The Lakers Crush the Nuggets 119-92 advance to the Finals

The Lakers saved their best game of the series for last in administering a season-ending beat down to the Nuggets in dominating fashion to return to the NBA Finals. Los Angeles showed that they were focused and ready to play from the start of the game.

Trevor Ariza set the tone early by knocking down three shots from behind the arc; he finished the game with 17 points.

Los Angeles was active, aggressive, attacking the basket and had everything working, Kobe Bryant wore the hat of the facilitator early getting all of his teammates involved, and then he showed why he is the best closer in the game.

Nine Lakers had taken a shot in the first half prior to him taking over the game. Los Angeles used a focused total team effort.

Kobe had 18 points on six-for-10 shooting, six assists and one huge blocked shot in the first half. He scored 11 of those points during a decisive 21-7 Lakers scoring run that gave the Los Angeles a 53-40 lead at halftime.

Kobe Bryant’s stat line for the game showed that he scored 35 points, handed out 10 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds. All of this was accomplished by efficiently shooting 20 shots. What it didn’t show is the leadership, teaching and motivating he did to raise the level of play of his teammates.

The Lakers used all of their weapons to increase their lead and had five players score in double digits.

Pau Gasol scored 20 points, grabbed 12 rebounds, had six assists, three steals and blocked a shot. Lamar Odom had another great game leading the second unit with 20 points and eight rebounds. Luke Walton contributed 10 points off of the bench.

Los Angeles held the lead for the majority of the game the lead got to high as 29 points and sent the Nuggets faithful to the exits with four minutes and 10 seconds left in regulation.

The Lakers bench outscored the Nuggets bench 40-34. Los Angeles out-played Denver in every way possible in game 6. The Lakers out-rebounded the Nuggets 38-27, shot 57.3-percent from the field, 56.3-percent from behind the arc and knocked down all 24 of their free throws.

Carmelo Anthony scored 25 points on his 25th birthday, JR Smith pumped in 24 points but to say this wasn’t the Nuggets day would be an understatement. The Nuggets trailed for all but a few seconds of the game and never mounted a serious charge after halftime.

The Lakers 4-2 series win over the Nuggets means that it is the 16th straight time that team has won a series after winning game one.

Kobe Bryant has scored at least 500 points in four different post-seasons, only Michael Jordan, who accomplished the feat eight times, has done it more.

The Lakers have advanced to the NBA Finals for the second straight season and their 30th appearance.

The Lakers are seeking their 15th title, Head Coach Phil Jackson is seeking his 10th NBA title; Kobe Bryant is after his fourth. Los Angeles became the first team to make consecutive NBA Finals appearances since the Pistons in 2004 & 2005.

The Lakers 2009 playoff journey has been a much more bruising and much more difficult task going through Utah, Houston and Denver than cruising through West as the team did last year.

The road to the Finals this year has taken the Lakers through an arduous, grueling and physical two weeks of basketball. Ending the series in six games has allowed them some much needed rest.


Photo Credit: Robert Gauthier & Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

The Lakers Win 103-94 Using A Balanced Attack & A Strong Close

The Lakers and Nuggets played this game even, the teams were tied after three quarters then Los Angeles put on a 23-5 run to separate themselves from Denver and take a 3-2 series lead. The Lakers got an excellent start from their reserves.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers in scoring with 22 points but he did it by shooting 13 shots. He wore the hat of the facilitator and drew countless double-teams and found open teammates. Those teammates knocked down shots provided.

Everyone who touched the floor contributed to this win however reserve Shannon Brown might’ve had the shot of the game when he got out on the fast break and put Chris Andersen on one of his posters by dunking over him.

Lamar Odom banged on Chris "the Birdman" Andersen as well and could easily challenge him for the shot of the game. The Lakers played with a sense of urgency, with passion and did an excellent job of executing down the stretch.

The Lakers were aggressive, attacked the basket and didn’t settle for jump shots. Derek Fisher & Andrew Bynum combined to score 21 points. Pau Gasol had another solid outing recording his eighth straight double-double scoring 14 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.

Lamar Odom was active and finally put his stamp on this series. Lamar Odom stepped his game up and filled the stat sheet; scoring 19 points, pulled down 14 rebounds, handed out three assists and blocked four shots. He played like a man possessed.

The Lakers played solid defense in the fourth quarter causing the Nuggets to miss 11 straight shots. Carmelo Anthony led the Nuggets in scoring with 31 points, despite shooting nine-of-23 from the field.

The Nuggets are now on the brink of elimination and will have to bounce back at home on Friday. The Lakers have to continue to put the pressure on the Nuggets by playing well defensively, getting a contribution from everyone and getting Pau Gasol more shots.


Photo Credit: Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times

Nuggets blow out the Lakers 120-101 to tie series

The Nuggets crushed the Lakers to knot the series at two games apiece. 48 hours removed from an outstanding effort by Los Angeles in the Pepsi Center to take a 2-1 advantage the Lakers came out lethargic with no energy and looked tired and got beat.

The Lakers were out-hustled, out-rebounded, out-muscled, out-worked and out-played in game four. The Lakers could be fatigued and showing the effects of going through a tough seven –game series with Houston.

The worse part about it was that the loss came on a night that Denver was playing with a sub-par Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups had an off night but finished with 24 points. Anthony & Billups combined to shoot 10-for-32 from the field.

The Nuggets received a strong contribution from everyone on the team; all of their starters were in double-digits. The Nuggets bench, led by JR Smith’s 24 points, out-scored the Lakers bench 42-24. The Lakers were destroyed in the rebounding category 58-40.

The Lakers trailed in this game from start to finish and really didn’t even compete in this author’s opinion. The officials unfortunately became part of the story by allowing the game to get out of hand.

I’m never one to say that the officials took a game from a particular team and I’m not going to start now, nor am I going to say that the officials were the reason the Nuggets won. Plain and simple the Lakers took a beat down by the Nuggets.

However the officials were too involved in this game as evidenced by the unfair advantage given by the disparity of free throw attempts 49-35. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers in scoring with 34 points on 10-for-26 shooting from the field and 2-10 from behind the arc.

Eighteen was a magic number for Denver in this game. The Nuggets out-rebounded the Lakers by 18 and out-scored them in the paint by 18. Denver also had 10 more points than Los Angeles on fast break points.

The Lakers as a team shot way too many three point shots (31), when you consider that they’ve a size advantage in the post. Pau Gasol is shooting 62.5-percent from the field and not getting enough touches. The Lakers need to make the adjustment of running their offense through the post.

The series is now tied at two games apiece heading back to Los Angeles.

Photo Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Oakland Raiders: Don’t Sleep on Frantz Joseph

Who is Frantz Joseph?

On the surface you can consider Frantz Joseph as a priority un-drafted free agent linebacker capable of playing all three linebacker positions that the Oakland Raiders signed to a 2-year deal. You would be correct in that assumption but it doesn’t answer the question.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNstliEo4Hs


You would also be correct if you saw this tackling machine as a hidden gem. YOu would imagine that with his body of work the guy would be invited to the NFL Combine but he was denied that priviledge and it just made him work harder.

A guy projected as a high as a 3rd or 4th round pick by some and a 6th round pick by others as well as being the first drafted player from Florida Atlantic University but again he was denied and went un-drafted. It simply made him work harder.

Joseph is a strong inside presence, a tremendous competitor with great range and instincts. He is an excellent fit for the Raiders; a team seeking to improve their run defense by adding a tackling machine.

If he were drafted by an NFL club it would’ve been great for Florida Atlantic University and their fans but also for the Sun Belt Conference.

Several times when it comes to the Raiders draft the focus is on measureables as oppose to production on the field. Some people seem to view un-drafted players as merely guys that are being brought in as simply training camp bodies. I would beg to differ.

There is a long list of un-drafted players that have had success in the NFL.

That list would include names like Adewale Ogunleye, Brian Waters, Wes Welker, Priest Holmes, Bart Scott, Jim Leonhard, and Jeff Saturday, Gary Brackett, Willie Parker, Stephen Neal, Rob Bironas, Tony Romo, Antonio Gates, Kris Dielman, Jason Peters, Joshua Cribbs and 2008 Defensive player of the year James Harrison.

Upon further review when you look deeper into answering the question posed above you find a solid football player who in 2008 was the second ranked tackler in the nation recording 154 with all the tools to make an impact at the NFL level.

His journey to the NFL started as a kid in south Florida. Frantz Joseph played for David Martin at Fort Lauderdale high school football where he earned 4A All-County honors as a senior linebacker. He led the Flying L’s in tackles in 2002 & 2003.

He amassed 73 tackles in five games during the 2002 season. He followed that up with 96 tackles in seven games; he also found the time to force seven fumbles and acquire two interceptions as Ft. Lauderdale’s captain in 2003. He earned the team MVP honors, also won the All-American student-athlete award.

He attended Boston College in 2004 but did not play at all during his freshman year. He transferred in 2005 to be closer to his mother who was having health issues but he practiced with the team.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nNstliEo4Hs

Two years removed from the game Joseph came back with a vengeance. He was moved into the starting lineup and made an immediate impact. After 11 games he finished the year with 61 tackles which was third on the team. Joseph most productive game that year came against Lafayette when he recorded a team-high 14 tackles.

He became known for his hard hits and sure tackling he earned the team’s “Bone” award, an honor earned following each victory for the hardest hit. The season-ending honor is named The Ramon Rickards Memorial Bone Award for the squad’s inaugural defensive end that was killed in a motorcycle accident in June 2006.

In 2007 he was one of just two Sun Belt Conference players listed on the Butkus Watch List. He has played hurt on more than one occasion as he did against OSU. He put up double digit tackles in victories over Minnesota, a team-high 14 tackles, 12 against North Texas.

He posted double-digit tackle totals in seven games; his lowest tackle total was seven. He accomplished playing division one football, completed a double major in business and management as well as working odd jobs to help support his mother.

Frantz Joseph had a solid game in Florida Atlantic University’s win in the Motor City Bowl posting 13 tackles. He followed that effort with a great game in the Texas vs. The Nation game; he was named the MVP of the game making plays all over the field.


He is a high character guy that understands the importance of preparation and is a guy that will do whatever it takes to win. More importantly he is a hard working guy with great leadership skills that has a nasty attitude and plays the game it is suppose to be played.

He has a desire to bring back the missing ingredients of physicality and intimidation back to the silver and black defense. They’ve been missing from this team for too long. From everything I’ve seen and read about Frantz Joseph tells me that this is a guy deserving of a shot and a guy that you can’t sleep on.

Kobe Bryant Drop's 41 in Los Angeles Lakers Win Over Denver Nuggets,103-97

Kobe Bryant knocked down a huge fourth quarter 24-foot three point shot over J.R. Smith to give the Lakers a 96-95 lead and five clutch free throws to seal the win.

Game three was another nail biter that went down to the wire. The Lakers started off to a sluggish start but stayed close. The Nuggets took the lead early in the first quarter and held onto said lead, the score at the end of the quarter was 28-26 Denver.

Carmelo Anthony got off to a fast start for the third straight game he scored 21 points prior to fouling out 18 of which were scored in the first half. The Nuggets received a huge lift from Chris Anderson & J.R.Smith who combined for 25 points off the bench.

The Nuggets opened the second quarter with an 8-3 scoring run to increase their lead; the Lakers continued to hang around. The score was 39-all when both teams closed the quarter with scoring runs; this run was 12-8 in favor of the Nuggets. The score at halftime was 52-48 Denver.

The Lakers 13 missed free throws, bad defensive rotations and not boxing out the Nuggets front line were some of the main reasons the team was facing a deficit at the end of the first half. The Lakers and Nuggets continued to battle in the third quarter and took an eight point lead at the end of the quarter on a J.R. Smith three pointer.

The game statistics won't show this but Luke Walton played a solid game and had an excellent third quarter defensively on Carmelo Anthony. The Lakers made defensive adjustments in defending Anthony that turned out to be effective. Anthony & Billups both saw constant double-teams and four hands in their faces at all times.

Emotions got the best of him as he got in the face of Sasha Vujacic; who defended him on the shot, and started barking at him. He was called for a technical foul for taunting the score at the end of third quarter was 79-71 Denver.

The fourth quarter started with Kobe Bryant knocking down the technical free throw. The teams slugged it out toe-to-toe throughout the quarter, the lead changed hands multiple times but the Lakers defense improved and the team executed in the fourth quarter.

Once again Trevor Ariza made an important steal late in the game.

The Lakers fueled by a 21-12 run the Lakers outscored the Nuggets 32-18 in the quarter to earn a 2-1 series lead. Carmelo Anthony & Kenyon Martin both fouled out of the game.

Kobe Bryant scored 13 of his 41 points in the fourth quarter which topped his own Lakers’ record for points scored in the first three games of a conference final with 113; the previous record was 109.

This was a heart breaking loss for the Denver Nuggets; it also snapped their 16-game home win streak. The win was also the Lakers seventh straight road playoff win against the Nuggets which ties an NBA record for consecutive road wins against a single opponent.

Photo Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times

Lakers-Nuggets: Nuggets behind Carmelo’s 34 points win 106-103 and tie series

Nuggets Forward Carmelo Anthony scored 34 points and grabbed nine rebounds and led his team to a 106-103 road win to knot the series at a game a piece. The win also snapped the two decade plus long playoff dominance the Lakers have had over Denver.

The playoff win was the first for Denver over Los Angeles since 1985, the second-longest post season winning streak against one team in NBA History a span that lasted 11 games.

Chauncey Billups made his mark on the game by scoring 27 points, 17 of those points came in the second half and knocking down three of four free throws to seal the win.

This game was eerily similar to the first game. Give the Nuggets credit the team did what it had to do to avoid going home looking up at a two game deficit to overcome. This game it was the Lakers jumping out to an early 14 point lead, playing highly efficient basketball and solid defense.

All of the momentum that the Lakers built to start the game was erased by a 14-2 Denver scoring run along with excellent defense that allowed them to get back into the game. The score was 55-54 Lakers at halftime.

Linas Kleiza came off the bench for Denver and had an immediate impact scoring 14 points and grabbing eight rebounds. Unlike game one, the Lakers were the ones who missed free throws and the clutch shots made in game one didn’t fall the Lakers in game two.

The second half started with the Lakers increasing their lead but the Nuggets stayed close, the score at the end of the third quarter was 81-80 Lakers. The lead changed hands multiple times in the fourth quarter.

Identical to game one, this game came down to executing in the fourth quarter and in the first game the Lakers were the ones that executed down the stretch but in game two it was the Nuggets.

The game came down to a critical jump ball situation, Trevor Ariza got control of the tip and then lost it when he was bumped. Denver outscored the Lakers 26-22 in the fourth quarter.

A foul could’ve been called but it wasn’t, in addition to that a jump ball violation was made by J.R. Smith for entering the jump ball circle which wasn’t called as well.

It was water under the bridge so to speak and the bounce of the ball didn’t go the Lakers way and the reality is that the series is tied and the Lakers need to make adjustments and rebound in Denver where the series shifts to for games three and four.

The Lakers front line played much better in the game as oppose to game one. Kobe Bryant led the in scoring with 32 points.

Lakers-Nuggets: Lakers led by Kobe comeback to beat Nuggets 105-103

The Lakers got off to another sluggish start, clearly functioning on tired legs against the well rested Nuggets. Denver came out on fire and almost knocked down every shot that the team put up.

Carmelo Anthony was held to 14 points per game against the Lakers all season. He sought to break out of his scoring slump against L.A. and the Nuggets followed the hot hand. Anthony had 39 points in the game; 16 points came in the first quarter.

This helped Denver take a double digit lead; the Lakers were able to cut the lead down to eight by the end of the quarter. The score at the end of the first quarter was 31-23 Denver.

The second quarter appeared to mirror the first quarter in terms of scoring, but the difference was that the momentum had shifted into the Lakers favor.

Los Angeles outscored Denver 32-23 in the quarter, capped off by a play where Kobe drove to the basket and drew two defenders and passed to Derek Fisher for a 25-foot three-point basket to give the Lakers a slim 55-54 lead at halftime.

You could sense in the second quarter that this would be an epic playoff battle that would go down to the wire. The third quarter didn’t disappoint as Denver continued to play well and knockdown shots led by Carmelo Anthony and Chauncey Billups.

This was a match up where we saw both teams continue to fight. The Lakers used an 11-2 scoring run to take a four point lead only to see that lead vanish; the score at the end of the third quarter was 76-74 Denver.

The Nuggets maintained their lead in the fourth quarter increased said lead to as many as six points. Kobe Bryant kept the Lakers close; he finished the game with 40 points which included him dropping 18 points on Denver in the fourth quarter. Whenever Los Angeles needed a basket Kobe Bryant was the one that provided it.

The Lakers continued to chip away at the Nuggets lead and eventually took the lead on a timely Derek Fisher three point play after Kobe attacked the painted area and drew a double-team making the score 97-96.

Nuggets power forward Kenyon Martin then made the first of his two ridiculous fouls late in the quarter sending Pau Gasol to the free throw line. Denver escaped that blunder as Gasol missed both free throws.

Chauncey Billups knocked down a 27-foot three pointer to give Denver a 99-97 lead. Gasol was fouled again and given the opportunity to redeem himself at the line and this time he made both free throws to knot the score at 99-all.

There were 30 seconds on the clock and the game was on the line; Kobe made the correct decision when he decided to attack the basket. He was fouled by Kenyon Martin and calmly knocked down both free throws 101-99 Lakers.

An interesting coaching move was made by both coaches that would seal the fate of both teams. Nuggets coach George Karl made the decision to insert Anthony Carter into the game for J.R. Smith. Lakers coach Phil Jackson replaced Luke Walton with Trevor Ariza.

On the in bounds play; the 6’2” Anthony Carter attempted to lob a pass over the 6’10” Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza who was out of the vision of Chauncey Billups, read the play shot the gap and made arguably his biggest play as a Laker stealing the ball.

He got the ball to Kobe Bryant who was fouled and sent to the free throw line where he knocked down both shots again 103-99 Lakers. On the very next play Chauncey Billups knocked down a controversial 23-foot three pointer to cut the lead to one.

It was controversial due to the fact that the replay showed that his right foot was on the line as he jab-stepped to shake free of Ariza’s defense. Kobe Bryant was fouled on the next possession and calmly knocked down another pair of free throws to secure the win for Los Angeles 105-103.

The Lakers used energy, guts and experience to come from 13 points down and literally stole this game from the Nuggets who played well enough to win. The Nuggets lead the majority of the game and their frontline destroyed the Lakers scoring 68 points.

The problem was that Denver missed 12 free throws, didn’t get the defensive stops they needed and made some bad decisions at the end of the game. Carmelo Anthony & Chauncey Billups were nothing short of spectacular and the Nuggets wasted an excellent performance by the duo.

This was an epic battle of basketball played at its highest level. Kobe refused to lose this game as evidenced by his 40 points but a point made clearer by the six clutch free throws down the stretch.

Kobe Bryant was able to will his team to victory in game one but he will need help from his teammates who were wildly inconsistent to win the series. I could say the same thing for Carmelo Anthony.

It will be difficult for the Nuggets to recover from the loss mentally but they’ve no choice but to forget about it Game Two will be on Thursday 5/21/09 at 6:00 pm PST.

Photo Credit: Robert Gauthier & Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times