Our very own Gregory Small was awesome enough to attend last week’s NBA All-Star festivities for the California Crusader! Here’s what he had to say…
California Crusader: The 2010 NBA All-Star weekend in Dallas, TX did not disappoint. Billionaire’s Jerry Jones and Mark Cuban collaborated to make it a historic weekend, jam packing 108,713 to the newly built Cowboys Stadium, an NBA record in viewership.
I was fortunate enough to get all access for the entire weekend.
The story was almost over before it began, as Dallas got record snow on Thursday the 11th, canceling many flights to Dallas Fort Worth, mine included. After being re-booked twice, I finally landed in Dallas on Friday just in time to catch the activities.
First was the Celebrity Basketball Game, where I got to see a slimmed down Rick Fox play against another former Laker Robert Hory. NFL player Terrell Owens looked as if he could play power forward in the NBA, displaying some serious basketball skills to go along with his athleticism. Shaquille O’Neal watched with his children. I was able to give him and Pau Gasol a hearty hand shake as they crossed one another on their way to and from their seats.
From the Dallas Convention Center, I headed to American Airlines arena to catch the Rookie/Sophomore game. I watched from the second row, right behind Shannon Brown, Nate Robinson, and Gasol. Pau cheered every good play made by his brother, Marc Gasol, who was representing the Memphis Grizzlies. The ladies- both young and old- couldn’t keep their hands off of Shannon Brown, who was one of the most popular players during the weekend.
The next morning, I went to my favorite event, the NBA All-Star Practice. I have attended this event over the last two years as a fan, but the experience was overwhelming being on the floor with the players.
The Lakers return to business, and so does L.W.O. Radio, with a brand new special 2010 NBA All-Star Edition!
Join G-Small as he takes you back through the historical NBA All-Star weekend in Dallas. The stars come out for this episode, as Kobe ‘Beans’ Bryant, LeBron James, Paul Pierce, Kevin Durant, and even Rev. Jesse Jackson take time to join L.W.O. Radio!
We also get you caught up on the Lakers 4th win in a row over Ronny Turiaf and his Golden State Warrior. Why is Paul Pierce trying to clown G-Small? And what Lakers player is mediating the new Shaq beef?
G-Small had access all weekend, and you won’t get this inside coverage anywhere else.
Tune in to L.W.O. Radio #7!
Also be sure to check out G-Small’s pictures from his 2010 NBA-All Star Weekend adventure!
Transcript -
Lakers Wrap-Up -2:25
Paul Pierce -15:39
Kevin Durant – 17:21
LeBron James – 17:56
Rev. Jesse Jackson – 19:20
Kobe Bryant – 19:50
Kobe Bryant – 21:35
Kobe Bryant & Dwight Howard – 23:22
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ESPN: Kobe Bryant won’t play in the Los Angeles Lakers’ game against the Golden State Warriors on Tuesday, a team source told ESPN The Magazine’s Ric Bucher.
Bryant participated in a full practice Monday after missing the Lakers’ last three games and the All-Star Game while recovering from a high left ankle sprain, but his condition has appeared to worsen a day after the workout on the ankle.
Lakers coach Phil Jackson told reporters Monday that Bryant looked rusty, but didn’t make any reference to the ankle possibly still bothering the Lakers guard.
“[Bryant] hasn’t played in two weeks, so there’s a lot of things that he was trying out and trying to figure out [such as] passes that went awry and shots that he was reluctant to shoot, but he’ll come, he’ll come [around],” Jackson said.
Kobe out for tonight’s game. Never thought I’d type that sentence again. Thank God we have Sasha to step-up! Ugh. Who am I kidding? The curse continues after tonight. Seriously folks, Lakers squad need to play one perfect game to escape with a win in Portland.
Lakers Basketblog: Lakers guard Kobe Bryant will miss Saturday evening’s game in Portland due to his sprained left ankle, an injury he originally suffered in Philadelphia on Jan. 29 and that he aggravated against Charlotte on Wednesday.
It will be the first game Bryant has missed due to injury since Dec. 8, 2006, when a sprained ankle kept him out of L.A.’s game against Atlanta.
He will be re-evaluated on Sunday in Los Angeles; the Lakers next game is on Monday, Feb. 8, against San Antonio.
Yahoo! Sports: The Lakers and Nuggets won’t know for another few months who’s got the other’s number. For now, though, give Denver the edge.
Chauncey Billups scored a career-high 39 points, including nine 3-pointers, and the Nuggets won 126-113 Friday night, ending the Lakers’ eight-game home winning streak and improving to 2-0 against them.
Billups was 12 of 20 from the floor, including 9 of 13 from 3-point range, and made 6 of 8 free throws to go with eight assists for the Nuggets, who played without Carmelo Anthony for the seventh straight game because of a sprained left ankle.
“You’ve always got to be confident. There’s a lot of people that can say it, but until you can do it, you’ve got to get that confidence from the right place,” Billups said. “They’re the world champs. But we feel that we can compete with them.”
Billups scored 21 points in the third quarter alone, the most against the Lakers in one period since Wilt Chamberlain of the Philadelphia 76ers had 23 in a game in February 1966. Billups’ nine 3-pointers were the second-most ever against the Lakers.
“He was shooting considerably beyond the line,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “I’m just glad that didn’t happen in a playoff game.”
Kobe Bryant scored 33 points on his sprained left ankle, but the first-place Lakers proved no match for the Western Conference’s No. 2 team, the one they beat in last year’s conference finals en route to their 15th NBA championship.
“I could still be effective and play,” Bryant said tersely. “Obviously, I’m not as explosive as I was but I can still command double teams, things like that.”
The Lakers 13 game odyssey is over, and the Grammy’s hands the keys to the Staples back to the Lakers.
Join G-Small and D-Bricks as they talk Lakers basketball with Eric Pincus, Senior Writer from HoopsWorld.com. The guys break down the significance of Kobe becoming the all-time leading Lakers scorer, and look ahead toward the All-Star break.
Was 5-3 a let down on this trip for a Championship team? Is Kobe not passing the ball enough? We’ve never heard that before…
Tune into the #1 place for EXCLUSIVE Lakers talk with Voice of the Nation #70!
Music -
Ringo Star – Y Not
Thelonious Monk – Black And Tan Fantasy
G-Small – The Greatest Show
G-Small – Lakers Haters
Ele e Ela – Marcos Valle
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ESPN: With his superstar hobbling and the Charlotte Bobcats refusing to go away, Phil Jackson never got terribly comfortable while becoming the winningest coach in Los Angeles Lakers history.
Andrew Bynum had 17 points and 14 rebounds, and Lamar Odom scored 19 points while making several big plays down the stretch, making sure Jackson added another superlative to his matchless coaching career in Los Angeles’ 99-97 victory over the Bobcats on Wednesday night.
Jackson, also the winningest coach in Chicago Bulls history, passed Pat Riley with his 534th win with the Lakers. The Hall of Famer won 545 games and six titles in nine seasons with Michael Jordan and Co. before winning four more rings in his first nine seasons with the Lakers, rising to fifth on the NBA’s career coaching victories list when he passed Charlotte’s Larry Brown earlier this season.
“It’s been a really good run,” Jackson said. “Having this opportunity to coach this team is always special. The fact that we’ve had some great teams, great players, is always a credit to them. It’s not really an individual record in my mind.”
Jackson is the winningest playoff coach in NBA history, and the only coach to win more than 70 percent of his regular-season games. Against the pesky Bobcats, he managed to coax a late-game win out of his Lakers even with just a season-low five points from Kobe Bryant.
ESPN: Kobe Bryant scored 44 points, passing Jerry West as the Los Angeles Lakers’ career scorer, but it wasn’t enough as the Memphis Grizzlies got 22 points and 17 rebounds from Zach Randolph to defeat the Lakers 95-93 on Monday night.
Rudy Gay led Memphis with 25 points, and his 3-pointer with 29.5 seconds left helped Memphis end its two-game losing streak.
Ron Artest’s 3-point attempt from the right side bounced high off the rim as the horn sounded, snapping the Lakers’ four-game winning streak.
Bryant passed West’s mark on a breakaway dunk in the third quarter. Bryant made 16 of 28 shots, including 4 of 7 outside the arc. Artest added 18 points, while Pau Gasol had 10 points.
Lester Hudson had 13 points for Memphis, and Marc Gasol finished with 11 points and 13 rebounds for Memphis.
While Bryant got the franchise record for scoring, the loss prevented Lakers coach Phil Jackson from passing Pat Riley as the winningest coach in regular-season games for Los Angeles. The two are tied at 533.
The game was tied at 88, when Memphis ran the shot clock to near the end before Randolph made a 22-footer for a 90-88 lead with 1:08 left. His two free throws extended the lead to 92-88. Bryant scored on a drive before Gay’s 3-pointer with 29.5 seconds left gave Memphis a 95-90 lead, and the Grizzlies held on.
The (37-11) Los Angeles Lakers are in Memphis, Tennessee for a back-to-back against the (25-21) Grizzlies.
The Lakers frontline went out and played big against the Celtics helping the team win in Boston. Lakers approached that match up as a playoff game; the Celtics wanted to play the role of the schoolyard bully and got beat. The Celtics defense is formidable, but it was the Lakers defense that was the difference in Sunday’s game holding them to 16 fourth quarter points and helping the Lakers achieve a 5-2 mark on their annual extended Grammy road trip.
The game was chippy before it started with all of the jostling going on before the opening tip, but Ron Artest set the tone in the beginning, Andrew and Pau followed through in the middle of the game, and Kobe closed the show and ended the ‘who is the better team’ debate.
As expected Phil Jackson tied Pat Riley at the top of the Lakers All-Time coaching wins list and the Purple and Gold showed that they will never backdown from that team and showed that they’re ready for whatever and that it’s personal whenever the two teams meet.
The funny thing is Rasheed Wallace, a guy who hasn’t broken out a back-to-the-basket move in years was upset that his new team was bitten by the Black Mamba and is doing a lot of talking to whickever Boston beat writer that will listen, but he isn’t saying anything of substance; he needs to answer the question ‘what did the scoreboard say?’.
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California Crusader: The 2010 NBA All-Star weekend in Dallas, TX did not disappoint. Billionaire’s Jerry Jones and Mark Cuban collaborated to make it a historic weekend, jam packing 108,713 to the newly built Cowboys Stadium, an NBA record in viewership.
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