Kind of old news. But here is the link to the column I wrote for the Temecula Californian out of Game 2 of the NBA Finals. With Game 3 only a few hours away, it seems to me the key will be if the Lakers can match the enthusiasm and intensity that playing at home […]

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By “Magic Fans” I am, in this case, talking about two ESPN.com correspondents who are making a big deal out of Pau Gasol wrapping one finger around the rim on Courtney Lee’s missed layup at the buzzer in regulation in Game 2 of the Lakers-Magic series on Sunday. Point 1: That shot was not going […]

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The Lakers damn near lost this one. If Courtney Lee catches that end-of-regulation lob from Hedo Turkoglu perhaps six inches farther away from the backboard, he scores at the buzzer, the Lakers lose … and the NBA Finals is 1-1 as it shifts to Orlando. Instead … Lee caught the ball a little too deep, […]

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I’ve been thinking about this since Orlando clinched. Lakers or Magic? Magic or Lakers? Back and forth, I’ve gone. Back and forth. And now we’re just hours from tipoff. My first notion is … Magic.

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I know. I know. The Playoff Puppets advertising campaign has problems now, because the inspiration for one of the puppets — LeBron James — won’t be playing in the NBA Finals. Contrary to the putative “these guys will meet in the finals” script. Be interesting to see if Nike pulls the commercials. Probably so. Yes. […]

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It was one of those sublime couple of hours where a good team lives up to its potential. The Lakers spent two months not doing that. They would have a good quarter. Maybe a good half. But rarely more than that. Yeah, they beat the Houston Rockets by 40 in Game 5 of the second […]

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It wouldn’t be a real game in this series if somebody wasn’t complaining about the officiating. Well, if the losers didn’t complain, anyway. Phil Jackson went after the refs following the Lakers’ defeat in Game 4, saying his players couldn’t get used to officials that called certain fouls early but didn’t call the same fouls […]

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Earlier tonight, I had the Lakers winning. Check. By 10 or more. Oops. One point shy. And two days ago, I predicted Lamar Odom would have a 20-and-10 game. Oops. He was 19 and 14. For long stretches at Staples Center tonight, I thought I might be wrong about all of it. Lamar wouldn’t really […]

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Odd stat of the night: The Lakers and Nuggets have been tied at the end of each of the first three quarters. 25-25, 56-56 and now 76-76. That Lakers’ win by 10 or more? Not gonna happen. If they win, it will be by a point or two. They need to do a better job […]

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On top of the ad lib national anthem. Lakers are down 10-6, Kobe Bryant has the ball near the three-point arc. Holding it out behind him. Dahntay Jones reaches around and knocks the ball loose, beats Kobe to it and goes the length of the court … and blows the layup against Kobe’s defense. But […]

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