Thanks to Utah's 113-91 win over Houston last night, we don't have to wait until Tuesday to see the Lakers take the floor. This is a good thing. I don't know how much longer I could take the "rest vs. rust" discussions. Anyway, the Lakers cruised through the first round, but that might be the problem. I'm not a big fan of speculation, but it's hard not to listen when someone says something along the lines of "well, the Lakers are going to get overconfident after the sweep, Denver just rolled over and gave them the series." Personally, I think the Lakers know what their doing. This whole notion of 'overconfidence' is milked too much in the media. It's playoff basketball. The Lakers (as with just about any other team) have enough experience to know what their going up against and how to react.
Sunday is going to make for some terrific basketball. Not only do we have the Lakers kicking off this series, but the #1 seed Celtics face elimination in game seven of that CRAZY series at 10am.
The Lakers are 3-1 in the season series, losing on November 30th at EnergySolutions Arena. On March 20th the Lakers issued Utah one of only four losses at EnergySolutions Arena. Interestingly enough, all three Lakers' wins against Utah were without Pau Gasol--just like the Denver series.
In the regular season, the Lakers scored
108.6 points per game and allowed 101.3 points per game with an
offensive rating at 3rd of 30 and a defensive rating at 5th of 30. The Jazz scored
106.4 points per game and allowed 99.3 points per game with an
offensive rating at 1st of 30 and a defensive rating at 12th of 30.
Series Schedule: Game One Sunday - 5/4 Jazz @ Lakers 12:30pm - ABC
Game Two Wednesday - 5/7 Jazz @ Lakers 7:30pm - TNT
Game Three Friday - 5/9 Lakers @ Jazz 6:00pm - ESPN/KCAL
Game Four Sunday - 5/11 Lakers @ Jazz 12:30pm - ABC
*Game Five Wednesday - 5/14 Jazz @ Lakers TBD - TNT
*Game Six Friday - 5/16 Lakers @ Jazz TBD - ESPN/KCAL
*Game Seven Monday - 5/19 Jazz @ Lakers TBD - TNT
Starting Matchups: Point Guard (LAL) Derek Fisher - 6-1, 205 - 11.7 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 2.9 APG (8.5 PPG in Round 1) (UTA) Deron Williams - 6-3, 208 - 18.8 PPG. 3.0 RPG, 10.5 APG (20.8 PPG in Round 1)
Shooting Guard (LAL) Kobe Bryant - 6-6, 220 - 28.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5.4 APG (33.1 PPG in Round 1) (UTA) Ronnie Brewer - 6-7, 223 - 12 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.8 APG (9.3 PPG in Round 1)
Small Forward (LAL) Vladimir Radmanovic - 6-10, 234 - 8.4 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.9 APG (8.2 PPG in Round 1) (UTA) Andrei Kirilenko - 6-9, 223 - 11 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 4.0 APG (9.3 PPG in Round 1)
Power Forward (LAL) Lamar Odom - 6-10, 230 - 14.2 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 3.5 APG (11.7 PPG in Round 1) (UTA) Carlos Boozer - 6-9, 266 - 21.1 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 2.9 APG (16 PPG in Round 1)
Center (LAL) Pau Gasol - 7-0, 260 - 18.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 3.2 APG, 0.5 SPG (22.2 PPG in Round 1) (UTA) Mehmet Okur - 6-11, 263 - 14.5 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 2.0 APG (13.1 PPG in Round 1)
All-Time Series Facts (from game notes):
Lakers vs. Utah in Postseason (from game notes): The Lakers and Jazz have met three times in the postseason (1988, 1997 and 1998) with Los Angeles advancing on once occasion (1988 Western Conference Semifinals 4-3, the lone time the Lakers have held the home-court advantage over the Jazz). Utah eliminated Los Angeles from the playoffs in two consecutive seasons: 1997 Western Conference Semifinals (1-4) and 1998 Western Conference Finals (0-4). The Jazz sweep of the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals in 1998 included a 112-77 victory in Game 1, the largest margin of defeat by the Jazz over the Lakers in their playoff series history.
Staples Center Advantage (from game notes): Since moving to STAPLES Center prior to the 1999-2000 season, the Lakers have won 82% of their postseason games (45-10). The Lakers have topped the century mark in half of their postseason home games at STAPLES Center (28-of-55) while the opposition has been held under 100 points in all but 14 of those games. In their last 18 home playoff games, the Lakers are 15-3.
The Los Angeles Times is reporting that, while still talking with Chris Webber's people, The Lakers may be closer to a deal with the recently waived, DJ Mbenga.
Mbenga, who attended last night's game, averaged 1.6 points and 1.9 rebounds in a 16-game stint with Golden State. The 7-0, 255 undrafted center has a career average of 1.3 PPG and 1.1 RPG.
Phil Jackson has alluded to the use of 10-day contracts, and I cant help but believe that Mbenga would be tested with one before any season deal were to go down. Mbenga definitely isn't the fix that the Lakers need, but I think his presence might make a difference.
This also comes with the news that Vlad Rad isn't close to coming back. Vlad said
"Nothing good, man," when asked how he was doing last night. Radmanovic underwent an MRI on Wednesday that confirmed tendinitis and a sprain in his right ankle. Bynum doesn't like waiting game [LA Times]
The Lakers unveiled their latest throwback tonight; the 1987-1988 World Champion rendition. Showtime was restored in La Cuidad, and the Lakes met the challenge, winning 123-113 over the Warriors, who were paying homage to the '75 team.
The Lakers posted SEVEN in dubs: Kobe (28), Andrew Bynum (20 and 11), D- FIsh (15), Vlad Rad (14), Lamar Odom (14 and 10), TREVOR ARIZA! (11), and Ronny Turiaf (10).
In my opinion, the unis stole the show. I typically lean more toward the technical side of the game, but tonight, the visions of my youth were re-hashed (read that in an elegant tone). It was good to see the Lakers rock the old digs, even though the only thing that's different is the color scheme on the numbers, and the absence of the v-neck. The casual observer may not have even noticed the difference, but long-time Lakers fans couldn't help but admire tribute to jersey worn by the Lakers from the mid-70s to 1999.
The Lakers came into tonight's match up with the Nets after a tough couple of losses on the road, hoping to maybe get things rolling on the home court... Maybe.
It was just four days ago that the Lakers were sitting pretty at 7-3; a respectable looking record, despite whatever was going on on the floor.
Look at it now. A tough loss to Milwaukee, and loss that was supposed to be a loss in Boston brought the road trip to a screeching halt... But tonight? What happened tonight?
It's too late (2:00am?) to get into any real analysis, so here it is in a nutshell. If you didn't watch the game, this might be difficult to understand, so bear with me.
The Lakers took a good lead into the half, only to blow it in one of their historic third quarter collapses. Then in typical fashion, Kobe saves the day in the fourth (or does he?), only to miss a third free throw after getting fouled behind the arch (which was really just a good acting job). With the game on the line and three seconds on the clock, the Lakers turn to the 0-10 from the field Vladdy Radmanivic to net the winning three! Bad move... obviously. Nets 102, Lakers 100.
There you have it. This was the most frustrating game to watch so far this year, and something tells me that if the Lakers don't beat Seattle on Tuesday, not only is this season doomed, but you might as well forget about good old Phil Jackson, who still hasn't inked for next season. [edit] 5:41pm; Monday: I've been thinking about that whole scenario quite a bit today... It honestly leaves me questioning Phil Jackson's desire to coach. Vladimir Radmanovic didn't even deserve to be on the floor with the game on the line last night. I said this in a comment, but if ANYTHING, Vladdy should have been inbounding the ball on that play. His height could have been used to the Lakers advantage. Instead, you take the shortest guy on the floor, who also happens to be 8-10 from the field, and have him inbound the ball? I understand that Kobe got tied up, and that Bynum made a young mistake with his back to the ball at the inbound, but Jackson could have choreographed that play in a number of ways that would have had better odds than what actually happened. Giving Fisher a chance to take that shot as the third option is clearly more efficient than putting the game on the shoulders o####uy who went 0-10 with no rebounds. Even if Fisher would have missed it, the people wouldn't be as pissed. BAD CALL PHIL.
The icing on the cake? Unconfirmed reports last spotted Vladdy at 2am at one of Hollywood's many trendsetting night clubs, the night before the game. Vlad was seen all over Los Angeles drinking it up until the wee hours. Finally, To the LA Media: STOP CALLNG THIS GUY VLADE. Even if he was as good as Mr. Divac, the bottom line is the fact that his there will never be another Vlade in Los Angeles unless someone specifically named 'Vlade' were to come around. It just bugs me.
The Lakers, fresh off of two convincing victories, fan's hearts hand, returned to style of play that strikes resemblance to a time when things weren't so great in la la land. That time happened to be the first three quarters of opening night, and just about the majority of the last two seasons.
The Lakers home loss tonight against New Orleans brought fans back down to earth from that two-day acid trip that the midday radio hosts had them strung up on. "The Lakers are BACK." "This team is for real." "Kobe is happy."
Sounds a lot like me the other day, eh?
Anyhow, The Lakers still posted four in double figures: Kobe, Ronny Turiaf, Jordan Farmar, and Vladdy, but nothing really out of the ordinary jumped out at me this game.
The real story was on the other side of the ball.
Chris Paul broke a team record with assists, dishing out 21... yeah, 21 FREAKING ASSISTS.
Peja Stojakovic also broke a team record; three-pointers netted in a game, with 10.
Regardless of what really went on in this game, the hardcore Laker fans are going to say that the Hornets played unusually well. Considering the win brings their record to 4-0, we may have to eradicate the "unusual"; the Hornets look hot.
Around the league:
Speaking of hot, the team that ESPN the Magazine projected to finish 14 out of 15 in the west is undefeated. That's right, in case you missed it, the Clippers embarrassed the Bulls by a score of 97-91 tonight. An embarrassment by only 6 points? YEAH. We're talking about the Elton Brand-less Shawn Livingston-less Clippers going up against an Eastern Conference top five team at home.
Tally?
Clippers 3-0
Bulls 0-4
As cute as it is to see the Clippers on top of the Pacific Division standings, you just have to think that this can't last much longer.
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.
The Los Angeles Times is reporting that, while still talking with Chris Webber's people, The Lakers may be closer to a deal with the recently waived, DJ Mbenga.
Well, that was just one of those games. 
The Lakers home loss tonight against New Orleans brought fans back down to earth from that two-day acid trip that the midday radio hosts had them strung up on. "The Lakers are BACK." "This team is for real." "Kobe is happy."
