Division owned
Few, if any, Laker fans or media pundits predicted the Pacific division belonging to the Lakers for the calender year 2008. Especially not after the chaos leading into a season looking equal parts doom and gloom. But after last night's 117-114 win over the Hornets. The night kicked off appearing like a walk in the park, with Vlad Radmanovic's technical foul-inducing shove of Tyson Chandler feeling almost representative of the Lakers' bullying of New Orleans. The Laker lead swelled up to 30 at one point in the second quarter, and even after a bit of a swoon remained at a comfortable 20. But the Hornets didn't end up the Western Conference's first place squad by accident. It also didn't happen because they give up after 24 minutes. New Orleans shifted the momentum decidedly in their direction during the second half, going on a few runs and capitalizing on a Laker penchant for chucking (and missing) three balls. By the time the fourth quarter elapsed, the contest had grown a little too close for comfort and as Phil Jackson pointed out, another two minutes and the outcome could have been reversed. But the game did conclude after the standard 48, which amounted to a Laker victory in the box score, a victory with enough drama stuffed within to nearly burst the seams. A reminder that this conference remains wild and woolly.
For many an MVP voter, this game was used as bellwether material to help determine a vote between Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul (broken down to the serious nitty gritty here). While one can question the validity of putting so much weight into one game for a decision that reflects an entire season's worth of ball (CP3 would say the same thing), when it comes to the Kobe Bryant's credentials, his performance and the "W" only help his case (already made in stone to ESPN's Marc Stein). The ballots will already be counted by the time the playoffs commence, but were it a June election, Kobe might end up proving his worth through his postseason luck without the services of Andrew Bynum. Drew's return remains up in the air, his knee still lacking the stability required to compete at a high (or even medium) level. The mindset is one that eschews rushing him, a call supported by everyone to management to Bynum to The Mamba. The amount of credit given to "Kobe the motivational speaker" is up for debate, but it's hard to argue he didn't come through as promised.
The world will have to wait before learning what's Italian for "Starbury."
The Bucks have a GM!
have you bought your "Stephen Jackson Day" card yet?
Is D-Wade too caught up in raising his profile?
KB8th Wonder,
Thanks for answering. Do you have a reference for the the 3-way tie thing?
Posted by: Benjamin | April 13, 2008 at 04:08 AM
IT'S A MUST WIN TODAY FOR US TO BE THE NO. 1 IN THE WEST... NO LOST LAST NITE... WERE TIED RIGHT NOW...
Posted by: joetoronto | April 13, 2008 at 04:52 AM
"Kobe Bryant is good but sometimes he gets so excitedthat start to screw games by dribbling too much, forcing shots and collecting turovers after turnovers" ---COY
Umm, you are kind of talking about the Kobe of maybe 2004...this is 2008, get with the program...and since you are critic of the year...come on, I challenge you to a Kobe Bryant debate...Let's hear, God am I digging for a fight or what?
Posted by: Rhon Salmon | April 13, 2008 at 05:02 AM
As a long time Lakers fan and one who has seen a lot of games. This laker team is not going to win a championship with this team this year. If we had Andrew and Ariza maybe. The main problem is we don't have a lot of Athletic players on our team. We need some more athletic players. not trying to sound racial but we need some more brothers.
Posted by: ANTHONY JOHNSON | April 12, 2008 at 02:15 PM
Anthony Johnson:
You don't sound racist. You are being racist and should stop.
It amazes me the sensitivity of people toward the issue of race. Race is a fact. People are different. So what. Anthony, I agree with you, the Lakers need more quickness on defense, especially on the perimeter. Of course, not all "Brothers" (by the way, I think that is a great term, since we are all brothers and I am quite different from my own) have superior foot speed, but we can generalize, can we not?
Allow me a short story. When I was a freshman in college I made a trip from Fresno to South Central with our Youth Group from church. We played a little pick up ball on the playground against kids who were probably eight grade or so on eight or nine foot rims. I had pretty good hops for a short White guy so I went up to dunk and this young man who I was going to posterize took the ball from me in mid air, and was going back down the court without touching me or me knowing what had happened. That's the kind of defensive quickness we need. In my experience there is more of it per capita among the Brothers.
If you would like to read a book about genetics race and sports, there is an interesting one that takes a facinating look at that issue. Perhaps if we considered why so many Kenyans were great distance runners we could be more dispassionate in the discussion.
Sorry for the long post. God bless all of us "Brothers."
And here is the book title:
Taboo: Why Black Athletes Dominate Sports and Why We're Afraid to Talk About It by John Entine
Mark
Posted by: MarkytheArky | April 13, 2008 at 05:52 AM
Good Fricken Morning, Laker Nation!
New Orleans and Denver lost last night!
What an amazing season!
Which will be capped off by the Lakers and the Celtics in the Finals!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | April 13, 2008 at 08:00 AM
I would like to make some statements:
It's OK to be No. 1 or No. 2 as long as everybody will be healthy when they enter the playoffs. If they reach the No. 1 good for Lakers ego, homecourt advantage but they get the Warriors or Nuggets. It they are No. 2, it means they need to work harder will play against Dallas and the hungry Cuban.
Shoot those threes only when you are free but the priority is going to the hoop. When you shoot threes, it means you're lazy and afraid to be pulverized in the shaded lane by Oberto or Duncan. Have courage.
We lay the blame on PJ not on what he does but on what he is not doing. His philosophical mind is too deep that it is hard to comprehend that a 30 pt. lead will evaporate in just few minutes with Kobe, LO and Pau in his lineup. He is like Emperor Nero strumming his harp while Rome is burning. He may be a cylon but he is turning the laker fans into nuts.
Win today and win with grace and humility, and if we lose, lose with courage and dignity for fighting to the last minute. No need to talk to the media like Luke Walton does, do the talking on the floor, identity comes from your game not from your mouth.
GO LAKERS
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | April 13, 2008 at 08:32 AM
We need to beat the Spurs and the Kings and hope that Houston either loses or New Orleans wins out to keep Houston out of the number 1 slot.
What a wild season.
We need to handle our business. It would be nice to beat the Spurs within an inch of their lives today!!!!
Posted by: LakerBake | April 13, 2008 at 08:45 AM
A Great Day! A Red Day! Time for Battle!
GAME DAY!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | April 13, 2008 at 08:53 AM
I don't understand how people think that the Lakers can both win out and wind up third? The Lakers currently possess the best division and conference records in the West. That means if they win out, they hold all the tie breakers against any foes. Didn't the Lakers and Rockets split their season series (I don't remember)?
Clarification please?
--FearlessWhackJob
Posted by: FearlessWhackJob | April 13, 2008 at 08:58 AM
Here is a little clearer explanation:
__________________________________________
LAKERS CLINCH 19th PACIFIC DIVISION TITLE
With their victory over the Hornets April 11, coupled with a Phoenix loss in Houston, the Lakers clinched their 19th Pacific Division Title while guaranteeing no lower than a three seed in the Western Conference Playoffs. Should the Lakers win their last 2 games, they would be guaranteed no lower than a 2 seed. The Lakers clinched a playoff berth for the 27th time in 29 seasons since Dr. Jerry Buss purchased the team prior to the 1979-80 season one week earlier with their victory over the Mavericks April 4. This will be the Lakers 55th postseason appearance in 60 NBA seasons dating back to the Minneapolis era. The Lakers have missed the playoffs just five times: 1958 (Minneapolis), 1975, 1976, 1994 and 2005.
_______________________________
I'm assuming the number one team would be the Rockets in that scenario?
Oh, soooo confusing...
But, if we win-out, we are guarenteed home court until we play the number one team if they aren't knocked off by somebody else first.
That isn't all that bad a position to be in. I'll take it.
--FearlessWhackJob
--FearlessWhackJob
Posted by: FearlessWhackJob | April 13, 2008 at 09:06 AM
It's a little convoluted but my understanding is seeding and home court advantage are two slightly different things. If the Lakers win out and still end up the 3 seed (w/ NO at #2) b/c Houston also wins out, they'd still have home court advantage against everyone except Houston (including NO).
Utah is a good example of this. Even though they're a top 4 seed, they very well may have to travel for their first two games of the post-season.
Posted by: lakers_sth | April 13, 2008 at 09:33 AM
As of right now, we don't control our own destiny. If Houston wins out they'd be the No. 1 seed. With that said, the Rockets play at Denver and at Utah in each their next two games. I don't see them beating a Denver team fighting for their playoff lives or Utah, who are currently playing some of the best basketball in the conference.
Posted by: Xodus | April 13, 2008 at 09:39 AM
c. Guidelines For Applying Tie-Break Criteria.
The following guidelines shall be used when applying the above criteria to break ties for playoff positions:
(1) (a) Since the three division winners receive the first three playoff positions, ties to determine the division winners must be broken before any other ties.
Since the Hornets and Rockets are in the same division only one of them can be in the top 3. Therefor the top three would be Houston, Lakers, and Utah....By losing the tie breaker to Houston, New Orleans would drop down to 4...
Posted by: pslakerfan | April 13, 2008 at 09:45 AM
what a shocker, abc said Chris Paul is the MVP...How many all-stars do Hornets have? 3. And Lakers only had Kobe before we got Pau, and we were still in the first place. I think people are forgetting about this.
Posted by: tim | April 13, 2008 at 10:06 AM
The hate for Kobe is truly remarkable.
Jon Barry (one of the biggest Kobe haters) stated this morning that he would still vote for CP3.
First: CP3 deserves the MVP trophy as a result of leading his team to the number one seed.
And now CP3 deserves it because he has improved his team.
And he also stated that Lebron deserves votes as a result of his stats (stats that Kobe has nearly matched the past 2 years when he was not evening in the top 4 in MVP votes).
The above proves how great Kobe is.
Instead of allowing the hate to get to him, he uses it as fuel.
I wish I could see the look on each Kobe hater face when he wins regular season MVP and NBA Finals MVP when we beat the Pistons (how do like that Celtics fans?).
Man, the haters are something else.
Posted by: passionate Lakers fan | April 13, 2008 at 10:06 AM
Peter Vecsey, on why Kobe is Co-MVP:
"At the same time, he (Kobe) is not solely responsible for the Lakers' soaring in the standings. Yes, he makes teammates better, but they deserve a lot of credit, too, for improving (Andrew Bynum, a prime example) on their own, and the incoming player (Pau Gasol) made Kobe better. Furthermore, if Bryant wasn't setting up perimeter shooters and drivers for dunks, Lamar Odom is almost as capable...Paul, on the other hand, is responsible for just about every thought and deed leading to a Hornets basket — his own, a team top 21.2 points, and teammates, 11.5 dimes, an inhuman 4.6-to-1 assist-turnover ratio. That adds up to nearly 44 points per game, five more than Kobe. Plus, Paul is the NBA's steal leader"
Cant give Kobe any credit, even as he praises him and anoints him co-MVP.
Wes
Posted by: | April 13, 2008 at 10:09 AM
Edwin, i totally agree with you, good players don't need to talk to the media a lot. If Lakers have number one or number two seed in the west is ok. Lakers have enough players to win the west, it's up to Phil how to use these players, no excuse like it will take 2,3 years to learn the system, i don't believe that.
Posted by: steve | April 13, 2008 at 10:14 AM
No Ginobli today, or so they say, but it wouldn't surprise me to see him give it a go with the West on the line and national TV in the house.
The roster is what it is. It will be tougher without Trevor guarding the wing and Andrew swattin' anything at the rim but now it's about screaming your lungs out from now till JUne.
Swagger, we're #1.
GO Lakers
Posted by: Vman | April 13, 2008 at 10:16 AM
Who will you watch Tiger on the hunt or Kobe's run with destiny? Record one and watch the other live.
Joel Myers is so star struck, he could not help it to interview a celebrity, that's the mark of newcomers in the Southland. They are so conscious of Hollywood. Is it televised on FSN, sometimes I prefer ABC or TNT at least you get a professionalism from ex coaches.
GO LAKERS - Make them Obey (words of the prodigal blogger)
Posted by: Edwin Gueco | April 13, 2008 at 10:58 AM
FWJ - The Lakers lost the season series to Houston 1-2. That's why they'd be the only team that would have home court advantage over them.
pslakerfan - That info from NBA.com is outdated, surprisingly. The format has changed so that division winners are guaranteed a top 4 spot. That's why Utah currently sits in 4th.
Posted by: lakers_sth | April 13, 2008 at 11:19 AM