Worthy of Your Attention
Lakers vs. Cavs
The Lakers are in Cleveland for a nationally televised affair tonight, and we all know where most of the eyes will be focused. Believe it or not, there are other intriguing subplots in the matchup
Coming off a surprising loss to the Knicks at MSG last night, Cleveland is sure to come out fired up, and it’ll be a test for the Lakers to withstand that initial surge. As for the Lakers, they’re in the midst of a four-game road swing, and we’re all still trying to figure out if they’re for real or not.
Oh, who am I kidding? Tonight will be all about LeBron vs. Kobe. As Charles Barkley said on TNT last week, Bryant is Superman, but James is tugging on his cape. I’ll be interested to see if ‘Bron accepts the challenge and actually guards Kobe throughout the game, instead of letting Larry Hughes and Eric Snow be the sacrificial lambs.
Ego, pride, and the national TV glare will most likely ensure that each guy gets over 35, but the game will be decided by the supporting cast.
Your time to shine, Andrew Bynum.
38 Responses to “Worthy of Your Attention”
Dec.20 at 4:13 pm
niQ says:
this will be fun to watch.
but probably not as anticipated as boston vs detroit last night.
Dec.20 at 4:17 pm
white hot eboy says:
Yeah, the Cavs will make it worth our while. ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ
Dec.20 at 4:18 pm
Lz - Cphfinest3 says:
Please LeBron end 24..
Dec.20 at 4:19 pm
TADOne says:
The Cavs need to get that Knick stench off them. Sorry, I got better things to do.
Dec.20 at 4:40 pm
Holly MacKenzie says:
Mutoni, I am loving the “worth of” posts. I’m pretty jacked for this game, can’t pretend I’m not. Hoping the groin becomes a non-issue and Bynum dominates.
Dec.20 at 4:45 pm
Harlem_World says:
Lakers win this one easy. It’s possibly more fun to watch Bron have to do too much without any help than it is watching Kobe play ‘team ball’ though.
Dec.20 at 4:58 pm
Slick Nick Da Ruler says:
Worry about yo’ self Pops
Dec.20 at 5:58 pm
Mike C says:
Look out for Kobe’s 50+ performance tonight.
He’s long overdue.. This team-ball doesn’t look right on him.
Dec.20 at 6:18 pm
Jukai says:
Lebron gets a monster triple double, 35-11-16! Lakers win by five or something. Sigh…
Dec.20 at 6:18 pm
Jukai says:
Also Bynum doesn’t play as well with centers who are bigger than him.
Dec.20 at 6:31 pm
Ryan Jones says:
Mutoni, these posts were my idea, weren’t they? I assume I’ll get a cut of whatever you’re making off them.
Dec.20 at 8:08 pm
illwilldub says:
Did I read some dude begging LeSOFT to end 24???You gotta be kidding right???? HATER When it is all said and done, Kobe Bryant will go down as the greatest baskebtall player EVER!!- Mark Jackson
Dec.20 at 8:38 pm
Can says:
HOLLY!! if you are indeed still in Vancouver, how are you going about watching this game?? you get TNT??
Dec.20 at 9:02 pm
andres says:
plz. kobe is the best anw will always be the best.
lebron is tight but hes always one step behind kobe.
Dec.20 at 10:27 pm
Bubba Chuck says:
since when is kobe superman i thought dat was shaq haha
Dec.20 at 11:44 pm
Jukai says:
It’s not a nickname, it’s an analogy.
Dec.21 at 1:43 am
TheMC5 says:
Holly: Careful now, we don’t want the league to catch on to RapsNation. If that site goes down all is lost for me and my basketball watching pleasures.
Dec.21 at 2:10 am
Mike C says:
Damn.. Kobe’s slipping.. Just 21 points in a big game like this? That’s not the Kobe I know..
Dec.21 at 3:06 am
Sesa says:
I believed that LeBron and Kobe negated each other. The key difference in this win was Varejao.
Those charges taken, offensive rebounds and tip-ins are killing the Lakers.
Dec.21 at 3:07 am
Sesa says:
I still also believed that Andrew Bynum can’t create his own shot. He needed to be assisted.
Dec.21 at 3:26 am
albie1kenobi says:
i thought most centers can’t create their own shots, but maybe that’s just me. i thought the game tonight was well played, except phil really should have stopped the bleeding earlier in the late 3rd/early 4th quarter. that 16-0 run by cavs killed the lakers.
Dec.21 at 5:37 am
gdon says:
Kobe got owned and his quote at the end, though amusing, was predictably stuck-up. Please, I’ll put up with your bull if you’d made the shot. This is how kids on the playground pick up their unwarranted arrogance.
Dec.21 at 8:47 am
Lz - Cphfinest3 says:
Well illwilldub, that dude was me and look what happened LeBron outplayed Kobe througout the game, Cavs won. And don’t give me some sh!t about the groin, if it’s that bad he shouldn’t be on the floor. Kobe greatest ever, HA! he’s not even close to Mike. Let him win six championships as “The Man” on his team then we can talk.
Dec.21 at 8:51 am
Lz - Cphfinest3 says:
illwilldub - I’m no hater, but truely great players win games, series & championships. Kobe hasen’t won jack since Shaq left, and that’s a fact. Kobe talent is great, no doubt about it, but to be an all-time great you have to win, make the players around you better, and carry the team.
Dec.21 at 12:28 pm
Sesa says:
Lz - Cphfinest3,
I’m assuming you thought that LeBron already won a championship ring.
Dec.21 at 12:57 pm
Old Skool Sloan says:
Watching the Cavs offense is brutal. LBJ holds at the top of the key, dribbles left, pulls up for the J. Wash. Rinse. Repeat.
I’d pull my hair out watching this if I were a Cavs fan. Can you imagine the damage LBJ would do in a motion offense with his all-around skills? Sad.
Dec.21 at 2:05 pm
Jukai says:
I’m still with Lz - Cphfinest3 here. Lebron has the POSSIBILITY of being better than Jordan cause of his age… but I doubt Lebron is going to progress much more than he already has. Kobe’s already lost it. Throughout the game they’re talking about who is as good as Mike, god, it’s painful…
Dec.21 at 3:48 pm
ak47 says:
Everybody gets on Kobe for being a selfish player and then when he plays team ball those same guys say he’s “lost” it! What?! You guys are a trip!!!!Make up your damn minds and stop the hate!!!!!
Dec.21 at 3:56 pm
ak47 says:
GDON, how the hell did Kobe get owned? And by who? The only time LeBron guarded him was at the end of the game and Kobe still got his shot off! If LeBron is such a good defender he should try guarding him throughout the game the way Kobe guards him. What is he afraid of?Let him do that then we can talk!
Dec.21 at 4:14 pm
ak47 says:
Lz - Cphfinest3 So guess LeBron isn’t a great player ’cause he had an awesome game against Detroit last year and then dissappeared in the finals against a much better team. I wanna assume you’re also including James, right? Or are you just another Kobe hater or should I say a causal NBA fan who just repeats whatever he sees on ESPN? Which one is it Lz - Cphfinest3? ‘Cause you are definately not a real basketball fan.
Dec.21 at 4:18 pm
ak47 says:
Jukai, I agree with you. it’s painful that we don’t want to give the best player in the game today the props he deserves ’cause we don’t like him. He’s the closest thing we’ve had to MIKE! and we can’t see it or don’t wanna acknowledge it. We give LeBron praise for doing what Kobe’s been doing for years in this league! Yeah, you’re right, it’s painful…
Dec.21 at 4:51 pm
docta j says:
bynum was killing last night
lebron was lebron
and kobe did what kobe does.. if only he was a 100 percent
Dec.21 at 5:13 pm
ak47 says:
Docta J, don’t worry ’cause he will be next time around. I can’t wait for Part II in LA!
Dec.21 at 5:51 pm
rahiem15 says:
look guys if u are real baketball fans u will see that LBJ is great and so is KOBE the one thing that kobe has is he can finish like no other one in this league man i don’t care if u hate Kobe or not but u have to respect what he does on the court if he plays the team game or not Look i am the first to say i hate Kobe but if i am a coach in game 7 Nba finals tied game 5 secs left i am sorry but KOBE IS GETTING THE BALL don’t get me wrong i love LBJ but kobe has more experience than him right now guys remember this is Lebrons 5h season and Kobes 12th so LBJ is not there but not far behind who knows where he will be the future but right now i hate to admit it but Kobe has the edge and its because of his killer instinct to finish games maybe not as good as mike but he is good. all i am trying to say is they are both great for the game if u are a true fan .
Dec.21 at 6:16 pm
jdubbs says:
That was a great game. Lebron won this battle, for sure, having them go at eachother one on one was awesome. Wish they both had better teams so we could watch them more.
Dec.22 at 5:52 am
LAN says:
i hate kobe! as if u shoot that shot! and as if that was a foul on fishers rebound on kobes sh*t shot in the last 20 seconds! seriously 2 games out of the 2 games ive watched lakers kobe gave up the game by throwin the ball away in the last 30 seconds.
Dec.22 at 4:18 pm
ak47 says:
LAN, he’s not throwing the ball away. It’s called being clutch1 That’s what great players do you dumb fu&*!
Dec.24 at 10:23 pm
Jukai says:
The Kobe hate is really ridiculous