Comments on: Preview & Chat: The Toronto Raptors

By: Travis Y.

Travis Y. — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 18:27:44 +0000

Odom quietly nearing a triple double, Lakers win. 12-10-8 is the perfect statline for Odom. Now just relax on the berating and let the good times roll.

By: chris h

chris h — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 05:34:20 +0000

loved the way the Lakers closed out this game, the 3 or 4 fast breaks off steals or TO’s were a dagger in the heart, sucked the will right out of any thoughts of a late game comeback!
we want to see more finishes like that!!!

By: The Dude Abides

The Dude Abides — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 03:34:49 +0000

Hilarious basket by Vlad on that fast break. He’s having an OK game. He is not “a turnover waiting to happen” when he stays on the perimeter and either shoots the three or passes to another shooter, and doesn’t try to drive to the basket.

By: Kurt

Kurt — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 03:14:57 +0000

43. They are not Detroit or Boston right now, but they are good team. And, as Kwame a. said, they are a matchup problem for the Lakers.

By: kwame a.

kwame a. — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 03:03:26 +0000

Cleveland has beaten the Lakers 5 straight times. Its not a good matchup because they are good at disrupting our offense and pounding the boards. Losing to them in the last 3 weeks is completley understandable, ask Portland, who lost to them at home too.

By: Chise

Chise — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 03:00:45 +0000

I don’t think they’re even as good as LA without Bynum/Ariza. The Lakers get lackadaisical with a lead and they went from being up like 12 with 9 minutes to go to being down fairly quickly. As a group, they just lose their focus far too often (especially without Bynum) when they get leads.

I’ll give you that Cleveland is a good defensive team, and James is other worldly sometimes, but they’re not even close to Detroit and Boston this year I don’t think.

By: The Dude Abides

The Dude Abides — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 02:57:52 +0000

I’m not reading any comments until the game is over on KCAL. Right now, it’s early in the third quarter, and it’s obvious to me that Kobe is energized by the trade. The guy must be playing on fumes and adrenaline, but he’s playing awesome. Lamar is going to the hole on offense and getting some rebounds on defense, and the entire team is benefiting from Kwame’s absence, especially on offense. Remember that when Kwame fumbles a pass away, the turnover goes to the passer. The Lakers have very few turnovers to this point. Also, both Ronny and Mbenga play better team/help defense than Kwame. If you go to the Need4Sheed blog, there is a clip of Stuckey driving and dunking that runs on the main page. Kwame basically stands there and watches, while Ronny rotates over from the weak side too late (not his fault, Kwame just stands near the basket and watches).

By: ryan

ryan — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 02:47:18 +0000

39. I disagree about Cleveland. I think they are a good team, just one notch below Detroit and Boston. They are an excellent defensive team, a great rebounding team (both offensively and defensively) and they have some guy named James to close games out for them if they keep it close. Are they as good as a healthy Laker team? No, but they are probably as good as a a Laker team without Bynum and Ariza.

By: Kurt

Kurt — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 02:47:14 +0000

39. The Cavs went to the NBA finals last season and won 8 of 10 before playing the Lakers. I’ll stand by that.

By: Chise

Chise — Sat, 02 Feb 2008 02:39:28 +0000

Awesome game by Kobe and the Machine. Can’t remember which, but one of the Lakers announcers said it’s been nice to have the Machine functioning properly again. I can’t agree more. When Sasha is on, he adds such a big element to that 2nd unit cuz he’s usually lights outs (8-10 tonight).

@Kurt’s Preview: No “bad” losses to weak teams without Bynum? So you’re calling the Cavs a “strong” team? I wholeheartedly disagree. Cleveland is terrible. That’s two losses this year to that inferior team (and others like the Bucks, Nets, etc.) Not dwelling, just saying.