Lakers fall just short of being favored to win a title in 2012

Last season the odds were heavily in favor of the new-look Miami Heat becoming NBA champions with the additions of superstar LeBron James, perennial All-Star Chris Bosh and the re-signing of one-time NBA champion Dwyane Wade. With three superstars on the roster and the goal being winning an NBA championship or bust, the Heat were under tremendous pressure to get the job done.

Unfortunately, for the Miami Heat and the Los Angeles Lakers for the matter, the "Dream Team" fell short in the NBA Finals and went home empty handed. With the new Big Three still intact in Miami, the Heat has been favored to win it all once again this season, but not far behind them is the Lakers of Los Angeles.

There is no question that the Lakers were absolutely embarrassed in the playoffs last season as the eventual NBA champion Dallas Mavericks dominated Kobe Bryant and company by pulling off the sweep in four games, but this season the Lakers are coming into the year with fresh blood and are ready to reclaim the NBA throne.

Along with betting on the Los Angeles Lakers to win it all this season, another good bet would be bingo games online for cash. So if sports betting isn't your thing or you are looking at doming something different to make some extra, that is a solid option!

As for the shortened NBA season, the Lakers should make a push to get back to form this year with all their aging players like Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol getting some much-needed time off to heal up and become the team of old.

Lakers Casino Night

The LA Lakers took time out on 3rd April to take part in the 4th Annual Casino Night at Staples center. The Lakers Casino Night is one of the biggest events organised in order to support the Los Angeles Lakers Youth Foundation and the launch of a new OneWest bank credit card.

Lakers fans get to have a bit of fun playing interactive games and games of chance with the likes of Kobe Bryant, Ron Artest, Andrew Bynum, Derek Fisher, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and Phil Jackson. Held in the Lexus Club, Pechanga Resorts and Casino the perfect venue for a fun casino evening with celebrities.

Even though the Lakers lost 90-95 against the Denver Nuggets earlier on Sunday, it was not enough to dampen the spirit of the Laker’s players, as they took part in this fun event.

For those that could not afford the $500 tickets to the Annual Casino Night, then there is always online casino blackjack games to play after watching the game on television. I know its not the same as the real live event, but hopefully the casino bonuses will cheer you up.

The money raised playing casino games will go towards the LA Lakers Youth Foundation, who do incredible work within the Los Angeles community. The Laker’s players put back a lot into the community, emphasising teamwork, education and self esteem amongst the youth of Los Angeles.

The Annual Casino Night brought to you by Pechanga Resort & Casino and OneWest Bank, has become a regular feature in the Lakers calendar. The fun and games are all for a good cause, so we hope this event goes on for a long time!

Kobe Bryant on March Madness

It's that time of year again where the NBA regular season is in its final stretch before the NBA playoffs and college basketball starts comes to a close with March Madness right around the corner. Even though the NBA has dominated the headlines as of late with all the moves that have been made with big-name players like Carmelo Anthony (New York Knicks) and Deron Williams (Utah Jazz) changing teams, college basketball will soon be in the spotlight starting with Selection Sunday on March 13, 2011.

Once all the teams are selected on March 13, the first-round of the NCAA Tournament will start just two days later at UD Arena in Dayton, Ohio March 15-16. Before March Madness gets underway, the college basketball predictions will begin with everyone and anyone in the sports world filling out brackets and picking their teams to go all the way!

It has been well documented that if the Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant did go college that he would have chosen to go to Duke University under Coach K. Obviously, he chose not to and that worked out for him and the Lakers, but check out what he had to say about March Madness.

Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant on March Madness:

Are the Lakers back on track?

The two-time defending NBA champions have hit a rough patch as of late losing to both of their fiercest rivals in the Boston Celtics and the San Antonio Spurs. Even though they have lost two games that would have easily rejuvenated this team and hopes of pulling off the repeat, the Lakers lost both games and seem to be on the verge of making a trade to get them back on track.

Despite losing to the Celtics and the Spurs, the Lakers able to get back to their winning ways as of late by beating the New Orleans Hornets 101-95. The win over Chris Paul and company may have given this team a boost in confidence, but they will have their work cut out for them over the next week or so.

On Tuesday night, the defending champs will take on the Memphis Grizzlies. The Grizzlies are by no means a dominant team in the West, but they did get the best of the Los Angeles Lakers back on Jan. 2 (104-85). This game will be crucial as they are set to take on the Boston Celtics once again this Thursday at the TD Garden.

After the Lakers face the Celtics for the second time, they won't have much time to recover as they will head to the Big Apple on Friday to take on the resurgent New York Knicks. As if that one-two punch wasn't enough, on Sunday the Lakeshow will take on the Orlando Magic.

If the Lakers can get through this brutal week with a favorable record, Kobe Bryant and company might be able to get right back on track and avoid making a trade before the deadline.

Unfortunately, if they struggle to get the best of these teams during this road trip, a trade will almost certainly be on the way as it will force the hand of GM Mitch Kupchak.

Lakers Trade: Sasha Vujacic Heads to the New Jersey Nets for Joe Smith

The Los Angeles Lakers have now won two straight against the New Jersey Nets (99-92) and the Washington Wizards (103-89), but after their win over the Wizards on Tuesday night in the nation's capital, the two-time defending champs made their first trade of the season by sending sharp shooter Sasha "The Machine" Vujacic to the New Jersey Nets in exchange for veteran bigman Joe Smith.

In his seven-year stint with the Los Angeles Lakers, Sasha won two rings and averaged 4.8 ppg, 1.2 apg and 1.7 rpg. Even though his numbers over the last seven years show that he didn't have much of an impact on this championship team, Sasha did come up big at times during his time in Los Angeles hitting some big shots including two huge free throws in the NBA Finals last season against the Boston Celtics in Game 7.

It has been no secret that the Lakers have been looking to shop The Machine ever since the end of last season as Shannon Brown has emerged as Kobe Bryant's new backup at shooting guard, but no team has been willing to take on his contract that was set to pay him $5.5 million.

Fortunately, the Lakers finally found a taker in the Nets as they sent Vujacic and a first-round pick to New Jersey. In this three-way deal the New Jersey Nets also sent forward Terrance Williams to the Houston Rockets in return for a 2012 first-round pick.

At first glance, this move looked a bit suspect in my opinion as forward Joe Smith is on the verge of retirement and basically useless for the Los Angeles Lakers, but by giving away a pick and Sasha's grossly overpaid contract has saved them about $8.7 million.

As for Sasha, it was time to go brotha, but you did have your moments with the Lakeshow and as a way to say goodbye, here is a highlights for Sasha "The Machine" Vujacic:

Lakers Hold Off Nets in 99-92 Win

The Los Angeles Lakers were coming off a disappointing loss to the Chicago Bulls in which Derrick Rose and company gave the two-time defending champs a bit of a wakeup call, but Phil Jackson's squad was able get back on track with a win over the New Jersey Nets.

Even though this was the first game the Lakers would play against their former point guard Jordan Farmar, this game was thought to be nothing more than another easy win for the Lakeshow, but that wasn't the case as the Nets gave the champs a run for their money.

Heading into halftime, Kobe Bryant and company were sitting pretty with a 10 point lead at 52-42, but the New Jersey Nets came out strong in the second half by outscoring the Lakers 25 to 17. Despite the Nets resurgence in the second half, the Black Mamba took control in the fourth quarter in a way only he can by scoring 16 points and leading the team to their 17th win of the season 99-92. Kobe finished with a game-high 32 points, six assists and four steals while the Nets were led by bigman Brook Lopez who had a team-high 25 points and nine rebounds.

As for Farmar, the two-time NBA champ finished with just eight points in 23 minutes. Not only was this a less than impressive performance from the former Lakers guard, but he kept jacking up threes all night long only hitting 1 for 6 from deep.

The Lakers may have been able to lockup the win in the second half, but Kobe wasn't happy about it as he really had to turn it on in order to pull out the win. There is no question that the defending champs should have blown out this Nets team that has only won six games all year long, but the Lakers have struggled as of late and have shown signs of weakness on both ends of the floor.

NEXT LAKERS GAME: @ Washington Wizards Tues. Dec. 14th 7pm EST

LOS ANGELES LAKERS @ NEW JERSEY NETS HIGHLIGHTS

Sharp Shooting Suns Give Lakers Second Straight Loss

At this point in the NBA regular season it would be hard to argue that there are any teams in the league as stacked as the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers, but over the past two games against the Denver Nuggets and the Phoenix Suns that dominant team we all saw in the first eight games has failed to show up.

Fortunately, this is only the beginning of the NBA regular season and a team as talented as the Lakers can easily turn things around, but this loss to the Suns really makes one question the Lakers perimeter defense.

As if it weren't bad enough that the Lakers lost to their division rivals, the way the Suns took down the Pacific division heavyweights was embarrassing to say the least.

Everyone knows that the Phoenix Suns are an extremely talented team with the ability to light up the scoreboard on any given night, but a lot of their points can come from beyond the arc and that is exactly what happen last night as Steve Nash and company lit up the Los Angeles Lakers defense for 22 three pointers.

Obviously, that has got to get under Phil Jackson's skin as it means the Lakers are slacking off on defense which could end up being their Achilles heel this season if they don't get it straightened out as soon as possible.

As usual, Kobe Bryant (25 points, 14 assists and nine rebounds) and Pau Gasol (28 points and 17 rebounds) showed up and kept the defending champs in the game, but it just wasn't enough to hold off Suns sharp shooter Jason Richardson (35 points and eight rebounds) who always seems to light up the Lakers whenever these two teams meet.

Along with scoring a game-high 35 points, Richardson shot extremely well from deep by hitting seven out of 10 three pointers. Steve Nash (21 points and 13 assists), Hedo Turkoglu (17 points, 5 of 7 from deep) and Channing Frye (20 points, 4 of 9 from beyond the arc) also had solid performances as well and helped lead the team to a 121-116 victory.

It is a bit early to get concerned about the defending champs, especially after how well they played in the first eight games of the season, but be sure that Phil Jackson will look to make some changes and emphasize defense moving forward.

NEXT GAME: @ Milwaukee Bucks Tues. Nov. 16th 6pm PST

Nuggets Hand Lakers First Loss of the Season

There is no question that the two-time defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers have played brilliantly in their title defense so far this season and have led some people to believe that they could actually challenge Michael Jordan's 95-96 Chicago Bulls for the best record in NBA history (72-10), but this past Thursday the defending champs were given somewhat of a reality check as they were beaten for the first time this season by the Denver Nuggets 118-112.

Even though the Denver Nuggets haven't played all that well this season as they came into this Western Conference heavyweight showdown with the Los Angeles Lakers with a 4-4 record and coming off an embarrassing blowout loss to the Indiana Pacers 144-113, Carmelo Anthony and company always seem to give Phil Jackson's squad a run for their money and they did just that at the Pepsi Center Thursday.

There may be a lot of trade rumors flying around the Mile High City recently as it is uncertain how much longer superstar Carmelo Anthony will be in a Nuggets uniform, but the perennial All-Star forward played as if he weren't going anywhere this season as he was able to lead his team to victory with 32 points (14-25 shooting) and 13 rebounds.

Kobe Bryant on the other hand had a game-high 34 points (11-32 shooting), but struggled shooting the basketball all night long as he started jacking up threes late in the fourth quarter trying to get the Lakers back in the game (3-10 from beyond the arc).

Fortunately, the vastly improved Shannon Brown was able to step it up once again as he finished with 19 points off the bench, but it just wasn't enough to snatch the lead back for the Nuggets. Pau Gasol also had a good game with 17 points and 20 rebounds, but was virtually nonexistent in the fourth quarter.

So even though Los Angeles Lakers only have one loss on the season and are still considered the best team in the league, they still have some things they need to work moving forward before they can make a legitimate run at a third straight NBA title.

NEXT GAME: @ Milwaukee Bucks Tues. Nov. 16th 5pm PST

Shannon Brown's Dunk of the Night!

Los Angeles Lakers continue to prove that they are still the best team in the NBA with 5-0 start

Last season the Los Angeles Lakers came into the NBA season with high hopes of repeating as NBA champs and throughout the year Kobe Bryant and company looked solid, but also flawed at the same time as had trouble playing consistently well due to injury problems amongst other distractions.

This season all anyone can talk about is LeBron James and the revamped Miami Heat, but even though this new NBA superpower is the real deal as they are just blowing out teams, the two-time defending champs are still arguably the best team in the league as they have played some flawless basketball in the first five games of the season.

Not only does Kobe Bryant appear to be fully recovered from offseason knee surgery after he dropped his 17th career triple-double (30 points, 10 rebounds, 12 assists) in the win against the division rival Sacramento Kings recently, but the team as a whole is firing on all cylinders with Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom and most notably Shannon Brown playing like All-Stars.

Along with the all the stars from last year already playing at mid-season form right now, the two new additions to the team in Steve Blake and Matt Barnes have also played much better than anticipated. Blake has already become a key player off the bench for the Lakers as he has been the perfect backup for Derek Fisher. Barnes has struggled a bit in the first five games, but has shown signs of promising on the defensive end and with his ability to rebound the basketball.

Needless to say, this team is more than ready to pick up where they left off and send head coach Phil Jackson with his 12th NBA title and fourth three-peat!

Lakers re-sign Shannon Brown to two-year deal

The Los Angeles Lakers GM Mitch Kupchak may have taken a bit longer than expected, but he was finally able to get a deal done on Thursday with backup guard Shannon Brown which will keep him in a Lakers uniform for at least the next two seasons.

The new deal to keep Brown from signing with the New York Knicks or the Cleveland Cavaliers is reportedly worth about $4.6 million dollars over the next two seasons. Even though the high flying guard could have gotten more money and a bigger role (possibly starting) with the Knicks and Cavs, Brown chose to stay with the Lakers as it appears that winning is much more important to the two-time NBA champion than a bigger paycheck.

Ever since Shannon Brown joined the Los Angeles Lakers via trade from the Charlotte Bobcats with Adam Morrison a couple of seasons ago, the promising young guard has only seen success as the team has won two straight NBA titles and will be going for third with an upgraded roster next season.

With the addition of versatile forward Matt Barnes, defensive minded center Theo Ratliff and backup point guard Steve Blake through free agency and the re-signing of five-time NBA champion Derek Fisher and arguably the most athletic player on the team in Shannon Brown, the defending NBA champion Los Angeles Lakers will have a great chance of pulling off the three-peat in the 2010-2011 NBA season.