Lakers Set to Begin Playoffs?

Depending on how they start out, the answer to that question has yet to be determined, as they get set to take on Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder.  Kobe Bryant hasn't been the same through the second half of the regular season.  The same could be said for the whole team though. 

Since the All Star break, the Purple and Gold have seemed disinterested in playing quality basketball.  Their road record hasn't been as good as last year.  They have lost to teams they should have beaten.  The players will say that they'll be ready when the time comes.  That translates to we'll turn on the switch when it matters, but I've never been a fan of that philosophy.  This could be the year where that mantra could come back to bite them in the butt.

I wouldn't be surprised if Oklahoma City doesn't give them a run for their money.  While I think Phil Jackson and company will get past the Thunder, the rest of the West will not be so easy.  Even if the Lakers do survive in the Western Conference and play in the Finals, I don't think they will be on the winning side this time around against the Magic or Cavaliers.  One thing that is for certain, we should have the answers to these concerns come Sunday.

Photo courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and Keith Allison from Baltimore, USA under CC-BY-SA 2.0 License

Tim's Two Cents-February 17

Amare Stoudemire Headed to Cleveland?  This may seem like a good move on the surface as the NBA Trade Deadline nears.  I am not a fan of this possible move.  This has all the signs of a desperation move on Cleveland's part.  It's getting to the point where I wish LeBron would leave the Cavs no matter what happens. 

It's also not a good move to make organizational decisions just to appease one player.  Last time I checked, one player doesn't make a team good.  Remember this Cavs, there's no "I" in "Team."

Meanwhile, the Lakers keep rolling without Kobe as they won their fourth straight without the Black Mamba against the Golden State Warriors 104 to 94 last night.  Keep it up Purple and Gold!

Photo courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and Keith Allison from Baltimore, USA, under CC-SA 2.0 License

Tim's Two Cents-February 10

Kobe Bryant Questionable for All Star Game.  The Laker guard said yesterday that he would play in the All Star game if he's healthy.  My advice is to skip the game, healthy or not, and rest his tender left ankle.  A few days off would do some good.  To his credit, he has sat out the last two games, both of which the Lakers won and is a game time decision for tonight's game at Utah.  Let's not forget that Andrew Bynum also missed Monday's game against the Spurs with a hip injury.  I say let them sit out at this point of the season.  As long as the Lakers are winning, I see nothing wrong with it. 

It is more important to have a healthy Kobe Bryant down the stretch for the playoffs.  For the Lakers to make a deep run in the playoffs, a healthy Kobe Bryant is essential.  Anyone who says otherwise is living in a fantasy.

Photo courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and michael248 under CC-SA 2.0 License

Tim's Two Cents-February 4

Phil Jackson Reaches Coaching Milestone.  What do you know?  Last night's Laker game played out almost according to my earlier prediction. 

I said that the Lakers would get Jackson his 534th win as a Laker coach within the next two games, passing Pat Riley with 533.  Check.  I said the Charlotte Bobcats would give the Lakers all they could handle.  The final score was 99 to 97.  Check.  The only thing I didn't see coming was Kobe Bryant scoring only 5 points and aggravating his injured ankle.  Lamar Odom deserves credit for stepping up his production last night as he led the Purple and Gold with 19 points off the bench.  Way to go L.O.! 

Next up is the Denver Nuggets on Friday.  It looks like right now, Carmelo Anthony will not play for Denver because of his ankle injury.  Let's see if the Lakers can use that to their advantage to get another win!

LaDainian Tomlinson's Future in Question.  The Chargers running back says he won't take a pay cut to play in the NFL next season.  That essentially means his days in San Diego are numbered.  It's possible his days in the NFL are numbered too. 

In his career, Tomlinson has been one of the most dynamic running backs in the league, but his production has been declining over the last few years.  Compared to his regular season production, Tomlinson has been almost nonexistent in the playoffs the last few seasons, due to various injuries and decreased playing time. 

Tomlinson needs to figure out if he's willing to accept a lesser role with another team.  If not, there just aren't very many opportunities where he can be a star running back.  I just don't see it.  He's the Vladimir Guerrero of the NFL, an aging star who is no longer the star player to build your franchise around.

Photos courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and Keith Allison from Baltimore, USA, under CC-SA 2.0 License
Wikimedia Commons and SD Dirk under CC-BY 2.0 License     

Tim's Two Cents-February 2

Kobe Bryant Reaches Peak of Laker Summit.  Thanks to a 44 point performance in a 95 to 93 loss, Kobe is now all alone as the Lakers all time leading scorer surpassing Jerry West of NBA logo fame.  If the purple and gold would have come away with the win, not only would my road trip prediction have come true, but Phil Jackson would have become the Lakers all time leader in wins as a coach, surpassing Pat Riley.

Good for Kobe on acheiving another milestone in a stellar career.  I'm not surprised he is now at the top of the Lakers franchise in scoring.  It will be a longshot for him to become the leading scorer in NBA history.  I don't think it will happen even if he stays reasonably healthy, but he will get very close. 

As for the Zen Master, he should get the all time wins mark within the next few days.  The Lakers will return to Staples Center on Wednesday to face the Charlotte Bobcats.  This has the makings of a trap game as the Bobcats have given the Lakers a run for their money over the last few years.  That is followed by Carmelo Anthony and the Denver Nuggets in Los Angeles on Friday.  Let's hope they can get a win or two in these games because the Purple and Gold will head to the house of horrors that is the Rose Garden in Portland on Saturday.   

Tim's Two Cents-February 1

Lakers Stun Celitics.  Kobe does it again.  Ray Allen played about as good on defense as you could possibly play and it still didn't phase Kobe with 7.3 seconds left as the Lakers commit grand theft with a 90 to 89 triumph against their rivals from Beantown.  They were down at one point 81 to 70 in the fourth quarter.  Ron Artest set the tone before the game even started.  It was nice to see him jawing with Paul Pierce from the get go.  That's how you show your opponent that you're not going to be pushed around.

With the win, my original prediction for the road trip is still intact.  If they beat the Memphis Grizzlies tonight, which they should, the Lakers will finish having won 6 out of 8.

Roger Federer Sparkles Down Under.  New year, familiar result.  Make it 16 and counting for the Swiss gem.  The latest victim was Andy Murray as the Australian Open came to a close yesterday.  We didn't get to see the Federer-Nadal matchup due to Nadal retiring in an earlier match with a knee injury.  That definitely increased the odds in Federer's favor. 

Federer will most likely go down in history as the greatest men's tennis player ever once his story comes to an end.  For right now, his story will continue in May on the clay of Roland Garros, where he will defend last year's title.  It was special last year because it was his first title in Paris, completing the career grand slam, having won in Melbourne, Paris, Wimbledon and New York.

Photos courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and Keith Allison from Kinston, USA under CC-SA 3.0 License
Wikimedia Commons and Steve Collis from Melbourne, Australia under CC-BY 2.0 License 

Tim's Two Cents-January 22

Cavs Sweep Season Series With Lakers.  It is just me, or do the Lakers seem to be playing like they did two seasons ago when they lost to the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals?  They just don't seem to have the same intensity and focus as last year. 

It was nice to see Kobe Bryant become the youngest player ever to reach 25,000 career points against the Cleveland Cavaliers.  If he stays reasonably healthy, he has a chance to become the league's all-time leading scorer.  The only problem was that LeBron James put up better numbers once again with 37 points compared to Bryant's 31 in a 93 to 87 loss.

I have no doubt in my mind that the Lakers will do reasonably well come playoff time, but it is becoming quite clear that they need to ramp up their intensity and focus in their overall game.  Otherwise this season will end as a failure.  Playing for home court advantage throughout the playoffs would certainly help. 

Photo courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and Keith Allison under CC-SA 2.0 License 

Lakers End Two Game Skid

Laker fans can stop panicking for the moment thanks to a 95 to 77 win over the Milwaukee Bucks last night, ending a two game losing streak after losses to the Clippers and the Trail Blazers.  So the world is not going to end.  Even though Kobe had a poor shooting effort, the Lakers found a way to win.  I will say that if you told me Kobe Bryant would go 4 for 21 in field goals and the Lakers would still win, I would say you're crazy.  Funny thing is that's exactly what happened!

For the Lakers, Andrew Bynum had himself quite a game.  Bynum had 17 points and 18 rebounds while Bryant had only 12 points and 5 rebounds.  This game was not a masterpiece on offense though.  Both teams struggled to knock down wide open shots, so I don't know how much of it was good defense or bad luck.

At least today sports radio in Los Angeles can talk about a Lakers win instead of a three game losing streak.  The Lakers will head out on the road to face the San Antonio Spurs tomorrow. 

As for the Clippers, they continue to win.  Their latest victim was the Miami Heat yesterday afternoon with a 104 to 94 victory.  They are getting more confident as the season goes on following victories against both the Lakers and the Celtics.     

Photo courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and michael248 under CC-SA 2.0 License

Kobe is Clutch Once Again

We've seen this movie many times before.  What I want to know is how many more times is it going to happen?

For the third time in the last few weeks,Kobe Bryant hit a three-pointer at the buzzer as the Lakers steal another one from the Sacramento Kings 109 to 108.  Once again, the purple and gold got off to a slow start in the first half, down by as many as 20 points in the second quarter.  They would have to come out like gang busters in the second half to get back in it and like clockwork, they did. 

Lamar Odom and the rest the team decided to join the party in the third quarter as the Lakers fought their way back and made it a very entertaining game to say the least.  It quickly became a back and forth contest as Phil Jackson's squad kept trimming the deficit and finally tied it at 93.  It was soon after that the Black Mamba started "dancing" in an effort to will his team to another victory.  Many Laker fans, including myself, probably thought the game was all but over when Ime Udoka was headed to the free throw line to attempt two shots with Sacramento ahead 108 to 106.  To the Lakers delight, Udoka missed both free throws and the Lakers had a chance with a little over four seconds remaining.  Like many other situations, the Lakers turned to their go to guy in Bryant.  Bryant looked like he got away with a little push off to create some space in front of the Kings bench and the rest was history.  In what was actually a closer buzzer beater after looking at the replay, the Lakers stunned the Kings for the second time in a week despite Spencer Hawes career high 30 points and Omri Casspi's 23 points.

It looks like 2010 will be another good year for the Lakers, but for the sake of the fans, I hope they don't have rely on Kobe to bail them out each and every time.      

Photo courtesy:
Wikimedia Commons and michael248 under CC-SA 2.0 License
 

Tim's Two Cents-December 17

In this edition of Tim's Two Cents, you will get 2 opinions for the price of 1.

1. The Black Mamba Spews His Venom.  In last night's 107 to 106 Laker win, Kobe Bryant was being Kobe Bryant.  With 5.4 seconds left in overtime against the Milwaukee Bucks, Bryant nailed a jumper as time expired to steal a win from the Bucks.  Bryant ended up with a team-high 39 points.  The bigger point is that even though the Lakers came away with the victory, this was a classic illustration of who the Lakers really are.  At times, they look unstoppable, particularly at home.  At other times like last night, they play one of those games where they seem to be going through the motions with not as much passion and intensity at the start.  In these contests, they usually don't start playing well until the second half and it usually comes down to the final minutes where they have to depend on one of their stars (Kobe Bryant) to bail them out.  If you are a Laker fan like myself, there are two things you should be used to.  1. The games will almost always be interesting, and 2. They will have those games where they are inconsistent and not playing up to the level they are capable of.  In the end though, we still love them.

On a separate Lakers note, I'm missing Stu Lantz, the Lakers color commentator for games on television.  Lantz is currently on leave to be with his wife while she has an undisclosed surgical procedure.  This is one of those instances where you don't really appreciate how good something is until it's gone for a certain period of time.  No disrespect to Lantz substitute, "Hot" Rod Hundley, but he is not as good as Lantz and the chemistry with play-by-play man Joel Meyers is understandably not the same.  I can't wait for Lantz's return after December 20.  Believe me, it can't come soon enough.

2. Dodgers Remain Relatively Quiet on Hot Stove Amid Messy Divorce.  In what has been a tumultuous two months of offseason activity to say the least, the Dodgers made only their second significant move of the offseason.  Signing journeyman infielder Jamey Carroll to a 2-year deal worth around less than $4 million.  This deal comes after GM Ned Colletti traded versatile outfielder Juan Pierre to the White Sox.  Oh yeah, and then there's the fact that owner Frank McCourt is involved in messy divorce proceedings with wife, Jamie McCourt.  This could easily explain why the Dodgers have been relatively quiet thus far.  They probably don't have the necessary financial assets needed to make big moves, since it seems to be tied up in more important issues (wink wink).

Photos courtesy:

Wikimedia Commons and Jeramy Jannene under CC-BY-SA-2.5 license
Wikimedia Commons and Googie Man under GNU Free Documentation license  

Daily Sports Report-December 13, 2009

Photo courtesy: Wikimedia Commons

Michael Sandoval under CC-BY license

Starting today, I will keep you updated on what's going on in sports like I did with my sports show at La Verne, as well as other things. So, in sports news today: The Lakers 11 game winning streak has been snapped tonight with a 102-94 loss against the Utah Jazz. It was the first game in a 5 game road trip for the... Lakers after playing 17 of their first 21 games in the friendly confines of Staples Center.  Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Ron Artest each had 16 points to lead the Lakers in scoring.  With the loss, they are now 18-4 on the young season.  Their next stop on the road will be the windy city to take on the Bulls Tuesday.

In college football, Alabama running back Mark Ingram won the 2009 Heisman Trophy.  In one of the closest votes in the award's 75 year history, Ingram received 227 first place votes, 5 more than runner up Toby Gerhart of Stanford.  With the Heisman victory, Ingram also becomes the first Alabama football player to win the award.  He will now have plenty of time to get ready for his next matchup as the Crimson Tide will be playing in the BCS National Championship game against Colt McCoy and the Texas Longhorns in Pasadena on January 7.

In the NFL today, the 12-0 New Orleans Saints face the Atlanta Falcons and the 12-0 Indianapolis Colts face the Denver Broncos. In a couple other noteworthy games San Diego faces Dallas and Philadelphia takes on the NY Giants.

Lastly in golf, Tiger Woods has taken an indefinite leave from competition to deal with his recent personal issues. That's the sports report for Sunday, December 13.  Check in tomorrow for all the latest scores and breaking news.
-Tim