Lakers, Warriors: Early Comparisons

The Lakers and Warriors have the simplest and most explanatory rivalry in the NBA. All though the Lakers don't think of the Warriors as much, probably, you can be assured that you're in for a treat when you have tickets to this game. The Lakers underestimate the Warriors, and the Warriors play with shining brilliance: until of course the end, when forget what basketball is.


The Lakers have successfully assembled a superteam, but what does that mean? The Warriors' big three is arguably not that far away from the Lakers, skill wise. Let's have a quick comparison.


1. PG: Steve Nash, Steph Curry: Both excellent free throw shooters, smart players, three point god's, and PG's. Last time Curry and Nash matched up, Nash was forced into 5 TO's. That's pretty good for a youngster playing with the big boy. The Warriors lost that game to the Suns, unfortunately. I think that with the skill level these two have, the matchup is about equal. That's why it comes down to veteran ship. Winner: Lakers


2. SG: Really? I wonder who the winner is here. The Black Mamba strikes at the perfect time, deadly and unexpected. He can hit 3 threes in a row, easily. In every game, there are times where he shows glimpses of himself in his prime. That's tough to matchup against, but he's getting older. Young star Klay Thompson is going to get burned a few times when matching up with Kobe. All he has on Kobe is height advantage, which could lead to a few interior victories. Most likely, Metta World Peace will guard Klay Thompson. Winner: Lakers


3. SF: My hypothesis is that the hot shooting of Harrison Barnes and Klay Thompson are going to really anger Peace. He'll be running all over the place. Although Peace can deliver a clutch shot, or make a clutch play, his skill level isn't equal to that of Harrison Barnes. Barnes is a smarter player, and he can get the job done without throwing a punch. Sorry, Metta! Winner: Warriors


4. PF: Oh, yes. This is the only matchup that's actually hard to pick a winner. Gasol is always rated as one of the best PF's in the league, but many forget that he has Kobe to make him look good. Gasol is a good, smart player, but Lee isn't any worse than he is. Lee has high efficiency, and a similar arsenal of scoring as Gasol. The only thing Gasol has on Lee is height. Otherwise, they're pretty much equal. Hate me if you must, but I'm not overlooking the fact that Gasol is no better than Lee. Winner: Nobody


5. C: Don't worry, Magic fans, you're not the only one out there who hates Dwight Howard! Howard's everlasting drama about which team he would 'take his talents to' really angered a lot of fans. It was classless and embarrassing for the NBA. That doesn't, however, effect his playing style. Although Andrew Bogut is one of the top 5 Centers in the NBA, Howard is just a little better. They're both strong, tough, and aggressive, and post up well. The difference is that Howard knows how to score on the inside a little better. This'll be another interesting matchup. Winner: Lakers


Bench Productivity: Winner: Warriors
You cant win an NBA title without bench play. The Warriors' whole second unit looks like they could take on the Lakers. The Warriors definitely have the Lakers down in this area.

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NBA Players Destined to Start Off Hot

The NBA is filled with incredible players who just want to win the title. That's hard to do when there's two superteams in the NBA. The Lakers and the Heat. That is a favored finals matchup, as Kobe and LeBron will finally go head to head. The Dwight Howard would destroy Joel Anthony.

Let's not rule other teams out though. The Thunder, the Nets, the Warriors, the Hornets, the Timberwolves, the Sixers, and many other teams are capable of pulling off upsets in the first round. All these teams have a legitimate shot of making it to the finals. The question is, who wants it more?

- Monta Ellis/Brandon Jennings: I swear, I'm not being biased. Monta Ellis and Jennings are supposed to have the best backcourt in the NBA. With the added big man presence, the Bucks are looking to get it going.. They finally have what it takes.

- David Lee: He is 29 years old, and not getting any younger. Lee knows that it's time to go to work with his team's reloaded roster. Anything is possible. I don't think Lee is going to wait any longer to be in his first playoff game.

- D-Will: Obviously. Deron Williams hasn't been in the playoffs since the Jazz. He wasn't going anywhere with them, so he took his talents to New Jersey. With Gerald Wallace, Kris Humphries, Lopez, and Johnson, there's no limit to what they can accomplish. Especially if they can pull off an upset.

- Dwight Howard: With new hope on the Lakers, Howard looks to get into the finals again, but this time, he'll be playing alongside Kobe. With the addition of him and Nash, the Lakers must make a title run quickly, and they know that. Before they know it, Kobe's jersey will be hung at the top of the stadium.

- Carmelo Anthony: I'm sure Carmelo Anthony does not want to be the criticized one, just like LeBron was. Critics are already getting on his back about winning a ring. Bosh, Wade, LeBron, and even Darko Milicic have rings. It's time for Melo to get his. He carried team USA on his back most of the way, and he should be confident enough to do that with his Knicks.

- LeBron James: LeBron has had the taste of one title, and he's not going to stop there. He and the Heat without question have the most talented roster in the NBA. LeBron and the Heat are hungry, and they will crush any team that stands in their line of fire.

- Kobe Bryant: Kobe knows that in a couple seasons, he'll retire, but it'd be nice to get one more title to put him ahead of Jordan. The only downside to this is that the rest of the NBA will hear it from Laker fans that Kobe's better than Jordan. (He won't ever be, although he is close). Kobe will go hard from day 1.

- Kevin Durant: After a heart-breaking loss to the Heat in the NBA finals, Durant, Westbrook and Ibaka are looking for more. With the return of Eric Maynor, the Thunder should look to start off strong and hit each team hard. Durant will be relentless this season in his scoring, and will surpass Kobe and LeBron as the league's leading scorer again. He and Westbrook know that they have something to prove this season.

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Team USA Beats Spain for Gold Medal in Men's Basketball

USA Beats Spain in Gold Medal Game, Men's Basketball

Well most of us saw this coming. Team USA is undefeated coming into this game undefeated.. Duh! Well what about Spain? Marc and Pau Gasol are looking to get revenge and earn their gold medal for Spain. Tonight was a huge Gold Medal game, and players from both teams showed up and played their hearts out. In the end, however, Team USA pulled away in the fourth quarter behind Kobe, LeBron, and LeBron.

In the beginning, Spain kept control and tried to take over the tempo and slow things down. With KD, and Lebron, however that's hard. Team USA was explosive as always in getting to the basket and pushing after every made basket. Chris Paul also did a good job of maintaining the tempo. Obviously both teams started out hot. This got the crowd into it. Especially Juan Carlos Navaro's and 1 three pointer. Durant immediately answered.

The game was filled with smothering defense on the inside. Both teams pushed the ball. Navaro got off to a hot start. Both teams kept scoring. Three after three after three. The game was physical early.

Coming into the 2nd quarter, the Spaniards found themselves down by 8, despite Navaro's 14 point effort. Spain started the quarter on a small run of their own, making up some of the deficit. LeBron finally ended the run with a breathtaking dunk. 

Team USA and Spain both got into some altercations, the game started to get more physical. Marc Gasol got into a lot of trouble with 4 fouls in the first half. This was a huge part of the win for team USA.

Many parts of this game mirrored the Bejing Olympic game. 

Heading into the second half, Navaro lead Spain with 19, and Durant lead USA with 17. The second half was where the USA really needed to attack.  By himself, Pau Gasol went head-to-head with Team USA. The pace really picked up. The Laker teammates went back and forth. They both suddenly exploded. The third quarter really set up the victory. Kevin Durant also went crazy in the 3rd quarter. He had 27 with only 120 left in the 3rd. 

Coming into the fourth quarter, the Spaniards needed to score major. You know that Chris Paul was going to pick it up. He scored 5 quick points. Gasol, an Navaro really picked it up as well. When LeBron picked up his 4th personal, Durant became more aggressive. Kobe Bryant extended the lead to double digits, but Navaro answered right back. 

In the end, the US didnt relinquish their slim lead. They pulled away with 3 minutes left. The dagger came at the 2 minute mark: LeBron James hit a killer three.

Team USA stepped up, and started making their easy shots. The second half was one of the most entertaining halfs I've seen. 

In the end, 

Chris Paul contributed in a big way with 7 points in the 4th

Carmelo finished with only 8

Lebron finished with 19

Durant scored 30

and Kobe, in his last Olympic game, had 17

As for Spain,

Pau Gasol scored 24

Marc Gasol ended up with 16

Juan Carlos Navaro had 21

and Rudy Fernandez finished with 13

In the end, Team USA had too many hot players, high basketball IQ, and experience. It was, as I said before, a hard fought game. 

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Who'll be the First to Five?

One riveting sidebar story that will most likely persist the entire 2009-2010 season is which future Hall of Fame NBA player, Shaquille O’Neal, Tim Duncan or Kobe Bryant (photo above holding trophy), will possibly capture his fifth championship title first this year.

Big Shaq won three straight titles with the Los Angeles Lakers (2000, 2001 and 2002) and one with the Miami Heat (2006). The Big Fundamental has captured four championships with the San Antonio Spurs (1999, 2003, 2005 and 2007). And Kobe, currently the best baller in the game, got all his rings with the Lakers of course (2000, 2001, 2002 and 2009).

(Continue to All Net)

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The Best Baller? No Debate

Who’s the best baller on the planet right now?

Kobe Bryant or LeBron James.

This debate was seemingly raging highest during the course of the 2008-2009 NBA regular season.

A highly-anticipated 2009 NBA Finals showdown of the sport’s two biggest heavyweights might have provided a little insight, but Dwight Howard and the Orlando Magic spoiled the suspense by knocking out King James and the Cleveland Cavaliers in the Eastern Conference Finals.

On the September issue of Pro Basketball magazine, the Cavs phenom and Los Angeles Lakers superstar are pictured side-by-side with the huge headline “LeBron vs. Kobe. Who’s better?” underneath them.

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