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The Lakers are up 2-0 on the Nuggets, and to celebrate we hit the studio for a podcast, and a lively one at that.

We started by asking whether the Lakers have changed expectations surrounding their postseason with the quality of their play, particularly Game 1. Maybe they should have slow-played this one a little?

From there, we moved on to a topic inspired by comments left on this post about the pressure on Mike Brown to perform in his first postseason as head coach of the Lakers. As Kobe Bryant told me, for players to truly, fully buy into Brown as a coach will be difficult until they've gone through a playoffs with him. Meaning Brown is coaching not just for this spring, but to lay a foundation for the rest of his tenure in Los Angeles.

In it, I note some of the obstacles in Brown's way, including a roster that "isn't as well equipped to win a title as last year's" group.

Fair to say, there was a great deal of disagreement about that one. Certainly during much of the season, as the Lakers struggled with depth problems and members of the supporting cast struggled, it was true. But what about this team, right now? The one taking the floor for Games 1 and 2 against Denver? Most readers thought I got it wrong. Upon further review, I think they have a compelling argument. Andy and I kick it around the topic -- he agreed with you folks -- noting first the difference in mentality. This year's group is far more engaged, suffering from none of the burnout plaguing the 2010-2011 team. Pau Gasol is present, accounted for, and playing at a very high level.

Then there's the roster. Yes, Lamar Odom is gone, but his production has been absorbed to a large degree by Andrew Bynum and Gasol. Ramon Sessions is an upgrade over Derek Fisher. Metta World Peace (once he returns) is playing better now than he was last season. And, of course, Kobe Bryant isn't just healthier, but much healthier. Put it all together, and the Lakers are better this spring than last, or at the very least have the potential to be better. Certainly the first two games of against Denver support that idea.

How that factors into their title hopes -- they were a long way from a championship in '11 -- is a different debate, but it obviously it can't hurt. And, of course, a better team means even more pressure on Brown.

But it's a good reminder of how narratives in sports need constant re-examination.

Finally, with L.A.'s Big Three all playing well, we noted the sacrifices made by Gasol for the greater good. Bryant talked about it following Game 2. "Championship teams have always been built on players who can sacrifice for the betterment of the group. He's obviously sacrificed his touches, but his aggressiveness is not going down. If you look his assist numbers and his rebounding numbers, he's such a big factor for our team," he said.

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In 1987, Guns N' Roses exploded on the music scene with "Appetite for Destruction," an album that sounded nothing like the hair/glam metal groups dominating radio and MTV. In fact, "Appetite's" edgy, raw songs didn't sound like much of anything popular at the time, period. Bassist Duff McKagan, one of the band's original members, lived Guns' chaotic rise to the top, only to watch the band steadily disintegrate into a current incarnation barely recognizable to its origins.

Since leaving GN'R in 1997, McKagan has played in groups like Velvet Revolver and (briefly) Jane's Addiction, gotten sober after battling serious health issues caused by his excessive lifestyle, and even penned a memoir, "It's So Easy: and other lies." On April 14th, the band will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

We caught up with the Seattle native to talk about Guns' place in music history, what Saturday's honor means to him and his beloved Super Sonics, a team he still deeply misses. The show can be heard by clicking on the module, and a breakdown of talking points is below.





- (1:40): McKagan tries to verbalize the surreal feeling of entering the HOF. Music awards have always felt strange to him, since there's no tangible "stats" to measure achievement beyond sales, which isn't necessarily the same thing as greatness.

- (4:50): McKagan reminisces on band's legacy and how, once "Appetite" started flying off the shelves, other bands started to look like GN'R, everyone started to "get my humor," and women suddenly "discovered how good looking I was." In other words, he was officially a rock star now, which took getting used to.

- (10:50): As a one-time member of the Seattle music scene, what was it like for McKagan to see the grunge scene blow up years after he left?

- (12:40): Similar to how people wonder how many titles the Kobe-Shaq teams could have won if the superstars had gotten along, McKagan concedes the band's constant drama equaled potential left on the table.

- (16:30): After playing in bands fronted by Axl Rose, Scott Weiland, and Perry Ferrell, it's safe to say McKagan is incapable of being thrown for a loop by a lead singer.

- (20:20): McKagan describes how writing columns for the Seattle Weekly, Playboy and ESPN eventually led to a book, and the experience of looking back on his life.

- (23:05): McKagan shares his bitterness towards the Sonics' relocation, Clay Bennett and his plan to bring the team back to Seattle.

- (27:54): McKagan's crazy (and by "crazy," we mean "awesome") connection to The Simpsons.

- (29:30): Even before Rose publicly stated he wanted no part of the the HOF induction, McKagan expressed doubts over a full reunion and performance. At the risk of putting words in McKagan's thought bubble, I'll go out on a limb and predict he anticipated Axl being a problem.

Among the best shows to hit television in the last few years is AMC's 'The Walking Dead,' an engrossing look at a post-zombie apocalypse containing plenty of gore and frightening moments, but even more storyline and character development. Among the more interesting of those characters is Hershel Greene, the aging veterinarian and farm owner who provides safe haven for the ragged band of survivors led by Rick Grimes.

The role of Green is played by veteran character actor Scott Wilson, who in a career spanning almost 50 years has worked with directors including Norman Jewison and Richard Brooks, and along side legendary actors like Sidney Poitier, Robert Redford, and Gene Hackman. And in a nice bit of luck, he happens to be my upstairs neighbor.

Ahead of Sunday's season 2 finale (Sunday, 9 p.m. on AMC) Wilson joined us in studio for an extended conversation, answering all sorts of questions about the show, including whether he thinks Hershel knew Sophia was in the barn (if you watch, you know what I'm talking about). Highlights include:

• His role on 'The Walking Dead,' and the larger themes of hope, death, and humanity explored on the show.
• The ways in which the zombies are personalized, and what that adds to the show.
• Wilson's long career in Hollywood, launched in unique fashion -- "I got drunk and ended up in an acting class" -- and including many ups and downs, and even moments of homelessness.
• How Hollywood has changed over the course of his career. "If you think about it, about every 20 years, there's a huge change coming along. You had the silents. All of a sudden you have the talkies. All of a sudden you have Technicolor. All of a sudden you have television. All of a sudden you have VHS, you have cable, you have DVDs. About every 20 years, something comes along that revolutionizes the industry. Now you have the Internet, and the ability to download. So things evolve, and things change. I would imagine in 20 years from now, something else will come along that will be revolutionary for entertainment, and making product. Because there's a thirst for entertainment, and it keeps driving people to come up with better delivery systems, and better ways of doing it."

Finally, Wilson, a big basketball fan who earned a scholarship to play out of high school, talked about moving to L.A. at the same time the Lakers arrived, and going to watch Jerry West and Elgin Baylor in the days when struggling actors could actually afford to do it.

For fans of 'The Walking Dead' and of movies and Hollywood generally, it's a conversation worth hearing.

Earlier this season, we commemorated the 20th anniversary of Magic Johnson's iconic press conference in which he told the world he had HIV. Sunday night, ESPN Films debuts "The Announcement," a documentary examining that day, one enduring not only a landmark moment in Los Angeles sports history, but a signpost moment in American culture generally.

Ahead of the premiere, we had a chance this week to speak with director Nelson George. We talked his memories of that day, of returning to the Forum Club with Magic as part of the production, Karl Malone, how Magic changed the way Americans look at HIV, and what the world of HIV awareness and prevention might look like had Magic never contracted the virus.

A stunning 1986 performance as Sid Vicious announced a largely unknown Gary Oldman as an actor to watch. He made good on that promise with indelible, often volcanic work in movies like "Prick up your Ears," "State of Grace," "JFK," "Dracula," "True Romance," "The Professional," "Immortal Beloved" and "The Contender." In recent years, he became part of the "Harry Potter" and "Batman" series, reintroducing himself to audiences in sympathetic, likable parts.

In 2011, Oldman solidified his status of one of Hollywood's premiere chameleons with his portrayal of George Smiley in "Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy." Reprising a role made famous by Sir Alec Guinness in a 1979 BBC production of the spy novel, Oldman remains understated and quiet, but powerful nonetheless. The performance earned him a well-deserved Academy Award nomination.

We were thrilled to get Oldman in studio for nearly an hour to talk about "TTSS," his career and even a little sports. THE ENTIRE SHOW CAN BE HEARD HERE , and a breakdown is below with links to specific sections:

- (4:27): Oldman explains his initial terror at following in Guinness' footsteps for "TTSS." A week before shooting began, he debated backing out, but ultimately geared himself up to meet the challenge.

"I viewed it as a classical role that had been played before," Oldman said. "I imagined what it would be like to play Lear or Hamlet and then be measured against all those wonderful actors that had played the role before and that the comparisons would be inevitable... I sort of played a trick on my head. It's all in my head. Yes, Guinness gave this incredible performance. But the dragon, like all dragons, they're in your head and you have to slay them. So I kind of played a trick on myself to get me to walk through the fire."

- (5:30): Oldman explains the differences between playing a iconic character and a real-life icon like Sid Vicious, Beethoven or Joe Orton.

- (14:28): Oldman's "TTSS" role is the polar opposite of what he's spent the majority of a career playing. And that's not by accident. Over the last several years, Oldman's moved away from the eccentric, over-the-top parts that once defined him. In part, because he was concerned about increasingly limited options as a typecast actor. But also because he grew to find these characters dissatisfying on an artistic level, which killed his passion for the craft.

"I was bored," Oldman says. "I was just going through the motions and it just didn't interest me and I lost my love for it. I sort of lost my way a little. I lost my love for acting and did not look forward to it and that was the rut I was in. You deal with sports. There are great players and they're just pitching well or they're not hitting well. ... I found it quite debilitating and boring. I started to sort of hate the job. And I've never really felt [that]. I feel very privileged and very lucky that I do what I do, and it's never, ever really felt like I go into work. Let's face it. And so I went through a patch there."

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Friday afternoon's press conference with Mitch Kupchak and Mike Brown produced many bits of buttery basketball nuggetry. Kupchak emphasized L.A.'s limitations in the upcoming free agent market, and made it pretty clear he expects Shannon Brown to sign elsewhere (if the goal is a substantial payday, at least). Mike Brown, among other things, dropped clues about how he'll use Kobe Bryant, discussed Derek Fisher's status as a starting point guard, and said the compressed training camp and regular season schedule means he won't be able to implement his system as thoroughly as he'd like.

Oh, and Matt Barnes said he's spoken to Dwight Howard, and he wants to come to Los Angeles. Can't imagine that'll fuel speculation.

In an effort to sort it all out, after it was over Andy and I hit the studio and recorded a fresh podcast, WHICH YOU CAN LISTEN TO BY CLICKING HERE.

We start by welcoming rookie point guard Darius Morris, selected with the 41st pick in last summer's draft, to the show. After establishing his proper height (listed three ways on draft day), he tells us how he spent his lockout lengthened offseason. Like all rookies, Morris was caught in limbo. No official support from his team, no income to rely on, no professional experience to reference. (6:52) Morris then answers questions about potential playing time, and what he missed this summer because of the labor problems. Losing access to coaches was disappointing, but Morris believes he gained a great deal by working out with other pros.

Finally, while Morris knows he has a great deal of work left in the interim (making the team, for example), he admits allowing his mind to wander towards Christmas.

After saying goodbye, we break down Kupchak's comments about free agency, and how he addressed questions about Howard (17:00). No surprise, Kupchak said nothing was on the front burner-- he wouldn't have told us, even if there was -- but how likely is it Howard moves somewhere before the start of the season, whether to the Lakers or another team? Andy thinks the odds are higher than I do, and explains why.

From there, it's on to Brown (23:47). After playing sound from Kupchak on the subject, we get into what it means. If he goes, who replaces him? What does losing Brown mean for the rest of L.A.'s roster bolstering mission? Who could they land? (27:00, give or take)

We wrap with Brown's comments on Kobe in the offense and ideas for the Mike Brown Suggestion Box. All of this, plus Karl Malone impressions and Duran Duran jokes!

To subscribe to the K-Bros podcast via iTunes, click here. Subscribe to our YouTube channel for full video coverage of the Lakers.

***CLICK HERE TO LISTEN***

Did you hear? The lockout, she's over!

And with her demise, none too soon for support staff, fans, media, and players alike, comes the opportunity for analysis about real stuff that will have real impact on the team going forward. Things like...

• Major needs on the roster for 2011-12.
• The impact of a compressed schedule on Kobe Bryant and his teammates.
• How the offense might operate under Mike Brown.
• Roundtable discussion on big Lakers issues going forward.
• The impact of the new CBA on the Lakers.
• Who will back up Kobe at the two?
• Pau Gasol's "Groundhog Day" journey.

To this light reading we add our first post-labor strife Land O'Lakers PodKast!

We start (3:00) with a little lockout postmortem. Who were the big winners and losers? Was it worth it for the players to hold out the way they did? From there (9:30) we ask if the core of the team -- meaning Kobe, Gasol, Lamar Odom, and Andrew Bynum-- is still good enough to win. We agree the answer is yes, but the margins are pretty thin as things stand right now. The Lakers need help. What should their priorities be, given how few tools they have available to add players to the roster (15:00).

Finally, we debate what to do with Shannon Brown (18:30).

Love him or hate him, few athletes have loomed larger on the L.A. sports scene than Shaquille O'Neal. (See what I did there?) He was a centerpiece (again!) of the Threepeat Lakers, but with success came plenty of drama, most notably thanks to a partnership atop the roster with Kobe Bryant rarely lacking tension.

In his new book "Shaq Uncut: My Story," written with esteemed basketball writer Jackie MacMullan, O'Neal details his life in L.A., from his relationships with Kobe and Phil Jackson to how Jerry West jumped on an opportunity to import him from Orlando, and his lingering bitterness towards Mitch Kupchak.

MacMullan joined us this week to discuss the book and O'Neal's career and, no surprise, we focused a great deal on O'Neal's tenure in purple and gold.

Click here to listen to the whole show, or jump to a specific topic by clicking the links below...

2:00- How Shaq's childhood impacted his personality.

A great deal of attention has been paid to those sections of the book about conflicts with high profile figures like Kobe or Pat Riley, but arguably the most interesting stories come at the beginning. Shaq's youth was a rugged one in which he was mocked because of his size, and teased because of a stutter. Then there was the harsh physical discipline meted out by Phillip Harrison, in every way but biologically his father. Shaq fiercely defends Harrison ("Sarge," as he's commonly known), and MacMullan notes O'Neal was a tough kid to control. "Shaq was a juvenile delinquent, let's be honest here. Stealing cars, he was throwing spitballs at teachers, he was bullying kids at school. He wasn't really what we would call a model citizen when he was a kid. So when he messed up, his father answered with his fists, and sometimes his belt," she says.

There was an upshot to all the misbehavior, notes MacMullen. The amount of time Shaq spent "in punishment" (sent to his room) helped form the imagination and creativity eventually becoming O'Neal's trademarks. She explains how Shaq's behavior as a pro reflects those formative years.

8:10- Shaq and Phil Jackson.

Shaq writes in glowing terms about Jackson, who came to the Lakers when O'Neal desperately needed help overcoming the perception he couldn't win in crunch time. "He thought, "You know what, this guy [Jackson is] a winner. He's a proven winner. I need a ring, and I think this is the guy who's going to get me one." He had to make a decision to jump in with both feet and totally buy what Phil was selling, and that's what he did," MacMullan says.

9:20- On Shaq's sensitivity.

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The logistics of this took a little while, but now it's easy to subscribe to our podcast on iTunes.

If you're so inclined, we'd certainly appreciate it.

I'll be honest, I've never really paid the D-League much attention save those moments where players on the Lakers roster were sent down for more seasoning. Even then, I wasn't exactly setting the NBDL's website as my home page. But with labor strife screwing everything up at the NBA level, if your game is professional hoops, for the time being at least the Los Angeles D-Fenders -- back after a year-long hiatus-- are the only game in town.

The most interesting thing about this year's team will almost certainly be the coach. In Eric Musselman, they have a head man with an unusual level of NBA experience, having patrolled the sidelines both for Golden State and Sacramento. In his first season with the Warriors, Musselman squeezed a 17-win improvement from the previous season, and he finished second behind Gregg Popovich in the 2003 Coach of the Year balloting. But after failing to build on that success the following year, he was let go. Hired by the Kings in 2006, Musselman had the unenviable task of replacing Rick Adelman.

One 33 win season later, Sacramento fired him.

In many ways, then, Musselman resembles the guys he's coaching: Actively trying to make it back to the next level. When we made the comparison in our conversation, Musselman deflected, but I suspect he (understandably) wasn't being completely candid. It's just one of the subjects we touched on, from the difficulty creating a workable team ethic when ultimately everyone on the roster is motivated by personal goals to the challenges Mike Brown faces this season with the Lakers.

Click here for the whole show, or below if you'd rather steer to a specific topic...

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If you missed our podcast with Shawn Ryan, writer and executive producer for such landmark shows as "The Shield," it included a discussion about the challenges inherent in building an audience for a highly serialized show. There's a built-in risk of losing audience when viewers feel missing an episode or two makes following the plot too difficult. It's a problem the industry takes very seriously:

"Listen, TV execs will show you these scary charts that say even the people who describe themselves as an intense fan of your show will on average only watch about one out of every four episodes. So if you want to get an audience of, say, 3 million for FX or 10 million people to watch your show on network TV, what you really need to do is have 40 million people consider themselves to be a fan of your show, and in any given week 10 million will show up to watch."

Meaning it's hard enough to build a faithful audience under the best of circumstances, and requires deeper penetration of the market than simple viewership measurements might suggest. Adding structural elements potentially making that process more difficult is, put mildly, problematic.

Ryan's comments apply to the NBA's labor situation, as well.

In a lot of ways, we cover the league like a highly serialized television show, following big storylines, tracking characters, and trying to figure out how A impacts B and could change C 10 games down the road. Many fans consume it that way, too. But a far larger number are more casual, passing in and out of the NBA world depending on countless other things vying for their attention.

How each demographic reacts to the lockout I don't know, but one thing is undeniably true: To sustain the sort of growth the NBA has seen while continuing to expand in ways they'd like requires an enormous number of people consuming the product, wildly outstripping the amount of people in an NBA arena or watching on TV on any given night.

Ultimately, whether the NBA misses a month or a season, the die-hards (most of them, at least) will come back. Angrily and with resentment, but back nonetheless. I'm confident Lakers fans would again fill the Staples Center. But die-hards and Lakers ticket buyers don't constitute the bulk of the basketball viewing public. In a world with ever expanding entertainment options, particularly on television, and in the face of a lousy economy, what happens to everyone else?

It's not a stretch to say steroids were required to save baseball after it lost the World Series in '94. If they lose much, or even all of the season, what would the NBA require?

On Friday, the Basketball Hall of Fame will induct its 2011 class. Among those honored will be Tex Winter, best known as the longtime assistant coach to Phil Jackson, and the architect of what became known as the triangle offense. In addition to shaping a system at the center of 11 championships for the Bulls and Lakers, Winter also enjoyed success as a head coach in the college ranks, most notably with Kansas State University. (Similar to coaches in the era of PJ's Bulls and Lakers, Winter had the unfortunate luck of running into Wilt Chamberlain at Kansas and the John Wooden dynasties.)

PODCAST
Andy talks with basketball historian Roland Lazenby about newly inducted Hall of Fame member Tex Winter, his relationship with Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Dennis Rodman, and the current state of the Lakers. Podcast

In the eyes of seemingly everyone -- save the HOF voters, of course -- a spot in Springfield has been a given for the former USC player. Nonetheless, Winter has endured a painfully long wait. Thankfully, the honor has arrived in time for Tex, in poor health, to enjoy the ceremony in person.

For more perspective on Winter's career, I spoke with basketball historian and author Roland Lazenby. A longtime friend of Winter's, Lazenby shared thoughts on Tex's innovative nature, his relationships with Jackson, Kobe Bryant, and fellow 2011 class member Dennis Rodman, plus his take on the current state of the Lakers.

The entire interview can be heard by clicking the box to the right, but here are some choice quotes:

On the roots of Tex's and Phil's relationship and why it flourished:

"It was a series of things. First of all, Phil's great mind. The fact that Tex is everybody's uncle. That he has a tremendous enthusiasm for the game. It's boundless. That may be his greatest gift. And then the third thing, they were brought together to coach the Bulls summer league team. Tex had first become alerted to Phil even before they coached that team when Phil came in as this guy who'd been an NBA player. He'd been in the CBA. Phil had to do the advanced scouting. Tex was blown away and this takes a lot, because Tex is really hard to impress. Phil would come back with these incredibly detailed scouting reports. They were immaculate.

"And then as Tex got to know him, they coached together, he began to see that Phil possessed this total recall. I mean, the guy could remember all kinds of things. It was just unbelievable. Tex told me that Phil had total recall virtually on every moment of his career. Playing and coaching.

"They had this symbiotic relationship. Their personalities are very different. Tex is this very willful, excitable person who is just so obsessed with his offense. And Phil was just this very bright guy who could process everything. Tex, having had years in college coaching, had this ability to jump in and confront players and say, 'No, you're not doing this right!' L.A. fans are very aware of Tex's clashes with Shaq because Tex wanted everything so precise and that just wasn't Shaq's nature. So they formed this relationship where Tex was the teacher. For years together, Tex was teaching Phil. Breaking down game film for him. Organizing his practices for him. Doing all these things. And then confronting the players when they needed to be corrected. He did a lot of that. More of that in the early years than in the later years, of course."

On the sometimes complicated nature of the relationship:

"It grew more complicated once Phil got to Los Angeles. He really became a popular culture figure in Los Angeles and a lot of people worshiped him. And Phil changed a bit . . . I think Tex for a while was worried that Phil was trying to sort of mute the influence Tex had on him. I think Phil has been very generous in a lot of ways, but there's no question. It's not like it's all about Tex or it's all about Phil. It was just a perfect meeting of some very special minds and some very special people. This is just about all of them getting their due."

On Kobe Bryant's longstanding admiration for Winter:

"I was rebounding some free throws for Kobe. He was there with those Lakers teams with Del Harris. He was a lost and lonely puppy and he told me he'd always dreamed of having Tex Winter as his coach. Not Phil Jackson. Kobe told me Tex Winter. He knew that he was bound for greatness. As he told me, he didn't know how he was gonna get there, but he knew that having Tex as his Yoda, as Kobe likes to call him, was the key. He wanted Tex's phone number. Tex was an assistant coach for the Bulls.

Tex called Kobe and he said, 'You know, all of your concern about the lack of organization with the Lakers is dead on. Yes, everybody is giving you this grief and you're impulsive, you're a young guy. But you really do have to have a system of play to sort out this modern NBA environment where the defenses are so physical. The defenses clearly for a number of years got the upper hand in the NBA."

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The Ear Candy Express chugs along. Among the taking points:

PODCAST
Andy and Brian discuss Kobe playing overseas, Andrew Bynum's maturity and wacky trade scenarios. Plus, the proper way to say "Besiktas.". Podcast

- Will he or won't he? That's the question these days when it comes to Kobe Bryant and playing in Turkey. While neither of us are remotely certain how to pronounce "Besiktas," we're both fairly confident the team is using The Mamba for some free publicity. For that matter, we both have strong hunches Bryant isn't going anywhere.

Between Besiktas' frozen assets, the very low monthly salary (by his standards), and the blip a Turkish league title would represent on his resume, this isn't worth Bryant's time on any level. There are more practical ways to stay in shape -- like barnstorming in China -- at this stage of his career and health.

(On a related note... Man alive, Kobe is wealthy!)

- Andrew Bynum's poor judgment with handicapped parking spots is the latest incident prompting fans and media to question his maturity. As an isolated matter, Bynum's actions were indefensible, callous and summarized poorly in 140 characters or less, but not necessarily an overwhelming reason for concern.

But combined with a penchant for flagrant fouls and a mind freely spoken without fear of consequence, you wonder if he's mentally where he needs to be. Is Bynum ready for the expanded role he deeply desires? And even the answer is yes, how will Mike Brown balance the ambitions of his young center and a certain shooting guard?

- Because it was so much fun, a look back at "Do it, Mitch!!!"

When in town to do higher profile shows like "Rome is Burning," Bomani Jones (The Morning Jones on Sirius 158) is often kind enough to make the schlep downtown to join us in studio for our little dog and pony show. Last Friday was one of those times. Among the talking points in this week's batch of ear candy:

PODCAST
Andy and Brian talk NBA Finals with Bomani Jones (The Morning Jones on Sirius 158, everything ESPN TV). In particular, the insanity that is the coverage of LeBron James. Podcast

- Bomani's observation that Brian, with his glasses, shaved head and (specifically) with his mouth wide open, resembles a white Mike Brown. We'd never thought about it before, but he's actually right and the response when put out to the Twitter-verse was unanimously in agreement.

- We take a look at the NBA Finals, which many fans and analysts did not anticipate heading into Game 6 with the Dallas Mavericks up 3-2 on the Miami Heat. (A lot of people thought Miami might have already wrapped things by now). The star power is obviously on the Heat's side, but the Mavs have been stronger with elements like depth, team play and -- as Bomani notes -- coaching. And these aspects do in fact matter.

- We examine the way the Finals coverage has been fixated on one player (LeBron James) in a way we've never seen. At times, it doesn't even feel as if anybody is watching the actual series so much as evaluating The King's legacy possession by possession. Even taking into account his intermittently uncomfortable body language and recurrent passiveness late into fourth quarters, the scrutiny has been off the charts, myopic and occasionally inaccurate. Does the level of disappointment fairly reflect LeBron's play, or rather that his play doesn't meet the post-Michael Jordan criteria for a superstar wing?

- No matter who eventually wins between Dallas and Miami, does this highly contested series disprove the increasingly popular notion that a championship cannot be attained without three superstars in their prime? In our opinion, yes. Or at the very least, it disproves the theory that any three stars can make it work, no questions asked.

For example, James and Dwyane Wade may eventually perfect the art playing together, but for the time being, they're as likely to frustrate each other as the opposition. Ideally, you'd want a big three like Paul Pierce, Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett or Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and either Andrew Bynum/Lamar Odom (depending on who you consider the third best player): Quality players with varying skill sets, which allows for a greater ability to mesh.

- While it may not be possible to solve the Wade-James riddle before the series ends, the one thing the Heat can do to improve their fortunes is stop tempting karma and comeuppance. Don't make fun of Dirk Nowitzki's cough (even if, in reality, this really wasn't a particularly big deal). And what will it take for LeBron to finally recognize that every time he Tweets, something bad happens to his team?

- Three words to help Pau shed his "soft" persona: Shaved head. Goatee.

Shaquille O'Neal announced his retirement last Wednesday, which prompted a podcast devoted entirely to his career and legacy. Among the talking points:

PODCAST
Andy and Brian talk about Shaquille O'Neal retiring, his legacy as a Laker and his relationship with Kobe Bryant. Podcast

- There's no question The Diesel had an incredible career, but as Brian noted, his raw talent allows a reasonable argument he could have gone down as the greatest of all time. Instead, he appeared content to be merely one of the greatest, which sparks a never-ending debate over how to regard O'Neal's career.

- Brian and I talk about Shaq's number being retired by the Lakers, which we both agree is the right call. However, as a Laker fan as well as a Laker writer, I also get why some fans remain honked at how Shaq treated the organization. This is a privilege bestowed on O'Neal by an iconic team as well as a "thank you." Thus, dignity would be a prerequisite, and that characteristic was often absent with Shaq. Again, as I wrote earlier this week, I think the achievements and historical impact ultimately outweighs the negatives, but I would never discount opposing opinions.

Also, should the Lakers first retire Kobe Bryant's number before Shaq? If that's the approach, expect Kobe to play well into his 50s just to make The Big Fella wait.

- We call shenanigans on Shaq's revisionist history presenting the feud with Kobe as an orchestrated master plan. The two didn't get along. Period. But was a peaches and cream relationship realistic in the first place? Reasonable? Yes. Particularly when you consider how well compensated both were for their "troubles" and the mutual success enjoyed. But as much as their bickering once frustrated me, I've come to realize it may have been more impressive that two alpha dogs tolerated each other for as long as they did. After all, we questioned whether Miami's big three could co-exist, and they're friends who moved heaven and earth to play together. Shaq and Kobe never asked for this, which created an automatic expiration date for their partnership, unprofessional and sad as that may feel.

- The time it took for Shaq to acknowledge he was no longer the MDE makes me wonder about the eventual transition Kobe will need to make. Hopefully, he'll handle it better than Shaq, but I sometimes worry he won't.

- Which do you prefer as a fan: An athlete obsessively driven to win, but often too serious to truly "like," or an athlete who never forgets sports is also entertainment, but often seems to prioritize fun ahead of excellence? We'll let you figure out which sportsman is Kobe and which one is Shaq in this hypothetical.

And finally, I checked the numbers and Brian was right: Benoit Benjamin was better than some people -- myself included, apparently -- remember. That Clipper stink is seriously powerful. For that matter, even while cognizant that Luc Longley has only a slightly better chance at the Hall of Fame than me, the wonderful scent of Chicago championships led me to recall his numbers a smidge too high.