New Lakers Signings Shore-up Frontline

For a while, the Los Angeles Lakers' frontline was becoming a mess. There was uncertainty in the tenure of Andrew Bynum as a Laker and the departure of Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom in a trade that left the versatile frontline into a reed-thin shadow.

But since then, only Odom was traded and Gasol and Bynum remain. The loss of Odom is mitigated by two new free agent signings: Josh McRoberts and Troy Murphy.

Josh McRoberts is a solid power forward that gets makes the hustle plays and does above average defense. He's pretty adept in deflecting passes in the paint and blocking shots. In limited minutes, he produces on a decent level. His glaring weaknesses are his limited offensive game and inability to get more offensive boards. I see him getting 15-20 minutes a game backing up Gasol.

Troy Murphy's game is more specialized than McRoberts. For a big man, he has developed a long range shooting game that you'd normally find in small forwards and he rebounds at a very good rate. If he's healthy enough to log 20 minutes a game, I'm expecting him to contribute on the three-point shooting and quality minutes backing up Bynum.

That said, both those players have very different games and skills compared to Odom. In Mike Brown's system, those two can be big contributors in the Lakers' pursuit of a championship.


Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

Lakers Are Officially In A Bind

The season hasn't begun yet but it's already looking like a disaster movie for the Los Angeles Lakers.

First, it was the unfavorable stipulations in the NBA's new CBA, then it was the vetoed trade that would have sent Chris Paul to the Lakers. Now, we learn that Chris Paul has been traded to the Los Angeles Clippers!

This is one f$#%ed-up conspiracy, if you ask me. It's one grand conspiracy to screw the NBA's best franchise. (If you think otherwise, you're a fool.)

How can the NBA (who owns the New Orleans Hornets) choose Eric Gordon, Chris Kaman, and a few draft picks over Lamar Odom, Luis Scola, Kevin Martin, and Goran Dragic? Granted that Eric Gordon is blossoming into a dependable 2-guard, but this deal just stinks.

Since the vetoed trade, here's what happened that puts the Lakers in a hole:

• The aforementioned trade of Paul
• Odom was traded to the Dallas Mavericks
• Dwight Howard was taken off the trading block

If you think those developments threw a wrench on the Lakers plans, I'm saying the whole machine is collapsing bolt by bolt. 

As the roster stands now, I'm looking at a great team, but not a championship-calibre ballclub. Great job, NBA team owners! You're conspiracy has achieved its goal of screwing the Lakers.

Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

Unhappy Odom Sent to Dallas

This sucks.

After the NBA shot down the deal that would have sent Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers, Pau Gasol to the Houston Rockets, and Lamar Odom to the New Orleans Hornets, it left a bitter taste to the players involved in it.

Nobody took it harder than Odom, who spent seven seasons with the Lakers and the reigning Sixth Man of the Year. He felt that he was unwanted by the team that he helped win two championships in the last two years.

This prompted him to request a trade out of the team and Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak obliged. Odom was sent to the Dallas Mavericks for a salary exception an draft picks.

As a fan, this is utter crap.

How do you replace a versatile big man who's always a threat to a double-double?

Some will argue that Odom will be less effective in Mike Brown's system than he was in the Triangle Offense. A double-double threat? A lot of people see an inconsistent power forward.

The way I see it, this deal is disadvantageous to the Lakers because 1) they give up a trade piece that could be packaged with other players to obtain an All-Star (like Dwight Howard), and 2) There's no immediate replacement for Odom's production. Yes the team saves salary, but the Lakers have never been about penny-pinching.

If this is the last deal the Lakers will make in the off-season, then we'll see more of Derrick Caracter off the bench. And that is NOT a good thing.


Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

Lakers Get Screwed By NBA Again on Chris Paul Trade

A couple of hours ago, I was already playing scenarios in my head with the trade of Chris Paul to the Los Angeles Lakers. With Pau Gasol going to the Houston Rockets and Lamar Odom going to the New Orleans Hornets, the team's thin frontline was a great thing to think about.

However, the Lakers got screwed by the NBA. Again.

Yahoo Sports reported that the deal was blocked by NBA commish David Stern. Why? Because the New Orleans Hornets is a team owned by the NBA (it's in the process of being handed over to a new owner) and the rest of the NBA raised hell because the Lakers supposedly got better.

Are you kidding me? The Lakers got better in this deal?

By sending two-thirds of the frontline that won the 2010 NBA championship, the Lakers lost their edge on defense and rebounding. Between Gasol and Odom, you're looking at 20 rebounds a game and 3 blocked shots. Yes, the Lakers get a top-flight point guard, who does he feed the ball into the post to? Derrick Caracter? You might as well count that as a defensive rebound by the opponent.

My point is, you can't say outright that this deal was lopsided in the Lakers favor.

If the deal does get permanently killed, then the Lakers' problems would be chemistry, since Odom and Gasol will have a cloud hovering over their heads all season.

Damn you, David Stern.


Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

Dwight Howard to LA: Will It Work?

With the NBA rumor mill churning again, fans are speculating what deals their teams will make. As a Laker fan, I have my eye on the big free agent prize: Orlando Magic center Dwight Howard.

If the Los Angeles Lakers were to get Dwight Howard, it would be through a blockbuster trade simply because the team doesn't have salary cap space. (In case you've forgotten, the Lakers have a league-high $91 million payroll).

Which trades make sense?

First, I propose this trade:

• The Los Angeles Lakers get Dwight Howard and Hedo Turkoglu
• The Orlando Magic get Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom.

It makes sense for both teams because the Lakers get the prized center and give enough talent back to the Magic. What also makes it appealing is that the Magic are rid of Turkoglu's albatross of a contract (3 years left with around $11 million per year).

I also have this trade idea:

• The Los Angeles Lakers get Dwight Howard, Hedo Turkoglu, and Trevor Ariza
• The Orlando Magic get Andrew Bynum and Chris Paul
• The New Orleans Hornets get Pau Gasol, Jameer Nelson, and Steve Blake

This is obviously harder to pull off because the Lakers lose their backup point guard and give up their frontline in one fell swoop. However, this becomes more attractive for the Magic and Hornets because they get All-Stars in this trade.

So, what do you think of these trade ideas?

Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

Mike Brown: The Lakers' New Coach

Image via Wikipedia

So much for fixing the Los Angeles Lakers.

The team announced that the new coach will be Mike Brown, the former Cleveland Cavaliers coach who (mis)handled LeBron James in five seasons.

I thought Brian Shaw would have been a better hire, to ensure continuity from the Phil Jackson era. The Lakers' management seems to like to go to a completely new direction. Jim Buss (son of team owner Dr. Jerry Buss) made the decision to hire and I think he's crafting the team the way he sees it.

The initial negative fan reaction from the Mike Brown hire and the spite sent towards Jim Buss is understandable-- Mike Brown, with all due respect, is a far cry from Phil Jackson. Jim Buss, for his part, is doing his darned best not to look like Don Sterling 2.0.

What do I think of the hiring?

It's clearly all about the immediate future for the Lakers. Brown's contract coincides with the expiration of the contracts of Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. (I think Andrew Bynum will get an extension and Lamar Odom will be dealt in the next few years.) Brown is meant to extract the best defensive effort from that bunch while the window for championships are still open.



Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

What We've Learned about the Lakers-Hornets Match-up So Far

The first round match-up between the Los Angeles Lakers and the New Orleans Hornets is knotted at 2-2 as of this writing and many people are surprised. Except for me.

I predicted that the Lakers will need six games to eliminate the pesky hornets. Why? Because the Lakers have struggled in the first round of the playoffs in the last five years. Their record of 16-11 in the first round of the NBA playoffs since 2006 says something about the team's slow start in the post-season.

Another thing we're seeing right now is the Lakers' inability to contain top flight point guards.One only needs to look at how Tony Parker, Mike Bibby, Steve Nash, and Chris Paul run around the Lakers' defense. Paul has been superb in this first round, reminding point guards everywhere that playing the Lakers will make you look Hall of Fame-worthy.

One thing I've been surprised with is the Lakers' vulnerability with injuries four games into the playoffs. Andrew Bynum had his customary injury scare, but Kobe Bryant has been bothered by a bum ankle. If the Lakers are to win it all this year, they have to overcome health issues, apart from the strong opponents.

Finally, NBA Sixth Man of the Year Lamar Odom has shone flashes, but he hasn't been as effective against the smallish Hornets frontline. The same can be said against Pau Gasol. In the last four games, the two Lakers forwards have been very disappointing across the board, considering that they are capable of doing much more damage.

Game 5 will be a couple of hours from now and we shall see if the Lakers will bounce back.


Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

Camelo Anthony to the Lakers?

Carmelo Anthony for Andrew Bynum? This is just pure baloney.

Why on earth would the Los Angeles Lakers go for a scorer when they already have the game's most lethal scorer in Kobe Bryant? If this trade were to happen, the Lakers are giving up their biggest advantage over the rest of the league: their size.

Fine, Andrew Bynum is turning out to be an injury magnet, but he has been a decent defensive anchor in the middle. His offensive game is not dominating, but he takes up space in the middle to give space to the perimeter forays of the Lakers' guards and even forwards (Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom can shoot it from beyond 15 feet).

Carmelo Anthony is a proven shot-maker and go-to-guy in the clutch, but he needs to dominate the ball almost the same way Kobe Bryant does and this type of redundancy is not the material championship teams are made of. In getting Anthony, the Lakers would become the NBA's most unstoppable offensive force, but it is not on offense the Lakers need help with-- it's their defense.

If you ask me, the players who are worth getting for Andrew Bynum would be Dwight Howard, Blake Griffin, and Kevin Love.


Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

Should the Lakers Make a Trade Now?

The situation: The Los Angeles Lakers are struggling against elite teams in the NBA. This season, they have a couple of 3-game losing streaks, and are getting beat by athletic teams. The team's defense is as inconsistent as Ron Artest's shooting.

Therefore, the Laker should make a deal.

Mitch Kupchak is open to it. Lakers legend Magic Johnson embraces the idea. But should they do it?

The way I see it, the Lakers are playing like the 2002-2003 team. This was the team that was coming off a three-peat and virtually sleepwalked though the regular season. The result? The team barely made 50 wins in the regular season and got their asses handed to them by eventual champion San Antonio Spurs. The 2010-2011 Lakers are demonstrating a similar pattern.

The Lakers did not make a trade during that awful season and logic tells us that if the Lakers are following a similar trajectory this season, then not making a trade will lead to a similar conclusion: a playoff exit.

Even if a deal is the solution to the team's ills, who is the one to go?

The most attractive assets right now are Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum. But I don't think the Lakers front office would be willing to trade key parts to the Lakers' championship machine.

If a deal is to be made, it would be one involving Shannon Brown, Steve Blake, or Luke Walton. As far as market value is concerned, Shannon Brown is the highest among the three. It also helps that Shannon Brown has his contract expiring after this season.

If the Lakers were to make a trade before the deadline, I suggest going for an athletic wing defender who can cover guards and small forwards.


Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

L.A. Lakers Second Quarter Report

It seems I'm creating the habit of making analyses of the Los Angeles Lakers 2010-2011 season a few games late, but it's better late than never, right?

Anyways, the Lakers are sporting a 32-13 winning record (.711 winning percentage), and are second at teh suddenly tough Western Conference. Since my last report, the Lakers have gotten a 15-6 record. They follow their conference nemesis San Antonio Spurs by five and a half games, but lead the Dallas Mavericks and Oklahoma City Thunder by three games.

Following my good-bad format in the first quarter season analysis, here's how the second quarter of the season looked for the team:

The Good

• Ron Artest - In the first twenty games of the season, Ron Artest looked like a slow-footed version of himself. He was able to turn around this January, with better long-range shooting and improved tough guy defense on opposing team's wing players.
• Lamar Odom - This guy should be an All-Star period.
• Andrew Bynum - The team has worked Andrew Bynum into the rotation gradually, and it has been paying dividends for the team. Bynum, while foul-prone, is able to alter opponent shots inside and get blocks himself. This month, Bynum has improved his numbers significantly across the board.
• Interior Play -  Even thoough Pau Gasol has slid a bit, the trio of Gasol, Bynum and Odom has been giving opposing team fits by sharp passing and good rebounding.

The Bad

• The Bench - What the heck happened to the Killer B's? After raving about them at the start of the season, the bench players have faded away. The trade to acquire Joe Smith has yet to bolster the bench effort, especially with Matt Barnes out with an injury.
• Lack of Quality Wins - In the acid tests in the last twenty-something games, the Lakers have failed. The team lost to the Chicago Bulls, Miami Heat, San Antonio Spurs, and Dallas Mavericks.
• Defense - The Lakers have struggled mightily with quick teams because their transition defense is spotty. This 2010-2011 still can't shake the reputation of getting abused by quick players and teams.
• Shot Selection - The team is turning it around in the last ten games, but when the Lakers were losing, they were settling for outside jump shots. This affected the Lakers' offense and disrupted the play of the bigs.

Over-all, the Los Angeles Lakers look far from winning their third straight championship in the season's second quarter. From my perspective,the team has yet to display quality play against quality teams.


Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

It's 2011 and the Lakers look like Chumps

Happy new year everyone! I took a short break during the holidays and it's good to be back to blogging again.

While the holidays was great time for touchy-feely moments, the last couple of weeks hasn't been good for the Los Angeles Lakers.

Since the week of December 20, 2010, the Lakers' record is 2-4. The defending champs are sporting a .333 winning percentage at a time when their competition (the Boston Celtics and Miami Heat in the East, plus the Dallas Mavericks and the San Antonio Spurs in the West) have compiled pretty good records. Given the high expectations for the team, the Lakers are looking more like chumps than champs.

What's ailing the team?

If you ask me it's a bit surprising that it's in the offensive end that the Lakers have shown lackluster effort. In the last six games, the Lakers have only averaged only 88.5 points. This is very far from their season average of almost 104 points per game.

The losses, the Lakers looked enamored with the outside shot-- preferring to look to shoot the three-ball than pound the ball in side. I wouldn't blame the Lakers completely for doing so because Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum have not been that dominating in the paint.

The play of Kobe Bryant has also not been up to par. Yes, he is scoring like Kobe Bryant of old, but his other numbers like rebounds, assists, and shooting percentage have been up and down. He can dominate any part of the game, but he can't seem to will the Lakers to victory in the last few games. I suggest Phil Jackson manage Kobe's minutes back into the 28-32 range and play Lamar Odom more.

Finally, (I know I'm going to make this sound a cliche), but the Lakers have not been putting the clamps on the defensive end, especially in the second half. To whit: in the last five games, the Lakers have allowed their opponents to score more in the second half than the first half.

If this trend creeps into the All-Star break, we're looking at the Lakers sporting a playoff exit ticket rather than a three-peat.


Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

L.A. Lakers First Quarter Report

After a quarter of the 2010-2011 season gone, how's the Los Angeles Lakers' chase for its historic three-peat?

If you ask me, it's not looking good.

A quarter into the season, the Lakers showed that its dream season will not go without the bumps and kinks.Yes, they are one of the top teams in the NBA in terms of offense, but over-all, their play is far from championship caliber.

But let's look at the bright spots first:

• The Killer B's - The Lakers have found a good consistent bench rotation in the Killer B's (Matt Barnes, Steve Blake, and Shannon Brown). Brown has been the offensive sparkplug off the bench, thanks to his much improved outside shooting. Barnes and Blake have done what is expected of them-- play good defense, make outside shots, and don't do too many mistakes. This group makes people forget about the Bench Mob of the past.
• Kobe's Minutes - Did you know that Kobe Bryant is playing five minutes less this season per game compared to the previous season? As of now, Kobe is playing 33.4 minutes per game, his lowest since the 1997-1998 season. Coach Phil Jackson knows that at age 32, Kobe Bryant needs close monitoring of minutes played. And it seems to have worked in the past: 32 is the age when Michael Jordan's minutes of the Chicago Bulls were reduced by Jackson.
• Lamar Odom - His tour of duty for the USA team at the World Championships may have improved Odom's offensive efficiency. Odom's scoring average is up by 50 percent and he is shooting less three balls for the season. Odom has emerged as a reliable third option for the Lakers for sure.
• Pau Gasol -  Not to take away anything from Kobe Bryant, but Pau Gasol has been the Lakers' MVP so far. In the absence of Andrew Bynum, Gasol has held the fort in the paint for the Lake Show, upping his rebounds and blocks numbers. There was a stretch at the start of the season where Gasol was a constant 20-10-5 threat. It's surprise that the Lakers went on an eight-game winning streak then.

Now for the bad:

• Big Man Woes - Outside of Gasol and Odom, the Lakers are thin in the middle. Andrew Bynum is still out, with Theo Ratliff joining him in sick bay. Derrick Caracter has been doing his best Ronny Turiaf impersonation as an undersized big, with no results.
• Team Defense - No doubt that the Lakers can out-shoot their opponents, but the team has shown little interest in the defensive end on a regular basis. The team did a pretty decent job in the first couple of weeks into the season, but struggled as of late.
• The Four Game Losing Streak- A first since the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol, the Lakers went from a unstoppable juggernaut to middle-of-the-pack contender during this swing. Yes, there were pretty bad breaks, but the team lost games it should have dominated over weaker opponents.
• Ron Artest - Can someone look for Artest's shrink? Ron-Ron has been an offensive disaster this season, with his shooting taking a huge dip. 36 percent shooting from the field and seven points for a starter are unacceptable numbers.
• Weak Schedule - Interesting thing about the Lakers's past 24 games: You will not find the San Antonio Spurs, the Dallas Mavericks, the Orlando Magic, the Boston Celtics, and the Miami Heat. If you ask me, the 17-7 record is a little inflated.

It's still early and the Lakers have shown they are capable of making a complete 180 when it matters. What I don't want to see is this becoming a trend going to the All-Star break.



Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

Is Lamar Odom All-Star Worthy?

Is Lamar Odom an All-Star this season?

It's asking whether a player that averages 15 points, 10 rebounds, and close to 4 assists deserve a slot in the team. But Lamar Odom brings more than just the tangible numbers into the table.

Odom has been model of consistency for the Los Angeles Lakers in the first dozen games of the 2010-2011 season. His effort on the offensive end has gotten people to appreciate an aspect of his game that seemed to diminish in the last three seasons. He's shooting a career best 58% from the field and he has been crashing the offensive boards more than ever in his career.

If you ask me, Odom should be in the team, provided that he continues his level of play till February. But with center Andrew Bynum slated to return towards the end of the year, Odom's place in the All-Star team is still good as vapor.


Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

Lakers Lose First Game of the Season

Los Angeles Lakers fans can now put the 82-0 dreams to rest, no thanks to the Denver Nuggets.

The Lakers faltered in the fourth quarter, scoring only 19 points and letting the Nuggets score 33. The 14-point swing is the reason the Lakers lost, 118-112. The game was well within the Lakers' grasp for three and a half quarters, until the Nuggets closed out the game on a 17-9 run.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 34 points, but took 32 shots-- a ratio that often points to an imbalanced Lakers offense. The Nuggets were led by their star Carmelo Anthony, plus great contributions from the bench.

Notably ineffective in the offense was the Lakers' Lamar Odom. He missed all but one of his shots. The Renegades of the bench played their poorest game of the season, in my opinion.

The Lakers get a break before meeting the Phoenix Suns. Let's see if they will bounce back.


Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

Pau Gasol's Triple-Double Leads Lakers Over Blazers

Well, the Los Angeles Lakers  took care for their first major test of the season.

The Lakers beat the Portland Traiblazers 121-96, with Pau Gasol netting a triple-double: 20 points, 14 rebounds, and 10 assists. The game was pretty much decided by halftime, with the Lakers leading by 22 points, event with Kobe Bryant not playing his "A" game.

Lamar Odom again had a solid outing with 21 points and 12 rebounds. This is also one of the rare games where Odom leads the team in scoring and field-goal attempts. If you ask me, I like Odom's play this start of the season: double-doubles and all-around play.

The Lakers are now 7-0 and they are leading the league in the winning column. But I see another Western Conference Player of the Week recognition for Pau Gasol.



Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

Lakers Look Good in Stomping Grizzlies

There were a lot of positives in the Los Angeles Lakers' dominating 124-105 win against the Memphis Grizzlies.

• First is another strong game from Pau Gasol. The reigning NBA Western Conference Player of the Week continued his string of 20-10-5, with 21 points, 13 boards, and 5 dimes. This performance came against his brother Marc in a tough battle in the paint.
• The next good point is Lamar Odom's all-around game. Although he missed another double-double, Odom was solid with 17 points, 8 rebounds, as well as 6 assists. For the game, Odom led the Lakers in minutes played.
• Speaking of minutes, Kobe Bryant was well-rested, needing only 25 minutes.Kobe was monster in the first half, scoring more than 20 points. If the game was a close game, we would have seen Kobe scoring at least 40 for the first time this season.
• And finally, the bench play was great. The 3-B's (Matt Barnes, Shannon Brown, and Steve Blake) combined for 39 points, and 5-8 from the three-point line. Also worth noting is that Barnes led the game in rebounds with 14.

Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

Lakers Show Toughness in the NBA Finals Game 1

The Los Angeles Lakers are making us forget that they were deemed "soft" two years ago.

From the take-down action between Ron Artest and Boston's Paul Pierce to Pau Gasol's dominance in the low blocks, the Lakers set the physical tone throughout their victory in Game 1 of the 2010 NBA Finals. The Lakers out-rebounded, out-hustled, and out-played their historic rivals in a game that showed how evolved the team has become.

Apologies to Kobe Bryant, but the MVP of Game 1 for me is Pau Gasol. Gasol scored 23 points on 57% shooting, but his game-high 14 rebounds and 3 blocks were more noteworthy. Moreover, his eight offensive rebounds matched that of the Celtics' offensive rebounds as a team. This clearly mirrors the Lakers' intensity in Game 1.

Another huge boost for the Lakers was their bench play. Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown made key plays when foul trouble plagued the starters. Sasha Vujacic was able to help the Lakers maintain the lead by not making a huge bonehead play. A huge game from Lamar Odom was not needed as Andrew Bynum was not in foul trouble the whole game (surprise!)

Game 1's are critical as the team that wins the first game of the Finals usually would go on to win the title. But for now, I'm not yet ready to proclaim the Lakers as the next champs. The Lakers have to defend their home court and beat the Celtics in their home floor for me to really feel better.


Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers' Revenge Run

The Los Angeles Lakers have completed Phase One of their 2010 "Revenge Run": They have overcome the Phoenix Suns in six games to take the NBA's Western Conference crown.

Back in 2006 and 2007, the Suns eliminated the Lakers in the NBA Playoffs, including a remarkable series win after falling behind 3-1 in 2006. When the series started a few weeks back, Kobe Bryant indicate that the losses still stung him and the Lakers were our for vengeance.

And the Lakers got it.

They were dominant for three quarters, especially during the third where they build a seemingly insurmoutable 17 point lead. The Suns made a run early in the fourth and even slicing the lead to three points with a few minutes left in the game.

But Kobe Bryant, channeling the Kill Bill movies, made dagger after dagger in the closing moments to finally put the Suns on vacation and extending two-time MVP Steve Nash's streak of falining to make the NBA Finals.

The Lakers got a great follow-up from Ron Artest in Game 6, the hero of the previous game. His 25 points helped offset the poor performance by Pau Gasol. Lamar Odom had 12 boards for the Lakers, who out-rebounded the Suns 41-31 for the game.

The Lakers' Revenge Run is still in full swing this playoffs and up next is Phase Two: The Boston Celtics at the 2010 NBA Finals.




Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

How the Lakers Lost Game 3 of the WCF

Two relevant things came to an end yesterday: LOST, one of my all-time favorite television series, and the Los Angeles Lakers' eight game playoff winning streak. In game 3 of the Western Conference Finals (WCF), the Phoenix Suns dealt the Lakers a 118-109 defeat.

While LOST is indeed finished, the Lakers' playoff run is still ongoing and I, for one, would like to see it run till June. I could point to three things that made the Lakers lose:

• Weak defense - Suns forward Amare Stoudemire virtually had a career game with 42 points. He demolished the Lakers' defense with aggressive drives to the hoop and had a double-double. This is an indication that the Lakers were not able to stop the vaunted pick-and-roll offense the Suns are known for.
• Poor play from Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum - For the Lakers to win this series, this has got to be more than a Batman & Robin act from Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. Kobe and Pau played to their strengths and got their numbers. Lamar Odom, crucial to wins in Game 1 and Game 2, was a non-factor, ditto to Andrew Bynum. Bynum is key to clogging the middle and making the Phoenix offense become a jump shooting one.
• Free throw disparity - The Suns enjoyed a twenty two free throw attempt over the Lakers in Game 3 and the Suns won by nine. 'Nuff said.

You can argue that there were several more reasons how the Lakers fell short in Game 3. For sure, I definitely don't like to see the words LAKERS and LOST in the same sentence in this 2010 playoffs.




Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers

Lakers Speed Past Suns for Game 2 Win

It's official: the Phoenix Suns left their defense in San Antonio and the Los Angeles Lakers couldn't be happier.

The Lakers scored 124 points en route to a 12-point victory over the Suns. Pau Gasol made minced meat out of Amare Stoudemire's weak defense in the interior and scored a game-high 29 points and grabbed 9 rebounds. Kobe Bryant played the role of facilitator and dished out 13 assists (even finishing with a better assist-turnover ration than Suns playmaker Steve Nash).

The cherry on top of all this?

Lamar Odom had another "lucky" game with a lesser, but significant double-double (17 points, 11 rebounds). I'm sure Amare Stoudemire must be feeling the heat after calling Odom's Western Conference Finals Game 1 brilliance "lucky," especially playing wooden defense against the Lakers' bigs and failing to grab boards himself.

We all know defense is not the Suns' forte but Games 1 and 2 were just ridiculous: The Lakers averaged 126 points and shot almost 60% from the field as a team. In both games, all but one member of the Lakers squad scored (Sasha "The Machine" Vujacic failed to score a point).

If the Suns keep the Lakers run amuck on the offensive end, we're one step closer to a Lakers-Celtics Finals again.


Technorati: Los Angeles Lakers