Archive for December, 2011

If the last we saw of Andrew Bynum in 2011 is a preview of what to expect for 2012 then the Dwight Howard talk could vanish from sports talk radio in Los Angeles. Bynum was an unstoppable beast in his much anticipated debut. Most important of all his presence was necessary for the Lakers to pull out their third straight win in a nail-biting 92-89 victory over Denver. This one came down to the final ticks of the clock and wouldn’t you know it, the Lake Show was actually able to drop the curtain on an opponent in the fourth. [...]

It is very early in the season but you can already get a sense for what the newest Lakers bring to the team. One of the early bright spots has been the energy and effort of Josh McRoberts. The athletic forward has played well in his brief stint as a starter. However with Andrew Bynum coming back today it will be back to the pine for McRoberts. This should be the best situation for both McRoberts and the Lakers. It is pretty evident that McRoberts will never be among the elite power forwards in the NBA. As valuable as he’s [...]

Expectations have never been higher for Andrew Bynum. All along the mantra has been patience as the young 7-footer grows into his body while adding to his game. Well, the time for hope is over. The hype is here and Bynum’s paycheck shows it. Slated to make his debut on New Year’s Eve, Bynum’s maturity is again an issue of concern in the wake of his back-to-back traffic citations on the 405. Another issue in question actually relates to the game. Drew’s conditioning will be put to the test immediately as Mike Brown has stated he plans on playing Bynum [...]

Playing for the L.A. Lakers is never easy. From the moment you put on that purple and gold greatness is expected. Making matters even worse, once you’ve shown said greatness it is expected every night. Pau Gasol has flashed plenty of brilliance during his Laker tenure. Then something happened last season. The Gasol that was being hailed as the best big in the game reverted to the soft and temperamental player that was pushed around by the C’s back in’08. Was it because of all the minutes Gasol was logging early on last season while Andrew Bynum recovered? Were those [...]

If Mike Brown’s Lakers were a publicly traded stock then their value would be trending upwards. Admittedly it is difficult to get a true beat on any team in the early stages of this shortened season. And we can’t read too much into consecutive wins over a sleepwalking Utah team or a defenseless New York squad. None the less the prospects are looking better for Coach Brown’s hoops philosophy. Tonight the Lake Show put together their best offensive outing of the Mike Brown era. They still have yet to eclipse the century mark but 99 points on 52% shooting is [...]

As a betting man I’m willing to give odds on anything thing. In the words of a good friend of mine, “I’d bet on little league.” Yeah, I’ve got issues. Hey, step one is admitting the problem. At least I’m in the know of my deficiencies. Andrew Bynum, on the other hand, not so much. Right about now I’m giving better odds on Bynum staying healthy all year than I am of him growing up anytime soon. To me he will always be Baby Bynum. The lasting image remains his shirtless exit from the playoffs and a picture of his [...]

When David Stern denied the Lakers the services of Chris Paul most could read between the lines of Dan Gilbert’s e-mail as to why that moved didn’t go down. In the end the Hornets did deal Paul and it was to a big market. While Gilbert may have said he didn’t want to see another marquee name go off to the City to play hoops, the real reason (according to Stern) for denying the deal had to deal with “basketball related reasons”. After it was all said and done the Hornets got more youth in return for CP3. The thinking [...]

First things first. Let’s clear the air on something. Since Ron Artest became Metta World Peace there has been some talk about what we’re supposed to call him. Seems most of the people who knew him as Ron still refer to him as such. That is their prerogative. For those of us that only know Ron Ron the ball player I’m thinking we should do like Eddie Murphy reminded us of Muhammad Ali. Respect the man’s wishes and call him Metta, in other words. During this crazy offseason we wondered how focused Metta was going to be what with his [...]

Melo and Co come to Staples to take on Kobe tomorrow night. For this heavyweight match up, Lake Show Life ticket partner TiqIQ has a special deal for Lakers fans, courtesy of ScoreBig.com, where fans can “make an offer” on the price they want to pay: For example, a “2 star” ticket (as described by ScoreBig.com) that would typically sell for $110 (after shipping + handling fees) can be had for an offer of $80 all-in (with no additional costs for shipping or handling). Meanwhile, a “3 star” ticket that usually retails for $250 after fees can be purchased for [...]

Ummm…weren’t the Lakers the team playing their third game in as many days to start the season? Aren’t young teams like the Utah Jazz supposed to run the old legs of the Lake Show into the ground? As they say, that’s why they play the game. All of the truths we learned of the Lakers after two games became lies in the third and final 3-pack Los Angeles will endure this season. Coming off of two listless losses, the pain button was being discussed around Lakerland. Thankfully the Jazz had no plans on accessing the codes to unlock the case [...]