AGRI Biz

Probably not. But Lakers fans shouldn’t give up hope—at least not until 9:00 PM tonight. The Celtics have proven that they are stronger, quicker and tougher than the Lakers.  Considering the up and down season they have had, the Celtics are also more resilient and certainly more energized. I’m not saying this because I’m some kind of Boston homer. I’m not. But I do enjoy watching them play ...

After relegating himself to the jump shooter role in the first two games, Kevin Garnett finally went to the basket early and often to explode for 25 points.  But it wasn’t enough as Derek Fisher put in 11 fourth quarter points to lead the Lakers to a 91-84 win and regain home court advantage in Game Three of NBA Finals. It was a reversal of roles from Game Two at the Staples ...

  After Game 1 with all the media hypsters saying that the Lakers had out-toughed the Celtics, Phil Jackson expected the Celtics to pound the Lakers inside. Jackson had D.J. Mbenga and Josh Powell rough up Pau Gasol in practice on Saturday to ready him for a tough physical game inside. But Doc Rivers had a different idea. Instead, the Celtics went outside with their guards doing most of the damage to build a ...

The Lakers are Kobe Bryant’s team, but tonight this was Pau Gasol’s game.  His 33 points, 14 rebounds, and two blocks led the Lakers to a 111-96 win over the Jazz and a sweep of their Western Conference semifinal series. But the statistics don’t tell the whole story.  Gasol dominated the paint, not only scoring, grabbing rebounds, and blocking shots, but cutting off Jazz penetration and turning away drives ...

  The Lakers have now played the Utah Jazz in the NBA Playoffs three years in a row.  In all three years, the Lakers have won the first two games at the Staples Center.  However, they lost game three to the Jazz the last two years when the venue switched to Energy Solutions Arena in Salt Lake City. But this year it was different – barely.  The Lakers eked ...

They put in the time – 48 minutes.  They put in the sweat and toil.  They battle and even play tough defense.  But what has happened to the Lakers offense? The Lakers have not put together a complete game – 48 minutes of offense and defense – in quite some time. This 2010 version of the Lakers is a team that has never met a lead it couldn’t squander, which is exactly ...

For this year’s version of the Lakers, forget about the number 16 in the playoffs (the amount of victories a team needs to take the NBA title), the important number is eight. That is the number of nearly healthy bodies they need to even think about getting to the Western Conference title series let alone the NBA Finals. Right now the Lakers have about half that number. Observers have commented that the Lakers ...

  As you read this, try not to imagine that a baby pink elephant is standing in the room where you are.  Don’t even think about the strangely-colored pachyderm.   If at any time while reading this article an image of a pink elephant comes to mind, go back to the top and begin reading all over again. Each time you imagine a pink elephant, you must start reading the entire article from ...

What this team needs, maybe as much if not more than leadership, is patience.  And that goes for Lakers fans as well. Scrambling around and shouting, “The sky is falling!” has never gotten anyone anywhere—ever. Pressing their shots and throwing up threes won’t get the Lakers very far either, nor will pointing fingers or blaming this one and that one. What needs to be done right now is, well, nothing.  I don’t mean don’t ...

It was his 1000th career NBA game and his first game out with the new body.  Well, maybe not so new but at least well-rested and 80 percent healed after he missed five games over an 18 day stretch. Two-and-a-half weeks without playing a game must have felt like an eternity to Kobe Bryant. But for the Memphis Grizzlies, it wasn’t long enough. No doubt they wish Bryant, who scored ...