A-Town Stomped

The Lakers won a sleeper last night against a young Atlanta Hawks team and improved their league-leading record to 43-10. The Hawks came out firing—as any self-respecting team would against the top team in the NBA—escaping the first quarter with a one-point lead over L.A. But then Jordan Farmar (‘Half-Jordan’ because he’s half-black and half-Jewish) provided an offensive spark off the bench, which ignited the team to outscore Atlanta 62-36 over then next two quarters. The game was over shortly after halftime, and I started writing my first R&B hit.

Pau Gasol recorded a triple-douple, his first in Purple and Gold, before the third quarter was over. Pau’s 12 points, 13 rebounds, and 10 assists were joined by Deputy Lamar’s 20-rebound outburst. Kobe only scored 10 points—probably had his mind occupied by memories of the Shaqawockeez.

The game was so out of hand, that the third unit got to play the entire fourth quarter. Chris Mihm (yeah, he’s still on our team) got a dunk! We also got a chance to see the newest additions to the Laker Fam, Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown, in action. Brown had a sick, felony-level block that sent the bench (of starters) into a frenzy. The third unit was more of a rec-league children’s exhibition, as they could only throw together 11 points the entire quarter. As Adam Morrison dribbled out the clock to end the game, the expression on Kobe’s face was priceless: don’t y’all young cats like playin’ hoops? When I was in my third year I blitzed the rim every chance I got. Y’all acting like I won’t have you sent to the D-League…ask Smush Parker.

Next up: The Golden State Warriors. NorCal vs. SoCal. L.A. vs. The Bay

Halftime

The All-Star break marks the official halfway point in the NBA season, and although almost two-thirds of the games have already been played, most of the playoff picture is still taking shape.

The Lakers are soaring high at the top of the league, and most of their competition comes from Eastern Conference squads, like Boston, Cleveland, and Orlando. It’s great that the Lake Show is in the lead pack, but I hope that they keep an ear to the street in the West and don’t get too far ahead of themselves. I don’t think any team in the West will challenge L.A. for the top spot, but one disadvantage which that creates is that the rest of the pack will have a greater competitive mindset going into the playoffs. After being in the late-season dogfight and clawing for spots, teams like the Spurs, Jazz, Rockets, Hornets, Mavs, and Suns will be more than comfortable playing with a sense of urgency and even desperation. The Lakers need to stay sharp and stay hungry as a nation.

Some things to look forward to during the second half:

How the Lakers organize permanent roles in preparation for the Championship run – Will Lamar be utilized more as an initial threat? How often will the offense revolve around Pau in the post? Can the high-flying Bench Mob co-exist with the starters’ slower tempo?

Experimenting during games against non-playoff teams – Some of my favorite games to watch are against the Clippers, Grizzlies, and Thunder. Kobe practices harder shots, Luke Walton works on his scoring game, and the bench usually goes off! Keep an eye out for Lamar Odom dominating down low, too.

Hype around Kobe’s MVP run – Dwight Howard isn’t a dominant enough big-man, and Dwyane Wade’s team isn’t making the playoffs. It comes down to LeBron and Kobe.

Smooth Jazz put Lakers to Sleep

Once again, the Lakers had trouble going into Salt Lake City and coming away with a victory. The Jazz, with their 113-109 win over L.A., brought an end to the Lakers’ 7-game win streak. On the strength of 31 points and 11 assists from Deron Williams, the shiftiest pure point guard in the game, and bigtime shots from Mehmet Okur, the Jazz edged out L.A. in a thriller of a fourth quarter.

The Jazz are a team that we should keep on our radar. Even though they currently sit in 8th place in the West, they’re a good, young team that’ll be even better when Carlos Boozer and Andre Kirilenko return from injury. Deron William, C.J. Miles, and Ronnie Brewer are explosive, hungry, and tireless young stars, and Kyle Korver is a deadly perimeter shooter along with Okur.

I suspect the second half of the season will be quite different for the Utah Jazz.

So, what happened last night? I know there are no excuses for losing, but I just think the Lakers were ready to take the All-Star break and get some rest. After a six-game road trip out East that saw first a 61-point outbust from Kobe, then a game in Canada, followed by an overtime grind in Boston, and finally a Sunday afternoon trip to Cleveland where Lebron and the Cavs hadn’t lost, the Lakers finally got to come home and relax on Tuesday night against Oklahoma City. But then to tell them they’d have to fly out to Utah for a final road game against the Jazz before the All-Star break, they probably didn’t see the point in traveling again just for a one-game road trip.

Kobe seemed to be using the game as practice: working on his post-up game, jogging back on defense, attempting tougher shots than he was given or than he could’ve created. I mean, there were those hustle plays – I can remember off the top of my head three steals by Kobe that he then took to the hoop himself afterwards. Lamar stayed solid, hauling in 19 boards and making 2 big blocks. Pau also did some experimenting, knocking down a couple 20-footers while testing his range.
The Lakers have gotten to a point where they’ve already proven that they can win big games against the league’s elite when they come out with a sense of urgency. I hope that realization doesn’t prevent them from approaching every game with a high level of focus.

Radmanovic, We'll Miss You

Last night, the Lakers coasted to an effortless victory over the fledgling Oklahoma City Thunder, who, I think, will soon relocate to some other, more reasonable city. More on that later, but today I’d like to take a couple seconds to say farewell to one of my favorite Lakers, Vladamir Radmanovic.

‘Vlad Rad’ occupies a special place in my heart. He came to the Lakers in 2006, midway through their rebuilding years, and every part of me felt that he’d be a strong piece of the puzzle. Beyond the obvious—he’s a deadly perimeter shooter—Radmanovic did a lot to open up a futile Laker offense. In the two seasons prior to his arrival, the Lakers’ only option was to let Kobe try to win every game, while Lamar and the rest of the cast of new Lakers slowly learned the Triangle Offense. But when Radmanovic strolled into town, the Lake Show added a second dimension to its repertoire: the 3-point threat.

Now teams had to respect the perimeter, which opened up lanes for Kobe’s lust for penetration (wink). And when teams got a little too aggressive with KB24, double or triple-teaming or what have you, he could just dish it out to Vlad Rad and watch him rain threes. In the days before Pau and Bynum, when Chris Mihm, Ronny Turiaf, Kwame Brown, and Brian Cook were playing Hot Potato with the responsibility down low, Radmanovic provided just enough of a distraction for Kobe to steal some wins.

And now he’s being traded in a move by GM Mitch Kupchak to free up salary space sooner (trading Rad Man for two players whose contracts expire after this season). A valid reason, and I respect validity. But it kills me to see ‘real’ Lakers get sent away—Lakers who’ve helped bring our team back up from the doldrums, Lakers who endured the frustration of losing to the Suns in the first round two years in a row, Lakers who shivered as Kobe demanded to be traded for an entire summer and then came back in the autumn to demand that some of his teammates be traded for Jason Kidd or Jermaine O’neal.

After going through all of that, and then playing an integral role on this year’s league-leading squad, Vladamir Radmanovic should be branded a Laker for Life. When Los Angeles wins the title in a few months, I’m going to petition that Vlad Rad get an invitation to the parade AND a ring for his Laker work this season. AND I’m insisting that he be played by John Tuturo in the upcoming Michael Bay film, “From Fallen to Ballin’: Lakers in the Kobe Years.”

Here’s a list of my favorite things/memories of Vladamir Radmanovic

His fluctuating hair length
Him getting fined $500,000 for getting injured while snowboarding
How nobody ever questioned his Lakerness
Rocking headbands like the 70’s
Never making any steals or blocks, but ‘rotating’ on defense
Being good friends with Kobe

Farewell, Rad Man. You’ll always be welcome in Laker Nation.

Lakers Rock the Cavs in Cleveland. Kobe vs. Lebron Debate Finally Settled

The Cavaliers and the Lakers faced off Sunday afternoon at 3:30 EST, and I found myself literally running home before tip-off in my Saturday night outfit, crosstown through Harlem—a showdown like this REQUIRED for me to watch in HD on my 37” Vizio. It’s been a while since there was an NBA game in the regular season that has carried so much hype. The Lakers are the hottest team in the league, and they’re coming fresh off an overtime victory against a stacked Boston Celtics squad. And in the red corner, the Cavaliers were the only team that remained undefeated at home; stringing together 23 straight home wins at Quicken Loans Arena. But that was hardly what all the hype was about…

What else could possibly generate this much anticipation? A better question is ‘who?’

Hector and Achilles, Ali and Foreman, and now Lebron James and Kobe Bryant. Both of these young men dominate the court and the debates over who is basketball’s best player. You’re reading a basketball blog, so you already know that, but the timing couldn’t have been any better for this match-up to occur, and for this debate to play itself out. Both of these players put up ridiculous numbers at MSG last week—Kobe dropped 61 points on the K-nicks, while Lebron scored 52, dished out 11 assists, and grabbed 10 boards against the same K-nicks team (but the NBA took Lebron’s triple-double away retroactively because he didn’t actually get his 10th rebound, Yoink!). That set the stage for yesterday’s face off in Cleveland.

The head-to-head match up was easily won by Kobe. He made 5 more shots on 3 fewer attempts than Lebron, all while playing six fewer minutes since he was battling illness. There were also numerous occasions where Kobe went at Lebron 1-on-1, inviting the larger James to Tango, and hitting shizzots in his fizzace. I’m in no way insinuating that King James isn’t near Kobe’s level, but he was only 25% from the field against the Lakers, who give up over 100 points a game, while Kobe was almost twice as effective against the Cavs and their league-leading scoring defense. Advantage Kobe. Lighting up the scoreboard against the K-nicks is one thing, but composing a solid performance against an elite team, when home-court advantage in a possible Finals match up is on the line, in front of a national audience requires…”G.” What is G? G is overcoming flu-like symptoms and ballin’ regardless of opposing teams’ win streaks; isolating and posting up against Lebron James and putting the ball in the basket; G is doing what it takes to overcome a 10-point halftime deficit on the road. Lebron witnessed G.

Welp, Werewolf Bar Mitzvah is admittedly a Lakers Blog, and I would be remiss if I stayed on the Kobe/Lebron tip and neglected to talk about the team as a whole. The Lake Show once again displayed its second-half tenacity during Sunday’s 101-91 beatdown of yet another Eastern Conference frontrunner. Going into halftime down by 10, mainly because of Mo Williams’ 18 first-half points and contributions from Wally “Sir-bee-ack,” some sort of inspirational speech (think Varsity Blues) propelled the Lakers to a dominating final two quarters. For the second game in a row, Lamar Odom flexed his swagger in the second half, scoring 15 points and grabbing 10 boards in the third quarter alone. Lamar’s activity around the rim is obviously difficult for teams to deal with, and he’s been exploiting defenders off the dribble. Soon, teams are going to have to bring in three separate defensive specialists to deal with Lamar, Pau, and Kobe and the distinctive offensive threats they each pose. L-O, finished the game with a season-high 28 points and 17 rebounds. Way to step up.

The Lakers bench played another great game, and actually preserved the lead against the Cavs’ starters in the start of the fourth quarter. Although they were only 8 of 22 from the floor, the Bench Mob hit the shots when they mattered most and kept the intensity hella-high while the starters recharged. They also shut down Mo Williams in the second half, holding him to 1 point. The All-Star game isn’t for everyone. Stop cryin’ like a little Mo.

On paper, this win is just one of many for the Lakers, kinda like a million dollars for Bill Gates. But it went much farther than just being a piece adding to the sum. This win showed that the Lakers can take $500,000 in the middle of a recession, with an injured and sickly staff, after being away from home for several games, in the toughest market to win in, and flip that 500K into a cool million…all while King James keeps trying to take it away. Yup, exactly like Bill Gates and a million bucks.

Horus

PS – Instead of Knicks, I use the spelling 'K-nicks' in order to point out the truth. The K is silent and it stands for Kobe, the King of New York. Have some.

Lakers Drop Celtics in Heated Overtime Shootout

Last night, the Lakers proved why they're the best team in the League. They played a tough, physical game; they were able to fight down the stretch; didn't let the crowd take them out of the game; and they stole a victory from the defending champion Celtics.

In just their third game without Andrew Bynum, who'd started every game this season, the Lakers proved that they could take on the League's toughest teams even when they're hampered by major injuries. Stepping up the most has been Lamar Odom. He's a terror off the dribble, and at 6'10", he's always a match-up problem for defenders. In Andrew's absence Lamar's also stepped it up on defensive end and in rebounding. His 20 points against Boston came on only 10 attempts, and his late free throws won the game for L.A.

My column isn't a recap station, so I'll leave the descriptive analysis to links to other sites. A good write up is the February 6 page of espn.com's Daily Dime.

I'll tell you what I saw from my futon. I saw a Los Angeles Lakers team that found a way to win using all the weapons it had. Kobe unleashed a barrage of threes that pulled them back in the game. Pau played tough inside, grabbed 14 boards, and caused Garnett to foul out. Lamar did his thug-dizzle and won the game for us. Fisher played well and Jordan Farmer was smooth as eggs as a backup. The best part about all of these individual components is that they have an astute sense of timing.

They toughed it out. Nobody played a particularly good game, but when the final buzzer sounded, they knew they'd be on top because they wanted it more. And what makes this so critical is that the Lakers lacked a similar level of heart and desire during the finals last season. To see that hunger in them now is inspiring, and I hope it's lifted the bar in the locker room.

Kobe Scores 61 to Set MSG Record in Lakers Victory

Of all the Broadway shows, grand museums, chic galleries, and lavish nightclubs that New York City has to offer, there was no better ticket in town Monday night than a seat in Madison Square Garden as the Knicks tried to slowdown the Lakers.

Not only were the fans treated to this year's chapter of one of the great NBA rivalries, but they also got to watch history in the making. And who better to make history than Kobe Bryant? In the Lakers' 126-117 win, Kobe reeled in a Garden record 61 points and shot a perfect 20-for-20 from the free throw line. Hats off to Kobe, who was showered with "MVP" chants during every trip to the charity stripe, and received a standing ovation after breaking the MSG scoring record. It was hard to tell who the New York City crowd liked more: The Lakers or Kobe Bryant?

If there was one word that best described Kobe, that word would be "kangamangus," but luckily there are several words that describe him, and the one I'll focus on here is "grounded." After ballin' outta control in the 'world's most famous arena' in the biggest city in America, one might expect a 30-year old hoops star to be giddy with excitement and disbelief, like a long-shot hall monitor that won Prom Queen. But no. During the post-game press conference, Kobe appeared unfazed by his performance, focused on where the team stood, and seemingly embarrassed by the attention he was getting—almost as if his greatness is a distraction for the team and their championship mission. All he mentioned about his performance was that he was 'feeling good during warm ups.' Either he's unimpressed by scoring 20 points less than his career-high, or he's just that mature and humble, but probably a combination of the two.

Writing then reading between the lines, those of us who watched it witnessed something else take place last night. We saw a man set out on a mission, work his tail off, chase history, and make the tackle in the end. It's not easy to beat the Knicks—they're a strong young team with a great coach in D'Antoni. But still, they'd been beaten 25 times already this season. You could tell from the first shot he took, that Kobe wasn't looking to merely do something that had been done 25 times since November, his sights were set on achieving a feat that hadn't been matched in 25 years: scoring 60 in Madison Square Garden.

And whether or not scoring 61 points against the Knicks is applause-worthy, one thing is for sure: this exhibition of ability, force, and determination was a rare flash, seldom seen these days in the great performances of Lance Livestong, Tiger, and Jason Bourne.

Kobe Diem!