Baron Automatic!!! Do It Mitch!

Ok , Ok , I’ll admit it. I am a HUGE Baron Davis fan. Ever since he walked onto the court at Pauley Pavilion on the campus at UCLA ive been a fan. The guy is electric. Body of a linebacker and quickness of a gazelle. He has been a matchup nightmare for everyone he goes up against every single night. He can dazzle you with his passes or his penetrating drives to the basket and finishes with thunderous dunks. Then theres the personality. The guy obviously loves his job and gives great effort when hes on the court. One second he has a snarl that would make the opponent quiver and then the next second hes got that grin that lights up the arena giving the impression that theres no place he’d rather be then on the hardwood entertaining. Lets face it , this is Hollywood , we all know a little something about entertainment here dont we?

At 9:01 Pacific Standard time tonight, General Managers made the proverbial suck up phone calls to their own free agents as well as other free agents from teams around the league with dreams of adding that special someone to their roster for the upcoming season. Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak made his call to Sasha Vujacic and probably offered a new suede headband to hold his locks in place. HA HA I kid I kid. Also Ronny Turiaf got a phone call from Mitch as well offering the freshest crescents and baguettes to the French Man. I still kid I still kid. But ah!!! There was an early Christmas present possibly dangling there for Laker fans when unexpectedly Baron Davis of the Golden State Warriors opted out of his contract to many a surprise and left a whopping 17 million plus on the table. Could he be had? Please wake me i must be dreaming, certainly there is no chance the Lakers can actually sign him with the Mid Level Exception could they? Would Baron leave some 13 million on the table to play for his hometown team that he grew up cheering for? Mmmm Probably not. Hes not that crazy. But he couldve forced the Warriors hand to possibly sign and trade him for say a Lamar Odom? Ofcourse they would have to probably add another piece to make the financial numbers work. Ofcourse if the other bag of chips that you throw in happen to be Luke Walton or Vlad Radmanovic then the Warriors would probably reply with Salt and Vinegar or Barbeque instead and you got a deal.

Look I know alot of Laker fans would probably say “Baron Davis will never work in the triangle or he demands the ball too much or Phil doesnt like point guards blah blah blah” My response is how do you know? We’ve never had a point guard since Magic. Baron would take pressure off Kobe , bring the ball up, help set up Kobe instead of Kobe setting up other players. Allow Kobe to focus on defense more, not to mention the fact that Baron is one of the clutchest players in the league. He has great size for a point guard that would be matchup problems with teams trying to focus on guarding Kobe and him. He would bring it every night and isnt that the knock on Lamar? We all love Lamar as a guy. Im sure hes one of the coolest teammates you can have. But were trying to win a championship here. Here is a guy in Davis who would love to be a Laker and all that it stands for . A guy that has said he would love to play with Kobe and how many people have done that . Although there is more than the media would want you to believe. Also, he was ready to become a Laker about 4 years ago when Kobe wanted the Lakers to acquire Baron , then with the New Orleans Hornets. The deal was about to go down and Baron thought he actually was going to be a Laker except for the fact that Mitch got cold feet due to Barons knee concerns and backed out. The opportunity knocks again and dont let it go to waste Mitch. Youre on a roll. So break out that Magic Wand again just like you did with Pau Gasol and maybe we can get Baron for say….. Kobe Carl?

Stayin Alive

Lakers once again find a way to make things interesting. They started out on fire as the jumpers were falling, the passes were crisp, and the rotations on defense were quick. They jumped out to a 39-22 first quarter lead. Kobe Bryant was red hot including 4 three pointers in the first frame . The Lakers obviously wanted to show some heart tonight with fans and media alike counting them out.

Paul Pierce started warming up in the second quarter and never cooled off finishing with 38 points and getting to the basket as he feasted on the defense or lack thereof of Luke Walton and Vladamir Radmanovic. Pierce has been the achilles heal in this series for the Lakers. He has torched Lakers small forwards.

Just like in Game Four, the Lakers couldnt hold on to the lead and gave up a 15-0 run. Garnett was quite ineffective for the Celtics as he couldnt stay out of foul trouble and only played 11 minutes in the first half. But, it was Garnett’s inability to convert in crunch time that cost the Celtics. He missed two consecutive free throws with the Celtics down two in the final minutes. Then he missed a follow up layup at point blank range the next time down. He pulled what i call a “Chris Webber” in that fourth quarter.

The Lakers big men showed up tonight , Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol were effective. Odom had 20 points and 11 rebounds as Pau Gasol delivered with 19 points and 13 boards. The two big men have been ridiculed for being soft and unable to finish around the rim in this series. However, they converted tonight and were active. Kobe Bryant did not have a good second half. He hasn’t been able to get to the rim on a consistent basis. He finished with 25 points. I have to give credit to Jordan Farmar, hes been a real spark plug in this series for the Lakers by not settling for jump shots and going to the basket with reckless abandon. Farmar had struggled mightily in the Utah series but has bounced back nicely against the Spurs and Celtics since then.

Celtics blew a golden opportunity to close it out tonight. The longer you give Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson life in a series the more dangerous it gets. However, winning two straight in Boston is not an easy task at all. The Lakers have to forget about winning two and try and somehow steal Game Six and anything can then happen in a Game Seven.

Call It A Comeback

Comeback is exactly what the Boston Celtics did on Thursday Night against the Los Angeles Lakers. Comeback from the largest deficit in NBA Finals history , 24 points. As a Laker fan , I have to say i was thoroughly embarassed. As I was watching the game , I was thinking to myself this is too much too early , referring to the big first quarter lead as the Lakers raced out to a 21 point lead at the end of one. As the lead was 17 points in the first quarter i can remember Jeff Van Gundy , former coach, now commentator saying that he was going out on a limb to say this series is tied 2-2. I was thinking, you’re crazy JVG! As a die hard and loyal fan of the Lakers and a guy who watches nearly every game , i knew that my boys would blow most of this lead if not all. But even I the pessimist, didn’t think my beloved Lakers led by Kobe Bryant would lose this game. I thought for sure , somehow , someway, we would pull it out. But, during the process i would probably develop a coronary, or have some anxiety attack. Nothing comes easy for these guys.

As the game went on the Celtics got stronger and buckled down on defense. Celtics cut a 20 point lead down to 12, here they come uh oh. Then my boys respond with a 8-0 run of their own and the lead is back to 20, whoo hoo! Once again the Celtics chip away but then just before the half , Jordan Farmar hits a running three pointer off one leg to open up a comfortable 18 point lead. Did i say comfortable? Because , no lead is comfortable with the Lakers. They give up the hugest leads with the least amount of time off the clock. Not to mention the fact that the Celtics have absolutely crushed them in every third quarter this series.

Kobe Bryant had a horrible night. His flow of the game was not there like usual. He was fumbling the ball all over the place and didn’t seem to have his usual explosion. There’s nothing like watching Kobe when he has it going and destroying the opposition with ridiculous fade away jumpers , or spin moves with great footwork as the opposition is left in awe and realizing that there is no chance tonight against this guy. However, as equally crushing is seeing Kobe get his shot blocked , him miss free throws, him be unable to get by his defender and not be able to impose his will. Simply put, i hate when Kobe looks human. It sucks.

Anyhow, the Celtics dominated the second half allowing the Lakers only 33 points after they gave up 58 in the first half. That great defense that was there all year for the C’s showed up again and probably won them the series. That is just a crushing way to lose and will be too devastating for the Lakers to recover.

The Lakers have a chance to make history of their own if they now can find a way to comeback from a 3-1 deficit because no one has been able to. Kobe can now take on a new challenge to impose his will first and foremost to send this series back to Boston for game six and take their chances from there. But if they’re gonna come back from the deficit , they’re gonna need Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol to man up big time.

I still believe! …..Well kind’ve , sort’ve.

Magic’s Criticism Of Lakers….

Let me start by saying this, I grew up idolizing Earvin “Magic” Johnson. My introduction to basketball started when Magic’s career started with the Lakers and led them to a championship in his rookie year . He not only took the NBA by storm, but he captured a young boys heart as well who was hooked to his behind the back passes, the no look passes for slam dunks, the one man fast break and ofcourse that smile that showed everyone his love for the game and how beautiful a game it could be. Ever since then i have been a die hard Lakers fan. I have often lost sleep over buzzer beater losses or games being lost to teams that were subpar to my beloved Laker team. I have been consumed by basketball ever since then and it has not changed to this day . I had tears coming down my eyes the day i heard that Magic was retiring because of the HIV Virus. That hurt me big time, some for selfish reasons and others for his well being. But lets face it , the man has freakin beat HIV. It’s virtually no longer detected in his system . Back then, when you heard that word you were terrified and expected a death sentence. We all wondered to ourselves, how long before its over for Magic. But hes still here and kicking strong . Now thats Magic!!

However, within the last ten years, he has irked me BIG TIME. Recently, Magic criticized the Lakers performances so far in the 2008 NBA Finals before Game Three. He went on to say that they were playing very soft and was embarassed by their performances. Mentioned that they weren’t rebounding and stopping guys like Paul Pierce who were getting wide open shots. Now although i agree with Magic, he totally went about it the wrong way. He is the part owner of the Lakers and has access to these guys whenever he wants. He should’ve pulled them aside and gave them a pep talk if he was so outraged by their efforts. I think that would’ve been alot more constructive dont you? Now im sure the Lakers are looking at him like “What does this guy want now” every time he passes by.

This is not the first time Magic has done this. Lets not forget when the Lakers were in trouble with the Detroit Pistons in 2004. That team was the one that had Gary Payton and Karl Malone who had given up millions of dollars for the opportunity to close out their careers with the Lakers and hopefully a championship. The Lakers were being outplayed in that series badly, Chauncey Billiups was turning Gary Payton from “The Glove” to “The Mitten” on his way to later becoming the Finals MVP. Karl Malone was dealing with an injury and wasnt himself after his knee would just not allow him to play anymore. But before a crucial game in that series, Magic ripped on the Lakers then too and called out names like Payton and Malone and Kobe. Once again, why could’nt he just have went in the locker room or stood by the court as they warmed up and say “Come on guys!!”

Magic also has a knack for not showing up to Lakers games anymore so he can do the broadcasts for TNT with Charles Barkley, Kenny Smith and Ernie Johnson. Everytime, i see him in that studio im thinking as a Lakers fan, “What in the Purple and Gold Hell is our owner doing there?’ How can he sit there and try to be an unbiased commentator when he is a part of the Lakers organization. I know why……. Cause Magic is an ‘Attention Junky” thats right hes addicted to attention. I mean think of the comebacks , then the short coaching stint, all because he cant stand to be out of the spotlight. And ofcourse , when TNT was done with the NBA for the season after finishing up the Western Conference Finals, I see Magic show up where? Thats right , with the ABC telecast and sitting in with their hosts.

When the idea of doing the great Split Screen Commercials with Larry Bird came up , Magic im sure ran with the opportunity while ive heard that Larry Bird wasn’t so thrilled with the idea. Larry supposedly told Magic that this was the only commercial he was gonna do . He didn’t want to take away from the players in todays game getting their attention and it being their time now. I’ve always respected Larry Bird the competitor and he was a tremendous ballplayer in his day. But i have even more respect for the man now. Since hes left the game hes been involved even more in the game then Magic yet we always see Magic and dont see Bird. Bird is now the President of the Indiana Pacers.

So in closing, rest assure that if the Lakers are fortunate enough to win the Championship this year and beat the Celtics, get ready to see Magics grill as the first one to embrace Kobe and jump up to the podium for the award celebration. Magic , let these guys have their time now and stop trying to steal all the thunder. Just make sure that when i go to Starbucks, that my White Mocha is hot and when i go to the movies that my popcorn is buttered!!!

Lakers , Celtics Series Preview

This is what everyone wanted. The basketball community will have all eyes glued to the screen over the next two weeks to watch two legendary franchises renew their rivalry. A staggering stat is that after this series is over , these two teams will have combined to make up half of the leagues championships. The Celtics having already won 16 titles and the Lakers winning 14 so far combined with them being in Minneapolis. Oh by the way, notice i said “so far” ?

Keys for Celtics to win

Find a way to get Ray Allen going on a consistent basis from the outside.

Continue to play great defense that has gotten them here.

Kendrick Perkins crashing the boards.

Paul Pierce find a way to get to the free throw line often.

Keys for Lakers to win

Have Kobe continue to shoot a high field goal percentage

Lamar Odom show up consistently.

Bench Mob shoot well in the series from the outside.

Make Pierce take alot of shots to get his points. Hes going to score but keep FG% low.

My Prediction

Even though i am a blatant homer for the Lakers , I don’t think it will be as easy as many have predicted. There will be big plays made at some crucial points in the series to win it . Look for Fisher to hit some huge shots from the perimeter and the energy of the Lakers bench along with the greatest player in the game to be just too much for the Celtics.

Lakers in 6

Lakers Steal Game One

Wow!!! What an incredible comeback by those cardiac kids. The Lakers, down by as much as 20 points with a quarter and a half to go did the unimaginable. Mount a monstrous comeback against the Defending Champs by starting the rally with a 14-0 run. Kobe Bryant who was too busy in the first half playing possum, turned on the jets and played more like , hmm Kobe? The MVP? The Lakers seemed to be rusty to start the game more than the Spurs seemed tired after having their plane stuck on the tar mac in New Orleans. However, by the end of the game the old tired legs of the Spurs showed and the Lakers polished off the rust and looked like the longer, faster and more athletic team.

This could’ve been a disaster for the Lakers to give back home court advantage after one game but, instead it may be a demoralizing game for the Spurs. Not that Duncan didn’t do his part, wound up with 30 points and 18 rebounds only to be outdone by Bryant who came on to score 25 of his 27 in the second half.

I don’t know what to think about the Lakers lately, they get seemingly destroyed on the glass in the first two rounds by the Denver Nuggets and Utah Jazz and still win pretty easily. Tonight , they fall behind to the champs by 20 in the second half and get little contribution from Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher yet pull it out again. One thing for sure, this team is resilient!

The next game will be a game of adjustments and well see what Spurs coach Greg Popovich has under his sleave. One thing he wont be able to use is the “Hack a Shaq” on the Lakers like he did to the Suns.

Lakers prepare to face Spurs

The Los Angeles Lakers will face their old nemesis the San Antonio Spurs in the 2008 Western Conference Finals. After 7 grueling games with Chris Paul and The New Orleans Hornets, the Spurs gain the right to advance and face the Lakers on Wednesday for Game One. These teams definitely have their history together in the playoffs. Most recently , the Lakers prevailing with the farewell tour team including Karl Malone and Gary Payton. The Lakers winning in six games after the Spurs jumped out to a 2-0 series lead, the Lakers fought back with a back ended sweep winning the next four games to close it out only to lose to the Pistons .

However, these are the new look Lakers with the additon of Pau Gasol and newcomers to the rivalry such as Lamar Odom, Ronny Turiaf, Jordan Farmar and ofcourse who can forget Sasha Vujacic aka “The Machine”.

Although there are new faces , there are also some old ones too like Derek Fisher who i am sure Spurs fans would love to forget . Fisher was vital to the Lakers beating the Spurs thanks to his HUGE and I do mean HUGE shot with .04 on the clock to save the Lakers from defeat in Game 5 and grab a strangle hold on the series.

Most recently, the Lakers beat the Spurs in Staples Center on April 13th by a score of 106-85 behind Lamar Odoms 17pt 14 reb performance. Speaking of Odom, i believe he will be the key to this series and an absolute match up nightmare for the hated ones from Texas. They do not posses anyone who can match the length and athleticism of Lamar . Pau Gasol, who usually steps up to his competition should give Tim Duncan some problems with his length. Oh yeah, have i mentioned “Mr. MVP” aka “The Black Mamba?” Who im sure will have something to say in this series when its all said and done. Kobe once again can smell the finish line in hopes of his 4th ring if Robert”Big Shot Rob” Horry doesn’t have anything to say about it. Ofcourse, Horry the owner of seven rings himself will be craving for his eight ring but might not have enough in the tank to make a difference.

Good Luck Lakers and bring it home!!!!