MVN - Most Valuable Network

The Lakers limp home tied with Utah 2-2

The Lakers limped back to Los Angeles after losing Sunday in Utah 123-115 in overtime. Fans got a glimpse of what Kobe Bryant will look like if he stays in the league until he’s 45 years old. Kobe tweaked a back muscle early in the game and couldn’t play the game the way he normally does. He shot multiple air-balls, couldn’t get back on defense and didn’t have any lift when he jumped.

After receiving numerous emails and phone calls, one question was heard over and over. Why didn’t Phil Jackson take Kobe out of the game? The reason is, you can’t. Kobe didn’t want to come out of the game. When someone is a fighter and the leader of your team, you let them play, even if they are not at 100%. When you have the world MVP and he says he wants to play, you have to let him play. This is not Kwame Brown saying “I can do it coach.” This is the heart and soul of the team; he is the past, the present and the future of the Lakers. You cannot sit him down if he wants to play. What Phil did was talk to him, ask him what he wants to do. Kobe wanted to be in the game, so Phil put him in.

All in all, Utah played good, but if Kobe is healthy the Lakers would have cruised yesterday. The question today is, how is Kobe’s back and how healthy will it be for game 5 in Los Angeles?

On a positive note, I thought Lamar Odom played great in Utah. The best part about it is, people are starting to notice what a great player Lamar Odom is. He’s a consistent jumper away from being a All Star player. What Lamar did in Utah was match the tenacity level. He was very aggressive both offensively and defensively and had some huge baskets as the Lakers erased a 12 point deficit in the fourth quarter. In the end, Utah came up with clutch basket after clutch basket and won the game in OT.

One Laker that’s not on his game is Jordan Farmar. The Lakers need him to contribute as he did during the regular season. One of Jordan’s problems is that he’s lost confidence in his jumper. I think he should put his head down and take the ball to the rack. Ronnie Price is a good defender, but let’s not confuse him with Michael Cooper. When are the Lakers going to retire Coops number anyway? Oh well that’s another article.

In regards to Rony Turiaf’s flagrant foul, I understand why the officials threw him out of the game, but don’t think that it was anything more then a hard foul. He clearly went after the ball, heard the whistle, then Price tried to duck a shot under Turiaf’s arm in an attempt at a three point play and Rony threw it down. That’s what propelled him to the floor so hard. When Price got up, he was cut, and that had a lot to do with why Turiaf was thrown out. The officials really did the NBA and the Lakers a favor because Utah would have certainly retaliated if Turiaf wasn’t tossed. A guy like Matt Harpring taking out a cutter as retaliation is not part of the Lakers championship plans this year, thank you.

Lastly Deron Williams has a lot of Derek Fisher in his game as he grabbed at least 3 calls that I saw in yesterdays game. Remember in the fourth quarter when Fisher barely touched him on a fast break and he fell down. Then calmly went to the line and hit two free throws. Usually you see that from a ten year veteran, not a third year player.

Around the league, Mike D’Antoni has accepted the New York Knicks offer as coach. This is great news for the Lakers, because perhaps there will be changes in Phoenix. People talk about Isiah Thomas ruining franchises, but how about Steve Kerr? Since he’s been in Phoenix he’s lost Mike D’Antoni, traded the Matrix (Shawn Marion), and traded 3 first round picks. The only players he’s acquired that has contributed is Shaq and Grant Hill. The Lakers and Portland will battle for the Pacific Division in the future. I don’t see the Suns as a major force anymore.

Mike D’Antoni has his work cut out for him in New York. Rumors are swirling that he will show up at their first practice wearing a police uniform. Hey he’ll do anything to get Zach Randolph to run… I wish him the best of luck and hopefully he’ll be able to turn it around. The key will be in the lottery as the Knicks need the top slot to select Derrick Rose of Memphis. Failing that, they will pick Jerryd Bayless if he’s available. Jerryd is an extremely fast point guard. In fact either player could be a lightning rod for the Knicks as a point guard in Mike D’Antoni’s system.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 12th, 2008 at 9:58 am and is filed under Police, Georgia, Brian Cook, Andrei Kirilinko, Valdosta Daily Times, DJ Mbenga, Maurice Lucas, Wes Unseld, Rick Mahorn, Rony Turiaf, Amare Stoudamire, Pacific, Portland, Jerry Buss, Chris Mihm, Charles Oakley, Oden, Kings, Greece, NBDL, Elton Brown, ed ziti, Lee Riley, The Winner Within, Dallas, New Orleans, Stu Lantz, Aaron Jay Sapiro, Mavericks, free throws, Shaun Powell, Josh Tucker, referees, fouls, Javaris Crittenton, Jordan Farmar, Maurice Evans, Hornets, Bob Nightengale, Church, Willis Reed, Bets, Don Marbury, Vladimir Radmanovic, line, Betting, Colorado, Gambling, Larry Bird, Knicks, Smush Parker, Leandro Barbosa, Sacramento, Larry Brown, Grant Hill, Pau Gasol, New York, NCAA, Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe Bryant, Eddy Curry, Isiah Thomas, Rockies, Mike Dunleavy, Indiana Pacers, Houston Rockets, Phoenix Suns, Golden State Warriors, Utah Jazz, San Antonio Spurs, Andrew Bynum, Luke Walton, Reggie Theus, Pat Riley, DJ Strawberry, Jackie Butler, Rick Adelman, Sasha Vujacic, Coby Karl, Trevor Ariza, Mitch Kupchak, Lakers, Ira Newble, St Johns, Don Nelson, Jerry Sloan, Kwame Brown, Lamar Odom, Baron Davis, Avery Johnson, Derek Fisher, Shawn Marion, Raja Bell, Devean George, Los Angeles Lakers. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.