The Lakers (45-19) are the best in the west, but all that can change after a tough road trip they are about to face. Tonight they play the Hornets (43-20), who are coming off a big win against San Antonio. Chris Paul had 26 points and 17 assists in that victory. The Lakers often have trouble with quality point guards, it being their weakest position, and will have a tough time containing Paul. He averages 21.3 points, 11.1 assists, and 2.7 steals a game. He’ll be joined by Compton’s own Tyson Chandler, who returns to L.A. averaging 11.8 points and 12.3 rebounds.
Next they face the Houston Rockets (44-20), who now lead the southwest division, the most competitive in the league (Spurs, Hornets, Mavs). The have won 20 straight games, the 3rd longest streak of all time. The Lakers have the longest (33) and hope Houston wins their game against the Bobcats tonight so they can end the streak on Sunday. Tracy McGrady has been putting up big numbers since the absence of Yao Ming, but Phil Jackson said they will not forget about the present of point guard Rafer Alston. He has been playing well lately and may take advantage of a slower defense.
Closing out the road trip next week will be a game in Dallas, then a game in Utah. Both teams have excellent point guards, Jason Kidd, and Deron Williams, so once again they are out matched. Both teams are also among the elite in the west, Utah leading their division (43-23), and Dallas only 3.5 games out of first place (42-23). The Lakers are coming off a win against Toronto, where Kobe Bryant dropped 34 points. Tonight’s game is at 5pm on KCAL channel 9.
Just when you thought it could not get worse for the Clippers, it does. They signed Smush Parker yesterday in the hopes of filling the point guard position recently abandoned by Sam Cassell, and then Flip Murray. Parker was waived by the Lakers last season, and then the Heat earlier this week. He was signed for a 2 year, $4.7 million dollar contract with the Heat and played only 9 games this season. He did not play in a game after an altercation with a parking attendant over $12. Why the Clippers would want him is beyond me. He was averaging 5.4 points and 1.7 assists before he stopped playing.
No. 3 UCLA (29-3) had its best 3-point shooting game of the season, hitting 14-of-25. They defeated California 88-66 in the Pac-10 tournament quarterfinals yesterday. The Bruins won their eighth in a row and advanced to tonight’s semifinals against O.J. Mayo and USC, which beat Arizona State 59-55. Mayo scored 23 points in the victory. Freshman Davon Jefferson and Taj Gibson each had 11 points and nine rebounds for the Trojans. They and hope to upset the Bruins in tonight’s game at 6pm.
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