Live Thread: Lakers @ Cavs

2016-02-10 Off By David Wood

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qnHyhCYOgTI

Kobe Bryant and the Lakers are in Cleveland to do battle this evening.  This is the last time Kobe will be in Quicken Loans Arena.

The Lakers have just 11 wins this season and sit at the bottom of the Western conference. They aren’t hopeless though. Young point guard Jordan Clarkson is putting up 15.2 points a night playing a team high 32.3 minutes a game.

Power Forward Julius Randle has shown the ability to lead fast breaks and has a decent set of post moves. He’s averaging a double-double, 11.2 points and 10 boards a game. D’Angelo Russell is full of promise, but hasn’t been played consistently enough to improve. He’s averaging 3.3 assists a game; however, he turns the ball over 2.4 times a night.

Former Cavalier coach, Byron Scott is the Lakers’ current coach. Scott prefers his veterans to the young guys right now, which is part the of the reason why Kobe Bryant is playing nearly 30 minutes a night, shooting 35% from the floor, and averaging 16.7 shots per game. Kobe leads LA in shots attempted and has the worst field goal percentage (after Ron Artest, but Artest takes just 5.1 attempts per game and he’s Artest) . But hey, KOBE!

This is Cleveland’s last game before the All-Star break. If they could get a win tonight moving the ball, playing sound defense, and trusting each other I would be happy. Going into the All-Star weekend with a two game win streak (even if it is against two bottom tier teams) from playing good game plan based basketball would help everyone, including myself, feel better about the Cavs.

Matthew Dellavedova will miss tonight with a sore hamstring. This is the fifth game he’s missed.

Bonus Story

I work with a Kobe fan. This man told me that Kobe is still an amazing scorer and just as efficient as LeBron. He said those words as I left my job today. I need this Cavs win because I can’t deal with the “Kobe still great” taunts I’ll deal with tomorrow if the Lakers win. And, the Cavs need to shut him down too. This Kobe lover will go off  if Kobe gets 20 points and takes 30 shots to do it.

Finally, take a few minutes to look back at some of Kobe’s highlights. Whether or not you like him or his style of play, you have to appreciate his dedication to winning and the creation of his Black Mamba persona.

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