Lakers-76ers once was one of NBA’s best rivalries

As the Lakers prepare to host Philadelphia on Sunday evening, thoughts turn to a time when the team’s games meant something. Of all the rivals of the Showtime Lakers, only the Celtics were bigger. Los Angeles faced the 76ers in the NBA Finals three times in the 80s, winning twice.

Those, of course, were the Lakers of Magic Johnson. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. James Worthy. Norm Nixon and later Byron Scott. Philadelphia was led by the incomparable Dr. J, Julius Erving. Henry Bibby, Moses Malone, Maurice Cheeks, the Jones boys, Bobby and Caldwell, and Doug Collins were on some of those teams.

In 1980, Johnson’s rookie year, the Lakers beat the 76ers in the Finals, four games to two. Abdul-Jabbar had to sit out Game 6 in Philadelphia and Magic started at center, scoring 42 points to lead Los Angeles to the clinching victory.

1980 Finals

Two years later, the teams again met in the Finals. Again, the Lakers emerged with a win in six games. This was especially painful for the 32-year-old Erving, who had now lost in the Finals three times since coming to Philadelphia. Some wondered if he had enough left in the tank to earn a title.

They got their answer the next year. The team acquired Malone in the off-season and marched through the regular season with a 65-17 record. When they met the Lakers again in the Finals, it was a whole different story. Malone manhandled Abdul-Jabbar and the Lakers went down in a four-game sweep.

Things are certainly different today. Philadelphia did make it to the NBA Finals in 2001, losing to the Lakers in five games. But since that season, the 76ers have fallen on hard times. Earlier this year, they traded Allen Iverson to Denver. They are currently 8-21, last in the Atlantic Division, tied for the second-worst record in the league. Los Angeles is second in the Pacific, but may be a question mark for the postseason if they don’t get Lamar Odom back soon.

It’s a far cry from the old days.

Get your Los Angeles Lakers tickets at StubHub!

Permalink - Posted in General on December 29, 2006 - Post a comment

Kobe’s 58 points not enough as Lakers fall to Bobcats

With Lamar Odom out, possibly until the All-Star break, everybody expected Kobe Bryant to step up his scoring. But is that the best way for the Lakers to win? That’s the question after Friday’s triple-overtime loss to the Charlotte Bobcats.

In fact after the game, Bryant told reporters, “I don’t want to have to do that. It’s too tiring.”

Bryant actually fouled out of the game and his final two fouls may have cost the Lakers. Bryant fouled Derek Anderson on a 3-point attempt and Anderson made all three free throws to give Charlotte a five-point lead. Anderson later drew a charge on Bryant for his sixth foul.

Bryant took 45 shots in the game, making 22. No other Laker took more than 10 shots. “I was yellnig at them to run their offense and get away from that,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson told reporters after the game. “They just seemed to be going back to him all the time.”

Kobe Bryant

It was the Lakers ninth game since Odom went down with his knee injury and Los Angeles is 4-5 in that period. They did finish their six-game road trip at 3-3 and return home on Sunday to host Philadelphia. With Phoenix having won two of three since its 15-game winning streak was stopped, first place in the Pacific Division could be slipping out of the Lakers’ reach.
Get your Los Angeles Lakers tickets at StubHub!

Permalink - Posted in General on December 29, 2006 - Post a comment

Kobe Learns to Lead

Lakers tickets are always in demand, but this year is starting to look like it could be special for the Lakers.  The biggest reason for the Lakers resurgence to the top of the division standings is the newly-formed persona of the Lakers’, and perhaps the NBA’s best player, Kobe Bryant.

Bryant spent the summer recovering from knee surgery, and it appears that he used that time well.  Bryant has always had a reputation as a gunner, and that’s more fact than fiction.  Simply put, he was by far the best player the Lakers had, and after the departure of Shaquille O’Neal, Bryant took it upon himself to shoulder the offensive load.

However, Bryant spent some time reflecting during his rehab, and his approach to this season has been markedly different.  Bryant is sharing the ball, increasing his assists and continuing to become known as one of the best defensive players in the NBA.

Will this trend continue?  If it does, the Lakers will be dangerous come playoff time.

Permalink - Posted in General on December 29, 2006 - Post a comment