Tag: Los Angeles Lakers (Page 18 of 48)

      WCF: Just like that, we have a series

      May 24, 2010 /

      It’s funny how much things can swing on a single game. Heading into Game 3, everyone pretty much wrote the Suns off and penciled the Lakers into their third-straight NBA Finals. But with last night’s 118-109 victory, the Suns proved a couple of things: 1) they can beat the Lakers in the playoffs, and 2) Amare Stoudemire can outplay Pau Gasol.

      The win gives the Suns confidence and essentially stops the sky from falling. This franchise has been snakebitten for some time, so when the Lakers got up 2-0, you could cut the desperation surrounding this Suns with a knife. Stoudemire was under fire for his play through the first two games, and there was already speculation that he wouldn’t re-sign with the team. Now, the Suns head into Game 4 with some confidence, and they know that if they can win tomorrow night, that they’ll head back to L.A. having won two-straight with an opportunity to steal home court advantage in Game 5.

      It’s going to be interesting to see how the Lakers respond to the Suns’ zone. It’s not like it shut L.A. down — the Lakers shot 48% from the field and scored 109 points. But the Lakers also committed 17 turnovers and shot just 28% from long range. In the first two games, the Suns’ problem wasn’t offense, so even though the zone is a little gimmicky, if they can slow the Lakers down at all, they have a shot.

      The zone took the Lakers out of the triangle and knocked L.A. on its heels a bit. Suddenly, they didn’t know where the defense was coming from and they finally had to adjust to something the Suns were throwing at them, instead of running the same offense that has been so productive all season. It was a desperation move by Phoenix, but desperate times call for desperate measures.

      The NBA playoffs are all about adjustments, and Phil Jackson is one of the best in the game at tweaking his strategy throughout a series. The Lakers should come out in Game 4 prepared for the zone, so the Suns will have to make some adjustments of their own if they hope to head back to Los Angeles with the series tied.

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      WCF Game 3: Suns make it a series

      May 23, 2010 /

      I’ll write more about the game tomorrow — I have a “Lost” finale that is screaming my name — but the Suns played very well in Game 3 and have made this a series. They went to a zone on defense and it puzzled the Lakers a little bit, leading to a 118-109 win.

      Amare Stoudemire (justifiably) took a lot of heat over the last few days, but answered the critics by posting 42-11 on 14-of-22 shooting. Steve Nash went for 17-2-15 and Robin Lopez added 20 points.

      The Suns won despite Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol combining for 24-of-38 shooting and 59 points. Lamar Odom went just 4-of-14 from the field for 10 points and fouled out of the game.

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA

      GM confirms Bosh’s list, agent denies it

      May 22, 2010 /

      Per the Toronto Star…

      Raptors general manager Bryan Colangelo admits there are a group of teams that Bosh would like to go to should he decide to leave the Raptors as a free agent in July.

      ESPN.com reported Bosh’s agent, Henry Thomas, has told Colangelo that Bosh would like to go to the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat or New York Knicks should he decide not to re-sign with Toronto.

      “It has been narrowed down to a handful of teams, including us,” Colangelo said, not going into any more details.

      Of course, Bosh’s agent, Henry Thomas, denies that he has given the Raptors any list. (South Florida Sun-Sentinel)

      Agent Henry Thomas on Friday denounced a report by ESPN that stated he had narrowed down a list of preferred destinations for Toronto Raptors free-agent client Chris Bosh.

      Thomas, who also represents Miami Heat guard Dwyane Wade, another pending free agent, said he has not forwarded any such list to Raptors General Manager Bryan Colangelo.

      “I haven’t closed the door on anything,” Thomas insisted. “I haven’t given Bryan any lists. There is no list. This is a process that is ongoing.”

      I still think it’s funny that Bosh gave Colangelo a list of teams he’d like to play for while also saying that he’s open to re-signing with the Raptors. Has he really not made up his mind about staying put? You’d think that at this point, with the regular season over for a month now, that he would know whether or not he wants to stay or go. Maybe he’s waiting to see what trades the Raptors can make during the Draft.

      And, of course, there’s the matter of Bosh talking out of both sides of his mouth. He says it’s all about winning, but he wants to force a sign-and-trade so he can make the most money (which is only going to hurt his new team in the process by taking away good players and/or draft picks).

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      The Onion: Fluid Just Happy To Have Had Opportunity To Build Up In Kobe Bryant’s Knee

      May 21, 2010 /

      Hilarious…

      LOS ANGELES—Calling the experience “a true honor” and “the opportunity of a lifetime,” the infected synovial fluid recently drained from Kobe Bryant’s right knee told reporters Monday that there is no other basketball player it would rather have accumulated in.

      Describing itself as humbled and privileged to have affected the NBA All-Star’s mobility for even so short a time, the contaminated collection of mucin and albumin said it would always cherish every moment it spent collecting in Bryant’s appendage, from the initial stages of infection to its last moments of arthrocentesis.

      “Kobe Bryant’s is the knee all joint fluids dream of building up in,” the semi-viscous mix of blood and uric acid said during a press conference at the Lakers’ training facility. “There were times, especially during the first two rounds of the playoffs, when I had to pinch myself and say, ‘Holy crap! You’re inflaming Kobe Bryant’s right knee! Kobe Bryant. Not some role-playing knee like Andrew Bynum’s knee, or Kendrick Perkins’ knee, but Kobe freaking Bryant’s.'”

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, Humor, NBA

      Chris Bosh’s wish list is revealing…

      May 21, 2010 /

      …and not in the way you might think.

      Per ESPN…

      Chris Bosh’s agent has told the Toronto Raptors that he’s narrowed his list of preferred teams to five, two sources told ESPN.com’s Chad Ford at the NBA draft camp.

      The list of five teams — Toronto plus the Chicago Bulls, Los Angeles Lakers, Miami Heat and New York Knicks, sources said — were given to Toronto management in case the Raptors want to construct a sign-and-trade deal (assuming he doesn’t re-sign with Toronto).

      Bosh likes that option, sources told Ford, because he’d get one more year on his contract and could make more money.

      I’m not sure why Bosh would give Toronto a list of sign-and-trade destinations that included the Raptors, but hey, sources are sources.

      There are no real surprises there. The Bulls, Heat, Knicks and Lakers have long been rumored as possible landing spots for Bosh. But the absence of a few other teams — namely, the Nets, Rockets and Thunder — is a bit surprising.

      In terms of potential sign-and-trade chips, each team on his list has at least one player the Raptors might want. Chicago has Luol Deng, though he’s a bit overpaid. The Knicks have David Lee, who would be a nice consolation prize if Bosh decides not to re-sign with Toronto. The Heat have Michael Beasley, but his stock continues to fall. And the Lakers have Andrew Bynum, but with his knee injuries, he’s not as enticing of a prospect as he was at the start of the season.

      But here’s what gets me about this story, if it’s accurate — Bosh may want that extra year on his deal, but it’s going to be tough for a team that already has the cap space to sign him to have to take a big hit in young talent and draft picks as well. In fact, this strategy reveals that Bosh is more concerned with the size of his own paycheck than he is with the strength and potential of his new team. I realize it’s a lot of money, but when a player says over and over that it’s “all about winning” and then turns around and forces his new team to give up a couple of prospects and/or draft picks so that he can pocket an extra $30 million (and an extra year on the deal), then clearly he’s being disingenuous.

      External Sports, Fantasy Basketball, NBA, News, Rumors & Gossip

      « Older posts Newer posts »

      © 2026 The Scores Report – The National Sports Blog

      Theme by Anders Noren — Up ↑