710 ESPN's "SMOG" - Steve Mason's Blog

What does that 0-2 record against the Magic during the regular season mean for the NBA Finals?

Absolutely nothing.

61 games ago. Both the Lakers and Magic have played 61 games since they met at Staple’s January 16. A lot of analysts are pointing to those 2 regular season matchups between Kobe’s team and Dwight’s team as some sort of defining harbinger of what may happen starting Thursday in the NBA Finals. The truth is that those games just don’t matter very much.

In their first meeting on December 20, it was the second game of a back-to-back for the Lakers, and they had lost at Miami the day before. It was the second home game in a 4-game stretch at Amway Arena for the Magic, and they were coming off of a win over feeble Sacramento two days earlier. So scheduling favored Orlando from the get-go.

As for the game itself, the Lakers romped to a 58-49 halftime lead, but the Magic outscored LA 36-26 in the 3Q en route to a 106-103 victory. Kobe went off for 41 points on 14-31 and 11-11 from the free throw line, but Dwight Howard went to the line 11 times in the 4Q, making 8 (great for him). After the game, Stan Van Gundy said, “I don't think anybody is coming to me for” advice “about defending Kobe. We better keep winning games, so I can stay employed." For KB’s part, he explained that "they had three guys over at me every time [in the second half]. When I get going, they send everybody.” Kobe missed a shot at the buzzer that would have forced OT.

Orlando had a healthy Jameer Nelson for the first regular season matchup, and he was a stud with 27 on 11-16 including 4-6 from beyond the arc. The Magic have hinted that Nelson is recovering from his shoulder injury very quickly and could be ready for Game 1, but that seems like subterfuge to me. All along, Orlando has been saying, “Out for the year. No chance.” Then, a few days before the finals the 27yo from St. Joe’s could be back on the floor? I’ll believe it when I see it, and, even if he does make it back, how effective will he really be?

In the only other regular season meeting between the Eastern Conference and Western Conference Champions, it was again Jameer, scoring 15 of his 28 points in the final 12 minutes. Dwight Howard delivered a double-double with 25 points and 20 boards, and Kobe went for a triple-double with 28pts-13reb-11ast, but again failed at the end of the game, missing 2 jumpers. The Lakers lost 109-103 on a Friday night in February in Los Angeles.

In his postgame press conference, point guard Nelson said, "We're flying under the radar. Noboby's really noticing us," Nelson said. "At the same time, it's fine with us. Everybody in this locker room knows the type of team we have and knows what we’re capable of. So as long as we continue to win, we'll be where we want to be at the end of the year. Every year our team has gotten better. We're definitely a lot more mature because of our playoff experience. But we haven't reached our goal, and that's to win a championship." Bryant was complimentary of Jameer. “They made some tough shots. He [Nelson] made some really, really huge, tough shots. He's playing at an all-star level. But we didn't do a good job corralling [Howard], staying on top of him. We let him catch the ball deep and finish."

The reason this game may be a bit squirrelly, again, is that Nelson carried the load down the stretch, and that in its previous game at Sacramento, the Magic set the all-time league record for most 3’s in a game with 23. They shot extraordinarily well against the Lakers as well with 12-28 from beyond the arc, but they were also incredibly confident coming off the record-setting performance. Plus, they had 2 full days off in Los Angeles to get ready for the Lakers.

Obviously, Orlando is coming into the finals with certitude as they won a Game 7 at Boston to oust the defending champions and then eliminated King James and the vaunted Cavs with a methodical cold-bloodedness in 6 games. Anybody who watched knows it wasn’t that close.

I’m not guaranteeing a Lakers win, but home court clearly tilts the game their way. Some things to draw from the regular season matchups.

- The Lakers led both game at the half – by 9 in the game at Orlando and by 8 in the game at Staple’s.
- The Magic took control of both games in the 3Q outscoring LA by a combined 71-54
- Kobe has had extraordinary success against the Magic this year. Nobody was able to stop him. He came close to averaging a triple-double in the pair of contests with over 27ppg, 10.5reb and 7ast.
- Derek Fisher averaged 18ppg against Orlando with only 1 turnover in almost 83 minutes.
- The Magic will bomb, bomb, bomb. They took 58 treys against LA, making 41% of them.
- Orlando misses a lot of free throws. Howard was only 19-31 in the 2 games with the Lakers, and they shot only 64% as a team.

Then there are those 3 shots at the end of regulation that Kobe missed in the losses. Is banking on Kobe missing a big shot any way to approach the NBA Finals? He will make them. Clutchness is in Kobe’s DNA. This close to a ring, if it comes down to 1 shot, I’ll bet on Kobe every day of the week.

During the Denver series, Chauncey Billups said, “There’s regular season basketball, and there’s playoff basketball. Then there’s playoff basketball and 4th quarter playoff basketball.” The Nuggets weren’t ready for that…yet. Now it gets even tougher. Is Orlando ready for “4th quarter in the NBA Finals basketball?” I say the Lakers are.

Careful How You Use the Word "Soft": It Doesn't Apply to the Western Conference Champion Los Angeles Lakers!

Fans, bloggers, posters, tweeters and analysts who follow the NBA use the word "soft" a lot. After Game 4 of the Lakers-Nuggets series, Magic Johnson called the Lakers "soft...putty soft." There are people who have hung Pau Gasol with the nickname Ga-soft.  You've all heard it. The Lakers aren't a "tough" team. They're "soft."

Lakers assistant coach Craig Hodges joined me in studio today for the Mason & Ireland Show on 710 ESPN on Friday, and he confirmed what I have always suspected. "Soft" is one of the worst things you can call a basketball player. It's questioning more than his skills. When you use that word, you are challenging his heart, his courage and even his manhood. It rises to the level of being a slur.

That's not to say that the Los Angeles Lakers, now riding high with the franchise's 30th conference championship, are going to wake up next Thursday and be a physical team. The Nuggets were the more physical team in the Western Conference Finals, and they are now muscling their way to the golf course (or maybe a tatoo parlor). This isn't wrestling, it's basketball.

I said it on the show today, and I'll say it again now. The Lakers are a finesse team. That doesn't mean that they are soft. Pau Gasol is as graceful and artful as any big in the NBA. He is a guard trapped in a 7-footer's body. Guys like Kenyon Martin, Nene and Chris Anderson don't have the footwork, air sense, or shotmaking abilities of Gasol. KMart is to Gasol as a screwdriver is to a scalpel.

And, the Spaniard carved up the Nuggets in Game 6 with great precision. Pau was 8-12 for 20 points with 12 rebounds, 6 assists, 3 steals and a block for a plus/minus of +22. KMart, Nene and Chris Birdman Anderson combined for just 23 points with 13 boards, 1 assist, 3 steals and 3 blocks (Birdman with all 3, meaning Denver's starters failed to block a shot).

I can't exactly tell guys like Magic and Mark Jackson to stop calling the Lakers "soft." They played the game and have a license to be as critical as they like, I am going to eliminate the word from my vocabulary, especially when it comes to Gasol.

A finesse player and a finesse team can be mentally tough, and for the final 60 minutes of the Western Conference Finals that's exactly what we saw. It took awhile, but the Lakers methodically figured the Nuggets out. Starting with the burst of energy that came from Shannon Brown's dunk over Birdman in Game 5, the Lakers played lockdown defense, patiently executed the offense, grabbed contested rebounds, got to loose balls first and maintained the composure of a champion.

All of the sudden in Game 5, Kobe began to wait for the double-team, and the moment it came, he found the open teammate who knocked down the clean shot. In Game 6, the Nuggets tried to play him man-up during stretches, and he ate defenders alive. Same with Gasol. After demanding more touches after Game 4, the Lakers began to feed the post more consistently. Tonight, in addition to scoring, Pau was patient. He waiting for double-teams and consistently found the open man (6 assists).

Lamar Odom was excellent for a second straight game, confounding critics (including me). The player I described as "The Invisible Man" after Game 4 put together back-to-back dominating performances. In the final 2 games of the series, LO was 14-27 (52%), including 3-3 from beyond the arc, for 39 pts with 22 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 blocks. He also improved from 4-7 at the free throw line on Wednesday to  a perfect 4-4 in the series-clincher.

Now a 15th World Championship is just 4 wins away. And, wonder of wonders, the Lakers may get home court advantage (if the Magic can avoid a 3-game losing streak at the hands of LeBron). Plus, the Lakers get a few days off while the teams in the East beat each other up for at least one more game. Kobe and Pau, who went from last year's finals, to Beijing, and back to the grind of the 82 game regular season with barely a break, now get to rest. Derek Fisher, who at 32 has looked a bit overwhelmed at times during the playoffs, also gets to recharge his battery. And guys like LO and even Luke Walton can savor outstanding closeout game performances for a few days.

 

There is nothing "soft" about the Lakers. The definition of the word "finesse" correctly describes the manner in which Phil's team has sent the Nuggets home for summer vacation. According to Merriam-Webster, finesse means "skillful handling of a situation; adroit maneuvering." There will be a parade down Figueroa if this team can out-maneuver one more team.

Every time we write off Lamar Odom, he surprises: The Riddle from Queens strikes again!

Let me preface all of this by saying that I like Lamar Odom. He's a good dude. Been a guest on the Mason & Ireland Show many times, and I understand that he has been dealing with a significant back injury.

But after Game 4 of the Nuggets/Lakers series, I called him "The Invisible Man." Lamar came off the bench on Monday, a 120-101 blowout Laker loss at the Pepsi Center, played 30 minutes and scored just 5 points on 1-8 with 2 missed free throws. He had just 8 rebounds. Compare that to Nuggets super-sub Chris Birdman Anderson who came away with 14 boards in just 24 minutes.

I wasn't the only one critical of Odom. Ted Green, formerly of the LA Times and now Senior Sports Producer for KTLA Prime News wrote this in the Times' Fabulous Forum: "How in the name of purple and gold can a player with Lamar's length and basketball gifts be nearly useless in a critical playoff game? Did Chris Angel fly in from Vegas and make him disappear? Did Lamar think because the Lakers were up 2-1 on the road, having regained home-court advantage, that there was no need for urgency, thus he wouldn't play with any?"

Just when we think we know Lamar Odom, he turns into a game-changer. He "went off" in game 5 last night for 19 points with 14 boards, 3 assists and 4 blocks. He provided a team-best plus-minus of +18. For a night, the tantalizing talent, the extraordinary length, the enigmatic personality all came together for a head-turning performance and a big-time game. Why isn't "it" there all the time?

It's not necessarily his candy addiction, now documented in a feature story on ESPN....

But it may be in his post-game press conference from Wednesday night....

This 30-year-old man has "a focus cap?" It's cute and funny and charming and totally Lamar, but dumb question here, "Why isn't he always wearing it?" Come to think of it, there are lots of school kids who are addicted to candy and need to wear their "focus cap" more.

Lamar is an unrestricted free agent this summer. What is the going rate for a guy like him on the open market? Here are some of last summer's free agent contracts. Emeka Okafor got a 6yr-$72M extension from Charlotte (a lot to pay for rebounds and blocked shots) and Luol Deng received a ridiculous 6yr-$80M extension from Chicago. Atlanta matched Memphis' offer of 5yrs-$55M for Josh Smith, but he's a lot younger than LO. The contract to look at as a pretty good benchmark is Corey Maggette, who is Odom's age, and signed a 5yr-$50M contract with the Warriors.

He's been a good soldier. He graciously accepted his role as 6th man in his free agent year, and his overall regular season numbers took a significant hit (although he did move back into the starting lineup while Bynum was hurt).

2007-08 REGULAR SEASON
Lamar Odom - 38mpg - 14.2ppg - 52% from the field - 10.6rpg -16.9 PER

2008-09 REGULAR SEASON
Lamar Odom - 30mpg - 11.3ppg - 49% from the field - 8.2rpg - 16.5 PER

Those Player Efficience Ratings suggest that Lamar is about the same player and the decline in scoring and rebounding can be traced to fewer minutes per game.

Is Lamar a big-time player? I would argue that he's not. He is a big-time talent. He does have big-time skills. He just doesn't deliver consistently, and he seems to struggle when the game is on the line.

The excellent site 82Games.com keeps track of something called "Clutch Stats." They are keeping track of the numbers that a player generates in the 4th quarter or overtime with neither team ahead by more than 5 points. In other words, how does a player perform near the end of games when teams are separated by 2 possessions or less.

Here are the Top 5 "Clutch" Scorers in the 2008-09 NBA Regular Season

1. Kobe Bryant
2. LeBron James
3. Carmelo Anthony
4. Dwayne Wade
5. Chris Paul
112. Lamar Odom

Here are the Top 5 "Clutch" Rebounders in the 2008-09 NBA Regular Season

1. Dwight Howard
2. Marcus Camby
3. Andres Biedrins
4. Tim Duncan
5. Joachim Noah
60. Lamar Odom

Statistically, and I know the whole story doesn't necessarily show up in the box score, but Odom does not appear to be "Clutch." At least not consistently.

The most critical games of Lamar's career were the 6 against the Boston Celtics in last year's NBA Finals.

2008 FINAL - LAKERS VS. CELTICS
Game 1 - 39mp 14pts on 6-11 6reb 1ast 1stl
Game 2 - 32mp 10pts on 5-11 8reb 2ast 0stl
Game 3 - 28mp 4pts on 2-9 9reb 4ast 1stl 1blk
Game 4 - 39mp 19pts on 8-11 10reb 4ast 0stl 1blk
Game 5 - 41mp 20pts on 8-10 11reb 2ast 0stl 4blk
Game 6 - 40mp 14pts on 2-8 10reb 5ast 0stl

In 4 of the 6 games, he was under his scoring average for the regular season. He was under his season rebounding average in 5 of the 6 championship deciding contests. He was "The Invisible Man" in game 3 at Staple's (the Lakers were down 0-2 after losing a pair in Boston) and game 6 in Boston (the game that ended hopes for a parade down Figueroa).

I hope that Lamar Odom delivers another dominating performance in Game 6 in Denver, and I hope he performs consistently in the NBA Finals, but, if he pulls another disappearing act, for a game or a stretch of games, we cannot be surprised. As long as he's a Laker, Lamar Odom will always be the "The X Factor."

Regardless, with the price for Trevor Ariza and Shannon Brown likely going up (they're both unrestricted free agents) the chances that Lamar may be playing his final games as a Laker are also on the rise. Ariza has got to be priority #1, and if Odom commands anything close to Maggette's free agent deal, it's hard to imagine him returning.

Nuggets/Lakers opinions from across the World Wide Web: Complaints about "Refs Gone Wild," Crazy pics of JR Smith & Birdman and Phil's rotation problems!

ROUNDBALL MINING COMPANY
"The Lakers shot 15-50 on threes in the two games in Denver.  Maybe if Fisher and Vujacic stopped popping threes and started feeding Gasol the ball in the post L.A. would be in better shape after four games.

"Jeff Van Gundy remarked how surprised he was at J.R.’s vision and passing ability.  I think it is great that J.R. is being discovered by many basketball fans.  J.R. deserve credit for playing hard enough on defense to earn the minutes he receives on the court and George Karl deserves credit for allowing J.R. the freedom to make mistakes.  He will turn the ball over from time to time, but no Nugget can get his teammates easy shots like J.R. can.

We have talked about how the Nuggets dominated the rebounding battle, but the next few statistics will show how completely they dominated the paint.  The Lakers were 3-3 on dunks, but only 5-14 on layups.  Denver on the other hand went 10-10 on dunks and 11-24 on layups.  Denver attempted twice as many layups and dunks as the Lakers did, 34-17."

NBA.COM - ART GARCIA
"Lakers coach Phil Jackson took a $25,000 hit from the league (the organization was fined the same) for criticizing officiating after Game 4. The Nuggets had a 49-35 advantage in free throws.

Normally, Karl believes it’s a good sign when the opposing coach starts moaning about the refs. That might not be the case with the Zen Master.

'He’s good. He’s really good. His philosophical stuff is good stuff,' Karl said. 'He knows how to trick you into thinking with him. I'm not that good.'

'I had my opportunity in Game 3 to go to the same place. I decided not to go there. I don’t think our team expects to get anything except a fair whistle. We know they’re the champs. We know Kobe is considered one of the best ever.'"

BLAZE OF LOVE
"I'm seriously starting to consider the Denver Nuggets as the most entertaining team in sports.  Sure, the team might live up its "Thuggets" nickname on a nightly basis and look like complete tattooed freaks, but that's still entertaining is it not?  The list below are almost all events or images from game 4 which is pretty ridiculous.  What other franchise can come up with this much amazing entertaining garbage in one night? During Game 4, you'd have thought that JR Smith was an NBA All-Star who was in the midst of scoring 50+ after seeing gang signs, chest pounds, dancing and an elite level of foul bitching." [Weird pic of Melo directly in front of Pau Gasol courtesy of Blaze of Love along with the cool GIF montages of JR Smith & Birdman.]

 

LAKERS.COM - MIKE TRUDELL
"After appearing at times sluggish in the first two games of each of their first two 2009 playoff series, the Lakers pulled things together quite impressively in their two Game 5’s and a Game 7 against Utah and Houston, respectively. In fact, all three games ended up being blowouts after the Jazz and Rockets had taken 1-of-2 from L.A. at home in Games 3 or 4. Now, the question is, will the Lakers be able to continue this pattern against a Denver team that’s proven to be playing better basketball than either of L.A.’s previous opponents, and with Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza both nursing injuries? In other words, just because L.A. played very well in its building in the first two rounds doesn’t mean they’ll be able to repeat the effort against Denver, even if the evidence doesn’t hurt. In this case, to repeat their STAPLES success, the purple and gold will not only need more from Odom and Ariza - injured or not - but from the rest of the bench, who’ll be looked at to display the kind of energy shown by the Nuggets’ pine in Game 4."

 

NBA FANHOUSE - MATT STEINMETZ
"Darn right I want to see the Cleveland Cavaliers vs. the L.A. Lakers in the NBA Finals. And, yes, some of it has to do with the significant subplot of LeBron James vs. Kobe Bryant.

For a few reasons, that's the series I want. And I'm not going to feel guilty about it or apologize for it or pay any attention to the backlash. I know Orlando's Dwight Howard feels disrespected because everyone seems to be pulling for Cabs-Lakers and LeBron-Kobe, but he shouldn't take it personally.

His time will come. That's what most of this is about, actually. The single biggest reason I'd like to see a Cavs-Lakers NBA Finals comes down to a sense of propriety, really, and a desire to see teams fail first before getting a chance to play for a title.

Like that old Smith Barney ad featuring John Houseman, a title team must 'earn it,' and the only way to earn it is to first be humbled. Call me old-fashioned but I don't want a surprise champ or someone coming out of nowhere."

ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER - JEFF MILLER
"It was all very predictable this time. The lukewarm start. The missing step late. The fuzzy shooting touch throughout.

A different loss, but the same lesson. Failing to match the other team’s energy means failing to match the other team’s point total.

Seems pretty simple, right? Must not be, though, given the Lakers’ penchant for repeating the mistake.

This seems especially true when playing a mile above sea level. Whether it was the altitude or just the attitude Monday, the Lakers didn’t play with enough air beneath them."

LAKE SHOW LIFE - RYAN KANE
"'I just fell on my face for no reason,' Kobe Bryant said. 'I’m a klutz.' This in response to an obvious missed tripping call. Upon replay, it became arguably certain that the Nuggets’ Dahntay Jones intentionally tripped LA’s biggest superstar.

After the game, Lakers coach Phil Jackson complained about the poor refereeing that we’ve seen in these playoffs. It seems, from most coverage, that we’ve experienced a higher than usual number of bad or missed calls this post season. Further, it seems like next-day-refereeing is becoming the standard method of making up for mistakes.

I can think of three missed calls that were huge right off the top of my head right now- The tripping of Kobe, Dwight Howard’s clean block on Lebron’s 3-pointer that was called a foul, and the missed call on the intentional foul on Carmelo Anthony that allowed him to drain a game-winning shot.

Then you have the league assessing flagrant 1’s and 2’s the day after as if it were making up for something by doing so. Is this the right way to handle a missed call? Do fans feel that the mistake was vindicated by simply assessing a meaningless label to it a day later? Lets face it- fines are useless to these athletes. They make far too much money for that to matter to them. Why bother setting the precedent for referees that they can miss a call when it counts only to have the league “make things right” the following day in the media."

FORUM BLUE & GOLD
"Bynum had a good game in game four, but some of his other efforts have been lackluster. Fisher is struggling on both ends, but at least he is battling. Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown have looked better in stretches, but they have far from been the answer or been consistent. For the playoffs, Walton’s PER is 9.65, Fisher’s is 6.74, and Sasha’s is 3.82.

Then there is Lamar Odom. Who has just been MIA for most of this series unless he is guarding an inbound pass. He may be still be banged up, but we simply need more out of him. The Odom with the inside out game, who can grab the board and run the break has disappeared.

This is all very frustrating because during the season guys did step up. Not all at once, but guys did. Odom had dominating stretches, Sasha was knocking down key shots (as was Fisher), and then there were some great games early on from Farmar. The point is somebody stepped up.

Denver’s bench, on the other hand, is stepping up. LK basically won them game two, and yesterday when Melo was sick they got great play from K-Mart, Nene, JR, just about everybody.

There are no easy answers for the Lakers, no simple Xs and Os adjustment that changes the series. Maybe Phil just goes back to his set regular season rotation and stops searching. But the fact is, it is a coach’s job to put players in a position to succeed — then the players have to make plays. What the rotation is doesn’t matter if guys are not stepping up."

SILVER SCREEN & ROLL
"I don’t like complaining about officiating.  It’s the easy way out.  It’s a way of ignoring your own team’s shortcomings.  It’s a way to make excuses.  But, sometimes, it is absolutely necessary.  This is one of those times.  Right now, I consider it my responsibility to do so.

The NBA is shooting itself in the foot.  The officiating this postseason has been so consistently bad that it could very well be causing the game to lose fans.  This isn’t about Game 4 of Nuggets vs. Lakers, although that is the impetus.  This is about the state of the game, and its referees, as a whole.  This is about making sure the NBA Finals is not a free throw contest.

Coming off of what was probably the best combination of the first 4 games in Conference Finals history, every NBA fan in the world was salivating over what the next installments of both series’ would bring.  So what were we treated to over this fine Memorial Day Weekend?  Free Throws.  A whole lot of them.  An average of 82 a game."

"The Bench Mopes" get outplayed by JR, Birdman & Kleiza, but taunting, tripping & technicals should mean it's Kobe Time in Game 5!

The Lakers looked tired and uninspired in their 120-101 Game 4 loss at the Pepsi Center. You can't blame Kobe Bryant or Pau Gasol or even Andrew Bynum. The bench was atrocious.

A year ago, we talked about the vaunted "Bench Mob" with Luke Walton, Sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar and Rony Turiaf. This year, it's the "Bench Mopes." Farmar shows flashes of greatness still, but Luke is lost and Sasha should be locked up (Turiaf, of course, left as a free agent). In the first half, Denver's bench outscored the Lakers' bench 20-3, which helped the Nuggets to a 7-point halftime lead.

You would think that having free agent-to-be Lamar Odom as part of the so-called "Mob" would actually improve the Lakers bench, but LO has been a disaster, and tonight was his worst performance yet. Odom played 30 minutes of yawn-inducing basketball with 5 points on 1-8 from the field. He managed only 8 rebounds (and the Nuggets got all of the contested ones) with 1 assist and 0 blocks.

If the Lakers have to choose between retaining Lamar Odom or free agent Trevor Ariza this summer, is there anybody that would choose LO? Gimme the guy with the hustle.

Is there any Laker bench player capable of "going off" like JR Smith did tonight (24 points with 4 treys)? Who is the Lakers answer for Chris Birdman Anderson with 14 rebounds off the bench? They don't even have somebody of Linus Kleiza's caliber.

Derek Fisher had another awful night with 2-7 from the field including 1-5 from beyond the arc. Everybody always says, "He won't stop shooting" like it's a compliment. Stop shooting DFish. It 'aint there right now. For the playoffs, DFish is 36-106 (33%) & 11-48 from 3 (22%). Not to be a broken record, but Fisher has the Lakers' 3rd worst Player Efficiency Rating in playoffs. Only Sasha and Mbenga are worse.

But the Nuggets suffer from what I'm calling "The Punk Factor." Dahntay Jones is a punk. Glad Phil Jackson called him out after the game for tripping Kobe. He should be suspended. (Phil says the tripping thing happened in 2 other games.) And, JR Smith celebrates every 3-pointer like he just cured cancer. Seriously, you don't get a ring every time you make a shot JR. And, Kenyon Martin has a short fuse and acted like a 3-year-old when he tangled Pau's arm and got blown for a technical late in the game.

There's a maturity problem with the Nuggets, and George Karl knows it. During the postgame, Karl said he yelled at JR tonight and he "wasn't saying nice things." But he also said "That's who JR is." Smith and KMart and Dahntay don't know the difference between aggression (which is good) and stupidity (which is bad).

In the same way that LeBron's "Shot Heard Round the World" on Friday night may have helped to feed Kobe's voracious appetite for a championship, leading to his 41-point explosion in Denver on Saturday, tonight's tripping and taunting and technicals may serve the same purpose. I don't expect the Lakers bench to suddenly outplay the Nuggets reserves. I'll be surprised if DFish starts playing like a 25-year-old (or even a 30-year-old). The odds are against Lamar Odom waking up from his postseason nap. But Kobe is going to find a way to close this series in 6 or 7, and Pau and Ariza will give him just enough help to seal the deal.

Torii Hunter makes a spectacular catch, but is Dodger Matt Kemp the best CF in baseball?

Torii Hunter made another one of his patented spectacular catches today in the Angels' 10-7 win over the Dodgers at the Ravine. (Check out this wall-crashing grab.) Here's Mike Scioscia talking about Hunter's ability to make the impossible happen in the outfield with his glove.

We always say that "Defense wins championships" in all sports, but, it's not the part of the game that fans love. Bill James says, ""The interesting question is why defense is so much more difficult to quantify than offense in all sports. Perhaps defense by its nature involves more interaction between individuals than individual actions, and perhaps the way to get past that is to embrace the concept and measure combinations of players."

There is a statistic called the UZR (Ultimate Zone Ratings), developed by Mitchel Lichtman. The stat measures the range of a baseball player combined with his ability to make outs. Believe it or not, Torii Hunter is not among the league leaders in UZR for outfielders. In fact, he's only the 33rd best defensive outfielder in Major League Baseball this season according to Lichtman's analysis, and he's #13 in the American League.

According to up-to-date Ultimate Zone Ratings, the best defensive CF in all of baseball is Matt Kemp of the Dodgers. It's hard to believe that anybody would have walked away from Dodger Stadium today thinking that Kemp is better with the glove than Hunter, but that's the case according to this analysis.

Here are baseball's top 10 centerfielders according to UZR.

1. Matt Kemp, Dodgers - 7.4 UZR
2. Mike Cameron, Brewers - 6.6 UZR
3. Franklin Gutierrez, Mariners - 5.7 UZR
4. Curtis Granderson, Tigers - 4.5 UZR
5. BJ Upton, Rays - 2.7 UZR
6. Coco Crisp, Royals - 2.4 UZR
7. Willy Taveras, Reds - 2.2 UZR
8. Michael Bourne, Astros - 1.9 UZR
10. Dexter Fowler, Rockies - 0.0 UZR

Unbelievably, Hunter isn't even the best defensive outfielder on the Angels roster as Juan Rivera has a 4.4 UZR.

Before completely dismissing this as BS, keep in mind that the Red Sox, the A's and other organizations are using this sort of defensive statistic (although these front offices have developed their own proprietary versions of UZR). Torii Hunter has no errors this year for a 1.000 fielding percentage. The UZR is pointing to a defensive decline however. He's just not getting to balls that he would have gotten to a few years ago.

Torii is a smart guy. He actually pays attention to things like UZR, and earlier this month, he took issue with the world of statistical analysis. "I take great pride in playing center field at a high level," says Hunter. "I'm aware of some of the stat guys who are saying I've lost something, I'm not as good as I once was. Well, I just wanted to let you know I'm still me. I still can play the game. I know how to play center field. I still feel like I'm one of the best.That's not being cocky. That's confidence."

And, even if Hunter's range 'aint what it used to be, we still get to witness plays like this.

What the Blogosphere is saying about the Lakers & Nuggets after Game 3!

 

THE NUGG DOCTOR - NICK SCIAFANI
"The Black Mamba scored 41 points for the Lakers, including eight of L.A.’s final ten points to seal the victory, and Trevor “The Bush Viper” Ariza ambushed another inbounds pass with under a minute remaining with Denver down by two to poison any chance the Nuggets had to pull out a victory. DAMN.
Can somebody please tell me why Chauncey Billups doesn’t run right to the inbounder so Denver can make a three-foot pass to get the ball inbounds? Holy Moses, Mary Mother of God, and sweet baby Jesus!"

OC REGISTER - KEVIN DING
"Kobe Bryant still seemed quite weary as the Lakers gathered for practice at Pepsi Center the day after their Game 3 victory. He had, in fact, taken intraveneous fluids after the game because he was so drained.

"Sasha Vujacic has always annoyed his opponents. But with how poorly he has shot this postseason, he’s now annoying Lakers fans … and sometimes even buddy Pau Gasol. Vujacic’s close friend, was blunt about how Vujacic can begin to annoy his teammates, too, when he jacks up shots outside the pace of the offense. 'He’s got to let shots get to him and not force things,' Gasol said."

SLAM ONLINE - MYLES BROWN
"Phil Jackson’s mindset and mannerisms may have had an adverse effect on his roster over the years. He’s always shied away from coaching a young roster in favor of veterans who have a focus and desire to endure the road to a championship. His hands off coaching style along with the decadence and prestige L.A and their ballclub bring may be the root of the corrosive complacency that the youngsters have often displayed. But perhaps that risk was taken with a greater good in mind, specifically the travails of a high stakes game such as this one. Again, they were on the brink of collapse, missing free throws, arguing amongst themselves and failing to establish a rhythm. But they persevered where Denver didn’t and Jackson’s ability to instill a focus on execution rather than the intensity of their emotions may have been the difference."

LOCKER GNOME - CATHERINE FORSYTHE
"The Denver Nuggets need to win the next game. They know that the series will be almost out of reach if they have a three games to one deficit. Two of last three games are in Los Angeles. Game Four is a home game for the Nuggets. What the Nuggets can hope for is that LeBron James does not have another game winning shot in the Eastern Conference Series and generate global media coverage. Kobe Bryant does not need additional motivation."

NBA.COM - DAVE MCMENAMIN
"Ultimately, the Nuggets lost this one by not keeping its head (three technical fouls) and not learning from its past (messing up an inbounds to Ariza again). Game 4 will determine if they’re truly ready to make this one go the distance or if they still need another year of seasoning under their belt."

MY LAKERS - MIKE TRUDELL
"That Kobe three tops my current [all-time] dagger list. I will say this: if L.A. wins the title this season, it becomes a much bigger shot. What’s going against the shot historically is that there was still a minute left, meaning had he missed he may well have hit another on the next possession or two. Nonetheless, just an absurd dagger from a guy whose legs were holding onto the court for dear life. Amazing to watch."

Author TOD GOLDBERG (via Twitter and according to LA OBSERVED)
"A special message to Trevor Ariza: I want you to have my baby."

THE LAKERS NATION BLOG - CHRIS MANNING
Every once in a while Lakers fans have to hear about the LeBron’s and the Wade’s and all the other opinions on the greatest in the game. Maybe one day, long from now, people and media alike will realize how special this man is. One day, maybe they will look back when Kobe is retired and remember the stories and epic tales of his career.

PICKAXE AND ROLL - NATE TIMMONS
"Live by the three ... die by the three. 5-27 ... 18.5%. The Nuggets chose to keep launching threes and went away from attacking the rim last night and it cost them the game. Melo, J.R., and Billups combined to go 5-24 from distance. I was hoping at some point that Denver would get back to attacking, but it just never happened."

BALLER BLOGGER - BRANDON HOFFMAN
"The Lakers were outscored in the paint (40-34), on second-chance points (13-10), fastbreak points (19-10), and were dead even with the Nuggets in almost every other major statistical category heading into the final period. But with homecourt advantage on the line, the Lakers forced nine straight misses on the defensive end, and Trevor Ariza hit a three-pointer with seven and a half minutes remaining to give the Lakers their first lead (81-80) since the 7:01 mark of the first quarter. Ariza scored 8 points in the final period quarter; none more important than two free throws after another game-changing steal."

20 SECOND TIME OUT - DAVID FRIEDMAN
"It will be interesting to see how the rest of this series plays out. The Nuggets only won four more regular season games this season than they did last season but they moved up from the eighth seed to the second seed as injuries brought down teams like the Spurs, Hornets, Jazz, Suns and Mavericks; that enabled the Nuggets to earn homecourt advantage and have the opportunity to avoid playing the Lakers until the Conference Finals after being swept by the Lakers in the first round last year. It is evident that the Lakers are not as deep this year as they were last year--bench players Sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar and Luke Walton have all been noticeably less productive. Perhaps the Nuggets will win game four and extend this series to at least six games but if the Lakers take that contest and close out the series by winning game five at home then it would be reasonable to ask how much the Nuggets have in fact really improved (as opposed to moving up in the standings due to the aforementioned misfortunes suffered by other West contenders). The Nuggets are supposedly a smarter, more composed team this season but we have seen them lose their composure and make bad plays down the stretch in two of the three games in this series; to the extent that the Nuggets have improved this season I think that the real difference is that their bigs (specifically Nene and Kenyon Martin) are healthier and those guys--plus free agent acquisition Andersen--have played excellent defense in the paint. The Nuggets' bigs have done a good job in this series versus the Lakers' taller frontcourt but, just like last year, the Nuggets still have no answer for Bryant, who is shooting nearly .500 from the field and attempting more than 13 free throws per game."

FORUM BLUE & GOLD - DEX
"Tonight Kobe played with the impossible serpentine perfection of one of Tarantino’s romanticized assassins from the Kill Bill movies. I always believe that he will do the impossible, a la Beatrix Kiddo defeating the Crazy 88 single-handed, but once he starts dropping those shots I feel as wondrous as if witnessing it for the first time."

Should the Angels be worried about the Texas Rangers?

Weirdly, I grew up following the Texas Rangers. As a little kid in Toledo, Ohio, I had no affinity for the Tigers or Indians or Reds, so at the age of 7, I adopted the Rangers as "my team" in the year they moved to Arlington.

I probably couldn't have made a worse decision. My all-time favorite Rangers were guys like Buddy Bell, Toby Harrah, Mike Hargrove, Jim Sundberg, Bert Blyleven, Bump Wills, Fergie Jenkins, and especially Al Oliver. In 1979, both Sparky Lyle and Jim Kern were in the bullpen, making one of the best lefty-righty bullpen combos of all time. Kern had 29 saves and Lyle finished the year with 13. But, they still managed only 83 wins and a 3rd place finish in the AL West.

The first couple of years I was in SoCal, I stuck with the Rangers. They won 3 division titles in the 90's, but if Jose Canseco would have never played for Texas, ushering in the steroids era, those playoff berths might have never happened.

 

By the time the Angels won their first-ever World Series Championship, I had long ago quit being a fan of the Rangers, but looking at the AL West standing today, my former favorite team has a 2 game lead on the Halos. My questions is, "Are the Rangers for real?"

As always, Texas can hit (especially in the hitter-friendly Ballpark @ Arlington).27-year-old second baseman Ian Kinsler is the real deal with 14 bombs, 55 RBIs and 11 steals and Nelson Cruz has settled into RF with an .850 OPS, while Michael Young has transitioned seamlessly to 3B (.345 with 7 homers), making room for slick-fielding Elvis Andrus at SS, who has 6 steals so far and will one day win a few Golden Gloves. (Andrus is also being spelled by the great Omar Vizquel.)

The Rangers are 7th in the AL in runs scored, and there is reason to believe that will improve. Last year's revelation Josh Hamilton has missed 14 games, but has started to warm up with 3 homers since returning from the DL May 12, although he is still wrestling with a lingering groin injury. Last year's comeback-of-the-year story has managed only 93 at bats with a .237 average, 5 homers and 19 RBIs so far. If he can get healthy, the Texas lineup will get exponentially more prolific.

Texas' long term prospects for the season will ride on pitching (something the Rangers almost never do well). Their team ERA is #7 in the American League at 4.56 (tied with Boston). The millions invested in Kevin Millwood may finally be paying off with 6 quality starts and a 3.12 ERA, although much of his best work was in April (2.13 ERA) versus May (4.45 ERA).

RHP Scott Feldman has been a find. Now 26 years old, he got killed last year with a 5.29 ERA in 25 starts, but he has found a home in the rotation after a terrible start in the bullpen. He took Kris Benson's spot in the starting 5 went he went down, and he has allowed 3 runs or less in all 6 of his starts, getting his ERA down to 4.04.

24yo lefty Matt Harrison may be the key to the Rangers' season. He has made 4 starts in May, which include a CG shutout of the White Sox, for a 2.25 ERA  and a 0.96 WHIP in the second month of the season. Meanwhile, Glendale native Brandon McCarthy, a 6'7" beast acquired a few years back from the White Sox, just gives up too many home runs, yielding 10 so far this year. His 5.60 ERA 'aint pretty, and if he continues to give up the gofer ball, it won't get much better. Also Texas will have to do without overpaid starter Vicente Padilla for at least 2 weeks with a strained pitching shoulder. The former Phillie has a 4.71 ERA.

The Rangers have a rock-solid closer in Frank Francisco. Just back from the DL, he is 10-10 in save opportunities, and he has yet to give up an earned run this year. Lefty CJ Wilson (3.71 ERA) and journeyman Eddie Guardado (6.23 ERA) are the primary and completely unspectacular setup guys in the pen.

One of the major reasons that Texas is where they are is their team defense. They are 4th in the American League, trailing only Minnesota, Toronto and the Yankees. Great leather on the field will hide a lot of imperfections in a pitching staff.

Should Angel fans be afraid of Texas? I don't think so. With Kelvim Escobar and Vlad Guererro returning, the Halos have got a starting rotation of John Lackey, Ervin Santana, Joe Saunders, Kelvim Escobar and Jared Weaver, and they have their "bopper" back in the middle of the lineup. The development of Kendry Morales has been phenomenal. I didn't think a .280 average would be possible, but that's where he is now, with 8 homers and 26 RBIs. Drepending how Scioscia fills out the lineup card, facing some combination of Bobby Abreu, Vlad, Torii Hunter and Morales will be a task for any pitching staff in baseball.

My hunch is that Texas will begin to fade as we get closer to the 4th of July. The Angels have survived injuries and a major tragedy, and now they are on pace to take the lead in the AL West by the All Star Break. This feels like a division that the Halos will win going away.

The X-factors for Texas are Kevin Millwood, Scott Feldman and Matt Harrison, who will need to deliver consistently in the Rangers' rotation, and Hamilton, who will need a monster 2nd half if the Arlington gang hopes to compete. But it will, most likely, be another also-ran season for the Tom Hicks' Rangers.

If Lebron James can make the last shot, why doesn't Kobe have the ball in his hands at the end of Game 2?

First off, congratulations to LeBron James and the Cavaliers. As I sat at Islands in Marina Del Rey (where I often watch games while chowing on cheddar fries slathered with ranch dressing), I said, "This game is over. Can't be done," after Hedo Turkoglu made a clutch runner from 12 feet for the Magic, giving Orlando a 95-93 lead.

The Cavs were :01 away from losing the first 2 games of the Eastern Conference Finals at home after losing only twice there during the 82-game regular season. It would have been devastating. I would argue that the hole would be insurmountable and Cleveland's NBA title chances would have drowned in the Cuyahoga River (along with the region's economy which drowned some time ago).

Let's flash back to 24 hours ago. Nuggets clutch point guard Chauncey Billups missed a free throw, leaving the door open just a crack for the Lakers in Game 2 of the Western Conference Finals. The Nuggets led 106-103 with about :04 left on the clock. The Lakers inbounded to Derek Fisher in the corner for a circus trey and he got nothin' but air. No net. No rim. No backboard. Air ball.

I would say I was surprised that DFish missed the game-tyer, but I wasn't. After all, he was 1-8 in the game and 1-4 from beyond the arc through 47:56. He's shooting south of 30% from the field in the postseason, and he's the guy who Phil wants taking the last shot? Seriously?

After the game last night and after practice today (before the team boarded its charter to Denver), Coach Phil Jackson explained that he knew that if the play was to Kobe, he would have been fouled and Derek had the best shot of getting the game into overtime.

I wasn't buying it before, and now, after seeing LeBron make history, I'm more certain than ever. Why would anybody not named Kobe take the final shot of a critical game? Why is one of the greatest clutch players in the history of basketball being relegated to "decoy" while the reigning MVP is actually making history.

It didn't feel right then, and now I know for sure. If somebody were to ask Kobe, heart-to-heart, "Who do you think should've taken the last shot of Game 2?" I know, in his heart, his answer would be, "Me." And he's right.

In my humble opinion, and, I don't have 9 rings or anything approaching Coach Jackson's basketball IQ, Phil needs to be a bit more flexible with his rotation tomorrow - more Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown and Andrew Bynum. It's now safe to say, and I'd like nothing better than for him to prove me wrong, that Derek Fisher's skills have declined to the point where he is a liability. He's a great guy and has been a clutch performer (just ask San Antonio), but it will take younger, faster guards to corral Billups tomorrow and beyond.

And, in the name of all that is Holy in Los Angeles, if there is a last shot to tie or to win anytime during the rest of the playoffs, Kobe Bean Bryant must take it. You might say, "Yeah, but that's exactly what the defense will be looking for." Or you could say, "Yeah, but they're going to triple or quadruple team him (quintuple teaming is unlikely because somebody will be on the inbound passer)." But those same things could have been said about the Cavs tonight.

Great players find a way to do the impossible. I will always put my money on Kobe.