Daily Highlight: Kobe's Ankle Seems Okay

Well, after all the talk about Kobe being injured and perhaps not being able to play his best, he came out and had a great game to put the Lakers one win from the second round of the playoffs.  And he wasn't just making his normal mid range jumpers and layups, he was throwing it down with authority on top of people.  It was another game when Kobe wanted it more than anyone else, and he took it.

Daily Highlight: Lakers Lose and Kobe gets Injured

It was a rough game for the Lakers as New Orleans tied the series at 2 and Kobe came up with an injured ankle.  Chris Paul had another triple double to lead the Hornets, but the question as the games head back to LA will be the fitness of Kobe for the rest of the series.

Daily Highlight: Lakers Even Series

It was a sloppy game, but in the end the Lakers won't care how they won, just that they pulled it off.  Nobody had a particularly good night for the Lakers, and in their first 2 games of the series they've been unconvincing.  How will they do in New Orleans as the series shifts over there?

NBA Playoffs: Wild West Round One

3 of the 4 games in the Western Conference first round are done.  And they were all a bit surprising.  Before we get into those, lets look at the conference standings:

1. San Antonio Spurs
2. LA Lakers
3. Dallas Mavericks
4. OKC Thunder
5. Denver Nuggets
6. Portland Trailblazers
7. New Orleans Hornets
8. Memphis Grizzlies

In the conference's first game the Mavericks were given all they could handle from the Trailblazers.  This is a popular upset pick among the "experts," and rightly so in my view.  The Mavericks often under-achieve in the playoffs, and Portland is a solid team.  Their biggest problem right now is that Brandon Roy isn't 100%, but lately LaMarcus Aldridge has been picking up the slack.  For the Mavericks, they got a great game from the aging Jason Kidd, and Dirk Nowitzki, while having a tough shooting night, turned it up in the 4th quarter.  It looked like the Blazers would pull off the upset, but Kidd and Nowitzki poured it on in the 4th quarter to regain the lead and take game one.

As for the top 2 seeds, the Spurs and the Lakers, neither one was able to defend their home court.  Both teams entered the playoffs in a bit of a slump, but with both teams being so experienced, you wouldn't think it would matter.  They're playing very inferior teams, but it just proves if you're not at your best, you can lose to anyone.  The Spurs were definitely missing Ginobili, and I expect they'll be able to turn things around when he comes back.  I don't think the Lakers had any excuse.  They beat the Hornets in all 4 regular season games, but Chris Paul lit them up for 33 points, 14 assists, and 7 rebounds.  However, I expect both the Spurs and the Lakers to turn it around and win their series.

The last game will be the Thunder verse the Nuggets.  This is a very intriguing matchup.  The Nuggets have been on fire since Carmelo left for the Knicks.  Everyone is contributing, and they're playing with belief and desire.  The Thunder have 2 of the best young players in the NBA: Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook.  The Thunder also have Kendrick Perkins now, who they acquired from the Celtics, and he has lots of playoff experience against some great big men in the game.  Perkins could very well be the man the changes the series.  You know you're going to get big games from the big name players, Durant and Westbrook, but if Perkins can contribute a bit on offense, as you know he will on defense, the Thunder should win this series.

Daily Highlight: Jazz v New Orleans

The Jazz have certainly been having a rough season.  They get another loss here to the New Orleans Hornets.