Will History Repeat for Lakers vs. Rockets?
The Los Angeles Lakers will play the Houston Rockets tonight at the Staples Center. Both teams have changed a bit from their last meeting on the 10th of January. The Lakers were blown out 102-77 in Houston.
Kobe Bryant was held to only 20 points the last time these two teams met, which nowadays would be equal to a Lakers loss. Throughout the month of March there has been one telling statistic. When Kobe scores more than 40 points the Lakers are 5-0. When he doesn’t, they are 0-8.
Will the Rockets once again curtail Kobe? Shane Battier and Tracy McGrady will do the bulk of the defending against Bryant, but as typical with other teams, the Rockets will probably send multiple defenders Kobe’s way. Houston might also try to implement a zone defense, which has been effective against the Lakers lately.
Hopefully you’ve purchased your Los Angeles Lakers tickets to this game already. It should be a good one, with the Lakers anxious to prove that their loss to the pitiful Memphis Grizzlies was a fluke. The Lakers will be tested against a quality team tonight with the Rockets. If you would like great seats at the Staples Center during the stretch run of the season, check out StubHub.com.
Lakers Practice like Winners Thursday
Thursday’s practice was apparently enough to impress Los Angeles Lakers head coach Phil Jackson yesterday. Jackson had canceled practice Wednesday in order to let the team take a mental health day after a bad loss to the Memphis Grizzlies on Tuesday. For Jackson, the effort Thursday was a “great response” to his obvious frustration with the players.
Said Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, “The guys came back today ready to practice, and we had a good practice today. And hopefully that will translate into the game. You have to focus on the task at hand every night and be ready to play and come in with the mentality to play hard.”
Lamar Odom, who had a measly three points in the game Tuesday night, said that he will be giving “100%,” and won’t back down from any scoring responsibilities.
Tonight’s game ought to be a great show for those that got Los Angeles Lakers tickers at StubHub.com to see it live. The Rockets are a quality team that will give the Lakers fits with a defense that leads the league in opponent’s field goal percentage. The Rockets are long, quick and have capable individual defenders. Kobe has struggled before against the Rockets, putting up just 20 points in their last meeting in Houston, a 102-77 loss.
Lakers Take Night off, then Wednesday as well
The Los Angeles Lakers didn’t have practice yesterday, following their 88-86 loss to the Memphis Grizzlies. Instead, they got a short speech from head coach Phil Jackson about “sustaining an effort” and were dismissed for the day. The Lakers players were ordered to pull it together mentally and return ready to play basketball Thursday morning.
Said Jackson, “I let them know it wasn’t OK with me today. That’s not the way we act or the responsibility of being a Laker or being a team that’s headed for the playoffs. That’s what the other teams that are out of the playoffs are doing.”
Sometimes I wish my job was like being a non-Kobe Bryant Lakers player. Think how easy it must be. You let the workaholic do all the heavy lifting. Then when he has a regular day, you still don’t have to do anything. Your boss gets mad at you for not putting in any effort on the job, and instead of making you run wind sprints or work overtime, he lets you have the day off to count your money and hang out with your beautiful girlfriend at your mansion in the hills.
So many times I think about how great life would have been if I hadn’t passed up the NBA to pursue my blog writing career.
But I have made a few good decisions, though. For instance, one time I stayed at a Holliday Inn Express. I am also adept at getting Los Angeles Lakers tickets at the best placet o get seats to NBA games, StubHub.com.
Next up for Lakers: Houston
The Los Angeles Lakers will face the Houston Rockets tomorrow night at the Staples Center. At 46-26 for the season thus far, the Rockets will be a much tougher opponent than the Grizzlies, at least on paper.
The Rockets currently have the No. 5 spot in the Western Conference playoff race all but locked in, and are attempting to wrestle potential home court advantage away from the Utah Jazz, who are ahead of them in the standings by just one and a half games. The Lakers would have to make up 7.5 games in the stretch run of the regular season to catch the Rockets- a near impossible feat.
They could take a big step in that direction tonight if Kobe Bryant can rebound from his lack-luster performance against the Grizzlies. The Rockets probably won’t win scoring just 88 like the Grizzlies did. If the Lakers can’t create some offense or interior defense- from anybody- then expect the Rockets to win by about 50.
With playoff positioning at stake in the stretch run of the NBA regular season, Los Angeles Lakers tickets to games versus teams like the Rockets will be extra exciting. Get great seats to watch all the action at your source for great NBA tickets, StubHub.com.
Lakers Lose to Grizz, Bryant Struggles
You were probably as shocked as I was that Kobe Bryant failed to reach even 30 points and the Memphis Grizzlies managed to beat the Los Angeles Lakers at home in the Staples Center last night.
Kobe never found his shooting touch last night, managing to only score 23 points in the Lakers’ 88-86 defeat at the hands of Rudy Gay and the Memphis Grizzlies. This loss was especially puzzling, given Bryant’s 60-point performance last week in Memphis, and the fact that the Lakers appeared to be on a roll, having won five games in a row.
Plus the Grizzlies were the worst road team in the NBA headed into the game last night.
Said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, “It was one of the poorest shooting efforts we’ve had this season. At some point, I felt like the team was relying on Kobe to do all the scoring, and no one could pick it up once they kind of figured he wasn’t going to make shots.”
It seems that the Lakers will go just as far as Kobe can drag them. If he has a bad night, any team in the NBA and probably any of the Final Four NCAA teams could take this Lakers squad. Hopefully, if you get Los Angeles Lakers tickets at StubHub.com Kobe can get his 50 and the rest of the Lakers team can manage to get 50 points between them.
Odom, Bynum Nowhere to be Found
You know who should be blamed for the Los Angeles Lakers’ loss to the pitiful Grizzlies Tuesday night? Odom and Bynum. Where were those guys? It was clear by halftime that Kobe wasn’t his usual self, but nobody would or could step up. I looked at the box score this morning and thought I noticed a misprint when Odom’s line read “Pts: 3.”
But it was right. Three. He made one shot from the field and only took seven. He hasn’t made a three pointer in seven games, going 0-15.
Said Odom after the game, “I gave myself up.”
Oh, how altruistic of you Lamar! Sacrificing scoring so you’re team could lose. Awesome job, to “give yourself up” like that.
And what are you laughing about Bynum? Four points? Look, I realize that 90% of the time you guys get to take the night off because Kobe can just handle things for everybody. He loves doing it, and we all benefit when he gets going.
But every once in a while, once every five games or so, somebody has to try and score. Those fans out there buying Los Angeles Lakers tickets are buying them to see one guy: Kobe. And when he isn’t there, our $12.3 million dollar man Lamar Odom has got to do something to justify his existence on this team. Thank goodness people who get tickets to see this team can get them at a reasonable place like StubHub.com. Not everybody out there is going to get paid $12 million this year to “give themselves up,” and their hard-earned cash should be spent seeing overrated players that can put up more than 3 points.
Lakers to Play Grizzlies Again
The Los Angeles Lakers will take on the Memphis Grizzlies for the second time in less than a week tonight at the Staples Center. The last time the two teams met was in Memphis last Thursday when Kobe scored 60 points in the middle of his 4-game 50-plus point streak.
Now that Bryant’s scoring binge has “ended” the Grizzlies are hoping they can contain Bryant, which will go a long way towards winning the game. In the last meeting the Grizzlies attempted to thwart Bryant by using multiple defenders, including combinations of Rudy Gay, Mike Miller, Tarence Kinsey, and Dahntay Jones.
Jones, who is known for his strong defense, noted that guarding Kobe is something on which the whole team must focus. Said Jones, “I just try to make it as hard as possible for him and take away the things that he does best. It’s very frustrating, but that’s why he’s the best at what he does. It’s a team effort when you go out there against a player of his caliber. You try to push him to certain defenders and hopefully we can get it done as a unit.”
The Grizzlies are just 5-30 in their away games this year, so things look primed for another Lakers win with Kobe leading the way. Los Angeles Lakers tickets to tonight’s game will probably give you a great seat for another 50 to 60 point show from Kobe. There are only a few more games at Staples before the playoffs start, and if you would like to get some seats to see a team that’s getting good at just the right time, you ought to check out StubHub.com.
Kobe Saves Lakers’ Season
For Ted Green of KTLA, the Los Angeles Lakers’ season was saved by Kobe Bryant’s scoring frenzy in the past five games. No kidding. Unless you’re rather daft then you obviously saw the correlation between Kobe taking over on offense and the Lakers winning.
Kobe’s scoring binge started last Friday in their overtime win against Portland when Kobe put up 65 points. Bryant kept scoring and the Lakers kept winning. As a “team” the Lakers are on their first five-game win streak of the season, immediately after Phil Jackson’s first ever seven-game losing streak, at a point when the Lakers were about to drop to .500.
By the way, Luke Walton and Lamar Odom came back. But so long as they can understand the “clear out the right side” looks from Kobe they should fit right into the game plan at this point.
As for me, and probably everybody else who buys Los Angeles Lakers tickets at StubHub.com, I’m glad Kobe stopped kidding himself by trying to play “team ball.” And by “team” just then, I meant “suck.”
Kobe’s Streak Over; Lakers’ Continues
Kobe Bryant scored only 43 points in the Los Angeles Lakers’ victory over the Golden State Warriors on Sunday. Kobe’s 43 was just seven shy of the total he needed to advance his streak of 50-point games to five straight.
The Lakers won 115-113 at the Staples Center to improve their winning streak to four games. The Warriors’ coach Don Nelson tried putting multiple defenders on Bryant throughout the game, but Kobe was still effective in creating another Lakers win. When asked if his scoring spree was helping the Lakers, Bryant seemed to fell like the rest of us.
Said Bryant, “I think it energized us as a team and I think it energized the city, and I think that’s great. Before that, we were dead in the water. We’re playing with a lot more energy now.”
Now that the Lakers can win when Kobe scores a mere 43, a six seed in the playoffs looks imminent. See first hand if they can continue to win at home, even if Kobe has an “off night,” by getting Lakers tickets at your source for whole-sale scoring leaders, StubHub.com.
Lakers Hobble to Victory
For those of you who were watching the Los Angeles Lakers game this Sunday only to see if Kobe Bryant could go for another 50-point game, you probably missed some injury news. Well, good thing for you I’m here to fill you in!
The Lakers started Lamar Odom, Brian Cook and Smush Parker in the game versus the Golden State Warriors. Sasha Vujacic also played, making the team’s roster more complete than it has been for more than two months.
Odom had a few scares, though. Matt Barnes and Josh Powell of Golden State both knocked into Odom’s sore shoulder. In another near-mishap, his arm was pulled back while attempting a put-back in the closing minutes of the first half. He continued to play, however, and no inflammation of his injuries is apparent at this time.
Both Cook and Parker played on sprained ankles. Neither seemed to be completely at full speed during the game, but they will probably both be asked to contribute minutes for their next game against Memphis on Tuesday night.
The Lakers are slowly getting back to full strength, and it couldn’t have come at a better time. Whether you think the Lakers are winning because of their improved injury situation or because of Kobe Bryant’s scoring spree, you should still check out StubHub.com for some Lakers tickets. Catch them in action testing out all of their players before the playoffs start.