I’m doing something new for Viva Ron Mexico today and am going to post a live blog of tonight’s Lakers game vs. New Orleans at Staples Center. It’s on NBA TV so we are treated to the team of Ahmad Rashad, Gary Payton and Chris Webber. We’re only at pre-game at the moment, but C-Webb and GP are very impressed by Pau Gasol, and they replayed the sick highlight of Pau dribbling between his legs and throwing the no-look to Ariza at the end of the Utah game. Good stuff:
More good stuff: According to the stat crawl, Boston lost to the always-dangerous Charlotte Bobcats today. By my calculations, the Celtics only have to go 44-2 the rest of the way to pass the Bulls for best record ever. Not gonna happen, Celtics fan. Also, Celtics fan, you can finally shut the fuck up about Rajon Rondo being an All-Star… he had 9(!) turnovers in today’s loss. In his previous game, a loss to the Knicks a couple days ago, his statline was: 3 points (on 1-7 shooting), 3 AST, 4 REB and 2 TOs. Anyway, here’s a good article (on a great Lakers-centric NBA blog) that asks the question: If Rondo is so great, then why are the Celtics willing to bring in a cancer like Starbury? There’s also a previous post on the Association that explains why Rondo looks so good this year (basically because he’s always wide-open and has 3 future hall-of-famers to pass the ball to; I concur).
The best thing about having NBA League Pass is that I get 30+ games of commentary from Stu Lantz. Just like the good old days, except for the fact that Joel Meyers couldn’t hold Chick Hearn’s jock strap, if he had one. Anyway, on to the game:
4:30, 1st quarter: The Hornets are killing the Lakers on the offensive glass (outscoring the Lakers 7-0 on second-chance points) and on the pick-and-roll (what else is new?).
3:42: David West and Tyson Chandler both have 2 fouls; let’s see if the Lakers can capitalize, or if Andrew Bynum will do his best Vlade Divac impersonation, not take advantage of the situation, and play like a puss. I’d say the odds are 60/40 in favor of “puss”.
End of 1st quarter: Chris Paul is killing the Lakers, as usual. This is the kind of defense that made Rajon Rondo look so good in last year’s Finals. The Lakers suck at defending small, quick PGs. At this rate, CP3 might have a triple-double by halftime. The Lakers are very lucky to only be down 6. Peja bricking the most wide-open shot I’ve ever seen in an NBA game at the end of the quarter helps (after Radmanovic fell on his face out of bounds trying to steal the inbound pass… nice D, Vlad).
10:13, 2nd quarter: So far Bynum is proving me wrong, and he just had a nice spin move and one-handed jam. Bynum is a difficult player to figure out… it seems like when he actually feels like it, he can score at will, as he’s too big, quick and athletic for most NBA big men to hang with. Then sometimes he just flat-out disappears. I’m hoping I can chalk it up to age and not indifference, but it’s too early to tell. Stu is liking his aggressiveness tonight; however, he just commented that the Lakers’ coaching staff is sometimes concerned about his “energy level”. Not a good sign.
8:51: Holy shit, a Vlade sighting! I just mentioned him minutes ago and now they just showed him sitting in the stands. Stu says they are going to have a chat with Vlade after the commercial. I can’t wait.
8:51 (after commercial break): After some highlights of Vlade tossing in some weak finger-rolls, Joel Meyers says something about how everyone loved Vlade’s game. Hey Joel, you know who didn’t like Vlade’s game at all? ME! Vlade was a flopping sack-of-shit that the Lakers traded to the Hornets for Kobe (and to clear room for Shaq) at the 1996 NBA Draft. Good riddance. God I hated the guy, and hated him even more when he went to the Kings and helped turn that team into the softest bunch of whiners the NBA’s ever seen. The only time he played well was when I was knocking down 3s and throwing down monster dunks with him on NBA Live 95 back in high school (my friend would call him “Demon Vlade” whenever I used him in that game… he was unstoppable).
Anyway, this is some interview… I guess Vlade scouts international talent for the Lakers. He is now touting his 15 year old son as someone who “plays basketball the right way”, if by “the right way” he means falling down like he just got shot every time someone posts him up. Apparently, he is also in a Taco Bell commercial with Darryl Dawkins (which should be hilarious, horrifically bad, or both). Oh, and the Kings are going to retire his number! Nice franchise… who’s next, Doug Christie?
Speaking of the Kings, I’m glad they suck now so that we no longer have to watch the fat Maloof high-five the middle-aged Maloof with the frosted hair come playoff time. Stick to burger commercials , being rich, and owning casinos, and leave running successful NBA franchises to the big boys, you losers. Or at least move the Kings out of that shithole cow-town and into a real city.
Anyway, back to the game:
5:31: Lamar Odom just completed a 3-point play. Odom’s looking good tonight, even if the Lakers should trade him if the right offer comes along.
3:03: Speaking of Odom, he just hobbled to the locker room after tweaking his knee. Not good.
0:00: Last-second running 40-foot 3 by Kobe. The Lakers needed that. Score at half: Hornets 61, Lakers 56. Uninspired half by the Lakers. Chris Paul already has 23 points and 7 assists.
Halftime: Ahmad couldn’t be less prepared. He couldn’t even figure out how many points Kobe had at the half, even though he has that information right in front of him, somewhere.
10:16, 3rd quarter: Derek Fisher just knocked down a 3. Other than Rondo, is there anyone in the League that gets more wide-open 3-pointers than Fish?
9:00: Again, the Lakers really have no idea how to defend the pick-and-roll… it’s as if Shaq never left. I just witnessed a sequence where there wasn’t even a pick (David West kind of walked over near Chris Paul), Gasol (guarding West) jumps outside the “screen”, actually picks Fisher as Chris Paul drives to the basket and dishes to Tyson Chandler for the easy layup. Chandler’s man, Bynum, had to come help out on Paul and instead of stopping Paul he almost collided with Fisher. What a mess. The Lakers need to figure this out before the playoffs. I know it’s Chris Paul and no one can really stop him, but this is bad.
8:23: Radmanovic just bricked an easy two-handed dunk, which the Hornets took coast-to-coast for a dunk (and Phil Jackson’s so pissed he even called a time out). Radman sucks. I think the injury to Luke Walton is going to hurt the Lakers more than people think.
5:35: Kobe knocks down a 3-pointer. He’s now 11-13 with 32 points, and pretty much the only guy doing shit for the Lakers right now. And he looks pissed.
3:47: The Lakers have the momentum, the crowd is getting into it… Kobe drives and passes to Radman for a WIDE-OPEN 3… BRICK! Goddammit Vlad, the only reason you’re in the game is to hit 3-pointers, and you can’t even do that right?!? You’re fucking worthless…
0:35: Kobe with another 3! He’s on fire!
At the end of the 3rd quarter: NO 89, LAL 92
8:20, 4th quarter: A shot of Luke Walton on the bench, looking like he’s about to audition for an episode of The Hills or one of those other crappy shows Celtics fan is so fond of. You know, Luke, every single article of clothing that you own doesn’t have to have that “pre-worn/tattered” look. Luke is being interviewed, and just told the sideline reporter that the Lakers need to stop the pick-and-roll. No shit… now please go tell that to Phil Jackson.
5:32: 13-point run by the Hornets, who are now up 107-99. This is why you can’t say the Lakers are the favorites to win it all this year, yet; they need to figure out how to take control in the 4th quarter and close teams out. Kobe’s been silent in the 4th so far. Considering how his teammates are playing at the moment, I expect Kobe to hog the ball for the rest of the game. That’s a good thing, tonight.
4:48: Now it’s a 15-0 run. David West is killing the Lakers and now has 37 points (and it’s somehow a “quiet” 37). He’s attacking Pau Gasol, who has no answer defensively, as usual. If the Lakers trade Odom, they need to get someone who can D-up a little.
1:40: Kobe bricks a 3. It’s just about over… the Lakers are lifeless.
1:17: Tyson Chandler beats 3 Lakers for the offensive rebound, tipping a Chris Paul miss out to David West. That’s ballgame.
FINAL SCORE: Hornets 116, Lakers 105. Bynum decided to go with “puss” after all, finishing with 7 points on 2-7 shooting in 35 minutes. Only Vlad and his 1-7 shooting night were arguably less impressive.
Overall, a very disappointing loss for the Lakers versus a team the Lakers are likely to face in the playoffs. If the Lakers can’t find a way to slow down the pick-and-roll and show some more grit inside, it could be a rough road in the playoffs for the Lakers. On the bright side, they have alread beaten the Hornets a couple times already this year, and at least they didn’t lose to the sorry-ass Bobcats.
In the postgame show, GP and C-Webb make a good point in criticizing Phil Jackson for taking Kobe out when he was on a hot streak; Phil has a tendency to out-think himself sometimes, when common sense would dictate that you leave a streaking player in the game. Anyway, while tonight was disappointing, the Lakers are still the best team in the West (and maybe, eventually, the NBA), even if they still have a lot of work to do.
As a final note, the best part of the Ahmad/Webber/Glove show is when they are watching the top-10 highlights… it’s highly entertaining. Just trust me and go check it out for yourselves. Also, watching CP3 and Payton talk junk at each other over their bowling skills was great… it’s a solid show.
January 10th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
I miss Doug Christie and his jestures during the game.
http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9907E6DA163BF937A15756C0A9649C8B63&sec=&spon=&pagewanted=1
I also miss Rick Fox kicking his bitch ass during a pre-season game.
http://video.aol.com/video-detail/doug-christie-vs-rick-fox/3947137942
Is it just me or does Doug have some of the gay-est tattoos?
January 17th, 2009 at 12:14 am
[...] Lakers, for example, he’d be a much shorter version of Vladimir Radmanovic, and you know how I feel about [...]