Did We Gel Yet?: Lakers Lose to Blazers

And soon the media will jump in and scrutinize/question the Lakers like sharks feasting for blood and chunks of meat. The high expectations of the Lakers is starting to fading away slowly and slowly. How long will it take for this team to gel? Will the chemistry click in before everything melts down in a flurry? The Lakers have loss 12 straight games (counting games 4 & 5 against OKC and the 0-8 preseason) prior to tonight's Halloween matchup against the Blazers. Dwight Howard lead the Lakers with 33 points, 15 rebounds,  and 5 assists, but the Lakers withered on the heavy youth and athleticism of the Portland Trail Blazers as they fell 106-116 at the Rose Garden. Kobe Bryant came in second, tallying 30 points, Pau Gasol racked up 16 points, and MWP, much better than last night, but not good enough as he only scored 10 points.

Final Score: @ Portland 106-116 [L]

Full recap: http://www.nba.com/games/20121031/LALPOR/gameinfo.html

Next Game: vs. LA Clippers (11/02/12)

Humble Pied: Mavs Shell-Shock Lakers

Wake up Lakers, this is not preseason anymore when you guys went 0-8. After an offseason of build up and hype, the Lakers fell flat on the ground, not just in preseason, but on opening night as well against the Dallas Mavericks. Pau Gasol, one of the big 4, thrived in the Lakers' newly installed Princeton Offense tonight recording a double-double of 23 points & 13 rebounds as the Lakers' top performer, but boy were they outplayed by a Dirk Nowitzki-less Mavs. Balance scoring from the Mavs' starters and bench (still the Lakers' weak link) powered the team to a 99-91 victory over the Lakers. Kobe Bryant, bad foot at all, scored 22 points and Dwight Howard in his regular season debut as a Laker scored 19 points & 10 rebounds, but fouled out late in the 4th. With the Lakers' last win against the Thunder in game 3 of the 2nd round of the 2012 NBA Playoffs, the Lakers losses overall tally up with 11 straight losses.

Final Score: vs. Dallas 99-91 [L]
Full recap: http://www.nba.com/games/20121030/DALLAL/gameinfo.html

Next Game: @ Portland (10/31/12)

Raiders Claim Win #6 At Arrowhead

A nice all-around game for the Raiders as they extend their winning streak to 6 at Arrowhead Stadium against the hated Kansas City Chiefs beating them 26-16. Carson Palmer completed 14 of 28 passes for 209 with 2 TDs & 1 INT. Darren McFadden had his 100+ yards rushing game for the second time this season as he had 29 carries 114 yards and Denarius Moore had 5 receptions for 96 yards & 1 TD. The main story this game was big plays on defense and special teams. The Raiders' defense caused 4 turnovers, 2 INTs and 2 fumble recovery, one on a muffed punt to allow the offense great opportunity to put points on the board early.

Final Score: @ Kansas City 26-16 [W]
Full recap: http://www.raiders.com/news/article-1/RECAP-Raiders-Handle-Chiefs-26-16/65990ffa-1cd9-4b8d-a23a-6049e4bf7ddb

Next Game: vs. Tampa Bay (Week 9, 11/04/12)

Raiders Pull Ugly Win vs. Jags

Sebass, Sebass, Sebass, what can the Raiders do without your iron leg to bail us out? This game was all around ugly for the Raiders side, but the game still had a pulse thanks to the inspired effort by the defense when the offense was not clicking until the 2nd half. Thanks to crucial plays by the defense and the big leg of Sebastian Janikowski, the Raiders managed to pull through against a struggling Jaguars team 23-26 in OT. Carson Palmer, still efficient, completed 26 of 46 passes for 298 yards with 1 TD & 1 INT as well as rushing for 14 yards and having 1 rushing TD. Darren McFadden, again, wasting our star running back's talent thanks to the crappy ZBS only managed to rush for 53 yards, & Darrius Heyward-Bey had 4 receptions for 85 yards.

Final Score: vs. Jacksonville 23-26 (OT) [W]

Full recap: http://www.raiders.com/news/article-1/Raiders-Top-Jaguars-26-23-in-OT/6a833ef4-fd2e-40e7-8738-a6a71cf5ddd9

Next Game: Week 8 @ Kansas City (10/28/12)

Missed Opportunity: Raiders Last Minute Loss vs. Falcons

The good, the bad, and the ugly showed here for the Raiders as they missed an opportunity to shift the NFL landscape by beating the undefeated Falcons. The Raiders played with heart in this game, testing the jump start Falcons lead by Matt Ryan physically and mentally, but that was negated by a crucial INT and you guessed it: penalties as a last minute FG by Matt Bryant put the Falcons past the Raiders 20-23. Matt Ryan had 3 INTs in the game by great defensive efforts by Joselio Hanson, Tyvon Branch, & Michael Huff. Carson Palmer completed 23 of 33 passes for 353 yards & 1 TD, but killed momentum thanks to Asante Samuel's pick 6 from Palmer. Darren McFadden had a decent game in the run and in the pass with 27 carries for 70 yards & 1 TD and 3 receptions for 28 yards. Denarius Moore, a monster game, lead the team in receptions with 5 for 104 yards & 1 TD.

Final Score: @ Atlanta 20-23 [L]

Full recap: http://www.raiders.com/news/article-1/Raiders-at-Falcons-Game-Recap/dc2dde1b-9b85-414e-8b0b-405914934a4c

Next Game vs. Jacksonville (Week 7, 10/21/12)

No Lakers Preseason Recaps This Year

There's a reason the Lakers' preseason recap vs Warriors is not posted up. Just for this year, for a little clarification, I won't be covering any Laker preseason games, but I will still cover Laker regular season games & playoff games. I apologize for the inconvenience. Expect posts beginning with the October 30th home opener vs the Mavericks.