Final Post

So the Lakers ended up winning the Hornets series 4-2. We know that.

Then they faced Dallas in the next round. They got beat 4 games to 0, and were completely swept by a more dominating team. There was lack of hussle, and Gasol's true colors were definitely shown. Bynum was ejected after a flagrant foul, and Lamar Odom was as well. Overall it was a poor series for the two time defending champions.

It has been a blast giving updates this season on the team, and giving my input on the players and games. I want to thank everyone out there who checked the site out, as I got almost 1,000 page views. Here's to you, and here's to the Lakers chances next season.

My Prediction: Derek Fisher, (hopefully) Pau Gasol, possibly Ron Artest all get traded to other teams. Their contracts will get picked up by other teams, and the Lakers bring in some youthful, aggressive players to pick up the pace. The Lakers will finish the season 62-20, and win the NBA Championship vs. the New York Knicks.

Also, for those of you who don't know yet, Phil Jackson retired. Coach Mike Brown, who coached the Cleveland Cavaliers two seasons ago, is taking over for the legend. Not only did he do well in Cleveland with a lackluster team, but he knows all about good defense from the East. I think he'll be a positive contribution to the Los Angeles Lakers squad next season.

Lakers Handle Hornets, Take Lead in Series 3-2

April 26, 2011 - The sprained ankle, the trash talking, the shock of losing 2 games to the Hornets. These are the adversities Kobe Bryant was facing going into Game 5. He spoke with his game though, scoring 19 points and showing glimpses of vintage Kobe going to the hole with two electrifying dunks. The Lakers ended up winning 106-90 at the Staples Center.

Kobe dunking right over Okafor

 The two inside men, Bynum and Gasol actually meshed together in the game as well as they completely dominated in the paint. Bynum had 18 points and 10 rebounds as Gasol had 16 points. This is what they should be doing though, because they outsize the Hornets by a pretty big margin. Although Trevor Ariza scored an impressive 22 points, Chris Paul was held to only 20 points which is well below his average for the series. 

I've been saying he's too old, but Fisher played very well in Game 5

 At the beginning of the game, the Lakers were off to a slow start. Going into the second quarter, the team was down 32 to 23. But the reserves came in at the beginning of the second quarter and brought the game back, even taking the lead. The Killer B's (Blake, Brown, Barnes) are the key to the playoffs in my opinion. Although they are bench players, they could start anywhere else in the NBA. Add to that 6th Man Lamar Odom with either Bynum or Gasol in, and you've got a very good second squad. They are the reason the Lakers were able to get back into the game and take the lead. 

The Killer B's in the game!

 Other notables: Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom both had 13 points. 

The next game is Thursday, April 28th at 8pm back in New Orleans.

Lakers Get Stung by Hornets, Series Tied 2-2

April 24, 2011 - Chris Paul once again stole the show as he had a triple double on the night. He had 27 points, 15 assists, and 13 rebounds in a performance the Lakers just couldn't handle. The Hornets won in New Orleans 93-88 in Game 4 which ties the series at two games a piece.

These two battled it out many times throughout the night

Kobe Bryant had his first scoreless half (the 1st half) in a playoff game since 2004. He then came out in the second and scored 17 but rolled his ankle pretty bad with about 2 minutes remaining. He left the building on crutches but he is positive and assures he will be fine. But still, 5-18 in FG is not going to cut it. He took horrible shots. Pau Gasol still didn't get physical inside, still getting pushed around by much smaller players, but had 16 points. Ron Artest also added 16, hitting a few clutch shots throughout the first half, because he didn't score in the second half at all.

He can't get inside. He can't even hold on to the ball.........

It was a physical night as Kobe and Paul went at it all night. Fouls were called multiple times on the players as there were words and elbows being exchanged the entire night. Although I hate to say it because I hate when other people do, but the referees of this game were terrible. They weren't giving the Lakers any calls whatsoever.

In what may be his last season coaching, Phil Jackson needs to talk to his team, and go out on top

I didn't like Derek Fisher on Chris Paul either. Paul is a young, athletic player who is too agile for the old veteran Fisher. For Game 5, I hope Kobe's ankle is fine and they put match those two. Kobe guarded Paul very well in previous games that led to Laker wins. If not that, at least put Shannon Brown on him because he will definitely be able to keep up seeing as how he is very athletic himself. To sum it up, the Lakers need to step it up in Game 5 in Los Angeles. They need to bring the intensity. Kobe needs to take good shots, Artest has to hit buckets throughout the game, Fisher has to keep up, Bynum has to keep playing big, and Gasol needs to be more like Bynum and get big for once! The bench did a pretty good job in the game and actually did better than the starters through some stretches. 

For a win, the Lakers MUST STOP CHRIS PAUL.

Game 5 is on April 26, at 10:30 ET. It will be in LA at the Staples Center and will be on TNT.

Lakers Win on Road, Up 2-1 in Series

April 22, 2011 - After a slow start to the series, the Lakers beat the New Orleans Hornets on the road in Game 3, 100-86. This was also after the game where Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol put up horrible numbers in Game 2. But this game was different. Kobe dropped 30 points, and Gasol had 17 points with 10 boards. Bynum also added 14 points and 11 rebounds and 6th Man of the Year Lamar Odom had 13.

Kobe brought the intensity after a sluggish Game 2

Kobe Bryant turned his game completely on tonight. Not only was he extremely aggressive on offense, he was also playing hard defense. It was apparent that he took this game and put it on his shoulders. Gasol didn't bring much intensity after playing terrible the first two games. But in the second half, he really started to improve by making moves toward the basket, actually going up for offensive rebounds, and he even hit a 3 pointer. 

Gasol started bringing it in the second half, he even tried to make some blocks! Maybe Kobe had a talk with him...

The size and championship caliber of the Lakers finally started to show tonight. It was a great game to watch and I think they really worked well as a team. I hear analysts saying the Hornets shot so horribly, which they did, only going 45% while their usually reliable bench only shot 4-17. Not only was this bad shooting, but it was tough defense by the Lakers as well. I really liked the pace LA was keeping up, and it's something they've got to continue doing for the rest of the series. 

Finally getting things together

The next game is Sunday night 4/24 at 9:30 ET in New Orleans.

Lakers Edge Hornets, Series Tied 1-1

April 20, 2011 - After what was a shocking loss in the first game of the series, the Los Angeles Lakers came out and defeated the New Orleans Hornets 87-78, evening out the series 1-1. Despite the effort of the Lakers win, they still did not look like a championship caliber team. Andrew Bynum led with 17 points and 11 rebounds in a very physical performance. The 6th Man of the Year Award which went to Lamar Odom, proved to sum up exactly what he is. He played a key role in the game, adding another 16 points. Ron Artest looked to be in playoff fashion once again as he he connected on a couple three pointers and scored 15 points on the night.

Bynum played a big, dominating role in Game 2

Kobe Bryant, who had a poor night going 3-10 on FG with 11 points, still gave great efforts defensively in giving full court pressure on Chris Paul. Paul, who tore the Lakers up in game 1, only had 20 points in game 2. Trevor Ariza however, the talented player the Lakers got rid of, had 22 in the game.

Lamar Odom receiving his award for 6th Man of the Year

The big story of the night in my eyes? One that shows Pau Gasol is not physical at all, and is just too weak of a player. I have been saying it all year, I've even been saying it the past 3 years. Pau Gasol is not aggressive. After a terrible performance in the first game, Gasol did even worse in game 2, going 2-10 in FG with 8 points. Aside from being goofy, and losing the ball at many points in the game, he just couldn't get inside. He would try to post up and just couldn't get it inside the paint. He would either give up and pass the ball, or try to give some moves to get to the basket which didn't work well at all. I stick with my opinion on the matter that Gasol is highly overrated, and I wish they would get a trade for Dwight Howard.

Pau Gasol getting man-handled in the paint and losing the ball? Shocker......

In good news though, the bench players such as Odom showed up big. Matt Barnes flew under the radar a little bit in the game but he played a big role and had many key baskets. At one point, the bench was playing better than the starters were and they were the ones keeping the Lakers in the game.

Game 3 is on Friday night at 9:30 ET on ESPN. The game will be on the road in New Orleans so we'll see how the Lakers hold up, and we'll see if Gasol can do anything to be more physical and score some points to help his team.

Hornets Slip Past Lakers, Lead Series 1-0

April 17, 2011 - In what was a stunning opening series game that nobody really saw coming, Chris Paul led his New Orleans over the Lakers with 33 points, 14 assists, and 7 rebounds. The Hornets got the win with a 109-100 score. Kobe Bryant scored 34 points on 13-26 FG in the game, but it wasn't enough to stop the high energy Hornets who were balanced by the low energy Lakers.

Despite the effort of Kobe, the Lakers fell short to the Hornets

This was game was a shock, primarily because the Hornets had not beaten the Lakers in the regular season. In fact, the Lakers best shot percentages in games were against New Orleans. Add to that the fact that the Lakers have two big men in Bynum and Gasol facing off against the smaller team in the Hornets. But it was a David vs. Goliath night. The Lakers struggled in the second half, never gaining the lead. They also settled for too many bad looks outside as opposed to driving in on the smaller defense of the Hornets.

Chris Paul completely dominated, and not even Andrew Bynum could stop him inside

Artest pulled the Lakers within 4 with only 3 minutes left, but that's when Chris Paul answered with 8 consecutive points that put the lead away for good. Artest ended up finishing with 16 points, and Odom had 10. Pau Gasol had a measley 8 points and 6 rebounds on 2-9 FG from the floor. The Lakers just weren't physical. I don't think they gave it their all since they were just taking the Hornets lightly. Well, after the game Kobe Bryant was very upset with himself and his team. I expect the Black Mamba to go into full overdrive for the next game and I'm expecting a huge, dominating win by the Lakers. The next game is Wednesday night 4/20, 10:30 pm ET on TNT.

Alright I haven't updated the site in a while because I have been VERY busy with school and work. But I have been watching the Lakers still. They ended up going 57-25 on the year, clinching the number 2 seed in the playoffs in the Western Conference. There was a slight losing skid toward the end, but they pulled out with 2 big wins at the end of the season. So now it is playoff time!

What I think about the last few weeks regarding the team.... Lamar Odom will be the key in the playoffs. I am convinced of it. He comes off the bench and leads and scores, as well as fills in for Gasol and Bynum when they need him to. Kobe, aside from his $100,000 fine recently, he will still be his usual leader self in the upcoming playoffs. He has been pretty inconsistent lately though so he needs to turn the switch to ON! Fisher is too old in  my opinion and I wish Shannon Brown was starting over him. Brown is more athletic and definitely can push it up the floor like Fisher cannot. But I suppose Fisher has that veteran leadership and he is of course always clutch. Gasol is as weak as ever and I constantly see him getting pushed around in the paint and fumbling the ball. I wish the Lakers would've traded him for Dwight Howard. Bynum has really come into his own, but he did have a slight knee injury at the end of the regular season. While that scares me a little, hopefully he'll keep it together and play a big role in the playoffs. The rest of the bench players such as Barnes, Blake, and even Walton have impressed me and I hope they step it up and keep the tempo up on the floor in the playoffs when the starters are resting.

The road to the 3-peat has been a long time coming, but now we are officially taking the off ramp. The playoffs are here! Lake Show 3-Peat here we come!