LOS ANGELES LAKERS
by ClipperSteve of Clips Nation
Recap Rewind: A couple days after Kobe Bryant lit up the strip in Las Vegas a little brighter with 31 points and an MVP trophy in the All Star game, the Lakers had to get back to business. Riding a season long five game losing streak into the break they were looking to turn things around against the Blazers in Staples Center Wednesday night. Instead, a disturbing recent trend continued, as poor defense and a fourth quarter collapse resulted in a 112-108 Portland win. The Lakers allowed the Blazers to shoot 60% for the game, and perhaps more disconcerting, they shot 60% in the first half, the third quarter, and the fourth quarter. So the Lakers defense was consistent – consistently poor. The six game skid was the longest of Phil Jackson's coaching career. But there's really nothing like a visit from the Celtics to make everything better. The team with the worst record in the NBA visited on Friday night, and the streak ended at six. Jackson asked Kobe to be more aggressive at the beginning of the game, and number 24 obliged with 22 points in the first quarter. Even with Paul Pierce back in the lineup, the Celtics remain a very bad NBA team, and the Lakers won 122-96. Kobe finished with 38. On Sunday the Lakers traveled up to Oakland for a late afternoon affair with the Warriors and used a 33-7 first half run to build a 20 point lead and put the game away early on the way to a 102-85 win (I guess they wanted to watch the Oscars - they're so Hollywood). Maurice Evans, starting at small forward with 17 other Laker forwards injured, scored a career-high 26 points to tie Bryant for game high honors. Monday night things got tougher, with a trip to Salt Lake City to face the Jazz, owners of the third best record (and second best home record) in the NBA. But as they have so many times this season, the Lakers came up big against a good team, and beat the Jazz 102-94 as Kobe scored 21 of his game-high 35 points from the line. Lamar Odom missed a triple-double by one assist, scoring 19 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.
Notable news: Oh those darn injuries. Chris Mihm is out for the season; we knew that. Kwame Brown and Luke Walton are both recovering from sprained ankles, and while they are both expected back any time now, they aren't back yet. Then Vladimir Radmanovic returned from an All Star break trip to Utah with a separated shoulder. Jackson was suspicious of VladRad's "I slipped on the ice" story from the beginning, and sure enough, a couple days later he admitted he had injured himself snowboarding, and activity specifically forbidden in his contract. At any rate, it doesn't change the fact that he will miss 8 weeks – basically the remainder of the regular season. Not real smart. And although the Lakers were prominently mentioned as a destination for Jason Kidd, the trade deadline came and went without any moves. Apparently the negotiations didn't get very far, going something like this: Rod Thorn: "Give us Andrew Bynum." Mitch Kupchak: "No."
Fast Forward: The Lakers have a very light schedule this week, with only two games in seven days. They play Sacramento in Staples on Friday after three days off, and they may have Walton or Brown or both back for that game. Although no one would have believed it going into the season, none of the Lakers injuries have set the team back as much as the one to Walton – not even Lamar Odom's. Penciled in as a backup to Radmanovic before the season began, Walton has quietly become the second most important player on this team. Go figure. After the Kings, the Lakers fly to Phoenix for an ABC TV game against the Suns Sunday afternoon. The Lakers have played big in big games this season, but beating the Suns, especially short-handed, may be too much too ask. If they can pull off the upset in Phoenix, it will serve notice to the rest of the league - we're back, and you don't want to see us in the playoffs!
PHOENIX SUNS
by Dan of Bright Side of the Sun
Recap Rewind: The Phoenix Suns had a good showing at the All-Star game with both Shawn Marion and Amare Stoudemire playing good minutes. Amare Stoudemire had a chance to win the MVP of the game but didn't quite make it with Kobe Bryant playing as well as he did. But despite that, all is well again in Phoenix Suns land with the return of Steve Nash. Once Steve came back to the team after resting his shoulder for two weeks, the team hasn't lost. Of course, they've played the Clippers, the Celtics, the Timberwolves, and the Hawks.
Notable news: Amare Stoudemire was named player of the week while averaging 30 points and 12 rebounds in the 4 games since Steve Nash came back. That not only attests to the great player Amare is becoming but also the type of player Steve is.
Fast Forward: The Suns play Indiana on Tuesday night, Philadelphia, then Indiana again at home before facing the Lakers on Sunday. The Suns should be able to beat the three Eastern Conference teams unless they look ahead to Sunday's game against the Lakers. The Lakers beat the Suns in their first matchup but that was during their slow start. LA is a much improved team over last year – but so are the Suns so it should be a good game.