Lakers

[Surfah]

I was watching ESPN yesterday while on the treadmill. Rome first with Matt Money Smith talking up the Lakers. They were going on about Bynum and Artest. Then Around the Horn comes on and Bill Plaschke. After saying that JaX is 44-0 and when winning the first game of the series and therefore will win this series too, goes on to say that this is Phil's most troubling first game of the series victory ever and that the Lakers will not repeat. What?

[TripletDaddy]

Unveiling of new Chick Hearn statue at Staples right now. A who's who of Lakers in attendance. My friend sent cell phone pics of Elgin Baylor, Kareem, Rick Fox, Byron Scott, Magic, Worthy, etc. They are all outside in the plaza having a cool unveiling ceremony. It is on FSW Live right now.

[Surfah]

Unveiling of new Chick Hearn statue at Staples right now. A who's who of Lakers in attendance. My friend sent cell phone pics of Elgin Baylor, Kareem, Rick Fox, Byron Scott, Magic, Worthy, etc. They are all outside in the plaza having a cool unveiling ceremony. It is on FSW Live right now.

Sweet statue. I must pay homage and worship at the temple Staples soon.

[Surfah]

Don't know if the Lakers deserved that win but I'll take it. Weird game. I have never seen the Lakers have a fastbreak so many times and turn the ball over or miss the shot in a game. I love Fish, but I hope he retires and forces the Lakers to go get a PG this offseason. Drew was active, lots of boards especially on the offensive end but he struggled putting anything in the hoop. FTs almost doomed us. To shoot that poorly and still win is pretty amazing. Durant is freaking good. Man his stroke is quick and money. Artest though is playing him tough and made him work for his shots. I think he held his own and forced Durant into a ton of TOs tonight. Loved the new lettuce too.

[HBCoug]

Don't know if the Lakers deserved that win but I'll take it. Weird game. I have never seen the Lakers have a fastbreak so many times and turn the ball over or miss the shot in a game. I love Fish, but I hope he retires and forces the Lakers to go get a PG this offseason. Drew was active, lots of boards especially on the offensive end but he struggled putting anything in the hoop. FTs almost doomed us. To shoot that poorly and still win is pretty amazing. Durant is freaking good. Man his stroke is quick and money. Artest though is playing him tough and made him work for his shots. I think he held his own and forced Durant into a ton of TOs tonight. Loved the new lettuce too.

OKC is deceptively tough on the interior. I thought going into tonight we could ride Pau and Drew in pounding them on the block, but guys like Ibaka, Collison, Durant, and Green are all long with hops (maybe not Collison). LO is completely neutralized against those guys, Kobe is a step slower and can't elevate like he used to, Pau is too soft too often. Overall they have the length and athleticism that matches up nicely with our size and makes us finish strong if we're going to score. The offense looks really bad (Artest particularly), and our refusal to get a shooter or two is going to hurt us this year. Up 2-0 looks way better than going to OKC tied 1-1. I think they'll get Saturday night's game and finish it in 5 as we all thought before the series started. Can't wait to read Plaschke in the morning.

[Surfah]

OKC is deceptively tough on the interior. I thought going into tonight we could ride Pau and Drew in pounding them on the block, but guys like Ibaka, Collison, Durant, and Green are all long with hops (maybe not Collison). LO is completely neutralized against those guys, Kobe is a step slower and can't elevate like he used to, Pau is too soft too often. Overall they have the length and athleticism that matches up nicely with our size and makes us finish strong if we're going to score. The offense looks really bad (Artest particularly), and our refusal to get a shooter or two is going to hurt us this year. Up 2-0 looks way better than going to OKC tied 1-1. I think they'll get Saturday night's game and finish it in 5 as we all thought before the series started. Can't wait to read Plaschke in the morning.

Don't bother. I just finished it. The sky is falling. The Lakers don't know who they are and won't beat Dallas or Cleveland. Half of his article's sentences end with a question mark.

[TripletDaddy]

Last night was a close win. Of course OKC played out of their minds going into Game 2. It was a must win for them. And they responded. Their shot blocking was amazing and props to OKC for making the right adjustments between games 1 and 2. They were a missed 3 away from stealing one on the road (and that was a pretty decent look for a final shot...it wasn't that far off).

The real tale of the tape was directly after the buzzer. OKC looked dejected, esp KD. They look like they are resigned to losing. The Lakers took OKC's best punch and figured out how to gut out the win despite turnovers and lousy FT shooting. OKC doesn't really believe it can win this series, which is only one of the reasons why it ultimately will not win it.

Did anyone else notice how Pow refused to take a shot once the clock hit the 3 or so minute mark? Catch and pass, catch and pass. On one possession, Kobe tried to go to him at the basket and Pow wasn't ready for the ball. Result: turnover. Pow still has deer in headlights syndrome during crunch time. If the Lakers have a nice lead, he will take his shots. But when the game is on the line, he seems to shrink.

[Surfah]

Did anyone else notice how Pow refused to take a shot once the clock hit the 3 or so minute mark? Catch and pass, catch and pass. On one possession, Kobe tried to go to him at the basket and Pow wasn't ready for the ball. Result: turnover. Pow still has deer in headlights syndrome during crunch time. If the Lakers have a nice lead, he will take his shots. But when the game is on the line, he seems to shrink.

How could you not notice? Even the commentators mentioned the "surprise" on Pau's face when Kobe fed him the ball on that turnover.

[TripletDaddy]

Plaschke's miserable glass continues to be half empty

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...1475110.column

Fisher: Dead Man Walking

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...,7406509.story

He knows the Lakers may not ask him back next season.

"Yeah, I know, but that's the reality of this business," Fisher said. "I've tried to remind other guys as well. Last year we win the championship. This year we come back and Trevor [Ariza] is gone [to Houston]. So next year, somebody else at the table can be gone, regardless if we win or lose. That's the reality of the business.

Jax reads Mark Twain

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...,1172711.story

Kobe is amused and entertained

http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2010/04/kobe-bryant.html

New creepy statue in honor of Chick

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2010-04/53404228.jpg

[Donuthole]

Plaschke's miserable glass continues to be half empty

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...1475110.column

Fisher: Dead Man Walking

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...,7406509.story



Jax reads Mark Twain

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...,1172711.story

Kobe is amused and entertained

http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2010/04/kobe-bryant.html

New creepy statue in honor of Chick

http://www.latimes.com/media/photo/2010-04/53404228.jpg

Eeshk! Why do all these statues look so terrible? Chick looks like an alien from Mars Attacks! Not fair to him, since he was actually a decent looking fellow .



The statues of Stockton and Malone aren't any better.

[Hot Lunch]

Laker Thread

[Flystripper]

Laker Thread

[Surfah]

The Modern Warfare 2 thread eclipsed this one for most posts.

I should have locked it.

[Jarid in Cedar]

The Modern Warfare 2 thread eclipsed this one for most posts.

I should have locked it.

"That's much too vulgar a display of power, KarrasSurfah"

[TripletDaddy]

The Bailout Plan

http://msn.foxsports.com/nba/story/kriegel-kobe-bryant-los-angeles-lakers-oklahoma-city-thunder-042010

This article reinforces something that has been in my mind this season...does Kobe have too much mileage on his treads? In other words, is it time to trade him now while he still has amazing value? No wonder he signed his extension when he did. If the Lakers don't repeat in June, his stock will take a hit and he will be one year older next season. Have they over-committed to Kobe? Of course, every other team would have done the same thing, but his continuous injuries are a concern. Also, he needs to stop playing in the summer and get rest. He has his gold medal. time to back off and let the finger and knees heal.