That "comeback" by the Hornets was in fact a massive failure by Phil and the Lakers coaching staff. It wasn't so much Hornets excellence as it was laziness, sloppy passing, and Laker non-moving objects. All it would have taken would have been a timeout or two and two or three players benched and replaced by guys who showed some energy and ball movement.

If this kind of "let 'em work it out by themselves" BS is tried in the playoffs, the Lakers will be one-and-out. Ridiculous.

PS. No contest for MVP. Kobe was Superman to CP3's Mighty Mouse.

Kobesbad,

you wrote : "10 million dollar zen- " if we win out and NO loses one,and Houston wins out we do not finish 3rd. If we win out, we finish no worse than 2nd. PERIOD"..........

That's wrong - we will win a head to head tie breaker with the Hornets if we tie for top record in the west because we will have a better record against western conference teams (if we win out) ---but if it's a three way tie between lakers, rocket, and Hornets - the tie breaker becomes who has the best record against the other two teams - and that would be 1. Houston 2. New Orleans 3. Lakers

Listen up Blog....

==== DALLAS WILL DECIDE THE WEST ====

Just like last year, Dallas will decide the West..

However, in a wierd way..

They play NO the last game of the season. Assume the Lakers win out.

That means NO has to win out to win the West.

Dallas has the 7th seed pretty locked. So if they BEAT NOH, then they play NOH the 1st round but if they rest their starters then they play LAL the 1st round.

Are they going to rest their starters like last year, or have they learned their lesson?

You would think they would want to avoid us since we have a habit of kicking their azzes lately!

Interesting Interesting Interesting...

The path that has the Lakers earning the top seed and playing Denver in the first round may be partally carved out for us. All we have to do is win out.lol

Think about this,

Dallas has two home games left with Portland tonight and Seatle backto back. Followed by a season finally in New Orleans.

Portland is coming off of a loss in Sac town and will be looking for a serious win. We all know how Portland has that pain in the ass habit of getting really pumped for games against big opponents. Dallas is riding a three game winning streak since we bounced them last Sunday. Including a solid win in Utah. Look for an upset.

An upset would mean that Dallas would have to win out to secure the 7th spot (Denver owns the tiebreaker).

Result: That Dallas/N.O.game could be huge.

Hi and Good Afternoon,

Let's cool out and enjoy the day, San Antonio on Sunday!!!

A few observations....

First of all, I don't know what it is about the third quarter, but it's been a pivotal quarter (for better and worse) recently. I wonder what the hell is going on at halftime because it surely has not been contributing to consistency.

Second, when we get into "huck up a three mode", if you look at the positioning of our shooters, it's spot on, but if you compare their rhythm to someone like say... Portland or New Orleans, it's just off. There's a rushing of the shot that cannot be helpful. Our guards need to focus and relax if their going to embrace the bitter philosophy of "huck up a three at all costs" because otherwise it just seems like a fast track to undermining our offensive output.

Third, it seems the games off has been rather helpful for Luke Walton. Good.

Big game tomorrow. I wouldn't want to spend Sunday any other way.

GO LAKERS!

Edwin Gueco,

Without Bynum and Ariza, I still firmly believe that we'll still be in the NBA Finals.

Can we beat Boston without Bynum and Ariza? I'm not so sure about that, but we can still beat everyone in the Western Conference.

Why?

Two Words: Kobe Bryant.

What makes you think that competitve lunatic who has basically obsessing every waking moment upon returning to the Finals for four years now is going to let this squad falter in the playoffs?

No way. No how. Not going to happen.

We are going to see the most extraordinary play EVER from Kobe Bryant in these playoffs. I guarantee you that. This playoffs is going to be one for the history books.

Can hardly wait for it to begin.

GO LAKERS!

Good call Charles, beautiful Saturday around here.

Korey,

You are making a lot of assumptions.. San Antonio is in this mix too! We need to beat them Sunday,

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers, Pacific Division Champions!
You don't know how good it feels to say that unless you've been a Lakers fan the past couple of years!

Korey,

Phil Jackson calls Lamar Odom his Swiss Army knife because of his versatility and ability to play and defend multiple positions. Last night, we saw more great defense from Lamar on Hornets all-star David West, including two clean steals in the closing minutes of the game. You are absolutely correct that this team would not have had a chance to win 55 games without Lamar’s stellar work on both offense and defense. You are also right that Lamar will still play significant minutes at power forward when Drew comes back as he will be Pau’s primary backup at power forward as well as our starting small forward.

One of the beauties of the Triangle Offense is that affords every player opportunities to score without having to dominate the ball. Whether he plays power or small forward, Lamar has really developed his game without the ball, learning how and when to cut to the basket or position himself for an offensive rebound. That is why his shooting percentage has risen so much. Lamar knows that his job is to attack the rim and take advantage of the mismatches that he causes other teams to confront. Other than 3 ill-advised outside shots, Lamar was sensational attacking the rim and controlling the boards last night.

When you consider the importance of keeping players fresh, managing foul problems, and dealing with injuries, it is easy to see that the ability of Lamar and Pau to play multiple positions is a big Lakers asset. Once we are healthy, we will have starter quality players at center and power forward all 48 minutes, which may end up being a bigger factor in the Lakers dominating than the havoc that our Triple Towers offense could produce. It will allow the Lakers to rest and pace their big men with minimal drop in the quality and ability of players on the floor. Throw in Ronny, who can also play two positions, and it is easy to see that the Lakers front court will be among the best in the league once everybody is healthy.

Finally, you’re right that Dallas will decide the West. I predicted several days ago that Dallas, as the #7 seed, would be able to select their first round opponent when they play the Hornets next week. If the Mavs beat the Hornets, then the Lakers win #1, assuming they win out, and the Mavs would get the Hornets in the first round rather than the Lakers. If the Hornets win, they get #1 seed and the Mavs will have to play the Lakers in the first round. I think there is pretty good motivation for Dallas to beat the Hornets.

Tom

I'm willing to bet that both Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza will be back at some point in the playoffs. Maybe no later than the second round. This will be the time the Lakers will need these guys more than anything else. Especially with the possiblility of meeting a Phoenix team with Shaq in the middle and Stoudemire.

Referring to Anthony Johnson's Comments, the Lakers don't need more brothers....They have a well balanced team when fully healthy and need I add to it...have one of the best benches in the NBA. And I also agree with somebody who said that Kobe is going to have a remarkable playoff season this year.

Go Lakers!

I would not be surprised to see Dallas lose against N.O in purpose so they can meet the Lakers on the first round of the playoffs.

Something is telling me that Dallas would rather see the lakers on the 1st round than the Spurs or even N.O.

Either way... no matchup is easy this year on the WC and even if the lakers grab the first seed, they have proven to all of us that they can get beat down at home by teams like Memphis, Charlotte and blow big leads against good teams so... would not be diferent to see their lack of effort against either Goslden State or Denver Nuggets.

I hope I am wrong but unless they stop practicing for next year 3 point contest and decide to play defense for 48 straight minutes, this Laker team is not ready for the first seed and either the playoffs.

Always... always, always... Laker for life!

Maxx

Bynum and Ariza are done this season ,looking forward to next season when everybody is healthy. If we don't win the last 2 games , we'll meet the Suns again ,damn ! 3 years in a row I'm tired of watching we playing them again.

Im just happy we got the win. Great teams are going to eventually make a run and get back in the game. It's up to you as a great team to hold them off and still get the victory. The Lakers did just that.

Well, here it is, the day after, and I don't feel so hot. I know the Lakers won, and they are Pacific Division champs. Congratulations. And I know Kobe Bryant won the MVP with a stellar performance against CP3. Congratulations, Kobster.

But there are 108 reasons why I don't feel so hot. Over the last 15 games, that is what opponents have averaged against the Lakers. And not just the NBA's upper echelons. Like we're talking Memphis, Charlotte, Golden State and Portland in that mix, and none of them are currently in playoff contention. That figure would be much worse if you removed the meager 78 points that the Clippers scored the other night from the equation.

The NBA champs do not give up 108 points per game. The NBA champs do not blow a 30-point lead at home. The NBA champs hold opponents to under 100 and go for the jugular. Instead the Lakers went for the juggler. That's what it looked like as they juggled one bad pass after another in the third and fourth quarters.

The Lakers may have won the score and their division, but they lost the game. What I mean is that the Lakers won 1 1/2 quarters while the Hornets won 2 1/2 quarters.

Okay, so quarters don't count, it's total points. But in the playoff, where defense get you to the next round, you need to totally demoralize the other team. You can let them have the hope of coming back against you. Once you have them down by twenty or thirty, you've got to pour it on and go for that knockout punch.

Right now, there isn't a team in the upcoming playoffs that doesn't believe they can comeback against the Lakers no matter the score.

When the opponents start chipping away at that lead. The head coach has to prowl the sidelines and get in
his players' faces. He has to call time out, not sit on his duff, fold his arms and hope his players can work it out. That is, unless he has no clue.

It was clearly evident who the better coach was last night. A former Laker brought his team back from a 30-point deficit and almost stole the game. Now it is time for Phil Jackson to sit back and let another former Laker, Brian Shaw, talke over the reins, and instill a defensive mindset in one of the NBA's most prolific offenses.

Anthony Johnson

What is your definition of a athlete. Larry Bird was slow,yet many expert commentators rate him as one of the top 5 greatest players in the history of the NBA.

RE: Lakers 3 Point Attempts:

The main problem with the Lakers taking their shots behind the arc is not so much the number of attempts but the timing of the attempts.

>>Koby, Farmar, and Fisher would often take shots behind the arc on a break. This is stupid and it has to stop. You can hoist a quick 3 all night long, it's always going to be there, so please don't squander an opportunuty to take the ball inside when you have the man advantage.

>>A quick 3 gives you no offensive rebounding opportunity, and always end up with a fast break for your opponent. Last night's game against NO is a good example.

>>Never, never, never take shots behind the arc when a team is trying to make a run, especially when you are comfortably ahead by a good margin--you are playing into their hands by doing so.

>>For the life of me, what's wrong with penetrating first and see what kind of opportunity is available before taking the 3?

I believe the primary reason why the Lakers attempt so many 3 pointers is because we do have players that can shoot the 3, but unfortunately, our shooters most times do not exhibit wisdom in their decisions. This is where a quick time out by PJ will help.

Maybe someone needs to take the comfortable high chair away from Phil and make him stand up once in a while. The coach needs to show some passion in battle as well!!

Tom,

No doubt that Odom is key to our continued success as a team. It would be foolish to let him go.

Let's think to the 2 most successful/consistent franchises over the last 6/7 years...

The Pistons and The Spurs...

What's the common demonimator?

It's great interior D and forcing teams to beat you with tough shots.

If the Lakers keep Odom, Bynum, and Gasol on the frontline that sets us up for the next 7 years. Odom can come off the bench for all I care. It's just the fact that we will always have 2 people in the game to challenge easy shots that will keep us in virtually every game.

Add to the fact that Kobe still has 5 years of supreme b-ball and you could easily see 2 championships in that mix barring injury.

Gasol, Bynum, and Odom can all play the 4/5. That's GREAT!

Imagine a lineup of Kobe, Radman, Odom, Bynum, and Gasol in the game...

Thats everybody over 6'6 in the game and daring teams to shoot. On O, we get wide open shots for Radman all day.

I'm tired of the Odom hate. If he hasnt proved this year that he deserves to be a Laker for life then what can he do. He is playing the best b-ball of his life and we've been asking for it for awhile.

Hopefully, he wont take a crazy contract and we keep him for good.

Kobe+Odom+Gasol+Bynum for 5 years is just as good as those old time Laker Baskeball teams. That's 4 all-star talents on one squad!!!

Anthony Johnson:

You don't sound racist. You are being racist and should stop.

We need to beat San Antonio tomorrow! Then
Ill start thinking of maybe being #1 in the conference!

I don't hate LO. At all. I just wish he would add an outside shot and a right hand to his repertoire. These things are not a matter of talent, it's a matter of putting in the work.

for all the whiners about defense(not really the problem in the NO game, it was all the missed jump shots leading to runouts and fast break points for the Hornets, not lack of defense...), the 1986-87 Lakers that won the title over the hated Boston Celtics allowed 108.5 points a game.

point total is NOT the measure of defensive success. the chamionship lakers team in 1987 was the ranked 7th best defense out of 23 teams and it allowed .467 opponents fgp. currently, the Lakers have the 7th ranked defense out of 30, and allow a paltry .446 shooting percentage.

this team IS championship caliber, make no mistake, however the games still need to be played and the team needs to get healthy. God palys a role as well, because no team wins a championship without at least SOME good fortune, even in the face of overwhelming odds.

still, no reason to cry, the team scores 112.8 points(as opposed to 1987's 117.8) a game and is 3rd in the league in points scored(as opposed to 1st in 1987). the last time i checked, the winning team scores more points than the opponent, whether it's more or less than 100. we're in good shape against ANYone, as long as we play OUR game(yeah, ok, i'm not on the team, but i was born in LA so it's "mine").

we're in good shape, considering Pau is coming off of an injury, Kobe's missing a finger, AB's kneee hurts, Luke's ankle got retweaked, Ronny's had a sore ankle for a bit, etc. this next week before the playoffs should give the team a moment to catch it's breath and then go all out. as i've mentioned before, PJ plays a SYSTEM. the players, once they know the system, are plug and play, for the most part. guys coming back from injury, should require only a momentary adjustment to regain timing, and then everything should be GO.

i'm really looking forward to these playoffs. it should be entertaining, at least!

here's the sources for the stats:
http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAL/1987.html
http://www.basketball-reference.com/teams/LAL/2008.html

Korey,

Good post about LO and the unnecessary hate lately. He's been playing great for a while and was key in our surviving Pau's injury. I'd definitely like him to come back at a reduced salary. Something like 7-8 million.

Glenn,

Even if "brothers" are more athletic (and it's possible, but unproven that are), you are being racist in your comment. Any time you ascribe differential abilities to that wonderfully fallacious notion of race (the best we can do is talk about regional, ancestral origin--race was just made up by imperialist Europeans to subjugate those they encountered), you're being racist. I'm not the PC police. I'm not going to criticize you for being racist (which is different from being a racist, a racist comment is not enough to make someone a racist). I do think your comments are worth examination.

I'll address the issue of athleticism now.

I don't think athleticism is really that big of an issue for us. We do have a number of solid athletes in Kobe, Farmar, Odom, Bynum, and Ariza.

If you ask George Karl (and I think he has an appropriate team to allow him to comment authoritatively on this issue), even talent on a team is overrated. Part of talent is athleticism for almost all NBA players. Some, like Larry Bird, have rare gifts, but they are clearly the exception. Some of the worst teams in the NBA have the most athletic rosters. The Lakers may lose to them sometimes, but so do the Spurs. In the NBA, experience has trumped athleticism consistently when it comes to titles which is the only thing that really matters.

I think what the Lakers really need is more heart and more experience. We've improved dramatically in these areas this season. Fisher was super important with his experience and warrior mentality. One more year of triangle and NBA experience under their belts have helped Bynum, Farmar, and Turiaf all improve their play.