So I had this grand plan to sit at home on Christmas and do a running diary of the Lakers/Heat game. This plan didn’t work out too well. I actually had to go into work and then got stuck in traffic and my DVR was full because I was taping the first season of Arrested Development today, so I ended up not seeing any of the game at all. Oh well. But since I don’t really feel like talking about all the injuries – there have been lots, have you noticed? – I’ll stick with the Heat and Lakers and take a quick look at both teams, while blasting some James Brown. Go find “Get Up, Get Into It, Get Involved” and listen to it repeatedly. Thank me later.

Kobe Bryant checks in with a 4-for-17 performance; he must not have been taking too many quality shots. I have always given Kobe the benefit of the doubt. His feud with Shaq, his off the court problems, his quitting in Game 7 against the Suns last year – I tried to see it his way. But once you go acting like a little bitch after getting lit up by Gilbert, well, that’s it. You’re done. But he’s obviously not done in fantasy land, where after a predictably shaky November he hit his stride in December, today’s stinker notwithstanding. He’s hitting 3s like he did last year and he’s managing to keep his rebound and assist numbers at nice rates. He’s #5 on the 30 Day Rater and he should be right around there from here on out.

When Lamar Odom went down, it wasn’t the silliest idea to think that Luke Walton would pick up some of the scoring slack. But that hasn’t happened at all. After hitting double digits in 18 of 21 games with Odom in the lineup, Walton has pulled the feat in only 3 of 7, and that includes today’s unimpressive 10 point output. It’s not all that surprising; some players just aren’t meant to be big scorers and Walton’s one of those. The more worrisome number is that Walton hasn’t topped 30 minutes in each of his last three games, this after a stretch of four straight games of 40+. Perhaps Phil Jackson’s just resting him up a bit, perhaps it’s just a mini-slump, but Walton’s not looking like the sure thing he did in November. His little-bit-of-everything game only works when he gets the minutes. His 3s obviously aren’t falling at the ridiculous rate they were earlier in the season. It’s hard to see Walton losing his starting spot, but Phil Jackson’s good at playing guys just enough to have a bit of fantasy value but not that much. Let’s hope Walton doesn’t join that club.

Brian Cook replaced Vladimir Radmanovic in the starting lineup a few games ago and is one of those guys who just doesn’t get enough PT to justify owning. He’s played 28-18-19 minutes in his three starts and even though he’s made 4 3s in that span, he just doesn’t play enough and never has. As for Radmanovic, he did his annual tease thing, getting a starting nod and putting in 27 with 5 3s in his third game, then found himself back on the bench two games later. It’s time to give up on this guy forever, OK?

In the middle, Kwame Brown continues to be pretty solid. He still has problems finishing around the basket, but since he’s so active on defense, it helps give him some value. He got his first steal in three games today, but before that had tallied 10 in six games, which is obviously impressive for a center. His free throw woes are downright hilarious – 40% on the season – and even though he never takes more than 5 or 6 per game, it takes an 8-for-8 to make up for a 1-for-4, and that 75% will still probably find you at the bottom of your standings in that category. Andrew Bynum is pretty much an afterthought now, but he’ll be heard from again this season. He’s still learning the game – his improvisatory skills are still lacking, and head fake throw him off – but he’s clearly got plenty of offensive talent. Anybody who puts up 20 and 14 in 29 minutes as a 19 year old is almost certainly going to be good.

I thought Smush Parker would be able to maintain some of his value from last year, but he’s dropped off in every single category across the board. His 1.5 3s, 1.7 steals and 3.7 assists last year on 45% shooting are now 1.1 3s, 1.3 steals and 2.5 assists on 43% shooting. With Jordan Farmar around it’s hard to see it getting any better. As for Farmar, he’s a player, for sure. I’m still not too high on him just because it’s hard for me to envision Phil Jackson giving a rookie PG the steady 30+ mpg that he needs to have value, but Farmar is reminding me a bit of Jason Williams. He can hit 3s, he likes to shoot 3s (too many, perhaps) and likes to make flashy passes.

Maurice Evans is another 20-25 mpg guy that looks like he could put up numbers if given more minutes, but nobody ever gives him the minutes, and there’s probably a reason for that. That said, he should get every minute that goes to Sasha Vujacic. Is there a more worthless player in the league? What does he bring to the table, except for being that annoying foreign guy who sometimes gets under the skin of opposing players?

It was another ho-hum game for Dwyane Wade – 40/4/11, 12-of-20, 15-of-16, a 3, 4 steals, 4 blocks. OK, that’s not quite ho-hum, but it’s not like it’s all that surprising. Being able to watch wade from a few feet away was just incredible, you really can appreciate him more in person, especially that close. His eyes are always surveying the entire court, he knows exactly where everyone is at all times and knows the strengths and weaknesses of his teammates and opponents. Maybe he’s not hitting that 3 per game we hoped he would, but we can’t complain, can we? The only thing he has to do now is show that he can play 80 games in a season.

Hopefully you snatched up Alonzo Mourning and have had him in there since Shaq went down. Another three blocks today, averaging nearly 4 per game in December. He’s not grabbing too many boards, but the blocks and FG% are dominant. He’s #62 on the 30DR, right ahead of Andrew Bogut and Mehmet Okur, for comparison’s sake. The Heat will want to take it easy on him once Shaq gets back in a few weeks so ‘Zo will be ready to go in the postseason, so he’ll probably be OK to drop once Shaq proves he is indeed back. And on a side note, ‘Zo really does get away with more fouls than anyone in the league. If the refs wanted to call something on him, they could do it every possession on defense and every other one on offense.

Jason Kapono is a popular pickup these days, and normally I don’t like one-category specialists all that much, but with the rash of injuries sweeping the league, there are worse guys you can have. He has 14 3s in his last five games, so if you need help in that category, there it is. Sometimes with guys like this they cool off right when you pick them up and put them in the lineup. He’s also topped 25 minutes in just one of those five games, too. Everything needs to go right for him to help you out and even then it’s marginal.

I might just cut bait on Jason Williams at this point. If you can stash him on the bench that’s better, but even while it seems like he can handle playing most games now, his PT is still very inconsistent. In his last five it’s been 26-39-20-37-24. Wade is the assist man in Miami now, so don’t expect anything close to his 8 apg glory days from Memphis. At least he’s starting to gun 3s again, even if he rarely connects. I just don’t see him being a realistic option for contending teams this year.

Dorrell Wright was an exciting player to watch in person. He can leap, that’s for sure – dunks, blocks, whatever. If he could learn to shoot he might be able to have some value in a season or two, since he’s active and could help in steals and blocks. It’s hard to project too much for him, though, until he shows more offensive ability.