Lakers vs. Thunder Showdown

February 27, 2011 - The trade deadline is over. The all-star break is over. The second half of the season is well underhand. And the Lakers, who lost their last 3 games prior to the break, have now won 4 straight games. They beat the Oklahoma City Thunder by a score of 90 to 87 Sunday afternoon. The Lakers are now 4 and a half games ahead of the Thunder in the standings in the West.

A big game for Pau Gasol, but he still isn't as physical as he should be

Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 18 points and 11 rebounds as Kobe had 17 points and Bynum had 16. Luckily, Kendrick Perkins, who was acquired in a trade from the Boston Celtics by the Thunder, did not play in the game because he will still be out for 2-3 weeks due to injury.

From my standpoint, this was a close win for the Lakers in a game where they looked pretty sloppy. Although they held the Thunder to only 39 points in the second half, I saw a lot of bad passes, terrible defense, poor shot selection, and a loss of energy. I am honestly afraid of what the Thunder have the potential to do to teams when they get Kendrick Perkins healthy. Even though Gasol had a double double, I noticed he fumbles the ball way too much. He gets out-rebounded by much smaller guys too, like he gives no effort on the inside because he is so weak and not physical at all. I really wished the Lakers would have tried to get a strong big man in a trade. I would give Gasol and a 1st round pick for Dwight Howard of the Magic!

In other news during the game, the electrifying Kobe Bryant passed Elvin Hayes to become 7th on the NBA All-Time scoring list. What a great accomplishment, and my congrats go out to him.

Either way, I'm glad the LAke Show got a crucial win over the Thunder. Every win helps in the second half of the season. I just hope the intensity gets lifted higher, as it was in the 3rd quarter of the game where they held the Thunder to 23% FG. The Lakers play the Minnesota Timberwolves on the road, Tuesday March 1st.

Showdown at Staples: Lakers vs. Clippers

February 25, 2011 - In what was the end of a road trip for the Clippers, they ended up playing their last game "on the road" at the Staples Center vs. the Lakers. Kobe Bryant completely led the team, allowing them to beat the Clippers 108-95, giving them a 3-game winning streak. 

The Lakers playing great team defense vs. the Clippers

Bryant, who was 10 of 16 in FG with 24 points, went to the locker room with 2 minutes left in the first half holding his elbow after a foul. It turned out to be okay and he came out with complete energy, scoring 18 points in the third quarter alone. Gasol added another 22 points and Bynum added 16 with 11 rebounds. 11 players on the Lakers team scored in the game, as they shot an amazing 50.6% FG from the field. 

The electrifying Blake Griffin had 22 points and 10 boards, but that wasn't enough to stop the determined Lakers. Bryant and Gasol actually sat out the 4th quarter, giving them rest for Sunday's huge game vs. the newly stocked Oklahoma City Thunder. The game will match up the two teams, who are most likely destined to face each other in the playoffs this year after the Lakers struggled with them in last year's playoffs. The game is Sunday on ABC. It is in Oklahoma City and will be on at 2:30 pm ET. The Lakers need to get this win against the Thunder, not only to prove their dominance in the West, but to keep their win-streak and confidence alive in the second half.

Kobe Leads the way vs. the Blazers

February 23, 2011 - The Black Mamba showed up at game time as usual, as he had 37 points in the overtime win against Portland. Ron Artest also had a big game with 24 points, and Gasol had 18. 


The team overcame a 10 point deficit late in the game, which helped them to rally around and get the win. This snaps the Blazers six game winning streak, the best of their season. 

Bynum, who only had 6 points, blocks a shot during the game

It's good to see that the team is getting their play back, and not looking lazy like they were at the end of their road trip last week. Even though an overtime win is not how we would ideally want it, a win is a win. That is all that  matters at this point in the season, as the Lakers have to get their record as good as they can and hope the Spurs lose!


The next game is against the Los Angeles Clippers in what looks to be a lopsided game, or so we hope. 

Good Start to the Second Half of the Season

February 22, 2011 - After losing their last 3 games, and having a break for the all-star weekend, the Lakers finally showed they were back to their old selves. It was a lopsided game, as Los Angeles beat the Atlanta Hawks 104-80.




Kobe driving to the hole vs. the Hawks

 The two time defending champions put all talks of last week to rest. The first half of the season is over, and those losses to bad teams are over. This is the new, focused Lakers team ready to dish out punishment on the way to their 3rd straight championship. Kobe Bryant led the team with 20 points, as Gasol had 14, and Shannon Brown (who I think should be the starting guard over Fisher) had 15 points. According to nba.com, Kobe had this to say about the game....

"We came out and played hard, did all the right things," Bryant said. "I just felt like our execution defensively was really sharp tonight."

This is exactly right. Not only did they play good defense, but they shot very well for high percentages. They also were in the lead for the entire game. Although the one struggle they had was turnovers. The Lakers had 18 turnovers in the game, which is something that can't be done against excellent teams such as Miami or Boston.

Fisher may be getting old, but he still has some ups.

The Lakers (39-19) will face the Portland Trailblazers (32-24) on the road February 23rd. The Lakers handled them easily in November, beating them 121 to 96.

Halfway through the season

Well, the All-Star Break is over. That means the second half of the season is underway and teams are fighting for wins in order to clinch playoff spots.

The Lakers are 38-19 so far this season. At the end of the 2010 season, they were 57-25, so the record is definitely not as great as they thought it would be. This is because they have had struggles with offseason trades and new team issues. Another reason is because they haven't faired well against strong teams such as the Celtics or Spurs. But mediocre teams have given the Lakers problems too as they lost to the Cavaliers, Bobcats, and Magic their last 3 games of the first half of the season.

They are looking to take off this second half, and really peak as far as their skills and team chemistry on the court goes.
"It's back to the drawing board," Lamar Odom said. "Defense. Cohesiveness. Our chemistry on offense. I'm not that worried. I think it's things we can fix."
"We're looking forward to it," Bryant said. "We're up for the challenge. Pau and I have been talking this whole time about looking forward to it, and getting back at it."

Starting out their second half, is a game against the Atlanta Hawks. 8 out of their next 11 games are against playoff contending teams such as Miami, Dallas, San Antonio, and Oklahoma City.

We're about to see what the Lakers are made of this second half, and if they will be able to in fact turn the season around and win the 3-peat.

Lack of Focus

February 18, 2011 -- The long road trip the Lakers just got out of showed all fans what they were really about. It started off great, but quickly diminished into pathetic performances by all members of the team. As another Lakers blog puts it,

We’re more than half way through the season and the championship focus is still severely lacking.

The truth is the team is not playing as well as years past, and the road to the 3-Peat will be hard like this. Three 3-game losing streaks already for the team, and we're only halfway through the season! Hopefully the All-Star break will rejuvinate the guys and get them motivated again.


Thanks to http://lakeshowlife.com/ -- Another Lakers blog

Is This Real Life?

February 16, 2011 - The Los Angeles Lakers have come to the low point of their season. They lost to the Cleveland Cavaliers 104-99, ending their vicious 7-game road trip in which they lost the last 3 games. The Cavs are the league's worst team, with a now record of 10-46. The Lakers are now 38-19 on the season.

Here a Cavs player drives to the basket on the Lakers who played terrible as at least Lamar Odom is giving some effort, since Bynum showed none.

In a very disappointing and embarrassing loss, the team looked very lackadaisical. Not only did they take the Cavaliers lightly, they completely gave up on the end of their road trip. Pau Gasol led the team with 30 points, and the old man Derek Fisher had a surprising 19 points while Kobe had 17.

The Lakers failed in so many ways in this game, it seems they gave no effort. They took terrible shots, shooting 42% from the field. Kobe was 8-24 shooting, Bynum did terrible going 2-12 in FG, and Artest was 0-1 shooting with only 1 point in the game. The team also had a terrible night with turnovers, giving up 19 of them. Phil Jackson was not his usual calm self, as you could clearly see him yelling at his sloppy players on the sideline.

Shannon Brown makes plays, scoring 15 on the night in a sloppy performance by the Lakers as a whole.

We all know that this has got to spark some trade rumors with the team. In my personal opinion, Bynum has got to go. He is injury prone and the team must get some value for him while they still can. Dwight Howard would be the ideal player to trade him for. I would even give Bynum and a 1st round pick for Howard, who is not only an intense and physical player, but someone who could bring a spark to this lifeless Lakers team at the moment. Forget Carmelo Anthony, the LAke Show needs some strong players inside they can count on. I believe Howard would be the best fit for that.

Either way, something has to be done with the team right now. This is the worst Lakers stretch of bad performances I think I have ever seen. Someone has to step up, be a leader, and get the team to start playing with some intensity and drive. The road to the 3-Peat will be very hard with the guys playing the way they have been.

Lakers Fall to Bobcats...

February 14, 2011 -  After losing their first game of their 7-game road trip, the Lakers have lost a second now too. They are now 4-2 on their road trip as they fall to the Bobcats 108-89 in a sloppy performance. The Lakers this season, have a winning record against every team except for two - the Celtics, and Bobcats?

Kobe Bryant led the team in points, but still had a bad FG% on the night

It was definitely an off night for the Lakers who got handled the night before by the Orlando Magic as well. Los Angeles shot 44 percent from the field and only had 3 of 19 3-pointers go in. Add to the fact they got outrebounded and didn't force turnovers, and that's a recipe for a loss.

Kobe Bryant of course led the team with 20 points, but got into some foul trouble early, and shot very poorly. Pau Gasol had 17 points with 10 rebounds after getting man-handled by Dwight Howard the night before in Orlando. Ron Artest had 10 points on the night.

Lamar Odom and Luke Walton playing defense

This is not the thing you want to see the Lakers doing at the end of a road trip. Obviously it has been a long and hard trip thus far, but we'd all like to see them stay strong with endurance and fight. The loss to the Magic clearly got the best of them, and things are snowballing at this point. I saw terrible ball movement, ugly shots (they couldn't even hit the open ones), and just a team that was completely flat. Hopefully they can end the road trip strong with a win over the absolutely horrible Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday night. This is not what a team on the road to a 3-peat does. But, they will get everything together, take better shots, and build that stamina up. Chances are that in the playoffs, they will not be at home, so the Lakers are going to have to learn to stay energetic during long stretches on the road.

Magic beat Lakers

February 13, 2011 - The Magic handled the Lakers in Orlando Sunday afternoon, putting an end to the Lakers consecutive road trip wins after winning 4 straight. The Magic won by a final score of 89 to 75.

Dwight Howard had 31 points and 13 rebounds, completely dominating inside the paint for Orlando. Bynum and Bryant both had 17 points each for Los Angeles, who was held to a team low in scoring this season with 75 points. The game was close for the first 3 quarters, but then the Magic started to run away with it in the 4th. Pau Gasol was completely man-handled by Dwight Howard. This is the key reason why I hope Bynum doesn't get traded, because Gasol just isn't physical enough in my opinion to take on big men in the league.

It was a disappointing loss, but it's hard to win so many on a long road trip. The Lakers look to start up a new win streak as they face Charlotte on the 14th, and Cleveland on the 16th, both still on the road.

Lakers Handle Knicks

February 11, 2011 -  Kobe Bryant had 33 points and 10 rebounds at Madison Square Garden vs. the Knicks tonight as the Lakers had an easy win, with a final score of 113-96. Bryant scored 19 of those points in the first quarter, and only ended up playing 29 minutes in such a lopsided game. Pau Gasol added another 20 points on the night, as Lamar Odom added 14 with Andrew Bynum tallying another 12 points. 

It was fairly lopsided the entire night, but Amare Stoudemire of the Knicks still had 24 points with 10 rebounds, whose team has lost 4 of the last 5 games. This is why I don't want Andrew Bynum/(Lamar Odom?) to be traded for Carmelo Anthony. Because if that is the case, the Lakers will have no big men inside. Let's all be serious, Pau Gasol is tall, but he is not big or physical at all. 

Jackson has said this will be his last season as a coach, but said he wasn't feeling nostalgic about this perhaps being his final game at Madison Square Garden.

"I'm not prone to that," Jackson said, adding that riding up the elevator to the fifth floor at the arena "makes you want to think about, 'You know, I don't want to do this anymore."'

The Lakers have no won their 4th straight game on the road, as they look to continue their road trip in Orlando on Sunday the 13th.

Lakers Face Knicks Tonight, Looking for 4th Straight Road Win

The Lakers are currently 3-0 on their tough 7-game road trip, which is a true test to the team's stamina.

On the other hand, the Knicks have last 3 of their last 4 games. This includes a loss to the Los Angeles Clippers 116-108.

Kobe Bryant has averaged 30.3 points a game in Madison Square Garden, the highest of any venue in his career. This is after he had a 61 point performance there in February 2009.

Lakers vs. Celtics!!!!

February 10, 2011 - In what could be the most heated rivalry in professional sports, the Lakers faced the Celtics at the TD Garden in Boston tonight. The Lakers were 36-16 and the Celtics were 38-18 going into the game. The Lakers prevailed though, by a final score of 92-86. The Lakers were down in the first half by as many as 15 points.



It may have been a historic night for Ray Allen, but he still could not handle Kobe Bryant, the Black Mamba



The big story of the night was how Ray Allen became the all time leader in 3-pointers during a career. He broke Reggie Miller's record as he shot his 2,561st 3-pointer early in the first half of the game. But that wasn't the only plot of the night. The Celtics, going into the matchup, had the 2nd best record in the NBA and were a half game ahead of the Heat in their conference. The Lakers had the 5th best record in the league and were 3rd in the West. Not to mention the Lakers have been dealing with trade rumors in regards to their teammates and Carmelo Anthony. Not to mention, that yet again, this is the most epic rivalry in the NBA by far. Not to mention these two teams have faced eachother in 2 of the last 3 NBA championships, splitting those two series for the title.

Lamar Odom was the key to the game in my eyes, adding size, speed, and shooting to the Lakers

The Lakers put it all behind them however, and finally stepped up tonight like we knew they could. They finally got their groove back into their play. Kobe Bryant led the team in points with 23. He had acrobatic and electric scores, which we've come to expect from him through the years. He was incredible with his fadeaways, and his quick drives to the basket enabling him to penetrate and score while still getting fouled. Pau Gasol stepped up his game tonight also, as he had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Bynum, despite the trade rumors, had 16 points and 9 rebounds. In my eyes, Lamar Odom was the key to the game. He added size to the team as well as bursts of speed and great shooting, as he had 10 points and 12 rebounds.

On the other side, Ray Allen led the Celtics with 20 points, where Paul Pierce had 15 points, and Kevin Garnett tallied 11 rebounds.

Hopefully this will give the Lakers some confidence as they have been struggling as of late, against teams of both high and low caliber. I did still see some problems as I watched the game. First off though, the team is finally getting some ball movement and not taking dumb shots. They are waiting for open looks, and shooting. But Derek Fisher just can't be the point guard anymore. I know he is a leader, and a veteran, but his minutes should be cut. Shannon Brown should be the heir to his throne. He is an incredible athlete who dropped 12 points in 22 minutes of play in the game. I also believe that when the bench players are in, the squad is not as powerful as they have been in years past. I prefer Jordan Farmar over Steve Blake anyday. Either way though, I'm so hype that the team got the big W over Boston, IN Boston!!! That makes it so much sweeter.

If the squad can continue to build off this win, and gain confidence, there is no doubt in my mind that they will be champions again, gaining that well-deserved 3-peat! The Lakers record on the season is now 37-16.

Lakers handle Grizzlies

February 7, 2011 - The Lakers continue their winning streak as they win their second game as a part of their 7 game road-trip. They beat the Memphis Grizzlies pretty easy 93-84. All of the starters for the Lakers scored double digit points. Memphis had beat the Lakers 2 times this season out of 3, but now it's tied up two wins for each team. Kobe Bryant led the team with 19 points.

Pau Gasol fights for a rebound with his brother, Marc Gasol of the Grizzlies

"Some of it is about coming on the road, being together, and having this type of a crowd like we had (Saturday)," coach Phil Jackson said. "It was a big crowd, enthusiastic crowd and playing to that level is expected of us as champions. That's where the guys get their biggest thrill as players."
The Lakers are on a good start to their road trip, and they can't afford to lose to teams like the Grizzlies anymore so it's great that they got a solid win. Let's hope this effort continues.

Home Court Advantage?

The Lakers' season isn't going quite as we had all hoped. This poses a problem when it comes down to home-court advantage in the playoffs. This is something they have had the past 2 seasons. Is it a coincidence that they won the championship the past 2 years as well?
Statistically, the Lakers play way above average when at home, and their records show the same. 

The team, banning some sort of miraculous win-streak, will probably finish up 2nd or 3rd in the West. The San Antonio Spurs are playing so well and strong, there is little doubt they will come in 1st place in the Western Conference. 

So, do the Lakers have the potential to win their 3-peat even if they don't have home advantage? Let's hope so. We have to remember that they are a veteran team with almost all of their players having playoff experience at both home and away. You have Kobe, Gasol, and Fisher who all have big game-time experience in the playoffs. Odom, Brown, Bynum, and even Walton have experience as well with the past two years, and are gaining even more now during the season. Matt Barnes played for the Suns and Magic in playoff games, and Steve Blake was with the Nuggets and did the same. 

So either way you look at it, the Lakers have more playoff experience than probably any other team in the West. Would it help to be at the Staples Center? Of course. But will I give up on them immediately if they don't get home court advantage? No, because it's the Los Angeles Lakers. They have experience, and passion to win. Of course the season isn't close to being over and there is no way to tell how teams will end up. But I don't think we have to worry about the Lakers whether they're home or away.   

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Lakers Sail Past Hornets

February 5, 2011 - The Lakers went to New Orleans Saturday night and won by a final score of 101-95. Gasol lead the team with 34 points and 10 rebounds. Kobe added another 32 points and 9 rebounds. The Lakers have shut out the Hornets this season, going 3 and 0 against them on the year.
  Los Angeles is on the way to their 3-peat, but they have to still play better. They were only 47% shooting from the floor, and only beat the Hornets by 6 points, a team who has many injuries right now and had 2 starters not playing.
  Bynum, who scored 12 points, was looking alright with his knee, and played about 30 minutes. He looked strong on the inside. That's something the Lakers need down the stretch of the season. Derek Fisher wasn't looking like his old self. He played 30 minutes and had only 3 points. I'd like to see the team get in those younger guys such as Steve Blake and Shannon Brown to start replacing him. He's had a great run, but those younger point guards could be a lot more beneficial to the team.

Showdown in the West! Lakers vs. Spurs

February 3, 2011 - The Spurs have to travel to the Staples Center in L.A. to face the Lakers tonight. The Spurs are coming off a loss to Portland on Tuesday, making them 40-8 on the season. The Lakers however beat out a scrappy Rockets team Tuesday, making them 34-15 thus far. 
The key issue on who will be playing the minutes at the center position for the Lakers. Andrew Bynum may miss his second consecutive game after missing the first 24 games of the season following surgery. His left knee has a bone bruise in it now, and it is unclear on whether he will be able to play, and if so, how effective can he be? Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol are ready to step up and take his place if any issues arise.

The Lakers are looking to avenge a loss handed to them by the Spurs Dec. 28 by a score of 97-82. 

UPDATE:
The Lakers have fallen to the Spurs by a final score of  89-88. Antonio McDyess  put in Tim Duncan's missed shot as time expired. This absolutely put a halt to the Lakers who couldn't pull out the second half rally. This was after the Spurs had 4 shots in the last 22 seconds because the Lakers couldn't get the defensive rebounds. Pau Gasol fumbled a rebound (what else is new?) and Ron Artest fumbled one out of bounds as well. Tony Parker had 21 points while Richard Jefferson had 18. 
Lamar Odom was a great surprise with 16 points in the game while the injury prone Andrew Bynum  played roughly 30 minutes and had 10 points and 10 rebounds while adding 6 assists.




(McDyess' tip in as time expires to win the game)



Despite the Spurs' steady success and the Lakers' recent struggles, San Antonio coach Gregg Popovich claimed before the game that Los Angeles is the best team in the West. Popovich credits the Spurs' superior record to the fewest injuries for any contending team.

The Lakers struggled, going only 2 of 14 from 3-point range. The team shot horribly overall though. Kobe Bryant shot 5-18, Derek Fisher was 1-5 in FG, Steve Blake was 2-8, and Shannon Brown was 3-10. Hopefully the team will rally behind this tough loss and start hitting their open shots. Just think that even though they shot so poorly, they still only lost by 1 point. 

Lakers Shoot Down Ron Artest Trade Talks (Thankfully)

February 2, 2011 - A source had said that Ron Artest wanted to be traded from the team this season and with the trade deadline approaching in roughly 3 weeks, it was very scary news, especially since he is my favorite player.

Fortunately, Ron Artest shot down those rumors after practice to reporters.
"I just wanted to get some breakfast and go to practice," said Artest, the last player in the gym working on his shooting. "You can't worry about it." Thankfully we won't have to worry about it now. Even other players on the team aren't worried about it. Derek Fisher says that Artest doesn't seem to show any interest in leaving. Even coach Phil Jackson stated that Artest has been a scapegoat ever since arriving, and that he has been like the new guy on the block. That is just not fair for the guy.

Sure he has been struggling this season with career lows in points (8.1) and minutes played (27.8) per game, but the rumors have been completely denied at this point. He is just trying to adjust with his team which is full of all-star players such as Bryant, Gasol, and Odom. Heck, even the bench for the Lakers would be a starting lineup for any other team in the league. One reason I love Artest is because he plays aggressive defense, something which a lot of NBA players don't strive to achieve. Rest assured, because Artest is here to stay. Remember, this is the guy who came up big in Game 7 for the championship last season in which he had 20 points and 5 rebounds in 46 minutes of play that night.  

Los Angeles Lakers v. Houston Rockets

The Lakers (33-15) face the Houston Rockets (22-27) tonight at home in the Staples Center. The Lakers are coming off a disappointing loss to the Celtics, and the Rockets are currently in last place in their division trailing well behind the Spurs and Mavericks. The Lakers lost to the Rockets on Dec. 1st, 109-99 but they beat them Oct. 26th in Houston 112-110. This match will be the last time they face this season, and the Lakers hope to win at home where they are 18-7 this year, which matches their home losses for the entire 2009-2010 season.



UPDATE

The Lakers now (34-15) beat the Houston Rockets tonight by a final score of 114-106. But that didn't come easy as it had to go into overtime to do it. The Lakers finally bounced back after losing two straight home games in the past week.

Pau Gasol getting between two defenders for the slam dunk.

 

Kobe Bryant had a team high 32 points and Pau Gasol had 26 points with 16 rebounds, resulting in an impressive double double for the night. The game was close throughout the night with the Lakers holding a small lead for most of it. The Rockets tied up the game with only seconds left and Lamar Odom (20 points) gave an ugly attempt of a shot to win it for them. He was in of course because the ever injury-prone Andrew Bynum was out with bruised knees. ( I still think the Lakers need to trade him while they can still get some good value for him because he is always injured). But the good news is that Ron Artest and Derek Fisher looked like their old selves again hitting open jumpers against the Rockets defense who was missing many players, including all-star center Yao Ming.

Lamar Odom taking it to the hole.

The Lakers have to beat these scrappy teams in order to better their record since they haven't been able to put the big teams away this year. They face a visiting San Antonio Spurs team this Thursday who has been playing very well this season to say the least.