After sleep-walking through the first two rounds of the playoffs and the first four games of the Western Conference finals, the Lakers are now fully caffeinated and wide awake. Pau Gasol is fully stretched, Lamar Odom is back to form and Kobe Bryant looks unstoppable. To borrow a line from the popular Nike Most Valuable … [Read more…]
The Cleveland Cavaliers just put Mo Williams’ face on the box of a milk cartoon because they can’t seem to locate their starting point guard. According to the Game 4 box score, Williams had 18 points on 5-of-15 shooting, had five rebounds and had two assists and two steals. That’s odd because when the LeBron … [Read more…]
The inconsistent officiating in the NBA playoffs is becoming predictable. In Game 3, the Los Angeles Lakers were awarded 45 free throws and won 103-97. In Game 4, the Denver Nuggets were awarded 49 free throws and won 120-101. It is coincidence? Neither coach doesn’t believe it is. Nuggets Coach George Karl reasoned his players … [Read more…]
Kobe Bryant scored a game-high 41 points in the Lakers’ 103-97 victory in Game 3, the first playoff game in Denver since 1985. But Kobe received a lot of help. However, help did not come from his teammates. It came in the form of three guys wearing the Footlocker shirts: Dan Crawford, Derrick Stafford and … [Read more…]
Cleveland Cavaliers Coach Mike Brown said it best. It was an amazing shot by an amazing player. The legend of LeBron James grew exponentially with his game-winning, buzzer-beating 3-pointer in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals against the Orlando Magic in Cleveland that more than likely saved the Cavaliers’ season. The 96-95 victory tied … [Read more…]
Lately, I cannot tell the difference between Andrew Bynum and DJ Mbenga, which is not good for the Los Angeles Lakers. For a guy who was supposed to be the last piece to the Lakers’ championship puzzle, Bynum has turned into Mr. Irrelevant in this year’s playoffs. He has morphed into Andrew Mbenga. Bynum, a … [Read more…]
Score one for Chauncey Billups. The chess matchup between the Lakers and Nuggets took a different turn in Game 2. Lakers Coach Jackson geared his perimeter defense to smothering Billups in Game 1, putting Kobe Bryant on him for much of the game, but Billups made the proper adjustment in Game 2 by being more … [Read more…]
If Mo Williams wants to be Robin to LeBron James’ Batman, he needs to play a lot better and be more of a factor in the Eastern Conference finals. Williams, Cleveland’s much-celebrated offseason acquisition and a first-time All-Star this season, made just 6 of 19 shots from the field and was 2 for 8 from … [Read more…]
Los Angeles Lakers Coach Phil Jackson made the first move in the Western Conference finals and now it is up to the Denver Nuggets to adjust. Jackson put Kobe Bryant, his best defender, on Nuggets point guard Chauncey Billups for much of Game 1. Even though Billups scored 18 points, he made just 38% of … [Read more…]
On a day when the Los Angeles Lakers and the Boston Celtics, the two marquee franchises of the league, were pushed to a Game 7, the player who came up huge was not named Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, Paul Pierce or Dwight Howard. When the Orlando Magic needed someone to turn the lights out at … [Read more…]