MySports Today

The Los Angeles Lakers and Lamar Odom reached a deal that will bring Odom back to the Lakers for 3, maybe 4 years.  Odom is guaranteed $25 million over the first 3 years of the deal.  If the Lakers do not pick up Odom’s 4th year, there will be a $2 million buyout.  If the Lakers keep Odom for the 4th year of the deal, the Lakers will owe Odom $8 million for that season.  The 4th year is a team option that can be exercised or declined by the Lakers.

Odom is excited to be back with the Lakers.  “I guess basket-ball wise, I feel complete.  I want to feel it again [the championship feeling]… It’s kind of an overwhelming feeling.  I get goose bumps when I think about it, and as long as I continue to play professional basketball, I want to always feel that.  That way I feel during the summer, I always want to feel that.  If we can win six, seven, eight, nine, 10 championships in a row, I want to experience that.”

With Odom returning, the Lakers return the entire nucleus of their 2009 NBA Championship team (save for Trevor Ariza.  The Lakers compensated for the loss of Ariza by signing Ron Artest, so the Lakers are in great position to win a 2nd consecutive NBA Championship.

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Orland Magic 99-86 on Sunday night to capture the 2009 NBA Title.  Kobe Bryant scored 30 points, grabbed 6 rebounds and dished out 5 assists and was named the NBA Finals MVP.  Bryant also had 2 steals and 4 blocked shots in an all-around great night.  The Lakers used a 30-18 edge in the 2nd quarter to pull away for good.  The Lakers increased the 10-point halftime lead to 76-61 by the end of the 3rd quarter and the rest was history.

It was a full team effort from the Lakers in the win.  Pau Gasol chipped in 14 points and 15 rebounds.  Trevor Ariza added 15 points and 5 rebounds and had 2 big three pointers in the 2nd quarter to help extend the Lakers lead.  Lamar Odom had another great game off the bench – 17 points and 10 rebounds.  And Derrek Fisher had a consistent game – 13 points, 4 rebounds and 2 assists.  Most importantly, they never let Dwight Howard or the Magic get into a good rhythm at any point during the game.

Howard finished the night with 11 points and 10 rebounds – both low numbers for Howard during the series.  Rashard Lewis led the Magic with 18 points and 10 rebounds, while Hedu Turkoglu chipped in 12 points but only 2 rebounds.

The Lakers win put Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson into new levels in NBA history.  For Kobe, it was his 4th title, but 1st on his own without another “true” superstar.  Bryant won his 1st 3 titles with Shaquille O’Neal, and by winning this one “on his won”, he sets asides critics who claimed that he couldn’t win a championship where he had to be the leader on his team.

For Phil Jackson, it was his 10th NBA Championship as a head coach, passing Celtics legend Red Auerbach on the all-time list.  Pat Riley is the next best coach with 5 championships.  Jackson won 6 championships as head coach of the Chicago Bulls teams led by Michael Jordan.  As the head coach of the Lakers, Jackson has taken Lakers teams to the NBA finals 6 times, and has now won 4 of them.   Especially in this day and age, it is harder and harder to keep teams together and manage the egos that go hand-in-hand with the multi-million dollar super stars in the league.  Jackson has found a way to manage that and earn the respect of his players throughout the long NBA grind.  Kobe Bryant may have said it best:  “He coaches unity and chemistry and togetherness.”

With a nice young nucleus – Kobe, Odom, Gasol, Ariza and Bynum – the Lakers could turn this into an annual thing again with Jackson at the helm.  Guess we’ll have to see how it all shakes out next year, but for now, congratulations Phil and Kobe – you deserve it.

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic 99-91 in overtime on Friday night in Orlando to take a commanding 3-1 series lead in the NBA Finals.  Derek Fisher was the unsing hero for the Lakers, as he banged down a 3-pointer with 4.6 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 87 and send it into overtime.  With the game tied in overtime Fisher nailed another 3-pointer to put the Lakers up for good.  Only 2 players in NBA history have more 3-pointers in the NBA Finals – Robert Horry and Michael Jordan – pretty nice company (Jordan has 6 rings and Horry has 7 rings).

The Lakers overcame a 12-point halftime deficit to win Game 4, outscoring the Magic 30-14 in the 3rd quarter to take a 4 point lead to start the 4th.  The Lakers are now 7-0 in games following losses in the playoffs in 2009.  The only way the Lakers will be denied a championship is if they lose 3 straight games to the Magic – they haven’t lost 3 games in a row all year long.

Kobe Bryant had another impressive night – 32 points (despite making only 11 of 31 shots), 7 rebounds and 8 assists.  Bryant was 8 out of 8 from the free throw line, as the Lakers made 15 of 20 free throw attempts (back to that later).  Pau Gasol (16 points and 10 boards) and Trevor Ariza (16 points and 9 boards) were also instrumental in the win with their big nights.

For the Magic, Dwight Howard starred in just about every way.  Howard had 16 points, 21 rebounds and 9 blocked shots.  But he turned the ball over 7 times and missed more free throws than he made – he was 6-14 from the charity stripe.  That was the Magic’s main downfall – they shot only 59.5% from the free throw line, missing 15 of their 37 attempts from the line.  Any one of those shots gets made, we’re looking at a series tied at 2 with a pivotal Game 5 Sunday night in Orlando.  Instead, the Magic now have their backs against the wall.

Random note, Tiger Woods and his wife Elin were in attendance, as was singer Rihanna.

Stay tuned for great NBA action on Sunday on ABC.  Game 5 is scheduled to start at 8PM EST in Orlando.

The Orlando Magic defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 108-104 on Tuesday night in Game 3 of the NBA Finals at the Amway Arena in Orlando.  Despite trailing by 4 points after the 1st quarter, the Magic never lost focus and used a 9 point edge in the 2nd quarter (32-23) to take the lead for good.  Although it got a little dicey at the end, the Magic held on to the 4-point win and cut the Lakers series lead to 2-1.  And like they always say, a series doesn’t begin until the home to loses.

Dwight Howard led the way for the Magic with 21 points and 14 boards.  But the key was Rafer Alston, who had been disgruntled in the 1st 2 games of the series with the return of Jamir Nelson who cut into his playing time.  Alston played 36+ minutes and scored 20 points on 8 of 12 shooting. Alston dished out 4 assists and had only 3 turnovers while shooting 3 of 4 from the charity stripe.  3 other players also had great games for the Magic – Hedo Turkoglu scored 18 points, with 6 rebounds and 7 assists; Rashard Lewis scored 21 points, with 5 rebounds and 5 assists; and Mickael Pietrus scored 18 points and stayed out of foul trouble unlike the 1st 2 games of the series.

The Magic played with a lot more energy than the Lakers did in the 1st half.  Kobe Bryant (18 points, 3 rebounds and 8 assists) and Pau Gasol (23 points and 3 rebounds) had their typical games, but the rest of the Lakers players seemed out of sync.  Derek Fisher scored only 9 points and dished out only 2 assists, while Andrew Bynum scored only 4 points.  Lamar Odom grabbed only 2 boards in Game 3 – he had 14 rebounds in Game 1 and 8 rebounds in Game 2.

Game 4 of the NBA Finals is set for Thursday night at 9:00PM EDT on ABC.  If the Magic can even up the series, we could be looking at a classic NBA Finals series this June.  The NHL Stanley Cup series will be decided between the Detroit Red Wings and Pittsburgh Penguins in a decisive Game 7 – maybe the NBA Finals will too…

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Orlando Magic 100-75 in Game 1 of the NBA Finals at the Staples Center on Thursday night.  Wow – what total domination by the Lakers, despite trailing by 2 points after 12 minutes of play.

Kobe Bryant paved the way for the Lakers unit with 40 points, 8 rebounds and 8 assists in 38 minutes of play.  Bryant was 16 of 34 from the floor and 8 for 8 from the line.  He had 2 steals and 2 blocked shots with only 1 turnover.  Unbelievable stats.  Bryant looks like he is on a mission to prove that he can win an NBA Championship without the legendary Shaquille O’Neal.  Bryant’s 3 NBA Championship rings all came with O’Neal on the Lakers squad.

The Lakers outrebounded the Magic 55-41.  Andrew Bynum had 9 rebounds. Pau Gasol had 8 rebounds to go with 16 points.  And LaMar Odom chipped in 11 points and 14 rebounds in 32 minutes off the bench.

The Magic, on the other hand, were abysmal from the field – shooting only 29% from the floor making only 23 of 77 shots.  Stud Dwight Howard only attempted 6 shots from the floor, making only 1.  Howard made 10 of 16 free throws for 12 points and also added 15 rebounds.  Hedo Turkoglu (13 points) and Mickael Pietrus (14 points) were the only other players to score in double-digits.

The Magic will have some time to mull over their Game 1 debacle, as Game 2 of the NBA Finals isn’t until Sunday night at the Staples Center.  We’ll keep you posted if anything crazy develops before then.

Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic will take on Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA Finals tonight at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics in 6 games of the 2008 NBA Finals last year.  For the Magic, this is their 1st trip to the NBA Finals since they were swept in 1995.

Looking at historical numbers, the Lakers clearly have the edge – 14 titles with 61 finals games wins along the way.  The Magic have yet to win a trophy let alone win an NBA Finals game.  Lakers head coach Phil Jackson has 9 championship rings.  Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy only has 1 and that came as an assistant coach.

On the other hand, the Magic defeated the Lakers in both meetings during the 2008-9 NBA schedule.  In the 2008-9 NBA playoffs schedule, the Magics knocked off the defending champion Celtics and then ousted the NBA’s best team – the Cleveland Cavaliers in just 6 games.  If not for Lebron James’ mireaculous game-winning 3-point heave with 1 second left on the clock in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference, the Magic would have likely swept the Cavs out of the playoffs.  The Magic are no pushover, and Howards and Co. are looking to make a statement against the Lakers in this NBA Finals.

It should be a fun series to watch.  And while we won’t get the Kobe – Lebron match-up that the NBA wanted, we still get Howard v. Kobe.   We’ll keep you posted how it all shakes out.

The Orlando Magic defeated the Cleveland Cavaliers 103-90 in Orlando on Saturday night to advance to the NBA Finals to take on Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers.

The Magic’s Dwight Howard dominated all night long – scoring 40 points and grabbing 14 rebounds.  4 other Magic players scored in double digits, as the Magic hit 12 3-pointers. 

Lebron James scored 25 points and had 7 assists and 7 rebounds in defeat.  James did not talk to the media after the loss and did not shake hands with any of the Magic players on the court.  James finally came out of his media shell today – just 24 hours after the heart-breaking loss.

The Magic Lakers NBA Finals series begins on Thursday night at the Staples Center in Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles Lakers defeated the Denver Nuggets 119-92 in Denver on Friday night to advance to a 2nd straight NBA Finals.  It was also the franchise’s 30th trip to the NBA Finals – an NBA record.  Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 35 points, 10 assists and 6 rebounds.  Paul Gasol had another prime-time performance too with 20 points and 12 rebounds.  Lamar Odom added 20 points for the Lakers off the bench while Trevor Ariza chipped in 17 points.

Carmelo Anthony led the Nuggets with 25 points, but it wasn’t enough.  The Nuggets trailed the Lakers by 5 after the 1st period and 13 at the break and could never muster a strong comeback.

The Lakers will either face the Magic or Cavaliers in the NBA Finals.  The 2 teams will play Game 6 tonight in Orlando to determine the Eastern Conference representative.

The Denver Nuggets defeated the Los Angeles Lakers 106-103 at the Staples Center on Thursday night.  The series is now tied at 1, and the 2 teams will face off again on Saturday night at the Pepsi Center in Denver.

Carmelo Anthony led the way for the Nuggets with 34 points and 9 rebounds.  Chauncey Billups scored 27 points in 43 minutes.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 32 points, while Pau Gasol scored 17 points and grabbed 17 rebounds.  Lamar Odom had a solid night in a reserve role – 10 points and 9 rebounds in just 29 minutes – but it wasn’t enough.  Holding the ball with the final shot down by 3 points, Head Coach Phil Jackson opted to keep the ball out of his star’s hands.  Instead of going to Kobe – whom Jackson felt would get fouled by the Nuggets to force 2 free throws – Jackson drew up a play for point guard Derek Fisher who missed a 3-point shot that would have tied the game.

This is shaping up to be a great series out west.  The Lakers will need to find a way to win at least 1 game in Denver if they don’t want to face an almost unsurmountable 3-1 deficit.  We’ll keep you posted…

The NBA Conference Finals are finally set – the Denver Nuggets (Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups) v. the Los Angeles Lakers (Kobe Bryant) and the Orlando Magic (Dwight Howard) v. the Cleveland Cavaliers (Lebron James).

Both Game 7’s on Sunday were disappointing lopsided victories for the Lakers and Magic.  The Lakers rushed out to a 51-31 halftime lead and never let off the gas pedal, cruising to a 89-70 win.  Pau Gasol had a monster double-double – 21 points and 18 boards, while Kobe Bryant scored 14 points, grabbed 7 rebounds and dished out 5 assists.

The Magic led the Celtics by 7 at halftime and 5 at the end of the 3 quarters, and most felt that the final collapse would occur in the 4th quarter as it had so many times this post-season.  The Magic, however, answered the call, crushing the Celtics 35-21 in the 4th quarter to run away with a 101-82 victory in Boston.  Hedo Turkoglu knocked in 25 points, while Dwight Howard finished with 12 points and 16 rebounds.  Ray Allen led the Celtics with 23 points, while Rajon Rondo had a solid game with 10 points, 10 assists and 6 boards.  But Paul Pierce only scored 16 points and Glen “Big Baby” Davis socred 13 points and grabbed only 4 rebounds.

The Nuggets play against the Lakers at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Tuesday night at 9PM Eastern Standard Time.  The game will be televised on ESPN.   The Magic play against the Cavaliers at the Quicken Loans Center in Cleveland on Wednesday night at 8:30PM Eastern Standard Time.  The game will be televised on TNT.