Warriors-Lakers Deserves A Playoff Encore
If the recent two-game duel between the Warriors and Lakers is any indication, this year’s playoffs should be as wild and woolly as advertised. Playing a rare home-and-home series, each team won on the other’s court, in a pair of thrillingly played, high-scoring contests that combined offensive pyrotechnics with equally spectacular defensive breakdowns.
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Hatred Is All About Perception
It’s impossible to absolve Kobe of all responsibility in the recent drama that has enveloped the Los Angeles Lakers over the past 3 years. It is possible to note the factors that led to his behavior. Up until this season, the Lakers had failed miserably at building around him.
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Kobe Or LeBron In The Clutch?
We have two players, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, vying for the title as most clutch in the NBA. Both were in top form this past Sunday. Statistically and beyond, which player is the better option in the clutch?
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Odom Goes With Flow, And So Do Lakers
No one has been more liberated by Pau Gasol’s arrival than Lamar Odom, who has racked up a double-double in eight of his last ten games, shooting better than 60%, and is at last becoming the aggressive force that Phil Jackson has been clamoring for.
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Bryant Makes A Difference Beyond The Court
Kobe Bryant has often been called selfish. These people do the same thing that that doubters did to Kobe when he was younger – spit out stats. They talk about things like his assists numbers or his feud with Shaq, but they fail to mention how much time and money he gives to others.
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McCready Malarkey, Volume 1
Welcome to the inaugural edition of the McCready Malarkey, where he waxes on Pau Gasol, Shaquille O'Neal and the All-Jason Kidd team.
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Can Robin Become Batman?
That Andrew Bynum was growing into a supporting role next to a brash but impeccably talented superstar, an exact juxtaposition of Kobe’s role at the end of the last decade next to Shaq, gives 24's statement about being 'championship-caliber' even more weight.
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How Do The Lakers Win? WITH D-E-F-E-N-S-E
These Lakers, who have shown unexpected moments of teamwork and fourth quarter energy, did the uncommon yet again, albeit in new fashion: they tightened their defense and overcame the Nuggets 111-107.
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Lakers Better When Kobe Doesn't Score?
The Lakers shot 50% in their Thursday night rout of the Nuggets, getting scoring from a variety of players, not just #24.
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No Kobe In Clutch Moment
Vladimir Radmanovich is your next best option for a game-winning shot, having missed all sixteen of his shots in the game? Such is life on the Lakers these days. Few second options that make much sense.
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Bynum's Jury Still Out
Somewhat soft and like a kid in an adult body, Andrew Bynum does not seem to have total control of his physicality at this point. But he has shown marked improvement so far this season.
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Lakers Open Season With Familiar Operation
Granted, forward Lamar Odom wasn't available, and the Rockets got 55 points from Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming alone. But this seems to be the modus operandi of the Shaq-less Lakers: give the ball to Kobe and hope for the best.
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30 Teams, 30 Days: L.A. Lakers Draft Preview (19th)
The Lakers have not built their team around Kobe Bryant, but have built players that fit certain roles. Bryant needs a lot of defenders and guys that can hit open jump shots.
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Yi The Key To Kobe Deal?
With Kobe Bryant already paving his yellow-brick-road out of Los Angeles, the timing couldn’t be better for Yi Jianlian. Not only does Yi have the potential to be a star (and admittedly, potential is a two-sided coin), he is a marketing opportunity just waiting to be tapped.
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Doomsday Arrives For Lakers
Players demanding trades has become commonplace in the NBA, but to be honest, it’s surprising to hear a demand echo from Kobe Bryant’s mouth. I can’t think of another franchise that has coddled and capitulated to one player than the Lakers with Kobe Bryant.
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The Passion Of The Lakers
The Lakers' quick exit from the playoffs in a five-game series against the Suns was telegraphed some months ago. That is, if you were watching closely.
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Be Careful What You Wish For
While Shaq’s Lakers never failed to reach at least the second round of the postseason, it’s beginning to look a lot like Kobe’s Lakers are about to extend their streak to three consecutive seasons without winning a single playoff series. Now that Kobe has what he has always wanted, perhaps he’s starting to realize that maybe he should have been more careful when Jerry Buss was granting his wishes.
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For Kobe, 50 Is The New...50, Unless It's 60
There is a misconception that Kobe began jacking up jumpers and channeling Wilt Chamberlain to hog the ball, or to prove how good he is, or to selfishly shine the spotlight on Kobe. Heck, Kobe makes the SportsCenter highlights just by remembering to show up.
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Kobe Soars To 65
One can only wonder what else Kobe Bryant is capable of
when his team needs him. Scoring 65 crucial points
(56% of his team's total offense) was miraculous to
watch and came at a time when his team needed him
most. That is the exact definition of a most valuable player.
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RotoFreak.com: Los Angeles Fantasy Preview
Without a doubt, Kobe is a stud in fantasyland. With or without Shaq, a point guard or any talent around him, he fills the stat sheet each and every night and his fantasy value is locked in around the top 6.
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A Lost Opportunity
All those who believe the Lakers will beat the Suns in Game 7, raise your hands. Didn’t think so. The Suns’ 126-118 overtime victory swung playoff momentum heavily in their favor, the Lakers now forced to make a trip they have to be dreading.
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The Re-Education Of Kwame Brown
Could Kwame Brown be resurrecting his career of late on the Lakers? As the team makes for a playoff push - wavering above .500 with signs of greatness - Brown has gotten his game off of the floor and towards the rim.
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The Epitome Of The Role Player
Lamar Odom may be a great player but what people fail to realize that he is not a franchise player. He doesn’t put up the points needed to be one and from what I understand he is not much of a leader. A franchise player does not average only 16 points in his career; playing with Kobe isn’t an excuse (If you look at Kobe’s stats lately, his assists are going up). Lamar puts up only 20.4 points per 48 minutes compared to Carmelo Anthony’s 36.3, Paul Pierce’s 36.3, Ray Allen’s 34.6, Shaq’s 29.3, and Kobe’s 46.9.
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Lakers Falling On Their Faces
Without Chris Mihm and Lamar Odom to rebound the ball, and with Kobe Bryant slowing down after his late-January surge, the Lakers have been stumbling the past two weeks and could fall out of playoff contention as early as Wednesday evening after a game in Houston.
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Lakers Embarass Knicks At The Garden
Laker guard Kobe Bryant was off of his January pace in the last game of the month, one which should surely bring him NBA Player of the Month honors. In New York, he only scored 40 points on 7-17 shooting but with an amazing 23-26 free throws as the Lakers beat the host Knicks 130-97.
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What Does Kobe’s 81 Points Mean For Basketball?
Given the dichotomy that seems to exist in today’s NBA; less individual promotion (see the Dress Code and other such rules) and more emphasis on the team, I wanted to see how Kobe’s accomplishment fit in. I broke down Kobe’s games into Percentage of Team’s Points vs. Wins/Losses.
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Kobe Goes Off For 81
After two lackluster losses late last week against Sacramento and Phoenix where Laker guard Kobe Bryant "only" scored 51 and 37 respectively, the 27-year-old made sure that he scored enough points for the Lakers to beat the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night. Bryant went off for an astounding 81 points, ensuring the Lakers 12-10 victory.
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Tired Heat Fall to Lakers
On a night when the Miami Heat, ending a seven-game two-week road trip, were perhaps not at their best, the Lakers took full advantage, beating the visitors 100-92, pushing their current winning streak to three and their record to 21-17.
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Lakers Smush Warriors
In his greatest game as a Laker, guard Smush Parker contributed vitally as well. Parker, a former NY playground legend, scored 24 points, made 12 rebounds, and got six assists. Undrafted out of Fordham University in the Bronx, New York, Parker was disregarded in his first three seasons, including stints with Cleveland, Detroit, and Phoenix. This season, his fourth, he is arguably the Lakers' second most integral player, with all deference to the improved but inconsistent Lamar Odom (in Oakland on Saturday, Odom scored only two points on 1-8 shooting).
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LeBron Outdone By Kobe
Though Laker guard Kobe Bryant had an "off" night with a wrist injury, only scoring 27 points (over a dozen points off the mark of his previous four games), the Lakers bested the visiting Cleveland Cavaliers 99-98, despite a last second go-ahead attempt by Cavs' star LeBron James, who scored 28 points on 50% shooting.
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Lakers Bested By Blazers
Though the Lakers were on a roll and the Blazers had lost six straight, the tables were turned in Portland on Wednesday night. Despite a fifth-straight 40+ scoring game from guard Kobe Bryant (he scored 41) and a good all-around offensive Laker game, the Blazers shot over 52% from the field and beat the Lakers 113-103.
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Four For Forty-Five
Four games - at least forty-five points. Only accomplished once before in NBA history - by a moderately well-known player named Wilt Chamberlain - this feat has been achieved by Laker guard Kobe Bryant in his most recent four games (three coming after his hyped suspension).
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Kobe Strikes Back
Coming back off of his two-game suspension for raising
a forearm against an opponent in a game last week,
Laker guard Kobe Bryant struck back - with his game
alone this time. Bryant scored 48 points, blazing
with 21 points on three-point goals (7-7 from
three-point range), and collected 10 rebounds as the
Lakers torched the Philadelphia 76ers by 26 points,
119-93.
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Lakers Struck Back
Midway through the hard-fought Laker game Wednesday night, Mike Miller, a guard-forward for the Memphis Grizzlies originally from South Dakota, took a shot at Kobe Bryant as the Laker guard drove towards the basket. Injuring Bryant’s eye, Miller sent the Laker’s best player to the locker room for treatment. When Bryant returned, he struck right back, both literally and figuratively. Bryant stiff-armed Miller
in the fourth quarter as the 6’8” 218-pound Grizzly drove the lane, sending him to the floor. But that event was only symbolic of the Lakers attitude and play in the overall game.
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Lakers Can't Finish
The losses cannot be pinned on Kobe Bryant, though the star failed in the clutch at the end of each game. Without Bryant, the Lakers aren't even playing close basketball in any of their 2005 games. The superstar guard scored 31 against the Wizards and 37 against the Heat. But in both games, Bryant was upped by an opposing player.
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Shaq-Kobe III Has Familiar Ending
For the third time in a row since Shaquille O’Neal took his act to South Beach, the Miami Heat defeated the Los Angeles Lakers. And while Kobe Bryant outdueled his latest nemesis, Dwayne Wade, it was another ex-teammate, Gary Payton, who proved the difference for the Heat in a thrilling 97-92 victory.
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The Kwame Situation
What does one make of Brown? Certainly, the man knows how to play at 23 and is no longer a spring chicken. But expectations have dogged him since Washington and seem to be following him in LA. In the Lakers December 23 win at Orlando, Brown played 18 minutes, made only two of seven field goal attempts, missed two free throws, and finished with four points. He did, however, lead the team in those limited minutes with nine rebounds.
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Kobe Scores 62
Bryant's 62 is a career high and the most points scored in the NBA this season. Only 9 points separated Bryant and the Laker record of 71 by Elgin Baylor on November 15, 1960 against the Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Could he have broken the record? One will never know as he was rested for the entire fourth quarter.
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Lakers Back To Old Selves
Why did McGrady go in to the basket unguarded? Initially, Laker forward Devean George was on McGrady at the top of the key. But George was quickly outmaneuvered and soon found himself chasing McGrady from behind. Next, center Kwame Brown was frozen as McGrady passed on Brown's left heading towards the basket. Ostensibly, Brown didn't want to commit a foul, but why take the chance?
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Lakers Roll Over Wizards At Home
The Kobe Bryant Show returned to Los Angeles on Friday night where the Laker guard posted 41 points, including two three-point goals, plus eight rebounds and four assists in a 97-91 win over the Washington Wizards. It seems as though the sky is the limit for the heir apparent to Michael Jordan.
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Lakers Maul Grizzlies
How badly did the Lakers maul the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night in Memphis? So badly that they rested all five of their starters for the ENTIRE fourth quarter of the game. The rout rounded out a six-game road trip which saw the Lakers win five games. They are now 12-10 after starting the season 5-8.
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Streaking Lakers, Bryant Beat Mavs In Dallas
No secret to the Lakers' recent success is the offensive balance they have found. In addition to guard Kobe Bryant's amazing 43 points, including two key three-point baskets late in the game, the Lakers were supported by at least 10 points from three other players. Forward Lamar Odom's play was crucial with 15 points and 11 rebounds. Also most encouraging was the play of center Kwame Brown, who had been on the injured list with a strained right hamstring since November 20.
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Four Win In A Row For Lakers
Could this Laker run be for real? Five Lakers scored in double figures on Friday night, leading to a 93-80 win over the Bulls in Chicago. Lamar Odom, Brian Cook, Chris Mihm, Smush Parker, and team leader Kobe Bryant all scored at least ten points, the most balanced Laker offensive attack thus far this season.
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Top Four Lakers Topple Bucks
Winning on the road hasn't been easy for the 2005-2006 Lakers. They had only won 3 road games in seven tries thus far. But in Milwaukee on Tuesday night, a little teamwork went a long way as the Lakers' best four players contributed equally in a 111-92 rout of the Bucks.
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Wither The Lakers?
After a road win against the Utah Jazz, it seemed the Lakers, at 6-8, were correcting their wayward path.
However, returning home against the Minnesota Timberwolves, the Lakers were convincingly trounced in the fourth quarter of a game that they had in hand into the second half.
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Lakers Fizzle In San Antonio
With Lamar Odom as the Lakers' high scorer with 27 points, the Lakers were inadequate against the Spurs, who had five players score 10 or more for a 90-84 victory.
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Too Much Kidd For Kobe
New Jersey Net point guard Jason Kidd was all over the court at Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday night, and it overwhelmed the Lakers, despite a heroic performance by Laker guard Kobe Bryant.
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All Kobe, Little Allen
Laker guard Kobe Bryant takes his games against the Seattle Supersonics personally. That is, since he and Sonic shooting guard exchanged words last season when Allen had the edge. But it was not the case last night in Los Angeles.
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Bulls Best Lakers
It wasn’t exactly Michael vs. Magic, but the Bulls and Lakers went toe-to-toe on Sunday night in Los Angeles, with the Bulls prevailing 96-93 despite two late three-point attempts by Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom, respectively.
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New Basketball Kings Of LA?
The Clippers have played second fiddle to the Lakers' first violin in LA for over a decade, always succumbing to the combination of poor ownership, bad player personnel decisions, and the Lakers' sheer will to win at all costs. Until now.
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Kobe Explodes Against Knicks
Kobe Bryant took 36 shots - hitting 15 - and converted 12 of 14 free-throw attempts for a season-high game total of 42. Smush Parker, Lamar Odom and Chris Mihm provided their routine assistance, each adding at least 10 points. But it was clearly all Kobe in the second half. In eight games this season, Bryant is averaging 31.4 points. His overall career scoring average is 22.5 points-per-game.
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Lakers Look To End Scoring Drought
The Lakers returned home Tuesday, and it wasn’t a day too soon. Coming off of a flat end to their road trip, the Lakers look to spice things up at home with a five-game homestand that begins Wednesday against the New York Knicks. After three straight losses in which the Lakers scored just 74, 81 and 73 respectively, they will need some new ideas in their offense while at home.
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Kobe Looks Lost At True Home
Kobe Bryant’s heart may be in Los Angeles, but he’s still Philadelphia’s native son. They Philly-born Bryant and his Lakers came to town against the 76ers, but Bryant struggled, making only seven of 27 shot attempts, and the Lakers lost 85-81.
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Lakers Shut Down
Playing smothering defense, the Minnesota Timberwolves halted Kobe Bryant and the Lakers Wednesday in Minneapolis, winning 88-74. The T-Wolves held Bryant to "just" 28 points, the first time that the Laker guard has failed to score 30 in a game this season.
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Kobe Express Rolls
In Atlanta, a train pulled into town Tuesday night. No, it wasn't in any station on any of the MARTA (Metropolitan Atlanta Rapid Transit Authority) lines. This train pulled into the Philips Arena. Of course, this train is the Kobe Bryant Express.
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Mihm To The Rescue
Last night in Los Angeles, the Lakers received reliable help from several sources. Kobe Bryant poured in 37 points. Lamar Odom had 20 points. But the team got a boost where they don't always count on one: center Chris Mihm scored 20 points and grabbed 13 rebounds en route to a 20-point thrashing of the Denver Nuggets, a team the Lakers barely beat in the season opener in Denver.
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Lake Show Becomes Kobe Show
Remember the Bulls? Not the six-time champion Chicago Bulls of the 1990s. We're talking the perennial also-rans of the 1980s. Those games where they would get 30-40 points from Michael Jordan and lose? That could be the destiny of the 2005-2006 LA Lakers.
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Lakers Out Of The Gate
After just one game, the prognosis isn't bad. Sure it took overtime and a few miracle shots to keep the LA
Lakers afloat. But they beat a better team.
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Lakers Draft: Rumors, Speculation, Facts
What a past couple of weeks this has been for the ever turbulent Los Angeles Lakers. The signing of Phil Jackson, and rumors of big trades. Two rumors that have been heavily discussed involve the Blazers and the Bobcats.
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He Hadn't Had His Phil
In the midst of a chaotic postseason where your ex-center takes his team to the limit against the defending champions and your ex-forward drills unbelievable three-pointers, sending the defending champs to the brink of elimination, in walks a ghost of recent past. Phil Jackson is again a Laker coach.
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This One's Optimistic
Jackson, rejuvenated from a year away from the game and the limelight, is now prepared to go forward with the Lakers. He has said that even though the roster needs a "major retooling" he is optimistic about the future and that the Lakers have the key pieces in "Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom." With a new coach, the city of LA now has a new optimistic aura around it.
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Return Of The King
By re-signing with the Lakers, Phil Jackson has first of all proved that he does not only sign with teams that have the talent to be immediate contenders and that he just takes them over the hump. Not that that's a bad thing, it's very difficult to coach a championship team and that he's made a career of it is something special.
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Jackson Having Trouble Saying ‘I Do’
There’s something funny going on regarding the anticipated reunion of Phil Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s taking too long.
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A Make Or Break Offseason For The Lakers
The Los Angeles Lakers, one of the most storied franchises in sports history, are now in trouble and are in major need of rebuilding the franchise. Unfortunately, Lakers fans are not ready, not used to, and are not patient enough to go through a two or three year rebuilding process.
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From Lakers To Losers: A Year To Forget
This wasn’t just a fall from grace, it was a somersault. Imagine Lance Armstrong repeatedly falling off his bike. Imagine the New England Patriots fumbling every time they got near the end zone. That’s what this Lakers season felt like.
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Suns Set On Lakers Playoff Hopes
Showtime, the Lakers were once called. Only now, Showtime resides in Phoenix, calls itself the Suns, and stands ready to pick apart any team that can’t keep up.
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Is Kobe Untouchable?
Trade Kobe? It may still be unthinkable. But not as unthinkable as it used to be.
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Lakers A Mile Low In Denver
Anyone who believes in karma would find it somehow fitting that the Lakers playoff hopes crashed and burned in the state where they began unraveling some eighteen months ago, when Kobe Bryant was charged with sexual assault.
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Never Trade Your Best Player
To put it simply, the Lakers would have been far better off had they decided to pay Shaq and PJ instead of Kobe.
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Lakers, Bryant Can’t Take The Heat
Most significantly, Shaq anointed Wade as Michael Corleone, the smart one hiding in the wings, being groomed to take over the Family business.
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Last-Second Lakers Stun Charlotte
Sixty games through an often difficult season, Kobe Bryant had displayed the occasional heroics, but had yet to hit a game-winning basket, and on the sixty-first game, he delivered.
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Slip Sliding Away: Lakers Lose Grip On Playoffs
The last time the Lakers lost consecutive games to the Clippers in the same season, the White House was led by a Democrat, Hong Kong was still a British colony, and the Lakers were headed to the playoffs.
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Fan Article: Dear Mitch Kupchak,
A fan's letter to Mitch Kupchak regarding Shaq.
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Kobe To The Rescue
Before Friday night’s game against the Dallas Mavericks, Kobe Bryant had played 603 games in the NBA without enduring a five-game losing streak. Make it 604.
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Playing On A Prayer At The Garden
The Lakers outscored the Knicks 39-24 in the 4th quarter, impersonating Reggie Miller.
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Trade BLOCK Getting Crowded
If you believed all you read over the weekend, it appeared that half the Lakers squad was heading to Sacramento and Utah, and that Kobe Bryant was going to wake up the following day with teammates named Peja, Bobby Jackson, and Carlos Boozer.
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Lakers On Unfamiliar Ground
As the All-Star Break approaches, the Los Angeles Lakers are right where everyone thought they’d be: hovering around .500, clinging to the final playoff spot in the Western Conference, their fate as uncertain as their next head coach.
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Phil Makes The Right Call
How perfect it would be if Phil Jackson returned to the Lakers? Kobe Bryant could repair his tattered image and Shaquille O’Neal could demand a trade back to Los Angeles.
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The Post-Showtime Life In Los Angeles
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"The Lakers Have WHO Playing Center?"
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The Christmas Day Showdown In L.A.
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Of Kobe, Shaq and Phil
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Just Give Kobe the Damn Ball
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JUST GET ALONG! Recent Lakers Behavior Embarrasses Franchise
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LAKERS NEED THERAPIST FOR THEIR MULTIPLE PERSONALITIES
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LAKERS FACE GREATEST CHALLENGE IN SPURS
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LAKERS MUST STOP IVERSON TO STOP SIXERS
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Lakers Stagger Out of the Gate
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Memphis fans do not have much confidence in the front office, especially after they dealt Pau Gasol to the Lakers for almost nothing in return, so how do they see the draft playing out?
The fans in Minnesota are still getting used to life without KG, but they seem happy with Al Jefferson and would love to see O.J. Mayo on the roster next season.
The Sonics are in the most unique situation of all the teams heading into this year's lottery because of their uncertain future in Seattle. However, everyone seems to agree that they could use a top-flight point guard.
Two years removed from winning the NBA title, the Heat have the best chance to land the top overall pick in June's NBA Draft. Miami fans tend to agree on one thing - they want Michael Beasley or Derrick Rose.
The blueprint to stop LeBron James is simple: limit his penetration and double-team him on pick-and-rolls. 
Larry Brown inherits a crop of hard-working players but a crop that unfortunately lacks the imagination and exceptionalness to become great. 
All year long people criticized Rashard Lewis because of the contract Orlando gave him last summer, but he has paid dividends for the Magic this postseason.
Mike Dunleavy and Danny Granger had nice seasons, but they appear to be in that limbo between being good and being bad enough to get help in the lottery.
Billy Knight will be remembered more for his blunders than his successes.
The Bulls were thought to be a talented young team expected to take their collective game to the next level but instead played like a young team with less talent than anticipated.
Maybe it was the green hue that has been sprinkled on the league this season, or Atlanta’s losing record, but there didn’t seem to be a matchup Boston couldn’t exploit before this seven-game relationship began.
Who should the fans blame for the Nuggets sweep at the hands of the Lakers? George Karl barely runs an offense and the team doesn’t focus on defense. However, the answer to the question lies in the team's front office.