Coach Greg Popovich’s decision to sit Tim Duncan, Tony Parker, Manu Ginobili and Danny Green will be only an afterthought come playoff time, when the Spurs resume sitting in their annual spot atop the Western Conference. At 13-4, San Antonio is only a half game back of the conference-leading Memphis Grizzlies despite easing Ginobili back into the rotation by playing him less than 23 minutes per game off the bench.

To sum up the Lakers’ Problems, their problems are themselves at this point. They went out and spent the money, made the deals, therefore created the hype. At some point someone will have to look in the mirror and ponder about the present.

Kobe Bryant won’t ever be a Jordan, LeBron James probably will suffer the same fate in terms of greatness. The real problem is why it’s a problem to even address the possibility.

That the Lakers were able to land Howard while giving up only Andrew Bynum is obviously a huge boost to their title chances, at the least in the short term. But with so much set to change in the NBA, it’s worth looking at which teams and players are set to benefit from this trade and who should be shaking their head at the news of this blockbuster.

With Team USA’s “narrow” 80-69 win over Brazil last Monday and an even tighter 86-80 win against Argentina Sunday, any critics who were on the fence upon first hearing Kobe Bryant’s statement, myself included, have quickly hopped to the 1992 Dream Team’s side of the metaphorical fence.

The Knicks can call the contract as “ridiculous” all they want, but they have themselves to blame for losing out on the man they morphed into a celebrity. Now he will take his star to Houston, where the Rockets will enjoy the fruits of “Linsanity.”

The final roster for the 2012 USA Olympic basketball team was announced on July 7th, and the decision from chairman Jerry Colangelo added James Harden, Andre Igoudala, and Blake Griffin to the mainstays of the international roster.

One big three has since spawned multiple. As an avid NBA fan, I’m no longer tired.

LeBron James takes a lot of, well, Heat for not finishing ballgames. And a lot of it is warranted, the way he tends to disappear and almost takes himself out of plays when it comes to clutch time. Kobe Bryant, however, is known as “the best closer in the game” by many. But not on Wednesday.

While the Lakers “bigs” got all the credit from ESPN and the major media outlets Saturday for stepping up in a 96-87 victory over the Denver Nuggets in Game 7, it’s clear defense was the difference. Specifically Ron Artest, or Metta World Peace, who completely shut down whoever he was guarding Saturday in his return from a seven-game suspension.