Lakers Lose Key Game to Hawks

What a time to have a bad game!

The Los Angeles Lakers succumbed to the playoff-bound Atlanta Hawks in their second meeting of the season and the fifth road game in the Lakers' 7-game road trip. The final score read 86-76.

The game was quite important to the Lakers as the continue to chase the league-leading Cleveland Cavaliers for home court advantage throughout the playoff. The Cavs won over the Dallas Mavericks, increasing their lead over the Lakers to two games.

This could be a case of road weariness for the Lakers as only two members of the team scored in double figures: Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant. The duo logged heavy minutes (40 & 37 minutes respectively) but only Gasol had modest success in the field. Kobe again had an off shooting night with a 36% shooting clip and it didn't help that Hawks All-star Joe Johnson was draped all over him on defense.


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Pau Gasol Lifts Lakers Over Nets

Pau Gasol's 36 points, 11 rebounds, and 7 assists boosted the Los Angeles Lakers to a 103-95 road win over the New Jersey Nets.

I  think the Lakers would have lost the game if had Gasol not stepped up-- Kobe Bryant had an off-shooting night once again with a 26% shooting clip. Heck, Kobe was outscored by by Derek Fisher for the game.

The Lakers seem to be building a reputation for letting opponents close in on them after building a very big lead. The Lakers led by 22 at some point, then let the Nets catch up and trim the lead to two points in the second half.  But thanks to Gasol, the Lakers never gave up the lead.

On a side note, the Lakers are still trailing the Cleveland Cavaliers for the NBA's best record.


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Kobe Bryant Leads Lakers Win at The Palace

The Los Angeles Lakers continue their quest to secure home court advantage all throughout the playoffs with a victory over the once mighty Detroit Pistons, 92-77. The game was unusual in the sense that in the first quarter, the Lakers led by 13, then the Pistons led by 10 in the third quarter, and then finally the Lakers won by 15. But a win is as win.

Most of the Lakers did not have a good shooting night, but it didn't matter-- reigning NBA MVP Kobe Bryant scored 30 points, dished out 7 assists and grabbed 8 rebounds to offset the Lakers' shooting woes. Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom scored 12 points apiece.

While the Lakers relied on Kobe, the Pistons were without Allen Iverson, Rip Hamilton, and Rasheed Wallace. The Pistons' offense was so flat in the game that they shot below 40% in the game and failed to score more than 14 points on two quarters. How did the Pistons get this bad?

The Lakers' win also snaps their 9-game losing streak in Detroit, which stretches back to the 2004 NBA Finals.


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No Leads Lost: Lakers Strike Thunder

Finally, a game that qualifies as a walk in the park.

The Los Angeles Lakers beat the woeful Oklahoma City Thunder, 107-89, in a game that saw the Lakers not giving the Thunder any chance early on. The Lakers built a quick double digit lead in the first half and never looked back-- the Thunder never got any closer than 17 points.

This game is one of the more dominating performances of the Lakers in the last 5 games. The Lakers had habitually squandered leads and gave opponents an opening for a victory. The best example of that game is the Philadelphia game the Sixers beat the Lakers on a buzzer-beater three by Andre Iguodala.

One benefit of dominating the game early on is the rest it gives to Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. For this game, Kobe and Gasol had 29 and 34 minutes respectively, which are way below their usual PT. The game also saw seldom-used players like Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown some tick. (BTW, Adam Morrison scored 0 points).

I hope to see more games like these in the last 12 games of the season for the Lakers.


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Nike Hypermax Pau Gasol

What do you know? Pau Gasol of the Los Angeles Lakers now has a sneaker, thanks to Nike.

The shoe is part of Nike's Hypermax line, the product line positioned for power players and big men. The Pau Gasol edition of course has the Los Angeles colorway of  Forum Blue and Gold.

Thanks to O Sneaker for the pics. :)


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Lakers Win, But Kobe's Shooting Woes Continue

The Los Angeles Lakers won their opening game of a seven-game road trip, but there seems to be more warning signs rather than points of encouragement.

Yeah, the Lakers did beat the Chicago Bulls 117-109, but the Lakers had to climb out of a double-digit halftime deficit and Kobe Bryant continued his mini-shooting slump-- Kobe shot 10 for 25 in the field for the game. In the last five games, Kobe has shot 41%, well below his season average of 47%. Prior to the last five games, Kobe had averaged close to 48% of hitting his shots.

This could be symptomatic of fatigue for Kobe as the increased dependence on him since Andrew Bynum went down last January 31 could be taking its toll.

Is time to shelve Kobe for the rest of the regular season? The Lakers have a very comfortable lead over the San Antonio Spurs for the Western Conference crown, and it may be high time for Phil Jackson to give Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Derek Fisher some rest before the playoffs.


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Scary Thought: The Lakers Keep Losing Leads

Yeah, the Los Angeles Lakers won against the lottery-bound Golden State Warriors to the score of 114-106, but that game has continued a trend in the last few games: The Lakers keep losing leads in games.

In the last five games, the Lakers are 4-1, with a loss to the pesky Philadelphia 76ers, but the wins against the Houston Rockets, San Antonio Spurs, the Dallas Mavericks and the Warriors have had winning margins of an average of 7 points. Not bad, but if you look at the flow of a majority of those games, the Lakers led more than their winning margin. As a matter of fact, in a couple of those games, the Lakers lost the lead and had to overcome a deficit.

This is really not good news-- even Phil Jackson had questioned the Lakers' "killer instinct." It seems the Cleveland Cavaliers are displaying the hunger to dominate opponents on a nightly basis, regardless of their opponents' winning record. The Lakers better take note, they might face the Cavs in the playoffs.


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Damn You, Andre Iguodala!

WTF!

Andre Iguodala gets back at Kobe Bryant's seemingly customary late-game heroics by hitting a three-ball at the buzzer for the win. The Sixers squeeked past the Los Angeles Lakers for the 94-93 win.

The last 6 seconds seemed like another Laker W, but no thanks to poor perimeter defense and apparent brain lock-up (the Lakers had a foul to give), the loss was handed over to the Lakers. With the loss, the Lakers now trail the Cleveland Cavaliers for best record in the league and possible home court advantage throughout the playoffs.

Damn you, Andre Iguodala!


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Trevor Ariza: The Lakers' X-Factor

Coach Phil Jackson talked about Trevor Ariza's play in the Los Angeles Lakers 107-100 win against the Dallas Mavericks and what the forward has done since being inserted into the starting lineup. Jackson complimented Ariza's contributions and said that that it is Ariza's defense that "changes the game" for the Lakers.

With what Jackson said about Ariza, I can't help but think that Ariza is the Lakers X-Factor, similar to what Scottie Pippen was to the 1990's Chicago Bulls teams-- playing defense and providing the occasional spark on offense.


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Jordan Farmar & Pau Gasol in "NUMB3RS"

Jordan Farmar and Pau Gasol appeared in an episode of NUMB3RS a few days ago.

"Pi Triangle"? The Triangle Offense is confusing enough to learn, and then you add a constant like Pi to mess it up? Classic line by Jordan Farmar at the end of the clip. :P


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Pau Gasol Kia Western Conference Player of the Month Video

Here's another video I found: Pau Gasol's awarding of the Kia Western Conference Player of the Month for February.


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Kobe Bryant's Ankle Insurance Co. Commercial

I know this commercial for Kobe Bryant's Nike Zoom Kobe IV is a couple of month's old, but it's just hilarious. It's really blog-worthy if you ask me. :P


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Suspension for Lamar Odom

The NBA suspended Lamar Odom for leaving the bench during an intense moment in their 111-94 loss to the Portland Trailblazers.

After NBA Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations Stu Jackson evaluated the tape, he handed down the suspension to Lamar Odom for violating the league rule where players who leave the bench during fights. A player found to leave the bench is meted automatically with a one game suspension.

I think it's an over-reaction on the NBA's part to suspend Lamar Odom. Clearly, it was not a fight-- it was some posturing by Blazers All-Star Brandon Roy.

New Release: Send your relationship into overtime with engagement rings from Abazias.

UPDATE:

Lamar Odom did not play against the Houston Rockets and he played so-so against the San Antonio Spurs.

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Lakers Humiliated in Portland

I knew the Los Angeles Lakers would have a struggle in the next few games, but not THIS bad.

The Lakers were humiliated by the Portland Trailblazers to the tune of 111-94. Ugh! This loss is the Lakers' worst of the season and the seventh straight in Portland.

I have to be honest here: The Portland Trailblazers is one of my hated teams this season. Why? Because I read some bozo's blog post that lambasted the Lakers and ever since, I've derived joy whenever the Blazers encounter setbacks. (Yeah, it's schadenfreude).

The Lakers' loss was just simply vexing. The team stumbled out of the gate, shot poorly throughout the game, and in frustration, injured Rudy Fernandez in a hard play by Trevor Ariza. (Ariza has maintained that he wasn't intending anything malicious).

This game is definitely forgettable and the Lakers should look to shrug this loss in their next games against the San Antonio Spurs and Houston Rockets.


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Tough Stretch Coming Up for the Lakers

The next four games could be a biggest test for the Los Angeles Lakers for the month of March.

The Lakers will be facing teams favored to enter the Western Conference playoffs: The Portland Trailblazers, the Houston Rockets, the San Antonio Spurs, and the Dallas Mavericks. Of the four games, the first three will be on the road.

Of the four teams in that span, the Spurs and the Rockets pose the biggest post-season threat to the league leading Lakers. (As of this writing, the Lakers are the only team with 50 wins. The Boston Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers both have 49). The Spurs have shown they can hang tough and Coach Gregg Popovich is rationing the playing time of Tim Duncan and Manu Ginobili to the point that he's shelving them for games! (Are Duncan and Ginobili aging ungracefully?)

But the first team in order is the Blazers.

For the second time this season, the much-touted Andrew Bynum versus Greg Oden matchup is nowhere to be found. Bynum has been out since January and Oden has been out since last month with a knee injury. The  argument for both teams is whether they are actually better with their young big men down-- the Lakers have won 13 out of the 16 games Bynum is out, and the Blazers have won 7 out of 10 since Oden went down.


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Shaq & Suns Stomp Lakers

Shaquille O'Neal had a bit of a payback for a previous loss against his former team when he led the Phoenix Suns to a 118-111 win over the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Big Cactus scored 33 points in a game where Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire sat out because of injuries. Matt Barnes, Leandro Barbosa, and Grant Hill stepped up big time to upset the Lakers.

Speaking of the Lakers, it was a very imbalanced game for the squad-- Kobe Bryant scored 49 points, Pau Gasol scored 30, but the rest of the eight players who played only scored 32 points together! The team continued their shooting slump that started in their game in Denver, but it was their defense that did them in. The Suns shot mostly uncontested shots (as evidenced by Shaq's high FG% for the game), and only Jason Richardson was the only Sun starter that shot less than 50%.

Energy-wise, the Lakers are flat. If they meet the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs with this level of energy, we're looking at Dallas Mavericks-Golden State Warriors 2007 Part 2.

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