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Los Angeles Lakers Archive
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Breaking Down The Off-Season Pt. 2
Posted on July 3, 2009 | 5 CommentsLakers Land Artest, Lose Ariza First off let me start this off with a NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO…..OOOOOOOOOOO….OOOO. Ok, got that out of my system. Damn, damn, double damn, I hate to see Trevor Ariza go. But I saw it coming, I really did. Not only due to... -
Around The League: June 30th, 2009
Posted on June 30, 2009 | No Comments
Yao Ming Goes Down
News out of Houston is that Yao Ming could not only be done for this upcoming season, but more seriously, the rest of his career. This is obviously a huge blow to the Rockets, but the league itself seems to be taking the hit just as badly. But when you sit down and think about it, it makes sense.
Yao, is not only one of the top players in the world, but he's from China, and we all know that China is becoming a huge part of the fan base. I mean, just look at how many votes Yi Jianlian received last year...he almost made the all-star team. Let's not get me started on that.
League spokesman Tim Frank has been quoted as saying "I think its awfully premature for us to comment on that, let's see how this works out first". So obviously, you can see the league frustration with the situation. They're losing one of their top international stars, that will be a ratings drop, unless of course Kobe can pick up the slack :P.
On to the impact that is may have on the Rockets, well obviously it would be devastating. Because even if this injury isn't the end, I believe the end is near for the 7'6" center. He is just so big, it makes him more injury prone, and the fact that his foot has needed surgery before, and it is now once again fractured? That is not good news.
The Rockets showed life against the Lakers without Yao, some may say they actually gave the Lakers their best run for their money. They still have Ron Artest, Aaron Brooks, Shane Battier, Chuck Hayes, Carl Landry, and Luis Scola. A good group of hard working players, who together looked as though they wouldn't back down.
Add in a player in Von Wafer who at times last season showed glimmers of hope that he could possibly fill in for Tracy McGrady, you have a team that doesn't need to completely start over. If somehow Yao does come back, and doesn't have to retire in the next three or four seasons, then the Rockets are really no worse off.
But it will be hard for them to get rid of him, with the doubts, money and risks of taking the big man on. Their best bet is to trade Tracy and work with what they've got, otherwise they're only prolonging the inevitable.
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Lakers Win Title!
Posted on June 22, 2009 | No Comments
Finally, a year after being humiliated by the Boston Celtics in the NBA Finals, the Lakers come back and dominate the Orlando Magic to prove they weren't a fluke. The Lakers struggled throughout the playoffs to play with real heart game
in and game out. In the first round they took care of the Jazz, but it wasn't the easiest series the league had ever seen. After beating the Jazz in 5 games, they moved on to face the tough Houston Rockets. Many thought this would be a tough, grind it out series, as the
Rockets had been just as good a team without their "star" Guard Tracy McGrady, as they had been with him. After taking a 2-1 series lead, the Lakers looked poised after losing the game before. They still had not lost back-to-back games; yet they didn't always
come out completely focused. This trend continued in Game 4, a game the Rockets played without star Center Yao Ming. The Rockets, and Lakers, knew that Ming was out for the season, and the Lakers came out "knowing"
they had already won the series.
Foolish. The tough and gritty Rockets came out focused, and determined to not let the Lakers humiliate them, and in turn, they smashed the Lakers. Although the final score may not have looked so terrible(99-87), the Rockets were up 29-16 after the first, and at one point were up by 30.
Now questions arose. Do the Lakers really want this? Do they already think it’s theirs? Are they so cocky, that they think they don’t even need to try? And on all accounts I think I have to say yes.
