Archive for the ‘Jeff's Game Report’ Category
The (48-18) Los Angeles Lakers are in Northern California for the two remaining games of this road trip; tonight, facing the (18-47) Golden State Warriors in Oakland.
The last time these teams met; the Warriors’ Monta Ellis and the Black Mamba couldn’t go, but the game turned out to be the Shannon Brown show. Brown led the way, putting on a show for the Purple and Gold faithful by posting 27 points and 10 rebound stat line.
Before you casually look at the Warriors win-loss record and consider this an easy win for the Lakers, I urge you to proceed with caution and consider the Lakers struggles against other teams with poor records that are considered non-playoff teams.
The Lakers have dominated the Warriors for quite sometime; taking 23 of the last 26 games including tonight’s match up. The Lakers can and will build on the win against the Suns and carry it through the remainder of the season simply by playing with a sense of urgency and stringing together solid wins regardless of the opponent.
Ron Artest said that he wants the Lakers to finish the regular season 18-0; I like that thought, I like the mentality that it’s doable and I know for a fact that the Lakers Nation feels the same way.
The Lakers will defend their title, but are still in need of improvements. The Lakers needs to eliminate the turnovers, rebound better and shake being allergic to the free throw line. The Warriors are a team that causes a lot of turnovers so the Purple and Gold will have to take care of the basketball and make quality passes.
The Warriors are a team that wants to get out in transition and score easy baskets. Lakers need to control the tempo by establishing both Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol in the painted area and allow them to go to work.
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The (47-18) Los Angeles Lakers are in the desert to face the (40-25) Phoenix Suns the first of a three-game road trip. Tonight’s game will be the last meeting of the regular season; the Lakers leads the season series two games to one.
The Lakers were able to snap their three-game losing streak with a much-needed win against the Toronto Raptors, but it took a last second shot by Kobe Bryant again; his seventh of the season. Seeing the ‘Black Mamba’ do his thing never gets old, but the fact of the matter is that the game should not have been that close.
The Lakers are still struggling to get their game back on track. The reality is that the Lakers have played a lot of games at a high level basketball in the last three years; the team is taking their opponents best shot and not dealing out their own or responding for that matter.
The above statement isn’t being mentioned as an excuse; teams will always get up for the Lakers, it is the uniform and years of success. They are a team that plays with a lot of confidence that is currently making several uncharacteristic mental mistakes.
There are 17 games remaining in the regular season, and 10 of them are on the road. This is not the time to start and point fingers, this is a time to start to get to work. The task at hand is taking everyone serious and competing as if every opponent is the best there is. They need to play every game like a must-win game.
The Lakers have to take on an ‘us against the world’ mentality, play with a sense of urgency at a high energy level on both sides of the court.
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The (46-18) Los Angeles Lakers are back at home to host the (32-29) Toronto Raptors after staggering though a forgettable three-game road trip.
It happened after 217 games since Pau Gasol joined the Purple and Gold; the Lakers lost three games in a row. Seeing it happen wasn’t a big surprise nor does it signal that the Lakers run as Champions is over.
This is no time to panic Lakers fans; adversity can be a good thing. There is reason for concern, but the best thing for this team is to move on. I’m not buying the talk from naysayers that state that the Lakers can’t win a championship, the last time I checked, this team is still the defending NBA Champion until it loses in a seven game series.
The Lakers have to play better as a team and simply execute. The Lakers have to get back to the basics such as playing solid defense, eliminating the mental mistakes, rebounding, taking care of the basketball, and knocking down their free throws. The Purple and Gold are getting quality looks although the team isn’t knocking down the shots on a consistent basis.
The Lakers have a total of 18 games to right the ship, so to speak and start playing like a Champion.
Against the Raptors, the Lakers need to come out of the locker room with energy, focused, and aggressive from the start. Toronto is a dangerous team that can score several points, they are very successful with their screen and roll action plays and can attack the team with multiple ball handlers.
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The (46-17) Los Angeles Lakers are in Florida, attempting to avoid losing three straight games for the first time in two years in an NBA Finals rematch against the (43-20) Orlando Magic.
The Lakers have staggered through this road trip allowing a win to slip through their fingers against the Heat and an embarrassing effort in their annual struggle with the Charlotte Bobcats.
The recent losses suffered by the defending Champs can be attributed to the Lakers not playing like a defending Champion; not playing with a sense of urgency, not matching the intensity of their opponents, not taking care of the basketball, being allergic to the free throw line, settling for too many jump shots, and not enough bench support.
There is nothing more disgusting then seeing our Lakers beat themselves with mental mistakes.
The Lakers has had close games and struggled against the Heat and Bobcats for a few years, however that is no excuse for losing back-to-back games to a couple of .500 basketball teams.
They have several questions to answer, to include their now porous team defense as well as hearing and reading about them being written off as a team that will fall early in the playoffs. The questions are getting louder by the day and will continue to be out there until the Lakers consistently play well and silence their critics. It’s clear to see that the Lakers aren’t playing their best basketball, but the reality is that the team has 19 games to turn things around and start playing like a Champion.
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The (46-15) Los Angeles Lakers are on the road playing the first of a 3-game road swing against the (30-31) Miami Heat.
No one can forget how the game ended the last time these teams played on December 4th 2009. Just for the few who missed it; the Lakers were down by two with 3.2 seconds left, Kobe was prepared to drive to the basket and tie the game, his foot slipped when he got the ball, Miami’s defense forced him into taking an off balance three point shot that he banked off the glass at the buzzer to cap a 33 point effort and give the Lakers a 108-107 victory.
Bryant’s game winning shot was one of his four buzzer beaters this season. These teams have played several close games, but these are two different teams than the ones that face off in December. The Lakers have the best record in the Western Conference and the Heat are hovering around .500 once again and fighting to make an appearance in the postseason.
The Heat are scoring and allowing 95 points per game, they are 15-14 at American Airlines Arena, and 6-4 in their last 10 games. The Lakers have won eight of their last 10 games.
The difference for the Lakers, once they limits their turnovers, has been consistency, execution down the stretch, and defense.
Ron Artest has played outstanding defense, it is time to gloss him with the nickname ‘the Sheriff’ due to the way he has been locking players up.
It would be a travesty if Ron Artest name, like coach Phil Jackson’s when it comes to Coach of the Year awards, name isn’t mentioned. He has to be in consideration for the Defensive Player of the Year. It might not have been immediate, but he has shown what type of advantage he can bring to the Lakers.
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The (45-15) Los Angeles Lakers start their March schedule tonight hosting the (20-39) Indiana Pacers.
The Lakers’ first win over the Nuggets this season on Sunday was huge. As usual the Nuggets played physical and did a lot of talking without saying anything of substance; Lakers on the other hand could simply tell the team from Denver to take a look at the scoreboard and the banners in the rafters.
Tonight’s game is the Lakers second game of the year against the Pacers; this will be a battle of two teams going in different directions. The Pacers are a young team that’s currently last in the Central Division Standings; scoring on average 99.5 points per game, allowing 104 points, and they’ve have won only three of their last 10 games. Tonight’s run is their first of a four-game Western Conference road trip; the Pacers are 7-23 on the road this year.
The Pacers have used several different starting lineups this season; they have recently been playing a lot of ’small ball’ as part of a shorter lineup. The team has experienced some success by playing small as well as playing an up-tempo game. Nevertheless, they will have difficulty just matching up with the length of the Lakers.
Indiana does a good job of moving the basketball and their motion offense can be very effective, the Lakers have to communicate on defense. The Pacers will start the game with Luther Head attempting to defend Kobe Bryant, and Dahntay Jones coming off the bench will have his opportunity to foul out as well.
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The (44-15) Los Angeles Lakers are at the Staples Center to host the (39-19) Denver Nuggets.
Today’s run will be the third of the four games between the best teams in the Western Conference, and unfortunately, the Lakers have lost the two previous games by double digits.
The last time the Nuggets came to town the Staples Center faithful had to witness the Chauncey Billups show as he led Denver to a road win by putting on a shooting clinic from behind the arc.
This is a must-win game for the Lakers, but it begs the question can the Lakers bring the proper focus to beat the Nuggets? We’ve seen the Lakers either show a lack of focus or desire and lose games that they should win this season.
It appears that on more than one occasion they’ve been going through the motions and haven’t gotten up for their opponents. If that happens today, this contest will be over early. The Lakers need to play every game with energy and passion. It’s time for this team to play with passion on every possession.
This game will be decided by the Lakers frontline. The duo of Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum combined for 43 points in the paint and 24 boards against the Sixers; they will need a repeat performance.
The Nuggets frontline will be physical with the Lakers, how Gasol, Bynum, and Ron Artest respond will be the difference. Lakers need to establish both Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum in the painted area and look to hurt the Nuggets in this area.
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The (43-15) Los Angeles Lakers are back at Staples Center hosting the (22-35) Philadelphia 76ers.
The Purple and Gold split their two road games, but some people felt that Kobe Bryant was tired playing in a back-to-back game. He did an excellent job of distributing the ball and getting his teammates going.
However, the entire team didn’t play with a lot of energy and looked tired in the Dallas Mavericks game. Their were also some questionable calls in the game by the officials as evidenced by Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, and Pau Gasol shooting a grand total of four free throws.
Describing the referee’s calls the term’s confusion, bewilderment. or perplexity could be used if you like, but I’ll stick with calling the Mavericks beneficiaries of ’several home calls’. Especially when Dirk put up at least 17 free throws.
I understand why Andrew Bynum stated to Lakers reporter John Ireland that “it’s hard to play eight on five”. Right or wrong, you just can’t say it without being fined by the league office.
Kobe Bryant moved up to 13th on the All-Time NBA scoring list with 25,280 points. Bryant will lead the Lakers tonight in an effort to avoid a rare two-game home losing streak.
The 76′ers aren’t playing their best basketball at this time, they have a record of 12-18 on the road and have won six of their last ten games. As their record indicates, the Sixers have struggled all season.
Philadelphia is a young team with a lot of talent although being a team that wants to get out in transition they’ve struggled to run the Princeton offense preferred by Coach Eddie Jordan.
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The (43-14) Los Angeles Lakers are in Texas for a back-to-back game against the (36-21) Dallas Mavericks.
Despite the fact that the Lakers fared well without Kobe, the team and the fans are equally elated to have him back. He returned from a much needed 18-day rest from an ankle injury just in time to save the Lakers from losing to the Grizzlies, again.
Kobe was brilliant in his first game back, playing 40-minutes, filling the stat sheet with 32 points with seven boards, six assists, three steals, two blocked shots, and knocked down the game winning three pointer with 4.3 seconds left to finish off the Memphis Grizzlies.
Bryant is currently 14th on the All-Time scoring list, prior to 6:30pm he will pass Reggie Miller and move up to 13th, 335 points behind Alex English; he will surpass the Hall of Famers point total of 25,613 on March 21st at Staples Center against the Wizards or sooner. Bryant is averaging 15 points against Dallas this season, look for that to change.
Pau Gasol had a solid game posting a double-double with 22 points, 13 boards and an excellent defensive closeout on O.J. Mayo’s attempt at the end of the game.
The good news coming out of Tuesday’s game is that the Lakers got off to a good start and won the game on Kobe’s 5th game winning shot of the season. The bad news is that the Lakers seem to stop playing defense in the middle of the game, shot badly from the free throw line, and were out-rebounded.
The Lakers will face the new-look Mavericks tonight in a battle of two of the best teams in the Western Conference.
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The (42-14) Los Angeles Lakers are in Tennessee to face the (28-27) Memphis Grizzlies.
It was great to see the team compete without Kobe and continue to win games in his absence. If I was told that Kobe would miss five games before the All-Star break and that the Lakers would post a 4-1 record at Trailblazers, Spurs, at Jazz, Warriors, and against the team from Massachusetts – - I’d gladly accept that.
However after 18 days, all indications are that the difference maker and team leader will return to the lineup tonight.
Tonight’s game will mark another milestone as Kobe finally records his career 1,000th game; he will also break the NBA record set by Kevin Garnett and become the youngest player to play 1,000 NBA games.
What we’ve seen in Bryant’s absence from the Lakers was a disciplined more team focused approach which was expected with the system utilized as well as still having veteran players in the lineup. Those players stepped their game up and accepted the challenge of being tasked with shouldering more of the scoring load.
The approach the team used without Bryant wasn’t surprising the way the team played and executed in his absence was, excluding the end of the game against the team from Massachusetts when the Purple and Gold ruined an excellent defensive performance and allowed a sure win to get away from them.
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The (48-18) Los Angeles Lakers are in Northern California for the two remaining games of this road trip; tonight, facing the (18-47) Golden State Warriors in Oakland.
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