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Archive for October, 2010
Lakers Take Care of Business in Phoenix
10.30.10
Lamar Odom drives to basket against Suns.
The Lakers returned to Phoenix for the first time since dispatching the Suns in the Western Conference Finals last May, and took a win back to Los Angeles 114-106, behind a strong game from Lamar Odom.
Odom, starting in place of the injured Andrew Bynum, scored 18 points and dominated the glass with 17 rebounds. He also had five assists and hit 8-12 from the field. All the throughout the game, it was obvious how much the lack of size hurt the Suns on the boards, especially with the loss of Amare Stoudemire who is now playing in New York. The Lakers were able to take advantage of the size mismatches all night, and the sharp-shooting Suns managed to hit only 9-24 from the 3-point line.
Kobe Bryant had a solid game with 25 points on 9-19 from the field. He also added seven rebounds and needed to play only 34 minutes, getting more rest for his surgically-repaired knee which is still not 100% yet. Pau Gasol had 21 points, eight assists, nine rebounds, and two blocks, Ron Artest added 14 points and three steals, and Matt Barnes chipped in with 11 points off the bench, including 3-4 from behind the arc.
The Suns were led by Grant Hill’s 21 points, and Robin Lopez had a solid 18 points and 14 rebounds. Steve Nash struggled all night, hitting only 3-9 from the field, for eight points in 29 minutes. He did have nine assists. Goran Dragic had 15 points off the bench to go with four assists.
The game was tight early as the Suns gave a valiant effort to keep it close, and trailed only 57-50 at halftime. The Lakers stretched the the lead from 8-10 points several times in the second half, but never could put away the Suns, who managed to tie the game at 76 late in the third quarter. The Lakers pulled away early in the fourth quarter and the Suns never were never able to get to any closer than six points down the stretch.
The win moved the Lakers to 2-0 on the new season, the Suns fell to 1-2, losing their home opener after winning handily in Utah last night. The Lakers next game is Halloween night on Sunday against Golden St. at Staples Center. Golden St. may be without star second-year guard Stephen Curry, as he left the game on Friday against the Clippers after re-aggravating an ankle injury.
Link: Lakers @ Suns Box Score
Lakers Receive Rings, Bench Brings Home Win
10.27.10
Kobe Bryant hits jump shot against Rockets.
On a night where the Lakers of 2009-10 received their championship rings, it was a new Laker for 2010-11 who hit the biggest shot of the game, as the Lakers defeated the Houston Rockets 112-110 at Staples Center on Tuesday night to open the NBA season.
Steve Blake hit the go-ahead 3-pointer with 18.8 seconds left on a pass from Kobe Bryant, and the Lakers, who seemed sluggish all night until late in the third quarter, escaped with the win. Blake in his Laker debut finished with 10 points on 3-5 from the field and 3-4 from beyond the arc.
Shannon Brown also had an inspired game off the bench, as he poured in 16 points, including 4-5 from the 3-point line, and showed his much-improved outside shooting. He also had four steals, and was a key catalyst as the Lakers rallied from a 15-point deficit to take the lead early in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers were able to surprisingly get back in the game with Kobe Bryant resting, as the bench took over in the third and fourth quarters. Blake and Brown each hit three 3-pointers in the final two periods, part of a big run that turned the tide.
Kobe Bryant had 27 points and seven assists, as he continues to work his way back from off-season knee surgery. Pau Gasol led everybody in the game with 29 points and 11 rebounds. Lamar Odom added 14 points and 10 rebounds in a starting role for Andrew Bynum, as the center continues to rehab his knee.
Early on the Rockets seemed determined to spoil the Lakers special night, as they shot over 50% from the field in the first half and led 62-51 at the break. They held a double-digit lead until the final moments of the third quarter, when Steve Blake hit back-to-back threes to draw the Lakers to within five. The Rockets would fall behind by as much as eight in the final quarter, but managed to pull ahead 110-109 on a Luis Scola layup with just under 30 seconds left.
Bryant then drove to the rim taking defenders with him, and passed out to Blake, who hit a 3-pointer from out front that put the Lakers ahead for good. The Rockets had two chances at the end to tie or win the game, but were unable to get good looks at the basket.
The Lakers next game is Friday night in Phoenix, where they will face an Amar’e-less Suns team for the first time.
Kobe is the Most Hated Player in the NBA
10.11.10
The world is full of
Kobe haters. I acknowledge this fact. As a fan of Magic Johnson, I understand that Kobe’s personality does not endear him to the average fan, the media or those who do not follow the NBA. While I believe both Magic and Kobe are about winning, Magic always seemed to showed his happiness and enjoyment more willingly.
Kobe had some legal trouble years ago. And I think many haters justify their emotions based on the accusations that were made at the time. The fact that he was not convicted and the prosecution was forced to drop the case when his accuser decided she didn’t want to testify in court is not important to the haters. To some, being accused of something means you are guilty despite the official verdict. I refuse to accept that perception; our legal system is based on the presumption of innocence until proven guilty. Others would argue that he admitted to adultery and that makes him an evil person. Ignore the fact that 50% of married women and 60% of married men have an affair while married.
Kobe-haters say that Kobe drove Shaq out of town. I look at Shaq and Kobe as teammates who played together for awhile, and then needed to go in different directiaons because they could no longer play together. While I regret that the two of them were unable to put their egos aside and learn to co-exist, I believe it is team management that actually controls the roster. Jerry Buss has said that he made the decision not to extend Shaq’s contract based on Shaq’s age, injury history and physical condition. And Shaq has criticized every organization he has left, as well as many of his former teammates and coaches. To put all the blame on Kobe and none on Shaq is wrong.
Other haters say Kobe is a selfish ball-hog who shoots too much and doesn’t pass the ball. If you ever watch classic games when they are replayed, you will see that this is untrue. Of course, Kobe shot the ball. He is arguably the second best shooting guard to ever play the game, after Michael Jordan. When Kobe scored 81 against Toronto a few years back, the starting line-up was Kobe, Smush Parker, Lamar Odom, Kwame Brown and Chris Mihm. And with that line-up, I would have advised Kobe to shoot as often as he liked. I don’t really care about the number of shots he takes. I look at two factors. Is he making a decent percentage of them? Somewhere between 45 – 50% is my benchmark. And did the team win?
Kobe-haters say Kobe is egotistical and smug. I would argue that his domination in the new millenium is proof that he actually has been the best player in the league over the past decade. LeBron James refers to himself as the King; I guess he’s king of the regular season. Kobe is king of the post-season, which is having your priorities in the correct order. Kobe has 5 championships in 7 final appearances; Magic had 5 championships in 9 final appearances. LeBron has 0 championships in 1 final appearance. My vote for most egotistical NBA player has to go to LeBron.
Here is a past article by a self-proclaimed Kobe Hater http://www.slate.com/id/2141287/
Here is the source for the adultery stat: http://www.catalogs.com/info/relationships/percentage-of-married-couples-who-cheat-on-each-ot.html
Pau Gasol: Greatest Steal in NBA History
10.01.10
After losing in the Finals in 2004, the Lakers traded Shaq to Miami and missed the playoffs the following season. The following season, the Lakers were eliminated in the first round of the playoffs after leading the series 3-1. In the 2007 playoffs, the Lakers were again eliminated by the Phoenix Suns, this time in 5 games. A few weeks later, Kobe Bryant requested to be traded, saying he’d go play on Pluto. He then waffled on the issue, saying that he hoped the Lakers would improve the team personnel so that he could remain in Los Angeles. Rumors abounded about possible deals and trade packages over the summer. Sometimes the best trades are those that are never made. The Lakers opened the season losing at home to Houston. The starters were Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Kwame Brown, Ronny Turiaf and Luke Walton. Jordan Farmar, Andrew Bynum, Maurice Evans, Brian Cook, Chris Mihm and Coby Karl came off the bench. Also on the roster were Vladimir Radmanovic, Lamar Odom, Sasha Vujacic and Javaris Crittenton. The Lakers started the season 25-11 before Andrew Bynum dislocated his kneecap and missed the rest of the season. The Lakers then went 3-5. Then on February 1, the Lakers traded Brown, Crittenton, Aaron McKie (who was an assistant coach with Philadelphia), the draft rights to Marc Gasol, a 2008 1st round pick (Donte Green) and a 2010 1st round pick (Greivis Vasquez) for Pau Gasol and a 2010 2nd round pick (Devin Ebanks). After Gasol joined the team, the Lakers finished 22-5, ending the season with the best record in the Western Conference and 3rd best overall. Although they lost to the Celtics in the finals, the Lakers were certainly back in championship form. They have now won back-to-back titles, and should be favored to reach the finals again this season, for the fourth consecutive year. With Pau, the team received a 27 year old, 7 foot All Star who plays center and power forward. The Grizzlies received a very unpopular Laker, an unneeded guard, an unsigned player, another team’s coach, and two late round picks. Maybe San Antonio Coach Gregg Popovich is right, and there should be a committee to “scratch all trades that make no sense”. I can’t think of another NBA trade so lopsided as this one, where the impact was significant and immediate. Of course, it must have made some kind of sense to Memphis at the time. Here is an excellent article on the trade:
http://articles.latimes.com/2010/jan/31/sports/la-sp-lakers-gasol31-2010jan31
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