It’s halftime at Staples. Kobe Bryant is 0-for-4 from the field and as many fouls (three) as points. But the Lakers lead 58-40. Say what?

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Phil Jackson, an hour before Game 4, seemed to put the Lakers’ fate in the hands of Lamar Odom. Who has been, charitably, a bust in this series. Uncharitably, he’s been a choking dog of a bust. Jackson said part of Odom’s issues here are Kendrick Perkins “plowing him under the basket.” “He’s got to […]

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I’ve written off the Lakers about three or four times now, on this blog. Once before the playoffs, and several times before the Finals began, including after Game 1.But if they win Game 4 tonight and even the series, I will concede they have a chance. Even though they still would have to hold serve […]

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The crowd at Game 3 in Staples Center was dead. Lakers fans aren’t known for being loud or demonstrative, but that game was embarrassing for the franchise and the city. The people in the stands were just limp. Sitting with their hands in their laps. They hardly made a peep until the fourth quarter. Clearly, […]

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I won’t say I immediately dismissed everything disgraced NBA ref Tim Donaghy said the other day about league attempts to “fix” this or that NBA playoffs game. I would say I considered what he said for about 60 seconds … and then dismissed it. Thing is, I don’t believe in conspiracies. Of any sort. Humans […]

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I was back in print this morning, for The Californian, in Temecula. I filed this before I did the blog item below. It’s similar, but not the same. I wrote the blog item from scratch, and in about 15 minutes. Anyway, I just like to link to stuff, and here is where the column is […]

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The NBA, where dreadful Finals happen. The Lakers won 87-81 at Staples tonight, but if that was supposed to make Lakers fans feel better — or even vaguely entertained — it didn’t quite do the trick. Kobe Bryant scored 36 points in an effort that would have exhausted Sisyphus, and Sasha “The Machine” Vujacic came […]

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My goodness, that was ugly. Toadstool ugly. Coyote ugly. The first half of Game 3 was an unsightly mess, littered with bad passes, stupid fouls, laughably errant shots and thoroughly inept offenses. The Lakers lead, 43-37, but you can’t really say they deserved to lead. They simply played not quite as horribly as did the […]

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Lot of buzz here. Just that “big event” feel. I’m thinking there’s more electricity around the place than even in 2004, only four years ago. When I got my credential, I almost ran into Bill Walton, who looked quite spry (given reports of him being nearly immobilized for months by a bad back). Asked about […]

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Now that the Lakers are halfway to getting swept … I thought it might be interesting to post these odds … (generated by a gambling site, bodog.co). They came across my transom a couple of days before the playoffs began. Clearly, it seems kinda silly now. Consider: The most-likely result was “Lakers in five.” Uh, […]

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