Kobe Bryant Needs to Stop Making Excuses

Kobe Bryant says the Lakers are too old. I say he needs to stop making excuses and lead his team. (Andrew D. Bernstein)

The Philadelphia 76ers might not have the prestige names and honors that the Los Angeles Lakers players have had. However, the young 76ers stormed into the Staples Center and dominated the much older Lakers in a 103-99 victory on Tuesday night. The loss dropped the Lakers' record on the season to 15-16. After the game, Kobe Bryant had a colorful explanation.

"You just saw an old @#!*% team," Bryant continued. "I don't know how else to put it to you. We're just slow. You saw a team over there that was just younger and just had fresher legs and just played with more energy, and we were just stuck in the mud. I think individually we all have to figure out how to get ourselves ready each and every game to have a high level of energy. That's all that is."

Do you want to know what this boils down to? An excuse and to be quiet honest with you, a pathetic one at that. They are the fourth-oldest team in the NBA with an average age of 28.4. If this was their fourth game in five days or something, I would completely understand. However, the Lakers came into the home game against the 76ers on the three days rest.

If age is such a huge concern, how come I don't hear other teams and players complaining about? The New York Knicks are the oldest team in the NBA with an average age of 32.7. Rather than whining, the Knicks have been one of the league's surprise stories with a 21-10 record, good enough for the second-best mark in the Eastern Conference.

The Lakers’ next game is Friday against their crosstown rivals. The Clippers are the second-oldest team in the league with an average age of 29.3. All they've done recently is rattled off a streak of 17 straight wins. That is more wins than the Lakers have managed to get all season. No wonder more and more Lakers fans are becoming Clippers fans every day.

Bryant, 34, is supposedly the leader of the Lakers. Tim Duncan, 36, is the leader of the San Antonio Spurs, a team that is perennially called too old, but is always one of the best teams in the NBA every year. In tonight's win over the Milwaukee Bucks, Duncan scored 28 points (11-20 FG, 6-7 FT) to go with 13 rebounds, six assists, one steal and three blocks.

Duncan and the Spurs let their play do the talking, rather than their words. Bryant is so busy running his mouth and making excuses off the court that he isn't finding solutions on it. If he wants to be the leader on the court, than he needs to step up and make his teammates commit to working harder. Will the Lakers ever turn around this season? It will be when they start making the plays on the court, rather than complaining off of it.

2012 NBA Christmas Day Preview

James Harden singing Jingle Bells is just one of the joys of five NBA games on Christmas Day. (TotalProSports.com)

Christmas Day has almost arrived, which means a great day of NBA matchups will be on ABC and ESPN. I will preview what to watch for in each game. Merry Christmas to all!

Boston Celtics at Brooklyn Nets  - 12:00 PM EST, ESPN
The Celtics will travel to Brooklyn to take on the Nets in a budding Atlantic Division rivalry. The premier matchup of this game will be the point guards, Rajon Rondo of the Celtics and Deron Williams of the Nets. Rondo is averaging 14.3 points and 11.1 assists in December while shooting 52 percent from the field. Meanwhile, Williams is having a down year as he tries to find his role with his newly formed team. He is shooting just 40 percent from the field and 30 percent from behind the arc. Williams is still averaging 16.8 points and 8.1 assists a game. There's also a player on each team who is capable of taking the game over. The Celtics' Paul Pierce has been superb lately and is averaging 23.8 points per game in December. Joe Johnson has emerged as the go to guy for the Nets. He scored 22 points in their win over the Philadelphia 76ers on Sunday.

New York Knicks at Los Angeles Lakers - 3:00 PM EST, ABC
Both teams have been two of the NBA's biggest surprises. The Knicks have emerged as of the league's top teams behind great three-point shooting. The Lakers have struggled to come together as a team, but they will benefit from Steve Nash's return from injury. This game features some great matchups. The Knicks' Carmelo Anthony and the Lakers' Kobe Bryant are two of the league's top scorers. Anthony is scoring 33.7 points and shooting 50 percent from the field in his last 10 games. Meanwhile, Bryant is averaging 33.8 points per game since the start of December. Another intriguing matchup will be two of the league's top centers. Dwight Howard is in his first season with the Lakers, while Tyson Chandler anchors the Knicks' defense. Howard has struggled a bit recently, averaging just 15.1 points per game in his past five games. As the reigning Defensive Player of the Year, Chandler will look to shut him down.

Oklahoma City Thunder at Miami Heat - 5:30 PM EST, ABC
This is probably the most anticipated matchup of any of the Christmas Day games, featuring a rematch of last season's NBA Finals. This is the first meeting between these two teams this season, and the Thunder will be looking for revenge. As if you couldn't figure it on your own, the premier matchup in this game is obviously the NBA's top two players Kevin Durant of the Thunder and LeBron James of the Heat. Durant is averaging 27.9 points and 8.4 rebounds this season, while James is putting up 25.4 points, 8.5 rebounds and 6.8 assists a game. The defensive matchup between the two will be intriguing as well. They will most likely be guarding one another for the majority of the game. The Heat will have the home crowd at their back, but the Thunder experienced what that was like last summer.

Houston Rockets at Chicago Bulls - 8:00 PM EST, ESPN
These two teams may not appear to be two of the NBA's top teams, but both have played surprisingly well given their circumstances. The Rockets weren't expected to compete for a spot in the playoffs at all. However, a preseason trade has changed everything. James Harden, the centerpiece of the trade with the Thunder, has averaged 25.6 points and 5.6 assists a game as a starter in Houston. He has emerged as one of the league's top shooting guards right now. Meanwhile, the Bulls have kept winning, even without one of the NBA's top players. A number of players have stepped up in Derrick Rose's absence. Joakim Noah is averaging 13.5 points and 10.6 seen rebounds while Luol Deng leads the team in scoring with 17.8 points per game. They have helped the Bulls remain competitive while they wait for their superstar to return.

Denver Nuggets at Los Angeles Clippers - 10:30 PM EST, ESPN
The Clippers are one of the NBA's hottest teams right now. The Clippers' offense is led by Chris Paul and Blake Griffin. Paul runs the show with 16.1 points and 9.6 assists per game. In the post, Griffin is averaging 18.3 points and 8.9 rebounds per game. The Clippers also have an elite defense that allows opponents to score just 91.6 points per game, which is fourth best in the NBA. The Nuggets are one of the most balanced teams in the league. Ty Lawson is one of the fastest players in the NBA and pushes the tempo of the offense. He loves to facilitate the ball to his teammates, such as Danilo Gallinari, Andre Iguodala and Corey Brewer. Lawson did strain his left Achilles in Sunday's game and is listed as questionable for tomorrow's game. If he is indeed out or not 100 percent, it would be a huge blow to the Nuggets' chances.

While the Heat Look Vulnerable, The Spurs Look Dominate

The Miami Heat and the San Antonio Spurs (along with the Thunder) are considered to be the best teams in their respective conferences. Tonight, the Heat and the Spurs looked like completely different teams.

Photo Credit: Robert Duyos/Sun Sentinel

The Indiana Pacers are not supposed to compete with the Miami Heat, especially in South Beach. The Pacers certainly tried hard. They missed 24 out of 29 shots at one point in Game 2. They gave up an 11-point second half lead. The team's scoring in the fourth quarter was outscored by two Heat players. But somehow this Pacers team managed to beat the Heat and level the series at a game a piece. The Heat looked lost at times on offense, going 1-16 from three in the game. LeBron James and Dwayne Wade both played great, but neither could come up with a big play at the end of the game.

Photo Credit: Ronald Martinez/Getty Images

The Los Angeles Clippers gave the San Antonio Spurs a fight in the first half, until they ran out of steam. Then, the Spurs shut the door and made sure it stayed shut. After surviving past the Grizzlies in Memphis, the ailing Clippers had to go straight to San Antonio for Game 1. The Spurs, meanwhile, looked sharp and rested. Tim Duncan scored 26 points and had 10 rebounds, and Manu Ginobili added 22 points, as the Spurs routed the Clippers 108-92. Tony Parker didn't play very well, but it didn't really matter for the Spurs. The Spurs have now won 15 games in a row, the longest playoff sustained winning streak since the 2004 Spurs won 17 in a row. NBA Coach of the Year, Gregg Popovich, has the Spurs running on all cylinders.

These two teams clearly look like polar opposites. The Heat look disorganized and disgruntled. Despite having the two best players on the court, they couldn't figure out a way to beat a lackluster effort from the Pacers. The Spurs meanwhile look like a machine. They have been called boring and old, but they don't care. They win a lot of basketball games and that's what it all comes down to. The Heat are going to have to play a lot better to compete for a championship. I am certain they will, but they looked a lot more vulnerable than most people thought they were. The Spurs, on the other hand, just keep rolling along. They haven't let their weaknesses stop them yet. Until some does make that happen, I am not going to waste my time trying to find them.

Clippers Clip Grizzlies in Astonishing Style

Photo Credit: Joe Murphy/Getty Images

The Los Angeles Clippers trailed the Memphis Grizzlies by 21 points at the end of the third quarter in Game 1 of their playoff series. Clippers point guard Chris Paul pleaded with Head Coach Vinny Del Negro to let him in the game to start the fourth. The Clippers, who were down as much as 27 in the game, gained some momentum in the fourth. Paul and bench player Nick Young led the way. Paul, despite struggling for most of the first three quarters, finished with 14 points and 11 assists. Young gained additional playing time when Caron Butler broke his left hand. He brought the energy the Clippers needed to comeback. Young scored 19 points, including three from beyond the arc.

So as I said, the Clippers tried to make their frantic comeback in the fourth quarter. With Paul and Young leading the way, the Clippers went on a shooting spree and played stifling defense, which combined with cold shooting by the Grizzlies helped close out the game. The Clippers were down by 24 points with under eight minutes to go in the game. All the Clippers managed to do was go on an incredible 28-3 run to win the game. The victory set the record for the largest comeback after three quarters in NBA playoff history.


I am not sure what I should take from this game. The Clippers had a miraculous comeback, but played poorly for the vast majority of the game. The Grizzlies, on the other hand, looked super convincing, until their drought over the final nine minutes. What does matter from this game, is the advantage and confidence gained from this experience and victory. Ultimately, the Clippers stunned the Grizzlies to say the least.

The Intensity Meter is on the Rise in the Battle of the Staples Center

Since 1999, both of the NBA's Los Angeles teams have played in the Staples Center. For most of that time the Lakers have bullied their little brother, the Clippers. After all the Lakers won three NBA championships in a row back in the Shaq and Kobe era. Then, they won back to back titles in 2009 and 2010. Meanwhile, the Clippers have struggled, making the playoffs only once (2006) since the move to their new home.

The Lakers carry that era of superiority when the play. They are of course still led by the aging, but resilient Kobe Bryant. They also still have Derek Fisher running the point and Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynam as their starting big men. The one guy they let go for basically nothing was Lamar Odom. The team needed to make a change following their ugly collapse in the playoffs last year, and Odom was the causality. The Lakers did try to make improvements by trading for superstars Dwight Howard (unsuccessful) and Chris Paul. The Lakers had a deal for Paul, but the league vetoed it.

This opened up the door for the Clippers. They already had a young superstar in Blake Griffin, but they were looking for another star to pair with him. When the Lakers' deal fell through, the Clippers reacted quickly. They finally acquired Paul and two second round draft picks for guard Eric Gordon, center Chris Kaman, forward Al-Farouq Aminu, and the Minnesota Timberwolves' 2012 first round pick. During the offseason, the team also signed forward Caron Butler and veteran point guard Chauncey Billups.

The trade made the Clippers playoff contenders right away. Soon afterwards, people started asking the question of who was the best team in Los Angeles for the first time in a very long time. On Saturday, January 14, the Clippers took first blood. However, last night, the Lakers took revenge with a fourth quarter rally to win. The game featured hard fouls, plenty of trash talk, and wrestling between players. With one second left in the game, Pau Gasol patted the back of Chris Paul's head. The two exchanged pleasantries afterwards.

Anyone who watched the game can tell you that this is growing quickly into an intense rivalry. The Clippers are only going to get better as time progresses. But the Lakers are not going to just sit back and let them take over. The Clippers are planning a coup to supplant the Lakers' throne of superiority, while the Lakers look to hold firm. This will be an interesting storyline to follow this season and for years to come. Basketball in Los Angeles just got a little bit hotter.