Archive for February, 2011

Just call them the Road Warriors. No need to call on Mad Max when you’ve got a bloody Ron Artest rampaging through Memphis. Tonight, the Lake Show overcame their Memphis blues by handing the Grizzlies a 93-84 loss. But this was anything but a thing of beauty. Truth be told, the Lakers really had no business beating Memphis on their homecourt. They played sloppy offense as those 14 turnovers – 6 by Kobe alone – will attest. Let’s not even talk about the woeful 60% they shot from the foul line. Somehow, there they were, with a 12 point lead [...]

For the Lakers, winning isn’t enough. Winning convincingly is expected. Take Saturday night’s win in the Big Easy. Without starters Trevor Ariza and Emeka Okafor the shorthanded Hornets could have been easy prey. But with these Lakers nothing comes easy. While the Lake Show was in cruise control for the most part this one nearly got away before the finishing touches were applied late in the game. The good news is that this was a total team effort with the alpha dogs leading the pack. Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol took it to the Hornets as the two All-Stars combined [...]

Coach Nick breaks down an exciting game between two of the most powerful teams in the league, the San Antonio Spurs and Los Angeles Lakers. While Kobe had success going off on his own, his teammates seemed to suffer from the lack of touches and rhythm. The Spurs, meanwhile, are like Terminators – efficiently and ruthlessly running their sets and rotating their defense with intense precision.

When your best isn’t good enough it just might be time to shake things up. Mitch Kupchak intimated as much this week and that could just be the only solution to solving the continued Purple and Gold blues in Los Angeles. In what was perhaps their most inspired effort of the season the Lakers still came up short. They fought hard, battled back time and time again yet couldn’t come up with one rebound when they needed it most. Kobe Bryant was one board short of a triple-double. In previous years we would have seen a Hollywood ending. Bryant would [...]

Marc Stein says Ron Artest wants to be traded. Ron Artest says he’s happy to stay in L.A. to pursue another title. Who do you believe? Truth is it doesn’t really matter. Ron Artest isn’t going anywhere. Even if Ron Ron wants off the Laker Ship he’s here to stay. Even if Marc Stein wants nothing more than his rumor filled report to be made right he’s just going to have to suck it up and move on. Ron Artest is going nowhere. For starters, I don’t think there is much of a market for a 31-year-old with $21-million left [...]

Despite their disinterest in the regular season and wildly inconsistent play, the Lakers are still in position to make a run at the number one spot in the Western Conference. Slowly but surely the stars are lining up. Last night the Spurs went down in Portland while the Lakers held on to defeat the Rockets. Come Thursday the Lake Show could gain another game if they’re up to the task of taking on San Antonio. The Spurs have rarely faltered this season. How a team with a championship pedigree the likes of San Antonio can have the best record in [...]

Well, a win is a win. When Kobe Bryant drops 32 and dishes out 11 dimes, Pau Gasol goes for 26 and 16 and Lamar Odom has 20-20 vision, you’d think it wouldn’t take extra time to defeat a team that is now 5 games below .500. But that’s what these Lakers are all about. Finding creative ways to lose and baffling ways to win. Credit where credit is due, every time the Lakers made a run the Rockets had an answer. Still, this one was way too close for comfort. After leading for the entire game the Lake Show [...]

Let’s be honest. The Lakers need a good slap in the face. We’re more than half way through the season and this team is playing with preseason intensity. Not one to sit and watch as his team folds, Mitch Kupchak is considering making moves. Broderick Turner of the Times quotes GM Mitch in his disappointment with the way the team has performed this year. “We have not been playing up to our level and I don’t know why. Maybe it’s complacency. I’m not sure.” So, what kind of a move is Kupchak considering? He’s not telling. “Yes . . . [...]