Two out of Three Ain’t Bad: First off, I promise never, ever to quote Meat Loaf in a post again. But heading into three home games against Sacramento, Milwaukee and New Orleans, I think the Lakers need to go 2-1, with the game against New Orleans the must win. Yes, I’d like 3-0, but evidence […]
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On Tap: The Boston Celtics
Not the usual format today, but that’s due to other stuff crowding blogging time. Collapse: First, let’s talk — as some of you have been doing in the comments below — about that loss to Cleveland. I certainly didn’t love that last shot, but the problem was that it ever came down to that last […]
On Tap: The Cleveland Cavaliers
Record: 37-29, 4th seed in the East Record last 10 games: 5-5 Offensive Rating: 108.8 (10th in the NBA) Defensive Rating: 106.6 (14th in the NBA) Laker’s playoff chase: The Lakers are up 1.5 games against fading New Orleans and 2 games on Utah. The Lakers, by the way, still play the Hornets twice, including […]
On Tap: The New Jersey Nets
Record: 33-28 (30-31 Pythagorean) 3rd seed in the East Record last 10 games: 5-5 Offensive Rating: 105.5 (21st in the NBA) Defensive Rating: 105.6 (10th in the NBA) As Jim Mora would say, “Playoffs?” The Lakers head out on a tough road trip with a slim cushion — basically one of those little pads you […]
On Tap: The Minnesota Timberwolves
Record: 26-36, 12th seed in the West, 5.5 games back of the Lakers Record last 10 games: 3-7 Laker record against Wolves: 0-3 Offensive Rating: 104.6 (25th in the NBA) Defensive Rating: 106 (12th in the NBA) Always look on the bright side of life: After a loss like last night, then having to play […]
On Tap: The Sacramento Kings
What you need to know: The season records and offensive ratings are pretty meaningless with the Kings, they are a different team since Artest joined them. In the last 10 games they are 8-2 (14-7 since Artest arrived) and they are just half-a-game back of Lakers for the seventh seed. They are half a game […]
On Tap: The Spurs. Again.
Didn’t we just see this movie? And we didn’t like the ending? On the optimistic side, if you look at the game flow the Lakers played the Spurs pretty evenly except for a stretch at the start of the third quarter. Of course, that part of the game counts too. That’s just one of the […]
On Tap: The New Orleans Hornets
Record: 31-28 (27-32 Pythagorean), 7th seed in the West Record last 10 games: 5-5 (but have dropped 5 of the last 7) Offensive Rating: 104.2 (26th in the NBA) Defensive Rating: 106.1 (14th in the NBA) Playoff Implications: While they are all big now, this one is huge, and not just for the city of […]
On Tap: The San Antonio Spurs
Record: 46-12 (44-14 Pythagorean), top seed in the West Record last 10 games: 8-2 Offensive Rating: 108.6 (11th in the NBA) Defensive Rating: 99.2 (best in the NBA) Jim Jackson a Laker: The Lakers bought out Slava Medvedenko’s contract and have signed Jim Jackson, who was cut loose by the Suns recently. I like the […]
On Tap: The Detroit Pistons
Record: 48-10 (45-13 Pythagorean), top seed in the East Record last 10 games: 8-2 Offensive Rating: 112.9 (2nd in the NBA) Defensive Rating: 103.1 (3rd in the NBA) Lakers and the Playoffs: The win against Golden State kept the status quo: Utah and Sacramento remain 1.5 games back after their wins last night (thanks for […]