, is Brandon Roy really willing to sacrifice ever walking self-sufficiently again to become something of a sixth man in a season where he might prove to be as mediocre as he was in his final season in the NBA?

This isn’t a knock on Brandon Roy’s courage and love for the game; I felt as horrible as anyone did, knowing that Roy could’ve been the NBA’s next great superstar, but unfortunate circumstances kept him out.

But for the Lakers to garner more distraction than they need, with the extra media attention focused on Roy’s attempt at a comeback? And the lack of cohesion that could result in increased playing time for Roy, especially if it doesn’t work out? Not even for the veteran’s minimum would this work out, because we’d be experimenting needlessly with rotations while also being incredibly dependent on Roy being the dude that we’re billing as the Lakers’ sixth man.

Screw that, man. I’m praying Brandon Roy succeeds, and hopefully he lands himself in Phoenix (where Amar’e Stoudemire rose to his prime despite would-be career-altering microfracture surgery and where Grant Hill revitalized his career) or some other place that could nurse him back to being 2/3 of what he was (which is still a pretty damn good role player). But LA doesn’t need it. Not this year, where the heat will be turned up immensely on Mike Brown, and where Kobe Bryant could retire at the end of it, championship or not.

This team needs to be smart, not flashy. Let’s hope they get that.

The dominating defense that seemingly had disappeared between now and Game 7 of the NBA Finals reappeared Sunday.  Ron Artest set the tone by smothering Brandon Roy, holding the Blazers leading scorer to just 8 points on 1 of 6 shooting.

Not to be forgotten, rebounding is a big part of the defensive puzzle and the Lakers looked to have solved that conundrum in the wake of Friday’s fiasco. After being beaten on the boards by Toronto, the Lake Show abused the Blazers with a staggering 49-25 advantage in the rebounding department.

14 of those boards had Pau Gasol’s name on them. It took Pau one full half of basketball to grab his first rebound on Friday but just mere minutes to accomplish the same feat on Sunday.

While the D was the key, it was the brilliant execution of the offense that really broke this game open early.

Look no further than Pau’s entry in the box score to see how well things flowed. Gasol notched his 4^th career triple-double (2^nd in Purple and Gold) with a stunning 20 point, 14 board and 10 assist effort.

Pau was everywhere. The Spaniard did it all by grabbing boards, abusing substandard defenders in the post, hitting mid-range jumpers and running the floor. Just to ensure Pau made his way into the highlight reel, Steve Blake gave Gasol an oop off the board so his All-Pro big man could throw one down.

While Pau’s +27 was eye opening, Lamar Odom’s bounce back performance was refreshing.

After taking Friday off, LO was back in the swing of things. Odom went for 21 and 12 in typical Lamar fashion, pulling down rebounds and initiating the break.

A win like this was necessary given the poor performance just two days ago. The Lake Show is now a perfect 7-0 and is quietly flying under the NBA radar. Well, about as quietly as a two-time defending champion can fly. Still four wins shy of equaling the best start in franchise history the talk of 72 wins is beginning to surface. But that is all talk. Just ask the folks in Miami what all that talk amounts to. It amounts to nothing much in November but does set the stage for what is possible come June.