Lakers Win, Kobe Injured Again

BY CLINTON GOLDIE, FreshSportsDaily.com Lakers Beat Writer

The Los Angeles Lakers have been riding the Kobe wave for as long as I can remember. What is the difference between Kobe and the rest of the NBA players? The difference is that Kobe is playing with a fractured finger, no feeling in his shooting arm and hand, and a bad back. Yet Kobe found a way to stop ROY candidate Tyreke Evens from even putting up a shot at the end of regulation. Then Kobe hit two three pointers in 2OT to put the Lakers up by six. Kobe takes a charge at full speed and still has the presence to hold his injured arm up as he is falling. While Tyreke Evens maybe the ROY candidate, he met his match against the 2008 MVP and possibly 2010 MVP in Kobe "The Black Mamba" Bryant.

As this game went into overtime, all I could think about was who is going to take over? Was there another person that was going to step up besides Kobe? As much as you want to see it happen or don't want to see it happen, it's going to happen. Kobe is going to come in and drain 30 foot three pointers in double overtime with no feeling in his hand. It's better described as no feeling in his heart. Kobe lives to crush an opponent on their floor. You're setting up yourself for a heartbreaker if you keep this guy close in the game.



Even when the Lakers were down by 7 with less than two minutes left, Sacramento fans were left uneasy as a young team try to fend for themselves against a much more experienced Lakers team. You could see that as Kings coach Paul Westphal paced up and down the sidelines, while Phil Jackson sat and let Kobe unfold the situation.



How does one gain experience in winning when Kobe's in the league? You get traded to the Lakers like Ron Artest did and say  "I love Kobe." We love you Ron Ron, get better!

Kobe Bryant Hits Game Winner...Again?!?!

By CLINTON GOLDIE, FreshSportsDaily.com Lakers Beat Writer

Kobe, Kobe, Kobe…or MVP, MVP, MVP. Take your pick because it doesn’t matter. This guy has ice water running through his veins. The black mamba strikes again. This time with no time left on the clock in overtime, on the road in Milwaukee Kobe hits a turn around fade away jumper to “redeem himself” for missing the earlier game winning attempt in regular time. As Kobe put it after the game he’d “be pissed” if he missed that shot. Kobe finished the night going for 39 points on 13-28 from the field but a perfect 12-12 from the free throw line.

This was another huge night for Pau Gasol who continues to rack up the rebounds. Tonight he pulled down a game, season, and career high of 22 while shooting 9-15 from the floor for 26 points. Pau continues to show why his trade is one of the steals of the century as the Lakers swindled the Grizzlies into taking Kwame Brown. Pau Gasol might be one of the best power forwards simply because of his ability to elevate his game to a standard where Kobe not only trusts, yet admires his skills. His cerebral approach could be seen when the Lakers broke down during a stretch in the fourth quarter. Pau accidentally tripped fellow player Derek Fisher allowing an easy basket by the Bucks. As Phil Jackson called a timeout to rip into his player, Pau already knew what happened, apologized, but made good on the next play with a solid block out and rebound.



The amazing part for this writer is that really good and sometimes great players like Andrew Bynum, Lamar Odom, and Ron Artest haven’t needed to be a factor. As the NBA season wears on the body, these players will need to step it up like Lamar has done in the past and be those go to guys. It’s not who starts, but who finishes.

Lakers Put Their Fingerprints on a Victory – And Kobe Jacks-Up a Digit

By CLINTON GOLDIE, FreshSportsDaily.com Lakers Beat Writer

Injuries are an athlete’s worst nightmare. Difference is when Kobe Bryant gets injured as he did in the first quarter against the Minnesota Timberwolves, he’ll be back. He’ll be back with a vengeance and somehow he’ll make plays with his left hand and make you pay for his pain. If any of you have jammed your finger on a pass it is painful, let alone the hand shaking pain when you fracture your finger. Bryant is one of the toughest guys out on the court. We have gotten so use to Kobe playing through pain that you just sit back and admire, but it has become second nature. Shoulder, leg and finger injuries, it doesn’t matter for the “Black Mamba”. Remember the black mamba doesn’t have a shoulder or a leg or a finger...



What does this Lakers Team have that previous Lakers didn’t have? Are people putting too much stock into the Lakers and not enough into the Celtics? Are people forgetting about teams like Orlando, Dallas, and San Antonio? As of right now, these Lakers are playing with as much confidence, energy, skill, and efficiency as any team has ever played. I’m not saying there the best team ever, but what I am saying is that they are playing some of the best team basketball ever. I’m not old enough to have seen the great Celtic teams from the 50’s, but I have seen video and read about their style of play. Right now Red Auerbach has a bitter sweet feeling (if he were alive.) Bitter in the fact that the Lakers run the court with such efficiency, yet sweet because that is how the game should be played.

Pau Gasol is more valuable now than he has ever been. Gasol has always been a tremendous player and if he left the Lakers he would still be a tremendous player. Jackson and his triangle offense is one reason why Gasol is now one of the best power forwards in the NBA. He runs the floor, he passes off the double team well, he can use his left or right, he shoots a high percentage, he rebounds, he blocks shots and he is a great teammate if you ask the players around him. The mere fact that the Lakers are 10-0 since Gasol has come back from his hamstring injury justifies his significance. Gasol had 17 points on 8 of 14 from the field, a career high in rebounds at 20, and to cap it off 7 assists. You throw in the fact that he is in Los Angeles and not Memphis any longer and he has a stage to perform on.

When was the last time you saw a team turn it on, literally like a light switch and blow out a team? Players like Lamar Odom, who scored 13 points, Jordan Farmar 8 points and Shannon Brown 7 points on Friday night, will make their bench incredible if they play within the confines of Phil Jackson’s Triangle offense. The reason Phil Jackson is considered the greatest coach of all time in any sport is his ability to extract all the greatness out of each player and bring it together. Players are far more superior by understanding the fundamentals and concepts of that particular system.



Having the luxury of living in Los Angeles and watching the Lakers is a blessing. I’ve seen some of the best players ever day in and day out. From Magic Johnson going against Larry Bird to Kareem Abdul-Jabber with his patented sky hook. We even had it best with Chick Hearn and let me tell you, “Chickie-baby” as Stu Lantz calls him, would let you know when something wasn’t done right. He would break down the game and you could only imagine the players sitting on the plane after the game listening to Chick. Chick had a bird eyes view, but more importantly a feel for the game.