Woke up early this morning sick. Had a long day at work with unpleasant clients. Car battery died, leaving me stranded at work for 2 hours and preventing me from watching the game. Lakers won.

All in all, a very good day.

I haven't even read this post yet but I had to quickly weigh in my thoughts on tonight's game. Not too surprised by the blow out and seemingly dominant Laker win. It was already discussed here by BK? that the Magic would lose at least one game due to their virgin status as a Finals team. I think we got that one out of the way. I expect a more competitive opponent the next game but that in no way diminished the importance of winning in this fashion tonight. A statement was made by The Lake Show and a win on Sunday will go a long way towards wrapping up this series earlier than most people expect. I think it's likely to go 6 but I've yet to envision a scenario where LA does not have the best chance at controlling this series.

AB looked active and up to the challenge of playing Dwight to a draw. He looked better most of the night up until the 3rd foul, which essentially ended his minutes on the court. Solid 1st quarter. Only hope he continue to be as active has he played tonight. This could go a long way to restoring some of that missing confidence.

Fish played pretty damn well for as much abuse as he's taken this postseason. LO gave us the effort that was needed on a night like this. Might not be enough on other nights. Trevor was pretty distant tonight outside of a nice 3 pointer and some decent defensive sequences. The Usual Suspects (Sasha, JFarm, and Shannon) were not too much of a factor either.

The night belonged to Kobe and too a much lesser extent Pau. Our two All-Stars lived up to their reputations and carried this team to a dominant performance on both ends. Kobe once again blows the roof off of Staples with a career high Finals game. Some of those shots were nothing short of beautiful. If he continues to play at this level, dude is going to seriously make some people start the MVP recall efforts.

We got this!!!!!

I think Bynum had the "you won't dunk on me" mentality. So when he got beat he made egregious touch fouls. Not the best way to rack em up but still I thought he played not so bad. Next time he needs to have that same mentality but play for the block without body fouls. Torq himself so he can get angles.

He certainly brought the energy from the get go and I thought that turned the game to our favor. Of course the real tide came with the Kobe explosion 6 points after being down 5 and the lead. From then on we never looked back.

I'm surprised you didn't focus on the defense more. It wasn't so much stifling in my opinion as it was smart. We made sure we left the right guys open and we made sure we doubled those that needed it. Pick and roll was pretty good, could have been better...they still got into the paint more than I'd like but it was still a good effort. Certainly good enough to hold them to 58 points in 3 quarters and certainly good enough to win the game with a blowout victory.

But tonight all that falls to the wayside to the greatness of Kobe. They say one offensive player cannot change the complexity of the game. There is no championship without defense (I agree to a point) but Kobe took their hearts and their confidence with his relentless pursuit. The defense we locked in was icing on the cake.

GO Lakers!

Man, I've never seen Kobe this focused, the guy looked like he was angry at the entire room during the postgame conference... dude came very close to mistreating some people.

Well, as long as he keeps dropping 40-8-8 every game for the rest of the series, he can punch Adande in the face, I'm sure he can take it like a man.

Magic cannot match our size and again the key to winning chip is attacking rim.

Keep it going Lakers!!!

Happy irthday Mamba24!

NOT BAD???????

Great analysis, AK, but I think you got lost in the trees and lost sight of the forest. With all due respect, Andrew Bynum was the second most important Laker tonight even though he was limited to just 22 minutes due to foul difficulties. He set the tone from the opening tip that there was going to be no 40 point game tonight from Dwight Howard. He out-boarded Pau Gasol in just half the minutes. And he outplayed Dwight Howard in the first half.

With Kobe and Pau both off to a slow start, Drew’s play against Dwight in the first quarter gave the Lakers all-important confidence a huge boost and it was Phil’s timely move to put Drew and Kobe back into the game in the 2nd quarter trailing by 5 that ingited the Lakers to take charge of the game. Great pick and roll offense by Kobe and Drew and great defense and rebounding by Drew powered the Lakers to their 10 point half-time lead.

I also disagree with respect to Drew wasting fouls. No way should he have allowed Howard to dunk the ball. His job was to prevent that even if he had to use up his fouls. That is the luxury we have with our depth. Put him on the line where he is embarrassed. Don’t let him energize his team with a dunk. Drew did exactly what he should have. And the result was that he played Dwight even while he was in the game. And that was the anchor on which tonight’s victory was built. That was the key to our great defense.

This game was won at half-time. The Lakers knew it and so did the Magic. The Lakers knew they had the personnel and scheme to stop Dwight and the Magic knew they did not have anybody to slow down Kobe. Game ball to the MVP, of course, but 1st honorable mention should go to AB17. Not taking anything away from great performances from Pau, Lamar, and Luke, but Andrew Bynum was a hell of a lot better than “Not Bad.” He was the second most important reason after Kobe Bryant why the Lakers crushed the Magic.

Anyway, that’s my take on Drew’s role and importance in tonight’s win. Drew was a beast.

Tom

Greetings from Serbia.

Woke up this morning and YES, Great News. LA WON !

On the other hand I hope everyone realizes that Orlando will NOT play and shoot like this again in this series.

anyone knows a good orlando magic blog? wondering what they are reading...the ones i went to had almost ZERO comments and fans

Dwight has ZERO dunks.

I'll go ahead and argue that Bynum's performance was dynamic and quietly spectacular and the best he's looked all postseason.

The way he refused to let Howard get to his favorite spots was amazing and uplifting. The first quarter Bynum basically carried the Lakers psychologically by playing Howard to a draw.

I couldn't believe my eyes. Bynum was doing exactly what I had been praying he's do. He beat Howard down the court, he knew Howard's favorite spots and wouldn't let him get to them, his length and strength discombobulated Howard and took the spirit right out of the whole Magic team.

I mean, if Bynum can handle Howard one on one, what hope do they have?

They have a lot of hope, I'm just saying, Bynum stepped up HUGE last night.

Wes

4;49 of the Third Quarter. In a post season full of some of the worse officiating I have ever seen, I think that was perhaps the worse call of the playoffs.

Forgot who Fish was guarding but Dwight Howard CLEARLY in real time set about as much of a moving screen as is possible. He was running out and Fish did nothing wrong and was whistled. In a close game this could have been huge.

Need refs to step up their game like the Lakers. The team is foucsed playing great team defense. If they do that, No. 15 is ours.

Nice gift for Mamba and all of the Nation !!! I like the way the bigs collapsed on howard, because he's not a good passer by any means. I a;lso see that whomever is matched against lewis, lee, and nelson should have a field day. Good recognition to realize Fish should be agressive against nelson and see how much he wants to run into off ball screens with that tender shoulder. Aso whomever guards Kobe will lose something on the offensive end in order to focus on holding him under 50 !!

Thanks, PJ. Peaking at the right time.

Great win for the Lake show.......I expect Kobe to knock down some of the easy 15footers he missed in game 1...he'll have an even bigger game 2. However, Orlando will also play much better and I anticipate a tight game 2 win for the Lakers.

Kobe will have 50Pts/5/4+ , Pau 18/10/2, LO/Bynum 22/18/4, Laker supporting cast 20

Howard 25/15/4, Lewis/Turk 40/15/8, Orlando supporting cast 41pts

Lakers will win 110 -106

2009 The Kobe/Pau/Bynum dynasty begins

Lil wayne's new song.. on Kobe
http://tinyurl.com/osk7aj

" A couple of Superman's buckets needed to be conceded with the goal of fighting another day. "

And let Howard dunk??!!!

This is the Playoffs. AB was doing exactly what Boston did to Howard. Not only make him earn from the line, but keep him out of rythym, and it worked beautifully.

Howard lives off his dunks, it fires him up to play better and more focused defense. Midway through the 3rd, Howard was just going through the motions, he had given up.

It was a masterful job on Howard, maybe one of the best of all time, and should be recognized as such. (one fg, playoff low)

Bynum started strong and set the tone, knocked Howard back a bit. Then he continued to contest and hit DwH hard, (a message foul?) across the arms. He even was warned by Crawford. (I loved it, a Lakers being warned for playing too rough)

One foul was uncalled for. Howard lowered HIS shoulder into AB and AB got whistled in the 3rd, definately not Bynum's lack of smartness. More like Howard's loss of control mentally and being rewarded by the Refs.

Bynum grew up a little tonight and outplayed the best center in the NBA. Should be praised for that, not belittled, no?

A lovely Friday morning in Boston...raining and a dark overcast sky, a balmy 50 degrees, wing gusts of 40mph blowing my new $20 umbrella into the Boston Harbor, and the train broke down 8 blocks from my office so I'm walking.

YET...I haven't been this happy in a long time. I have a certain pep in my step that can only come from the dominating win of my Lakers team last night. Screw everything else, we're on our way to a championship.

I have to give props to the entire team for bringing it last night. Regardless of the size of the contribution, it made a huge difference. Here are my thoughts on that:

D.E.F.E.N.S.E.....Wow, what can I say? The defense was consistent throughout the game. Orlando shot 29% and it wasn't all because their offense was off. They hadn't tried shooting with a 7 footer running at them. I also loved the way we forced Dwight out of the paint a foot or two. The man has no outside shot whatsoever.

Kobe...What can we really say about the greatest player in basketball. This man is focused and lethal. I'm loving the new "kill 'em" look with the teeth. Makes him look fierce.

LO...Another double double and he looked active out there when we needed him to be. Best part to me, the rebounds. 14 of them to be exact. Lifetime candy supply for Lamar.

Pau...Mr. Quietly Consistent was at it again. I couldn't believe Orlando gave him so much space for his favorite face up shots. He also altered some of Dwight's attempts.

Luke...OMG, yes I said Luke. He was great last night. Nice spark off the bench. No crazy turnovers or stupid fouls. Just a good overall game. No complaints from me today.

Bynum...Not as impressive as I'd like him to be but he really got us going in the 1st quarter with his energy and his shots. He's coming along nicely and will most likely see many more minutes against Dwight.

All in all, it's lovely in Lakerland. If they Lakers can continue to play stifling defense, I may have to change my prediction to 5 games or less.

I better enjoy while I'm at work. Someone approached my husband yesterday and told him he looks A LOT like Kobe. Now I have to go home and explain that I really did marry him for him. ;-) hehehe

GO LAKERS! 3 more wins baby!

Getting up this morning with my normal routine, but with one difference

When I looked in the mirror while brushing my teeth, I noticed I was cleanning vigoursly, with a scowl on my face. Just like Kobe. I even scared myself.

I like it. Kobe is even influencing us commenters

48 minutes of killer, never let up effort. Keep this up and this series is ours.

Go Lakers! The Lakers freight train is rolling!

Good Morning, Laker Nation!

It's time for...

Jon K.'s Early Thoughts That He Has Not Put Too Much Thought Into Yet:

1. Great win last night. If I hear too many complaints, LakerTom, Mamba24 and I are going to start tracking bloggers down and kicking them in the shins.

2. I give Laker Nation a 5.75 (on a 10 point scale) last night. They were present throughout the game, which was good. It was clearly better than last year, but it wasn't like there was a wall of sound raging across the court throughout the entire game.

3. When I saw Kobe Bryant's face right before tip-off, I broke out into a dark hysterical laughter. A laughter that said, "Holy crap! The Magic don't know what's about to hit him!" I've kind of grown up with Kobe, so I can read him. I concur with THI, I've never seen him this ready. The Magic don't stand a chance.

4. Luke Walton, unstoppable offensive machine! I say that a little tongue in cheek, but who can deny that they guy was aggressive when he came on the court. This whole team is ready.

5. The refs play Andrew way too tight. I saw several incidents where Andrew was mauled and there was no foul, and then other times when be breathed on Howard and got a foul. It's not really fair, but I'm hoping Andrew (and the refs) will be able to better manage the game as the series unfolds.

6. 43-0. [Far more impressive than the lucky barstool's 48-6.] The Magic is aware of this number and psychologically it is going to affect their game in a negative sense.

7. I was listening to Stan Van Gundy's pre-game speech to his team. He was going on and on about respect and how the media and the world don't give the Magic enough of it. (Van Gundy is respect-orientated Bio-Chronologically-speaking.) Wrong speech to give. After getting beat up like they did, they're going to NOW question whether or not they deserve respect. I don't see a huge bounce back in Game Two.

8. I don't see this as a six game series anymore. I'm readjusting my prediction to five games now.

9. To quote a LeBroniac last night, crying mournfully, "Why couldn't the Magic shoot 30% against US?" Dude, because you're not the Lakers.

10. A female LeBroniac was seething with anger last night and hissed to me, "Kobe is gay! I know it. I'm a girl and I've gaydar. You wouldn't understand because you're a guy, but Kobe is gay." I said to her, "But he's married and he's got two kids." She responded spitefully, "SO? Lots of gay men have kids. He's secretly gay! I know it." {Whince and shrug.}

11. I've got some VERY interesting information about LeBron James and Cav Nation that I'm going to have to put in a separate thread. Real insider stuff.

12. If the Lakers play as they did last night for the rest of the series, they will sweep the Magic, no matter how much better the Magic play. The team I saw play last night is unbeatable.

13. Despite how impressed I am with our team, we can play better. Sasha can play significantly better. If Andrew Bynum can stay out of foul trouble and IMPROVE with each game he plays against Howard (which I believe he will, actually), then we are looking at a true historic team of redemption. Haters beware.

14. I'm very proud of this team. It's just one game and the Magic are a VERY good team, but we came out to play for Game One. We knew how important the game was and we were ready.

WE ARE THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS AND WE RISE!!!!

What do we play for? RINGS!!!!

Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.

GO LAKERS!!!!

At the game......one man's perspective....

I arrived in LA about 2 hours before game time with a good buddy of mine. First stop is always the second-story bar at the Holiday Inn, across the street from Staples Center. Having a cold beer surrounded by nothing but Lakers fans in all their Laker gear is a great time, and a nice way to get amped up for the game!

About an hour before tip-off I get in line to enter Staples. There is an incredible ruckus there, as there is approximately 30 Orlando fans all dressed in their Magic blues, many of them wearing red Superman capes. They started chanting "Lakers suck!", so of course all of the Lakers fans turned it around to "Magic sucks!". I asked one of them why they had to name their team after one of our best players. What's next, the Pittsburgh Abdul-Jabbars? It was crazy fun...

Finally made it inside and to my seat... all the players get introduced, national anthem gets sung incredibly well, and all the Lakers look hungry. I ended up sitting right next to 2 Magic fans (wouldn't you know, haha). I think they thought they had it in the bag just because Howard stole the tip. I let them know that they still sucked, and that they were going down (all in good fun, of course).

I loved Bynum's start. I don't know if it translated to tv, but he absolutely electrified the crowd by being so aggressive at the basket. I think people realize his importance to this team, especially in this series, and he was rewarded with applause and wild cheering when he finally went to the bench for the first time.

A couple of other thoughts..... those that hate Luke Walton need to get over it. He KILLED last night and took the Lakers up a level. If he continues to play D and score like that off the bench, the Magic are in big, big trouble.

When Kobe finally started getting hot, a group of us Laker fans had to yell down to the court, "you may be able to stop LeBrick James, but you ain't gonna stop the Black Mamba BAAAAABBY!!!!!!"

Van Jeremy putting Jameer Nelson in the game. What an idiotic, desperate move. I loved it!

Lakers fans, 3 more to go and then it's time for OUR PARADE! Go Lakers!!!

Jigglin out....

Listening to ESPN radio this morning and I couldn't believe my ears. Two themes with the Mike and Mike show and the stand in for Colin Cowherd--mild criticism of Kobe.

Weird. After such a monumental finals bust out performance there's still this desire to find something negative to write or say about Kobe.

So, apparently, Kobe we acting "odd" or "disingenuous" with his gritty performance last night. Apparently the idea with these radio guys is that if the emotion and grumpiness from Kobe that we all saw last night and last week is real, then why haven't we seen it more often?

Doesn't make sense. Kobe sees a direct path to the finals, wants it bad and is dead serious about getting this championship.

Would they rather have Van Exel chanting "Cancun" in the locker room? I personally am glad Kobe is taking a do or die attitude toward these finals. I wouldn’t have it any other way.

I just think it's telling that there was such gloom and doom by these radio guys this morning. And I guess it's Kobe's fault again.

The callers are defending Kobe but these radio guys wont get off this wacked "Kobe did bad again kick."

Are you kidding me?

Holy smokes.

Wes

{Lakers Secret Agent Jon K. Reporting From DEEP Behind Enemy Lines In The Shattered Psychic Wasteland That Is The Defeated Region Of Northeast Ohio}

[LeBron James Update: Insider Info]

Okay, I got this information from two psycho-LeBroniacs who actually went to high school with LeBron James, one of whom played basketball with LeBron James in high school.

This information actually made me hate LeLoser less. Some of this information (I was told) has been actively surpressed by LeBron James whom (I was told) threatened local media if it was released:

1. LeBron James really loves his mother.

2. LeBron James' mother has a MAJOR on-going drug problem and very poorly developed social skills.

3. LeBron James really wasn't raised by his mother. He pretty much raised himself, relatively speaking. The most significant person who was there for him was actually his uncle until he was arrested for money laundering. Throughout most of his childhood, his mother either wasn't there or she was, but was overcome by drug addiction.

4. LeBron James wants to play for the Nets and leave Cleveland.

5. However, LeBron is seriously worried that if he leaves his mother alone in Cleveland that she will spiral downhill in a very negative way.

6. He is also worried that if he takes his mother with him to New York that local media (it being New York after all) will seize upon his mother's bizarre actions like jackals to a wounded rabbit. THIS is the number one reason why he will probably stay in Cleveland.

7. His mother was this year arrested for a DUI. When she was put in the back of the police car, she had a freakout and kicked out the back window of the police car screaming, "I'm the Queen of Cleveland, you [obsenities]!" The event never made the news because LeBron called up all the local television stations and threatened them if they revealed the story. All the stations backed down.

8. At a recent Saint Vincent game playing Western Reserve (high schools), LeBron's mom was screaming obsenities at Saint Vincent's coach that he was awful because he couldn't beat a team of white players while throwing green "Witness" shirts to people in the crowd. She was also seen in the lobby talking to herself and showing signs of what appeared to be drug withdrawl.

9. The Cavs are going to make a run for Rasheed Wallace, Shaquille O'Neal, and Jason Kidd next year. I, personally, don't know how they're supposed to pull that off, but it is a stop-gap measure to keep LeBron James from jumping ship.

{Lakers Secret Agent Jon K. Signing Out}

WE ARE THE LOS ANGELES LAKERS AND WE RISE!!!!

What do we play for? RINGS!!!

Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.

GO LAKERS!!!!

Oh my!!!!!! Now let's crank it up a notch in every game until the deed is done.

hat's off to kobe and the lakers ... but we've still got 6 more games and this series is far from over ...

on another note ... I never blasted lebron james for skipping the press conference but now imma put david stern on blast for deciding to fine him like a week later and offering an apology on behalf of lebron ... i can only imagine how the convo went down ...

Stern: Hey king james, calling to let you know what you did was wrong
James: wtf, you know i hate losing
Stern: Will you pls apologise, you're the face of the league?
James: Umm bite me, I'm a competitor
Stern: What if I offer the apology on your behalf
James: Whatever makes your day yo
Stern: And is a 25k fine ok, just to get the press of my back
James: Dude I make it rain, 25k ain't even a drizzle
Stern: I knew you'd understand
James: w/e yo ... u lucky u my dawg

Urgh!! Stern is so tacky!! It's like the league constantly 2nd guesses itself. Stick with your decisions and just move on. No need for reverted techs/flags/fines etc ... it just makes it seem like they're clueless up there and constantly worried about being judged in the court of public opinion ... we don't watch the games to see lebron shake howards hands at the end of the game or to feel that the league is fair in upgrading d jones trip to a flagrant ... we watch to see ballers ball ... to see derric rose and ben gordon give the hated celtics a run for their money and to see lamar odom step up big in game 6

Worry about the game yo and stop trying to control grown men!!!! This ain't high school and mr commisioner, you ain't a teacher.

Wes,

>>> I'll go ahead and argue that Bynum's performance was dynamic and
>>> quietly spectacular and the best he's looked all postseason.

>>> The way he refused to let Howard get to his favorite spots was amazing
>>> and uplifting. The first quarter Bynum basically carried the Lakers
>>> psychologically by playing Howard to a draw.

Excellent post, Wes. Glad SOMEBODY was watching the same game I was. I told you not to worry. Andrew Bynum was the second most important Laker last night. I expect Dwight to come loaded for bear on Sunday night but look for Drew to be loaded for beast.

Tom