USA Men's Basketball Reclaims Gold - Barely

Before Sunday's gold medal game between the U.S. and Spain, Dwayne Wade said that, as a fan, he wanted to see a close game, but as a player he just wanted to win. I think Wade better be more careful about what he says next time around if he represents the U.S. in 2012.

But I'll give Wade a pass this time because I doubt the American squad would have maintained its mostly single-digit lead without his opportunistic defense and timely offensive sparks.

However, I can't be so forgiving with Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba has long been my favorite player and his performance proved once again why he's possibly the most clutch player of his generation. But did you notice how close Kobe came to squandering his team's slender lead in the fourth quarter?

At the start of that fourth quarter the U.S. led by a measly nine points. And somehow Kobe felt that the best strategy to build on that lead was for him to bomb away from three-point range. Granted, ball movement was horrible at that point with LeBron in foul trouble and Spain drifting into a zone defense. But there was Kobe, taking those tough jumpers that us Lakers fans are all too familiar with.

I know, I know, there's always the argument that somebody has to take those shots and Kobe was the only player with the requisite frosty blood. I'll buy that reasoning in the regular season, but not on this squad of All-World talent.

As the minutes ticked away, Kobe made the situation worse by gambling for steals on defense and clearing his man a straight path to the rim. Doug Collins called him out on one play that resulted in a dunk over Dwight Howard but I noticed many, many instances of halfhearted D where Kobe failed to even lift his hand in a shooter's face. Where was that "lockdown defender" mentality that Kobe had promised to his U.S. teammates?

Of course, the U.S. did maintain its lead and Kobe scored or assisted on several late possessions to ensure the victory. But what if Kobe had stayed within the gameplan? If he had looked to penetrate and kick out on offense and stayed in front of his man on defense, then the U.S. might not have needed to hold its collective breath over the final few minutes.

And speaking as a fan, I would have been perfectly happy with that outcome.

Men's USA Basketball Reclaims Gold - Barely

Before Sunday's gold medal game between the U.S. and Spain, Dwayne Wade said that, as a fan, he wanted to see a close game, but as a player he just wanted to win. I think Wade better be more careful about what he says next time around if he represents the U.S. in 2012.

But I'll give Wade a pass this time because I doubt the American squad would have maintained its mostly single-digit lead without Wade's opportunistic defense and timely offensive sparks.

However, I can't be so forgiving with Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba has long been my favorite player and he proved once again why he's possibly the most clutch player of his generation. But did you notice how close Kobe came to squandering his team's slender lead in the fourth quarter?

At the start of that fourth quarter the U.S. led by a measly nine points. And somehow Kobe felt that the best strategy to build on that lead was for him to bomb away from three-point range. Granted, ball movement was horrible at that point with LeBron in foul trouble and Spain drifting into a zone defense. But there was Kobe, taking those tough jumpers that us Lakers fans are all too familiar with.

I know, I know, there's always the argument that somebody has to take
those shots and Kobe was the only player with the requisite frosty
blood. I'll buy that argument in the regular season, but not on this
squad of All-World talent.

As the minutes ticked away, Kobe made the situation even worse by gambling for steals on defense and clearing his man a straight path to the rim. Doug Collins called him out on one play that resulted in a dunk over Dwight Howard but I noticed many, many instances of halfhearted D where Kobe failed to even lift his hand in a shooter's face. Where was that "lockdown defender" mentality that Kobe had promised to his U.S. teammates?

Of course, the U.S. did maintain its lead and Kobe scored or assisted on several late possessions to ensure the victory. But what if Kobe had stayed within the gameplan. If he had looked to penetrate and kick out on offense and kept stayed on his man on defense, then the final few minutes might have allowed the U.S. to appreciate the victory without holding our breath.

As a fan, I would have been perfectly happy with that outcome.

Men's USA Basketball Reclaims Gold - Barely

Before Sunday's gold medal game between the U.S. and Spain, Dwayne Wade said that, as a fan, he wanted a close game, but as a player he just wanted to win. I think Wade better be more careful about what he says next time around if he represents the U.S. in 2012.

But I'll give Wade a pass this time because I doubt the American squad would have maintained its mostly single-digit lead without Wade's opportunistic defense and timely offensive sparks.

However, I can't be so forgiving with Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba has long been my favorite player and he proved once again why he's possibly the most clutch player of his generation. But did you notice how close Kobe came to squandering his team's slender lead in the fourth quarter?

At the start of that fourth quarter the U.S. led by a measly nine points. And somehow Kobe felt that the best strategy to build on that lead was for him to bomb away from three-point range. Granted, ball movement was horrible at that point with LeBron in foul trouble and Spain drifting into a zone defense. But there was Kobe, taking those tough jumpers that us Lakers fans are all too familiar with.

I know, I know, there's always the argument that somebody has to take
those shots and Kobe was the only player with the requisite frosty
blood. I'll buy that argument in the regular season, but not on this
squad of All-World talent.

As the minutes ticked away, Kobe made the situation even worse by gambling for steals on defense and clearing his man a straight path to the rim. Doug Collins called him out on one play that resulted in a dunk over Dwight Howard but I noticed many, many instances of halfhearted D where Kobe failed to even lift his hand in a shooter's face. Where was that "lockdown defender" mentality that Kobe had promised to his U.S. teammates?

Of course, the U.S. did maintain its lead and Kobe scored or assisted on several late possessions to ensure the victory. But what if Kobe had stayed within the gameplan. If he had looked to penetrate and kick out on offense and kept stayed on his man on defense, then the final few minutes might have allowed the U.S. to appreciate the victory without holding our breath.

As a fan, I would have been perfectly happy with that outcome.

My Indecent Proposal for Kerri Walsh

The Beijing Olympics have been overflowing with great story lines, from Michael Phelps' gold medal fetish to Team USA's full-court spankings, but my interest for the Games wasn't truly aroused until I heard beach volleyball champion Kerri Walsh's interest in motherhood.

So if you're reading this Kerri, you can spike me anytime.

I'll need you to get back to me on this one quickly since I have a busy schedule of stalking Nastia Luikin and Shawn Johnson.

Celtics will be hard to beat

The Celtics took the hard route to the NBA Finals, needing twenty out of a possible twenty-one games to square off against the Lakers. With Boston now up 3-2 and heading back to Beantown, it's suddenly very hard to foresee anything but the Celtics hoisting the Larry O'Brien Championship Trophy later this week.

Through the first three playoff rounds the C's struggled on the road and their celebrated defense, headed by Defensive Player of the Year Kevin Garnett, wore down under the physical play of big men like the Hawks' Al Horford and the Pistons' Antonio McDyess. But now the Celtics are the bigger and badder team and they've dominated the Lakers front court of Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol, players who are more finesse than physical. Even the expected loss of center Kendric Perkins shouldn't slow down the Celtics too much when the rest of the squad is playing exemplary team defense.

Anybody in doubt of Boston's defensive prowess need only look at Lakers guard and league MVP Kobe Bryant's numbers, which are down across the board. Bryant shot 51% from the field during the first three rounds of the playoffs. But against KG and Co.? A dismal 42% thanks to stifling individual D from Ray Allen and Paul Pierce and timely help defense. The Lakers offense is a finely tuned machine and the Celtics managed to rip out the ignition when they shut down KB24.

The Lakers did gut out two close victories and almost squeaked by with a third win on their own home court, but they'll find their work cut out for them when they head back to the TD Banknorth Garden for Game 6 and, if they're very lucky, Game 7. The Boston crowd will be loud and obnoxious and young teams like the Lakers are notoriously inconsistent on the road. The Lakers' bench has provided stellar play at times, most notably Sasha Vujacic's twenty-point outburst in Game 3, but they struggled in Games 1 and 2 -- both played in Boston -- and that was before the Lakers faced elimination.

This series will only go to a Game 7 if the Lakers can disrupt Ray Allen's newly-rediscovered shooting touch and plant themselves in front of Paul Pierce's newly-healed body. If Kobe and friends can get some stops on the defensive end then they'll have chances to run, which is the true strength of the Lakers offense. Shutting down L.A. will be hard work, but the Celtics have had plenty of practice this post-season and they know exactly what to do.

Lakers down 3-1 in NBA Finals

Sweet, sweet heartache. Game 4 of the NBA Finals was a game of bests and worsts. The first quarter saw the Lakers commit to their defensive schemes on every possession and run the floor with ease for an NBA Finals record first quarter onslaught of points. During the remaining three quarters, however, the Lakers set a different type of record as they allowed the Celtics to overcome the largest deficit in Finals history -- 24 points -- to steal a win in L.A.

The easy criticism is to say that the Lakers failed to play defense in the second half. Without the stops on one end, they were unable to push the ball as they did in the first twenty-four minutes and attack before the Celts could set up their defense, often freeing up open drives to the basket or uncontested three-pointers.

The Lakers revealed their youth and inexperience in losing Game 4 after they found themselves in a blowout situation within minutes of the opening tip-off and, most importantly, with most of the game yet to be played. The Lakers did have wide margins of victories in previous playoff games, including a thrashing of the Spurs in the Western Conference Finals. But in none of those contests did the Lakers reach a twenty-four point lead during the first quarter. It was an outstanding display of ball movement and unselfishness and it completely threw the Celtics off their game plan. Unfortunately, it also threw the Lakers off theirs.

It's unlikely the Lakers will find themselves with such a generous lead in the remaining game(s) of this year's Finals. Chances are they'll trudge through the grind-it-out style seen in earlier games and we'll see how quickly these young Lakers learn their lessons. They'd better learn fast if they don't want to suffer more heartache.

What to Look for in Game 3

Before Game 2, I laid out four things the Lakers needed to fall their way for them to win. They lost and, surprise, surprise, they failed to make headway on my key points. I'll briefly recap.

1) Paul Pierce's Health - Pierce was hitting his jumpers and rarely needed to beat his man off the dribble. If he's not 100% then he's close to it.

2) Celtics' Defense - The boys in green shut down the lane for Kobe and relegated him to tough jumpers all night - and they didn't fall for him.

3) Lakers' Shooters - Game 2 was a strong shooting night for the Lakers, but they didn't start hitting until the contest was too far out of reach.

4) Keeping the Score Close - The Lakers trailed by halftime and let the game slip further and further away until the final minutes of the game. Nobody is good enough to rely on that kind of comeback.

All four points must fall the Lakers' way for them to pull out a win in Game 3 and begin climbing out of their ever-deepening hole. And I add one more requirement.

5) Lakers Must Run - It's easy to say, but the Lakers must get more points in transition. They'll only manage this if they can get some stops on the defense end and limit the "C"s offensive rebounds.

Good luck Lakers.

What to Look for In Game 2

I still have the bloody fingernail stubs to show how much I enjoyed Game 1 of the NBA Finals. Fortunately, Game 2 offers the Lakers an opportunity for redemption after letting the last game slip through their fingers. Here are a few things I'll be looking at.

1) Paul Pierce's Health - I don't believe Pierce faked his injury, but I do believe he and the Celtics' trainers overreacted in the extreme. His return didn't inspire the Celtics so much as throw the Lakers off balance. How are you supposed to guard an injured player who doesn't play as if he's injured? Assuming The Truth is not at 100%, the Lakers should challenge him to put the ball on the floor instead of giving him open looks that led to back to back three pointers in Game 1.

2) Celtics Defense - Kobe and Paul Gasol have run the pick and roll to near perfection throughout the series. The Spurs were the only team to adjust and begin guarding against it, but that didn't happen until late in their series when it was too little too late. But KG and Co. made adjustments after the first half of Game 1 and anticipated several of Kobe's passes, which led to repeated turnovers in the final minutes of the game and stalled any comeback attempt. I'll be checking to see if the Celtics continue to defend the pick and roll and whether Kobe and the Lakers can make the adjustments.

3) Lakers Shooters - What killed me in that first game was how many open shots the Lakers missed. Kobe, Sasha, Walton, and Fisher all repeatedly rimmed out their shots. If the Lakers can drill their unguarded looks then I expect them to come out on top.

4) Keeping the Score Close - The early Lakers deficit in Game 1 forced Phil Jackson to shuffle his normal bench rotation. Kobe stayed on the court longer than usual and the lack of rest limited his and the Lakers ability to make a run in the second half. Look for the Lakers to come out with energy and keep the score close so they can rest their starters and finish Game 2 with a flourish.

Lakers-Jazz Game 5: Quarter 4

The Lakers open the final quarter with Kobe on the bench and Radmanovic helps his team's cause by hitting a three with no time left on the shot clock. His scoring has been sporadic but huge in this game.

Kyle Korver hits a long jumper and Utah continues to hits their open looks. Radmanovic mises a layup on the other end and the Lakers again struggle to break away.

Matt Harpring bails out Luke Walton on a tough fadeaway from the left baseline, but he struggles in hitting one of two from the line.

The Lakers lead stands at 85-84 now.

Okur pushes Gasol in the back to stop the clock on a Lakers possession that has been extremely sloppy. Gasol manages to drop in a layup on a no-call blocking foul, but Williams comes right back on a layup.

Farmar comes up huge with a driving layup and gets the Staples Center crowd to its feet. His free throw attempt comes up after the commercial break as 8 and a half minutes remain for the Lakers, as they lead 89-86.

Commercial critique: The Edge shaving cream commercial features scantily clad women and disco dancing. What's not to love? The disco dancing.

Farmar hits his free throw and Kobe returns to the game. Unfortunatley, Kierelenko greets his return with a cutting layup, trimming the Jazz deficit to 90-88.

Odom takes a one handed jam off a pretty Kobe feed, his sixth of the night. Farmar collects a foul guarding D. Williams and Fisher checks in.

The game's pace has picked up beyond either team's capacity to play well. Kirielenko picks up his third foul after a wild fast break and Vujacic hits his free throws to push his team's lead back to 94-88.

Deron Williams hits an open jumper for a game high 24 points but he's barely shooting fifty percent. Perhaps its just me but it feels like he's shooting something more like eighty percent.

Odom comes right back with a thundering dunk and a phantom foul from Boozer sends him to the line for the three point play. Boozer drags his feet making a move to the rim and Lakers get the ball back and get another chance to extend their 97-91 lead. This is probably the biggest run the Lake Show has had all game and the momentum is firmly in their court.

After a timeout, Okur gets to the line and hits both of his free throws to quiet the crowd somewhat. Both teams are in the penalty with under five minutes remaining. I have a feeling this game is going to slow down some.

Boozer hits one of two free throws and the score is at 97-94, Lakers. Derek Fisher must have heard my comment and he collects his own trip to the line, hitting both attempts for a 99-94 lead.

Both teams rush through some sloppy possessions with neither squad scoring. Only three minutes remain but the remaining contest looks to be physical and close.

Commercial critique: Normally Geico commercials make me ill, but I kind of like how the wildlife expert commercial avoids the awkwardness of the cavemen commercials and skips straight to boring.

Boozer muscles into the paint for a layup. Deron Williams then spots the Lakers a trip to the line with an ill-advised foul on D. Fish. Pescado hits both and pushes the Lakers lead back to five.

Vujacic then collects a costly technical foul when the refs spot him trash talking in the face of Kyle Korver. Dumb.

Deron Williams jabs a needle in my heart and sinks a three at the end of a broken play. The Lakers lead by one point until Kobe again finds Odom for a sweet dunk, pushing the lead back to 103-100. Only a minute and a half remains.

Okur grabs the offensive board on a Williams missed trey and the lead gets cut back to one. Doug Collins reminds us that he hasn't taken a shot this quarter. Fortunately, Gasol forces himself in the paint for an open two. Only forty seconds remain and the Lakers lead by three.

Gasol restores my faith in humanity after Vujacic, the Machine, misses an open three pointer, and Gasol puts in the dunk for a 107-102 lead.

You have to tip your hat to Utah. Win or lose, they've played the Jazz as close or closer than the Lakers did back on their home court. This has been an excellent series and I have the bitten nail stubs to prove it.


Twenty point five seconds are left in the final quarter but the Jazz have the ball and Deron Williams has proved himself capable of inspired play in the playoffs. Instead of proving my point, thankfully, Williams misses a three and D. Fisher grabs the rebound and immediately gets fouled.

Fisher misses one and I can feel that miss in my groin. The second bounces off the rim, off the board, and back in. My groin feels that one too.

Kobe sinks two free throw to muted cries of "MVP." Even the home crowd knows they've dodged a bullet in this heated contest. It now looks certain, the Lakers will win 111-104 in what has been the closest game by far in the Staples Center.

Doug Collins again comes up with a startling statistic. Kobe Bryant, on ten shot attempts in the game, ha scored twenty six points for a 2.6 point per shot average. That's incredibly efficient and one of the major reasons, in addition to timely contributions from Gasol, Odom and the Lakers bench, that the Lake Show comes away with a victory today.

Thanks for joining me and I hope you had as much fun reading my recap as I did sweating through this excellent game.

Lakers-Jazz Game 5: Quarter 3

The Jazz waste no time in getting to the line and cutting the Lakers halftime lead to 61-56.

Both teams are hitting over fifty percent from the floor so it's no surprise that they're trading shots now, putting the score at 63-60 after another spectacular Deron Williams jumper.

Kobe forces his way to the rim to get the contact and a trip to the foul line, but he's not showing the explosiveness or flexibility that Lakers fans have come to take for granted. At the very least he's hitting his free throws which helps stop the bleeding and pushes his team's lead at 65-62.

Odom catches Kirielenko's head underneath his chin while defending the paint, which unfortunately comes on the back of a blocking foul. He heads to the bench to stop his bleeding (literally this time).

Deron Williams ties the game with a wide open three pointer from the right corner. No question that he's the MVP of his team. The MVP of the league, Kobe, has been quiet so far this half. As soon as I write that, he backs down D. Williams for an easy layup.

A defensive stop by the Lakers and a Kobe assist to Odom resets the Laker lead to 73-69 with five and a half minutes left in the third quarter.

The refs have swallowed their whistles this half as players on both teams have hit the deck without any calls. As a basketball fan I'm glad to see the action but as a Lakers fan I worry for Kobe's health.

Commercial critique: The NBA playoff split head commercial keeps showing faces, this time D. Fisher with D. Williams. It's simple, honest, and intense. I like it a great deal more than the affected enthusiasm of past playoff commercials.

The Inside Trax segment shows Jerry Sloan's halftime speech. Is there another coach in the league who looks and talks more like a college professor? And a dry, boring professor at that?

Kobe goes up hard for a dunk but misses off the back of the rim, instead drawing the foul shots. He misses both and more than anything else that tells me that his back is not fine. The fact that the score is tied at 73 points also defends that notion.

In an interview Kobe says that he enjoys the pressure of competing in the playoffs and compares it playing poker. With many players I'd call that false bravado. Not so with the Black Mamba.

Kobe hits one of two free throws to push their lead back to 76-73 which is immediately cut down by a dunk by Ronnie Brewer. Easy Jazz shots like those are what's giving me ulcers.

Just when I'm ready to write off Kobe as a shell of himself, he pulls of a floating, contorting layup for the potential three point play. Amazingly his 22 points have come on 6-9 shooting.

With a little over a minute left in the quarter the Jazz trail 81-77.

Farmar misses an open trey at the end of the quarter and the Lakers' offense has clearly stagnated. The fourth quarter will open up with the score tied at 81 but other then Kobe, no other Lakers has been hitting his shots. I'm very worried that Kobe's production has again come at the cost of his team's offensive flow.

At various times this game, Fisher, Kobe, Gasol, and Odom have played well and carried their team, but rarely have multiple players performed well at the same time. The Lakers will need to spread the ball around better if they want to pull out a victory today.

Lakers-Jazz Game 5: Quarter 2

Scroll down for my commentary on the first quarter.

The Lakers take their 29-26 lead into the start of the quarter and get lucky on some early Utah misses. Gasol then bails out his teammates with a strong dunk after several missed Lakers shots. Both teams are getting offensive rebounds and both team's defenses continue to struggle.

An interesting statistic came up: there's been only one lead change during the course of the first four games. How the heck is that possible?

Farmar hits a three pointer, then Okur responds on the opposite end of the court with his own triple. I'll take that exchange any day if it helps Farmar develop some confidence after what's been a horrible shooting slump in this series.

Gasol collects a shooting foul after surviving a gang mugging by nearly every player wearing blue. The refs might want to check for some brass knuckles on the Jazz bench (whoops, that's my Lakers fandom sneaking out).

During the Inside Trax segment Odom sings along to the stadium's music. The dude's had his share of problems in the past, but Lamar has really grown up in the last couple of years and I like the guy.

Gasol hits his free throws and extends the Lakers lead to 38-33.

Fisher bodies up to Deron Williams and forces the turnover, leading to two Kobe free throws on the other end. Fisher's physical defense has worked pretty well while Farmar has been on the receiving end of Williams' upper body strength and, as Doug Collins has stated, that's fueling Farmar's shooting woes.

Some hot shooting and more Utah turnovers have widened the Lakers lead to 45-35. This is more like it as the Lakers are now getting into the lane and drawing fouls even if Utah is preventing easy buckets. Roughly six minutes are left in the quarter.

Commercial critique: I like the Charles Barkeley- D. Wade commercials, because they have believable chemistry and Barkeley is possibly the funniest ex-NBA baller around. I just wish they'd come out with a new one.

Kobe finds Gasol on a pick and roll for the first easy basket of the game for the Lakers. Okur ruins the moment by hitting a tough jumper on the end and cuts the Lakers lead to 48-39.

The energy has picked up dramatically on both sides of the court for the Lakers. They've come up with consecutive defensive stops and some open buckets. Then Kobe ruins the moment and throws the ball away. Okur jumps in and hits another jumper to add insult to injury. Kierilenko (?) takes a steal for a dunk and the Lakers momentum just took a shot to the gonads.

Lakers lead 53-46 with a little under three minutes left in the half.

Commercial critique: I've seen the Zune commercial about six times now but only now did I realize the album covers spelled out a message. Sometimes my slowness amazes even me.

Kobe hits Gasol on a fast break dunk to push the Lakers lead back up to 55-50 but turnovers continue to plague them. On the previous play, Deron Williams proved just how dangerous he is with a highlight quality crossover move to set up an open jumper. There's no question that Williams is the heart and soul of this Jazz squad.

The Lakers close out the half with a barrage of hook shots and layups and reain a 61-54 lead.

It's clear that the Lakers have refound their energy and possibly the biggest difference has been Derek Fisher's stellar defense on Deron Williams. Neither Fisher nor Farmar can match Williams' speed, but Fisher has the strength and the wiles to make him work for his shot and that limits the entire Jazz offense.

I like how Kobe came out aggressive in the first quarter and then helped set up his teammates, especially Gasol in the second period. In the Games 3,4 Kobe took over the game frequently to the detriment of his team's offensive flow so it's reassuring to see a better balance of cutting, passing, and driving out of KB24.

Lakers-Jazz Game 5: Quarter 1

Kobe hits a three pointer for the first points of the game and follows it up with a long two for an early 5-0 Lakers lead. Looks like his back is doing okay at this point. He's too much of a competitor to leave his team in the lurch, but hopefully he can pick his spots and not wear himself out.

As well as the Lakers have played in jumping out to eleven early points, the Jazz have stuck right with them on an array of dunks and easy layups. The Lakers have really struggled on defense the last few game and that trend can't continue if they want to move on to the next round.

After the first timeout of the game with seven minutes left in the first half there's a lot for the L.A. crowd to cheer for as they lead 15-8. The Lake Show tallied points from most of its starting five and Odom and Radmanovic have come out shooting. Odom's aggression was a big reason why the Lakers stayed close in Utah so his energy will be a key down the stretch.

Timeout commercial critique: The WNBA has awful commercials. I'm not saying that's the reason why I don't watch their games, but they don't help.

A flurry of Utah shots have tightened the score at 22-16 Lakers. Fortunately, Radmanovic discovered his shooting stroke and drilled two threes and now they lead 25-16. Damn the Lakers look good when their shooters are tickling the twine.

Commercial critique: The more commercials I see, the worse the House of Payne. Conversely, My Boys keeps looking better and better.

Kobe collects a weaksauce foul on a fine bit of flopping by Matt Harpring. Wasn't he supposed to be one of the genuinely tough guys in the league?

Utah completely kills the Lakers' momentum when Korver sinks Utah's first three off a Luke Walton turnover. Both teams bring in their bench players and I have to agree with Charles Barkeley's comments about their matchup. The starting five of each team have already proved themselves almost a wash, but the Utah bench has outplayed the Lakers' squad during the series. We'll see if Kobe and co. can turn that around.

Turnovers are now bringing the Jazz back into this contest. The Lakers lead has shrunk to 29-25 with Boozer shooting two from the charity stripe. He hits one of two and the Lakers end the quarters leading 29-26.

Looking forward, both teams are shooting well but the team that can raise its defensive intensity will have the upper hand. Hopefully, that'll be the Lakers.

Lakers-Utah Game 5 Count Down

The Lakers return to Los Angeles to face the Jazz for Game Five of their second round series in what figures to be the most important game of the playoffs so far for the boys in purple and gold.

The series sits at 2-2 but the Lakers have some formidable statistics on their side: only one team (Magic) has lost a game on its home court during the second round of the playoffs, and, even more favorable, Phil Jackson has never lost a playoff series in which his team has won the first game, which the Lakers did.

I'll be perched here blogging some observations at the end of each quarter. Feel free to join me for heavily biased commentary.

Defending Kobe’s MVP

Earlier today the NBA announced Kobe Bryant as the winner of the NBA's 2007-08 MVP award and I think I speak for most Lakers fans when I say it’s about freaking time.

Kobe gathered 1,105 points from the 126 sportswriters and broadcasters who sit on the MVP voting panel to best runner up Chris Paul who finished with 889 points.

The 216 point difference between KB24 and CP3 seems a little large for an MVP race that felt almost as controversial as a Democratic nomination election, but the contest looks more like a Huckebee beat down when you compare Kobe’s eighty-two first place votes to Chris Paul’s twenty-eight.

Despite this resounding win for Kobe, television and radio analysts harp repeatedly that Chris Paul was robbed. Now I agree that Chris Paul deserved serious consideration for the Maurice Podoloff Trophy but the main argument analysts fall back on – that Chris Paul did more with less help – is pure baloney.

First of all, Chris Paul has a fellow All-Star in his frontcourt in David West and a former three-time All-Star in the sharp-shooting Peja Stojakovic. Kobe Bryant? Nope, he doesn’t have a single other All-Star in the Forum Blue and Gold and the only former All-Star on the Lakers squad, Pau Gasol, played beside Kobe for barely a third of the season.

Furthermore, Kobe was the main constant on a squad that had few after losing Most Improved Player candidate Andrew Bynum to a season-ending knee injury midway through the year and adjusted his game to integrate Pau Gasol in the midst of the most competitive playoff race in NBA history. A race that the Lakers won, by the way. And lest we forget, a team can hardly do “more” than post the best record in its conference.

During that same period the Hornets also played well and finished second in the Western Conference, buoyed by the addition of Bonzi Wells, whose inclusion as a role player did not necessitate a dramatic change in Chris Paul’s style of play. No doubt CP3 and the Hornets also owe some of their success to the hardiness of their starting lineup, which avoided serious injury.

Obviously you can’t penalize Chris Paul for his good fortune in playing with another All-Star and a healthy supporting cast. But Kobe did more by leading his team to the better record and he also had less – fewer All-Stars and fewer healthy teammates. The MVP voting panel understood that the Chris Paul-does-more-with-less argument is phonier than a Hillary Clinton smile and that’s why Kobe received more first place votes – by a landslide.

The Madden Curse Lives

The fine people at ESPN profiled the many victims of the Madden Cover Curse which, according to reports, is about 248% more dangerous than the SI Cover Curse.

Check out the video game franchise's brief history of football despair.

Personally, I absolutely do believe the Curse exists and I have only the 49ers' ineptitude to thank that Madden's Evil Eye hasn't targeted any player wearing the red and gold. (I think I just jinxed Patrick Willis).

Kobe Jumps over an Aston Martin

... well, not really. But it's in the realm of possibility after the Black Mamba has proved himself capable of carrying the Lakers to the Pacific Division title despite a rash of injuries to Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, Trevor Ariza, Luke Walton, Vladimir Radmanovic, Derek Fisher, and of course Kobe himself.



The tightest Western Conference race in history isn't over yet and Sunday's Lakers-Spurs game will go a long way towards settling the final seedings.

If the playoffs were to start today, the Lakers would be playing the Mavericks in the first round -- a match up the Purple and Gold should look forward to. The Lakers hold a 3-1 advantage this season and all three wins have come after Jason Kidd's addition to the Dallas squad.

After the first several games of the season I had predicted a wash of a season for the Lakers but Kobe and friends have gone out and not only secured a playoff spot but also locked up the division title. That might not be as incredible as jumping over a car but it's pretty darn close.

Kobe Bryant Blog Day

Technically it's still Tuesday, March 11th on the west coast so I didn't completely miss out on the Kobe Bryant Blog Day. Somehow this movement escaped my attention until I stumbled upon the source of the Kobe Love-fest: Hardwood Paroxysm. I like their name and I love their Blog Day idea.

I don't have a direct point for this post (which is, most likely, par for the course) but on this day above others I'd like to explain why I follow the Lakers.

The short answer is Kobe. The long answer is Kobe Bean Bryant.

Ever since Kobe entered the NBA, he has been the physical incarnation of Lakerdom. That position was shared with a few other people you may have heard of but none of them played their entire careers in the Blue and Gold like the Mamba.

I remember reading those early Sports Illustrated stories about Kobe when he first joined the Lakers and I tuned in to watch him play. And I kept tuning in.

That first year we didn't get to see a ton of Kobe, but that didn't stop him from earning a berth in the All-Star game. Few people probably remember this, but during that game Kobe faced off against his Airness, Michael Jordan, in the closest thing to a one-on-one match anywhere in professional basketball.

If my memory is correct, Kobe had the ball and raced down the court on the far side with nobody but MJ between him and the basket. Kobe loped down the court and darted to his right before flashing a spin move that was equal parts brilliance and foolishness. Kobe missed the dunk attempt (or was it a layup -- my mind is too mushy to recall) but he did draw the foul. I remember Kobe smiled afterwards in appreciation of the moment and by then I was already hooked on his unique talent.

Obviously Kobe has seen his share of turmoil both on and off the court and that has understandably put off many people from accepting him. But the Ocho-uno he dropped on Toronto and the consistent brilliance he has displayed throughout his career have made even the most startling headlines regarding his personal life take a back seat to his incredible accomplishments in his professional one.

So here's to you Kobe Bryant.

Can I Make Celebration Now?

I think we're all just as surprised as you Eli. Congratulations.

Lakers Roll, Redeem My Interest in Sports

As I write this the Staples Center crowd's chant for tacos is audible on ESPN as the Lakers threaten to hold the Milwaukee Bucks under 100 points en route to a double digit victory and their fifth in a row.

It's clear the Bucks are a team in transition as their best offensive player, Michael Redd, is coming off the bench while he recovers from a thigh injury and the Bucks' defensive stopper isn't in uniform because he doesn't exist.

The bigger story, however, is the incredible run the Lakers are putting together and although Kobe Bryant has been and continues to be the Lakers' main scoring threat, the credit for this season's early success has to be shared with Andrew Bynum.

Today's game was the first Lakers contest I've seen in weeks and Bynum's improvement is incredible. Today he unleashed a bevy of spin moves and drop steps that had visions of a young Shaq floating in my head. Bynum's attitude is also more confident and aggressive and that's exactly what you want to see in your big man. Hell, I even saw him swear when Phil Jackson took him out of the game for a breather. Kobe's killer instinct must be rubbing off on him.

Even better than watching this young player develop was witnessing how well the team played together. The Lakers carried the lead throughout the first quarter behind a 16 point outburst from Kobe, but they didn't take off until the second half when the ball touched several hands before each shot attempt. Opposing teams now have to respect both Bynum and Kobe and space is opening up for role players like Farmer and Fisher to knock down open jumpers. They've been knocking them down and in turn opening up more space for Bryant and Bynum to work and this self-feeding cycle is the main reason the Lakers have won fifteen of their last eighteen games.

The Lakers maintained their lead throughout this contest despite constant pressure from Michael Redd and Mo Williams largely thanks to their excellent team defense. Nearly every player in blue and gold showed active hands and everyone from Bryant to Turiaf was jumping into passing lanes and smothering ball handlers. I haven't seen this kind of defensive intensity since L.A.'s championship years at the end of last century.

The crowd's cheers have turned to boos as the Bucks eclipsed the 100 point mark and prevented the Staples Center crowd from collecting free tacos. Call me an optimist but I still see a lot worth cheering for.

The Sugar Bowl

Tuesday’s Sugar Bowl between the University of Hawaii Warriors and the Georgia Bulldogs was far and away the most painful sporting event I’ve ever had to endure. I flew down to New Orleans to cheer for the Warriors as they played in the final game of a previously undefeated season; a season during which they had shattered all manner of UH records, a number of WAC passing records, and more than a couple NCAA scoring records. Hawaii did everything right during the regular season but everything went horribly wrong for them in the Sugar Bowl.

Before I get all depressing and actually describe the game I want to first say that the New Orleans Superdome was incredible. The acoustics were deafening, the seating area was huge, and my family had an excellent position1/3 of the way up the stadium seating around the 40-yard line. The food was way overpriced, but that’s a given at any sporting event. In the stadium’s bright lights I had a difficult time envisioning thousands of hurricane survivors seeking shelter there, but I still had the dubious opportunity to witness another type of disaster: Hawaii’s complete and utter destruction at the merciless paws of the Georgia Bulldogs.

Hawaii won the coin toss and chose to receive the ball as they’ve done at every opportunity during coach June Jones’ tenure. But instead of airing the ball out in a deceptive mixture of short and medium routes as they’ve done with success for the past several seasons, Colt Brennan and the UH offense couldn’t get the ball into air and instead kept moving the line of scrimmage in the wrong direction – backwards. To Georgia’s credit, they rarely blitzed but their four-man rush routinely overwhelmed Hawaii’s frontline and Brennan was sacked close to ten times in barely three quarters of work and that’s not even counting the numerous hits and take-downs he took after getting rid of the ball. Hawaii’s prolific offense has always depended on timing and rhythm and both were in short supply against Georgia’s linemen who frequently ran untouched into the UH backfield. The few times Brennan got the ball out ahead of the rush he under threw receivers and misplayed routes. I think part of his inaccuracy could also be attributed to the thunderous noise the Bulldog fans generated on every down. Even in the stands I could barely hear my neighbors talk.

By halftime Hawaii was losing 23-3 and it just got worse. Hawaii made a couple of comebacks this season, the most memorable perhaps being the last regular season’s game against Washington in which they rallied from an early 21 point deficit to win 35-28. But Georgia was too big, too fast, and too merciless to let Hawaii get back into this one.

Perhaps no play signified the Warrior’s complete dismantling as Brennan’s fumble in the third quarter. Still trailing 23-3 at the time, I and other UH fans still had some hope that the Warriors could put some points on the board and make a game out of the contest. After getting receiving the ball deep in Warrior territory, Brennan took the snap and immediately coughed up the ball when a UGA linemen slammed him into the ground at the 3 yard line and recovered the ball in the end zone. Georgia fans went crazy at the score, barking and hooting like wild beasts with a taste for human flesh and there was absolutely nothing to say back to them.

To make matters worse, UGA opened up their playbook in the third and fourth quarters after victory was all but guaranteed. Georgia had previously relied upon thei running game to move the ball -- which they had been doing very well -- but by the third quarter and up by more than four touchdowns Georgia inexplicably began throwing the ball – even on first downs. It was a disgusting display but my family and I stayed to the end.

On the way out, Hawaii fans were somber. We had witnessed some respectful wishes for a good competition leading up to kickoff, but most Georgia fans were overbearing, overweight, and reeking of arrogance. It smarted like a kick to the gonads to walk back to the hotel room in a barking sea of black, orange, and red-necks.

The good thing about being upset in New Orleans is that it’s really easy to find some good food and alcohol.

Oh yeah, Happy New Year.