Purple Reign

The Lakers came out on fire offensively tonight, hitting some ridiculously tough shots, particularly Pau Gasol from the top of the key. Dallas answered with a huge run that was embarrassing to watch as a Laker fan, including a 3 in the key that stretched that run out. With a double digit deficit in the first quarter, Kobe dropped 7 straight points to breathe some life back into the Lakers who suddenly looked like their Los Angeles counterpart (oh wait, the Clips actually won the Mavs).

After a quick timeout from Dallas, the Lakers flexed their bench plugging in Ariza and Odom to bring some energy out on the floor. Ariza has been a huge factor in the Lakers season so far, and Odom is, well, Odom. The hustle Ariza brings game in game out is obvious, ask Gerald Green who got trampled on the floor by Ariza and was taken out of the game to tend to a bloody lip.

Los Angeles played some careless offense and the fast break points opened up the gash the Lakers just closed up, getting back a 10 point lead to end the first quarter. The Laker defense looked sloppy in transition.

Another 3 seconds called. Another Bynum shaking his head in disbelief. Side note, Ariza just always seems to be hussling and he was making everything happen for the Lakers. Alot of people picked out Odom to be the big boost off of the bench, and while he is great off the bench, Ariza has been a much greater change of pace than Odom. Although, Odom's role is more of a supervisor while Kobe rests his legs.

The Lakers turned it over on some bonehead moves, including an almost full court lob for some unforeseen reason. Farmar had a rough night, all night. Phil threw back in all the starters, sans Vladi, and Kobe got to work creating offense and knocking down a few shots to again bring the Lakers back into the game. Dallas just kept on answering though, with some blown defensive assignments and Dirk hitting a tough shot over two defenders. Jason Kidd had his way with the Lakers throughout the second quarter, Dallas by six at the end of the half.

Dallas came out fired up after half time, and the Lakers still cant get into rhythm. The turnovers stacked up and the Lakers became their own worst enemy. Dampier lit Bynum up under the middle, and Bynum struggled with his shot all night. With a 3 point lead in the 4th, Gerald Green continued to have a hot night with a huge fast break dunk. The Lakers, however, started to take over after a huge play by Ariza following up a missed free throw. Kobe checked in and the black mamba could sense the crumbling Mavericks. He tightened his grip and choked the life out of Dallas hitting shot after shot, driving, and just taking over (someone always has to take over in the 4th quarter).

Dallas continued to fight back still clutching for straws, but the Lakers managed to hang onto their lead. Game of the night by far. Couldn't turn away for the life of me. Lakers remain undefeated, trailing the entire game till the fourth where they never let go of the lead.

Lakers 106 Dallas 99

Quote of the Game

"Kidd loves back door cutters"

(Honorable mention to the story of Gerald Green : The Big Red Dog. Pretty ridiculous story to be told, makes ya wonder.)

Stat of the Night

Lakers 3 Point Shooting - 0-9 till the last seconds the 3rd quarter. I said it before I'll say it again, they haven't found their stroke, and eventually that will catch up to them

Player of the Game

Trevor Ariza. Without his hustle and heart out there tonight, Los Lakers would have never been in this game, and his huge play in the 4th getting the rebound from the missed free throw and throwing down a huge jam to give the Lakers their first lead since the 1st quarter. Numbers might not show it, but without a doubt, he made the comeback possible. And hey, that block on Terry even if he was fouled? Ariza went WAYYYYY up there to challenge that one. Oh, and blocking a Stackhouse wide open 3 with the 2 point lead in the last minute of the game? Think he wants sixth man of the year?

(Honorable Mention: Jason Kidd. 16 pts 10 assists 11 rebounds. Triple Double is noyce)

Boston Defense The Best Offense

Praise be to the Celtics defense. After being beaten on the court for the first three quarters by the Toronto Raptors, the bleeding was finally stopped and Boston's swarming defense is the culprit.

You could sense the Celtics weren't going to let the Raptors back into the game. They threw off their rhythm entirely, forcing scrambling mistakes and uneasiness as the game ticked away. This Boston defense is potentially the best in the league, and it really is no suprise, but that doesn't make it any less of a topic ot talk about.

Boston is able to break down the most poised opponents, forcing turnovers and bad decisions. Shutting down offense. That team can defend, from starters to the bench, and with Kevin Garnett as an emotional catalyst night in and night out, it's scary to think that this defense is playing so cohesive early in the season.

Though, sometimes, that swarming defense is also a bad thing. Too many times in the first half last night I saw pump fakes and flying Celtics. Pull it back down, wide open, swish. Too much of a good thing can be bad, and sometimes an aggressive defense is too much.

Regardless, while the Celtics offense has looked stagnant for too many stretches this year, the defense is able to hold it down till one of the big three takes over. Paul Pierce has been answering offensively, and his ability to take over any game is arguably underrated. When he has the hot hand he needs to be shut down before the game is either a) out of hand or b) no longer in your control.

Looking at the East, there isn't another team I can think of that can match what Boston has shown us so far this season. As cliche as it sounds, the champs are defending their ground, literally.

In An Alternate Universe... Clippers Re-Branded

Alternate Universe - Re-Branding The Clippers

What if?

What if... Elton Brand was playing alongside the rest of the Clippers?

One thing is for sure, they wouldn't have only one win so far this season. I dare say they could have even possibly pulled off one of two games against the Lakers this year. The Clips, led by Brand, Kaman, and Davis, would be a threat in the west and would be contenders for one of the last playoff seeds. The Spurs seem to be lost on the court right now, and with Tony Parker (Mr. 50+) out, the Clips could gain some ground with some wins and even push them out of the bubble.

We wouldn't be looking at a majorly re-formatted Clippers squad, more or less a squad with some new toys. Davis and Brand jerseys would fly off the shelfs as they approached the playoffs and Los Angeles could look forward to a Staples Center exclusive playoff series, where Laker fans would call Clipper fans bandwagon, and the crowd would be cheer after every bucket dropped in.

We'd be able to watch Elton work in a system he already knows to his full potential, and with a bit more motivation knowing that the front office went out and got him some help. After the Clippers get knocked out in five or six by the Lakers, they'd go out and get one more piece and become legitimate Western Conference contenders. A Baron/Brand/Allen Iverson (after Detroit cuts him for cap space as they pursue Lebron, even if Nets/Knicks have a leg up already on that) Clippers would emerge and be the talk of the off season. Would it finally be time to take the Clippers serious? They would definitely have the cap room to bring on Allen Iverson in during the off-season, whether or not he'd be willing to practice. Maybe in this alternate universe he even enjoys practicing and spends extra time before and after practice to practice.

Could it be that Los Angeles has two teams who rank amongst the top in the west?

What if...

D-Wade Carries Miami

Dwayne Wade single handedly willed the Heat in the 4th quarter scoring 8 straight points. Is it safe to say D-Wade is back to NBA championship form? It's great to see Dwayne back to playing the game at the high level he is capable of, and him dumping threes over the Nets D from way out was a sight to see. The Heat took the lead on an 18-5 run. D-Wade finished with, and a HUGE basket in the last 30 seconds. 19 points in the fourth quarter? He's baaaaaaackkk! 33 points, 5 assists, 4 steals. Game changer.

Dwayne has been playing like he has something to prove, and he does. After the championship year he has been plagued by injuries, and the Heat have been no where near the same level. With The Big One out of Miami, he is the one who has to carry Miami on his back, and while injured there was no way he could keep that weight up.

By the way, two great game endings tonight in Boston and Miami. Thank god for league pass, eh?

Back to the subject at hand. D-Wade. Hopefully the Heat can build around him over the next few seasons, because watching him on the court is always a pleasure. Hope to see the Heat back in the playoffs sooner than later.

New Jersey 94 Miami 99

Boston Rallies Late

Late Boston Rally

The Toronto Raptors started off hot tonight and were able to keep the Celtics in line in a hostile environment. What started as a calm ball game quickly turned into a heated match up, starting with Jermaine O'Neal and Perkins going nose to nose. Calderon and KG later started to go at it, with KG getting too involved with some taunting antics.

Ray Allen had to create Boston's entire offense in the first quarter to keep them afloat, but eventually Boston got into rhythm and cut the lead down to a one possesson game in the 4th. Toronto and Boston started to exchange threes, with Pierce hitting back to back threes. Boston took the lead late in the fourth, and Toronto was never able to come back, committing turn over after turn over.

Paul Pierce literally took over the end of the game, dumping threes, driving to the hoop, hitting jumpers. 25 points in fifteen minutes? Pierce went off, really showing the power of having three guys who can light up the score at any time.


Toronto 87 Boston 94

P.S. Jermaine O'Neal is looking good with the Raptors aint he? Or is it that the Raptors are looking good with him? Hm... tough break of a loss.

The Diesel - Gas Prices Dropping?

Shaquille O'Neal. Let me say that again... Shaquille O'Neal. The man is one of the most recognizable sports figures in the game today, and surely when you hear the name you have a different image than the next man over. His career has been great, no doubt, and his presence in the NBA will definitely land him a spot in the Hall Of Fame.

I was among the many stunned last year when Big Shaq Daddy landed in Phoenix, as his style of play completely clashes with anything that remotely related to the Suns. A year later, a new head coach, and now it doesn't seem so crazy. Which leads right into the question to be pondered, what's the deal with Shaq taking off every other night?

This has been debated over and over since the concept came into play recently, and I figured to touch on it before I let it go and watch the experiment play itself out.

Rewind now, to last year when the Suns picking up Shaq seemed about as logical as Texas voting democratic. Shaq wasn't an integral part of their system, he was just an ornamentation to add some toughness to Phoenix. Shaq didn't run the show, he barely fit onto the screen it was being recorded on. The Suns had an average season, and exited the playoffs as usual.

Now, with Porter reinventing the Suns in the stacked west, Shaq seems to fit in much more. The offense needs to be anchored much more than it was, and Aristotle has never had a problem kicking back under the rim. His size still gives him an advantage out there, and while his body has been taking a toll the last few years, he still has some gas left in the tank. 29 points? 11 rebounds? Shaq? What?!

Indeed. Leading us to the controversy of Shaq taking off a night on back-to-backs. The upside seems to be there if that performance was an indication of anything, but that was one game. On the other hand, one night off can be huge for a Suns team taking on a new system. They need to rebuild chemistry amongst eachother, and while the Suns have been playing well (Big ups to Amare for his western conference player of the week award), this could be detrimental in the long run, and lead the Suns right back to a disappointing playoff appearance in a hyper-competitive west. If Shaq doesn't continue to put up game changing numbers after a night off, it's definitely time to pull the plug on the experiment and to tell the Big Diesel that gas prices are dropping so he better fill up every night.

Why? Because if the Suns are losing (the Bulls send their regards) without Shaq, and Shaq isn't putting up dominant numbers, he better not expect to sit and watch his team lose for long.

Los Lakers - Resistance Is Futile

5-0, big deal right?

So are the Atlanta Hawks, led by Mr. Joe Johnson. But looking at the way the Lakers have captured the crushing defeat last year to the Celtics to turn it into fuel is quite incredible. The Lakers are incredibly deep, and they have a team that is still maturing together for the most part. Farmar is continuing to get more confident over time (his contribution to the Lakers second half domination of the Rockets last night should be noted), Bynum is averaging just under a double double already, and Gasol is playing with the aggressiveness that he seemed to lack last year.

Then you have Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher, the grizzled veterans. When the Lakers picked up Fisher after Utah released him, I knew that it would give Los Angeles a bit more pep to their step. Maybe not right off the bat, but down the road. And it seems to be paying off. Fisher is still the starter, but Farmar could start just as easily. I can only imagine how much influence D-Fish has had on Farmar, and it's exciting to see the maturation happening so rapidly.

On the flip-side, I have to say I'm unimpressed with Radmanovich and Vujacic for the time being. Sasha just hasn't had his stroke yet, and I would say it's fair to say that the Lakers really awkward early schedule has take a toll on his shooting. Vladi, on the other hand, is playing solid, but not up to potential at the moment. LO is playing great off of the bench and really helping the rotations right now, which may be the key to the Lakers success throughout the season as it unfolds. I can't imagine the Lakers retaining Radmanovic with Lamar Odom's contract coming up soon, as letting go of LO would be an injustice. While Odom has been in question for his passiveness offensively, when hes attacking he's amazing to watch. Not many people can go up, grab the board on the defensive end, and take it down the whole court only to dump it down on helpless defenders.

It seems right now with the rest of the western conference searching for their identity, and a big game with New Orleans coming up that will be a bigger game than the Houston game turned out to be, the west should just come to the realization that resistance is futile when KB24 and his team hits the court.

- Drew - For The Love Of The Game