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No Kobe Bryant, no problem (actually no Kobe, huge problem!), anyhow, the LA Lakers got it done last night in the Staples Center, defeating the Houston Rockets in OT, 99 – 95. The Lakers trailed throughout three periods ( I know because that is as late as I could stay up and watch), but Howard and Jodie Meeks really pulled through for the Lakers down the stretch. Not to mention that triple double by Pau Gasol, 17 points, 20 rebounds, 11 assists. Steve Blake tossed in 24 points and Dwight Howard added 16 points, 18 rebounds, and 2 assists. I think someone in the Lakers organization finally figured out that they have two, hugely talented seven foot players, so USE THEM!!! The Lakers take the 7th playoff spot and will face the San Antonio Spurs, first game on Sunday. This is a much better match-up for the Lakers than OKC. The Houston Rockets will face off against the Thunder with the loss last night, falling into the 8th playoff position, thus the dubious honor of getting the #1 seeded Thunder in the first round of the playoffs. Should be interesting so see James Harden (the bearded one) go up against his former team. Back to the Lakers, how will they fare in the playoffs? Most analysts do not see them making it past the Spurs, although they all concede it is an intriguing match-up. With Kobe, hey, who knows, perhaps they do get it done. Without him, hey, perhaps they get it done as well. Stay tuned…Lakers make good on Kobe’s guarantee (with him out for the rest of the year) and will move on to the postseason. As a longtime Lakers fan, I say, YES!!!
By the way, the Utah Jazz fell to the Memphis Grizzlies last night, 86 – 70. Very poor performance for a team trying to hold on and make it into the postseason.
