Lakers Crush Suns

132-106.

Yeah, that qualifies as a crushing.

The Los Angeles Lakers crushed a Phoenix Suns team without its two top players. Suns Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire sat out the game due to various injuries and the result was not surprising.

The Lakers played a great offensive game that the team scored at least 30 points in each of the four quarters and Adam Morrison scored his first official three-ball as a Laker. Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom led the team with efficient scoring: Kobe shot 10 for 13, while Odom missed only once in his 12 shot attempts.

This game was also the first meeting between Kobe and Shaquille O'Neal, the MVP's of the 2009 NBA All-Star Game.


Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

Stephon Marbury to Boston Celtics: WTF?!?

Stephon Marbury, AKA "Starbury", is reportedly going to the Boston Celtics. Marbury was embroiled in a messy buyout situation with his former team, the New York Knicks. and was bought out a couple of days ago.

Now, let me get this clear: Marbury is an All-NBA talent who can dish, drive, shoot from deep, run an offense, and get occasional highlight slick passes.

BUT...

He's also responsible for capsizing four NBA franchises, he alienates his teammates, and he plays selfishly to the point that he makes your typical ballhog seem like Steve Nash.

The Boston Celtics are rolling the dice here.


Technorati: NBA

Lakers Swat Paul-less Hornets in OT

Kobe Bryant scored 11 big points in the OT to end the New Orleans Hornets' 13 overtime winning streak.

But before Bryant's heroics, the Los Angeles Lakers collapsed in the fourth quarter, letting the Hornets erase a 13-point lead and actually grab the lead late in the game. Thanks to Derek Fisher's three in the dying seconds of regulation, the Lakers forced overtime.

All-Star Chris Paul fouled out in early in the OT period, and the execution of the Hornets were limited to jump shots and spot up threes in the remaining time.


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Lakers' Depth Comes in Handy

I just read the NBA news today and the injury bug has hit the league, particularly the playoff contenders. Here's a list of the injured players:

• Kevin Garnett, Boston Celtics
• Tracy McGrady, Houston Rockets
• Manu Ginobili, San Antonio Spurs
• Danny Granger, Indiana Pacers
• Amare Stoudemire, Phoenix Suns
• Greg Oden, Portland Trailblazers
• Andrew Bynum, Los Angeles Lakers

This is really time the Los Angeles Lakers' team depth comes in handy-- the Lakers didn't need to make a major move to offset Bynum's absence at this point. Lamar Odom has been able to up his rebounding and scoring numbers ever since Bynum's injury. Josh Powell has played nicely off the bench as well.

As for the other teams, I'm sure they'll try to manage, but they will be hard-pressed to replace their injured players.

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Greg "Glass" Oden Out with Injury: What's New?

One of the blogs that I love to hate has a story that Portland Trailblazers center Greg Oden is out with an injured left knee.

To give you a background, the blogger from Blaze of Love practically threw a party when Andrew Bynum went down with an injury.

So to you Mr. Blaze of Love, what's new with Oden going down with an injury? I've given him a nickname: "Glass" Oden, for his penchant for rebounds and his brittleness.


Technorati: NBA

A Lakers Trade Scenario

The Los Angeles Lakers are on top of the Western Conference, sporting a 42-10 record, and...

they have a gaping hole in the middle.

The Lakers find themselves in almost the same situation last year when Andrew Bynum went down with a season ending injury. They need some help in the center position and they could use a trade to get them what they need.

I played around with ESPN's Trade Machine and tried to find a suitable trade that can help the Lakers. Here's what I tried:

Los Angeles Lakers get:

1. Eddy Curry
2. David Lee
3. Jerome James

New York Knicks get:

1. Lamar Odom
2. Chris Mihm

It's essentially a David Lee for Lamar Odom trade, with Eddy Curry thrown in to balance the salaries. Lakers get a good number of bigs, with contracts that expire 1-2 years from now.

What do you think?

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Kobe & Shaq Reunite in 2009 NBA All-Star Game Win

Five years after their rocky break-up, the tandem of Kobe-Shaq (or Shaq-Kobe) reunited at the 2009 NBA All-Star Game and steered the Western Conference All-Stars to a 146-119 win in the annual classic.

The history of Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal is a storied one-- the two won three straight championships in the early 2000's at the peak of Shaq's prime, they engaged in one of the heated teammate feuds in professional sports, and flamed out in their Finals match-up against the Detroit Pistons in 2004. Shaq was traded soon after to the Miami Heat. Wikipedia has an accurate take on what transpired :

After the Lakers' loss to the Detroit Pistons in the 2004 NBA Finals, O'Neal was angered by comments made by Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak regarding O'Neal's future with the club, as well as by the departure of Lakers coach Phil Jackson at the request of Dr. Buss. O'Neal made comments indicating that he felt the team's decisions were centered on a desire to appease Bryant to the exclusion of all other concerns, and O'Neal promptly demanded a trade. The Dallas Mavericks and their team owner Mark Cuban were extremely interested in O'Neal and were willing to make a trade with the Lakers, but Kupchak wanted Dirk Nowitzki, the Mavs' superstar, in return. Cuban refused to let go of Nowitzki and the Lakers ended trade talks with Dallas. However, Miami showed interest and gradually a trade agreement was made.

With the Batman and Robin tandem dissolved, Kobe got what he wished for. He became the focal point of the Lakers offense, where he became one of the top 3 scorers in the league. But it came at a price: the Lakers missed the playoffs in their first season without Shaq. The Lakers picked up the pieces from there and they are now one of the best teams in the NBA. (Need proof? Check out the odds in Lakers games: sports betting and sportsbook websites give the Lakers the edge most of the time). And the person leading the way for the Lakers this season? Kobe Bryant.

The Co-MVP award in the All-Star Game could be the storybook ending to the Kobe-Shaq saga. But who knows? They may still end up together for one final run after Shaq's contract with the Suns expire a couple of years from now.


Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers


In cooperation with 888sport.com

Lakers Lose to Jazz

4 seconds to go, down by three, the Los Angeles Lakers need a basket. Who takes the shot?

Kobe Bryant? No.

I was Derek Fisher.

I'm not doubting Fisher's clutch ability. Except that he took the shot from the parking lot! (And off-balanced at that.)

With the loss to the Utah Jazz 113-109, the Lakers enter the All-Star break with their 10th loss of the season and their seven-game winning streak snapped.

Argh!


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Los Angeles Lakers Website #1 in NBA

The Los Angeles Lakers are the #1 team in the NBA right now, and their website is following their footsteps.

According to SportsBusiness Journal, The Lakers.com website is the top NBA team website, generating almost 2 million page views and getting an average of 100,000 visits/day in the period of January 26-February 1, 2009. The #2 team in terms of page views is the Cleveland Cavaliers' website (1.7M total page views), and for the visits, it's the Boston Celtics website (50,000 visits/day).

From my point of view, this ranking reflects the immense popularity of the team, and its star Kobe Bryant on the Web.


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Nike Hyperdunk All Star Game 2009

Nike will be launching new pairs of Hyperdunks for the 2009 All-Star Game. The Nike Hyperdunk All Star Game 2009 combines synthetic materials on the toe box and holds the 2009 All-Star Game logo. The Western Conference Team will wear the Atom Red colorway and the Eastern Conference Team will wear the Vivid Blue version.

The Vivid Blue Colorway:

The Atom Red Colorway:

Thanks to O Sneaker for the images.


Technorati: NBA All-Star Game

Lakers Stop Cavaliers

The Los Angeles Lakers came into Cleveland facing a Cavaliers team that boasted a 23-game home winning streak. They're leaving with another opponent winning streak snapped.

Lamar Odom stepped up big time, finishing with game highs of 28 points and 17 rebounds. Odom played fantastic in the third quarter, where he he single-handedly demolished the Cavaliers front line with slashes and tremendous board work. Kobe Bryant was out of sync with the flu, but he hit a gorgeous fadeaway dagger in LeBron James' grill in the final 2 minutes of the game. Sweet!

The Lakers finished the supposedly grueling 6-game road trip with a pristine 6-0 record, and beating two of the top teams in the Eastern Conference in the process.

What's next for the Lakers? Getting PT for new acquisition Adam Morrison. :P


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Lakers Trade Vladimir Radmanovic, Get Bobcats' Adam Morrison

The Los Angeles Lakers have shipped resident shooter Vladimir Radmanovic to the the Charlotte Bobcats for forward Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown.

I think it's a lateral move for the Lakers as they swapped shooting forwards with the Bobcats. The Lakers do get a younger prospect in Morrison and an athletic guard in Brown, but lose Vlad's streaky shooting.

Is this a good move for the Lakers? For the financial books, it makes sense. On the court, I'm not so sure.


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Lakers Stop Celtics' Streak... Again

Yes!

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the Boston Celtics for the second time this season, thus accomplishing two things: sweeping the regular season series against the Celtics, and stopping the Celts' streak to 12.

The Lakers need an extra period to win, as they were considered underdogs in the Celtics' home floor. Most people have always referred to the last time the Lakers were in Boston-- the time the Lakers were beaten to pulp and lost the NBA Finals.

This game was a different story as the Lakers kept the game close and played solid defense in the stretch to get the win. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers in scoring, but it was Lamar Odom who sealed the deal with his free throws in the dying seconds of the OT period. Pau Gasol contributed 24 points and 14 rebounds.

This win gives Lakers fans some reason for hope and optimism that the Lakers can win in Boston despite not having the injured Andrew Bynum on the floor .

Go Lakers!


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The Lakers' Frontline Issues

Andrew Bynum is down, so who does the Los Angeles Lakers tab to pick up the slack?

Josh Powell.

Seriously.

In the last two games since Bynum went down, Powell has averaged roughly 13 minutes a game, almost the double his PT this season so far. Everyone was expecting Chris Mihm to take on the lion's share of Bynum's minutes.

Actually, the minutes are distributed to Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Vladimir Radmanovic, Powell and Mihm-- not exactly a front line that will scare teams out of their Nikes.

With the Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavalier Coming up, the front court better stup up. Big Time.


Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

Lakers Win, But Lose Bynum for Regular Season

Normally, whenever Kobe Bryant scores more than 60 points, it's a cause for excitement for fans of the Los Angeles Lakers.

But given the circumstances regarding the loss of Andrew Bynum due to a torn MCL for the regular season, 61 points by Kobe and a win over the New York Knicks seem far from exciting. Bynum was the Lakers' best interior defender, and perhaps, the antidote to the ills brought about by the Boston Celtics.

Another thing annoying about this development for Lakers fans is how other fans of the teams seem to have hit the lottery with Bynum's injury-- better your team than ours. (Like this one annoying post from Blaze of Love.)  I'm also annoyed by the whole "Karma is a bitch" platitudes the fans of the other teams are busting out. (Andrew Bynum caused Gerald Wallace injury last week).

You know what? The league better be scared because Kobe is now motivated to atone for being indirectly responsible for the loss of Bynum, and Kobe is now juiced to carry the team again on his back. Should the rest of the league be worried now?

So to fans like the blogger from "Blaze of Love": F*** you!


Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

Andrew Bynum: Out for the Season?

Is Andrew Bynum out for the season?

The Lakers faithful have been waiting for the MRI results from New York for the last few days now and the results have been delayed. It was originally scheduled today, but it has been moved to tomorrow.

MRI results have been pretty quick as of late and the delay can't help quell speculation that Bynum's injury could  be more than a knee sprain. That would mean that Andrew Bynum could miss the season.

I sure hope not. That would be a complete bummer of epic proportions.


Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

Andrew Bynum Injured

WTF!

Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum left the first quarter of their game against the Memphis Grizzlies because of an injury on his right knee. Kobe Bryant drove to the basket and crashed on Bynum's right knee. Drew left the court after a timeout and was carried out of the court.

This is such a bad time as Bynum has been playing very well and is a vital cog in the Lakers defense.

WTF!

Tags: Los Angeles Lakers