This is the game story I filed for the North County Times web site, late Thursday. Yes, it’s old, but I didn’t get around to it on Thursday, and I may want to go back and read it myself, someday. Also, I actually wrote a separate entry on the game for this blog, early Thursday […]

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Everyone knows the NBA has certain teams it prefers to advance in the playoffs. We all know that. So, do you really believe the league is going to allow the Houston Rockets to eliminate the Los Angeles Lakers? Sure, tens of millions of Chinese love Yao Ming, but last time we checked it was American […]

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The Lakers generally have some Hollywood celebrity who has a little time on his or her hands come out and perform the national anthem. Apparently, all those people were booked up, and the Lakers Band did it. Anyway, they did the version … that the USC band does before football games. Which makes sense. Because […]

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More about this later. But Phil Jackson will start Lamar Odom and bring 7-footer Andrew Bynum off the bench. Bynum got in quick foul trouble in Game 1, and Odom seemed to struggle coming into the game cold. Phil Jackson believes Bynum is important to his team’s chances, and has been sort of force-feeding him […]

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One of the advantages of the Houston Rockets advancing into the second round of the NBA playoffs, vs. the Lakers … is that lots more people are being exposed to the wit of Yao Ming. Yao is the 7-foot-6 center from China. This is his seventh season in the league. But never before had he […]

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I wrote this game story for the North County Times, out of Game 1 of the Lakers’ series with the Houston Rockets, on Monday night. I expected the Lakers to be angrier, after it was over, but the dominant theme seemed to be surprise. With a dollop of frustration. One school of thought: The Lakers […]

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Andrew Bynum runs over a screen with 150 seconds played in the game. Two fouls for Bynum, and he’s out of the game for Lamar Odom. Nice going, kid. Good thing the Lakers can’t really have been counting on you to be a difference maker — in a positive way.

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First possession of the game, clock running down on the Rockets … and Andrew Bynum fouls Yao Ming. While the latter was putting up an offbalance shot ahead of the clock … So, Bynum has played 24 seconds and has a foul. About on his average, of late. At least the Lakers have someone to […]

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The last time I was in this building was for Game 5 of the NBA Finals, last June. Lots of stuff has happened since then, including the Olympics, four months in Hong Kong, some assignments with the New York Times. Finally, I’m back … and it hardly looks different. Actually, I’d say it doesn’t look […]

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It was a score that had to be a typo. A misprint. But there at the bottom of the television screen, Monday night, was this partial score: Denver 105, New Orleans 55. It was mind-boggling … and it was true. Final score: Denver 121, New Orleans 63. What makes this so hard to accept is […]

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