Archive for March, 2011

Well, so much for Dallas putting up a fight. After I previously mentioned how I’d rather play Dallas than Oklahoma City, the Lakers romped the Mavericks in a 110-82 slugfest — literally. With 9:23 remaining in the 4th quarter, Jason Terry committed a hard foul on Steve Blake (eventually called a Flagrant 2). After bumping Blake on his path to the basket, Terry shoved Blake to the floor. Immediately, Blake rose and got in Terry’s face. The two began jawing and had to be broken apart. That wasn’t the end of the altercation, though. Matt Barnes entered the scene, pushing [...]

Warning: Mavericks in rearview mirror appear closer than theyreally are. The standings show only two and a half games separating the Lakers and Mavericks but the difference in class is further than the Earth to Pluto. Thursday night proved what the Mavs shouldn’t have to wait until the playoffs to learn. This is what champions look like. A stunning second half will be overlooked thanks to some frustrations being unleashed in Staples. The ejections of five players will no doubt be the hot topic around Stu Jackson’s office tomorrow morning. Jason Terry’s cheap shove of Steve Blake demonstrated the frail [...]

As the regular season draws to a close, one question still remains for the Lakers. Can they catch the San Antonio Spurs for the first seed in the West? Yet, I pose another question. Should the Lakers even want to catch the Spurs? If the Lakers take over the top seed out West, they’ll most likely have the top record in the league. That means they’ll have home-court regardless of who they face, an advantage they haven’t had in their previous three runs to the Finals. Yet at the same time, does this Laker team need it? Doesn’t L.A. need [...]

It was only a matter of time until Derrick Caracter did a stint in the D-League. The rookie has played well in brief spurts this season but has been unable to get into Phil’s regular rotation unless injuries have allowed for more PT. No shame there though as PJ is known for his disdain of NBA newbies. Caracter becomes the second Laker to see time with the Bakersfield Jam. Earlier this season fellow rookie Devin Ebanks was sent to Bakersfield to get a little more court time. Chances are the Lakers will not suit up either of their rookies for [...]

Uh oh! The San Antonio Spurs are crumbling. Timmy’s ankle just can bear the weight. Another Spurs’ loss, their fourth in a row, has the Lake Show within 3½ games of San Antonio. Uh Oh! After all the doom and gloom of having to go on the road in the post season the Lakers are suddenly chasing the best record in the league. Bad news for…well…everybody else in the NBA. Uh Oh! The news gets worse for the Spurs who even if they hold on to the top seed are now pitted with health concerns going into the playoffs. And [...]

Remember when the Hornets were rivaling the Lakers for supremacy in the West? Back when Byron Scott was looking more and more likely to eventually replace Phil Jackson. Chris Paul was pushing Kobe Bryant for MVP honors. Yep…that seems like it was decades ago after Sunday night. With or without David West it doesn’t really matter. The Lakers own the Hornets this season. If this is a potential playoff preview then I have only one thing to say: Bring on the Hornets. Not to overlook an opponent but it would be nice to get a first round match up more [...]

And the streak continues. Despite subpar performances from their ensemble cast, the Los Angeles Lakers rode the coattails of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol into a 102-84 victory over the New Orleans Hornets. Behind Bryant’s 30 points and Gasol’s monster stat-line of 23 points, 16 rebounds, and 4 blocks, the Lakers easily dismanteled what was left of an undermanned Hornets team. Three days ago, Hornets forward and former All-Star David West tore his ACL in a victory over the Utah Jazz. Without their leading scorer and rebounder, it seemed as if the Hornets would be hard-pressed to replace the production [...]

Game 5 of the 2010 Western Conference Finals vs. the Phoenix Suns. Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals vs. the Boston Celtics. The 139-137 triple-overtime thriller vs. the Phoenix Suns. Friday night against the Los Angeles Clippers, Ron Artest did it again. With 45 seconds left and the Clippers trailing 108-104, Blake Griffin caught an outlet pass from Eric Gordon and began to look towards the basket. To be honest, it seemed as if Griffin would get an easy bucket, or pass it to a wide-open Randy Foye for a lay-up. Enter Ron Artest. Artest swiped the ball from [...]

The final chapter in the 2010-11 Battle of Los Angeles wasn’t a thing of beauty but it will count just the same as a win for the Lakers. What had the makings of a blowout early became tense late. The price of admission for seeing the Lake Show should be half off these days as the Lakers are only playing hard on one end of the floor lately. Andrew Bynum’s return didn’t do much to get the defensive commitment reestablished. Still, there was Ron Ron when you needed him making big plays on D when it mattered most. Bynum’s improved [...]

I’m just going to admit this publicly. I am a Lamar Odom apologist. Whew…that feels much better. Like that time when Dexter admitted to that shrink that he was a serial killer.  The weight has been lifted. Hey, I don’t need to make excuses for having LO’s back. His game more than speaks for itself and those two rings scream louder than anything else he’s ever accomplished. Sure, over the years I’ve taken plenty of heat for sticking up for Odom. Until this year the dude never seemed to be able to put together three consecutive games of good hoop. [...]