In just the second good Lakers game of the season, Kobe posted 30, grabbed 8 boards, and since everyone in Los Angeles is counting, he smiled a couple of times.
Now when I say good, I don't mean that either team particularly played well, I mean it was fun to watch. The fact that I had to watch it on ESPN, however, was like pulling teeth. I know it's been said in various blogs since the beginning of time, but jeez, could ESPN's coverage of basketball be any worse? I don't want cute father-son moments between Bill and Luke Walton. I don't want to listen to a couple of guys that don't know much of anything about either team pretending like they do. And, I really don't want to sit through 60 seconds of analysis on the Ohio St. v Michigan during a time out with 29 seconds left in a two point game.
Time to explain my situation, for those of you who are not familiar with the Lakers broadcast schedule, all home games are broadcast on Fox Sports Net West, while all away games are broadcast on the terrestrial KCAL 9.
Because of school, this is my first season living outside of the Los Angeles television coverage area, and while we do have Fox Sports down here, we are without KCAL 9, and the beloved LTV pregame show. In effect, I'm lucky to get a road game on ESPN or TNT, because if not, I'm tied to the computer using NBA.com's free live audio, which is great, but it's just not the same.
Now that my diatribe is over, lets get to the game itself...
Lakers 93, Rockets 90
The Lakers jumped out to a huge lead, and held it through the half... Then the third quarter hit. Is it just me, or are the Lakers historically horrific in the third quarter?
They were outscored 22-14 in the third. Keep in mind that this was after Tracy McGrady went out with that injury on his right elbow.
Nevertheless, despite it being the second Houston v. Lakers game of the season to end in nail-biting three-pointer, the Lake Show walked out of the Toyota Center with a much needed win. Kobe's 30 points and 8 rebounds were backed by an overall solid showing from the supporting cast. D-Fish finished with 13 and Lamar Odom posted 10 and 7, despite admitting to "playing through the pain" on the Lakers postgame show on KLAC AM 570.
After the game Kobe had this to say: "It's very good for us to bounce back and come out
and play our best. It wasn't pretty the last two minutes. We wanted to
kick it up (in the second quarter) and I was able to get my game going.
My fade-away is my secret weapon. I'm entirely optimistic all the time."
This was one of those games where you find yourself appreciating Kobe, not because you like him, but because there's no way you would have won the game without him.
On the other side of the floor, Yao put up a stylish 26 points with 13 rebounds alongside Bonzi freaking Wells who added 21 and pulled down 10.
The Lakes head home with a 4-3 record, set to take on Detroit friday night.
around the league Chasing 0bscurity You know the drill... if not, see the last post.
Undefeated Boston Celtics (7-0) - next game: 11/16 vs. Miami - 4:30pm pt
Winless Golden State Warriors (0-5) - next game: 11/16 vs. Clippers
Thoughts Two teams succeeded from the ranks of "Chasing Obscurity" tonight. The Sonics finally got a win, beating the Heat tonight, bringing them to a spectacular record of 1-8, consequently, the loss brought the Heat to a 1-7 record. The T-Wolves beat the Queens by a score 108-103, bringing their record to 1-5.
Leg one of the over-hyped Lakers road trip through Texas resulted in a
predictable loss to the now 7-1 Spurs, in a game that saw phenomenal
team ball on the Spurs behalf... like that's out of the ordinary.
Basically, the main point of the night was centered on the
always-entertaining Kobe on Bruce Bowen match-up. Bowen covered Kobe
well, and outscored him, putting up 23, compared to Kobe's 18.
Jordan Farmar played well, putting up 16, along
side Lamar Odom, who kept up the pace from his debut on Friday, putting
up 12 points and grabbing 6 rebounds.
The Lakers simply got outplayed tonight, nothing much more can be said
for their effort, aside from the fact that they will need to rebound
big to beat Houston tomorrow.
Tomorrow night's game is the one that the Lake Show can realistically win. The Rockets are coming off of a 105-95 loss in Memphis, so there is room for the Lakers to snag a win from a team that looked pretty solid up until tonight. around the league Chasing Obscurity Chasing Obscurity is a tradition that I'll be carrying over from my previous blogging adventures that spotlights the league's undefeated and winless teams until there simply are no more. Why? Because that kind of thing gets me going.
Undefeated Boston Celtics (6-0) - next game: 11/14 vs. New Jersey - 4:00pm pt
Winless Seattle Sonics (0-8) - next game: 11/14 @ Miami - 4:30pm pt Minnesota Timberwolves (0-5) - next game: 11/14 vs. Sacramento - 5:00pm pt Golden State Warriors (0-5) - next game: 11/14 vs. Detroit - 7:30pm pt
Thoughts That Seattle v Miami game should be a real thriller. The 1-6 Heat play host to 0-8 Sonics... Look for the Heat to take advantage of the home floor in this one.
It was a rather slow sports day in Los Angeles. No Lakers game, no Clippers game, and though nobody truly cares here, no Ducks game and no Kings game either.
Here's run through the rumor mill, news stand, and garbage pail:
A-Rod, who is seeking the biggest contract in the history of the league, is now ready to venture out into the free agent market. His agent, Scott Boras, a.k.a the dude that "ruined" game four of the World Series, reportedly used this week's GM meetings to pimp A-Rod to anyone who would listen. Among those listening closely, the Red Sox, Dodgers, Mets, and Angels. The Angels, however, stepped things up and appear to be the front runner, with this statement from GM Tony Reagins:"We're interested. We're going to speak to his people and see where they are," Reagins said. "They'll know where we stand and we'll go from there. You look to try to improve your club. If that's a piece that improves your club, you go for it."
The Chicago Sun-Times reports that the mother of Clippers G/F Corey
Maggette has said "Corey would love to be a Bull.'' This is obviously a
case of "what were you thinking," but with Corey being the highlight of
the team while Brand is out, combined with the Clipps' 4-0 record,
countered by Chicago's 1-4 record (they finally won a game), I think
he's staying put.
Lamar Odom is expected to return to the Lakers starting line-up for Friday's game against the T-Wolves. Odom, who was sidelined in May after undergoing shoulder surgery will likely replace Luke Walton in the line-up in lieu of Ronny Turiaf's stellar play in the first four games of the season.
Good old Phil Jackson is already talking about next season... four games into this season. When asked about the status of his standing contract with the Lakers, he said "It will probably be before Thanksgiving, or around Thanksgiving time. That's a good time period." Jackson, who is still recovering from his second hip replacement surgery has mentioned that his heath, as well as the team's propensity to win a championship play a strong role in his decision.
Much to the chagrin of change-seeking Lakers fans, Jerry West has been said to be very much enjoying his retirement down time.
Ex-Euro soccer star Ruud Gullit will be announced as the new coach of the L.A. Galaxy in a press conference friday morning. ...Yet another expenditure that will likely get the Galaxy nowhere. Here's to hoping Gullit doesn't go down with a knee injury.
I'm a realistic observer of the vast world that surrounds the Los Angeles Lakers. You can thank Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones, Elden Campbell, Cedric Ceballos, and Vlade Divac for making that possible. The greatest person of all time is Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn. There's no getting around that. Me? I'm eighteen years old and working my way to a journalism degree.
They were outscored 22-14 in the third. Keep in mind that this was after Tracy McGrady went out with that injury on his right elbow.
Leg one of the over-hyped Lakers road trip through Texas resulted in a
predictable loss to the now 7-1 Spurs, in a game that saw phenomenal
team ball on the Spurs behalf... like that's out of the ordinary. 
