Kobe vs LeBron, Part III

Since 2003-2004, both players have had scoring barrages

*As of 3/2/09

Kobe

• Scored 40+ 69 times                       Record 44 – 25 (63.8%)
• Scored 50+ 19 times                       Record 13 – 6 (68.4%)
• Scored 60+ 5 times                         Record 5 – 0
• Scored 40+ on the road 30 times      Record 18 – 12 (60.0%)
• Avg 29.4 ppg 5.21 apg 5.74 rpg 1.59 spg .5 bpg 1.74 3pg

LeBron

• Scored 40+ 31 times                        Record 25 – 6 (80.6%)
• Scored 50+ 7 times                          Record 5 – 2 (71.4%)
• Scored 60+ 0 times                          Record n/a
• Scored 40+ on road 19 times             Record 13 – 6 (68.4%)
• Avg 27.5 ppg 6.60 apg 7.00 rpg 1.80 spg .9 bpg 1.30 3pg

The sample is as fair as it can get, at least for right now.  The two played different roles at the same age – Kobe came in when high schoolers simply did not play, thus he spent his first two season on the bench; LeBron came in and started from day one (thanks, in part, to the exploits of #24) and was able to put up solid numbers right away – so I am comparing them since LeBron came into the league in 2003.  LeBron has yet to score more than than 56; Kobe’s scored more than 56 on six occasions, winning all but one.  Kobe has more than doubled LeBron’s 40 point games; nearly tripled his 50 point games.

Could the refs put their whistles away every now and then?

Fouls dominated the contest more than Kobe could.

This is for the fan who stays awake til 1am, catching up on the Lakers game you missed the night before; even though you know the score; even though you know your boys got beat 90-79; and, most importantly, who finishes it despite the slow pace, horrible shooting, and all around poor play from both teams (ok, so I have an early morning tomorrow and only made it through half of the 3rd, but I’m still that fan). Read the rest of this entry »

Kobe vs LeBron, Part Deux

Adam Morrison performs, but does it matter?

If you can't beat LA, join LA

In only ten minutes he shot 2-4 from the field (including one three), had 4 rebounds, 1 assist and 5 points. Personally, I like the way Kobe was coaching him on he court and, perhaps even better, Morrison was listening and responding. Morrison is a big guy, 6′8, and has proven to be a red hot shooter while in college. Phil Jackson has been known to like tall guards who can shoot and I think Morrison, if he learns to play some defense, could fit in well in the triangle offense.

However, acquiring Morrison could, more likely then not, be a salary cap move for the Lakers. Adam is in the third year of a four year contract paying him $4,159,200 a year. There is a team option for his 4th year (2009-2010 season) for $5,257,228 that I doubt the Lakers will pick up unless he shows potential. However, it doesn’t look like he is going to get minutes anytime soon, so let’s hope he shines at practice. I personally like Morrison and hope he shows potential, but I think the Lakers will use the money to keep players like Ariza and Odom at the end of the season.

Does the 1996 NBA draft still stand the test of time?

The 1996 draft took place 13 seasons ago now and is regarded as one of the best ever.

One of its members, Stephon Marbury, just signed with the Boston Celtics and the more I think about it, the better it looks.  The Celtics were not as big a threat this year to the Lakers Championship dreams, thanks, in part, to the loss of PJ Brown and James Posey — two veterans who were instrumental to their success last year off the bench.  Meanwhile, the Lakers hoped they improved simply by adding a healthy Andrew Bynum (hopefully ready for the playoffs) and Trevor Ariza.  Even with the stark improvement of Rajon Rondo, it was safe to say the Lakers had the upper hand…until today.   Read the rest of this entry »

Little known ex-Laker Von Wafer

I suppose I cannot speak for everyone, but I find it is always good to see a former Laker find success in the league, even if it does not happen to be for us.

I bring this up, because here I am, on a Thursday night, watching Von Wafer light up the Cavs in the 4th quarter.  16 points in 16 minutes on 5-9 from the field and 4 treys (the game is over now and he ended with 19 points).  I am not surprised by any of this:  I saw that potential one summer before his NBA career officially began. Read the rest of this entry »

Do the Lakers really bring out the best in their opponents?

My Dad and I have been talking about it for years.  The Lakers seemingly bring out the best in their no-name opponents.  I wanted to know how true this was, so I went through all the games from the 2009 part of the season and the following is what I discovered: Read the rest of this entry »

Kobe puts on another 4th quarter show

I know I do not normally comment on specific games, however, after watching Kobe vs OKC — I watched it online, NBA League Pass Broadband is becoming my only source of non-nationally-televised Lakers games — and thought the Thunder announcers said it best.  They noticed that Kobe spent the first three quarters elevating on every jump shot, only to spend the entire fourth quarter pump faking his way to the line.

 Kobe rested for as long as he could in the fourth, coming in sooner than normal at the 9:17 mark, with the Lakers only up two.  He immediately went to work and showed why he is the best in the game.  Not only is he one of the most skilled and talented and hard working players, but he is also one of the smartest, most cerebral players.  On four straight possessions he 1) hits a 17 foot contested jumper, 2) pump fakes, gets fouled, and knocks down 2 FTs, 3) pump fakes, gets fouled again, but makes the shot, only to miss the FT, 4) gets it at the elbow to draw in the D, then hits a cutting Ariza — who has it knocked out of bounds, but the idea was there — and follows it up with a post up and a series of up and unders to manuver his way in for a layup to put the boys up seven with 7:31 to go.  Oh, and for fun, after Pau Gasol hits two free throws, Kobe knocks down another 17 footer, as if he hasn’t done enough already.  Overall, 5-6, 15 points in the fourth.  Now, I realize it is against rookie Kyle Weaver and the lowly Thunder, but still represents everything this guy is capable of, and to do it in crunch time, in the fourth quarter of a game that was seemingly slipping away.  But, us Lakers fans have seen this before, and know what to expect from #24.

As a side note, you have to love Phil Jackson, who, in the third quarter, with the Thunder on a run, calls timeout with uner three minutes to go, and actually takes Kobe out of the game.  How many coaches, on the road, responds to a big run by the home team by taking their best player out of the game?  Answer:  One.

Best Teams in the NBA – Feb 23rd

Everyone seems to be going through key injuries, including the league’s premier teams.  Here’s a look at how the top five compare:

Vs +.500 Teams

*The Lakers and Celtics still reign supreme.

Road Wins vs +.500 Teams:

*The Celtics are running away with it enjoying 11 impressive road wins, the last two without KG.  The Cavs have something to prove with 8 of their next 11 games on the road.

Vs Each Other

*I still cannot wait for the Lakers/Spurs to finish out their season series — only one more road game left on 3/12.

Road Record

*The Lakers #1 road record will be put to the test as they will see, over the next 10 games, seven West teams above +.500, five of those games on the road.

Strength of Schedule and Point Margin:

The big factors finishing the season may come down to who stays healthy.  With big name players injured on every team — with the exception of the Cavs who just got Delonte West back — the Lakers (Bynum), Celtics (KG), Magic (Nelson), and Spurs (Manu) will all have to find players who will step in.  Luckily, the Lakers are the deepest team in the league, as evident by Lamar Odom’s play since he moved into the starting lineup and the team has responded with a 9-1 record.

Lakers popularity still tops

Amongst all the clamor over the All-Star weekend that the league’s attendance is taking a hit this year, I looked into the attendance records and noticed the Lakers are still standing tall.  I first want to mention that, having worked in ticket sales for the Clippers for a season, I can tell you we will not see the declining economies’ true affect on the league until next season, due to the fact season ticket holders put their first deposits in around April, so the money was invested six months before everything went south.

ESPN.com shows them currently ranked eigth in the league averaging 18,997.  Now any true fan like myself will recognize this number, as it has been announced during every sell out crowd the Lakers have had in their ten years residing in STAPLES Center.  However, ESPN shows this number as only 99.7% capacity.  I checked it with wikipedia.com and at least they back me up.  Regardless, the team is near 100% and its standing is only hampered by how many seats the building can hold.

STAPLES Center

You will not see anyone involved with the STAPLES Center (from the Lakers owner Jerry Buss, to the owner of the building, AEG) complaining about a few thousand seats less than say Detroit — who leads the league at 21,990 average attendance — because of the 160 suites covering three stories that get sold out year after year and what has become the real money maker for the Lakers and every other team (the Pistons do have 180 suites in comparison, so do not feel bad for them).  Interestingly enough, the rumors about the Sacramento Kings skipping town should not be taken lightly, due to the fact that their older arena, Arco – which currently seats 17,317, but only 30 luxury suites, less than a fifth as many as the STAPLES Center — is not up to par with the rest of the league who depend on luxury suites to stay competitive in the league.

Another interesting fact I noticed was that the Lakers are first in road attendance (18,871, 100%).  Boston is in second at 98.2%; Cleveland in third with 97%; Orlando in tenth with only 90.4%; and San Antonio, who may have the fifth best record in the league, but the rumors about Tim Duncan lacking the charisma to be a real superstar are most apparent as he leads a Spurs team that sits 16th in the league in road attendance at a mere 89%.

LeBron may be nicknamed The King, but the Lakers remain the Kings of the Court and are still the must see team in the NBA!