Lakers Continue To Be Artest-ed

Artest close lined JJ Barea Wednesday night,
and it seemed intentional. 

The Los Angeles Lakers have been continually faced with challenges this postseason and will now need to overcome yet another.

On top of facing 2-0 series deficit to the Dallas Mavericks, the two-time defending champions will also be without forward Ron Artest in Game 3 Friday night at Dallas.

Artest has been suspended by the NBA for his flagrant foul on Mavericks point guard J.J. Barea in the closing minute of Game 2.

With Artest playing well offensively through the first eight Los Angeles playoff games and the bench struggling to produce, this could hurt the Lakers.

Artest is the fifth leading score on the Lakers this postseason, averaging 10.5 points a game, well exceeding his 8.5 in the regular season.

In the biggest game of his career last June, Artest played his best game of the postseason in Game 7 of the NBA Finals. Against the hated, rival Boson Celtics, Artest recorded 20 points in 46 minutes and made a game-sealing three-point basket late to extend the Laker lead.

The former St. John's standout has proved time and time again, even though he comes with a lot of baggage, he plays his best when it matters most, doing so again in the his team's most recent playoff run.

Artest, with, at times, suffocating defense, has been known to get under opposing players skin and caused them to make uncharacteristic like decisions. He is a former Defensive Player of the Year, winning the award back in 2004 as a member of the Indiana Pacers.

A year later, Artest would be involved in one of the messiest brawls in NBA history at the Palace of Auburn Hills. Artest flew into the the stands to confront a Pistons fan and was suspended by the NBA for the rest of the regular and postseason play, missing a total of 86 games.

So, this is not the first time Artest has been suspended and probably will not be the last, but this one might have come at the wrong time.

The bench has been inconsistent most of the season and even worse this postseason, totaling just 12 points in their Game 2 loss Wednesday and have been outscored in the series 70-31 by Dallas' reserves. Despite that, Los Angeles has controlled the series, leading in most major categories.

The Mavericks have turned the ball over 22 times in the first two games compared to the Lakers' 21. Los Angeles have also outscored Dallas in the paint, 88-72, and outrebounded the Dallas bigs 88-79. But it has been Dallas's ability to hit the outside shot that has allowed them to win the first two games.

The Lakers missed their first 16 three-point attempts in Game 2, finishing 2-for-20 from behind the arch with Dallas putting in eight-of-25. That can not continue, but at any rate, Los Angeles' long range shooting has been atrocious thus far. Lamar Odom has been reported to be the player chosen by Phil Jackson to replace Artest in the starting lineup, meaning more minutes for players like Matt Barnes and the ghostly Luke Walton, who has yet to appear in the series.

This Laker team has faced adversity all year and responded every time. Expect that not to change in Game 3, trying to avoid falling into an 0-3 series hole in this best of seven series. Teams that are faced with a three-game deficit are 0-98 in NBA history, a mountain Los Angeles does not want to climb.

Could the most recent Artest antics cost the Lakers a chance to head back to the NBA Finals for the fourth straight year and the right to defend their back-to-back titles?

Los Angeles and Dallas began their third hand of Texas Hold 'Em with the chips down and ALL IN Friday in Dallas.

Going Fishing

Fisher's leadership as made him
a winner over the years.

Monday night marked let another disappointing loss for the Los Angeles Lakers in what has been a roller coaster season for the two-time defending champions.

Los Angeles blew a 16-point lead late in the third quarter and were upset in Game 1 of the conference semifinals at Staples Center by the Dallas Mavericks.

The good news for Los Angeles, it's only Game 1 and were able to overcome a Game 1 loss at the hands of the New Orleans Hornets in the first-round, but by no means is it a recipe for success.

Along the way, Derek Fisher is showing why the aging veteran was brought back to Los Angeles in the offseason with a new three-year contract.

Fisher has been heavily criticized this season for his shaky defense and inconsistent shooting. The fact is the Lakers brought Fisher back for his leadership ability and clutch performances in the postseason. This postseason has been much of the same for the 15-year veteran averaging 9.1 points per game and shooting 52 percent from the field in the team's first seven playoff games.

Those numbers are well above his regular season averages this season, where he only averaged 6.8 points per and shot 38 percent from the field.

Fisher has also shot well from beyond the arch to start the postseason at 54 percent compared to the 39 percent he shot in the regular season.

Even though Fisher, 36, has lost a step on defensive side of the ball, he had some extremely good sequences in the first-round series against the much younger 25-year-old Chris Paul. There is not too many point guards Fisher is going to run into at more of an advanced then him, but that is what he has exactly done.

Mavericks point guard Jason Kidd is still very productive at age 38 and finds himself in the middle of dog fight of two talented veterans. Fisher has the hardware, while Kidd has the Hall of Fame resume, it should be a relatively even matchup between the two point guards, who are no longer going to impress anyone with their speed and athleticism .

Fisher has been known as a gamer and always been willing to give up his body for his teammates.

Some consider Fisher one of the best in the NBA at selling offensive fouls, which is why he is always among the league leaders in charges drawn.

Los Angeles was 18-1 this season when their point guard scored in double-digits. Fisher scored only eight points on three of six shooting Monday night and the end result was a loss. There is no question if the Lakers and Fisher want to capture their third straight NBA championship and second three-peat under Phil Jackson, they will need him to live up to his playoff reputation once again.

Who can forget Fisher's game-winning shot in San Antonio in Game 5 of the 2004 Western Conference semifinals with 0.4 left on the clock. How about Fisher's two clutch three-point baskets in Game 4 of the 2009 NBA Finals that sealed the Orlando Magic's fate. Fisher hit the game-tying three with just under five seconds left in regulation to force overtime. In the overtime, Fisher would hit the eventual game-winner with about 30 seconds left in the extra period.

Most recently, Fisher continued his postseason magic, while single-handedly taking over Game 3 of the NBA Finals in Boston a year ago with 16 points in a 91-84 victory. Fisher would return in Game 7 of that series with a game-tying three-point bucket in the closing minutes of the decisive series-clincher, setting a new record for most three-pointers for a career in the Finals.

It couldn't have come at a better time.

It's not a question of if, but when will Fisher hit his next big playoff shot in this year's postseason. When he does it will be nothing but the bottom of the net and we will be waiting to say, "Told you so".

Thibodeau Earns Coach of the Year Honors

Thibodeau energy has injected life
back to Chicago baseketball.

In his first season as head coach of the Chicago Bulls, Tom Thibodeau has taken home the honor as being the NBA's best coach in 2011 being named the Coach of the Year Sunday afternoon.

Thibodeau is the first rookie head coach to lead his team to a 62-win season since Paul Westphal did so with the 1992-93 Phoenix Suns.

The news of the award does not come as much of a surprise as Thibodeau has taken a .500 team and turned them into the best team in the NBA record-wise in only a one-year span.

Last season the Bulls finished the regular season 41-41 and were the No. 8 seed heading into the postseason. A year and 62 wins later, the Bulls finished with the best record in the NBA at 62-20.

Chicago would be bounced out of the first-round of last year's postseason by the NBA's best Cleveland Cavaliers in five games.

A lot has changed since then with the Bulls beating a pesky Indiana Pacer team in five games to advance to the second-round for the first time since 2007. Thibodeau led Chicago to their first Central Division title since Michael Jordan's Bulls in 1998.

Thibodeau has brought a toughness and since of strength to this Chicago team and it all starts on the defensive end of the floor. The Salem State graduate has been known as a defensive mastermind around the NBA for a long time.

That was never more apparent during his time with the Boston Celtics, where he was the assistant coach to Doc Rivers from 2007-10.

Thibodeau made the Celtics become a defensive juggernaut during this tenure and help lead them to the NBA Championship back in 2008. Boston ranked in the top five in every defensive category while Thibodeau was there and might be the single reason why Boson has created such a tough, physical presence about themselves the past several years.

He has done much of the same in the Windy City, having the Bulls rank second in the NBA in points allowed at 91.3 per contest behind none other, the Celtics, at 91.1 points per game. It's a vast improvement from a year ago when the Bulls allowed nearly 100 points per game at 99.1, good enough for 13th in the NBA.

Thibodeau is only the fourth coach in Bulls history to win the award since its establishment in 1962.

The last Chicago coach to win the award was legendary and current Los Angeles Lakers head coach, Phil Jackson. Jackson won the award back in the 1995-96 season, where his team won an NBA record 72 games in the regular season.

Jackson would go on and lead the Bulls to their fourth NBA Championship under his watch and begin the start of his second career three-peat. That same season, Jordan would win his fourth of five NBA Most Valuable Player Awards and fourth NBA Finals MVP. Many believe that Chicago's point guard Derrick Rose is the front-runner to receive this year's highest individual honor.

Rose and Thibodeau try to become only the second player and head coaching duo in Bulls history to win those awards in the same year and finish with an NBA Championship.

The last player and head coaching duo to receive the Most Valuable Player and Coach of the Year Awards in the same year were Cleveland's Mike Brown and LeBron James, capping their great 2008-09 regular season. However, Brown and James would come up short in the postseason, losing to the Orlando Magic in the Eastern Conference Finals in six games.

Thibodeau and Rose hope for a different result, much like that Bulls team fifteen years ago.

For what he's done, there was not a coach more deserving in the NBA this season than Thibodeau to receive the award.

Chicago kicks off their second-round matchup against the Atlanta Hawks, who will be without former Bull Kirk Hinrich for the series, Monday in the Windy City.

Lakers Hitting Stride for June

Barnes adds fresh legs to the Laker bench.
(Bahram Mark Sobhani / Associated Press)

The Los Angeles Lakers headed into Sunday's afternoon game in Texas losers of their previous two meeting with the San Antonio Spurs this season.

Most recently, at home on a buzzer beating tip in by veteran Antonio McDyess. Los Angeles jumped out to an early 34-13 first quarter lead and never looked back, handing the Spurs only their third loss at home this season. Before the loss San Antonio had won 22 straight games at the AT&T Center.

San Antonio has widely been considered the best team in the NBA most of the season and deservingly so with the best record (51-12) and playing the most consistent. The Lakers came out sending a message Sunday, that they are still the two-time defending champions and still the team to beat in the Western Conference despite what the standings say.

The Lakers have won seven straight since the break and have played solid defense, holding opponents under 90 points per contest during that stretch.

It seems as if the Lakers were waiting for the right time to hit the gas pedal and put themselves in a good position for the postseason. It is almost certain that this will be Phil Jackson's last season as a head coach in the NBA. Kobe Bryant and Co. know this and are focused on achieving their ultimate goal for their legendary coach.

Jackson would love nothing more than to finish his career with his fourth career three-peat, securing six NBA titles each with two of greatest players in NBA history.

Most of the season, Andrew Bynum and Ron Artest looked disinterested on the defensive side of the ball if they were not getting their share of touches on the offensive end. That seems to have changed in the second half with both playing superb defense as well as contributing on the other side of the floor. Forward Matt Barnes returned the lineup Sunday with five points and six rebounds in only 14 minutes.

Barnes should also add some depth and energy to a team that is hitting its stride at the right time. These two teams will not meet again until the final week of the season, with the Spurs holding a 2-1 season edge.

With Los Angeles healthy and slowly climbing up the standing, they look primed for their third parade in as many years down Figueroa.

Panic Button in L.A.? Not Yet!

Los Angeles limbed into the break losing
three-in-a-row for the third time this year.

The two-time defending NBA champions have been a topic of conversation much of the first half, especially after their most recent three-game skid.

It seems as if the Los Angeles Lakers dropped to a new low Wednesday night, losing to the NBA's worst team, the 10-46 Cleveland Cavaliers. Los Angeles embarked on their longest road trip of the season back on Feb. 5 at New Orleans. They started off an impressive 4-0 beating legitimate playoff contenders including the Boston Celtics and New York Knicks in consecutive nights.

However, the trip went sour, losing the next three to Orlando and two sub .500 teams, the Bobcats and Cavaliers.

All that being said it is not time to push the panic button in the City of Angels, yet.

Kobe Bryant's minutes are significantly down from a year ago. Bryant averaged 38.8 minutes per game in 2010 compared to the 33.6 he is playing this season, which will all change come playoff time. Coming off his second career knee surgery, Bryant is being rested carefully by head coach Phil Jackson for a deep playoff run into June.

Bryant's 25.1 points per game this season are right at his career average of 25.3. At times the frustrating part this season is their continued losses to teams below .500, seven of their 19 have come at the hands of sub .500 teams.

It seems we can attribute those to Los Angeles being disinterested in their opponent most of the game or just lack of effort.

Back on Feb. 27 of last season Boston lost to the miserable New Jersey Nets at home in TD Garden, a team that finished with 12 wins all season. As we now know, the Celtics positioned themselves for a deep playoff run and came a win away from their second NBA championship in three years, but en route to that, they also lost to the worst team in the NBA a year ago.

Could the Lakers being doing the same?

The Cavaliers were embarrassed by the Lakers back in January at Staples Center, losing by a video game like number, 55 points. You knew if the Lakers did not come out ready to play on Wednesday night, they had a very good chance to lose even to the NBA's worst team. Byron Scott, being a former Laker in his playing days, was not going to let his team come out flat against the defending champions again.

Much has been written about the Lakers inability not to just beat sub .500 teams, but their inability to beat teams above .500. The Lakers have posted a 15-12 record against teams .500 or better and a 23-7 mark against sub .500 in the first half.

The Miami Heat are only 12-13 against the league's elite, but are taking care of business on the other side, beating 29 of the 31 teams they have faced under .500. Yes, the Lakers need to be more consistent and sometimes play with a little more urgency, but by no means is it time to panic in Los Angeles, YET!

Come June, Jackson and Bryant will silence the critics once more.