Warriors Will Try To Get Back-To-Back Wins Against Top Teams vs. The Lakers

Tonight's game against the Lakers (24-5) and the Golden State Warriors (9-22) will be the first meeting between the two teams this season. The Lakers have won 13 of their last 16 games against the Warriors.

They split their four regular games last season 2-2. They last played on March 24, 2008 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. The Lakers won 123-119. But we couldn't use their last season's record match-up to predict this game's winner as the Warriors is now a completely different team with the departure of Baron Davis, who went to the Lakers' hometown neighbor, LA Clippers, and the trade of Al Harrington to the New York Knicks for Jamal Crawford. Plus, Monta Ellis is still out with ankle injury.

Davis, Ellis and Harrington combined for an average of 57.8 points in their 4-game series with the Lakers—that's more than half of their teams' average of 113.8 points scored against their downstate rivals.

The trio scored 62 and 63 total points in their two wins against the Lakers last season. Where would the Warriors get those scoring contributions? From Jamal Crawford? Maybe! Crawford just had a breakout game, scoring 50 points in their 110-103 win against the Charlotte Bobcats last week.

The current Golden State lineup is a typical Don Nelson's small-ball, free-wheeling, offensive team. And they went even smaller after they sent forward Harrington to the Knicks for guard Crawford, who's now playing as their starting point guard while Ellis recovers from ankle injury. Crawford is averaging 19.3 points, 4.9 assists, and 1.1 steals in 16 games in Warriors uniform this season. He missed last night's game against the Celtics due to groin injury. But he is expected to play tonight's game.

The Warriors were coming from a stunning victory against the Boston Celtics at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. Stephen Jackson returned to their starting lineup and scored eight straight points during the decisive fourth-quarter stretch to finish with 28, and the Warriors sent Boston to back-to-back losses for the first time this season by rallying past the Celtics 99-89. The Warriors won five straight and was 12 of 15 against the Celtics at home.

The Lakers have had some difficulty playing against small teams with quick guards who can penetrate inside. Would Crawford get inspired by his game against Bobcats and his team's win against the Celtics without him in the lineup to score another upset?

I don't think so! First, Jamal Crawford has had difficulty scoring against the Lakers team. He only averages 15.8 points in his last 13 games against the Lakers. The Lakers is no Bobcats! They won't allow anybody to drop 50 on them. Not even Dwayne Wade, whom they allowed to score 35 points in one of their losses. That game would probably be the last time they would allow an opposing player score 35 or more points on them. Well, at least before they visit Lebron James and his Cavaliers on Feb. 8 next year.

Also, the Warriors front-court wouldn't be able to match-up against the Lakers big men. 6'11" Andris Biedrins only averages six points and less than seven boards in 13 games against the Lakers. 6'9" Brandan Wright was also ineffective, scoring just 6 and 0 points in his last two games against the Lakers.

Would Nelson start 6'5" Kelenna Azubuike at small forward with 6'8" Stephen Jackson at power forward? Or maybe former Laker, 6'10" Ronny Turiaf with 4.2 points per game. Maybe he could use Turiaf's 2.2 blocks per game to stop 7-footers Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

But hey, didn't the small-lineup Heat, playing like David, beat the the Giant Lakers? I'm sure Don Nelson has been spending nights watching and analyzing that game. He'd want to be the next David to defeat Goliath.

Only that Phil Jackson and his coaching staff are doing the same watching and analyzing. I'm sure they've learned already from that game.

I hope...

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Lakers-Celtics Preview - 25-Dec-08

The Lakers will win this game against the Boston Celtics this Christmas. That's my prediction. And I'm pretty confident of this that I'd be willing to bet the life of this blog to any Celtics bloggers out there if the Lakers lose this game.

Basketball analysts either refuses or can't make their own predictions due to many variables. The Celtics is the hottest team right now, coming to the game trying to get their 20th winning streak to tie them with the third-best in NBA history. Meanwhile, the Lakers, at least on paper, made the better roster upgrade with the return of 7-footer Andrew Bynum, who was injured during last year's playoffs, while the Celtics lost James Posey and veterans P.J. Brown and Sam Cassell and haven't made yet any significant additions to their lineup.

Many believed that the Lakers' recent slide--their 2-2 performance, in their 4 game road trip--is a telling sign that they are not yet ready for a showdown with the Celtics. I don't buy that! Phil Jackson's insistence of keeping both his 7-footers in the starting lineup, even though it's not their best performing unit, is obviously in preparation for this matchup (or similar ones like with the Cleveland Cavaliers). Jackson is not the winningest coach is NBA for nothing.

Judging from their games last season's Finals and both teams' recent development, I'm convinced that the Lakers now have the right pieces to win over the Celtics, not just in this game but their eventual match up in this season's Finals (assuming the Celtics would win over the Cavaliers).

Taking out Game 6 of the Finals, in which the Lakers players and coaching staff obviously gave up, the series was evenly matched up with both teams winning their home games except for Game 4. That game showed that the Lakers could dominate the Celtics using their superior offensive game and their swarming defense. Although the Celtics won the game 97-91, the Lakers was dominant in the first half of that game. They scored 35 points and limited the Celtics to 14 points in the first quarter. Lamar Odom, who seemed to be unstoppable during that quarter, made all his field goal attempts and scored 13 points with 5 rebounds. The teams dominance continued in the second quarter when they increased their lead to 24 points on a 3-point shot of Vujacic midway through the quarter. Unfortunately, they stopped playing their game after that.

The Celtics bounced back in the second half scoring 31 points in the third quarter while limiting the Lakers to 15 points. Odom disappeared during that quarter scoring only 2 points on free throws. He added only 6 points, 2 in each quarter, to his first quarter numbers to score 19 points with 10 rebounds in the game. Bryant, who was forced to miss a lot of jump shots to make up for his team's missing offensive game in the second half, scored only 17 points but had 10 assists and 4 steals. Gasol also had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Fisher and Radmanovic added 13 and 10 points for the starters, respectively.

The Celtics superiority in defense showed up in that game. But this superiority, I believe, is now negated with the addition of Andrew Bynum and the healthy Trevor Ariza in the Lakers lineup. Plus, their best Kobe stopper in James Posey now is playing for the Hornets.

Let's see how it would go. Please share your thoughts.

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Lakers-Memphis Preview - 22-Dec-08

Lakers (21-5) at Grizzlies (9-17) , 22-Dec-08, FedExForum, Memphis, TN

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This is the first meeting between the two teams this season. The Lakers record against Grizzlies last season was 2-1. Their first meeting was on January 8, 2008 at Memphis. The Lakers won 117-101 in a very balanced offense with all their starters scoring in double-figures. Derek Fisher top-scored for the Lakers with 26 points on 10-11 field goal shooting hitting a perfect 5-5 on his 3 point shots. Kobe Bryant played 40 minutes scoring 25 points, 6 assists and 5 steals. Lamar Odom had 10 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists. Andrew Bynum had 10 points and 9 boards and Luke Walton also had 10 points. Jordan Farmar added 13 points off the bench.

The Grizzlies, who never led in the game, were paced by Mike Miller with 19 points. Pau Gasol, who was still playing for Memphis during that game, added 18 points and 12 rebounds. Rudy Gay finished with 15 points.

The Lakers also won their second game with the Grizzlies on January 13, 2008 at home, 100-99 although this game might have caused them the title last season as Andrew Bynum, who was a key factor in the team's ascent to elite status at that stage of the season, sprained his left knee early in the third quarter. He played just 20 minutes and scored 10 points with 9 rebounds. Bryant scored 37 points and had 4 steals with 4 assists. Odom had 10 points and 10 rebounds while Farmar added 10 points off the bench.

Mike Miller scored 27 points and Pau Gasol, still playing for the Grizzlies, had 21 points and season-high totals of 18 rebounds and eight assists for the Grizzlies, who lost for the 10th time in their last 12 games.

The Grizzlies won their third meeting with the Lakers last season, 114-111 at the Staples Center on March 28, 2008. Pau Gasol was already playing for the Lakers, having been traded February 1, but missed the first meeting between the teams since he was traded with a sprained left ankle. Bryant had a spectacular game with 53 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 steals but his effort was "pretty much of a waste" as all his teammates in the starting lineup failed to score in double-figures. Ronny Turiaf, who started playing center in place of injured Pau Gasol, was 3-10 from the field for 6 points, Fisher was 2-7 for 4 points, Radmanovic was 3-8 for 9 points, and Odom was 1-7 for 2 points although he had 11 rebounds.

Vujacic scored 14 points off the bench although he had to take 17 field goal attempts to reach that, missing 10 of his 14 3-point attempts. Farmar was the only other bench players to score in double-figures with 11 points.

Darko Milicic had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Hakim Warrick 16 points, Kyle Lowry 11 and Mike Miller 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who were 6-30 on the road and 2-20 away from home against Western Conference teams. Kwame Brown, who was sent to Memphis as part of the Gasol trade, didn't play for the fifth consecutive game but Javaris Crittenton played 18 minutes and scored 6 points.

The Grizzlies now features a different line up having lost Mike Miller but have one of the top rookies O.J. Mayo and Pau Gasol's younger brother Mark, who was part of the trade that sent the older Gasol to the Lakers. But talent-wise, I believe they are basically the same and the Lakers should have no problem disposing the Grizzlies. Unless Bryant's teammates play as lousy as the've played the last two games or their last game against Memphis. After losing 2 straight games, expect Kobe to play his best game this night. But let's just hope that his teammates, especially Pau and Lamar, play the way they used to last year.

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Lakers-Magic Preview - 20-Dec-08

Lakers (21-4) at Magic (20-6), 20-Dec-08, 7:00pm ET

This is the first meeting between the Lakers and Orlando Magic this season. Their record last season was 1-1 beating the other team on the road. They first met at Staples Center on December 2, 2007. Magic won 104-97. Kobe Bryant had 28 points on 10-26 shooting, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Lamar Odom had 19 points and 17 rebounds. Andrew Bynum had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 7 block shots. Pau Gasol was still playing for Memphis during that time.

Rashard Lewis led five Magic players in double-figures with 18 points. Dwight Howard had 17 points and 8 boards. Hedo Turkoglu scored 14 points and collected 10 rebounds.

Their second meeting was on February 8, 2008 in Orlando. Lakers won 117-113. Bryant scored 36 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Gasol, on his third game on a Laker uniform, torched the Magic with 30 points on 12-15 field goal shooting and 9 rebounds. Odom went 5-5 from the field, 2-2 on the 3pt line, for 12 points with 6 boards. Bynum was on the injured list during that time.

Howard was 8-8 from the field for 19 points and collected 11 rebounds but played for only 29 minutes due to foul troubles. Their starting point guard, Jameer Nelson had 17 points and 9 assists. Lewis and Turkoglu added 16 points each.

Orlando has an 8-2 record the last 10 games. They lost to Boston and Phoenix and beat the Clippers, Portland, Utah and Golden State on the road. They beat Minnesota, Oklahoma City, and in their last game, San Antonio at home.

Keys to the game:

• With his teammates struggling, Kobe Bryant should continue to be more aggressive.
• Pau Gasol should be more assertive in his offense. In their loss to Miami last night, he took only 10 shots and made 5 scoring just 13 points. He is a better offensive player than Dwight Howard and he should take advantage of that.
• Lamar Odom should play the way he was playing last year. He looks very confused in his role which maybe attributed to him coming off the bench.
• Andrew Bynum should avoid getting into early foul troubles. His contributions would be critical in a close game providing defense on Dwight Howard.
• Phil Jackson should consider having Andrew Bynum come off the bench to avoid getting him in early foul troubles. Odom should start with Kobe and Gasol at center--their lethal combination last year. Odom can't lead their second unit. He should put Kobe to provide leadership to their bench mob as he seems to be the only player in this team that Sasha Vujacic listens to.

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