Bleacher Report - Articles by David Sosnowski

Odom, Gasol, and the Lakers fight on to force game 6 back in Boston

David Sosnowski — Mon, 16 Jun 2008 07:10:27 -0400

The Los Angeles Lakers were led by the physical play of Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol. Yes, the more physical play by Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol fended off another late comeback by the Celtics to force Game Six back in Boston.

The Celtics were hindered by the absence of Kendrick Perkins and the foul trouble of Kevin Garnett. Perkins' injury may be more significant than Celtics fans might be willing to admit.

Garnett wasn't free to roam the paint as Gasol and Odom fed off of each other en route to a 20 and 11 night for Lamar and a 19 and 13 night for the Spaniard.

Kobe set the tone with four first quarter 3's as the Lakers raced out to a 17 point first quarter lead.

The Celtics easily chipped away behind a strong MVP of the Finals-like performance by Paul Pierce. Pierce poured in 38 points, as no one could stop his penetration but Kobe Bryant, until he became plagued with four fouls.

Through careful re-analysis of last night's Game Five, it seems Lamar Odom, with his tall, lanky frame, may have given Pierce the most trouble.

When asked about it, Phil Jackson admitted, "We couldn't stop him." Pierce blew by Trevor Ariza, Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar, Derek Fisher and Vladimir Radmanovich.

Still, the Lakers were able to stop him when it mattered most. With about three minutes left, Kobe Bryant proved why he is the MVP of the league and a first-team defender. He slapped the ball right out of Pierce's hand that led to a break away and a free throw for Fisher.

With about 40 seconds left in the game, Bryant poked the ball away from Pierce and it ended up in Lamar Odom's hands who flipped it up court to Bryant who finished with a two handed exclamation point to the game.

"I noticed that the ball was exposed just a little bit," Bryant said.

"He reached around and tapped the ball from behind," said Pierce, "It was a great defensive play."

So the Lakers survived for at least one more game. They were able to hold the off the Celtics from celebrating at Staples. They won a game that featured no Perkins and an ineffective Garnett.

They put Garnett on the line with a chance to tie the game by a silly foul by Gasol, and Garnett (a usually good clutch free thrower) clanked both.

They had a big lead and blew it again. Kobe came out strong and faded again. Maybe Laker fans are kidding themselves, thinking they can pull off an impossible feat.

Lakers fans look on the bright side:

The Lakers still haven't played a true Laker game.

The Lakers could have easily won all three home games if not for a monumental second half collapse in Game Four.

The Lakers could have easily won Game Two if the free throw margin would not have been so wide (not complaining or arguing but 38-10?).

Every playoff series the Lakers have won at least one road game.

AND Kobe Bryant has yet to be Kobe Bryant.

There is no defense on the planet who can stop Kobe if he really wants to go off, none. The Lakers played horribly, Kobe said he played bad, and the Lakers won. If Kobe is going to lose, he is going to go down swinging.

At the very least, we will have an incredible show to watch on Tuesday.

"They're going to throw the whole kitchen sink at me," he said of the Celtics' vaunted defense. "Could I force myself to get 40? Yeah. But is that better for your ballclub? No...I think it was important tonight, though, for me to get off to a quick start just so my team could feed off that energy. Once I did that, it was important for me to step back and bring the other guys along as opposed to staying hot or continuing to go with it."

And if that doesn't work in Boston, the MVP needs to play like one or the Lakers and their fans will spend all summer thinking about Game Two.

Win or Go Home. Win and Game Seven is Kobe Time.

Lakers, Pau Gasol Anxious to Get Rolling

David Sosnowski — Mon, 04 Feb 2008 06:36:55 -0500

Kobe Bryant has not been this happy since he realized that Andrew Bynum was the key to his success.

Then again, maybe it’s not happiness—but anxiety.

The Lakers are coming off back-to-back performances par excellence featuring Bryant, including two wins on a tough nine game roadie. The whole basketball world will be focused on the Lakers this Tuesday when they take on the New Jersey Nets.

With LA set to steal the show, the headlines will most likely neglect Jason Kidd’s trade.

The Lakers have selected another jewel to complete a crown already boasting the likes of Bryant, Bynum, and Lamar Odom. Granted, Bynum won't rejoin the crew for at least another four to five weeks, but if this team could gel before and after he returns, Lakers fans can consider calling in sick for a special day in July.

Memphis handed the Lakers a special after-Christmas gift, with LA securing Pau Gasol for Kwame Brown and his $9 million salary, Javaris Crittenton, an un-retired Aaron McKie, and the rights to Pau's younger brother Marc.

Lakers players and coaches can't wait for Pau to make an impact.

Gasol was unable to play this past Sunday in the team's rout over the Wizards because of a sore back and a lack of practice time within the triangle offense. But before the game Gasol said, "I'm thrilled to be joining the team, hopefully make them even better, and have a great opportunity to accomplish something really special."

Phil Jackson explained why Pau did not dress:

"We want him to practice first," the coach said. "He traveled back and forth across the country, up all night, short hours of sleep. This isn't a fair situation for him. We'll practice tomorrow and see how he feels."

The Laker most excited about Gasol’s arrival?

That might just be Lamar Odom.

Odom will not be pressured as heavily for scoring, and will be able to move back to a more comfortable role as power/small/point forward.

By keeping Odom in the trade, the Lakers will undoubtedly have a formidable frontcourt. Odom will be the smallest of the trio at 6'10". He will be joined by a pair of seven-footers, Gasol and Bynum, creating the potential for a slew of favorable mismatches come playoff time.

Odom, with his length and scoring ability, will easily dominate potential playoff counterparts such as Shawn Marion, Stephen Jackson, Ginobli/Finley/Barry, Josh Howard, or dare I say Paul Pierce.

The Lakers received a major upgrade, and whether or not Jerry West had anything to do with it, Kobe Bryant put it best when he said, "It's time to walk the walk."

The league has been abuzz since the trade with Paul Pierce and Avery Johnson, both surprised by the deal.

But the time for talk is over. The Lakers must learn if they can mesh without Bynum and with Gasol. A few weeks from now they’ll have to readjust again, incorporating both men in the lineup.

Needless to say, the upcoming weeks will answer these questions.

And it looks like Lakers players and fans will like the results.

Lakers Struggle to Find Identity Without Bynum, Suns Roll Back Into First

David Sosnowski — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 10:22:44 -0500

Was it just me or did the Lakers look more confused within the triangle offense than ever before?

Kobe dominated the opening 12 minutes of the game, but decided to pull back the reigns for the next 24.

The Lakers could have used a more aggressive Bryant to stem the tide, as the Phoenix Suns rolled over the Lakers—and back into first place in the Western Conference in the process, 106-98.

From the opening tip it was ugly, and for Kwame Brown the night progressively worsened. Brown had a stretch of about six minutes in the third quarter that mirrored a performance turned in by a Washington General—except in this case, Mr. Brown was not deliberately stumbling, bumbling and handing the ball to the opposition. Amare Stoudamire made him look like a juvenile, and Brian Skinner made Kwame look like he was the veteran on the downside of his career.

Needless to say, Kwame was mistreated by the Phoenix Suns. But I'm sure that it did not hurt as much as being mistreated by the home crowd.

Laker fans, partially due to frustration caused by the loss of Andrew Bynum for two months, and partially fueled by Kwame's lackluster play, incessantly booed Brown as his teammates tried to help him brake out of the quarter-long funk he was in. The boos came frequently and mercilessly.

Kwame's teammates did not share the sentiments of the fans.

"I thought it was terrible," Kobe Bryant said of the fans' behavior. "If they want to do that, they can stay home. He's going to be our guy here for two months. He's going to do fine, he's going to play well the next game.

"Kwame's sensitive. You boo him, it's going to affect him. I told him I've got his back."

Kobe's running mates also thought the fans should have been more supportive of one of their own.

Jordan Farmar said, "That's just not right. If you're here as a Laker fan, you should support your team through the good, the bad, the ugly. That's what home court is all about."

Outside the Kwame spectacle, Lamar Odom gave a solid effort. He did not shoot exceptionally well from the field, but he tied a career-best 19 rebounds and poured in 19 points to match.

Kobe Bryant came alive in the latter half of the fourth quarter and buried a couple miraculous threes to finish with 30 points. Jordan Farmar chipped in an 16 points, with 12 coming in the fourth quarter in the midst of a gritty comeback that brought the Lakers back from 18 down to within as close as six.

But the Lakers simply did not have enough to match the Suns. Steve Nash had a season-high 20 assists, most to a wide open Boris Diaw, who had a solid shooting game with 19 points. Leandro Barbosa came back from a prank call to his hotel earlier in the morning—in which he was told he had been traded to the New York Knicks—and hit for 22 points.

The Lakers were in need of an additional few points, some assistance for Kobe and Lamar, someone to step forward—and on this night, Kwame Brown did not cut it.

The Lakers (26-12) fell to second place in the Pacific Divison behind the Suns (27-12). Lakers fans must realize that Bynum will be back, the Lakers will struggle, and Kwame Brown is here to stay. How quickly we forget who made the winning free throw on Monday night.

The Lakers play in a special Martin Luther King Day game on Monday, January 21st at 7:30 pm at Staples Center.