The City of Alley-Oops

Well it's "official": Chris Paul is a Clipper. Lamar Odom is a Maverick. The Lakers signed three other players, but no "superstars" yet. I'm feeling okay though, aside from losing Lamar which hurts on many levels. Everyone is in panic mode, but I honestly believe we still have a good team. We still have Kobe. We still have Pau and Andrew, and Fish (for locker room speeches and 0.4 shots, if nothing else). We'll be okay. I don't mind sharing Staples with CP3 and Blake Griffin- that is a SportsCenter Top Ten moment waiting to happen every time they step on the court. I think this whole process of trades, and vetoes, and non-stop Twitter chatter has numbed me a bit. I'm just thankful we have a season at all. Everything will take care of itself. It's paradoxical, but whenever the Lakers are the worst is when the true fans shine the most. No one can take the purple and gold running through my veins away. We have a good core. And there might be more surprises left in store, if everyone is just patient enough to find out.

CP3 and the Mysteriously Vanishing Trade

I'm basically waiting to comment on the Chris Paul craziness until all is said and done.... I went from happiness to disbelief and shock in literally 20 minutes last night and have been glued to Twitter ever since. I still find Twitter crazy, the way we get information nowadays. Literally up-to-the-second updates. But anyway shame on the NBA and David Stern for putting the players, teams and fans through this fiasco. Everyone feels wronged, and rightly so. I contemplated writing an article last night too, but there is nothing I could say that hasn't already been said... It's a unique problem when you find yourself with Celtics fans and all kinds of Laker-haters on your side. If Stern can veto this trade, why not any other in the future? Stay tuned for updates, the teams are talking again. I'm afraid to report anything because it changes so quickly lol. I'm also not convinced it's the best trade for the Lakers even though I've personally wanted Chris Paul on the team for years, but now it's about the principle of the trade, and of choice, as well. It has to get done.

David Stern Makes a Colossal Mistake- Ian O'Connor, ESPN New York
" The National Basketball Association has lost its way."- Bill Simmons, Grantland
NBA Sets a Dangerous Precedent- Ramona Shelbourne, ESPN Los Angeles
Chris Paul Veto: Vindictive and Petty- Michael Wilbon, ESPN

LD2k Laker Fan Videos

Here is the link to my boyfriend's YouTube channel: http://www.youtube.com/ld2kVIDEOS.

His old YouTube channel had over 20 million views, but had to be taken down temporarily; the new one doesn't reflect what an amazing worldwide following he truly has. I promise if you are a Lakers fan at all, you will love the videos. If you are as diehard and passionate as the two of us are, you'll really love them! He really has an eye for matching amazing footage with inspiring cuts and music and dialogue. Plus they're fun! His newest video is the featured front page one, and it incorporates a Coach Taylor speech from Friday Night Lights, which is my favorite show ever.

I have personally gotten 6 other people to watch the show and they all fell in love with it and watched all the episodes as fast as possible. The acting is incredible, the writing is impeccable, and it just has so much emotion and heart. It's real. It's different from most shows out there because of how real it is. There's football, but it's also about a small town and the people in it. Their relationships and their lives; so many nuances to each character. And the music is breathtaking. I cannot recommend Friday Night Lights highly enough. I've watched all five seasons about three times all the way through.

66 GAMES

THE LOCKOUT IS OVER!!!! OVER, I SAY!!!

First Lakers game is on Christmas Day against Chicago at 11:15am. I can't WAIT! This whole scenario has seemed like a bad dream and it's finally over. I'm just so thankful to have basketball back, I missed it so. And it seems like a very good possibility that we could get Dwight Howard! That would be incredible and give us an even better shot at the championship, no question. Dwight is already talented. With Kobe there to give him extra motivation he'd be unstoppable and insatiable too. I'm writing an article outline right now comparing the careers of Shaq and Dwight; I think it will be a good piece. Gonna wait to post it until it's "official"... knock on wood.

But yeah, I'm back (for the three readers I have). I moved recently and have a busier schedule that unfortunately won't allow me to continue writing for Lakers Nation on a regular basis, but I should get to watch every game now. I have weekends off for the first time ever, and we're going to get NBA League Pass too. I'm going to post my articles on here in the mean time, and try to get my bf to help me reformat this blog so it looks a little better. I'll post some of his incredible fan-made Lakers videos as well. He's very talented, and if you're a Laker fan you'll enjoy them.

LeBron side note, because there's always a LeBron side note: I've been hearing that he's been working on his game the past few months, working on his post moves and everything under the sun. That makes me respect him more. He can definitely earn back my respect, he just has to show me that he wants to win. That he wants to get better and reach his full potential. That's what drove me crazy about him; he didn't seem to care. He'd talk the talk, but he wouldn't walk the walk. And now he's finally walking. Scary thought.

A Year Has Passed.

A year has passed since I started my darling little Lakers blog, and I know that I've recently ignored it for too long. I was heartbroken and then in denial about the lockout and just a little stressed about life this summer. So much good has happened since then (personally) that I will try to get back to my regularly-scheduled blogging, lockout or no lockout. I've been brewing an Olympic article for a little bit, and I always have random basketball thoughts to add. If anyone is still reading this, I'll be back SOON!

A Month's Worth of Recap Links

Here are the links to my last five recaps, oldest to newest:

-Loss to Utah

-terrible game against OKC

-great win against the Spurs led by LO

-Game 1 of the playoffs: we lost but I was at Staples and my bf made the intro video so all in all it was fun.

-My latest recap, Game 3 vs. NOH... GREAT win last night!!

The playoffs are finally upon us.... I can't believe it. I still have lots of basketball thoughts, but I'm not going to stress about updating or not updating because I figure god forbid if there is a lockout or some sort of shenanigans this summer/next season.... i'll have things to write about. I can get my ideas out then lol. I'm sure I'll construct some articles before then though ;)

Updates and an Impassioned Response to BS.

Wow, major slacking on my part!! I've been updating facebook and twitter so much that my own little blog fell by the wayside a bit :( Here's my article on the win last week against the Mavericks.... such a crazy game!! Not gonna lie, I mention it in the article, but I love fights. I'll have to do a post of my favorites one of these days... one of my early articles on the Kings talked about a bunch of them haha.

Honestly, I was bummed that the Lakers lost to the Nuggets on Sunday, but you can't win every game, and the Nuggets are doing pretty well surprisingly enough. I am just glad that Pau and Andrew are okay.... so scary to hear about. I'd probably cry if I thought either of them would miss extended time heh.

I just got sent an anger-inducing, TERRIBLE article hating on Kobe... if you are inclined to read it, there it is. And I couldn't help myself, so I left a comment which I will copy-paste here:

"That sure is a lot of hypothetical bullshit. How do you know Kobe wouldn't have won if he wasn't in Charlotte? Or anywhere else for that matter? It's not like Shaq has done that well for himself without Kobe... he's won one other title with another amazing player in Dwayne Wade, but other than that destroyed basketball in Phoenix, tried to jump on LeBron's bandwagon in Cleveland, which didn't work well, and hasn't done much for Boston this year either. Torpedoed them by the looks of it. And you seem to be forgetting that Michael Jordan didn't win anything his first 7 years in the league.... I guess Hall of Famers like Scottie Pippen and Dennis Rodman don't count for much.

Let's talk about Lebron: you say that if you put him on the 2006 Lakers in his prime, they would get 60 wins and compete for a championship. I think it's been pretty clear the past few years that that might be true, but rings aren't won in the regular season. Cleveland had the best record in the NBA two years in a row and got bounced before the championship round. And now he's gone to hook up with Dwayne Wade and Chris Bosh... he apparently doesn't think that he can win it alone either. Weird.

I will admit that Kobe is definitely not a saint. He makes bad decisions sometimes and used to be quite petulant and arrogant... however how can you say that he doesn't love the game? Basketball is his LIFE. He doesn't always use points to will his team to win; when he struggled in Game 7 last year, he crashed the boards and did everything he count to "will" his team to victory. There is no one with greater determination, greater spirit and greater will than Kobe. He has worked diligently to bring his teammates under the same fold in a positive manner, as opposed to how he might have handled things in the past.

No one has every won a championship alone. Are you saying that Magic Johnson isn't a winner or can't carry a team because he had Kareem, James Worthy and Michael Cooper? Is Larry Bird not one of the top ten players ever because he had 5 All Stars on his championship teams? Please.

People like you prove to me that you know nothing about basketball and that you twist logic and facts around to serve your vendetta against Kobe Bryant because you dislike him. I am obviously a huge Kobe fan, but I'm a Lakers fan first and foremost, born and raised in Southern California. It is not my fault that I have an amazing player on my home team. I feel privileged to watch him play every night and hope other teams get their own superstar that they feel so lucky about in the future. I'd like to see where you get your facts for the points he hits that don't matter. I can think of eight game winners he hit last year alone. If you're going to attack someone so vehemently, I would at least like to see some hard evidence for your BS."

I was pretty mad, to say the least. Not the best thing I've ever written, but it was more of a spur-of-the-moment kind of thing hehe.

Also, I'm kind of devastated that the regular season is almost over... only 6 more games.... but I'll save that for another entry :) Recapping the Utah game tonight, should be a good one hopefully!

Total Eclipse of the Suns

Holy cow.... what a crazy game last night!! I watched parts of the first three quarters because I didn't think the Suns would put up much of a fight, we were up by 20 when I checked at one point, and I'm trying to save my roommate from Laker overload until the playoffs at least haha.

I tuned in for good with about three minutes to go in the 4th and the game inexplicably tied! I couldn't believe it. I felt oddly calm though, more calm than I normally am in these situations. I'm not sure whether it's because I didn't see the whole game (doubt it), or whether I just had an overwhelming feeling that they would pull through no matter what.

The game was just incredible. I felt so bad for Lamar because he had been having a stellar game (season high 29 points and 16 boards) and I knew as soon as he committed that foul that Lakers Nation would turn on him. I was miffed, but I also knew that he had done so much for the Lakers already that I wasn't going to hold it against him. Luckily, we won anyway and he had some big plays in subsequent overtimes to kind of erase that foul. Here's a great article by Kevin Ding of the OC Register about Odom and the game last night. I particularly liked these parts:

Odom being Odom, he said with honesty if not profundity before leaving: "I'm tired, I'm ready to go home, and I'm in the mood for pancakes."

No word on whether the pancakes made for a late-night scene in his reality TV show. But pining for pancakes wasn't even the most interesting thing Odom said before leaving the arena. (A close second was Odom expressing admiration for Ron Artest's "antics" by insisting: "He's going to be one of the best wrestlers ever.")

What was most compelling was Odom acknowledging that he played the final two overtimes concerned about having to walk into the locker room and "face these guys" ... meaning his teammates. Odom was shuddering over letting them down with his foolish three-shot foul on Channing Frye.

Channing Frye, ughhhh. Hate. Hate him for that three, and those free throws. I think I'm growing as a person however, because I was so flipping angry at the time but deep down I was still appreciating him. Which is bizarre. Had this happened five years ago, my blood would have been boiling over at the sight of him, like it did for Raja Bell haha.

Pau didn't have a great game (although he still got a double double), but he hit some huuuuge free throws at the end of double overtime. I thought I was going to have a heart attack at that point... that whole sequence was jacked. I still don't know how Kobe managed to get the ball to Pau under the basket and out of bounds, but he did. Clutch free throws in general are almost harder to watch than shots from the field for me. It took all the willpower I had to keep my eyes open and watching Pau shoot those free throws.... it was painful. I don't know why, but I don't always trust him in those situations. However, and I've said this before, I wouldn't have been able to enjoy the victory if I didn't have the guts to watch every heart-pounding shot. I wouldn't have felt like I earned the right to celebrate if I didn't have enough faith in my team to make their shots when they needed to.

Which brings us to Mr. Ron Artest. Holy. Shit. I can't think of another player that can literally stop my beating heart whenever he shoots. I'm always sure that he will miss and I'm always sure that he will make it, at the same time every time. He terrifies me, but I love him for it. This put it into perspective perfectly:

The crowd gasped in frustration, pleading for Lakers forward Ron Artest not to shoot the wide-open three-pointer.

He did anyway.

The shot dropped in the bucket, gave the Lakers a three-point lead in the first overtime Tuesday against the Phoenix Suns and the 18,997 at Staples Center reacted hysterically. In return, Artest blew kisses in the air, soaking in all the adulation.

The image surely represents the never-ending anxieties and fickle relationship Laker fans have with Artest, swinging in frustration over his trigger-happy tendencies and distracted persona to admiration for his fearless mindset and goofball behavior.

Ron was fantastic last night, and had 5 points of his 18 in the last two minutes of triple overtime (read that sentence again!). He got a steal and a monster left hand jam down the lane, and followed it up with a running leaning, left footed jumper. Very Kobe-esque. Ron-Ron always seems to come up big when we need him the most, which is a good quality to have and one well known to and cherished by Lakers fans. He is just the latest in a long line of talented Lakers that make their presence known at all times, but save their biggest impact for the biggest moments. Recently Robert Horry and Derek Fisher come to mind of course, not to mention the Mamba.

I love Ron, I really do. I was sad to see Trevor go, but he is a definite upgrade and an amazing player when he puts his mind to it. Plus, he's hilarious. I feel like his off-court personality is starting to show oncourt more and it's awesome. Facing the crowd and blowing kisses after his big three; flexing his biceps and kissing them after his jam (that move seems to be his fav); and that little shimmy after his jumper. I like seeing personality on the court...

Like when we saw Kobe's underbite face again last night haha. I hate that face but I love what it stands for. Kobe had a monster game- 42 points, 12 boards and 9 assists- and had a good battle with Grant Hill going on. It makes me feel old to realize that I remember when Grant Hill was co-rookie of the year with Jason Kidd in 1994. I loved him!! I wrote a report on him in fourth grade and had a reversible teal and white Pistons jersey hahah. I wanted it so badly... my dad promised that if I got straight A's he'd buy it for me, and I did so he did =) Wish I could find it now, and I wish they still made reversible jerseys! Those were dope.

Back to the Mamba: he went a bit cold in the overtimes, but came through in the clutch like so many times before, both at the line and from the field. Just as importantly, he trusted his teammates, getting good looks for Pau and Lamar and Ron. "He hit shots, he was animated, he carried us and then he trusted us when it counted," Artest said. "He trusted us in that last overtime. That's Black Mamba for you."

Fish amazingly had no field goals, but had ANOTHER huge steal in the third overtime, like he did the other night against Portland. And Matt Barnes had another stellar game as well, finishing with 13 points, 5 rebounds and lots of hustle plays and good D. I really like him too, I think he's my favorite new Laker actually.

Perhaps the craziest aspect of the whole game was how rare it actually was: the Lakers' last triple-overtime game was Dec. 29, 2006, at Charlotte. Their last triple-overtime WIN was a 137-136 victory on Dec. 8, 1961, against Philadelphia. Fifty. Years. Ago. That's insane!! They've only played 4 triple-OT games (one was a 4OT) since moving to Los Angeles, and last night's was the second home game in Lakers history (first at Staples Center). I hate how people can make stats and records out of pretty much anything, but that is definitely legit. I think it appeals to the history nerd in me =)

Yes, the Lakers blew a huge third quarter lead, but they came back and won anyway. They battled through the fatigue, both physical and mental, and came up with a scrappy victory that champions know how to conjure. Mental toughness and knowing how to close games is what sets teams apart. It wins championships too.

"We had an opportunity to put them in a little bit of a hole in terms of getting in the playoffs," Bryant said. "And I can't say I didn't enjoy doing that."

The above quote is pure classic Kobe, and I love it! I hated the Suns for knocking us out of the playoffs in 2006 and 2007, and I'm glad he relishes a bit of revenge too. We all know that Kobe doesn't outwardly dwell on losses or on what games or accomplishments mean until well after the fact... but we also all know that he never forgets. He remembers everyone who doubted him, everyone who disrespected him, everyone who beat him. I hope he never becomes as bitter and cynical as Michael Jordan has, but he has that same killer mentality, that vengeful personality that must right the wrongs done to him. He might not admit it, but it is definitely part of what drives him. Along with the need to climb Bill Russell's ladder to the highest rung =)


While not related to last night's game, this quote might be even better. Kobe was asked about Derek Fisher and his penchant for late-game heroics and coming up big over the years: I asked Bryant if he immediately noticed the void of such a presence during his three seasons without Fisher.

"You mean when I was throwing it to Smush (Parker)?"

ZINGGGGG =)

Snake Attack

Before I talk about last night, here is my article on the amazing win against Portland the other night.... one of my favorite games of the season and one of the most clutch, until yesterday! I was seriously grinning like an idiot during the entire game, it was amazing. I love seeing fired up, feisty Kobe =)

My newest articles

Here is my recap, a few days after the fact, of the latest installment of what I like to call the Disney Wars: Lakers vs. Magic, Disneyland vs. Disney World. haha. It was a great game, and I particularly enjoyed it because the Lakers battled back in the second half and Andrew Bynum showed what a force he is against the best big man in the NBA. He and Dwight Howard battled all night and it was awesome.

Here is also an article I wrote yesterday about the power of color with regard to relating it to your personality and team loyalties, and therefore my conflicting thoughts on the color green. haha I figured it was apropos since it was Saint Patrick's day =)

Captain Kobe and the Quest for June

I had to write a recap for last night's Lakers-Heat game, and it was quite challenging. Haha I had to resist ripping their team the whole time... like I said, it doesn't matter much in the long run. It just would have been nice to win. I'm sure they'll be good to go tomorrow night against Dallas.

Also, because he is a badass and the most competitive driven player on the planet, Kobe was shooting jumpers an hour after the loss last night. He stayed in the gym until midnight, working on his game. Really inspirational. Kevin Ding from the OC Register wrote a fantastic article about it and tweeted some good pics as well.

The Champs Are Here!!

Imagine Pauly D from "Jersey Shore" yelling that post title, hahah. That's what I had in mind anyway. The Lakers had one of their best wins of the season Sunday afternoon in San Antonio. They demolished the Spurs from start to finish and had tons of attitude and swagger whilst they did so. It was freakin awesome! Especially considering I stayed up til 130am watching the game...

Yes, you read that right haha. I taped the telecast because I was working and then babysitting afterwards. Normally I would follow along online but because it was on my schedule of Lakers Nation recaps, I wanted to watch it properly so I could write about it. Totally worth it! I will admit to cheating and finding out we won beforehand, but it was still awesome to watch the whole game. They played so well and I love the ABC announcers. I was really proud of them and their committment and intensity throughout the whole game. Andrew has been a defensive and rebounding machine, which is what we need him for. It's nice when he scores, but his shot-altering presence is more important. I love seeing Ron beginning to flourish again and Kobe just embracing the good parts of his basketball personality while still being in feisty Mamba mode. I'm waiting for that ugly stick out chin one game soon ;) I'm glad that Matt Barnes is back and that Lamar and Pau are continuing their high level of play... everything is clicking right now. It's amazing.

My recap for Lakers Nation has gotten three times the attention of any of my previous articles by the way, which is so amazing- 702 "Facebook shares" which means 702 people posted the article to their facebook!! It doesn't keep track of how many reads, but safe to say it is even more than that. I can't believe it. My previous high was the high 200s. And I've gotten a lot more twitter followers as well and lots of positive feedback about my recaps. It feels pretty good =)


I'm really trying to savor the last month of the regular season and this winning streak because come playoff time I will be one big ball of stress. It's so unnatural but I can't help taking it so seriously. Important games give me anxiety and stomach aches and just.... feel terrible. Even winning doesn't give me much relief until it's all over. It's very spoiled to act that way I know, haha. But I have to "enjoy" it while I can I suppose. I wish I could relax and just have fun watching, but it's really difficult.

I am going to have tons of fun watching the Eastern Conference playoffs at least! No pressure there, and they are going to be dynamite. Literally every series will be awesome, and I figure whoever makes it to the Finals will just get beaten by the Lakers, God willing. The Western Conference is too boring to watch, besides the Lakers and whoever they play, but the others like I said will be awesome. This has literally been one of the best overall seasons of the NBA that I've ever watched. I'm rarely this interested in other teams, players, or storylines that don't directly relate to the Lakers but this year has been so exciting. Between the Bulls and Knicks, Blake Griffin and Derrick Rose, hoping the Celtics make it to the Finals so we can beat them/wanting them to lose all the time, to the soap opera saga of Miami's Big Three and the evil joys of rooting against them.... it's been extremely entertaining. God I love the NBA, I will cry if there's a lockout that affects next season.

The Home Stretch

Once again, I have been slightly terrible at updating. I will say that I will be blogging lots more come playoff time, both on here as well as on Lakers Nation and The Sports Jury.

I'm really proud of the Lakers though- it seems like they've flipped their proverbial switch! 5 wins in a row since the All-Star Break... I think it was good for them to have a rest and refocus. They realize that the final stretch is upon us and the basketball gods have given them an opportunity to make a run at the Western Conference, with Tony Parker injured and all. Lamar, Pau and Andrew are all playing consistently awesome, Ron Ron is starting to thrive again, and Shannon is finding his shot. Kobe is Kobe and doing his thing, and I think Matt coming back is going to make a huge difference down the stretch. I can't waaait!! It would be so satisfying to win the championship again for many reasons, but also to shove in everyone's face that we didn't make a single trade during the season! No armageddon here!

I was SOOOOO disappointed that I didn't catch the Portland game... I've seen games like it of course, but I'm a sucker for a good comeback in a hostile arena with Kobe heroics... I was seriously bummed and mad at myself that I missed it. Oh well I guess..

I also got to go to the Lakers-Clippers game with my mom last Friday, which was iiiiincredible! The seats were crazy good- 20 rows back behind the visitor's basket, with no one seated in front of us. My mom is such a huge fan now too, so it was neat to go with her... I usually always go with my dad, but he said he'd take me to another game this season too =) I'm a lucky girl haha. But yeah, I was really stoked to see Blaaaake Griffin! It was a perfect game; he had a couple good dunks, the Clippers lost, the Lakers played well and Kobe was on fire in the third. Simply amazing. I kept two streamers that fell from the ceiling after the victory, one purple one gold, and just put them up in my room last night as a border around my window. I like knowing that they came from Staples =)

I really can't believe it's March already... crunch time is upon us. These next twenty or so games are the only ones I'll be able to truly enjoy for the rest of the year, so I'm going to have to work at savoring them and keeping calm. Playoffs are incredible, but I'm way too keyed up most of the time. I get so stressed out and anxious, and don't know if I can take another Finals like last year (although I know I will be lucky if they come that far again!). I thought I was going to have a heart attack every single day, I barely enjoyed any of it. hahaha how mental is that?! The Eastern Playoffs are going to be crazy, I'm excited to watch them. And the Lakers will have some good competition out West, but it will only be as entertaining to me because it's the Lakers.

I'll also have to appreciate it more than normal because who knows what will happen this summer with the bargaining agreement... we've begun to see how sticky the NFL situation is and I'm already terrified of a football lockout. If basketball was taken from me also, I don't know what I would do... it would be so devastating. And it might force me to actually watch baseball and hockey if I got desperate enough haha. But let's hope it doesn't come to that.

Two Worthwhile Reads

Here's a really fabulous and interesting article about the evolutionary relationship between celebrities and the Lakers and how it got built. It's actually really cool and definitely worth a read.

This is also a great look at Kobe's staying power on top of the NBA, with some great quotes from the man himself. A good read as well; I love J.A. Adande! Here are a couple excerpts that I liked in particular:

- The first step toward entering the historical context is winning the contemporary battles, over and over again. Jordan once told me that Bryant is "a lot like myself as far as separating himself -- the way I wanted to separate myself from Clyde Drexler and everybody else."

- LeBron has emerged lately as a better player, but Kobe is the one racking up the rings. There's a subtle difference: LeBron has an aversion to losing, while Kobe has a need to win. I've seen plenty of games in which LeBron could have let his team pack it in for the night yet he refused and prevailed. He'd rather not lose. Bryant would give up a vital organ to win. As incredible as LeBron has been, we still want to see more -- more aggressiveness toward the hoop, more low-post moves, more championships. ---> this is always what i'm trying (and usually failing) to explain to people!

- This was going to be a story about how Kobe has changed since 2004, but he blew that up, too. "I'm the same way," he said. He's still shoot-first. Even though Bryant has his deepest team since he was handed the reins in 2004, even though Phil Jackson is restricting Bryant's playing time to keep him fresher for the playoffs, Kobe's rate of 20 shots per 36 minutes is as high as usual. His style is the same, only now his opinion carries more weight since he's an elder member of the team. "I say these things to them, they're open to listening, as opposed to saying them to guys who are 10 years older," Kobe said. ----> I love this because it's true; it is a fault of his and the first thing people point out in an argument to me, but at least he recognizes it and can tailor his game around it.

O Happy Day

I'M SO EXCITED!!!! Beginning in the 2012-2013 season, Time Warner Cable will broadcast a Lakers channel and show all of their games as well as other Laker-related programming. I hope they keep the same announcers and format because I'll miss the FSW and KCAL broadcasts. I WON'T miss not getting to watch any games on KCAL down here in San Diego though, so this is going to be awesome. I'll never have to miss another Lakers game again =)

Hitting a Bit of a Skid...

.... but it's all good. 4 games in 5 days, and all on the road no less, is a tall order for any team. Especially for an "older" team and a team that has played deep into June the past three years, with many members participating in international competitions as well. In other words, I'm not worried. We beat the teams we really needed to (and the ones I really wanted to), so it's all good. Here's the recap for the Sunday game against the Magic...the last page is definitely the best, so check it out in particular. You won't be disappointed =)

Snapple Facts are always true...

Revenge is a dish best served Purple and Gold

Fear is spelled K-O-B-E is an awesome title and an even better article, from the Boston Globe no less. It is writers like that that make me realize maybe I should try harder to appreciate players I hate. Ehhh, don't want to ;) haha. I do appreciate Larry Bird and those Celtics teams; reading about them and the Showtime Lakers makes me really wish I was born earlier sometimes.

And of course, here is my delightful, happy, positive recap about beating the Celtics last night!! It felt really good, I won't lie. I forgot to add in my article one of my favorite plays of the game: Kobe got a MONSTER block in the fourth quarter, but unfortunately the Celtics got the ball back and Paul Pierce scored, damn him. But it was still a great play. I watched the game at my favorite bar with more Celtics fans than I am used to seeing there, and they were as loud and obnoxious as ever. As the game went on however, it became quieter and quieter as my smile grew larger. Even when the Lakers pulled ahead by nine, I refrained from cheering too much.

One thing I’ve worked on over the years as a Lakers fan is knowing the difference between cheering emphatically for my team and being cocky about it. I’m as loud as the next person when they hit a huge shot. I whoop and clap and jump around. I throw my hands up for a great shake and bake, or an emphatic dunk, or a three point dagger. I yell when they do something terrible and shout at opposing players who do something great.

What I don’t do anymore is talk trash until the game is over. I love talking trash, but only if someone else starts it and rarely before the final buzzer sounds. I used to rub games in people’s faces only to watch the Lakers squander a lead or lose in the playoffs and have opponents shout cheap shots and statistics at me. For the most part, I refrain from all of that nowadays- I wait for that championship trophy in June and smile politely when I hear something rude. Except whenever LeBron or the Boston Celtics are involved… old habits die hard ;)

Start a Fire...

Here's a great article from yahoo on Kobe's drive for another title. I like that he has been more forthcoming this season than years past when it comes to his views on basketball, on the Lakers and on his injuries. It makes me feel like I'm closer to him in a way because I understand him better... not that I know him at all heh. But I've always said that he is my favorite person in the world that I've never actually met, and I mean it. He also made a good point towards the end of the article:

“No one appreciates anything when it’s going on.”

Sadly, a very true statement... I would include myself in that as well. I've been trying to be better about appreciating my life and what I have and putting things in perspective as far as sports go. But yeah, not always easy.

Ahhhh I love Kobe!! And my Lakers. So stoked for the game tonight, although I didn't realize it started at 5pm, I thought it was 730. I don't get off work til 5, so I'll be rushing to the bar with my friends. Brought my jersey and a change of clothes with me! haha.

Purple Yellow Purple Yellow

Sooooooooo excited for the rematch tomorrow night in Boston!! The Lakers better show up to play; I hope the trade rumors aren't rattling Andrew too much. But it should be entertaining as always. One of my best friends is going to be here from out of town as well, the one I used to watch games with, so it will be fun to see her and watch such an important game! I was glad to see them play hard against Memphis by the way and think the Lakers might be turning a corner, finally. The Black Swan is here to stay! hahah.

While I'm still writing here on my own blog, and for Lakers Nation too, I've recently begun to write for yet another sports blog. This one is not focused solely on the Lakers or basketball even, so I'll be able to write about football or fantasy sports when the time comes, or whatever strikes my fancy. I can contribute at my own pace as well, as much or as little as I want so it will be just another opportunity for me to let sports slowly take over my life ;) Here is the link to my first article for The Sports Jury, about the possible Andrew-Melo trade.

Also, if anyone who reads this is interested in following me on Twitter as well, my name is @morganameridius. I never used to tweet and pretty much follow athletes, some celebrities and ESPN personalities hahah. But yes, I do try to tweet about the Lakers now. And Jeannie Buss is one of my followers!!! I sent her a direct tweet about her book and gave her a link to my blog and she responded "yr blog is so adorable! Loved that U remember watching bball at age 2! i'm following U now so make me proud! Keep up yr fresh take on life." I almost died, I was so excited!

My most recent update (from yesterday): two more days... BRING IT!!! #hatetheceltics

Just an Unlucky Bounce

Reaction to last night's game against the Spurs; it's way more positive than I normally am haha....

Three Year Anniversary

I didn't realize until I read it, but yesterday was the three year anniversary of the Pau Gasol trade! I remember it so clearly... I didn't know much about Pau, but things had been a little dismal in Lakerland and everyone kept saying how good he was, so it seemed like a good idea. And then the Lakers went on a crazy roll, winning 22 of their last 27 games of the 2007-08 season. It was also the first year since 2004 that the Lakers reached the NBA Finals, although it didn't turn out as we would have liked. Still, the Lakers have been championship contenders every year since thanks in large part to Pau. He is the perfect second-best player on a team and complements Kobe well. It also allowed Lamar a bit of breathing room as far as offensive production because he didn't have to be relied upon to be the second option. The domino effect was huge, and I am so glad Pau is a Laker. The positives far outweigh the few negatives. He could stand to be more aggressive, which Kobe talked to him about after Sunday's game. "Even when he was in Memphis and he was the go-to guy, he was always very nice. Very white swan. I need him to be black swan." hahah I love movie references! And Pau followed through last night against Houston. Lamar has learned the balance between aggressive play, being a little selfish and still staying within the offense. A little selfishness is needed from our top scorers, and that includes Pau.

I think everyone should start calling Gasol the "Black Swan". It sounds badass and fits with the Black Mamba perfectly! haha I wish I had put two and two together myself, but I read the names next to each other in a Lakers Nation headline and was like...wait a second. Black Swan as a nickname would be awesome!

A Win! And a look back

FIIIIINALLY!! I was able to tune in to the last couple minutes of the game, which were very exciting even though the interior defense was terrible. Luis Scola scored on a layup in the last minute of regulation to tie the game! ridiculous. But the boys pulled it out in overtime and looked good offensively from what I saw. Lamar, Pau and Kobe all had monster games (20 pts 20 boards for LO, 26 and 16 for Pau, 32, 6 and 11 assists for Kobe). Kobe became the third Laker with 5,000 career assists, and just the 7th player in NBA history with 25,000 points, 5,000 rebounds and 5,000 assists (all are Hall of Famers btw). AND he did it in fewer seasons than everyone except Jerry West, Michael, and Oscar Robertson. Quite the accomplishment. But yeah it was really good to see/hear that Pau was so aggressive and that Lamar was back in form with a season high in rebounds to boot. If only this had happened on Sunday :( But as long as they start getting their act together more consistently, I'll let it go.

I felt so bad... I really had no confidence in them during overtime. They've let so made leads slip lately and have closed out so poorly that I almost expected them to lose. And then I felt horrible because I'm of the mind that you should always have faith in your team. I do, but it was a moment of doubt for sure. I've said this before: I sometimes talk about the Lakers like they're my religion haha. Here is a word for word from my journal, which I wrote last year in April... it's sad that you could read it and think I was referring to this season because the complaints are the same:

"I don't even know where to begin with the Lakers. They are so disappointing, and have been for the past two months. I don't know what's wrong with them. I feel like the only one that is passionate and cares is Kobe. Maybe Pau. They have the potential to be so amazing, like they were in the beginning of the season. It makes me sad. The season isn't over by any means and they have time to recapture their swagger, but time is running out. Part of me has unwavering, even blind faith in the Lakers; I believe in comebacks until we're down more than 10 with 30 seconds left. Maybe that's unrealistic, but that's how I feel. The other part of me has serious doubts about their commitment, their passion and drive, their accuracy... I'm secretly scared about losing Game 6 or 7 to the Thunder. And if they make it past the first round, how far they will go with their current attitude and poor style of play. And then of course I feel bad about doubting, but faith and doubt are intertwined in a way. Haha this makes it sound like the Lakers are my religion :) I guess they kind of are. I hope they pull it together."

And as we all know, they did! Thank goodness. But yeah. It's incredible how that exact statement could have been meant for 2008, or 2009, or this year in addition to last year. Arghhhh. I guess that's part of being a sports fan. The frustrations that come along the way... and they never seem as bad after the fact of course but it's hard to see the forest through the trees sometimes.

Two Words: Game 7

My thoughts on yesterday's game...not so much a recap because who wants to recap that junk. But I had to anyway for Lakers Nation and tried to make it as positive as possible... I promise it's not too much of a downer!

Sizzling

So I taped the game against Utah last night because I was out for dinner; I ended up watching it this morning at 7am before work hahah. Kind of fun, and kind of ridiculous. Just like the game. It was incredible, the Lakers were on such a roll. Everyone was contributing, everything was clicking, and it was so much fun to watch! Kobe makes shots that take my breath away and are so routine (for him) at the same time. He's gorgeous to watch. And Lamar had the most amazing circus shot in the fourth quarter. It was straight out of Kobe's playbook last season versus OKC, and spectacular. It was such a high tear drop rainbow over the backboard into the basket, and his reaction was hilarious. It was a look on his face like "hmm, guess that worked...cool!" Shannon had a moment of his own, a monster of a missed dunk that would have been bananas if he made it. To be fair, his attempts are better than most people's makes, so it was still cool haha. He looked so sheepish and had the biggest grin on his face. It was cute to see him slouch over to the bench and Kobe give him a bear hug and smile. Leave it to Andrew to sum it up nicely on ESPN Los Angeles' McTen: "He tried to get a little bit too freaky on it." -- Bynum on why Shannon Brown missed a breakaway dunk in the fourth quarter. hahah. Here's my Lakers Nation recap of the game as well.

A Win in Denver

Great win over Denver on Friday!! Ron was incredible, and had a season high 19 points while stifling Carmelo on the defensive end all night. Pau, Kobe, Lamar and Andrew all had double digit points as well; another balanced effort. The game was close at halftime (I think Denver was up by 3 even), but Kobe turned it on in the third and the Lakers pulled away big time. It was fun to watch and even though the Thuggets (as I like to call them) are imploding internally, I still like beating them haha.

I think my new plan when I watch games, besides taking notes, is going to be immediate reactions, so I can type them up the next day. If I do it immediately, when I'm thinking about it, hopefully that will make me less lazy about updating. I know the quality of my posts have taken a dive lately... alas, that's what happens when life and grad school applications get in the way! And now that football season is effectively over, my entire sports brain will be given over to the basketball gods. Hooray!

I'm going to dinner tonight, so I'll be DVRing the Utah game BUT I have a Lakers Nation recap due tomorrow so I will be watching it when I get home haha. What a nerd I am!

Mavs Win... boo

Here is my Lakers Nation recap of the Lakers-Mavericks game two nights ago. It was a bit weirder to do than my other ones because I had plans that night so I DVRed the game and watched it yesterday morning. The weird part was I found out the Lakers lost before I watched the game, but still had to watch and recap it since my Lakers Nation schedule is more set now. Haha. I don't feel like it colored my commentary too much; luckily it was a fun game in any case, despite the loss ;) Onto Denver tonight!!

Sometimes...

One reason it has always been difficult for me to keep a journal or a blog is that I'll have so much to say, get behind and then lament how behind I am and how much I want to write.

In that respect, I've enjoyed watching the Lakers very much this past week. They're still having some problems putting games away, but I can tell that their mentality has improved, and that's the most important thing. The talent is always there, as is the work ethic for the most part, so to get their brains back in sync is the key. It was definitely weird to see Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic in Nets uniforms last Friday. They made invaluable contributions to the club, but I can't say I'm sad to see them go. Kobe and Derek continued their tradition this season of giving former Lakers their 2010 championship ring before tip-off; in this case, it was for Jordan. I will say that I expected them to give the Lakers some problems, just because of their intricate knowledge of the offense and whatnot. It was fun to see Kobe burn Sasha a couple times though ;)

I didn't see the loss to the Clippers because I was too mired in distress and despair from watching my Patriots lose to the team I hate the very most. Now that I think about it, it reminded me a lot of Game 6, 2008 Finals. The Lakers and Patriots came out flat, and the infallible amazing superstars played liked garbage. Plus there is no one I hate more than the Celtics in basketball, and no one I've hated more the past 3 years in football than the Jets. The Colts, I respect. Most teams I respect. But the Jets are pompous loudmouth asses, and I hate them. It's sad because I love the color green and feel like I can't wear it ever again, between them and the Celts. oh well.

(And I realize unless you personally know me, that paragraph must have seemed more than a little odd. I've been a Lakers fan my whole life, and a Patriots fan since I was 14. Didn't see the problem until the Celtics were good again and I was supposed to hate everything Boston haha... I figured, it was two separate sports and I had legitimate reasons for both.)

In any case, the Oklahoma City game on Monday was a fun one, as always. I love Kevin Durant and their team is so young and talented, and fast! We each give each other matchup problems, which makes for a fun season series, and playoff series too. Last year was a nail biter, and I expect something similar this postseason as well. One of the highlights of the night for me was when Kobe actually dunked the ball and hung on the rim!!! I don't remember the last time I saw him do that haha. OKC settled for too many three point shots (ironic since their one of the worst in the league, percentage wise), which is due to the Lakers' awesome presence in the paint. Lamar played again like the All Star he deserves to be. And Ron is coming back to his old self. Like I said, very encouraging all the way around. I don't care if this recent winning streak is against sub-500 teams; they're good morale boosters, especially after we lost badly to many sub-500 teams. One good test was Monday; tonight against Dallas is another. And then..... Boston on Sunday! Dun dun dunnnnn. I can't wait ;) Of course, if we lose I'll say it doesn't mean much because it's the regular season... but you can be sure if we win, I'll be shouting it from the top of a mountain haha.

Mamba Magic

Here is the link to my Lakers Nation recap of the Lakers-Warriors game. Also this paragraph from ESPN's Lakers blog is amazing:

Kobe Bryant displayed his full repertoire of celebratory actions in the fourth quarter.

There was the Dikembe Mutombo finger wave with 3:10 remaining when he drove into the lane, absorbed the contact from Andris Biedrins and still made the layup, sending him to the line for an and-one and Biedrins out of the game with six fouls.

There was the lower jaw jut, dubbed simply "The Kobe Face" that he displayed several times after canning a couple jumpers with the defender glued to him.

And there was the arms spread out in full Michael Jordan "Wings" fashion after he hit his dagger of a pull-up 3-pointer with 43.9 seconds left that doubled the Lakers late lead from three to six. (Usually when Bryant spreads his arms out like that he'll go into airplane mode, but Wednesday he just settled for taxiing.)

"You have a responsibility to your team to try to come through in those situations and make the right play," Bryant said. "Tonight, I did that."

Said Lakers coach Phil Jackson: "He's been waiting to have that kind of game. We haven't had many finishes like that for a while and that's what he loves to do."


I definitely remember seeing all three of those things, including throwing his fists straight up in the air (which maybe was the beginning of the Wings thing haha), but I didn't think about it til this guy wrote it. So soooo awesome!!!

I like this

Man. Between Sunday night's thrashing of New York and last night's massacre of Cleveland, the Lakers are on quite a roll. And I love it!! It was really fun watching the Knicks game because my friend Edwin is from New York and a huge basketball fan, and really fun to watch with. Not mean or trash talky at all. Plus we went with our friends to my favorite bar to watch; it was my first time watching a Lakers game at Millers since the season opener! I kind of lived there for games last year hahah. Made me really miss my friend Ashley... she'd watch any game with me, and we usually did so at Millers with a basket of fries and a mason jar of beer. So many fun times. But she's coming to visit in February and we will continue the tradition!

In any case, the Lakers played really well and it was also cool to get to see Amar'e play. Andrew got a vicious dunk on him in the 3rd quarter, it was aaaamazing! And Shannon had a crazy dunk of his own (naturally) in the first half, although instead of a straight breakaway, it was more along the baseline and slammed home. Killer. It was also interesting because Kobe has such a special relationship with the Knicks' coach Mike D'Antoni. He played with Kobe's father over in Italy and was the inspiration for Kobe's #8. At the same time, he's been a great adversary, coaching the Suns for those years that they knocked the Lakers out of the playoffs. Also, I now wish I watched more of the second half, because I missed Ron's flagrant foul and Andrew's two technicals. Not that I advocate violence or stupid play, but I do like my guys to be aggressive. On that note, Ron's been having a good turnaround lately, more efficient, better D. The Lakers in general are playing MUCH better D and I love it.

Last night's game was unbelievable from the get-go. Like I've said before, I try to watch every Lakers game no matter the opponent A) because I like to and B) because you never know when something special will occur. And holy shit.... the Cavs were eviscerated! 3rd largest margin of victory by the Lakers since the shot clock era. 112-57.... it was amazing to get such a decisive victory, but at the same time I felt bad for Byron Scott (former Laker!) and the Cavs. I turned it off in the 4th quarter and watched Iron Man haha. Saw the replay later of Shannon's half court 3rd quarter buzzer beater- he's been doing that a lot this year! The crazy thing was it didn't look like a giant heave, it had really nice form to it.

Excited for the Golden State game tonight, I hope the Lakers continue their dominance. I'll be writing a Lakers Nation recap for it as well :)

Lakers Sting the Hornets

My newest game recap, which is going to be a weekly occurrence from now on!!

And now, this special and hilarious message from one Kobe Bryant:

Bryant was then asked about his alternating right- and left-handed sweeping hook shots he made in the lane in the final minutes to close out the game.

"That’s all Mamba, baby," he said.

Plus I love how much of a smartass he is:
Bryant responded to a New York Post report that quoted him as saying his surgically repaired right nearly was nearly "bone on bone."

"Do I look worried? Did we win last year?" Bryant said after the game. "My knee last year was the size of a balloon and we still won, so I'm not that concerned about it. We just got to be smart and pace things out."

Update City

Major slacking on my part... I've been away from my computer and stressing about grad school applications. But the Lakers looked really great last night! The past two games against Detroit and Phoenix, the defense has been much better. Apparently they are working on new defense schemes in practice, to which I say FINALLY! What they were doing before was obviously not working. After losing those horrendous three games, the Lakers beat down on New Orleans and squeaked out a 4 point win over Philly (a win is a win, I'll take one any way I can get it these days!). Of course, I didn't watch those games and was beginning to think I was bad luck haha, but they won last night against Phoenix and I saw that :) There was a backslide against Memphis on Sunday, but like I said: the past two games they have looked loads better.

It was awesome to watch a good old fashioned butt kicking against Detroit on Tuesday. Sometimes if the game is really in hand, I'll switch channels, but it's been so rare to get a win lately and a win like this in particular that I savored every single second and every single point. The starters got to rest for most of the fourth, which gave an opportunity for guys like Caracter, Joe smith and Luke to play. I'm not a big Luke fan to be honest, but he was hilarious and pretty good this game. He hit a three and then got a technical for taunting the Pistons bench. Like I said, hilarious. That is so not his personality and plus if I were him, I wouldn't be jawing after hitting one shot. He doesn't play enough to earn that right lol. Though on the next possession, he hit another three, which was sweet.

Last night I got to watch part of the game while I was babysitting (the boys are twin 7 year olds, and 5 and dont seem to care about watching sports haha... they were happy playing on their computers after hwk and dinner and let me put on the game). I got home in time for most of the third and it was a great game. Kobe hit some sick shots, including that crazy layup near the basket where he got all twisted and a really nice 3. Ron played well, coming up with some big steals and timely shots- Shannon too. They both hit big threes when the Suns were trying to mount a comeback. Andrew has continued to play well, getting an absolutely monsterous block at one point. The scary moment for me was when Lamar went down hard on his elbow and wasn't getting up... I started to freak out, but I think he'll be alright. It was a frightening moment though. I read that the Lakers held the Suns to 4 fast break points, which is insanely excellent. And Kobe is now the 10th leading scorer of all time, passing Dominique Wilkins during the Detroit game. Quite a feat. Overall, I was very pleased with their effort and level of play. Derek put it away with a killer shot late in the 4th, and he and Kobe did a hilarious hand slapping greeting by the bench, loved it.

I really hope this new energy and focus continues, I love my Lakers and want them to play like this all the time :)

Also, most of the slacking is going to stop soon, because starting this week, I will be writing a game recap once a week for LakersNation.com. I'll always post the link and article here too, so for at least one game I can kill two birds with one stone. I'm a little nervous, but it is a good opportunity and it will be fun! I just have to remember not to stress like it's homework or something haha. My first one of the new year will be tomorrow against the Hornets.