Last night the Lakers once again proved how unpredictable they can be. Some nights they play so well and defeat the likes of the Dallas Mavericks, Phoenix Suns, or Utah Jazz. Then the next night they'll follow those great games with dismal performances against sub-par clubs like the Raptors, Grizzlies, and in this case the Knicks.
Granted the Lakers are coming off a grueling 8 game east coast road trip, (thanks to the stupid Grammys) that saw them go 3-5. But coming back to LA and playing a big game against the Knicks should be reason enough to come prepared.
Credit given to the Knicks, who were the laughing stock of the NBA last season, for simply outplaying the Lakers. They shot over 50% from the field and had only 11 turnovers. They are steadily showing some improvement, having already won as many games as they did all of last year. And even more surprising, the playoffs are certainly a possibility in the dreadful Eastern Conference.
Kobe played spectatular as usual leading the Lakers with 31 points, and grabbing 7 boards, and hitting on all 11 of his free throws. Lamar Odom had another double-double with 12 and 10. And, the 19 year-old center Andrew Bynum played solid grabbing 11 rebounds.
Leading the way for the Knicks was Jamal Crawford who scored 24 points and dished out 3 assists and Quentin Richardson who had 19 points, pulled down 12 rebounds, but had 5 turnovers.
The Lakers did have a chance to win the game with about 7 seconds left. They decided to give the ball to Odom and use Kobe as a decoy. Needless to say, it didn't turn out so well. In final second situations like that, Kobe should ALWAYS touch the ball. ALWAYS.
Next game is on Thursday as LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers come to Staples Center in an attempt to push the Lakers season-high losing streak to 5.
2 comments:
Did you hear about the rumor about Jason Kidd heading to Lakers? I like Smush Parker, but Kidd seems like the perfect fit for the Lakers -- he's a superstar that doesn't need to score to make his presence felt. Pefect sidekick for Kobe. Maybe Kidd can even make Odom live to his potential.
Kidd, Kobe, Odom -- you and me, that's all the Lakers need to win the championships.
Holy shit that would be amazing. Kobe can go back to being his score first mentality (although he's not too far off that now) and let J-Kidd be the great facilitator that he has proven to be. That would be something else. You've got me salivating at the possibilities now.
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