LOS ANGELES LAKERS
by Fantasy Junkie of Golden State of Mind
Recap Rewind: The Lakers continued their 8 game road trip out East with 3 more games since the last time we looked. Against Boston last Wednesday, Kobe was back from his suspension. He was just ridiculous really, 43 points, 8 boards and 8 assists while shooting 7-9 from 3 pt range. Boston never really had a chance. Next stop on the road trip was against the new look Pacers. The Lakers had this one, they had it! They were up 7 to start the 4th but a ridiculous 32-14 edge for the Pacers in the final quarter doomed the Lakers to a 95-84 loss. Neither team was impressive, it's just that the Pacers stepped up their game in the 4th. Last on the week's list of games was a rematch with Gilbert “Hibachi” Arenas and the Wizards. The Lakers won this time around 118-102 with a big 2nd half.
Notable news: Kobe vs. Arenas. Arenas vs. Kobe. That was the big news of the week as the two squared off. Kobe dropped an efficient 39 on 14-26 shooting while Arenas did his work at the line going 15-16. What doomed him and the Wiz was his 9-29 from the field and 3-15 from 3 pt land. Man, I wish there was a way to schedule these two teams more than just twice a year. Watching those two go back and forth is so much fun…The other big news of course is Kobe's return from the suspension where he introduced his elbow to Manu Ginobili's face. He was upset and that showed in his awesome performance. Well either he was mad or Boston is just that bad, probably a combination of the two…While in Washington, prior to their game, the team took a 45 minute sightseeing bus tour of the nation's capital. Prior to the tour, Phil Jackson told nobody else about it except the bus driver. Another one of the Zen Master's clever coaching tactics to get his players' minds off the game? Maybe, but it worked as they outplayed one of the East's best teams.
Fast Forward: More time away from home. They visit the ATL on Monday which is a very winnable game against Joe Johnson, Josh Smith, and co. Finally they get a decent break with 2 days off then a date at The Palace on Thursday. The Atlantic division leading Toronto Raptors host the Lakers on Friday and the road trip finishes off in Cleveland on Sunday. LeBron vs Kobe, Kobe vs LeBron. Must see tv.
PHOENIX SUNS
by Dan of Bright Side of the Sun
Recap Rewind: The Suns had an up-and-down last week by first extending their streak to 17 games against the Cleveland Cavaliers. Everything was going great for the team until they ran into a brick wall named Kevin Garnett. Garnett scored 44 points against the Suns and was literally unstoppable. The Suns pulled themselves together for a great win against the San Antonio Spurs - a team they hadn't beaten all season. Amare Stoudemire had another monster game against the Spurs. If there is anything he excels at, it is dominating the Spurs. After the Spurs game, it seemed like all was well again in the Suns' world. But next thing they knew, they were in the loss column again. It seemed Shawn Marion could do nothing right in the Jazz game and that coupled with a slow second quarter made for another loss to the Jazz.
Notable news: The Suns are going to be well represented at the All-Star game in a few weeks. While no Suns players were voted by fans, the Suns do have three players - Shawn Marion, Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire. The Suns coaching staff will also be coaching the Western Conference All-Stars.
Fast Forward: The Suns have a fairly easy schedule until the All-Star break, playing 5 more games - only 2 of them against .500+ teams. If they can stay focused during these games and possibly even rest their star players a little bit, the Suns could come out very strong in the second half of the season. But no game is a given against NBA teams so they will still have to play hard and make sure they put the teams away early.
SACRAMENTO KINGS
by Dennis Velasco
Recap Rewind: After losing three in a row, concluding with a loss to the Memphis Grizzlies, the Kings have run off three straight W's in the past week. Thanks to a Kevin Martin basket with 16 seconds left, the Kings handed the Minnesota Timberwolves a tear-inducing 100-98 win on the road. Martin finished with 28 points, an effort he duplicated in the next game against the Denver Nuggets on Saturday as the Kings were victorious, 94-87. On Monday, Ron Artest led the way with 21 points and nine dimes to defeat the New Orleans Hornets 105-99.
Notable news: Kings coach Eric Musselman served a two-game suspension on Saturday and Monday because of a DUI, which occured before the season. Scott Brooks took over the team and led the Kings to two victories... The Miami Heat are interested in Mike Bibby, but the Kings are not. The Heat are dangling James Posey's expiring contract all over the place, but no one's biting that worm.
Fast Forward: The Kings host the Chicago Bulls on Thursday,which will be broadcast on TNT then play back-to-back games this weekend against the Seattle Mediocresonics, first up North in Seattle on Saturday, then back in Cali on Sunday.
DIVISION REPORTS
Eastern Conference
Atlantic Division
Central Division
Southeast Division
Western Conference