Basketball (NBA, College, etc.)

Lakers playing the Spurs right now at Staples.

EDIT: Spurs lead the Lakers 51-48 in the 3rd.

EDIT2: Lakers lose, 89-88.

Lakers beat the Hornets, 101-95, to start their seven game road trip.

bmwracer wrote:Lakers beat the Hornets, 101-95, to start their seven game road trip.

any win is good for them, since they are struggling as a team.
Wins on the road are important, but what is concerning is their defeats at home recently.

qilver wrote:Wins on the road are important, but what is concerning is their defeats at home recently.

And most of them to sub-.500 teams. :shakehead:

bmwracer wrote:
And most of them to sub-.500 teams. :shakehead:

despite what others say regarding this team about, its too early to tell, or come playoff time they will be different....

I have not been convince otherwise, that this team really wants to defend their title, for a three-peat, NOT the way they have lost at home, and have really lack that defensive intensity and competitiveness. IF they just coasting and will "turn on" the switch come playoffs, THEN how come LA owners/mgmt are saying trade possibilities, and why is Artest demanding a trade. Clearly this team has lacked in a lot of areas, and now are simply a very good team, and not so great. I even think Miami has a much better chance, along with Spurs, Orlando, and Boston, and even...Dallas, a much better chance and overtaking the title from the Lakers.
I am not so sure if they can get passed the Oklahoma Thunder if they do meet again the 1st or 2nd round, youth, quickness, and a tough offense threat from Durant and Westbrook will cause Lakers a lot of problems.

Artest should be traded away. All he's done is whine and gripe about Phil Jackson being tougher on him. Personally, I think if he doesn't like it, he should be let go.

I really don't see Dallas is much of a threat to the Lakers or in the West. They're an aging team and they're without Caron Butler for the rest of the season. Unless they can pull off some kind of trade, I don't see them doing much in the playoffs. Oklahoma City could be a threat, but I still think they're too young and inexperience to win enough tight playoff games against San Antonio or the Lakers.

Right now, the only teams in the long run that I think are a threat to the Lakers are Boston and San Antonio, and that's more because atm they are the best teams in the league. Miami lacks depth and offensively they play more one on one than any of the top teams in the NBA, hence them having the 4th lowest assist average in the league.

There wasn't much on pre-Super Bowl (unless you count all of that red carpet crapola before the game), so I watched the Magic-Celtics game... Magic couldn't make a shot if their lives depended on it, so the Celtics won rather easily.

mrsmith10 wrote:Artest should be traded away. All he's done is whine and gripe about Phil Jackson being tougher on him. Personally, I think if he doesn't like it, he should be let go.

I really don't see Dallas is much of a threat to the Lakers or in the West. They're an aging team and they're without Caron Butler for the rest of the season. Unless they can pull off some kind of trade, I don't see them doing much in the playoffs. Oklahoma City could be a threat, but I still think they're too young and inexperience to win enough tight playoff games against San Antonio or the Lakers.

Right now, the only teams in the long run that I think are a threat to the Lakers are Boston and San Antonio, and that's more because atm they are the best teams in the league. Miami lacks depth and offensively they play more one on one than any of the top teams in the NBA, hence them having the 4th lowest assist average in the league.

at about 5pts a game, Artest is playing below what he should be producing, and at the defensive end, he is a liability for this team. I agree, the Lakers should trade him, BUT if they could, considering his contract and what he is lock into, as the Lakers owe him 3 years left in his contract, I am not sure if they could opt'd out of it, and get someone more suitable for this team, in exchange for Artest. Not forgetting the amazing things he did for them in last years Championship run, but this year its is completely different and he has hurt this team more than helped in any way. In addition he is clearly not happy to be here as a Laker. Bynum is playing ok but at times, he doesn't play to his potential, and has been weak in the interior offense and defense, and his nagging knee injuries have hindered him. Odom has been overall a bright spot for this team, alongside Kobe, and Gasol has been somewhat strong in most games, but does fade back in other crucial winnable games. Other players have not really stepped up much, with the occasional strong play from Shannon Brown, but not often enough. I really think this team is tired going on 3 straight visits deep in the post season, and winning 2 of those final championships. They really need a strong solid, and quick guard similar to Russell Westbrook type player, who can push the tempo and cause other teams problems in the paint, but Westbrook is untouchable, and is off limits, so they will have to look to getting a quick reliable PG starter, as Fisher is nearing his career. There are other Lakers that are slowing down too, so this team probably needs some zest, energy and more youth.
Many teams have focused on getting to the finals, and have challenged and often won the Lakers this year, so to most teams, the Lakers really seem to lack that competitive edge and somehow simply do not know how to finish games strong, even at home...that is very concerning to any Laker fan. Let's hope in the coming weeks and months, the Lakers can play more consistent and get into the Playoffs with more confidence so they can hopefully defend their 3rd straight title, otherwise it will be an early round exit for this team.

Lakers beat the Grizz, 93-84.

Celts fall to Bobcats, 89-94. This had the makings of a trap game and they ended up playing one sloppy game. :shakehead:

Clips lose to Orlando 101-85, they've lost 6 of 8 since Gordon went down. I really thought they might have an outside shot of sneaking into the 7th or 8th playoff spot, but not anymore. :shakehead:

gaijinmark wrote:Clips lose to Orlando 101-85, they've lost 6 of 8 since Gordon went down. I really thought they might have an outside shot of sneaking into the 7th or 8th playoff spot, but not anymore. :shakehead:

It's that Clipper luck that they're so well known for.

^^ They did go into MSG tonight though and handed the Knicks another loss 116-108, :woot: Knicks seemed like a lock for the playoffs for a long time but now are only 3 games up from 9th place. Meanwhile the Cav's lose again, 26 in a row now, how can a team be that bad? :puppydog: Really no injuries and you wouldn't think one player could make that much of a difference. Interesting game coming up for them this weekend, at home against Washington who are 0-25 on the road this year, figure something has to give for one of them. :nut:

hitomi #1 wrote:Meanwhile the Cav's lose again, 26 in a row now, how can a team be that bad? :puppydog: Really no injuries and you wouldn't think one player could make that much of a difference. Interesting game coming up for them this weekend, at home against Washington who are 0-25 on the road this year, figure something has to give for one of them. :nut:

Byron Scott must be beside himself. :doh:

hitomi #1 wrote:^^ They did go into MSG tonight though and handed the Knicks another loss 116-108, :woot: Knicks seemed like a lock for the playoffs for a long time but now are only 3 games up from 9th place. Meanwhile the Cav's lose again, 26 in a row now, how can a team be that bad? :puppydog: Really no injuries and you wouldn't think one player could make that much of a difference. Interesting game coming up for them this weekend, at home against Washington who are 0-25 on the road this year, figure something has to give for one of them. :nut:

I had to read the NBA Yahoo sports box score, and the Clippers managed a road win, in which I thought they honestly didn't have a chance, but this year, this team is better with the addition of Blake Griffin, despite their injuries. I doubt they can make the playoffs, but to get close or back to a respectable .500 for this team would be a good start.

Lakers tomorrow against Celtics, I am not sure if Lakers will make any surprises with a victory, I think Celtics will win by 12pts, and this one won't be close.
I'd be very very surprised if it is a close one, and Lakers somehow win.

And those Laker rumors, I think they should do it and trade Bynum for Carmelo, but I don't think it'll happen.

Actually, I think the game against Boston will be fairly close. The Lakers play well in Boston and had a nail-biter loss against San Antonio, who I think is better than Boston atm. Plus Shaq is out and Pierce is sick, so I don't think he'll be 100%. As for trading Bynum for Melo, I would pull my hair out if that happened. Losing Bynum would absolutely kill the Lakers defense. Not to mention, the Lakers don't need another big ego to go along with Artest and occasionally Kobe. Even if Bynum is often injured I'll take him over Melo anyday.

^ I don't think I'm going to watch the game... I get enough frustration from work as it is. :bleh:

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Utah Jazz coach Jerry Sloan resigns...

http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=6109031

So much for all the talk about the Lakers falling from the dephs. They beat Boston 92-86, and had a much better game this time around playing Boston. Unlike last time when it was give it to Kobe and let him do all the work, the Lakers shared the ball fairly well (20 assists), and both big men got involved. Bynum had 16 points and 9 rebounds, while Gasol had 20 points and 10 rebounds.