O.J. Mayo is growing up. and if the first four games of the 2012 NBA season are any indication, you can expect his game to evolve to new heights with his maturity. “Obviously I built a big-time ego and a comfort level like you made it and you arrived,” Mayo told Mac Engel of the Fort-Worth Star-Telegram. “There is so much more to prove, ways to get better. There is a long way to get better. You don’t get into the
There’s two schools of thought on what may be wrong with the Los Angeles Lakers. The first is that the offseason acquisitions of Dwight Howard and Steve Nash created the customary overreaction from NBA fans – specifically Lakers fans – who had visions of 70-win seasons and dynastic dominance dancing in their heads. When the Lakers followed a winless preseason by losing their first three games – pretty much scuttling any talk of 70 wins – there was another obligatory overreaction. This
You can point to a handful of reasons why the Los Angeles Lakers are on the verge of panic. Dwight Howard missed all of training camp and most of preseason recovering from back surgery. Kobe Bryant has a sprained foot that requires him to wear a walking boot. Steve Nash is out for a while with a fracture in his fibula. That lack of continuity led to 11 straight losses – all eight in the preseason, which the Lakers dismissed as games that don’t count,
Some call it superstition. Some call it luck. Everyone knows an athlete that has a lucky charm or a meticulous ritual to help them feel confident of victory. Chicago Bulls great Michael Jordan was known for wearing his North Carolina shorts under his game shorts throughout his entire career. Boston Celtics guard Jason Terry has a ritual of wearing the game shorts of his next opponent as pajamas the night before playing them. Los Angeles Lakers small forward Metta World Peace…he has Twitter
If you were thinking things couldn’t get any worse for the Lakers, well, you’re wrong. Point guard Steve Nash had an MRI on Saturday that revealed a fracture in his lower left leg that will keep him on the sidelines for at least another week. The team said Nash has a small fracture in the head of his left fibula, the result of a collision with Portland Trail Blazers guard Damian Lillard in Wednesday’s loss. Nash sat out Friday’s loss to the down-the-hall Clippers
A letter of reprimand has been issued on company letterhead to the knucklehead roaming this site who predicted the Lakers would win 70 games. The editor used extremely strong language, in part to placate tweeps who mock, righteously. So we move on to the next thing. You don’t need a Princeton degree to see the Princeton offense isn’t quite working for the Lakers, who are 0-2 and could be without Steve Nash tonight when they play their cross-hallway rivals, the Clippers. If the
It was fun while it lasted, or can someone call the Lakers and tell them the season has started? Ending three months of post-resurrection celebration, the legends-in-their-own-minds are 0-10 this fall, losing eight exhibitions, getting turned every which way but loose in the opener by the Dirk-less Mavericks, then getting bombed, 116-106, in Portland by last season’s No. 11 team in the West. Of course, the Lakers have been here before, will be OK, etc. No, Coach Mike Brown isn’t in trouble. He’s
This time it counts. The Lakers, 0-8 in the exhibition season, were supposed to turn it on and dominate the league. Not yet. Kobe Bryant played on that sore foot, scored 22 points but did nothing else to help his fantasy owners. Dwight Howard took all of one night to kill your FT% category, making a pathetic 3-14 from the stripe. He did have 19 PTS and 10 REB before fouling out. It was a tremendous upset for the injury-plagued