Lakers 101, Cavaliers 91

February 8th, 2009, 3:09 pm · 12 Comments · posted by KEVIN DING, OCREGISTER.COM

CLEVELAND — Lamar Odom was a monster with 28 points and 17 rebounds. The Lakers’ bench depth again proved far superior to the counterpart from their elite opposition.

And the Lakers finished a test of a trip at 6-0, even after losing Andrew Bynum to major injury early in Game 2 and risking team chemistry with a trade on the eve of Game 6. It mattered not that Kobe Bryant was limp in the second half with flu-like symptoms. The Lakers’ defense rose up to make up a 10-point halftime deficit.

The exclamation point, appropriately, was not courtesy of Bryant. It was Bryant missing a runner and then watching Pau Gasol slam home the offensive rebound for a 100-89 lead. Bryant finished with 19 points on 8-of-17 shooting. LeBron James had 16 points on 5-of-20 shooting, plus 12 assists, eight rebounds and one turnover.

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cestar says:

February 8, 2009 at 3:20 pm

Dominating performance by Odom, probably the best I have seem him play as a Laker with the scoring, rebounding and clogging the inside defensively… great team defense to shut down Lebron

Pinky says:

February 8, 2009 at 3:23 pm

…And that is why the Lakers will NOT be signing Lebron in favor of Kobe.

What was I supposed to be witnessing again?

dude says:

February 8, 2009 at 3:38 pm

Not much for Aho to say about Kobe on this one, eh?

What a joke, as always.

Jeff Aho says:

February 8, 2009 at 3:58 pm

Another dismal performance by KoME. He needed all the attention on him so he could outshine Lebron, not by skill, but by being a media whore. No skill/selfish= no title without shaq.

JohnsThere4U says:

February 8, 2009 at 4:17 pm

The game was a bit of a disappointment only from the perspective of expecting another Boston Beatdown but it was good to see the rest of the Lakers rise to the win. The Cadavers are good but the overall talent level beyond LBJ (yeah LeBron didn’t have one of his better games) fell a bit short. Was good to see Lamar play like he did - I was surprised to say the least.

david says:

February 8, 2009 at 4:52 pm

lol, Ding, wow your article the other week, wondering how Kobe can play with a guy like Odom?

The two biggest games of the year should have your answer for life, so lay off him. But you won’t, Odom haters, always forget these type of games.

Dan says:

February 8, 2009 at 6:08 pm

This was a great victory on many levels. Especially the tenacity to come back from a 10 point deficit at half-time. The Lakers had nothing to prove in this game. Even if they had lost the road trip would have been a resounding success.

A great victory…..except in one area. 3-20 from the 3 point line!! And look who’s still taking all of those threes. Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar and Lamar Odom. Do they know that they’re point guards and a power forward? WHAT ARE THEY DOING SHOOTING THREES?

This another example of Phi Jackson’s absolutely inept coaching……..

LeeLee says:

February 8, 2009 at 6:59 pm

i really like them. i think lakers are neat. They play sometimes.

KoWE.

WORK says:

February 8, 2009 at 7:03 pm

jeff aho: quit hating. lebron is the one that had the pitiful performance. kobe is the best player in the league period… and will win the title without shaq. whats so good about shaq? gasol is underrated. the media picks who they want to highlight. remember penny hardaway?

Bob says:

February 8, 2009 at 8:21 pm

-”Odom haters, always forget these type of games.”

Because Lamar having a great game is so RARE.
Just bring the intensity every night like Pau and Kobe, and everyone will get off Lamar’s back.

TSKer says:

February 9, 2009 at 2:51 pm

I don’t get Jeff Aho’s comments… A very-ill KB gets 19 pts (8 of 17 shooting) in 35 min. A healthy and very motivated LBJ scores 16 pts (5 of 20 shooting!!!) in 40 min. And KB had LBJ, supposedly one of the best defensive players in the league this year, guarding him most of the night… How is this a “dismal permance”? Plus, I think everyone needs to start giving more credit for the toughness and intensity and focus that KB has instilled in his teammates. No one is going to say KB is a nice or warm teammate. But he will take the team on his shoulders right after Drew going down and score 61 in MSG, which I believe energized the team enough to help them beat the Celts and the Cavs. That’s leadership.

Moving onto LO, as a basketball fan, I agree with everyone that LO is a player with great skills but with below-average focus, hence his average play with flashes of greatness. We all know this and have seen this in the NBA, as well as many other professional sports. That is one of the key factors that separates the good from the great. To be great, you need to have the ability plus the focus.

As a Laker fan, I appreciate what LO did last night and the 2nd half of the Boston game. Also, I am frustrated that he does not do this more consistently. I think each of you above is simply taking one or the other side — some of you appreciate what LO did and is asking others to limit their criticism; others of you see LO’s performance and wonder why he can’t do this more often.

I’m not sure you can pin what you expect of LO based on what he makes. It was not LO’s decision to come off the bench and have limited minutes. LO is averaging 10.1 pts, 2.4 ast and 6.6 reb this season, while averaging 27.5 min per game. For his career (during some of which he was the focal point of his team), he averaged 15.2 pts, 4.3 ast and 8.7 reb, while averaging 36.7 min per game. If you project his 2008-9 numbers to 36.7 min per game, they look much better — 13.5 pts, 3.2 ast and 8.8 reb per game. I’m not saying LO is having a great season or even a season on par with what he has done over his career. I’m merely saying you can’t just look at his numbers.

Also, before you argue that someone making $14M per year should average 18 pts and 10 reb per game, you need to look at other players. Based on Luke’s salary, he should be averaging 5.6 pts and 3.1 reb per game, but he’s only averaging 4.3 and 2.1, respectively. But I think Luke is a valuable contributor on the Lakers even if you consider the fact that he makes over $4.4M per year. (I’m sure any NBA fan could come up with a whole bunch of players who get paid a lot and do not contribute accordingly. That’s just the nature of the business. Starbury does kind of jump out at you though, no?)

I do think LO is overpaid, but NBA salaries are often a greater reflection of what the player has done over the past several years, as opposed to what he will necessarily do over the next several years. The Lakers made a business decision and banked on their projection that LO would be an elite player. They have been wrong thus far, to a certain degree. Now, they may be able to re-sign him for a much lower salary.

For now, I am glad LO is a Laker and I will continue to hope that he will show flashes of brilliance in a more consistent manner.

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