Dallas Mavericks

Anyone happen to catch that Laker-Mavs game last night?

Anyone else notice another game the Lakers were trailing in and somehow come out with a win?

Yeah, I know they were at home and Dallas is a team that no one really knows what to expect from, but they were on a five game winning streak coming in.

Continue reading "Lakers Roundup"

Every expert on television, news columnist, sports reporter to your chat room and forum users all say the Houston Rockets can go deep into the playoffs if A: They can keep Tracy McGrady and Yao Ming healthy and B: If Ron Artest can keep his composure on and off the court. Earlier tonight, if a single game was any indication; Rockets fans will have something to cheer about in late April and May and fellow NBA teams can expect Houston to be a legit threat all season.

Continue reading "Unity leads Rockets past Mavs"

He finally did it. He finally put all those massive talents together and played up to his potential. Imagine if he plays like this the rest of the way. The Lakers won’t need Andrew Bynum back. Lamar Odom put together a doozy of a game, against a Mavericks club that was shooting the lights out despite pretty solid defense by the Purple and Gold. Odom made 12-14 shots, totaling 31 points. Pulled down ten boards, dished 5 assists, blocked 2 shots and threw in a steal to cap off his night. Plus he made two of the best plays of the game with a fake pass, layup that made Dirk look foolish, followed by a quick scoop pass to Pau for an and-one. Not only was his offense up to snuff, despite giving up 27 points to Dirk, Lamar made the key stop on the Big German with a about 30 seconds left. He played perfect defense. I mean, Diggler still shot a scorching 13-19, but Odom was in his grill on most of them. Dirk was just hot. I knew Lamar was feeling it. In the past, he would always look to Kobe to set the tone, or to make sure he was running the right plays. Tonight, he took the ball himself, juked, spun, shimmied, dropped dimes, battled for loose balls, dove to the basket for putbacks (he dunked Kobe’s missed layup at the end of the game when Kobe got fouled) and ice-manned the ball in the hoop all night. It was beautiful and extremely exciting to watch. Odom, for the first time I’ve ever seen him play, looked like he wanted the ball in his hands at the end of the game.

Continue reading "What We’ve Been Waiting For…"

It’s the only realistic way of stopping you.  

Exhibit A: The Dallas Mavericks made their game against the Lakers a down and dirty affair. The Mavs had 29 fouls and sent the Lakers to the line 50 times. That’s right. 50 times. Kobe had 27 by himself, a couple including some hard fouls by Erick Dampier who ended up fouling out.

Continue reading "Getting Rough and Rising to the Challenge"

We have been waiting for this moment for months.  No, I’m not talking about the Jason Kidd trade to go through (which it did today).  I am talking to about the second half of the NBA season to begin.  The first three and a half months can be such a drag, and usually are but in the second half, everything picks up.  It is a two-month stretch run to the playoffs.  This is the time when teams like San Antonio and Detroit flip their switch on and look to be playing their best when the playoffs begin.  The flurry of trades that have gone on in the last two or three weeks has just made the second half that much more interesting.  The NBA season is about 20 games too long and it kills ratings but now is the time to jump on the bandwagon.  These next couple months of the regular season and the playoffs are going to be some of the best basketball since the ‘80’s.  The NBA, where exciting happens.

Continue reading "The NBA, Where Only the Second Half ..."

But moral victories only carry so far. And with the Dallas Mavericks up tomorrow night, the Lakers better get into that first half gear and ride it all the way to a victory. 

Continue reading "One Step Forward...Two Steps Back"

He's relinquished 42 and 13 to Chris Bosh. Dampier, yes, that's Eric Dampier of the Dallas Mavericks, had 8 points on 4 for 4 shooting, and outrebounded Amare by 2. Tim Duncan dropped 3

Continue reading "A VERY Merry Christmas"