Tag Archives: Kobe Bryant

Lakers Win Over Thunder the Turning Point?

Posted on by Ryan Kantor

The Los Angeles Lakers will make the playoffs!

After every win, no matter how few and far between, it seems someone is calling it the turning point, that “fulcrum” in the season when the Lakers pivot from the mess they have been, to what they were supposed to be. HoopsWorld wondered if their January 13th over the Cavs, following a six-game losing streak, would mark that point. Fox Sports West pointed towards the Lake Show’s January 15th 104-88 romping of Milwaukee as the turning point–a win succeeded by four straight losses.

I have held onto stoic pessimism until now. Today’s 106-96 home win wasn’t just another blowout of a softy, it was a hard-fought victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder, arguably the best team in the league. Evidently there was some sort of private team meeting that got pretty epic before the January 23rd game in Memphis. Players aired their grievances and got everything out in the open. That meeting was followed by tough road loss in Memphis, where Howard re-injured his shoulder and didn’t play in the second half, but he’s back, Gasol looks healthy, and Steve Blake could be back by their next contest on Tuesday against New Orleans.

Photo courtesy of Harry How, Getty Images

After the Hornets come to LA, an absolute must win game, the Purple and Gold embark on what will be the season defining road trip against: PHX/MIN/DET/BRK/BOS/CHA/MIA. They’ve been atrocious away from Staples Center this season, losing their last seven. Wins at Boston and Miami may be tough, but the other matchups are rather winnable, and if they Lakers have really found their game they should be able to win five of seven. If they again fail on the road it’s all over, so there’s no point in waiting anymore. I’m going to call it now: Today’s 106-96 home win over the Oklahoma City Thunder will be the fulcrum win that marks the turning point of the season for the Los Angeles Lakers… and they will make the playoffs.

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Steve Nash And The Genius That Is Mitch Kupchak

Posted on by Ryan Kantor

The NBA was the first sports league I ever followed and the Lakers my first team, but with David Stern ripping Chris Paul away from us and the whole mess of the NBA lockout, I was pretty bitter about this NBA season (hence just the two NBA blog posts all season). This wasn’t helped by my recent acceptance that  Game Six of the 2002 Western Conference Finals was most likely fixed.

Finally, some big news has come that has me somewhat excited about the NBA again.

After the Chris Paul trade fell through in the pre-season, GM Mitch Kupchak was left scrambling to determine the direction that the team would take. Lamar Odom (just from the Mavericks to the Clippers) was so offended by the notion of being involved in the then collapsed Chris Paul trade, that he demanded to be moved. When Kupchak traded him to Dallas for a trade exception, fans were bewildered and bothered. We expected to get more for such a big piece.

A few months later, Kupchak moved fan favorite, Derek Fisher, for a no-name big man (Jordan Hill), and Ramon Sessions was brought in for Luke Walton, which seemed like nothing more than a booby prize after failing to land Chris Paul (although I was admittedly excited).

Things didn’t look spectacular, but now the real bounty from those moves has arrived. Using the money freed up by the Odom trade, Mitch Kupchak was able to complete a sign-and-trade to bring Steve Nash to Los Angeles. Sessions’ contract has expired (and he will not return) avoiding a logjam at the point guard position. Steve Blake will back up Steve Nash to go along with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, and Andrew Bynum. The dust has settled and the strange moves last year, make a lot of sense.

Without Jackson’s triangle offense, a more dynamic point guard became necessary, and Mitch Kupchak was able to bring one to L.A. and get the most out of Kobe final few spectacular seasons. Kobe Bryant knows his window for championships (at least as the center piece) is closing, and he is determined to get another one (or two) before all is set and done. He went so far as to reach out to Steve Nash and explain why he’d be a good fit for the Lakers. Now we’ll get to see Bryant and Nash on the same team, along with two star big men. At the very least, they’ll be extremely competitive and fun to watch.

General Managers in professional sports play a huge role, and sometimes it can be understated. Let Mitch Kupchak’s role with the Lakers not be so, he is potentially the best GM in professional sports, whether the Lakers win a ring with Nash or not.

As always, please subscribe to this blog by clicking the “Follow” button at the top of the right sidebar. If you don’t have a WordPress account, you’ll have to enter your email address. You can share your opinions in the comment section below or by tweeting to @Ryan_Kantor. Thanks for reading!