Archive for January, 2011

There’s really not too much to say after watching the Lakers treat the Cavaliers like the D-League team they are. I’ll just say this much…112-57. Those 57 points posted by the Cavs mark the fewest ever allowed by the Los Angeles Lakers and are the least amount ever scored by Cleveland. Yeah… Usually you can’t take too much away from a 55 point win. The good news is that the Lakers are finally showing those killer instincts of champions. They jumped on the Cavs early and never let up. The defensive intensity was there from start to finish. Including the [...]

You could see this coming from a mile away. Now that David Stern has given his officials license to go Joey Crawford whenever they see fit, we’re seeing more unwarranted technicals being called. At least twice this year the Lakers have been hit with untimely techs. Who can forget the one that was called on Lamar Odom during a crucial moment late in a loss to the Suns? On Sunday, Andrew Bynum was hit with twin techs the second of which seemed to come all too quickly and without reason. Seeing the error in Leon Woods’ ways, the league has [...]

For a game that started off ugly, the Lakers sure did finish beautifully. Within the first five minutes of tonight’s contest the Lakers had more turnovers (5) than points (4). A lot of those TOs were a result of the Lakers actually trying too hard to force the ball inside. For good measure Ron Artest earned himself a first quarter technical for choking placing his hand around the neck of Shawne Williams. Things were looking bleak to say the least. Phil Jackson was quick to call an uncharacteristic early timeout and from there things improved drastically. In one of the [...]

Matt Barnes will be out for the foreseeable future after an MRI today revealed a torn meniscus in his right knee. Barnes sustained the injury last night against the Hornets and the Lakers have not set a definitive timetable for his return. More will be known after Barnes has surgery in the coming days. For the time being Phil Jackson is going to have to shuffle his rotations to fill the void left in the wake of Barnes’ absence. Paging Luke Walton… In addition to Luke logging more minutes, Devin Ebanks has been recalled from the D-League. While his production [...]

No matter what you heard from your first girlfriend. Size does matter. Finally the Lake Show took it to the competition from the inside out. Granted, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol seeing 6’9” Emeka Okafor at the 5 is like Jimmie Johnson seeing a green light. All night long the Lakers’ length terrorized the undersized Hornets. For the first time in a long time we saw the MVP Pau instead of the MIA Pau. The Spaniard dropped an efficient 21 on 6 of 8 shooting with 13 boards and 7 dimes as well. Enough with all this talk of Gasol [...]

As crazy as it sounds, Lamar Odom has been the most consistent Laker this season. His Gold medal filled offseason has really set the tone for LO’s play this year. Whether as a starter or coming off the pine, Odom has done his thing with a professional approach and a consistent demeanor. Just when we were all getting used to seeing this new Lamar along comes a few obstacles. First it was announced that LO was given the blessing of Phil Jackson to shoot a reality show in the middle of the season. While that was an off-court issue that [...]

Ron Artest didn’t have a great game last night in Phoenix (11 points, 4 of 10 shooting, 4 boards, 4 dimes). We’ve seen him play better defense. He’s had better shooting nights. But by showing up and being an integral part of a Laker victory amid controversy says a lot about Ron Ron. Artest isn’t checking out on this team. By hitting a few clutch shots in the desert he’s proven that his desire to contribute remains. By putting forth an inspired effort when it was most needed, Artest has told the hoops world that he’s not reverting to his [...]

This one had a playoff feel. And if it was a playoff test then the Lakers passed. Maybe not the most impressive performance but by recent standards an A+ by all means. The Lake Show did what champions are supposed to by setting the tone early. A 16-0 run in the first quarter highlighted by solid defense that actually led to…gasp…transition buckets provided an early lead. Eventually that lead slowly disappeared and it looked like we were looking at another meltdown. But then, something happened. When Phoenix took the lead in the third there was no sense of panic. Just [...]

That Ron Artest would take offense to Phil Jackson’s motivational methods is not surprising. PJ’s public criticisms have long been a tool he’s used to tweak all of his top talent. But not everyone is as receptive to his tactics. Still, there is nothing new under the sun that a player would confront Phil. What is shocking is how this story came to light. As Bill Plaschke details, the honeymoon is over for Artest. While he’s since apologized to the team for his reaction to Phil, Ron’s problems run much deeper. He’s got a mole in his locker room and [...]

One win does not mean much in the NBA but this was truly refreshing. With the Lake Show slumping and the dysfunctional Detroit Pistons in town it seemed  given that a W was in the forecast. Not even the Lakers in their weakened state could drop one to the D. Well…the first half was anything but smooth. Kobe Bryant got off to a wretched start as he missed his first nine attempts. But once the second half started everything began to click. KB24 got it going in a third quarter that showcased a Laker team we haven’t seen in some time. [...]