A Little Taste of Playoff Ball for the Lakers

(just for you Diallo and KevDog)….

If you just look at the score of the Los Angeles Lakers-Portland Trail Blazers game last night – 96-83 – you’d think, oh the Lakes routined the Blazers.

Not true.

The Brandon Roy-less (sprained right ankle) Trail Blazers played with an urgency befitting a team in freefall in the ultra-tough Western Conference. After going 17-1 in one stretch of games, in the next 22 games the Trail Blazers went 7-15, which includes their most-recent 1-8 slide. Portland head coach Nate McMillan can’t possibly like what happening with his team lately but this type of roller-coaster ride is to be expected from his young, young team.

Portland ran out to a 15-point first quarter lead. LA responded by erasing that deficit only to see the Blazers end the first half with another run to lead 51-44. The Lakers looked a bit weary. Kobe Bryant played facilitator in the first two quarters, scoring only eight points but dishing out six dimes. His supporting cast, though, missed open shots, turned the ball over, lack offensive movement, and played lackluster defense.

P.R. and the News Game: This is How ESPN Does You; Andy Katz – Pushin the ACC (down our throats)

Ever wonder how some news gets pushed to the forefront while other news gets pushed into the background? Public relations firms, folks, that’s how. Every league and corp has them – and they all use them to, shall we say, massage the direction and tenor of the news – especially when it concerns them. Look around the Internet sports blogsphere (and you won’t have to look far), you can readily see the handiwork of the P.R. firm and the P.R. peeps who act as “insiders.”

Here is a perfect example of the PR firm at work; example provided by the WWL….

Question: which story is more important? Longtime NFL analyst suddenly leaves the WWL, or human interest story about a junior member of a sports media outlet’s televised NCAA coverage?

On Kurt Thomas: Don’t Dare Question My Au-thor-i-tie!

ESPN’s Chris Broussard, along with Ric Bucher are two of the best NBA analysts in the sports journalism game. The WWL leaves the pop-pom waving for the Lig to others while these two get real news.

This morning Broussard, after speaking with a long time scout, said the second best late trade this season (the LA Lakers getting Pau Gasol being number one) is not Shaquille O’Neal but ahem – drumroll, Kurt Thomas going to San Antonio. That’s right. KT.

While other pundits and think they knows were hufffing the Big Shaqtus glue, this author said of all acquisitions, Thomas was the second-most important acquisition. What’d I say about KT?: