Archive for April, 2011

It’s still not time to panic. Just because the Lakers unflipped the switch doesn’t mean that it’s time to hit that button. Let’s not kid ourselves though. This is about the worst time of the year to have your longest losing streak in four years. There are some disturbing trends emerging. For starters the Lake Show failed to complete the season sweep of a potential playoff foe for the second straight game. Losing in Portland then taking an L against Oklahoma City tonight means two teams L.A. owned all season were given a sudden injection of confidence by getting a [...]

Winning in the Rose Garden has never been easy for the Lake Show. Winning twice in the same season seems damn near impossible. Let’s just hope that doesn’t apply should these two meet again in the playoffs. Don’t let the 93-86 final score fool you. The only time the Lakers decided to clock in tonight was near the end of every quarter. In the first half Kobe killed it by dropping 4 threes to close the second quarter. He helped get the Lakers to within six of Portland at the intermission. Then the third quarter came and again the Lakers [...]

And just like that the old Lakers are back. Gone are all the good feelings from the renewed championship focus. Gone are the chances of catching the San Antonio Spurs for the top spot in the West. Instead we saw another lackluster loss as the Lake Show allowed another sub .500 team with no playoff hopes to dominate. The Golden State Warriors, like the Jazz the night before, ended a long losing streak to the Lakers while managing to beat the Lakers at their own game winning 95-87. If size is supposed to matter then it didn’t last night. With [...]

As Laker fans, we tend to overreact to about every game. If we win, we throw a parade, proclaim how great we are, and start preparing  for the next banner. If we lose? Oh boy. Laker fans head to the ledge, waiting to jump off. “Pau’s soft.” “Fisher’s too old.” “I told you we can’t rely on Bynum!” “Kobe’s a ballhog!” “What’s Artest doing?!?!” Those are all statements you hear after a loss. And rightfully so. As Laker fans, we’re spoiled. L.A. has failed to make the playoffs only nine times, ever. The Clippers have missed the playoffs nine times [...]

So much for all that playoff momentum the Lakers had been building since the All-Star break. Two lackluster losses in a row have raised more of those old questions. While there is no shame in going down to the Nuggets, it was the way in which the Lakers stunk it up Sunday that was so concerning. Now there is much shame in losing to the Utah Jazz. And just to drive the point home the Lakers lost in the most hideous fashion possible, falling 86-85 in an absolute snooze fest. If you thought the NCAA championship game was ugly then [...]

As if losing to the Nuggets in embarrassing fashion weren’t enough Sunday, the basketball Gods seemed bent on adding injury to insult for the Lakers. In one fateful second half the hopes of a three-peat were put on temporary hiatus as both Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol went out with knee injuries. Luckily for Bynum he was sporting that bionic brace. Without it we’d be looking at our annual Andrew injury debacle which, naturally, came via friendly fire as Lamar Odom landed on Bynum’s bad knee. Pau on the other hands wasn’t sporting any protective hardware when he and Nene [...]

The Lakers just don’t seem to play well on Sundays. After today’s loss, the Lakers dropped to 4-4 on Sundays, a mediocre .500 record. But Sunday games aren’t at the top of L.A.’s list of problems. Teams like the Nuggets, on the other hand, are. Falling back on bad habits, L.A. looked like the talented yet disinterested team that underachieved before the All-Star break. Despite their inconsistent effort and apathetic attitude, L.A. still had a great chance to steal the game with a few minutes remaining. Yet down the stretch, L.A. didn’t look like the two-time defending champions we’ve grown [...]

Widely acknowledged as one of the most influential minds in the history of basketball Tex Winter is finally getting his due. The OG architect of the triangle offense has long been championed by the likes of Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant for Hall of Fame enshrinement. Long overdue, but well worth the wait, Winter is reportedly slated to enter the Naismith Smith Hall of Fame in August. While you can’t give all of the credit to Winter for Phil Jackson’s success it goes without saying that a lot of what PJ has accomplished couldn’t have been done without the teachings [...]

I don’t want to go with the clichéd “the Lakers flipped the switch” analysis but there really isn’t another way to describe what the Lake Show did in Utah last night. A game that looked like one of those pre All-Star break listless losses somehow became a blowout. From 16 down in the second to 18 up in the fourth, the Lakers turned this game on its head eventually winning a by a final score of 96-85. There is nothing more dangerous than a wounded animal and the shorthanded Utah Jazz were all kinds of deadly in the first half. [...]

Chalk it up to yet another inconsistency in the league office. Just over a week ago Andrew Bynum earned two days without pay for his cheap shot on Michael Beasley. One week later Jason Terry commits a similar act on Steve Blake and receives a reprieve from the league. In the wake of last night’s altercation, Matt Barnes is the only one of five players ejected to receive any punishment of any kind. The league opted to suspend Barnes for tonight’s tilt in Utah while downgrading Terry’s Flagrant 2 to a 1. Now I’m not going to argue that Bynum [...]