NBA League 2009 / 2010

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NBA league season 2009 / 2010

Lakers won their 16th NBA title

Los Angeles Lakers have made the repeat and won their second NBA championship in a row, this time beating Bostoc Celtics, and taking revenge on the finals they lost to the Celts in 2008. Pau Gasol was MVP of the game scoring 19 points and grabbing 18 rebounds. The game, as the entire series, resembled Euroleague games, with low scores (for NBA standards), a lot of passion, many turnovers and nervous players. The Celts were leading 23-14 by the end of the first quarter but in the second quarter Artest stepped up and Lakers took the lead 25-23. Read more here.

What Do You Get the Franchise That Has Everything

By Eric Zanzucchi The Los Angeles Lakers won their 16th NBA Championship on Thursday night by beating the Boston Celtics 83-79. It wasn’t the type of game that people were expecting. The game was very defensive and the refs were really weren’t calling too many fouls and were letting the defenses get away with being physical. Many of the Lakers key players didn’t shoot well in the game, most notably Kobe Bryant who only shot 6 for 24 from the field. But they were able to hang around early with their ability to get offensive rebounds, having 23 in the game compared to only 8 for Boston. Ron Artest really bailed them out with 12 points in the 2nd quarter while most of the Lakers were really struggling from the field. The Celtics had their share of struggles from the field as well. Paul Pierce was only 5 of 15 and Ray Allen was only 3 for 14. However, the Celtics still managed to lead the game most of the way. They led by as many as 13 during the 3rd quarter. But, the Lakers chipped away from there and dominated the 4th quarter. The win gives Phil Jackson his 11th Championship as a coach and Kobe Bryant his 5th as a player. If Phil Jackson decides not to retire he can attempt an unparalleled feat, trying to get his 4th 3-peat.

Let the Game 7 Talk Begin

By Eric Zanzucchi The Lakers won Game 6 of the NBA Finals 89-67. It was a dominant performance by Los Angeles who opened up a 20 point lead during the 2nd quarter. So for the next 48 hours all were going to hear about is what a sure thing it is that the Lakers are going to win the championship. No one has won a Game 7 in the NBA Finals on the road since 1978. Boston is old, and their coming off of one of their worst performances of the year. I can’t make a case for Boston, or at least not a good one. If I were forced to choose, I would pick the Lakers. But there’s recent history to suggest that we should ignore all the hype that’s coming. In Superbowl XLII the New England Patriots were 18-0 and facing a New York Giants team that had already lost 6 games during the year and couldn’t finish the season strongly. In 2006, I remember hearing all about how USC was one of the greatest football teams in college football history before they lost the National Championship Game. All the while their Championship Game opponent Texas was tearing up the college football world at the same time. I just knew that the hype was going overboard and sure enough Vince Young tore them apart passing and running. If I were forced to choose, I’d pick the Lakers but my best guess is that this will be a great, close game.

An Unlikely Hero

By Eric Zanzucchi In the last 10 NBA Finals where the first two games were split, the team to win Game 3 is 10-0. If that stat holds serve then the Los Angeles Lakers just won the NBA Finals. In the face of much adversity, the Lakers rebounded to win Game 3 of the NBA Finals 91-84. Boston trailed by as many as 17, but cut the lead to 82-80 with 2:16 remaining in the 4th quarter. Typically, when the Lakers make a 4th quarter stand it’s because Kobe Bryant is nailing shots with hands in his face. On this night, he made only one field goal in the 4th quarter and shot well below 50% for the game. Derek Fisher shot 5 for 7 in the 4th quarter and scored 11 points, saving the Lakers. Prior to the 4th quarter Fisher had only scored 5 points. Obviously the players didn’t feel the pressure, but after Game 2 there were whispers that Boston would dominate the series now that they’ve stolen home court. All that pressure that was on the Lakers is now on Boston who has not only lost home court, but needs a win in Game 4 to avoid going down 3-1 with 2 road games pending.

Lakers Survive

By Eric Zanzucchi The Lakers controlled the action early, taking a 74-56 lead with 3:44 left in the 3rd quarter. However, from that point on it was all Suns. At some point the Phoenix defense got reenergized. In the 4th quarter it seemed like every Laker shot was with a hand in the face, and Phoenix slowly kept chipping away at the lead. With 20 seconds left in the game and Lakers up by 3, Pau Gasol missed a wide open dunk that would have sealed the game. The Suns rebounded and Steve Nash missed a game tying shot, but the Suns got an offensive rebound. Jason Richardson missed their next game tying shot, but the Suns got another offensive rebound. Then with 3.7 seconds left Jason Richardson banked in a 3-pointer that tied the game up, and I was thinking the Lakers needed to counter in regulation. If this game goes to overtime, the Suns are going to win. Sure enough the ball was inbounded to Kobe Bryant and with a hand in his face he took a horrible shot. Then out of nowhere Ron Artest dashed in to grab the board and banks in a game winner. This was a little bit of redemption for Artest who took a few suspect shots down the stretch. Now the series shifts back to Phoenix for Game 6. Given how the Suns have played at home during this series, it seems like it’s destined to go 7.

Suns Even Series with Lakers

By Eric Zanzucchi The Phoenix Suns are finally making some noise in the Western Conference Finals by winning Games 3 and 4 by 9 points. What’s amazing about this turnaround is that the Suns still haven’t had any success guarding Kobe Bryant. In Game 3 he posted 36 points, 9 rebounds, and 11 assists. In Game 4 he had 38 points, 7 rebounds, and 10 assists. He also shot above 50% in both games. However, the contributions from some of the Lakers’ other options were lacking. Lamar Odom and Ron Artest both shot below 50% in Games 3 and 4 and in the 4th quarter of Game 4 especially the Phoenix defense was forcing them to take a lot of the shots. Part of me still isn’t willing to entertain the thought of Phoenix coming back to win this series. They still haven’t won a game away from home in the series and they struggled to play consistent defense in Games 1 and 2. As I saw Amar’e Stoudemire go off for 42 points in Game 3, I was thinking that they just got a superhuman performance, and this is going to be their only win. But their success in Games 3 and 4 has gotten me thinking about the possibility of them pulling it out.

Lakers Hold Off Suns in Game 2

By Eric Zanzucchi The Lakers finished Game 2 strong against the Suns and have now taken a stranglehold in the Western Conference Finals with a 2-0 lead. The Suns really have to blame their defense for the losses allowing 128 and 124 points in the two games. Much like in Game 1 the Suns fell behind early, but kept hanging around and giving their fans hope. They trailed only 97-95 with 8:41 remaining after Louis Amundson hit two free throws, but the Lakers would outscore them 27-17 the rest of the way to win comfortably 124-112. The Suns, trailing by 93-79 after the 3rd quarter of Game 1 pulled Steve Nash and refused to make any further defensive adjustments. In effect, they went all-in on Game 2. But the Lakers still dominated out of the gates in Game 2, leading by 36-24 after the 1st quarter. Kobe Bryant was contained better after his 40 point performance in Game 1, only scoring 21. However, he found whoever was open chipping in with 13 assists. The Suns now head home with a tall order ahead of them, needing to win 4 of the next 5 games against the best team in the league over the past 3 years to make it to the NBA Finals. They’ll resume things Sunday night in Phoenix.

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NBA league season 2009 / 2010