Results tagged “Angeles” from Robert Littal Presents The Infamous BlackSportsOnline

If you are the Orlando Magic the one thing you can not do is panic. Yes you were embarrassed last night, but losing game one doesn't mean you have lost the series (actually if you are playing against a Phil Jackson team it does, but work with me here).

Your fans are losing their minds, you coach looks like he rather be shooting his next porno than coaching and you looked like a deer in the headlights under the bright lights of LA, but all is not lost.

I am starting to think that the NBA wants Ron Artest to "Table Leg" stab someone considering the unfair treatment he has been getting lately. Artest has been thrown out of two games in a row for:

1- Talking closely to Kobe Bryant.
2- Going for a block shot on Pau Gasol.

Quite possibly. I imagine we won't be able to tell for sure, but with Trevor Ariza fouling Rudy Fernandez in last night's blowout loss to the Portland Blazers, this might be the beginning of something different; possibly something we have not seen from this Laker squad in some time.

Today, the NBA suspended Lamar Odom for leaving the bench during the little rift after the foul between various players, and The Lakers will be even more short-handed against the tall Rockets team Wednesday in Houston. But after the foul, something else seemed to trigger the Laker squad. As a whole, the Lakers defense has been absolutely terrifying the past few games, and it seems as though wide-open layups and completely open three pointers are easy to get against the Lakers. But have the Lakers had enough? Will Portland's complete domination (that's 7 straight games won in Portland now) over the Lakers put a bitter taste in their mouths for the rest of the season?

I was in LA a couple of months back shooting a commercial (come on who is more Hollywood than "Ya Boy" Bona Fide Expert Robert Littal) on the Sony studios lot. While I was there I met a very attractive production assistant who knew little to nothing about sports. In my effort to impress her first off I told her I was an extra in "American Gangster", but I also told her of an idea of a movie script I was working on. Here is the transcript of that conversation:

Production Assistant: American Gangster really? That is really cool.

Production Assistant: You are writing a movie script? Please tell me more.

The leading man would be an athlete that was a high school phenom who took an R&B singer to prom in the process humiliating his high school sweetheart. He was drafted and then traded to the most glamorous franchise in the NBA and brashly as a 17 year old rookie air ball two potential game winning threes in his first playoff series. Undeterred the Phenom would go on to become one half of the greatest duos in NBA history. Along the way he would marry a Video Vixen who claim to fame was being in a Snoop Dogg video and who may or maybe not been underage when they got together. Because of this decision his parents ostracized him. Through it all the phenom became the one of the best players in the game, but didn't like playing "The Game" to his bigger than life teammate playing "50 Cent". Whereas the Phenom considered himself more talented and driven than his more celebrated teammate his larger than life teammate thought his little brother was an arrogant jerk and that he was mostly responsible for his success. The tandem would win multiple championships the Phenom did not like be a supporting character in this Oscar winning team.

RL: What you think so far?

RL: *crickets*

Today, the Los Angeles Clippers face the Portland Trailblazers in what will be a historic night for the NBA & the South Asian community. A game at Staples Center, it will be more than just a Clipper game, with an evening of celebration and entertainment to commemorate India Republic Day.

With India in its 62nd year of independence, Rukus Avenue, a record label in both India and the UK, is teaming up the Los Angeles Clippers to present a Republic Day tribute game - complete with an Armed Services Honor Guard, outdoor cultural expo and an India-fusion half-time showcase.

A portion of the gate receipts will benefit the victims of the recent terrorist attacks in Mumbai. Discounted ticket specials from $16-$65 available from the Clippers Official Website.

Gotta love them Indians!

www.nba.com/clippers/india

While Lebron stole the night from Monta Ellis' return as well as practically every other game in the NBA tonight with his game winner over the Warriors in Oakland... let's put a little light on the game that only Frankie Muniz and Billy Crystal were excited to watch - the Los Angeles Clippers vs. the Oklahoma City Thunder.

It was a game of the two worst teams in the Western Conference, both coming into the game with only NINE wins in close to FORTY games. But the game proved to be a stat-stuffer on the offensive side for both teams.

Kevin Durant put on a clinic at the free throw line going 22/24, setting a franchise record (Yes, Seattle Supersonics records count here) and ending up with 46 points on 10/23 shooting and 15 rebounds. If that wasn't enough, rookie Eric Gordon dropped a hot 41 on the Thunder, going 12/19. Al Thornton did help the Clippers case with 34 points as well, but it was clearly Gordon's night as the offense went back to him over and over again. Starting the season at the far end of the bench, injuries have thrown Gordon into the spotlight as the starting guard, and at times like tonight, the go-to player, creating his own shot and torching other teams with his jumpshot. While it wasn't the best defensive game, the Clippers won the game 107-104 giving them their 10th victory.

Gordon has played well recently, and is proving to be a deadly shooter in the NBA. His stock has risen in the fantasy world, and while there is a lot of darkness in Clipperland, Eric Gordon is signs of a small light of fortune for the troubled franchise.

(Photos taken from ESPN.com)

Game 1 can be pretty easily broken down. The Celtics dominated the boards and defensively clamped down on the Lakers and specifically Kobe Bryant in the second half. The Lakers played a very sound 1st half, but they made a crucial mistake when Paul Pierce got hurt. (More on that in a second.) They relaxed and allowed the Celtics, while Pierce was in the locker room, to believe they could win without him. So when he came back on the floor, they rode that energy to a victory.

Kobe has to play better. The Lakers as a whole played well until they started to miss a lot of open shots in the 4th quarter. The defense the Celtics are playing on Kobe is very similar, if not the same, to what they played on Lebron James. It is designed to force the other players to win games and frustrate the superstar into tough shots. You could see Kobe fighting the urge to go Kobe circa 2004. Overall he made some very pretty passes, but he seemed confused by the defense. Great players though make adjustments and I would not be shocked if we see a dominant performance in Game 2.

I have nothing against Paul Pierce and I am sure his knee is hurt, but if you get taken off the court in a wheelchair only to return a few minutes later then you couldn't have been as hurt as you were letting on. I don't think it was intentional and he played a very solid game, but please spare me the Willis Reed comments or how courageous and miraculous it was. It would have been miraculous if we find out tomorrow he has a blown ACL. Then I will be impressed. Don't over-blow something that shouldn't even be a story. He got a little scared overacted a bit realized it wasn't as bad as he first thought, came back on the floor and hit some threes. The story ends there.

It is what you all have been waiting for. Check out the video to see why The Lakers and Neo Bryant will bring home the NBA Title:

Here are the predictions from the rest of the BSO staff:

Robert Bonnette: Celtics in 6
Terence Turner: Lakers in 5
Amber Fox: Lakers in 5
Carl Davis: Lakers in 6
Omar Curran: Lakers in 6
Joslin Lofton: Celtics in 7
JP Sutherland: Lakers in 6
Adam Thomas: Lakers in 6

Would also like to point out that Miss Amber Fox won the Super Model vs. BonaFide Sports Expert NBA Playoff Challenge. By getting 13 out 14 series correct up to this point, it is mathematically impossible for me to catch her seeing that I only got 10 of 14 series correct. So I bow down to Miss Fox as this is the 2nd time she has defeated me in a basketball-related challenge, but we will see what will happen when football season starts.

ForeverAFox.com

For the 2008 NBA FInals, David Stern got exactly what he wanted. Actually most fans couldn't even argue with this match-up. The Classic, Lakers Vs. Celtics. Some of us even had the video game coming up around 1990 or so. (No one could see me!)

Boston has the PGA Tour going against KB24 and the Lakers. When you look at the rosters, you'd think Boston should be able to pull it out. The problem is the fire that burns inside of Bryant these days trumps whatever the opponents are throwing at him. I mean when's the last time you saw Bruce Bowen looking that bad on defense? People understand that Bean is locked in. He is not cheating himself or his team out of their true potential. He is Neo and basketball is The Matrix.

The Celtics need Pierce to come close to Kobe's scoring output to have a chance. Glenn Rivers (there's only one Doc!) needs to realize this. I mean if Garnett, EVER, played up to his true potential... the possibilites, just maybe the C's would be unstoppable. For instance, if he stops shooting fade away jumpers sometimes; played as aggressively as his ice-grills (or facial expressions); maybe he'd average 30ppg and 12 to 15 rebounds a game; and maybe it would be a different story. But why would that change now at this point? He is who he is.

Unless you live in San Antonio, you are breathing a sigh of relief that Joey Crawford decided to exact his revenge on the Spurs for getting him suspended last year for the Tim Duncan laughing incident.

First let's make one thing clear it was a foul. No matter how you spin it, there is no question that Derek Fisher fouled Brent Barry (you can watch it here).

The problem lies in the age old question: why is a foul in the 1st quarter not a foul in the 4th quarter? Also why is a foul a foul if it is Manu taking that hit as opposed to Brent Barry?

The NBA is suffering from a perception problem in the fact that people think games are rigged. Are they rigged? Probably not, but is it fair to bring up that officials may have some bias against certain players and/or teams? It is most definitely is. The fact that there are different sets of rules in the 1st quarter and than the 4th quarter will always lead to speculation that something is going on behind the scenes.

It shouldn't matter if it is Brent Barry getting jumped on or Michael Jordan famously pushing off on Byron Russell, you have to be consistent. The fact that the refs all night were giving the Spurs calls on fouls with very less contact only underlies the problem with the system that is currently in place. Maybe "Racist" Stern likes it this way. You know the saying, bad publicity is better than no publicity and everyone today is talking about the game, but in my opinion for all the wrong reasons.

The Lakers outplayed the Spurs and if not for some boneheaded decisions by them down the stretch as well as some favorable calls that went the Spurs way (the goaltending that shouldn't have been and the non-shot clock reset that should have been reset), the game would not have come down to that last play. With that being said, though, regardless of what happened in the past, you still have to make the proper call. The proper call was Barry on the line for two shots to tie the game.

Just like majority of you, I am happy the call didn't get made because honestly who wants to see the Spurs in the Finals again. But in the end, you can just add this to the long list of reasons why the NBA's popularity is declining quicker than George Bush's popularity.

Written By Robert Littal

You would think you would have learned your lesson by now. When the Spurs were being pummeled by the Hornets in the first two games of that series, here are few things I heard:

"The Spurs are too old."

"The dynasty is over."

"Now we will see who is the real MVP Chris Paul or Kobe Bryant."

I could go one but you get the idea. I, being the voice of reason tried to explain to everyone that this is the Spurs we are talking about and they have more resurrections than Jason Voorhees. Even when it got to Game 7, I warned people to ignore the fact that the Spurs had been blown out in the previous three games in New Orleans because they were more than capable of pulling out a Game 7. Low and behold when the pressure was on, the Spurs didn't flinched and the Hornets did.

Now that everyone has seen the Lakers destroy the Spurs over the last six quarters guess what I am hearing?

"The Spurs are too old."

"The dynasty is over."

"When Kobe wins the NBA Finals, is he in the discussion with Jordan now?"

Just like before I would caution you that the coffin hasn't been nailed shut and don't be surprised if in a week or so we are looking at Game 7. Then, who do you think is going to flinch?

Not to chime in with the "I told you so's," I will simply let my article two weeks ago do that.
[ True Veterans]

The San Antonio Spurs will be facing the Los Angeles Lakers much to the chagrin of many fans ( true and fair-weather) of CP3 and the high flying Hornets. Not to worry though, this should be a great series that really showcases the two stars on the perspective teams.

Tim Duncan is called the big fundamental and, while watching him, you can see that the entire playing style of the offense draws from how he is covered on the floor. Against New Orleans, you saw him work the outside with the inexperienced West. While this slowed down his offensive production, he maintained his energy and was able to play hard down the stretch when his energy was needed. He also was able to work the boards more, as he is currently the best rebounder that's still alive in these playoffs with a 13.3 average.

This works well with the Spurs deliberate style of play because it allows Tony Parker to walk up with the ball and set up Manu Ginobli to either shoot it or deliver that extra pass to another player. This slows down the game and allows for the old men to rest their legs and use thier experience from 1 - 5 to create separation and create shots.

This strategy works well when playing against a team such as the Hornets. Their inexperience happened to be their downfall. The Suns, who had a lack of cohesiveness caused by the Big Diesel's arrival, really ended up in the same boat. This is not so for the soaring Lakers lead by Kobe Bryant.

A rested Kobe also reflects the Lakers as well. He is not called the best player in the league for nothing and he has proved it throughout these playoffs by cutting through defenses at will, averaging 33.3 points per game. This wasn't such a test against the "Greatest Team on Paper," the Denver Nuggets who play like a glorified NBA Street team. But. he also did it against the Utah Jazz in their building, a stronghold which mimics the best of Arco Arena when C Webb and M. Bibby were at the height of their careers.

The only question mark has to be his teammates. Pau Gasol isn't a question because he is shooting 56% from the floor. Derek Fisher has played well for a wily veteran as he leads the playoff season in steals. But you have other question marks such as Lamar Odom whose here-today, gone-tomorrow style of play really leads to rough spots against good teams as seen in the Jazz series. Not to mention the eternal underachiever Luke Walton who showed up against Denver...but became a ghost.

Wait I thought Darth Kobe was injured? Just imagine how many more points he would have dropped on the Phoenix if he had a healthy pinkie. The Lakers even without Andrew Bynum appears poised to make a run at the NBA Finals. You aren't hearing too many critics now questioning Bean's leadership or calling him selfish. It is amazing what surrounding a superstar with very good players will do to someone's image. I know the series I want to see in the NBA playoffs would be the Suns vs. Lakers how fun would that be?

Speaking of The Suns The Big Heat Ray made his debut and played some inspired ball. But here is what I have ascertained from watching Shaq. He has no lift in his legs any more and that explains why his rebound and block shot numbers have steadily been going down. It appears he is willing to except his role on the Suns and put in 15 and 7 every night that would be a positive. His acquisition doesn't really make the Suns a better team from an X and O perspective but from a chemistry perspective it makes them better. In the end though he is not enough of a difference maker at this point in his career to lead the Suns to anything except an early playoff exit.