NBA – Lakers beat San Antonio Spurs but at a very high cost

Winning is everything. At least that’s the story that they want to sell us when we get so excited watching our favorite teams compete. And although it is true, that on some instances the scenario is win or go home (the NCAA tourney, the NFL postseason, etc.) sometimes you could take a lose or two just for the sake of continuity and to play it safe. The Lakers were able to break a streak of 5 losing games but at doing so they not only defeated the San Antonio Spurs 102-93, but they also paid a very high cost for that win. Andrew Bynum, the 23-year-old center injured his rickety right knee and could easily be out for a couple games.

On the previous two entries we were covering both the Boston Celtics and the Atlanta Hawks decision to sit down their starters on the last games of the postseason. Yes, on the one side, that meant that the Celtics gave up the No. 2 seed on the East to the Miami Heat, which would happen to play all of its star filled rooster to barely outplay the Atlanta Hawks bench.

Yes, there is an upside and a downside to every decision one makes. On the one side, the Hawks have rested its star players but that hasn’t kept the Hawks from loosing its 5th straight game and although they have a healthy rooster, it’s not the most motivational season finale ever. They have certainly got to not only feel rested but extremely motivated if they want to make it pass the Orlando Magic in the first round. Let’s not forget that the Magic dismissed the Hawks in 4 straight games exactly on year ago, during the NBA Eastern Conference Playoffs first round.

Now, The LA Lakers, had to win this next games if they wanted to secure the No. 2 seed. We are certainly not second guessing Phil Jackson’s decision to play all of his starters against the San Antonio Spurs. But considering that the Lakers had already secured a spot on the Playoffs and that, on the other hand, Gregg Popovich had rested all of his starters, perhaps it wouldn’t have hurt to play it safe and sit down Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol and yes, one Andrew Bynum.

The Lakers were guided once again by Kobe Bryant who scored 27 points but got into foul trouble early in the game. Lamar Odom scored 23 points as the Lakers struggled to hold off the Spurs backup players. Popovich rested stars Tim Duncan, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker and let them watch the game with their civilian cloths on. He had no reason to risk it: the Spurs had the Western Conference’s top seed already secured.

For the Lakers, Spaniard Pau Gasol had 17 points and 17 rebounds, showing once again that he could be a decisive force down the stretch. With this win, the Lakers have almost secured the No. 2 seed in the West. All they need is either a win at Sacramento or a loss by the Dallas Mavericks.

Gary Neal scored 16 points and Matt Bonner had 13 for the Spurs. Yes it is not a good sensation, to close the regular season with a losing streak, but heck, motivational wise, it was certainly a booster to see that for a moment there, the Spurs backup players were really giving the two-time defending champions a very hard time.

NBA- A quick look at the Lakers most recent flops

by Stephen Lars on Feb.28, 2011, under Basketball, Sports News

The LA Lakers are not at their finest moment right now. Just like it happened to the Boston Celtics, the Lakers are getting slower, older, and just not as shiny and in focus as they used to be. And yes, to be fair to the comparison, it certainly appears as if the Celtics have done a much finer job at getting old. All though the Lakers are still the favorite team to win the NBA Championship this year and this is the most successful team since the turn of the century (winning two out of the last three NBA Finals and 5 in the last decade) on the other hand, their most recent performances have raised some concerns about the team’s overall stability.

Yes, the Lakers have Pau Gasol, Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom and Ron Artest on their roster and that’s just the supporting cast for non other then Kobe Bryant. But the most star-filled team in the western conference has lost to the likes of the Sacramento Kings, the Charlotte Bobcats and the league-weakest link: the Cleveland Cavaliers. And that’s just in the last month alone.

And yet, for the most part, it seems as if these early signs have not been considered much of an alarm signal, not even a warning sign. But there are certain -lets call them symptoms- that could or should be taken into consideration. For starters, Derek Fisher is 36 years old and certainly in the twilight of his career. Lamar Odom is certainly not at his finest, while the always troubling and a bit delusional Ron Artest is as unreliable as he is talented.

The only thing that we are left with is the experience that this team has, and overall, the undeniable fact that the LA Lakers are a strong all around team capable of winning when it matters most.

And then there is another factor. It seems as if this time around, working their way into the Finals should certainly be an easier task for the Lakers then for any of the Eastern Conference counterpart. Yes, this time around the Chicago Bulls, the New York Knicks, The Miami Heat, the Orlando Magic and the Boston Celtics are going to have to bring on their A-game to face the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

NBA – Orlando Magic gives the LA Lakers its first defeat on this road trip

by Stephen Lars on Feb.14, 2011, under Basketball, Sports News

Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic have been a bit in the shadows due to the media attention that has been placed on both the Miami Heat and the Boston Celtics who are without a doubt the two forces to reckon with in the Eastern Conference. At 35-21 for the season and 20-8 at home game, the Orlando Magic where in a serious need to break the losing streak they had been stuck in.

As a matter of fact, the Orlando Magic had not been able to win one of the last 8 games against teams with at least a .500 average during the season. And one can say without a doubt that this 89 to 75 win at home over the defending champions, the LA Lakers, is one of the most significant wins of the Magic so far this season.

On one side we have to acknowledge that the Lakers were certainly not having their best season ever. Let’s face it, the Lakers where far away from the team that last year played an epic battle against the Boston Celtics for the National Championship. Completing only 33 of 84 shots from the field and 2 of 16 (yes, just two of 16 attempts) from the 3-point line was enough to give the Lakers a whooping defeat.

Kobe Bryant had 17 points and 5 assists while Andrey Bynum closed the match with 17 points and 9 rebounds. Truth be said, that was no matchup for Dwight Howard and company who played an amazing game. Howard had 31 points and 13 rebounds and 3 assists. That was enough for Orlando to open up the gap and get six-point lead during halftime. And it will only get worse for the LA Lakers.

It seems as if finally, after many weeks since the Orlando Magic was able to make a couple of big-time changes to its rooster, that the Magic has a team capable of putting a fight among the Celtics and the Heat in the Eastern Conference Playoffs.

By the middle of the third quarter the Orlando Magic had build a 56-47 lead and it was just too much for the Lakers to handle. Now, this is an important win for the Orlando Magic, but it means nothing unless they somehow manage to build up from this important result and keep on going with the momentum. They still have a good deal of complicated games ahead of them, and even though there is a good chance that the Magic would end up in the Playoffs, they must really improve their performance if they want to make their postseason run a bit longer then the usual.

Orlando made a comeback from a six-point home loss to New Orleans on Friday and managed to break a string of eight straight losses to teams with winning records. Since the Magic’s win at Dallas in early January, Orlando has not been able to win a game against teams with winning records. The Lakers on the other hand lost their 4 game winning-streak on the road. They will now have to face Charlotte tonight and the Cleveland Cavaliers on Wednesday.

NBA – LA Lakers win over the Sacramento Kings

The LA Lakers, the NBA defending Champions, where a bit unnerved at the beginning of the season, as the team’s brightest star and key-player Kobe Bryant, had been struggling with his recovery from knee surgery during the off-season. Kobe had to sit back and take things slow during training camp, and head coach Phill Jackson had been quite conservative with the amount of minutes that Kobe was expected to play at the first few games of the season.

The question many fans and NBA betting players where asking themselves was how many games would it take for Kobe to be fully recovered. Let’s be clear with something. When it comes to wagering on the spread on or a Lakers’ game total, Kobe Bryant is always a key-factor to take into account. So, despite their 4-0 record, the Lakers were 3-1 against the spread.

Now, despite not having their top scorer at top shape, the Lakers are now, after game 5, clearly landing their games on the over side of things. The only Laker game so far this regular season that has gone under the total was the 107-83 win over Golden State Warriors. But it also made sense. With such a big margin, why keep on pushing to score more?

Anyhow, after his triple-double against the Sacramento Kings, it seems that Kobe has made it quite evident that it only took him 5 games to fully recover from his surgery. Bryant closed the night with 30 points, 12 assists and 10 boards in the Lakers 112-100 win over the Kings. Taking that last game into the equation, the Lakers are now 5-0 straight and 4-1 against the spread (ATS).

Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom also contributed to the Lakers cause with 22 and 18 points respectively. It is still very early in the season, but it seems as if Phill Jackson’s last season as a professional coach might be en-route to a very good ending.