With an already thin Laker lineup seemingly getting thinner by the day without Chris Mihm and Devean George, Phil Jackson has had to get creative to find a group that works. For example, starting classic energy-off-the-bench-guy Ronnie Turiaf against Minnesota last night (that may also have been a lesson to Brian Cook about playing defense […]
News
My Bracket Is A Disaster
I’m posting this before the first game of the NCAA tournament, but that headline should be accurate within 24-48 hours. Just for the record, I have a Final Four of Texas, Kansas, UConn and Villanova. (Yes, I have Texas beating Duke. Yes, I know Duke beat them by 31 this year.) I have Texas taking […]
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 […]
Fast Break
Got back last night and passed up watching the Soprano’s return (which I will watch tonight, while eating some baked ziti) to catch the Laker game against the Sonics (on Tivo). I was saying ouch before the final minute, but I was in a lot of pain afterward. So let’s talk about those issues, the […]
On Tap: Seattle SuperSonics
Record: 24-38 PF: 101.4 PA: 105.9 Road: 9-22 Last 10: 4-6 What Vegas says: Lakers -8 Seattle will be trying to win consecutive games for the first time since January 22-25. Smush Parker headband watch: This could be a new stat. If it stays on, like it did in San Antonio, the Lakers win. Parker’s […]
Playing Right
Kurt’s in the desert, and I’m sure he will return with a story to tell about missing this one. If indeed he did. Fourth game in five days, played the runnin’ Suns last night, got in at 3:30 AM… “I can’t understand it’s just because it’s a back-to-back,” Manu Ginobili said. “Every team does them, […]
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 […]
Know Thyself
It dawned on me that I put up information about other team’s offenses and defenses in previews, but I haven’t done that for the Lakers. So: Record: 32-30 (27-35 Pythagorean), 8th seed in the West Record last 10 games: 6-4 Offensive Rating: 109.3 (9th in the NBA) Defensive Rating: 107.2 (17th in the NBA) —————————————————- […]
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 […]