“ALL THINGS BASKETBALL BLOG”

Posted By Greg Haskell

LOS ANGELES (AP) -The Los Angeles Lakers took sole possession of the Western Conference lead Sunday. One more win and they’re assured of keeping it.

MVP candidate Kobe Bryant had 20 points, five rebounds and five assists before sitting out the fourth quarter, and the Lakers routed the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs 106-85 for their seventh win in eight games.

”It was a big game for us,” Bryant said. ”It was another step in the right direction. Going into the playoffs is all about momentum. Now, we just have to take it up another notch once the playoffs start.”

The Lakers (56-25), who clinched their first Pacific Division championship in four years and at least the No. 3 seed in the West on Friday night, will win the conference title if they beat the visiting Sacramento Kings on Tuesday night (Read More).

Posted By Coach Greg Haskell

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Injured Lakers center Andrew Bynum saw a knee specialist in New York and still hasn’t been cleared to practice, the team announced Thursday.

“This should not be seen as a setback in any way,” said Dr. David Altcheck, who examined Bynum on Wednesday. “Andrew will continue his therapy program and workouts with the Lakers’ training staff and will continue to be monitored until he can return to playing status (Read More).”

Posted By Coach Greg Haskell

NEW YORK — Isiah Thomas will finish the season as the Knicks’ coach, but needs a good explanation for why things went so horribly wrong for any chance to last beyond that.

New president Donnie Walsh said Wednesday he plans to meet soon with Thomas, and he wants to know why a team he thought could be good instead will finish as perhaps the worst in franchise history.

Walsh insists he hasn’t decided on Thomas’ future with the team, but the Knicks’ 23-56 record clearly works against the coach (Read More).

Posted By Coach Greg Haskell

BOSTON (AP) - Kevin Garnett stood tall by his team’s bench, his piercing eyes focused on the action on the court.

It was a meaningless game. The Boston Celtics already had clinched the NBA’s best record and coach Doc Rivers was resting his starters for the entire fourth quarter last Tuesday night in Milwaukee.

But there was no rest for KG. There rarely is.

As his teammates relaxed on the bench, Garnett watched anxiously as the Celtics’ subs blew a big lead then held on to beat the Bucks 107-104 in overtime (Read More).

Posted By Coach Greg Haskell

Written By Ian Thomsen Si.com

PORTLAND, Ore. — Kobe Bryant has invested these past five months in trying to gain leverage over his career. The previous four years are his self-imposed burden, and lately he has been trying to lift that gathering weight and tip it over upon itself. He is succeeding.

It’s like watching an undrafted guard work his way into a rotation of guaranteed contracts. That’s how hard Bryant has been working to tip over the past in creation of a pedestal for himself. He is the most talented player in the world and he’s playing with an underdog’s mentality (Read More).

Posted By Coach Greg Haskell

LOS ANGELES (AP) — He already earned an armful, but Tyler Hansbrough took one last bit of brass Friday night.

The North Carolina junior won the John R. Wooden Award as college basketball’s top player, giving him essentially a sweep of the season’s individual honors, including The Associated Press college basketball player of the year award (Read More).

Posted By Coach Greg Haskell

Written By Greg Haskell

Apparently Darrin Collison is considering staying in school, and Kevin Love has not made a formal decision as to whether or not to enter the NBA Draft. It seems to me Collison may still be in doubt, but I would be very surprised if Kevin Love didn’t enter the Draft. Apparently both players were unhappy about the LA Times early report (Read More).

Posted By Coach Greg Haskell

The following link takes you to a proposed Top Ten Teams for the 2008-2009 Basketball Season. It is worth mentioning this could change significantly depending on who declares for the NBA Draft.

Love and Collison leave early for the NBA Draft (Read More).

Posted By Coach Greg Haskell

This link shows Jordan Farmar after his last high school game with Taft and his high school coach Fred Taylor. This was particularly difficult for the team because they suffered an unexpected loss to Darrin Collison’s Etiwanda H.S.