Lakers Survive Stephen Curry Onslaught, Kobe Has Fallen

In one of the most bizarre games between these two division rivals, the Lakers were definitely clinging to hold on to the 8th spot and they did in a controversial and costly way. We witnessed the resurrection of Pau Gasol, who lead the Lakers with 26 points, 11 rebounds, and 10 assists, his best all-around game since dating back to opening night against the Mavs. Despite the unbelievable 47 point performance by Steph Curry, no doubt one of the best shooters in the NBA today, the Lakers managed to fend off the Warriors 116-118 as a result of foul trouble from the Warriors and a very lopsided free throw ratio of 50-16 in favor of the Lakers. Dwight Howard finished with 28 points with his last 2 coming off on clutch free throws to seal the game and Steve Blake stepped it up a notch finishing with 14 points.

The big story this game is Kobe Bryant (finished the game with 34 points, 5 rebounds, and 4 assists). Just today, it is confirmed from MRI results that Kobe indeed tear his achilles tendon after doing his patented spin move on Harrison Barnes (I think), fell awkwardly as a result of his leg or his foot giving out. With the achilles tendon injury he is indeed out for the season and quite possibly the playoff aspirations of the Lakers went away with him.

My Thoughts: It's devastating to hear that. Obviously if you remember Chauncey Billups suffered the same fate in the shortened-lockout season last year and now he's not the same player as he used to be. But an injury like this towards one of the all-time greats is an absolute shame and who knows, will Kobe ever be the same player? Will he still play until his contract is up or when he gets his sixth ring? He is so close to tying the GOAT Michael Jordan in rings and surpassing him at #3 on the all-time scoring list. Only 2 games left and Kobe goes down, working his ass off, putting the team on his back to make sure they are put into the playoff picture. Now with 2 games left, Utah is trailing by 1 game, and those 2 games remaining are against San Antonio and Houston, a tough finish to end the season. The question is now what? Who do the Lakers turn to? If Kobe doesn't come back and is not the same player, then it is time to signal an end of an era in Laker history. When a king dies or an emperor dies, the pressure all falls on the heir to the throne, to try and lead that empire, that kingdom, to perennial prosperity. That's like when all control of the Laker organization is handed to the idiotic, incompetent Jim Buss after Dr. Jerry Buss' death, now the lead of the team has prematurely been handed to Dwight Howard after Kobe went down. The Kobe Bryant era is "over", enter the Dwight Howard era.

Final Score: vs. Golden State 116-118 [W]
Full recap: http://www.nba.com/games/20130412/GSWLAL/gameinfo.html

Highlights

Emotional Kobe Post Game Interview After Tearing His Achilles Tendon

Next Game: vs. San Antonio (04/14/13)