<div align="center">@ <font color="orange">The Charlotte Bobcats (9-31)</font> @ <font color="purple">The Los Angeles Lakers (22-19)</font> Time: 6:30 PM Pacific Place: Staples Center TV: FSN, NBALP</div> <div align="center"><font size="5"><font color="Orange">Bobcat's Head Coach</font></font> <font color="orange">Bernie Bickerstaff</font></div> <div align="center"><font size="5"><font color="orange"> Bobcat's Projected Starting Lineup</font></div></font> <div align="center"> <font color="orange">(Jason Hart, Kareem Rush, Gerald Wallace, Emeka Okafor, Primoz Brezec) </font></div> <div align="center"><font size="5"><font color="purple">Laker's Head Coach</font></font> <font color="purple">Rudy Tomjanovich</font></div> <div align="center"><font size="5"><font color="purple">Lakers's Projected Starting Lineup</font></font> <font color="purple">(Chucky Atkins, Caron Butler, Jumaine Jones, Lamar Odom, Chris Mihm)</font> </div> <div align="center"><font size="5">Bench Factors</font> (<font color="orange">Jason Kapono</font>,<font color="purple">Brian Cook</font>) </div> <div align="center"><font size="5">Key Players</font> (<font color="orange">Emeka Okafor</font>, <font color="purple">Caron Butler</font>) <font color="orange">Emeka Okafor:</font> 15.1 ppg, 1.4 bpg, and 11.1 rpg <font color="purple">Caron Butler:</font>14.5 ppg, 1.6 apg, and 5.6 rpg</div> <font size="5">Keys to the Game</font> <font color="orange">Charlotte:</font> <ul> [*]Take Advantage- Charlotte is a dismal 1-17 on the road, picking up can win #2 can be easy. The Lakers are in a deadly tail spin right now, Lamar isn't producing enough, they are without Kobe Bryant...a loss to Charlotte could be their nail in the coffin. [*]Pound it to Emeka- Emeka is a player that I believe can cause Lamar problems all night. Emeka is producing more on offense than anybody thought he would, give him the ball early and often and let him see if he can draw fouls on Lamar. [*]Kareem Rush- Kareem is making his return to Staples to face the team that drafted, then traded him. The Lakers know exactly how deadly he can be if his shot is on, do not let him get into a rythm. [/list] <font color="purple">Los Angeles:</font> <ul> [*]Stop the Tailspin- For the first time this season, the Lakers have lost 3 in a row. They are in a tail spin that only they can stop, and stopping it against a team like Charlotte should be easy enough. If every can play like they did last night against NJ, there is no reason why they won't win. [*]Who Will Step Up Tonight?- Can Caron step up again? I believe he has more of a future here than Lamar does, can Caron come out and drop 20+ and grab 10+ boards again? Or will he come out and get his 14 and 5? [*]Season on the Line?- I firmly believe if we lose tonight, we will not make the playoffs. We are going up against the worst road team in the league, if they come in here and win...all our confidence will be shattered IMO. We can't let them get going early, shut them down. [/list] <font size="5"> Prediction</font> L.A. is more than capable of blowing Charlotte out. The Lakers have lost 3 in a row and WILL END THEIR SLIDE IN THIS ONE by winning it 101-95. I am calling 22, 8, and 4 for Caron.
The Bobcats are going to give the Lakers problems, because the team competes until the end. They play simple basketball and have some nice athletes on the squad capable of giving the Lakers problems. One of those is former Laker, Kareem Rush. His ability to catch fire from behind the arc is going to be a problem for the Lakers, because they have not been able to defend it all season. Jason Hart is a smart, fundamental point guard, who does a nice job of finding players and setting them up for high percentage shots. He will have his hand full with Atkins on defense, but the key to this game will be slowing down Hart and forcing the Bobcats into tough shots against the clock and easy turnovers. The Lakers have the edge in firepower in this game. The matchup I'm looking forward to is Butler and Wallace. It's going to be a great matchup between two athletic, explosive players who like to attack the rim. Gerald Wallace is an underrated defender, so Butler needs to have his outside shot falling, to set up his dribble penetration. The goal for Wallace will be to hold Butler under 20 points in this game. I would like to predict a Laker blowout, but they have looked terrible their last three games. I'll be conservative and take the Lakers by 7 .. 105-98.
Good, solid win by the Lakers. They were led by Atkins and Butler who both chipped in 20. Lamar threw in 15, Mihm with 16. Hopefully this can spark a rally from them and they can real off a couple of wins in their upcoming games. <div align="center"><div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post"> LOS ANGELES (Ticker) -- The Los Angeles Lakers got back on track by taking advantage of a team that never seems to get in gear away from home. Chucky Atkins continued his solid play of late with 20 points and Lamar Odom had 15 points, nine rebounds and seven assists as the Lakers snapped a three-game slide with a 101-90 triumph over the reeling Charlotte Bobcats. </div> <font size="1">Caron Butler threw in 20 points for the Lakers Sunday, who beat the Bobcats 101-90</font> Bobcats/Lakers Recap Bobcats/Lakers Boxscore </div>
Can Kareem Rush pass? Like seriously, I'm sitting their watching and its so predictable what he will do. It's like it's not even a liabilty in his game, it isn't an aspect. Not to mention his below average defense.
