L.A. Lakers Blog

Do The Lakers Need To Make A Trade?

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Tue, 01 Feb 2011 15:44:00 +0000

The Lakers are reeling. The team just lost a big game to the Boston Celtics. This year's Lakers team does not resemble the one that won the NBA Championship just a season ago. The Lakers lack energy and they need a spark. They have regressed and look like the Kobe Bryant Show. This much is clear about the current Lakers team.

Derek Fisher is done. His best days are behind him and he has given the Lakers nothing all season long. Steve Blake is not the answer. Blake looks awkward in the triangle offense. His offensive creativity is stifled and he seems to struggle to run the offense. Andrew Bynum is giving the Lakers absolutely nothing in the middle. Whatever happened to the Bynum of three seasons ago?

The one bright spot is Lamar Odom. He has played his way onto the All Star team and has put up fantastic numbers night after night. The Lakers may need to consider trading a player like Bynum to bring back another piece. This team as currently configured is not going to 3 peat. Maybe they could swing a trade for Carmelo Anthony. They could rent him for half the season to help them get over the hump.

I just don't see this Lakers team as currently configured beating the Spurs, Heat or the Celtics in the playoffs.

Is The NBA Headed For A Lockout?

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 07:44:00 +0000

All of the signs are pointing to a lockout occurring in the NFL. The NFL owners are crying broke and say that they are having trouble finding ways to make money off of their franchises. NBA owners are claiming poverty as well. According to David Stern, the NBA has lost as much as $400 million dollars over the past year. The NBA is asking for players to reduce their share of the revenue take in the next CBA.

I personally find it hard to believe that the NBA is losing money. NBA arenas are packed and excitement from fans has not been this high since the Jordan years. The Lakers, Knicks, and Celtics are all relevant and ratings are going through the roof. Look at how arenas sell out all over the league when the Miami Heat come to town. The NBA already has a rookie salary cap and owners want even tighter restrictions on salaries.

I think that the NBA salary structure is just right. Teams can pay their stars more money under the Larry Bird exception than other teams can pay them .If the NBA institutes a hard cap then the major stars will feel the smaller markets for the lure of larger markets. There is no reason for a superstar to stay in Milwaukee or Toronto if he can make the exact same salary in L.A, New York or Chicago.

The NBA has allowed a number of owners and player to build wealth and increase their fortunes. In my opinion, the NBA needs to keep things just like it is before they kill off the golden goose.

Time To Trade Melo???

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Fri, 14 Jan 2011 21:09:00 +0000

This post was originally found on Sportsfeens
.
I was watching the Denver Nuggets play against the Sacramento Kings last night and one thing was clear. Carmelo Anthony needs a new team. Carmelo was a one man team scoring bucket after bucket with little help from his teammates. Carmelo is a top 5 NBA player with the talents of a LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, Kevin Durant, and a Kobe Bryant.

Chauncey Billups has gotten old quick. Kenyon Martin may be done with his vast array of injuries. Nene is a decent player and the Birdman’s day is over. The only players that the Nuggets have to build around going forward are Ty Lawson and J.R. Smith. Melo deserves better than that. He does not want to spend his best years suffering with a rebuilding project in Denver.

It’s obvious that he will bolt once the season is over so the Nuggets should do Carmelo a favor and trade him now.

Lakers Try To Threepeat Against The Talented Heat

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 07:18:00 +0000

The big story of the offseason is the talented trio of the Miami Heat. LeBron James, Dewayne Wade, and Chris Bosh are all down in South Beach hoping to knock off the two time defending champs. While everyone is giving the title to the Heat already, the Lakers are still a formidable foe in the West. They return most of the roster that defeated the Celtics in an epic seven game series in the NBA Finals.

In my opinion the Heat will represent the East in the Finals and the Lakers will represent the West. The Lakers only weakness is at the center position where Andrew Bynum still has not recovered from last season's injuries. In order for the Lakers to hold off the up and coming Oklahoma City Thunder and Portland TrailBlazers; they will need a healthy Bynum. If Bynum is able to come back and play at a 90% level, then expect to see the Lakers in the Finals for a third straight year.

The Best Free Agent That No One Is Talking About

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 05:00:00 +0000

NBA execs are lining up to throw money at LeBron James, Dwayne Wade, and Chris Bosh. This makes perfect sense but only a few teams are going to be fortunate enough to land these players. Teams with cap room should take a shot at Memphis Grizzlies shooting guard Rudy Gay. Gay is a restricted free agent and on the verge of being a NBA superstar. He averaged nearly 20 points per game last season and played well for an up and coming Grizzlies team. If some team made a creative offer to Gay (such as front loading his contract), it would be difficult for the Grizzlies to match. The team that gets Gay would lock up a budding superstar who is still a few years away from reaching his peak as a NBA player.

Lakers Win Another Championship

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:36:00 +0000

The Los Angeles Lakers won their second consecutive NBA championship by defeating the Celtics in a grueling seven game series. The championship is the Lakers 5th in the past 10 years. Kobe Bryant has now tied Magic Johnson for the most rings in Lakers history. This Lakers team may be on the verge of being another dynasty.

Kobe Bryant may not be the player he was a year or two ago but he is still in his prime. Andrew Bynum is nowhere near peaking and has the potential to be an NBA All Star. Ron Artest is still playing quality basketball on both the offensive and defensive ends of the court. Pau Gasol still has another 3 to 4 years of All Star level basketball left in him. The only spot that needs tightening up is the point guard position. Derrick Fisher is still a quality player but is no longer a starting point guard on a championship level team. L.A. needs to add a starter like Raymond Felton to make their entire lineup solid.

Lakers And The Celtics Tied 2-2

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sat, 12 Jun 2010 20:06:00 +0000

This series looks like it is going to come down to tomorrow night's game. L.A. missed a great chance to take a commanding lead Thursday night. Let's not forget the Lakers have done their job by stealing Game 3 in Boston. The Celtics now have to go back to L.A. I love the Lakers chances even if the Celtics can somehow steal Game 5. If you want to know who will win Game 5, look for the following signs early.

1. Lamar Odom - Odom is the barometer for how the Lakers are playing. If he is aggressively forcing the action with his playmaking abilities L.A. will roll. If he is the passive Odom of Games 2 and 4, the Lakers will struggle.

2. Andrew Bynum - The Lakers need a healthy Andrew Bynum. Game 4 showed just how much the Lakers miss Bynum. It was a layup fest. Bynum controls the middle by blocking and altering shots.

3. Paul Pierce - Pierce had an absolutely miserable first 3 games of the series. He got on track in Game 4 and helped the Celtics early. The Lakers need to contain Pierce if they want to steal 2 out of 3 at the Garden.

Prediction: L.A. in 7

Lakers Beat The Kings in Double OT

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Mon, 28 Dec 2009 01:17:00 +0000

Nice bounce back. L.A. ran their record to 24-5 by beating a very game Sacramento team in double OT 112-103. Kobe had a great game scoring 30 and Gasol chipped in 24 points 11 rebounds. Shannon Brown and Derrick Fisher has great rebound performances. No Ron Artest...no problem. Artest got a concussion by falling down his steps at home on Friday night. Lamar Odom filled in nicely with 13 points and 15 rebounds.

Cavs Blast the Lakers

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sun, 27 Dec 2009 01:01:00 +0000

This one was ugly.The Lakers picked a bad time for their worst performance of the season losing to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Christmas day 102-87. The Lakers had one of those worst shooting nights and trailed the entire game. L.A. shot under 37% from the field and shot 27% from the 3 point line. Kobe had a terrible game hoisting up 32 shots to score 35 points and he received no help from his teammates. Derrick Fisher and Lamar Odom played poorly. Andrew Bynum was invisible and Pau Gasol was not a factor. Meanwhile the Cavs shot over 54% from the field and almost 40% from 3 point land. In a rare occasion LeBron James scored 26 but did not lead the Cavs in scoring. Mo Williams led the Cavs with 28 points, 7 assists and 6 rebounds. The Cavs got solid contributions from bench players Anderson Varejao, Jamario Moon and Delonte West. The game got so out of hand that the Lakers received 5 technical fouls and the crowd threw foam fingers onto the court in the 4th quarter. Hopefully things will improve when the Lakers face the Kings tomorrow on Saturday night.

NBA Surprises

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 06:15:00 +0000

NBA Scoring Leader
Carmelo Anthony leads the NBA in scoring. I assumed that Kobe, LeBron or D-wade were leading the league in scoring. Carmelo is quietly having a great season.

NBA Rebounding Leader
Gerald Wallace leads the NBA in rebounding. There is no way that I would have guessed that one without looking at the league leaders. Wallace has more rebounds then Marcus Camby, Dwight Howard and Chris Bosh.

NBA Blocked Shots Leader
Josh Smith leads the NBA in blocks. Smith is living up to his billing and has become a much more polished player this season.

Lakers 16-3

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 01:11:00 +0000

The Lakers have picked up where they left off after their championship season and are off to a 16-3 start. The Lakers won their 16th game of the season after a 101-88 win over the Phoenix Suns. The Lakers lead the Pacific division by 2 games and are posied to defend their title.

Lakers Add Artest To the Roster

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 00:07:00 +0000

The Lakers improved their team this offseason by adding Ron Artest to the roster. Artest will take Trevor Ariza's spot. He adds much needed toughness and scoring ability from the perimeter. Artest is an upgrade over Ariza and should provide the Lakers with a great defender to guard Carmelo Anthony, Richard Jefferson and Brandon Roy during the playoffs. Kobe can now focus solely on being the offensive spark of the Lakers.

Lakers Cruise to 15th Title

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 03:32:00 +0000

The Los Angeles Lakers won their 15th NBA Championship tonight by defeating the Orlando Magic in Game 5 of the NBA Finals. The Lakers seized control of the series with a dominating performance by Kobe Bryant and great shooting by Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom. The Lakers had a balanced team effort throughout all five games with contributions by Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher, Andrew Bynum, and even Luke Walton. The X factor throughout the entire series was the play of Odom and Ariza. They hit big baskets and made life difficult for Turkoglu and Lewis all series long. Fisher found his shooting stroke late in the series and his heroics in Game 4 all but sealed the title. This series was never in doubt and the Lakers should have swept the series. It became obvious that the Magic were overmatched when they shot 63% in Game 3 and still only held on for a four point win. This series exposed Dwight Howard and his limited offensive arsenal. If the Magic are to take the next step to being a championship team Dwight Howard has to become a more complete player.

LeBron James: A Chicago Bull?

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sat, 06 Jun 2009 00:57:00 +0000

After watching the Cavs fall short in the playoffs yet again, I begin to wonder should LeBron James leave Cleveland? Even though Cleveland had the best record in the NBA; it was clear that the Cavs were impostors all season long. The Cavs were at best the 4th best team in the NBA. I rank the 4 best teams in the NBA as follows: (1) Los Angeles Lakers (2) Denver Nuggets (3) Orlando Magic (4) Cleveland Cavaliers. The Cavs are the only team with a superstar who has no help. Kobe has Pau. Melo has Chauncey. Dwight Howard has Rashard Lewis. LeBron has an undersized Mo Williams. While Mo Williams is a nice player, he is not a number 2 on a championship team. So LeBron faces a tough decision; what team could he win a championship with the quickest?

The two most talked about suitors for his services are the Knicks and Nets. Pros: He would be the biggest star in New York and treated as basketball royalty in the largest market in the US. If he resurrected either franchise he would be the man in NY. Cons: He would make less money in annual salary and be further from winning a championship. The Knicks have no legitimate superstar on their roster and are overriden with undersized guards with bad contracts. The Nets do have young talent in Devin Harris and Brook Lopez along with his good friend co-owner Jay-Z. If he joins either team LeBron makes them an instant playoff contender but not a championship team.

I personally think the team that makes the most sense for LeBron would be the Chicago Bulls. The Bulls have a young roster loaded with talent. LeBron could lead MJ's old franchise back to championship greatness. Derrick Rose and Luol Deng have All Star potential that would complement LeBron's game. The Bulls also have John Salmons and the enigmatic Tyrus Thomas. Plus the Bulls will have the salary cap space to sign LeBron in 2010.

Lakers vs. Magic

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 00:56:00 +0000

The Finals matchup is set. The Lakers will play the Cleveland Cavaliers for the NBA Championship. LeBron vs Kobe. Correction. The Lakers will be playing the Orlando Magic for the NBA Championship. The team that no one expected to be here is in the Finals. This should be a very intriguing series and both teams have interesting matchups at key positions.

Point Guard
Rafer Alston vs. Derek Fisher
Rafer Alston is much quicker then Derek Fisher and should be able to penetrate at will against the aging Fisher. Fisher has shown his age during these playoffs and has struggled to find his outside stroke during the playoffs.
Advantage: Magic

Shooting Guard
Courtney Lee vs. Kobe Bryant
This one goes without saying. The Lakers have a huge advantage at this position and the Magic have no one on their roster with the size and quickness to stop Kobe. Expect to see a lot of Michael Pietrus guarding Kobe as he did LeBron in the previous series.
Advantage: Lakers

Small Forward
Hedo Turkoglu vs. Trevor Ariza
Turkoglu is the primary ball handler in tight situations and is responsible for facilitating the Magic's offense. Ariza has the length and quickness to pose problems for Turkoglu. If he can keep up with Melo then he can guard Turk.
Advantage; Magic

Power Forward
Rashard Lewis vs. Pau Gasol
This is an interesting matchup if it ever materializes. Lewis is too quick for Gasol to guard on the defensive end of the court and Gasol is too big for Lewis to defend in the post. I expect Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza to each spend major minutes defending Odom. If Bynum doesn't play much as he hasn't in previous series, expect Dwight Howard to defend Gasol.
Advantage: Even

Center
Dwight Howard vs. Andrew Bynum
On paper Bynum has the size and skill to defend Howard. But in reality Bynum will spend most of the series in foul trouble and Howard will have his way against the Lakers disappointing big man.
Advantage: Magic

I think that the Lakers will put Bynum on the bench and go small. This means:

1. Putting Lamar Odom on Rashard Lewis.
2. Putting Pau Gasol on Dwight Howard.
3. Having Kobe guard Turkoglu in crunch time.
4. Having Jordan Farmar play major minutes to keep up with Alston.

Lakers Too Soft In The Middle

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sun, 24 May 2009 16:34:00 +0000

The one thing that concerns me watching the Lakers play last night against the Nuggets is that L.A. is still soft in the middle. Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom are not physical enough. Countless times I watched Pau Gasol allow his man to get offensive rebounds and easy lay ins because Gasol did not box out. Whenever the Nuggets run the pick and roll Gasol looks lost. He doesn't know whether to come out on the shooter or to roll with the guy setting the pick. So a lot of time he winds up floating in no man's land in the middle of the court. It's pathetic. Andrew Bynum is shooting way to many jump shots for a 7 foot center and is not rebounding or blocking shots consistently. He is playing just like Brendan Haywood. Odom is an enigma. He has too much talent to be as inconsistent as he is on the court. He should be a threat to get a triple double any night but has become quite content at being a bench player. He doesn't play hard consistently. Carmelo and NeNe are going to get there points and rebounds. But there is no reason that Kenyon Martin or Chris Anderson should be doing anything at all against the Lakers front line. They are garbage players.

Lakers Go Up 2-1

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sat, 23 May 2009 16:25:00 +0000

All of L.A. should be thanking Kobe Bryant for his performance in Game 3. There has been one constant in this Lakers Nuggets series and that has been Kobe. Kobe has been great game after game. Kobe dropped 41 and hit tough shots down the stretch including a 3 to give the Lakers the lead for good. It didn't matter if it was Carmelo Anthony, J.R. Smith or Anthony Carter; Kobe could not be stopped. On the defensive end Kobe helped frustrate Chauncey Billups into a terrible shooting performance. That was a Mike-like game that Kobe had against the Nuggets. He put the team on his back and carried them to a win.

Lakers Up 3-2

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Fri, 15 May 2009 03:32:00 +0000

The Lakers blew the Houston Rockets out by 40 points in Game 5 to take a 3 games to 2 lead. The Lakers are going to need a much more consistent effort if they want to win the NBA Championship this season. They seem to think that they can turn it on and off when they want. They do not bring their A game consistently and this can definitely hurt them in the next round. Hopefully they will bring their A game tonight and finish the Rockets off tonight so that this series will not have to go 7. The Nuggets will be a tough out and the Lakers will need to play better to win that series. Denver is playing at a very high level and will beat the Lakers if they suffer the same mental lapses that they have in the previous two series. I am worried about the lack of energy that L.A. has on the defensive side of the court. The Lakers are too big and talented to give up as many points as they do.

Lakers Up 2-1

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Sat, 09 May 2009 18:30:00 +0000

The Los Angeles Lakers got a big win last night to go up 2 games to 1 on the Houston Rockets. The Lakers beat the Rockets 108-94. Since Game 1 Kobe Bryant has dominated the series and has refused to let the Lakers lose. Kobe scored 40 points in Game 2 and 33 in Game 3 last night. He also added 6 rebounds, 3 blocked shots and 3 assists. Each of the other 4 Laker starters scored in double figures. Jordan Farmar started at the point for the suspended Derek Fisher. For the Lakers to win this series Kobe will need to have 2 more dominating performances because he isn't getting any help from his teammates. Andrew Bynum has disappeared and given the Lakers nothing offensively. Trevor Ariza and Derek Fisher have had trouble with their defensive matchups. The only help that Kobe has gotten in the series has been from Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom. The Lakers have had a tough time dealing with Yao Ming and Aaron Brooks.

Win Number 57

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Fri, 27 Mar 2009 15:55:00 +0000

The Lakers won their 4th in a row yesterday and raised their record to 57-14 with a 92-77 win over the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons are a shell of what they used to be in the early 2000's. These Pistons are struggling to even make the playoffs and will likely be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs if they get in. They played without Rasheed Wallace, Rip Hamilton and Allen Iverson. Kobe went for 30 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Derek Fisher added 15, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol scored 12 apiece. Detroit was led by reserve point guard Will Bynum who had 25 points and 11 assists. The Lakers have now won 8 out of 10 and continue to look like the best team in the NBA. One more win and the Lakers will clinch home court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs.

Lakers Hold Off The Mavs 107-100

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 04:00:00 +0000

The Mavericks put up a good fight but in the end the Lakers were too much. Kobe scored 28 points, Trevor Ariza scored 26 points and Pau Gasol scored 25. Lamar Odom had a double double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Jason Terry had 29 for Dallas and singlehandlely tried to lead a comeback for the Mavs. Dallas went on a huge run in the 4th quarter to overcome a 13 point lead and take a 5 point lead. But Kobe led the Lakers on a run of their own and they held on to beat Dallas 107-100. The Lakers completed their sweep of Texas defeating the Rockets, Spurs and Mavericks over the past 3 games. If the Lakers face the Mavs in the playoffs that should be an easy series. The Lakers have a mismatch at virtually every position on the court except point guard.

Lakers Complete Texas Sweep

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 17:32:00 +0000

The Lakers had two very impressive road wins the last 2 days. A 102-96 win over the Houston Rockets and a 102-95 win over the San Antonio Spurs. Kobe and Pau dominated both games and the Lakers clinched the Pacific division title. The Lakers managed to beat the Rockets with Josh Powell starting in the place of a suspended Lamar Odom. Also, L.A. inserted Trevor Ariza in the starting lineup the past few games relegating Luke Walton to the bench. The Lakers are tied with Cleveland for the best record in the NBA at 52-13. With just 17 games left to play, L.A. has an 8.5 game over the Spurs for the number 1 seed in the West. I expect that the Lakers will spend the next month tightening up their playoff rotation and getting tired players some rest. I think that home court advantage would mean more against the Celtics. I don't know if overall home court advantage means that much to the Lakers if they play the Cavs in the finals. The Lakers could easily go into Cleveland and beat the Cavs in their building as they did during the season. But going into Boston is a much more difficult proposition for L.A.

Lamar Odom Suspended

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 23:14:00 +0000

Lamar Odom was suspended today for 1 game for leaving the bench during the heated scrum in the Lakers 111-94 loss at Portland. Odom left the bench when pushing and shoving broke out after Trevor Ariza's horrible flagrant foul on Rudy Fernandez. Odom will miss tonight''s game in Houston against the Rockets.

Trevor Ariza Flagrant Foul

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Tue, 10 Mar 2009 23:11:00 +0000

This was totally unnecessary and Ariza deserved to be thrown out of the game.

Lakers Blown Out at Portland

noreply@blogger.com (Mark) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 23:19:00 +0000

The TrailBlazers blew the Lakers out of the building 111-94 Monday night. The Lakers didn't show up. They left their game on the bus. The Lakers were losing by 28 points going into the 4th quarter. The best team in the NBA down almost 30 playing against a conference rival! Terrible team effort! Kobe had a horrible shooting night going 11-29 scoring only 26 points. Gasol added 18 and the rest of the Lakers were MIA. They got nothing from Fisher, Odom or Walton. This game was embarrassing. The Lakers were so frustrated that Trevor Ariza committed a flagrant foul against Rudy Fernandez.

The Blazers had a balanced team effort. Brandon Roy led the Blazers with 27 and Travis Outlaw had 22. LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 and Joel Przybilla has 12. Portland played a flawless game outshooting, outrebounding and outplaying the Lakers throughout the game. The Lakers lost their 3rd straight road game. Hopefully the Lakers can rebound Wednesday night against the Rockets.