Deja Vu.

We just saw what we already knew.

Again.

Mike Brown, LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers just aren’t ready.

Cleveland is no longer in New Jersey where the Cavs roamed freely about the paint and dominated the glass. They’re in Detroit, where the backups backup will come in and score at will against their soft and inexperienced front court. Jason Maxiell provided the timely baskets that Detroit needed while spelling Roscoe and the Cavs had no answers from their starters. Zydrunas Ilgauskas and Drew Gooden had a combined seven points and eight rebounds tonight, out produced by their own backup, Anderson Varejao who labored for 14 &14. Their collective reluctance to execute on the blocks and an unhealthy dependency on jumpshots leaves the team without another reliable scoring option, which makes it all the easier for Detroit to defend LeBron James.

Bron attacked the basket early and often in the first half and his penetration put the Pistons at a disadvantage. He seized upon their defensive indecision, dishing and dunking the Cavs to a twelve point halftime lead. But his offensive limitations were revealed when Detroit began to consistently shadow him with a help defender. His driving lanes were shut down and with no jumper to fall back on, he forced passes which quickly became turnovers. The second half offense was stagnant and predictable, isolation plays that went nowhere. Detroits team defense is too skilled and aware for them to be beaten by Bron off the bounce and they simply watched him dribble away the shot clock before collapsing on him. Cleveland continued to flail away from three instead of nourishing their halftime lead and suffered through an eight minute drought which kept the Pistons around.

Then he did it again. This time ahead by one, with a chance to extend a lead, LeBron attacks the basket and draws a cluster of white jerseys. As he and the primary defender both left their feet, Bron had a prime opportunity to draw contact and a whistle by attempting a shot at the rim. Instead, he passed out to Sasha Pavlovic, who wasn’t ready to shoot and traveled. Thirty seconds earlier, he missed the first of two free throws. Coincidence? I think not.

Rasheed Wallace recognized and exploited his mismatch with Varejao throughout the fourth and put Detroit ahead with a clutch fallaway over James. Instead of going for a quick two and fouling to extend the game, Mike Brown, who had wasted all of his timeouts anyway, called another isolation play for his star. After pushing off of Richard Hamilton to get a step, LeBron spun directly into his outstretched arms in a weak attempt to draw a foul and was denied. As if. The Cavs scrambled for two more attempts, but the game was sealed with a technical foul on an incredulous Coach Brown as the King was left shaking his heavy head.

Cleveland loses 79-76. Again.

And Detroit hasn’t even played well yet.

*And no Cleveland, you don't get to complain about the refs unless you're also gonna acknowledge that Bron should've been suspended.

"...Probably Maim You, If I Owe You I'm Blowin' You To Smithereens..."

New Orleans, LA, March 23 (AP) -- Kobe Bryant is making 50-point games look routine. Bryant finished with exactly 50, becoming only the second NBA player to hit that mark in four straight games and leading Los Angeles to a 111-105 victory over the New Orleans Hornets on Friday night.

Only Wilt Chamberlain has exceeded that mark, scoring at least 50 points in seven consecutive games during the 1961-62 season.


ESPN--Bryant also spoke to a few other items both related and unrelated to his scoring streak:

• He said he still considers Bruce Bowen of the San Antonio Spurs the player who defends him best.

• He said he does not think he merits MVP consideration this season, because that award should be reserved for a player on a team with one of the NBA's best records. "You have to honor that. When we get to that point, then maybe I'll get some consideration."

• He claimed he did not know he had 48 points before hitting a tough jumper over Rasual Butler with 5:12 left. "I went up to [assistant coach] Brian Shaw and said, 'Did I get 50 already?' " One player who did know Bryant was on 48 was Butler. "I didn't like being a part of history that way," Butler told me.

• Bryant acknowledged that his scoring streak was spurred by the national debate over whether he was a dirty player after he was suspended twice for elbowing opponents in the face. "For me, that was insulting. To have people talking about something else is a much better thing."

• You may notice on the highlights of Friday night's game how Bryant high-fived a young boy midway through the third quarter after hitting a sick 3-pointer from the left side with a defender draped all over him. I asked Kobe: Why the high-five? "It was a little kid, and he had said, 'What's up,' and I said, 'What's up' back. And I told him: 'Watch this 3. I've got a 3 for you.' "


L.A. Times Laker Blog-... but frankly the Loch Ness Monster could have done a two-step with Tupac at halfcourt of the New Orleans Arena and we'd still be talking about the fact that Kobe has scored fifty or more in four straight games. Can he/the Lakers make it five on Sunday against Golden State? We'll find out.

"...It 'Aint To Play Games Wit You, It's To Aim At You..."

Memphis, Tenn., March 22 (AP) -- Kobe Bryant became the fourth player in NBA history to score at least 50 points in three straight games Thursday night. Bryant scored 60 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' 121-119 win over the Memphis Grizzlies. Bryant was 20-for-37 from the field, including 3-for-7 from 3s, and 17 of 18 from the free-throw line.

The last Laker with three consecutive 50-point games was Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor in December 1962. Michael Jordan and Wilt Chamberlain are the only other players with three straight 50-point games.

"It just feels great,'' Bryant said of joining Baylor, Jordan and Chamberlain. "It's really special and very humbling to be in the same company.''


When the Lakers were in that 7 game losing streak, crippled by injuries, everyone knew that Kobe was going to be cut loose. This was practically inevitable, and that is what makes it so special. The fufillment-and raising-of expectations. This is greatness.

Who's next? New Orleans? Byron Scott must have his arms folded somethin' fierce right now. "Kobe scored 60? Throw some D on that bi.."



* I had to play this. I can't stop listening to it. Oh, almost forgot. Enjoy.

Michael Jordan's consecutive 50 pointers.

"When I Come Back Like Jordan, Wearin' the .45..."

Elias-Kobe Bryant scored 50 points in the Lakers' 109-102 victory over the Timberwolves on Sunday night. Combined with his 65 points on Friday night, Bryant's two-game total of 115 matches the third highest in the last 40 NBA seasons -- topped only by Kobe's own 118 points over two games last season and Michael Jordan's 118 in 1990. Wilt Chamberlain did it many times, the last of which was 115 points over two games in December 1967 -- just within that 40-year window.