Los Angeles Lakers 2010-2011 Blog

Six straight wins...Another great effort by L.A and are looking very good.

Five straight wins now...domination from the start...

Make it 4 in a row. Another impressive win by the Lakers who once again showed a lot of grit and fight down the strech. Its always nice to defeat a good team on the road.

How the game was won -

It was won mainly by a team effort to say the least. It was very balanced with no hero-ball at any point of the game. Andrew Bynum was definitely the biggest factor, as he scored 16 points, and added 10 boards. He was huge for Los Angeles on the offensive and defensive end. An interesting stat: Bynum only touched the ball 18 times, but when he touched it, the Lakers averaged 1.75 plays per possesion. When he didn't tough it they averaged, 0.79 plays per possesion. Sort of sums it up. On the defensive end, he was blocking shots and basically was making his big presense felt. Pau Gasol also scored 18 points and had a great all-around game. El Spaniard was doing it all, whether it was hitting jumpers from everywhere or finishing strong at the rim. His effort was great. Kobe Bryant, who scored 17, didn't have the prettiest of games but made plays for others throughout the whole game and finished with 7 assists.

The Lakers are very confident after three straight wins, and should be ready to expect a challenge Sunday morning as they visit the new-look Thunder. The Thunder have added size to their roster after landing Kendrick Perkins. They also got Nate Robinson. However, Perkins will not play tomorrow due to a lingering wrist injury. Once Perk is back though, the Thunder may be ale to contend with the Lakers. But tomorrow atleats, there size advantage against the much smaller Thunder is secure. All the Lakers got to do in order to secure a win is play stifling defense and hit their shots like against Portland. I predict a good win for L.A tomorrow. I feel that they have finally stepped it up. We will just have to wait and see. Be sure to watch the game @ 12:30 pm PT only on ABC.

Lakers defeat Clippers 108 - 95 in a blowout. Sorry for the confusion, but check out http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/lakers/post/_/id/16528/lakers-108-clippers-95-at-the-buzzer#more for the full "At the Buzzer".

Lakers defeat Portland 106 - 101 in a thriller. Sorry folks for the confusion. Please check out http://espn.go.com/blog/truehoop/post/_/id/25346/kobe-in-crunch-time-blazers-believe for the complete "At the Buzzer".

Lakers dominate Hawks 104 - 80. It was a impressive display by L.A, coming off the All-Star Break. They seemed rejuvinated, and was very sharp on the defensive end. One statistic that stands out is that every single Laker scored, which shows how balanced the game was. The Lakers showed a lot ofeffort tonight, and displayed a sense of urgency - something missing all season. Kobe led all scorers with 20 points and chipped in 5 dimes as well. It was a nice performance for the Black Mamba, coming off a spectacular All-Star game in which he was named MVP. Pau Gasol added 14 points, 10 boards. Ron Artest played very well on both ends of the floor, and finished with 11 points. Derek Fisher chipped in 10 points as well. Before the game, Kobe stated that the Lakers are ready to roll for the last 25 games of the season. Well, so far so good...Tommorrow night, they head to Portland to take on the Blazers at the Rose Garden - a building where they have found little success in the past. Kobe however, after the Hawks game said that the Lakers are looking forward to the challenge tomorrow. It will be a test of the Lakers toughness and grit.

After winning MVP honors in Saturday's All-Star game, Kobe Bryant jokingly claimed that he had forgotten who the Lakers had last lost to - the lowly Cleveland Cavs. Well the entire Lakers franchise would like to forget that loss and move on, as it symbolified "rock bottom" for the Lakers. I mean...the CAVS...seriously? Anyway, the Lakers next opponent is the Atlanta Hawks, who seem to be on a roll to end the All-Star break. The Hawks are a team with numerous threats, starting from the All-Star guard Joe Johnson, the 6th man of the year Jamal Crawford, and the veteran guard Mike Bibby. If the Lakers aren'ton top of their game, this could prove to be a very long afternoon. Kobe, however stated that the Lakers sense the finish line and are ready to roll in the second half of the season. Well, the Lakers will have to show that. Be sure to visit http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/lakers for the live chat with other Laker fans @ 7:30 p.m PT.

The break has ended. And for the players repping the two-time defending champs at the All-Star Game, it ended in positive fashion. Kobe Bryant ruled the roost during Sunday's main event, nabbing MVP honors clearly coveted in a local venue. Pau Gasol also did his city proud with 17 points, seven boards, two dimes and two swats. Mamba and El Spaniard were so good, they managed to make Lakers fans forget about the Cleveland loss and the struggles heading into the festivities.

OK, that's a lie, but who wants to be the buzz kill after a fun weekend? It's back to business for the Lakers, and as you can see from the slate of contests on this week's docket, business will be challenging.

Game of the Week

Tuesday vs. Hawks, 7:30 p.m.

Under normal circumstances, this game would qualify as one to keep an eye on. Al Horford is an All-Star with a mid-range game and long arms enabling him to average double-digit rebounds, attributes making him quite the cover for Andrew Bynum. The consensus opinion has Joe Johnson overpaid, but he's still a five-time All-Star -- including last weekend -- and among the more versatile two-way players in the league. As for Josh Smith, his February numbers would have qualified him for the All-Star game: 20.3 points on 57.3 percent shooting. Nine rebounds. A shade over three dimes. A block for good measure. The freakish athlete can be a blast to watch (unless you're Gasol or Lamar Odom, who'll be charged with checking him.) Throw in Sixth Man of the year candidate/scoring machine Jamal Crawford, Mike Bibby's scorching 44.7 percentage from deep, and a solid contributor in Marvin Williams, and the Hawks present a formidable "second half" kick off. But ultimately, Atlanta gets top honors because it's the first game immediately following the All-Star Break and a three-game skid low-lighted by an unthinkable loss to the Cavaliers. Lakers fans, not to mention the Lakers themselves, will be looking for quick signs the ship has been righted. No better time than the first opportunity to begin easing minds. The longer the wait, the worse it gets for all involved. The time for identity rediscovery is long past "nigh."On a more enjoyable note, Josh Powell will complete the cycle of ex-Lakers receiving bling. (Adam Morrison, out of the league, was mailed his.) He's playing more in Atlanta, but as a Laker, JP busted his butt in practice for very little PT. Brian and I -- not to mention Kobe -- grew to admire Powell's work ethic, so it'll be nice to see him receive some appreciation.

Other Games

Wed at Portland, 7:30 p.m.

If most Lakers entered the All-Star break looking in desperate need of four days off, LaMarcus Aldridge was probably trolling Portland-area pickup games in an effort to prevent his flow from slipping away. Through nine games in February, the Blazers forward has been averaging beastly numbers: 29.1 points on 57.6 percent shooting. 8.3 rebounds. Nearly two blocks. A shade under nine trips to the line, with a success rate just under 86 percent. The stats provide serious validation for those outraged by his omission from the Staples Center festivities. Even more impressive is the way he's stepped up in the face of non-stop injuries, possibly the central reason his club improbably remains in the playoff picture. Aldridge has spent much of his career in Brandon Roy's shadow but this season has been a coming out party. Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and perhaps even Andrew Bynum (Aldridge plays spot minutes at center) will have their hands full. Although, really, nobody on the Lakers should count on a night off. It's the second end of a back-to-back, and the Lakers have one victory in the Rose Garden since Chucky Atkins was an employee. With all sincere respect to last season's Kobe-less triumph, I still consider Portland a tricky place to ball.

Friday vs. Clippers, 7:30 p.m.

For three quarters and change of the Lakers' 99-92 loss to the Staples Center red-headed step-children, Blake Griffin was locked down. The Lakers frontcourt combined defensive forces to exceptional effect, forcing nine misses on a dozen shots. Odom drew a pair of personals against the dunk champion. Even making headway on the glass proved a chore.Then Griffin found his third wind, and began doing work. Low position denied all night became instantly accessible, resulting in successful drives against Gasol and LO. This surge keyed a come-from-behind win for the Clips, not to mention a scuffle. Blake gave what LO deemed to emphatic a shove to his back while Randy Foye shot a meaningless second free throw with just 5.7 seconds remaining. Lamar shoved back, words were exchanged, players were ejected, and the Clippers were even more fired up about their underdog win. If the Lakers want this week to announce their return to dominance, the upstarts must be summarily humbled.

Sunday at Thunder, 11:30 a.m.

Last season's opening playoff round established the formula for purple-and-gold success over OKC: Force Kevin Durant, Russell Westbrook and the gang into running the offense from a halfcourt set. The fewer opportunities on the break, the more the Thunder typically struggled, a trend continuing this season at Staples. It all makes sense, considering the Lakers are typically a strong team while locking down in the halfcourt.

Note I said "typically."

Courtesy of our friends at ESPN Stats and Information: During their current three-game losing streak, the Lakers have struggled to slow opponents in the half court. Entering Wednesday, the Lakers’ half-court defense ranked in the top five in both FG percentage allowed and score percentage allowed.

Lakers Half-Court Defense This Season

3-game losing streak Overall -

FG pct 48.3 42.9

Score pct 46.7 41.2

PPG 85.7 79.4

Yikes. If the Lakers can't maintain their normal advantage against the Thunder, this could prove a very long afternoon.

 Kobe showed that he is still the best player in the NBA with his spectacular performance at the ASG.

Kobe Bryant was named the MVP of the 2011 All-Star game as the West beat the East 148 - 143. Could Kobe Bryant’s 12th All-Star game, in which he locked up his fourth MVP award to match Bob Pettit’s all-time record, have been his finest? His first came way back in 1998, when at 19, he was the youngest All-Star in NBA history. On Sunday afternoon at STAPLES Center it was 13 years later, but his legs looked explosive like they had in the late 90′s.

No. 24 looked more like No. 8 as he rose for an array of dunks from various angles, including a baseline reverse early in the first that may have been the best dunk of a game in which he tallied a personal career high of 37 points.

“He’s one hell of a player,” said Western Coach Gregg Popovich. “He’s Kobe. He does things like that, we shouldn’t be surprised.”

Five dunks, an array of jumpers and drives, two three-pointers and seven free throws helped him along the way to the 37 that were just five points shy of Wilt Chamberlain’s all-time All-Star record of 42 points, set back in 1963.

“Let’s he honest, Kobe had it going, to say the least,” said East Coach Doc Rivers.

Thirty-two of Bryant’s points had already come by the 6:14 mark of the third quarter, enough to surpass his previous personal high of 31 that he scored in both 2002 and 2007. He had little left in the legs after that, but his sustained burst had given the lead a 17-point lead.

“Just being around so many young players gave me so much energy,” said Bryant of his effort. “But in the fourth quarter, I had nothing left. I exceeded my dunk quota for the game. It wasn’t just the scoring on this day from Bryant, however, as he grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds to go with three assists and three steals. His previous high in boards in an All-Star game was seven, which he grabbed in both 2003 and 2006.

Bryant’s Lakers teammate Pau Gasol chipped in with 17 points and seven rebounds, most critically a tip-in of Bryant’s missed jumper with 53 seconds left, pushing what had been just a two-point lead back to four and eventually locking up a game the West had mostly dominated.

Bryant’s MVP trophy will now go up in what’s already a ridiculous trophy case, but as he explained after the game, it’s now time to focus on getting a different kind of trophy for the third straight season.

“We’re looking forward to it, we’re up for the challenge,” he concluded. “We all can’t wait to get started."