Los Angeles Lakers

The NBA league pass is awesome, but nothing beats a good TNT double-header.

Tonight, we get a great TNT double-header.

The night starts off with Cleveland at Miami. I’ve written this before, but LeBron vs. Wade is the best head-to-head matchup to watch in the NBA right now. These guys always bring out the best in each other.

Continue reading "Great TNT Double-Header Tonight"

Have you looked at the league leaders yet this season?

There are some familiar faces atop some of the big categories. Kobe leads the league in scoring. Nash leads the league in assists. Rondo leads the league in steals. 

Continue reading "New Era of NBA Bigs?"

Last week in “Fun With Box Scores” I took a look at about ten different things that jumped out from the previous week’s box scores. 

It was the initial plan to roll out ten more fun little facts that I discovered while rummaging through the box scores this week, but I came across one box score that was so unique that I don’t feel like any other stat line from the week is worthy of being in the same post as this one. 

Continue reading "Fun With Box Scores"

For the third straight season, the young, potential stud, center for the Los Angeles Lakers has hit the ground running and has shown flashes of being an all-star caliber center in the NBA. 

Continue reading "Andrew Bynum: The Oldest 22-Year-Old in the NBA"

he mighty T’Wolves down the stretch, but it certainly wasn’t because of Lopez. 

Los Angeles Lakers 

I know they were playing the Clippers, but the champs didn’t miss a beat. This could have been the most lopsided seven-point game I’ve ever seen. 

Continue reading "First Impressions"

Happy New Year!

With the new NBA season set to tip off with four games tonight, here are some of the things I’ll be watching for in tonight’s action.

Boston @ Cleveland, 7:30pm

I can’t wait to see LeBron again this season. Last year, coming off the Olympics, you could see that his focus was on improving defensively. Now, without a summer in the spotlight, I’m curious to see if he’s made any improvements to his already unreal game. Is this the year we finally see LeBron use his Karl Malone-like body to beast on people inside?

Continue reading "NBA Opening Night Quick Thoughts"

Disappointing news for NBA fans everywhere, courtesy of yahoo: 

"LOS ANGELES (AP)—Blake Griffin’s (notes) NBA debut has been pushed back indefinitely after the Los Angeles Clippers revealed late Monday night that their No. 1 overall draft pick has a broken left kneecap.

Continue reading "Disappointing First Impression of Blake Griffin"

Celine Dion and Ron Artest go together like cereal and mayonnaise yet somehow the self proclaimed "thug", Artest, makes it work.  The guy is known for his wild antics such as going into the crowd and beating up a fan, but it seems that Artest is beginning to display a softer side.  As a Laker fan I love that we are bringing a little crazy on our team because a team can always use a little crazy, right? Although he can't carry a tune and the video is clearly irritating you get a sense that he means what he is singing which makes is somewhat enjoyable to watch.  I am going to stop talking about it and just let you watch it:

Continue reading "It's official, Lakers' Ron Artest ..."

I understand that Shaquille O'neal is a man that transcends just the NBA, but watching him attempt to play against other athletes in their own sport is extremely difficult to swallow.  Watching Shaq attempt to swing a bat was like watching a baby giraffe trying to walk.  It was hard to watch yet I could not take my eyes off of it, like a car accident.  The 7'1" O'neill attempted to out-slug Albert Pujols, out-spike beach volleyball stars Misty May and Kerri Walsh, and out-throw Ben Roethlisberger, needless to say he could not out-do anybody at anything.  The show is a half hour too long and the hosts are extremely annoying.  The most important part of the show, the actual competition, takes place in the last fifteen minutles of the show making the first 45 minutes irrelevant.  Here are some short examples of the show from Youtube:

Continue reading "What is Shaq thinking doing this ..."

le used in the story was none other then the Zen Master himself, Phil Jackson of the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers.  The story claims that Phil is a bad winner because we wore a hat with X, the Roman numeral 10, once the Lakers beat the Orlando Magic in the finals last month. The X stands for his unprecedented tenth title as a head coach, exceeding the great Red Auerbach.  So why is the hat showing bad sportsmanship? Every time Michael Jordan won a title, he always held up the fingers of the championship, 1 through 6. Nike made a special shirt for Kobe Bryant’s fourth championship that he wore at the Lakers victory parade. Therefore by default, MJ and Kobe are bad sports too?  Why should Phil, or any athlete for that matter, have to mask what they have accomplished? It’s not like he ran around the court refusing to shake the other teams’ hands, yelling he is the best. The hat was not just a way for Phil to show off, but a gift to him. It wasn’t a gift from Nike or any other sponsor, but rather a gift from his children. He wore a gift showing off his accomplishment from the people that matter the most to him. That’s a bad sport if I’ve ever seen one! 

Continue reading "Los Angeles Lakers' Phil Jackson a Bad Winner?"

This comes a week after the Los Angeles Lakers pulled their original two offers off the table. As reported by ESPN, the free agent is seeking a $10 million a year contract with multiple years.

Continue reading "Odom and Champs pick up contract talks"

10) They were spotted in Kobe's escalade at an 'N and Out drive-through. And yes, they both got "animal style."

9) When on road trips in Denver, Kobe's got Artest covered for booty calls.

Continue reading "Top 10 Reasons Kobe and Artest will work out"

Or is it dilemmi? Either way.

As the entire NBA world eagerly awaits the potential match-up of Kobe and LeBron in this year's finals, they also can't help observe it's getting increasingly difficult for them to get there. The Magic and Nuggets are hitting their strides at the right time, with bench players stepping up at crucial moments, Van Panic and Karl making good coaching moves, and both team's point guards acting as the leaders they can be. Even if the current and future MJ's of our time average 50 a game for the rest of the playoffs, it won't matter. That's not how you reach the Golden Summit (Yes, I just used "Golden Summit" as an analogy for the Finals. Deal with it. I like it.).

Continue reading "Kobe and LeBron facing similar dilemmas"

When Mark Cuban told Lydia Moore that her son, the Nuggets' Kenyon Martin, was a "thug" after Game 3 of the Nuggets-Mavs series, he crossed a line. I thought I'd point out the Top 10 Things he MEANT TO SAY to Ms. Moore:

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Steroids has officially gone postal.

The list of all-star players who have been revealed to be using steroids: Barry Bonds, Roger Clemens, Mark McGwire, Rafael Palmeiro, Andy Pettitte, Jason Giambi, Miguel Tejada, Alex Rodriguez, now.......MANNY RAMIREZ.

Continue reading "Manny being Manny: The Latest twist ..."

If Kobe Bryant expects to win a championship this June, he needs to trust his teammates more. If he doesn't, the Lakers will not only struggle to win the Finals, they may have trouble even getting there. Last night's loss to the Houston Rockets, putting them down 1-0 in the series, is to me, enough cause for concern. Phil Jackson needs to sit down Kobe and tell him the same thing he told Jordan: trust your teammates more.

Continue reading "Memo to Kobe: Be like Mike"

Say Swine Flu keeps spreading. Say it gets worse, like "Outbreak" worse, and the majority of people in the US get it, including LeBron James. I still don't think I could beat him one-on-one. Even if it was first to score. Or if we played "PIG." Remember when Jordan had the flu in the '88 playoffs, and he dropped 47 against the Knicks, AT the Garden??? We spectators/bloggers/sports fans seriously over-estimate the flu. If LeBron had swine flu, not only would he stuff me like a Quizno's Torpedo, he would still be able to beat the following athletes/teams:

Continue reading "LeBron could beat me with Swine Flu"

I'm a Kobe fan. Huge Kobe fan. He's practically my generation's MJ. Nothing against MJ, I just never saw him play much. I went to the United Center once, when I was seven, and all I remember is Scottie Pippen's crew-cut and cotton candy. Also, I'm from D.C., so the fact that MJ ruined the entire development and chemistry of an up-and-coming Washington Wizards team, just so he could milk a little more limelight, doesn't really sit well.

Continue reading "Why Lakers fans should worry about ..."

endured.

So, now--where do the Clippers come in? Well, during all of the soap opera that was the Los Angeles Lakers from 1991 on, Sterling finally decided that having a winning team was worth spending some money on. They actually started making some decent trades and drafting some pretty good players. They won more. They beat the Lakers occasionally; sometimes often. They actually started showing LA fans that there were two NBA teams in town. Even better, they played the game without all of the mularky of the Purple & Gold. Elton Brand was the epitome of the anti-Kobe: the lunch bucket carrying power forward who didn't complain-- he just helped his team win. Guys like me could identify with that team. Even better, they dumped their long-time GM Elgin Baylor.

Continue reading "Why I am a Clippers Fan"

lphia Sixers

6) Toronto Raptors

7) Washington Wizards

8) Miami Heat

WESTERN CONFERENCE

1) Los Angeles Lakers

2) New Orleans Hornets

3) Portland Trailblazers

4) Utah Jazz

5) San Antonio Spurs

Continue reading "PREDICTIONS for the NBA 2008-2009 SEASON"

Kobe Bryant is a MAN.  Even with that torn ligament in his shooting pinky he showed he is still the best player in the National Basketball Association.  Still more important for Kobe, he it did on the night that his former teammate the self proclaimed Superman, Shaquille O’Neal who made his debut for the Phoenix Suns.  Kobe scored 41 points and he got some help from some of his friends in the newly acquired Pau Gasol with 29 and the unpredictable Lamar Odom with 22. 

Continue reading "Kobe v. Superman"

think this is his going to be his first real test this season going up against Andrew Bynum of the Los Angeles Lakers! Should be fun to watch....

Continue reading "Was the win against the Memphis Grizzlies ..."