What do players and coaches do when things go in the wrong direction? Take a shot, for one. And I’m not talking about a shot of Jack Daniels. Be it a coaching decision or a player’s poor play, the natural reaction is to take a shot at someone – directly or subtly – when the results are negative. Some will even take a shot at themselves at times, if it’s called for. The blame game is the theme of the stories around
In the instant, overreactive world of sports, it’s always folly to make sweeping, long-term statements. For example, the Lakers started 1-4 this season and a few voices wondered aloud if the city of Los Angeles might become a Clippers town. [Read more…]
Now that we are about a month into the NBA season, are you disappointed in the performance of a player or two on your favorite team? Take a number and get in line. There are dozens of players who are not coming close to meeting expectations this season. And when you factor in their salaries and how much they limit their team’s financial flexibility, it can be downright infuriating. [Read more…]
How concerned should the Los Angeles Lakers be right now? One day after edging out a win against the Brooklyn Nets, the team went into Arco Arena on Wednesday and lost to the Sacramento Kings – the team with the worst record in the Western Conference. You can’t blame the loss on Kobe Bryant, who continued his torrid pace on offense – scoring 38 points on 11-of-20 shooting – despite playing on a sore foot. [Read more…]
Mike D’Antoni made his actual sideline debut for the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night. Still recovering from knee replacement surgery since his hiring 10 days ago, D’Antoni had been coaching the Lakers in practices and speaking to them before games until Tuesday night, when he guided the club to its third straight win, a 95-90 home victory over the Brooklyn Nets. [Read more…]
As the Brooklyn Nets (with a five-game winning streak) get set to take on the Los Angeles Lakers on the road tonight, their newly built home court will be occupied by a few players who will be in the discussion for the top pick in the 2013 NBA Draft. And if Otto Porter of Georgetown does to No. 1 Indiana what he did against UCLA, he will have officially stolen the spotlight from Shabazz Muhammad. [Read more…]
Some days are simply filled with bad news, and Monday turned out to be that day. A number of players around the league got news about the status of their respective injuries, and it was all bad, starting with the unexpected extent of Kyrie Irving’s finger injury sustained during Saturday’s game against the Mavericks. See which players will miss an extended period of time, along with some very interesting quotes from Dwight Howard and Marcin Gortat below: Kyrie Irving will miss four weeks
Mike D’Antoni’s coaching debut with the Los Angeles Lakers is on hold. [Read more…]