And Yet Another Laker Milestone

And this one has nothing to do with Kobe.

Phil Jackson is just one win shy of tying Pat Riley atop the Lakers all-time wins list for coaches with 533 wins. Riles has a better win percentage with the Lakers with his 533-194 mark. Phil has 253 losses.

*****

Also forgot to congratulate Kobe on his All-Star selection, as well. He was voted in by the fans as a starter, and will be joined by teammate Pau Gasol, selected as a reserve on the West team. The All-Star game is next Sunday on Valentine's Day in Arlington at Cowboys Stadium. So far, more than 85,000 seats have been sold for this game, with an additional 15,000 standing-room only tickets expected to be sold. The 100,000 plus in attendance for the game would demolish the all-time attendance record for any basketball game anywhere.

Lebron Loses His Cool

This is another reason he has a lot of growing up to do. You never saw/see Magic, MJ or Kobe have temper-tantrums like this when they don't get a call go their way...

Approaching Another Milestone

As the Lakers continue their swing through the East Coast, Kobe continues his push towards another milestone. The team has won their last three games at Washington, Indiana and Philly last night in pretty convincing fashion since their loss in Toronto last Sunday, but Kobe is about to make Laker history.

After reaching 25,000 career points at the start of the trip last week in Cleveland, Kobe is now just 48 points shy of surpassing Laker legend Jerry West as the all-time leading scorer in Laker history. And all this hoopla over Kobe has started a whole new debate in L.A. over who the greatest player is in Laker history.

There are a few who believe it is Jerry West, but the real debate is between Kobe and Magic. Having grown up watching Magic do things no other guard in the history of the game has ever done, and being in awe watching him do it, and then having the honor as an adult to see Kobe do what he does, it's a very tough decision. They both certainly can make a great argument for this honor, but my vote goes to Magic, for several reasons.

While Kobe is a pure scorer, and arguably one of the most clutch players in the history of the game, Magic was the one who wowed and awed players and fans with his knack for making players around him better. Kobe's getting better at that, but Magic was great at it. He always knew where everyone on the floor was. He was an amazing passer. He was an amazing "quarterback" on the court.

Magic also had his share of game-winning shots, and you could make an argument that his game-winners are more memorable than Kobe's because of the conditions. There's the "baby sky hook" in Boston in the Finals in 1987. That one is probably his greatest shot ever. It's the most memorable. He had another clutch shot in Boston earlier that season the beat the Celtics at the buzzer.

Take a look...

And let's not forget his performance in the 1980 Finals against Philly, when Kareem couldn't go in Game Six because of a badly sprained ankle. Magic stepped in as the center and promptly led the Lakers to their first of five titles in the 80s while picking up the slack in Kareem's absence.

But Magic's fame and glory came for making players around him better. No one could read or see the court better than Magic. He did things on the court and with the ball that no one has ever done or been able to do. He knew exactly where every player was on the court at all times. He was the only player who had eyes on the back of his head as well as the front. Magic mesmerized teammates, opponents and fans alike.

Magic was not only a five-time champion, but he was a three-time MVP winner. Sure, Kobe is closing in as a four-time champion, and has an MVP of his own, but Magic will always be... the Magicman.

Lakers Go to Washington

After blowing a four-point lead with a minute and a half in yesterday's game at Toronto to lose 106-105 (Kobe finished one assist shy of a triple-double, finishing with a 27-16-9 line), the Lakers moved back stateside and spent the morning visiting President Obama at the White House, who honored them for their championship run last season.

Here's a short video from NBA TV. (Pay close attention to Obama's plea to Phil Jackson to give some members of Congress a few hoops pointers.)

After visiting the White House today, the Purple and Gold will continue their swing through the Eastern seaboard with a quick stay in D.C. through tomorrow night with a game against the Gilbert Arena-less Wizards. Also, Ron Artest, who was not part of last year's title, sat out the visit with the flu. He'll be a game-time decision tomorrow night.

A Tale of Two Cities

The Lakers got off to a great start on Thursday night in Cleveland, but couldn't finish off the Cavs, and lost 93-87. The battle between Kobe and Lebron lived up to its expectations, as Kobe scored 31 on 12 of 31 shooting while Lebron netted 37 on 13 of 25 shooting.

The Lakers demise on the night was their inability to make shots down the stretch. It was a see-saw battle for much of the game, but in the end, the Cavs kept their cool, and the Lakers couldn't hit their shot from the field or the free throw line. The Lakers were also unable to match Cleveland's intensity throughout the game, something Kobe was a little concerned after the game.

“The mentality has to change a little bit playing against these teams,” Bryant said. “These teams are physical, tough-minded, hard-nosed types of teams. That’s not part of our DNA. We have to step up and match that and still play skillful basketball.”

Meanwhile, the Lakers got a good game for most of the night from the Knicks on Friday, but in the end, they were too much for New York, pulling out a 115-105 win.

Kobe continued to struggle with his shooting in large part because of the injured index finger on his shooting hand, hitting just eight of his 24 shots to lead six Lakers in double figures with 27 points. It was a ho-hum game for Kobe until he took over late in the game. Obviously, it was a far cry from his 61-point night there last season, but he made his points matter, especially down the stretch.

Pau Gasol added 20 while Andrew Bynum poured in 11 of his 19 in the fourth quarter. Lamar Odom had an unusual line, scoring just two points while grabbing a team-high 14 rebounds.

Next up on the road trip, north of the border on Sunday in Toronto. Oh Canada!

25,000

Kobe has just notched his 25,000th career point to become the youngest player ever to reach the milestone.

Lakers and Cavs, Kobe and Lebron...

The Rematch. Now.

Last Night's Win, and Pau Wins Award

The Lakers looked like they were going to roll all over the Magic early last night but wound up coughing up the lead in the third period, then had to battle back to edge the Magic, 98-92. Kobe had another horrible shooting night, shooting four-for-19 from the field for just 11 points, though he looked like he was feeling a lot better as far as his back went. Kobe will also have to wait another night to reach 25,000 points for his career.

The Lakers continue to plug along with the league's best record, now at 32-9 after last night's win. The begin an eight-game roadie on Thursday in Cleveland against Lebron James and the Cavs.

Meanwhile, Pau Gasol was named 2009 Sportsman of the Year by the L.A. Sports Council. During the year 2009, Gasol won an NBA title with the Lakers, was all-NBA third-team, won the European Championship while winning MVP honors, signed an extension with the Lakers through the 2013-2014 season, and kicked off his acting career with a cameo on CSI: Miami. Congratulations, Pau!

Finals Rematch

It's been a while again since I've blogged in this here space, but while I've been absent the Lakers have continued to roll, sort of. They continue to lead the league with the best record at 31-9 going into tonight's Finals rematch with Orlando, but they've struggled over the last eight games since January 3rd while going 5-3.

In the process of looking like the champs that they are in their five wins against Dallas, Houston, Milwaukee, Dallas again and the Clippers, they also looked lost and uninspired in losses to the Clippers, Blazers and Spurs. Kobe had his worst game of the season, if not in his career, against the Spurs, but that was largely due to his plethora of injuries.

He's still battling a broken finger on his shooting hand, and a banged up elbow, and in that Spurs game, he strained his lower back after suffering back spasms earlier in that game. He struggled in the first half of the next game in Dallas but played well in the second half that he wound up hitting the game-winning shot.

The Lakers also got Pau Gasol back in their last game, a 40-point blowout of the Clippers. Gasol had reinjured his hamstring early in that January 3rd blowout of Dallas and hadn't played since.

In the meantime, in spite of Gasol's injury and Kobe being banged up, the Lakers have been getting some nice contributions from Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum and Jordan Farmar. Ron Artest has also since returned to the lineup after his Christmas Day fall in his home that sidelined him for a few games since.

Back to Kobe. He's still fighting through the bad back but as he put it earlier today, "it's stiff, not painful." He'll play tonight. He needs 30 tonight for 25,000 in his career. (More on Kobe later as I want to touch on how he relishes the challenge of playing with all these injuries compared to other great players.)

Reflecting on the Last Decade

As we move into a new decade, it's always fun to reflect on the previous 10 years just completed. That said, I thought we'd go back and look at the best Laker games and players of the last 10 years.

Top Laker Games. Where do we start? The Lakers provided us fans with so many great games in the last 10 years that it's virtually impossible to find a place to start. But I'll give it a shot!

8. Any of Kobe's regular-season buzzer-beaters not mentioned below.

7. Kobe scores 61 at Madison Square Garden.

6. Kobe takes over in overtime in Finals against Indiana after Shaq fouls out.

5. Kobe hits TWO buzzer-beaters in Portland, one at end of regulation, and one to win in 2OT.

4. The Lakers rally from 15 points down in fourth quarter to beat Portland in Game 7.

3. Kobe dumps 81 on Toronto.

2. Robert Horry's playoff three-pointer buzzer-beater from top of the key beats the Kings.

1. Derek Fisher's playoff buzzer-beater in San Antonio with .04 seconds left.

I know I'm probably missing some games from this list, but these are the most memorable games that have stuck with me over the last 10 years.

And how about the top Laker players over the last 10 years? Well, there are two, maybe three, that are pretty obvious. So if we break the top five down by position, this is what we come up with:

Center: Shaquille O'Neal. Continued the history of dominant big men in Purple and Gold.

Power Forward: Pau Gasol. One of the most consistent power forwards in franchise history.

Small Forward: Rick Fox. Another in the long line of consistency.

Point Guard: Derek Fisher. Along with Kobe, was part of four decade titles.

Shooting Guard: Kobe Bryant. Is there anyone else?

Merry New Year!

Well, it's been a while, and my apologies for being dark over the past couple of weeks.

During my absence from this here blog, the Lakers have continued to roll, having won five of the seven games they've played. They haven't played particularly well in most of those games, including two ugly losses, one to Lebron James and Cleveland on Christmas, and the other to Phoenix a few nights later. They have managed to find ways to win the others, including another Kobe buzzer-beater two nights ago against Sacramento.

Welcome to 2010. Some things will never change!

Moving forward, tonight, they host a red-hot Dallas Mavericks team that is second in the conference behind the Lakers at 23-10.

The question still remains about whether or not Ron Artest will play. As you know, he suffered a concussion after a Christmas Day fall in his home and hasn't played since, and the lack of his presence defensively is very noticeable. He did practice, somewhat, with team doctors and neurologists looking on, and will apparently be a game-time decision.