Archive for February, 2011

Already in the Naismith Hall of Fame, James Worthy has been selected for induction in the College Basketball Hall of Fame. Yet another well deserved honor for one of the greatest to ever play the game. Before he was a Laker legend, Big Game James made a name for himself as a Player of the Year, All-American and most important of all as a two-time champion during his years at the University of North Carolina. Worthy is among seven former Tarheels to have his jersey retired. For those that know hoops this is no small feat. At times overlooked because [...]

In a game that had a playoff feel the Lakers gave a championship effort. So much has been made about how old and slow these Lakers are. Naturally you’d expect the legs of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to be problematic. Well, if by problematic you mean for one half of basketball then you’re right. OKC ran out to a 5 point lead dropping 56 in the first half. Then something you wouldn’t expect of an “older team” occurred. The Lakers found their legs in the second half and slowed the Thunder roll. For anyone that is still disappointed that [...]

 The league has been warned. What happened in the All-Star game was not a threat. It was a promise. Kobe Bryant is slowly giving in to his alter ego – Black Mamba. It took three quarters and a slight tweak of his right arm to get Mamba to come out and play last night. For good measure, Bryant’s first field goal attempt of the second half was taken with his left arm. Then he decided to test his right and what came next was the destruction of the Clippers. Mamba outscored that other team from L.A. in the third. His [...]

The NBA’s trade deadline has come and gone and the Lakers were the eye of the storm. Basking in the afterglow of an inspired effort in Portland, Mitch Kupchak opted to stand pat as the GMs around him scrambled to make last minute moves. Of all the teams that engaged in deadline deals, none is more confusing than what the Boston Celtics did. Remember when Doc Rivers said having Kendrick Perkins would have given the C’s a Game 7 win in L.A.? Well, by Doc logic the Oklahoma City Thunder just became favorites to win the NBA title this year. [...]

The Lakers overcame a lot tonight in Portland. For starters they hade to battle their longtime nemesis the Blazers, a team and city that has given the Lake Show fits over the years. Then they had to contend with some truly awful officiating. As if that weren’t enough they had to deal with their own errors as 17 turnovers created plenty of opportunities for the opposition. Most daunting of all was the 10-point deficit they had to overcome late just to force OT. A flat fourth looked likely to spell the Lakers’ demise. With seemingly nothing more than pride to play [...]

Remember when the NBA’s Western Conference was the varsity and the East was the JV? Back then having 50 wins in the West might get you an 8th seed but 50 W’s in the East was good enough to put you in the top 4. Well, the times they are a changing. In the last 48 hours Carmelo Anthony and Deron Williams have departed the Nuggets and Jazz respectively for the New York/New Jersey area. What’s next? Dirk Nowitzki demanding a trade to Chicago? This really shouldn’t come as much of a surprise. In fact, if you pay attention to [...]

About the only thing that went right for the Atlanta Hawks tonight happened before the game even started. Former Laker Josh Powell was presented with a championship ring, his second in two years in Los Angeles.  Congrats Josh! It’s about as close as any of his teammates will come to seeing true NBA bling this year. About the only thing that went wrong for the Lakers was Kobe Bryant being called for a bogus flagrant foul.  You can expect the league to overturn Kobe’s sloppy foul on Josh Smith. Otherwise, it was smooth sailing as the Lake Show hammered the Hawks [...]

Taking a page out of the Joaquin Phoenix handbook, Kobe Bryant used the All-Star game to remind the hoops world that I’m Still Here.  No need to grow a Grizzly Adams beard and embark on a pseudo rap career. KB24 got his message across the old fashioned way. The Mamba way. You had to know Bryant wasn’t going to let anybody take his shine in his crib. The veteran did his thing in front of the Staples Center crowd dropping a game high 37 points and earning his record tying 4th All-Star MVP.  He also moved within striking distance of [...]

His legacy as one of the greatest players and minds in the history of the game has long since been cemented. His likeness forever frozen as the logo of the NBA. Now, Jerry West has his actual image bronzed for eternity outside of Staples Center. As host of the NBA All-Star weekend, the city of Los Angeles got the festivities underway yesterday by unveiling a statue of West. An All-Star cast was on hand to see the grand reveal including Commissioner David Stern, Celtic legend Bill Russell and former Lakers Shaquille O’Neal, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor and James Worthy among [...]

The All-Star break is that time of year when weary players get their last chance to rest before the NBA season kicks into high hear. Players like Matt Barnes will begin taking the final steps to recovery. He’s expected to be back on the court by early March. Players like Theo Ratliff, on the other hand, could be seeing their season cut short. So much for those 4 to 6 weeks it was supposed to take Ratliff to return to the court. The L.A. Times reports that Ratliff’s knee problems are not getting any better. The center sought a second [...]