With the Lakers starting their second round series against the Mavericks on Monday, we start our series preview today. In our first installment, we look at the Lakers’ offense versus the Mavericks’ defense. The Mavericks may not be known as a defensive team, but for the season they boasted a top 10 defense measured by […]
Archives for April 2011
A Second Round Sneak Peek
With the Hornets vanquished and the Mavs on the horizon, we find ourselves waiting a few days before the Lakers return to action. So what better time to look forward, with nothing but time on our hands? With that, some random thoughts on what we’ve seen and learned from round one, how some of that […]
Around the World (Wide Web): Game 6 Reactions
[The above is a video compilation of Ron Artest’s season of muscle flexing. (h/t to The Basketball Jones)] From Brian Kamenetzky, Land O’ Lakers: Before the game, I wrote about the need for Chris Paul not just to play well, but at a level approaching the upper edges of elite (as he was in Games […]
Lakers/Hornets Game 6: Closing Out With Defense
In Darius’ Preview and Chat, he opened up with a discussion on how difficult it is to close out teams on the road in the playoffs, and brought up this comment from The Dude Abides: The Lakers of the Pau Gasol era are 7-1 in road closeout games, including the last five in a row. […]
Game 6 Preview & Chat: Lakers vs. Hornets
They say closing out a team is the hardest win to get in a series. This is even more true on the road. So, it speaks volumes that the Lakers have been quite good at this in the past three years. As The Dude Abides mentioned in the comments: The Lakers of the Pau Gasol […]
Around the World (Wide Web)
From Dave McMenamin, ESPNLA: If we learned anything in the two days leading up to the Lakers’ commanding 106-90 Game 5 win over the New Orleans Hornets on Tuesday, it’s that people still don’t trust Kobe Bryant. What more does the guy have to do? Following Bryant’s balking at getting X-rays or an MRI exam […]
More Thoughts On Game 5
Last night’s game 5 may have been the best game the Lakers have played in this young post season. No one player was that great, but the cumulative production that the players produced made for a great win. With 6 Lakers scoring double figures and the bench players bringing a spark with their energy and […]
Around the World (Wide Web): Game 5 Reactions
From Andy Kamenetzky, Land O’ Lakers: I’ll say this for Kobe, the man doesn’t just play while hurt. He throws all possible caution to the wind when it comes to logical approaches in this state. First, he refuses to get an MRI on his injured ankle like any sane person whose body is their temple […]
Lakers/Hornets Game 5: One More To Go
Before the game, I mentioned that tonight – like it or not – questions would be answered tonight. Suffice to say, we like the answers. The Lakers came out ready to play top shelf basketball and by doing so took down the Hornets 106-90 to take a 3-2 lead in the series. The Lakers are […]
Game 5 Preview & Chat: Lakers vs. Hornets
Like it or not, questions will be answered tonight. Is Kobe’s ankle really okay enough to play on? If so, good enough play effectively? Will the Lakers go back to playing physically with Chris Paul to limit his effectiveness? Will the confidence that Andrew Bynum showed in post practice interviews translate to the court? (“Our […]