<div align="center"> </div> <div align="center"><font color="Red">Portland Trail Blazers </font> (39-37) @ <font color="Purple">Los Angeles Lakers </font> (53-24) </div> <div align="center">Time: 7:00 p.m. PT Location: Staples Center TV: TNT</div> Season Series: Blazers 1, Lakers 1 12/13/03 Blazers 112 Lakers 108 2/17/04 Lakers 89 Blazers 86 Previous Games: Hornets @ Blazers 94-81 L Spurs @ Lakers 95-89 L Last 10 Games: Blazers 6-4 (Lost 1) Lakers 8-2 (Lost 1) Head Coaches: Maurice Cheeks/Phil Jackson Probable Starters: Damon Stoudamire/Gary Payton Derek Anderson/Kobe Bryant Darius Miles/Rick Fox Zach Randolph/Karl Malone Theo Ratliff/Shaquille O'Neal Sixth Men Shareef Abdur Rahim/Devean George Injury Report Blazers Omar Cook Travis Outlaw Vladimir Stepania Lakers Kareem Rush Jamal Sampson Horace Grant <div align="center">Players To Watch </div> <div align="center">Zach Randolph & Shaquille O'Neal</div> <div align="center">Randolph: 20.1 pts, 10.50 rebs, 2.0 assists, .84 steals O'Neal: 21.5 pts, 11.50 rebs, 3.0 assists, .45 steals </div> Keys To The Game <u>Blazers</u> In order for the Blazers to keep their playoff hopes alive, they'll have to do the following: Portland has to take advantage of their athletic, talented frontcourt. Zach Randolph is clearly the biggest surprise of the year, without question the NBA's Most Improved Player. He'll have to try and contribute for his team by dominating inside the paint and doing excessive damage on the offensive and defensive end. Theo Ratliff is an excellent shot blocker, and his defensive presence can help Portland in a huge way. Look for him to stay under the basket right in the paint area, and reject any shots that come in his path. Portland's backcourt which consists of Damon Stoudamire and Derek Anderson will have to do a much better job of shooting the basketball. Their shooting troubles in their previous game was very costly. Combined they shot 3/25 from the field. They'll need to have better shot selections, not force too many ridiculous baskets, and get their teammates involved at all times. Teamwork is key for them. Their transitional game could be key for them also. They'll need to jumpstart their fastbreaks whenever neccessary and tire out the Lakers' legs up and down the court. <u>Lakers</u> If the Lakers want to start another winning streak, they'll have to do the following keys: First things first, get Shaq the ball. He was so ignored during the Spurs game, that he was like a total stranger. Shaq would need to touch the ball no more than 40 times, and when he receives these number of touches, allow him to dominate inside, and attempt to take complete advantage of the Blazer frontcourt. IT won't be easy knowing how athletic they are, but who can guard Shaq in this league? Kobe Bryant will have to stop forcing so many ridiculous shots. Previously, he tried to take the game on his own, and on some possessions, it looked like he ignored Phil Jackson's gameplan and took the game into his own hands. This can't be the case. Kobe has to get all four of his starting teammates involved in the ballgame, and if he is open on any area of the court, I'd expect him to take those kind of FG attempts. Basically, it's all about better decision making skills and improvement on his shot selections. Rick Fox has to stop committing so many turnovers. He makes stupid passes even a college athlete wouldn't attempt. Malone's defensive presence could be huge in this game. Not only will he be effective on defense, and in the rebound categories, but once he receives the ball in the low post, he can shoot his trademark fadeaway 18 footer, look for cutters at the basket, or use his strength to cause team fouls on Portland. Laker Fever's Prediction Even though the Lakers ended their 11 game winning streak Sunday afternoon, they realize and understand that they're still in an excellent position to get the #1 seed in the Western Conference. They know the season is slowly coming to an end, so they want to make sure they handle every opponent from here on out like it's a playoff series. Even though the Blazers come in with something to play for, with a playoff berth on the line, the Lakers simply have too many weapons and they'll get the victory. Lakers by 12.
Good preview. I pick the Lakers to win by 7...they always struggle with the blazers and i don't see this game being any different...
Just what the doctor ordered. Every time the Lakers suffer a tough loss, you can count on a matchup with the Trailblazers getting them refocused. The Big Fella will be out for blood against Portland, after a disappointing loss to the Spurs. Every game is important for the Lakers, and with the added benefit of knocking the Blazers even further out of the playoff picture, there should be plenty of motivation for the Lakers to win this game. The player the Lakers need to worry about is Mighty Mouse. He's been the catalyst for the Blazers success against us this season and in prior seasons. Payton and Fish need to do a better job of forcing the ball out of his hands and not allowing him to find his range from behind the arc. This is a dangerous game for us, because the Blazers always give us a tough time, but with everyone healthy the Lakers have far too many weapons to lose this game. Lakers by 7 is my prediction.
Lakers by 9. Can't wait to watch Shaq break Theo's hand when he tries to block one of Shaq's dunks. Can't wait to watch Kobe shoot J's all over Patterson's face. Can't wait till Payton shuts down weed blazing Stoudamire with his tenacious D. Hope that Malone gets elbowed by Zach so he could get a taste of his own medicine. Hope Fox breaks out of his horrific slump. Watching it all live baby. Don't yall love going to Laker games? I sure do.
Lakers by 10. I predict the big 4 will all play well and score between 80 to 90 points total between them. After this, get back to dominating and win their remaining games.
let's see if the "wannabe kobe stopper" patterson can stop kobe. i wanna see kobe dunk on his face and knocking him down hard. i wanna see shaq muscle his dunk on randolph's face. i wanna see payton take minnie mouse in to school. i wanna see malone elbows his way to the basket everytime he touch the ball, not those fade away shots. i wanna see rick fox hit 3 pointers from every angle. i wanna.... nah, that's it. poor blazers, lakers will eat 'em alive!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting kobe_8:</div><div class="quote_post">let's see if the "wannabe kobe stopper" patterson can stop kobe. i wanna see kobe dunk on his face and knocking him down hard. i wanna see shaq muscle his dunk on randolph's face. i wanna see payton take minnie mouse in to school. i wanna see malone elbows his way to the basket everytime he touch the ball, not those fade away shots. i wanna see rick fox hit 3 pointers from every angle. i wanna.... nah, that's it. poor blazers, lakers will eat 'em alive! </div> the only kobe stopper is bruce bowen. i'm not being biased but its true. it took kobe 26 shots to get his 28 points cause bowen played good defense and got in the head of kobe. kobe let his ego get ahead of him and tried to score 35 points on bowen. sure he scored 28 points but it took 26 shots to get them.
With all do respect for our team..(by 6 L.A. ) I think Shareef will beat FOX,George and all others from the bench on his own. He's just way 2 good compared to LA Bench..except maybe Derek..but he's not that big and also scores a lot less. Only way we're gonna win this is when SHAQ desides to play...and i mean PLAY MAlone get's more passes..and L.A. plays like they should play..Defense I think Kobe will get his mind straight in this one and dominate like he has done the last 20+ games.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting worldchamps9903:</div><div class="quote_post">the only kobe stopper is bruce bowen. i'm not being biased but its true. it took kobe 26 shots to get his 28 points cause bowen played good defense and got in the head of kobe. kobe let his ego get ahead of him and tried to score 35 points on bowen. sure he scored 28 points but it took 26 shots to get them.</div> that's only 1 game. let's wait and see if they face each other again. i think kobe will eat him alive...hehehe!
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting kobe_8:</div><div class="quote_post">that's only 1 game. let's wait and see if they face each other again. i think kobe will eat him alive...hehehe!</div> No dude It's everytime they face, Bowen has always made Kobe struggle...and for some reason Kobe keeps taking it personal which hurts his team. Kobe can not drive to the basket when facing Bowen, It's been proven...Kobe will NEVER eat Bowen alive...
There is simply no urgency in the Lakers tonight. The Kings have a cake walk game against the Hornets, making up 1.5 games is going to be close to impossible this late in the season. It's going to take yet another 4th quarter comeback to pull this one out.
11-5 to start the 4th by the bad guys. Kobe is having a piss poor game 5-23 from the field. It looks like Malone and Shaq are trying their best to foul out of the game. Disaster.
So it looks like the Lakers won't have that great momentum going into the postseason, a good sign for the other playoff teams.
^^These last two losses have been a setback for the Lakers in terms of momentum and playoff positioning. They still have time to re-group and have a nice win streak going into the post-season, but we can't afford any more losses for the rest of the year at this point. The worst part about the last two losses are the fact they were at home. I can't remember the last time the Lakers lost back-to-back at Staples. Are next 4 games are all tough as well. POR SAC GSW POR
One word to sum up this game, pathetic. I dont even feel like talking about how bad this one was. All I know is, we cant afford to lose another game if we want to get the #1 seed.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Stoudamire and Anderson were much more successful than Lakers counterparts Gary Payton and Kobe Bryant, who combined to shoot 9-of-35 from the field. Los Angeles connected on just under 40 percent (31-of-78) while Portland made half its 76 attempts. </div> Recap | Box Score Ouch. Blazers and Nuggets will get 7th and 8th
lakers lose to 12 seed blazers kobe once again let his ego get in the way of this one 5 of 23 shooting? embarrasment. i guess that the blazers watched the spurs and lakers film. <font color="Red"> MERGED by Shapecity</font>
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting AllNet:</div><div class="quote_post">No dude It's everytime they face, Bowen has always made Kobe struggle...and for some reason Kobe keeps taking it personal which hurts his team. Kobe can not drive to the basket when facing Bowen, It's been proven...Kobe will NEVER eat Bowen alive...</div> ^^^^^nuff said
