Orlando Magic Vs. LA Lakers Finals? It's starting to look that way. With Orlando up on Lebron James and the Cleveland Cavs 3-1 and the Lakers winning the crucial Game 5, it's looking like the "legendary" Kobe Vs. Lebron Finals matchup will have to wait another year.

That has to be a bummer for Nike considering their brilliant Kobe & Lebron/Burt & Ernie muppet campaign. Oh well, I guess we just have to enjoy what could have been by watching muppet Lebron and Kobe duke it out in these hilarious Nike televisions ads:

KOBE & LEBRON: CHALK

KOBE & LEBRON: THREE RINGS

KOBE & LEBRON: MRS. LEWIS

KOBE & LEBRON: UNSTOPPABLE GAME TAPE

As we near the final stages of Monster5's King Katch sculpt. it was due time we shared a bit with you! Both pics are from Monster5's latest batch of development pictures. At this stage, I'd say the sculpt is 85% done. We had a few issues with Monster5's teeth and arms, but Monster5 did a wonderful job addresssing them. The toughest thing to translate was King Katch's hair. Compared to the anatomy of the King Katch design, the hair is very abstract and spiky. Monster5 did a good job of maintaining the simplicity of the hair shape while giving it the needed weight and volume in it's three dimensional form. The only thing that will get a makeover from the included photos are King Katch's calves. Fabien wants the calves to be a bit more plump and smooth. In it's current state the calves are a bit too angular and have an unnecessary and overly realistic dimple behind the knee. We have already asked Monster5 to make the necessary changes.

I just wanted to highlight some of the amazing Art Toys showcased in the latest Vinyl Pulse post by Luke Rook. Luke is owner of the Lulubell Toy Bodega. A little over six months ago, Luke moved out to Japan to both learn the Japanese language and immerse himself in Japanese underground toy culture.

I love the latest pics from Design Fest Vol. 29 in Tokyo. In addition to a variety of one-of-a-kind Itokin Park's Lucha Bear (my reason for diggin' that figure is obvious!) there's a bunch of beautiful vinyl and resin figures from artists I was unaware of.

Japanese Art Toy Culture is better known for the darker Kaiju monster stuff. But I tend to really dig the funkier cute stuff. I notice that my taste in toys is way "cuter" and "brighter" than what Jerry is drawn to; but we both really dig the Japanese toy scene.

At this point the Japanese Art Toy scene is smaller than the American one. Much of the vinyl done in Japanese is produced in a very garage/punk do-it-yourself environment. Despite that, there is usually a very high level of craftsmanship and quality that resonates from the final product.

I'm a big fan of figures whose personalities are inherent in the sculpt (as with our own Muttpop figures). There's a life and energy that can be imbued in a three dimensional sculpt that cannot be produced by paint or colored plastic. Most of the Japanese Art Toys seem to follow that same theory.

CLICK HERE FOR MORE PICS FROM TOKYO DESIGN FEST @ VINYLPULSE.COM

Lakers have been making it tough on fans by being so unpredictable as of late. It's still been a heckuva fun ride! Game 7's win against Houston was impressive. And more than ever, it made it clear to me how important the combination of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum are to the Lakers success in the 2009 Playoffs and immediate future for the organization.

If Lakers end up winning the Championship I expect Pau Gasol to get Playoff MVP honors... but the possibility of both a Championship and Pau as MVP are majorly dependent on Andrew Bynum's play.

As complementary Post Players, Bynum's defensive and offensive presence frees up Pau Gasol to take more risks on Defense and Offense. Bynum's physicality and length forces his defender to play him closer in the post, freeing up Pau to have more space to work his post up magic. If Bynum's man decides to give Pau more attention, Pau can either dish it off to Bynum for the Dunk or take the contested shot which has a reasonable % chance of being grabbed by Bynum as an offensive rebound for a put back dunk or triangle offense reset.

The same goes for the Laker Defense. When Bynum is able to play help defense in the key, Pau can play his man a little closer and take the occasional risky block or steal. If Pau's move leaves his man open, the opponent still has to worry about Bynum.

No other NBA team has a Power Forward/Center combination with the same physicality, height, and post-up presence as Bynum and Gasol. Most other teams have a combination of a scoring Center/Forward and a hustle-play/energy/rebounding Center on the court at all times (the one exception is the fabulous Rocket duo of Ming & Scola). This works to the Lakers advantage because they can have Pau Gasol match up with the more offensive minded post/inside player and have Bynum taking on a more roaming defender role to help when there's any breakdowns on the Lakers team defense.

In order for it to work to it's fullest potential, Lakers have got to consistently feed the post when either Gasol or Bynum is on the block down low. Unlike guards or small forwards (especially excellent ball-handling ones like Odom) post players need to be given the ball in the proper position to work their magic and become a threat to the opposing team. Lakers have been at their worst in the Playoffs when they forget the post and start launching three-pointers and/or attempting to play primarily isolation basketball. In fact, if the Lakers first establish an offensive post presence, both 3-point opportunities and penetration will open up as opposing defenses begin placing more focus on Bynum and Gasol.

Of course, the Lakers are still known for being a high scoring offensive minded team. How's that going to work if they're going to slow things down with all of this post-up play? Well, first off, Lakers should focus on fastbreaks. With the athleticism, length, and high number of good ball handlers on the team, the Lakers need to master the ability to transition steals and missed shots into quick fastbreak points (something that will actually increase if Bynum can establish himself as a defensive threat in the key). Also, post ups should be done in the first 10 seconds of the shot clock and go primarily to Gasol (who's quicker, is a better passer, and has more moves in the post than Bynum). Bynum (when he's fed in the post) should keep his post up moves short and sweet (his drop step and hooks are solid and fast) to ensure the Lakers are still running their offense at a fast pace.

You heard it hear first: Pau Gasol; 2009 Playoff MVP. I just hope he give "thanks" to Bynum when he accepts the reward! :-)

Jerry and I just had the pleasure of having lunch with the uber-talented Sean 'Cheeks' Galloway. Cheeks has been making quite a splash professionally with his concept and character design work on animated projects like the 'Hellboy Animated' Films and the 'Spectacular Spider-man' animated series. He's also done some design work in the videogame industry and occasionally contributes a published comic or two amidst his busy work schedule.

I love the way Cheeks explores shape and form in his illustration. He uses a very economic line that conveys massive amounts of energy and volume. I highly recommend that you check out his wonderful Blog and Deviant Art sites. It's a wonderful showcase of a talented artist's growth and evolution. I've included some of my favorite Cheeks illustrations below.

CLICK HERE to go to Cheeks Blog.

CLICK HERE to go to Cheeks Deviant Art Page.

Many of you have been asking for them. And although, they are still there, many have been having troubling finding links to the in depth developments of Tequila, El Panda, and Red Demon that we did "back in the day" with our good friends at Vinyl Pulse. Well, here they are. It brings back many memories looking through these posts! This, my friends, is where it all began:

CLICK HERE for Making of Tequila (Vinyl Pulse).

CLICK HERE for Making of El Panda (Vinyl Pulse).

CLICK HERE for Making of Red Demon (Vinyl Pulse).

Hmmm. It appears that the earlier Tequila sculpting posts have been lost. I'll start reposting them soon.