Kobe, LeBron Battle One Last Time in Cleveland; Lakers Fall to Cavs

The Kobe vs. LeBron debate has divided Lakers fans and Cavs/Heat fans for years, allowing both to engage each other in some bloody battles in the comments section. I was one of those people. Now, that we've hit the present and with LeBron aging and Kobe retiring at the end of the season, these last two games between these two legends should be taken into appreciation. So one last time, Kobe Bryant and the Lakers battled LeBron James and the Cavs in Kobe's final appearance in Cleveland. Kobe finished the game with with 17 points on 5-16 shooting, but LeBron James' 29 point performance, along with Kyrie Irving's 35 point performance helped the Cavs edge out the Lakers 111-120. Lou Williams was the Lakers' top performer this game, scoring 28 points on 9-15 shooting and Jordan Clarkson added 22 points to round out the starters. D'Angelo Russell continues to lead all scorers off the bench, finishing with 15 points and taking a nut shot from a pass attempt from LeBron (yes, I saw the video).

Final Score: @ Cleveland 111-120 [L]
Full article: http://www.nba.com/games/20160210/LALCLE/gameinfo.html?ls=iref:nba:scoreboard

Highlights:

"You gotta always protect the McNuggets." - The Longest Yard

 

Next Game: vs. San Antonio (02/19) 

 

2015 NBA Finals Preview: Golden State Warriors vs. Cleveland Cavaliers

It has been a while guys! Welcome in to your 2015 NBA Finals preview on the True Raider Laker blog provided by yours truly. This year's finals should be an exciting matchup as this year's finals pits the Golden State Warriors, the best team in the NBA and the #1 team in the West vs. the Cleveland Cavaliers, the #2 team in the East. This finals is providing a lot of headlines: rookie head coaches going against each other in Steve Kerr and David Blatt, two cities that are longing for an NBA title, and the incumbent MVP and the most exciting player in Stephen Curry going up against the former 4x MVP and the consensus best player in the world in LeBron James.

Golden State Warriors

Since the beginning of the offseason, nobody expected the Warriors to be the top team in the West. When a rookie head coach like Steve Kerr is coming in, everyone expected it to be a process that the Warriors are going to keep building and it will take years for them to be a legit contender. They proved a lot of skeptics wrong this season. Heck, I wasn't even considering Golden State to be a top-tier team as long as the Spurs, Thunder, Grizzlies, and Clippers were on top and the alpha dogs in the West. But the way the Warriors manhandled the West, especially for a team with a young core, it's very impressive. Steve Kerr has done everything right for this team. He has coached this Warriors team to its strengths with the personnel they have and he has emphasized on tough, stifling defense and getting the players to play with discipline. Steph Curry has played at a high level all season long and deservingly so, won the NBA's MVP award. The guy just figures out ways to make plays for his teammates and he can score at will. To say the Warriors had a very easy time in the postseason is an understatement. Against the Pelicans, Anthony Davis had his best season in his young career and will continue to develop to be a future star with a winning head coach. The Grizzlies are the Grizzlies; they will play tough, physical defense and slow the pace down in their favor. The Rockets had their runner up MVP in James Harden and Games 1 and 2 in the conference finals could've gone either way. The West is still tough. There were some times the Warriors were tested and they managed to pass those tests to advance to their first finals since 1975 when the Warriors were lead by Rick Barry and former Laker, Jamaal Wilkes way before he actually signed with the Lakers.

Cleveland Cavaliers

Forgive and forget was the motto of the Cavs when LeBron James dropped the bombshell heard around the world that he's leaving the Miami Heat and coming back home to Cleveland in hopes to deliver a title to the city, their first since forever. Five years ago, LeBron spurned the Cavaliers with "The Decision" of taking his talents to South Beach, now he's back and the city of Cleveland has welcomed his return with open arms, including that of Cavs owner Dan Gilbert. The Cavs had the #1 overall pick in the offseason and drafted Andrew Wiggins and they subsequently traded him to the Timberwolves for Kevin Love to form a new big 3 with LeBron, Kyrie Irving, and K. Love. Unlike the Warriors, the Cavs went off to a very slow start, losing the season opener to the eventual dumpster fire, New York Knicks and LeBron losing in his first game back in Miami during a Christmas Day matchup with the Heat. Then, in the middle of the season, the team acquired J.R. Smith and Iman Shumpert from the Knicks and acquired Timofey Mozgov from the Nuggets. Add those acquisitions plus a couple of scoring barrages by Kyrie Irving and the Cavaliers started to find their footing. Credit to coach David Blatt for hanging in there. His seat was definitely hot when the Cavs were underachieving expectations, but he made the necessary adjustments. However where true credit is due, it goes to the Cavs GM, David Griffin as he made these kinds of bold moves to put the Cavs in the position of where they are at now. Come postseason, LeBron dominated and the Cavs easily dispatched the Celtics, handled the Bulls again, and just dominated the best team in the East in the Atlanta Hawks in the conference finals. We could go on a record of how weak the East is, but this doesn't change that Cleveland has never tasted a championship this close. 2007 doesn't count since San Antonio had all the experience in the world. Now, LeBron heads to his 5th straight finals appearance and will look to pay off dividends of experiencing winning titles in Miami.

Keys for the Dubs

The key formula for the Warriors all season long was give the ball to Curry and let him work his magic. The Warriors are sticking to that and they are not going to change that anytime soon. When Curry is doing his magic, whether it's draining threes or creating plays, the Warriors' offense is virtually unstoppable. Not only that, they have a great defense as the Warriors have an outstanding record when they hold their opponents under 100 points scoring. The next key for the Warriors is that Klay Thompson has to start hot. After putting up great shooting exhibitions in the regular season, Klay has disappointed much in the postseason. The Warriors have to rely on their supporting cast as well as they have an excellent blend of youth and experience. Look for guys like Harrison Barnes, Draymond Green, Iguodala, Bogut, and Livingston to be that X-factor to go alongside the dynamic Splash Bros.

Keys for the Cavs

LeBron James has been on this ride not once, but five consecutive times and he's captured two championships in that span. Look for the Cavs to rely on his experience and let them feed off of it. The next factor is whether or not Kyrie Irving is 100%. He's missed the majority of the Eastern Conference Finals before giving it a go in helping close out game 4 against the Hawks. A healthy Kyrie means the less load for LeBron when it comes to scoring and it allows him to do the all-around things such as rebounding, dishing out assists, and scoring when it matters the most. Some X-factors included for the Cavs are the performances of Tristan Thompson and J.R. Smith. Thompson has been hustling like a madman so far in the playoffs and Smith can score and get buckets whenever he shoots the ball.

Prediction

As usual, predictions are always tough to do because only the real thing can determine the outcome. It is the inexperience of the Warriors vs. the inexperience of the Cavs because none of the roster has had never been in the finals. However, the Cavs do have LeBron to provide them with that experience and that should give them edge, but we can't also deny that coaching and coaching adjustments play a key factor. David Blatt of the Cavaliers may have lead teams to a couple of titles overseas, but leading a team to an NBA title brings a lot more pressure. Meanwhile on the flip side, Steve Kerr of the Warriors has won titles as an NBA player, making key plays at opportune time so he knows what the pressure is like in an NBA Finals game. In addition, Kerr has played under championship-caliber coaches like Phil Jackson during the Bulls' 2nd 3-peat run and Gregg Popovich when the Spurs won championships in 1999 and 2003 and he has used some of their philosophies to blend to his coaching. It's going to be an exciting finals, could be down to wire, but at the end of the day, defense wins championships and I look for a new era of basketball to open up when Curry gets the torch from LeBron a la Jordan over Magic on the NBA's grand stage.

Warriors in 7

Game 1, Q-by-Q, Halftime, and Full Recap posts starts on Thursday June 4.

A Season in Review: 2014-15 Lakers

Final Record: 21-61 .256, 5th Pacific, Home Record: 12-29, Road Record: 9-32, Division Record: 2-14, Conference Record: 9-43

Alright Laker Nation, hopefully you guys are enjoying the playoffs so far or maybe just focusing directly towards the draft and free agency. Welcome to the long awaited "Season in Review" post for the 2014-15 Los Angeles Lakers. As usual, the same format will apply where I just reflect on the season, look at all 82 games in the best condensed way as possible, and personnel changes and offseason needs.

The top picture of Kobe Bryant's tweet after last season, pretty much sums it up this season for the Lakers. With a healthy Kobe Bryant and the hiring of Byron Scott, many of us thought the Lakers will be more competitive than last season. Those two take great pride in donning the purple and gold colors and they'll teach this team to win like many past Laker teams. That plan didn't take off, 1st round pick Julius Randle got injured during the 1st game of the season vs. the Rockets. Injuries played a key role once again, Kobe got hurt with a torn rotator cuff, Nick Young, injured, Ronnie Price, injured, Jordan Hill, was injured a couple of games. However, that doesn't change the fact that this Laker roster was a mess, with a vibe similar to a D-League team this season. The Lakers just couldn't get off to a good start and this season went downhill from the get-go, even with Kobe Bryant in the lineup. The one thing that highlighted all this futility this season was Kobe Bryant's face when Jimmy Kimmel showed him a clip of Nick Young and Jordan Hill acting like total fools of themselves in Jeremy Lin's post game interview when the Lakers beat the Celtics in overtime. Lakers, I believe, were on a 8 game losing streak prior to that home game vs. the Celtics. Don't get me wrong, a win against the Celtics is always sweet, but celebrating a win, knowing the team is still the penultimate bottom dweller in the West does not define this prestigious franchise and all its glory and dedication to deliver a winning season and a championship. And the worst part about it is, the Celtics, with a roster of misfits, managed to clinch a playoff berth and the Lakers didn't. That should leave a bad taste in the mouth.

Although this season was met with a whole lot of disappointment and a lot of boredom, there were a few positives that the Lakers can take with them next season. The Lakers managed to snatch a few wins against playoff teams. They managed to win against both the Warriors and the Hawks and little did we know those two teams would be at the top of their respective conferences. They beat the defending champion Spurs thanks to a miracle three by Young, the Bulls in OT, and the Rockets despite Howard not playing. The Lakers managed to get a couple of upset, "feel-good" wins, regardless if those teams were healthy or not when the Lakers managed to tact on W's against them. Another positive, they uncovered a gem in Clarkson. Jordan Clarkson showed a lot of potential, putting up 20+ points in a lot of games, some of them he finished with either a double-double or a near triple-double. He also knocked down his first game winning shot against the Timberwolves in an OT thriller back in March and willed the Lakers to victory against the Sixers in Philadelphia. Clarkson thrived and proved to be a valuable 2nd round steal for the Lakers. To me, him and Julius Randle right now are the future. It's a little too early considering Randle has yet to play a full game or yet, a full season, but the Lakers managed to snag two players in the draft that could potentially serve as building blocks to halt some of the panic for the post-Kobe apocalypse.

So what do the Lakers have to do in the offseason? It's easy to think that they should fire Byron Scott and I will admit this, Scott has underutilized some players (Jeremy Lin) and his bench rotation and tampering with the lineup was at an all-time high. However, I think that because this roster was depleted with talent, I'm willing to give Scott another chance. If he has a fallout like he did in Cleveland and the team continues to regress or makes little progress, then the option of releasing him is feasible. In terms of draft and free agency, the Lakers desperately need a big man that can post up. Ever since Pau Gasol left via free agency last year, a lot of us can tell that there will be an absolute void in the paint and that is exactly what transpired during this season. Personally, I haven't looked up a lot about upcoming prospects for this draft, but one player has been stuck in my head and that's Jahlil Okafor out of Duke. When I tuned in for the National Championship game vs. Wisconsin, I wasn't that impressed considering he was in foul trouble the majority of the game, but I'm hoping I get more good impressions from Okafor once I see more tape of him.

The Lakers need to have a core for the future, while still building a team for Kobe to ride off into the sunset a champion. The Lakers have to get back to basics to balance between now and the future. We can fantasize about them getting a LaMarcus Aldridge, a K. Love, or a Rondo, but in the offseason it's more than just landing a star player, the Lakers also have to get guys that can be role players and contribute in a big way. Getting 3-4 stars to play together is cool and all, but they're nothing if a decent supporting cast is not surrounding them. The Lakers need to manage free agency wisely. Instead of waiting for a star like last year, they need to sign good, quality players in the free agency while chasing after that star free agent. They need to use the draft too to get another future star like Randle and another 2nd rounder like Clarkson who can contribute in a huge way. Look at the Lakers when they first landed Shaq, they used free agency and the draft wisely. Even though this was a 4-5 year plan, they surrounded Shaq by trading for a future star in Kobe through the draft and drafting a decent contributor in Derek Fisher. Then, they used free agency to sign quality role players like Robert Horry, Rick Fox, Brian Shaw, etc. The scenario however is a lot different because Kobe's not going to stick around and the Lakers want to build him a championship team now. I mean, it's going to take a balanced effort from Mitch to work his magic in the free agency period by landing a star and quality role players and drafting a top quality future star and a quality role player in the 1st and 2nd round.

The Lakers have money to spend, they have a top pick, Mitch Kupchak needs to play both cards well to quickly restore the Lakers to greatness. And as usual, Jim Buss needs to put his ego aside to let Mitch do his thing. I'm repeating the same thing as last year's "Season in Review" post, but the Lakers front office has to do it right. The Lakers want a championship? Do they want to have a prosperous future once Kobe Bryant hangs up those sneakers? Balance out the free agency period and the draft. Think about now, but also keep a big picture in mind for the future. Thank you Laker Nation for following my coverage of the 2014-15 Laker season on my blog. It was not a lot of content and I cancelled a lot of games to cover, but my passion for this team never falters. I'll see you guys later for the NFL Draft, the NBA Finals, the NBA draft, and the NBA free agency period. Also, I will have another collaboration with my friend Stillmattic on blog soon so be sure to check him out at bleachzealot.blogspot.com. Once again, I'll see you guys later, I'm out.

Lakers 2014-15 Season Preview: Contending or Rebuilding?

Good evening, Laker Nation and welcome to my preview for the Lakers' 2014-15 NBA Season. We are less than 24 hours away from the first tip off of the NBA Season as a whole and the Lakers have a home opener against the Dwight Howard and the Houston Rockets.

So, where to begin here. Okay, last season, arguably the season most of us Laker fans want to forget about. The Lakers were awful at home, they gave up a huge amount of points, jacking up too many threes, that's the nutshell for that season. We're all glad that Mike D'Antoni is gone and the 7 seconds or less and shoot the three away offense is gone. This offseason, the Lakers had a lot of expectations to sign big time free agents, LeBron James or Carmelo Anthony, and that plan blew up into smithereens and Mitch Kupchak had to resort to plan B, trading for Jeremy Lin, signing Ed Davis, claiming Carlos Boozer off amnesty waivers, and re-signing guys like Nick Young, Xavier Henry, Jordan Hill, Wesley Johnson, etc. Then after a long coaching search, the Lakers come into terms with Byron Scott to be the new head coach, even though it was long, it was kind of predictable since the Laker organization laid eyes on him all this time.

In terms of preseason play, unlike last season, I did see some highlights of some of the preseason games. In fact, I just only saw one full game and that was the preseason opener vs. the Denver Nuggets when the Lakers won that 95-98. Based on what I saw, Kobe Bryant's back, that's good to see, aside from the first preseason, I thought I saw no rust from Kobe after being out of the game for quite some time. Another positive I saw, I saw more activity from the Lakers both on the offense and defensive side of the ball. It's like every from every missed shot during every Laker possession, they were working their butts off to give the Lakers second chance points, particularly Jordan Hill, Ed Davis, and rookie Julius Randle. They were also using their athleticism to get some blocks on the defensive end; there was one play in particular where both Randle and Davis got a double block for a jump ball, I thought that was pretty impressive. Two players that stood out to me during the preseason: Wesley Johnson and Ronnie Price. Wes has improved his confidence in his jump shot, I mean he was hitting shots that usually missed last season and I hope he continues to build off of that confidence, he's decent defensively, but he's too athletic to not be efficient on offense. Ronnie Price, I've always liked him since he was in Utah, when we had playoff battles against the Jazz; he's always been a really scrappy defender and a great competitor when given the minutes. Looking at the highlights of the second preseason game against the Jazz and the Phoenix Suns, he was generating turnovers, drawing charges, he really turned up the defensive activity for other players around him and they bought in and turned it up.

Some areas of concern, I'd say the lack of a big body in the paint, lack of a true small forward, and injuries. We're going to miss what Gasol brought to the table, what Bynum brought to the table, and yes what Dwight brought to the table, someone that could post up and be dominant in the paint. I say that's one of the areas the Lakers failed to address. We signed Davis, Boozer, Hill, and drafted Randle, but they don't have capabilities to be that "bang bang" player in the paint because either they're a bit undersized or they're post up game is not polished. Small Forward, aside from Wesley Johnson, that position has huge void. Though, Nick Young can play that spot when he gets back, once we go up against a Durant (when he comes back), a LeBron, or a Carmelo Anthony, that position is going to be in deep trouble. Injuries, obviously Xavier Henry is out with a knee, Nick Young is out with a thumb (while guarding Kobe, smh), Ryan Kelly, out with a hamstring, Wayne Ellington, out with a concussion, but the key injury of them all, Steve Nash with a back injury. If you read the story, Nash injured his back carrying his bags and he's officially out for the season. I have a tremendous amount of respect for Nash, one of the best point guards to ever play the game, but it's time to hang it up for him. As much as I feel sorry for him for not getting that elusive ring, he's got nothing to lose, he's already a future 1st ballot HOF. The least he can do to earn the money on his contract is take on an unofficial assistant coach role and mentor Lin, mentor Price, and mentor the 2nd round rookie, Jordan Clarkson.

Wow, probably the longest preview I made, but I'm almost done. About the schedule, it looks like yet another brutal start to the season: Rockets, Suns, Clippers, Warriors, Suns again, Hornets, Grizzlies, Pelicans, Spurs, and Warriors again. You talk about a schedule where the Lakers have to start off playing against teams that made the playoffs, almost made the playoffs, and played above .500. However, we have a legitimate chance at pulling upsets on most teams. Unlike last season, the Lakers are gonna compete night in and night out against these teams, maybe aside against the Spurs and Clippers, most of these games at the start should be competitive.

So the ultimate question goes: with Kobe back are the Lakers in contention or are they still rebuilding towards the future? This Laker team should be a little, not a lot, but a little better than last year's team. Kobe and Byron Scott are going to show these younger players what it means to play like a true Laker and they will pave the way towards the future. Not a lot of expectations on my part, but the Lakers, as long as the are competitive, they will be a lot better defensively and make better decisions on offense rather than just run and jack up threes. I say we will finish just about 2 or 3 seeds short out of the playoffs, but if they stay healthy, then they have a nominal chance at sneaking in. Either way, like I said, this season should be a lot better than last year. GO LAKERS!

*And a little note for Raider fans, some sad news I forgot to point out. Offensive linemen, Mo Collins passed away yesterday at the age of 38 of kidney failure. I was still too young to know about the O-line back then when Rich Gannon, Tim Brown, Jerry Rice, and Charlie Garner were running the show, but Mo played an integral part along with guys like Barry Sims, Lincoln Kennedy, and Steve Wisniewski to turn that offense to what it was back then, an offense that could kill you on the air or on the ground. It was good to reminisce those days as a kid in the midst of what's transpiring this season. RIP big man, say hello to Al and our integral member of the Raider Nation, the Oaktown Pirate (which I also forgot to point out during last week's game vs. the Cardinals).*

Blog Changes 08/07

Alright, we're just around the corner of this time of year where I'm going to cover regular season games for the Raiders and later, the Lakers as football season is just right around the corner in early September and then followed by basketball season in late October. The first Raider preseason game is tomorrow and since I usually announce this kind of stuff before the first preseason game, here are a couple changes or things I'm going to retain.

Football

• I will continue to do Q-by-Q reaction, halftime post, and full recap for all 16 Raider games (provided the home games are all sold out) and it's going to be the same format: The Positives, The Negatives, Bottom Line/Conclusion.
• For the Raider preseason games, I'll just pick only ONE preseason game to do Q-by-Q, halftime post, and full recap for warm ups. That preseason game will be the third game against the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field. I'm choosing that game because it'll televised on CBS and it'll mark the return of 3 former Packer players to Lambeau Field (C-Wood, James Jones, and C.J. Wilson).
• I will continue to do Q-by-Q, halftime post, and full recap of the Super Bowl regardless of which team advances and I will still do a Super Bowl preview prior to that.

Basketball

• I will continue to do Q-by-Q reaction, halftime post, and full recap only for Laker games that are nationally televised (TNT, ESPN, ABC, NBA TV) and it's going to be the same format: The Positives, The Negatives, Bottom Line/Conclusion. Any other games that are not nationally televised will follow the old quick recap post.
• Considering I have CSN Bay Area, I will continue to do Q-by-Q, halftime, and full recap whenever the Lakers face off against the Golden State Warriors in the regular season. 
• I won't cover any preseason games.
• For NBA TV games, I will ONLY do Laker games that are scheduled beforehand to be on NBA TV, that means NO Fan Night games.
• I will continue to do Q-by-Q, halftime post, and full recap of the NBA Finals regardless of which team advances and I will still do a NBA Finals preview prior to that. 

Applies to both

• I will do regular season previews after the preseason as well as Season in Review posts after the regular season has ended.

Continue to follow up on my Fight Night collaboration with my friend, Stillmattic on his blog, http://bleachzealot.blogspot.com with Bleach Kombat posts. I'll see you guys on the 22nd. Here's to another year of covering Raider and Laker games.

- MechG