<font color="RoyalBlue"><font size="3"><div align="center">Los Angeles Lakers (30-29) @ Dallas Mavericks (39-20) @ Thursday March 10th, 2005 - 9:30PM ET Tipoff (on KCAL, TNT)</div></font></font> Projected Lakers Starters <font color="Indigo">PG - Chucky Atkins SG - Kobe Bryant SF - Caron Butler PF - Lamar Odom C - Chris Mihm</font> Projected Mavericks Starters PG - Jason Terry SG - Michael Finley SF - Josh Howard PF - Alan Henderson C - Dirk Nowitzki The season series is tied 1-1 Key Stat Bryant has scored 118 points in the last three games, and 30 or more in five of the last six games. Key Match-Up Kobe Bryant vs. Kobe Bryant The man has been on fire offensively the last three games for the Lakers. Unfortunately, he's been lone bright spot this season for the Lakers. The Lakers lost a tough game to the Clippers last night, and now find themselves on the outside looking in for the final playoff spot in the West. With Kobe carrying this team, will he try to do too, much tonight against the Mavs? In the Clipper game Kobe got into a bit of a one on one feud with Maggette, after his teammates (mainly Odom) struggled to score. Tonight TEAM Kobe has to show up and not Kobe versus the Mavs. It's not that Kobe is a selfish player, but at times he tries too, hard to win games for his teammates, instead of willing his teammates to win. The Lakers need to get it done on defense tonight to fire up the offense. The last game players did a great job of help defense leading to easy baskets and blocked shots agains the Mavs. Lamar Odom won the match-up battle against Nowitzki, and the Lakers led for the majority of the game. A quick start is needed tonight and Kobe has to continue to be an efficient scorer for the Lakers. He cannot beat himself by feeling he is the only chance for the Lakers to win tonight. At the same time, his teammates need to gain back his confidence and be active on both ends of the court and execute the game plan. Lakers' Keys to the Game - Limit Turnovers!!! - Attack Dallas inside (last game the team shot 51%) - Chris Mihm needs to pretend he's at Staples Center - Hold the Mavs to under 100 points Mavericks' Keys to the Game - Contain Kobe Bryant - Work the pick and roll - Do a better job on the glass (last game 47 to 39 Lakers) Prediction Just a few days ago the Lakers were back on track beating this Maverick team. Picking up a victory tonight will be a great start to this 6 game road trip, and help the Lakers overcome the blow to their confidence after losing to the Clippers. The Mavericks got healthy at the wrong time for Laker fans, as both Nowitzki and Finley return to the Mavericks lineup. The Mavericks have lost two of their last three and are looking to snap out of their complacency as well, especially with the Rockets closing ground on them. The Mavericks' bench needs to do a better job tonight than they did in the last game at Staples. The Mavericks' bench has the advantage hands down, but it was actually outplayed by the Lakers' bench in the last game, by giving up too, many second chance baskets to the Lakers in the form of offensive rebounds. Keith Van Horn really struggled in the game shooting 2-10 off the bench and got out hustled by Jumaine Jones. The Mavericks are a tough home team boasting a 20-10 record and they would love to put the Lakers out of their misery by trouncing them tonight. I predict the Lakers losing this game 110-92. I think the team snapped last game against the Clippers, and they have not had enough time to recover mentally from that game. The Lakers took part in a clear-the air session before the road trip, so there are obvious problems brewing on the team. The Mavericks are not a team to be facing coming off a session like that. Quote of the Day <div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">"He had added responsibility on him with the departure of Shaquille [O'Neal] and he's taken that role head on," Finley said. "He has to be effective the whole game. We'll just try to limit his touches, which is almost impossible and try not to let him take over the game like he did in LA." </div>
Can the Lakers pull it off again? I think they play hard in an attempt to bounce back from the loss to the Clipps, only to fall short to the Mavs at the end. If the Lakers can win this game though, that's a much needed boost to their confidence , which can't be very high right now
***Update... its 18-17 dallas in the 1st with a couple minutes to go. LA is playing pretty well, Odom is doing well and i expect a huge game from him. LA needs to guard the basket, Dallas is attacking but so far LA has showed some heart, just havent executed good offensive plays... ***Update... 21-20 LA LEADS. LA was holding for the last shot when kobe launched a wide open alley-oop to caron who MISSED, mavs missed last shot of the QTR. Caron knocked down his 1st jumper to start the game but has gone cold since, he airballed a mid range jumper as well that would have put LA up by 3. Kobe has scored the majority of LA's points. Caron needs to attack the basket, lamar has a few assists to mihm and mihm is being pretty active on the road which is good. ***Update... 28-27 Lakers LEAD with just under 8 minutes to go in the 2nd qtr. Luke walton has a quick 4 pts off the bench for LA, lamar turned over a easy pass from Tierre, but Dallas is struggling right now with kobe on the bench. Mav's have a couple easy put backs down low that have kept them in the game, LA have yet to get a 3 pt lead...they lead by 1 with 8 to go in the half. ***Update... 38-37 Dallas LEAD. Caron butler has airballed another shot to cost LA ANOTHER lead. Kobe set a new LAKER RECORD for most consecutive Free Throws with 41 (gail Goodrich had 40 consecutive). LA has still failed to hold a 3 digit lead. ***Update...Dallas Leads 45-41 ALAN HENDERSON.....owning LA in the first half off the bench 10pts, 10 rebounds....SMH. Kobe has 16 to lead all scores, Howard has 14 for Dallas....killing LA on the offensive glass. MINNESOTA LOST. LA needs to capitolize on that, they can get a game ahead of minne with a win. Stackhouse is out, dirk and finley are returning from injuries and avery johnson will be the acting coach as nelson has personal issues. LA better play smart, this is a very talented team if they would realize it and just play smart. DMK's key to victory for LA : PLAY TO THE ADVANTAGES OF YOUR ABILITIES!
WAVE TIERRE BROWN NOW!!! Fast break 4 on 1....he misses kobe for a easy dunk then blows a layup..... Then decides to take the last shot of the 3rd qtr... SMH. LA is down by 4, they were down by 12.... after a run which SHOULDVE been capped by a wide open fast break dunk....i think right now is the boiling point for any lakers fan ... LA MUST WIN THIS GAME Its a double post and im well aware of that, delete this after the game...this is a sad update i must say, but atleast its a 4 pt game considering. ***Update...Tierre Brown hit 2 consecutive 3's to give LA the lead....Dirk just got a And1 off of a long offensive rebound for the Mav's. 80-80 Dirk at the line in the 4th QTR... Kobe hit a wide open Jumanji jones for 3 to take a 2 pt lead before dirk's And1.
He has the LAKER record now...44 in a row i believe... GAMETIME..... kobe just sunk a AND1 to give LA a 4 pt lead(94-90) with kobe at the line in the 4th qtr with 2:38 left. Kobe found a wide open jumanji 2 maybe 3 times for 3's that couldnt connect, but finally found chucky for 3 to give LA a 4 pt lead for the 1st time tonight, mavs came down and scored to make it 2, now kobe just worked it for a 4 pt lead and now hes at the line... ***Update.... Lakers up by 3 with 1:10 left. Kobe just scored his 34th point of the night and 10th of the 4th qtr with layup underneath. Time out Dallas. This game is going to the wire. ***Update.... Mavs with the ball and dirk gets his shot THROWN by kobe!...fast break, kobe off to jumaine who misses the layup! kobe with the tip DUNK for his 36th point and LA's back up with a 3 pt lead. Only seconds left and its Mav's ball.. ***Update... Dirk trys a 3 with seconds left.... misses and jumaine grabs the board, A FOUL by the mav's and they had a foul to five...LA's possession with a 3 pt lead and 9 seconds to go in the game... <u>LOS ANGELES WINS!!!!</u> WHOOO... now we have to spring board from this to more victorys this road trip.
Lakers win. Kobe was huge down the stretch, Dirk rushed his shot on that 3...ugly shot..they should of gone for 2 and fouled IMO.. Lakers win 100-95 Surprisingly low scoring game, great way to start off the road trip, lets continue it like that in every game except against Washington
LA has the advantage over Was this time...no Antawn plus they are playing like Garbation. Im a Baltimore/Washington fan but LA comes first in my book and i believe LA just started a 4 game win streak Im looking for LA to win every game on this trip except against miami...you may see kobe drop 50 on miami but still get the "L". <u>LA RECLAIMS the 8th SEED!</u>
Nice game By Odom and Kobe. What was caron thinking on those 2 freethrows??? Refers to his game today to. Very dissapointing on Carons behalf. Jumaine is playing better than him. Good Game Lakers.
Caron hasn't been the same since those trade rumors..I wouldn't be surprised if he isn't back here next year..the only players I think that are safe here are: Mihm, Kobe, Jumaine, and Lamar.
Again, not to blow smoke up his bum...but i `100% agree with my man KB8Ball. Caron is a great talent, do not get me wrong...he just is not playing HIS GAME Ever since the trade deadline. Lamar has played great in spurts and even tierre made up for his mistakes. Kobe is playing insane ball right now, even upping his career average to 22.3 pts a game +. Thats better then barkley and others. top 25. But for now, all that matters is LAKER W's and i think they will be pretty good for a few games to come.
Huge win for the Lakers. Reclaimed the 8th seed and beat a good team away from Staples, something that hasn't happened too much this year. Kobe was absolutely huge down the stretch for em tonight. Hopefully this game propels the Lakers to a few more wins so they can stay with a streaking Denver team.
Wooo, glad they proved me wrong. Again the Lakers played with heart, after being down by 12 points, they did not fold and fought by actually playing DEFENSE, especially down the stretch of the game. They held the Mavs to 37% from the field and well under their 102PPG average. Why can't the Lakers do this every night? This is a great start to their road trip, but they have to keep it going against the Bobcats on Saturday. The Lakers cannot afford anymore let down games against inferior teams. Kobe and Odom played well together in the second half. If Kobe continues playing at this level the Lakers have a chance against any team. I'm not sure why Caron Butler is struggling lately, he had another terrible game tonight. It might have been the trade talk rattling his confidence, but I think he needs to start driving to the hoop more and moving around on offense. Lately he's looked more like a spot up shooter on the floor. To put it frankly, he's lost since the Lakers went to the triangle offense. It might be time to bring Devean George back, so Caron can see how George moves around in the flow of the offense. It could also push Caron to step up his intensity to keep his minutes and starting spot.
I enjoyed this game immensely. I just wish we could see more consistency out of Odom. He is a great player, but he seems to be playing 2nd teir ball right now. Mihm had a good game, some key blocks at the end, and we all know Kobe is Kobe. Some sick steals and clutch shots to seal the win
kobe is dominateing da league right now.last six or seven games 30+ pionts amazing. i saw the game a minute ago did u saw kobe?s block against dirk at the end???Amazing. i hope the gonna continue to play like that.
1-0 on 6 game road trip so far, they CANNOT afford to lose against Charlotte, they dont deserve to be in playoffs if they cant beat them. Good win though
Great game by the Lakers. BTW ,not really much of a Kobe fan so i'm not as familiar with his game than others, so i noticed how good his post game was. How would you guys rate it and where would you put him among guards/league?
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting authentiq:</div><div class="quote_post">Great game by the Lakers. BTW ,not really much of a Kobe fan so i'm not as familiar with his game than others, so i noticed how good his post game was. How would you guys rate it and where would you put him among guards/league?</div> Easy...in my opinion he has showed time and time again hes the best guard in the league since Mike Jordan.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting authentiq:</div><div class="quote_post">Great game by the Lakers. BTW ,not really much of a Kobe fan so i'm not as familiar with his game than others, so i noticed how good his post game was. How would you guys rate it and where would you put him among guards/league?</div> Like DMK said, I would rank Kobe as the best guard in the league. He can win you games on offense or defense. He can score anywhere on the court, and gets stats across the board. Once he learns how to be a better leader he has a chance to be the best player in the game. As for his post up game, I think the only guard who has a better one is Gary Payton.
