Win Number 57

The Lakers won their 4th in a row yesterday and raised their record to 57-14 with a 92-77 win over the Detroit Pistons. The Pistons are a shell of what they used to be in the early 2000's. These Pistons are struggling to even make the playoffs and will likely be eliminated in the first round of the playoffs if they get in. They played without Rasheed Wallace, Rip Hamilton and Allen Iverson. Kobe went for 30 points, 8 rebounds and 7 assists. Derek Fisher added 15, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol scored 12 apiece. Detroit was led by reserve point guard Will Bynum who had 25 points and 11 assists. The Lakers have now won 8 out of 10 and continue to look like the best team in the NBA. One more win and the Lakers will clinch home court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs.

Lakers Hold Off The Mavs 107-100

The Mavericks put up a good fight but in the end the Lakers were too much. Kobe scored 28 points, Trevor Ariza scored 26 points and Pau Gasol scored 25. Lamar Odom had a double double with 10 points and 14 rebounds. Jason Terry had 29 for Dallas and singlehandlely tried to lead a comeback for the Mavs. Dallas went on a huge run in the 4th quarter to overcome a 13 point lead and take a 5 point lead. But Kobe led the Lakers on a run of their own and they held on to beat Dallas 107-100. The Lakers completed their sweep of Texas defeating the Rockets, Spurs and Mavericks over the past 3 games. If the Lakers face the Mavs in the playoffs that should be an easy series. The Lakers have a mismatch at virtually every position on the court except point guard.

Lakers Complete Texas Sweep

The Lakers had two very impressive road wins the last 2 days. A 102-96 win over the Houston Rockets and a 102-95 win over the San Antonio Spurs. Kobe and Pau dominated both games and the Lakers clinched the Pacific division title. The Lakers managed to beat the Rockets with Josh Powell starting in the place of a suspended Lamar Odom. Also, L.A. inserted Trevor Ariza in the starting lineup the past few games relegating Luke Walton to the bench. The Lakers are tied with Cleveland for the best record in the NBA at 52-13. With just 17 games left to play, L.A. has an 8.5 game over the Spurs for the number 1 seed in the West. I expect that the Lakers will spend the next month tightening up their playoff rotation and getting tired players some rest. I think that home court advantage would mean more against the Celtics. I don't know if overall home court advantage means that much to the Lakers if they play the Cavs in the finals. The Lakers could easily go into Cleveland and beat the Cavs in their building as they did during the season. But going into Boston is a much more difficult proposition for L.A.

Lamar Odom Suspended

Lamar Odom was suspended today for 1 game for leaving the bench during the heated scrum in the Lakers 111-94 loss at Portland. Odom left the bench when pushing and shoving broke out after Trevor Ariza's horrible flagrant foul on Rudy Fernandez. Odom will miss tonight''s game in Houston against the Rockets.

Trevor Ariza Flagrant Foul

This was totally unnecessary and Ariza deserved to be thrown out of the game.

Lakers Blown Out at Portland

The TrailBlazers blew the Lakers out of the building 111-94 Monday night. The Lakers didn't show up. They left their game on the bus. The Lakers were losing by 28 points going into the 4th quarter. The best team in the NBA down almost 30 playing against a conference rival! Terrible team effort! Kobe had a horrible shooting night going 11-29 scoring only 26 points. Gasol added 18 and the rest of the Lakers were MIA. They got nothing from Fisher, Odom or Walton. This game was embarrassing. The Lakers were so frustrated that Trevor Ariza committed a flagrant foul against Rudy Fernandez.

The Blazers had a balanced team effort. Brandon Roy led the Blazers with 27 and Travis Outlaw had 22. LaMarcus Aldridge had 16 and Joel Przybilla has 12. Portland played a flawless game outshooting, outrebounding and outplaying the Lakers throughout the game. The Lakers lost their 3rd straight road game. Hopefully the Lakers can rebound Wednesday night against the Rockets.

The West Is Still The Best

Despite the Boston Celtics NBA Championship last season the Western Conference is still the best conference in the NBA. All 8 teams vying for the playoffs possess records well above .500. Even the Phoenix Suns who are in 9th place are 5 games over .500. In the Eastern Conference only 6 teams have a winning record. The Phoenix Suns would be battling for homecourt advantage and a 4th seed if they played in the Eastern Conference. After Boston and Cleveland there is no legitimate contender to make the NBA Finals. In the West, the Lakers, Spurs, Hornets, Jazz or Nuggets could all realistically win the West. Houston even had a chance before the McGrady injury. As good a season as Orlando is having, does anyone really believe that the Magic can get to the Finals? Do the Bulls and 76ers even belong anywhere near the playoffs? The West is still the dominant conference in the NBA.

First To 50

The Lakers won their 50th game of the season last night defeating the Minnesota Timberwolves 110-90. Another short night for the Lakers starters who were able to sit out the 4th quarter again. Kobe had 23 and Pau had 21 as the Lakers had five players score in double figures. Trevor Ariza, Josh Powell and DJ Mbenga scored in double figures off the bench. Minnesota played hard and gave their best effort but in the end the Lakers were just too much. L.A. has now won two in a row and has a commanding 8.5 game lead over the San Antonio Spurs. The road to the NBA championship looks like it will come through the Staples Center. If the Lakers can close out their next 20 games strong then they will be the favorites going into the playoffs.

D-Man

While Kobe and LeBron get the spotlight, D-wade has been on a tear the last few weeks. He averaged 31 points and 9 assists per game for the month of February. He is averaging 39 points and 11 assists for the month of March. Incredible! He is leading a team to the playoffs that has no business being above .500. His team is worse than Kobe and LeBron's but he is playing at the same level as those two superstars. He is the NBA's leading scorer dropping almost 30 per night and dishing out 7.5 assists per game. Wade even grabs 5 boards per game, 2 steals and 1.4 blocks per game. D-Wade does it all for the Heat.

Lakers End Losing Streak

Kobe provided the offense with 31 points in 3 quarters and Lamar Odom provided the defense with 13 rebounds and 8 blocks. The Lakers beat the Grizzlies 99-89 to snap their two game skid. L.A. led from the 1st quarter on and the Grizzlies never really had a chance to win this one. It was not for a lack of effort. The Lakers played good team defense and got just enough scoring from Kobe to cruise to an easy win. Odom has struggled offensively the last few games but has contributed by controlling the boards. O.J. Mayo and Marc Gasol(Pau's brother) scored 17 apiece to lead Memphis. Rudy Gay added 14 as all 5 Memphis Grizzlies scored in double figures. The stats are somewhat deceiving because the starters for L.A. sat out the 4th quarter.

The Lakers get 2 days off before their game Friday night against the Minnesota Timberwolves.

L.A. Looks to Regain Winning Ways

The Lakers should be able get back on the winning track tonight against the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies are 15-43 overall and 3-23 on the road this season. Kobe and company should be able to have a short night if they take care of business against the Griz.

Who is the NBA's Best Point Guard?

This is the third installment of picking the best player at each position. I have narrowed the list down to the 5 best point guards in the NBA. Which one do you think is the best?

Chauncey Billups 18.5 PPG, 6.1 APG

Devin Harris 22.3 PPG, 6.7 APG

Chris Paul 21.4 PPG, 11 APG

Dwyane Wade 29 PPG, 7.4 APG

Deron Williams 18.6 PPG, 10.5 APG

Suns Scorch the Lakers

The Lakers dropped their second game in a row losing to the Phoenix Suns 118-111. This game was all Kobe and Pau for the Lakers. Kobe and Pau combined for 79 of the Lakers 118 points. The other 3 starters for the Lakers scored 11 points total. 11!! Kobe had a monstrous game with 49 points and 11 rebounds. Gasol was unstoppable in the post with 30 points and 7 rebounds. And that was it for the Lakers. They got nothing from their teammates. Lamar Odom and Luke Walton were invisible. Derek Fisher kept clanging 3's off the rim. The bench provided only 21 points on a night when the Lakers needed more.

Phoenix had a much more balanced attack. Shaq led the way with 33 points and Matt Barnes scored 26 with 10 boards. Barbosa scored 22 and Grant Hill dropped 17. The Lakers are not going to win many games when Matt Barnes is lighting them up. The Suns front court outscored the Lakers front court 43 to 8. It didn't matter who the Lakers threw out there at the center position. Shaq exploited Gasol and Mbenga all night. Odom, Gasol, Ariza and Bryant battled foul trouble all game long. This is the first game that I have seen in awhile where the Lakers hole in the middle defensively was exposed.

The Lakers have now lost two in a row and their next game is Tuesday against the Memphis Grizzlies.