Kaufy Break: Hoops Hysteria in LA

Every city and every region of the country has its own sports niche. The South has football. The northeast has baseball. Minnesota has hockey.

And well, Southern California has basketball. Not just the NBA but NCAA hoops and prep sports as well. In fact, we’re pretty good at all three. The Lakers have won fourteen NBA championships, UCLA has won twelve titles respectively, and the nation’s top prep team, Mater Dei, is from Orange County.

That makes these winter months a year pretty exciting time of year for Southern California sports fans. Staples Center is generally packed for both Laker and Clipper games. College arenas from UCLA’s legendary Pauley Pavilion to Pepperdine’s Firestone Fieldhouse in Malibu provide a festive college atmosphere that rivals any other crazy college town. And those high school gymnasiums are filled to capacity as well every Friday night.

The level of excitement among SoCal hoops fans is so high due to the success that their teams are enjoying so far this seaspn.

The Lakers are once again the NBA’s premier franchise, as they currently hold the best record in the association. The UCLA basketball team is once again among the nation’s best as evident by the Bruins’ 15-4 mark. Even USC has fielded an exciting hoops team that is just two games out of first place in the highly competitive Pac-10 conference. Three teams from Southern California (Mater Dei, Westchester, and Dominguez), rank 1, 10, and 13, respectively in SI.com’s prep hoops rankings. Well, the Clippers are once again at the bottom of the Western Conference. I guess you can’t be perfect after all.

So with hoops hysteria sweeping the southland from Los Angeles to San Diego, expect a hoops oriented column in the first ever edition of “Kaufy Break.”

The Highs and Lows of the Week

Los Angeles Lakers

Highlights of the week: In the much anticipated, Kobe versus LeBron showdown on Martin Luther Kings Jr. Day, number twenty-four bested “The King” in the Lakers’ 105-88 victory. Bryant recorded his first triple-double since 2005, while LeBron struggled to get his shot going as evident by his low shooting percentage (36%). A few days later, the Lakers flexed their muscles in blowout victories over the Clippers and Wizards in front of sellout crowds at Staples Center.

Lowlights of the week: In Monday’s game against Cleveland, Kobe dislocated his right finger early in the game. Fortunately X-rays were negative, and he is not expected to miss any action. It ranks as a lowlight simply because Laker fans tend to hold their collective breaths whenever the black mamba is in any sort of pain.

Los Angeles Clippers

Highlights of the week: On Friday, the Clippers finnaly entered the double digit win category with a narrow three point victory over the cellar-dwelling Oklahoma City Thunder. But the most exciting aspect in LA’s victory was the play of rookie guard Eric Gordon, who scored a career high 41 points in 43 ½ minutes.

Lowlights of the week: On Wednesday, the Clippers faced the Lakers in the battle for Los Angeles but were once again dominated by their hallway rivals. They had an incredibly tough time stopping big man Andrew Bynum, who became the first Laker since Shaq to score 40 or more points and grab 15 or more rebounds. 

Los Angeles Kings

Highlights of the week: The Kings enter the all-star break riding a modest two game winning streak after impressive road victories at Minnesota and Colorado. Two of the team’s brightest young stars, Defenseman Drew Doughty and forward Dustin Brown, are also participating in the All-Star festivities this weekend in Montreal. Doughty recorded one goal and an assistance in the rookies’ 9-5 win over the sophomores, and Brown will suit up for today’s all-star game.

Lowlights of the week: To be honest, there aren’t really any, except the fact that the all-star break has arrived. The Kings are finally starting to play some solid hockey and are making a serious push for the playoffs. Therefore, this probably isn’t the best time for a break.

Anaheim Ducks

Highlights of the week: The Ducks sent three players (Ryan Getzlaf, Jean-Sebastien Giguere and Scott Niedermayer) to the NHL All-Star Game. It’s a particularily exciting event for Gugure who will be starting his first All-Star game in his hometown.

Lowlights of the week: The Ducks headed to New York to face the Rangers and Islanders but came away empty handed. Their loss 2-4 loss to the Rangers, the second ranked team in the Atlantic Divison, wasn’t anything to look down upon, but the loss to Islanders was particularly frustrating. New York’s other team holds a dismal record of 13-29-5 and are last place in the Eastern Conference. No playoff team should lose to them.

UCLA Bruins

Highlights of the week: The Bruins looked good in their 61-59 victory at Washington State, which moved them into a tie with Washington for first place in the conference. But…

Lowlights of the week: UCLA fell to the Washington Huskies by eleven points and then dropped into a three way tie for second place in the Pac-10.

USC Trojans

Highlights of the week: Despite being largely outplayed for the first 35 minutes of the game, USC earned a hard fought victory over Washington State by a score of 46-44 on Saturday. The victory put the Trojans over the .500 mark in the conference and just one game out of second place in the Pac-10.

Lowlights of the week: Thursday’s road loss to Washington in men’s hoops was arguably the team’s most frustrating defeat of the season. In the 78-73 defeat, the Trojans shot just seventeen free throws compared to Washington’s 40. I guess Tim Donaghy is now doing college games.

Quote of the Week I

“I hope they [the officials] are talking about retiring.”
–USC basketball announcer Rory Markas, after another bad call during USC’s loss to Washington on Thursday.

Quotes of the Week II

“I knew it was there, and I won’t hide from it. But I’m not going to go out on a soapbox about it. You just adjust. And I made the adjustment without having to cheat the game or myself.”
–Dodgers second baseman Jeff Kent, when asked about the steroid era at his retirement press conference.

While most people were never big fans of Kent because of his smug attitude, I think that he deserves a lot of credit for “playing the game the right way” (i.e: not using steroids, HGH, corked bats, pine tat, etc.). He certainly deserves a spot in Cooperstown.

Quote of the Week III

“One more year after this one with the Lakers. Dr. Buss has insinuated that he would like me to coach longer, but I said, ‘Let’s just do one year at a time right now.’ So that’s what we’re doing.”
–Lakers coach Phil Jackson when asked about his future with the team during an interview with Laker great Magic Johnson.

Right now, the question is not whether Phil should retire; he has earned the right to do so on his own terms, but who his replacement will be. If the Lakers want to continue running the triangle offense than expect Dr. Buss to peg Kurt Rambis, Brian Shaw, or Jim Cleamons, as the successor to the Zen Master. However, if they decide to go in a different direction, than I expect ex-Laker and current Hornets coach Byron Scott to take over the reigns. Scott has previously mentioned the becoming the Lakers head coach would be his dream job, and he certainly has to credentials to live it out.

Stat of the Week

89-26: The Lakers record against the Clippers since the Clippers moved to Los Angeles from San Diego in 1984.

Player of the Week

Andrew Bynum reminded all Laker fans this week why Dr. Buss was so eager to sign the seven foot center to a contract extension this past offseason. On Wednesday night, Bynum torched the Clippers for a career-high 42 points, on just 24 field goal attempts, and followed up that performance with a solid 23-point effort (on just 12 field goal attempts) in a blowout win against the Washington Wizards the following night. If the points weren’t enough, Bynum tossed in 29 rebounds and four blocked shots in the two games, just for good measure.

Dud of the Week

Darren Collison is highly regarded as one of the nation’s top point guards, but his performances this weekend against the Washington schools will do nothing to defend that claim. Collison shot a combined 36% percent from the field, well below his season average of 52%. In the loss to Washington, he had a tough time stopping 5’8” freshman point guard Isaiah Thomas, who scored 24 points, the second highest scoring output of his career.

Ten Random Thoughts

1. I don’t think that coaches, managers, or players, should be writing “tell all” books. That means you Joe Torre. Leave the A-Rod stories in the clubhouse.
2. Why is the NHL All-Star Game on Versus. Nobody in America has that station.
3. It’s time for Arte Moreno to open up his wallet and give Manny a nice fat contract to join the Angels.
4. Substitute Frank McCourt for Arte Moreno and Dodgers for Angels.
5. I’ll admit it. I was wrong about Eric Gordon. He’s got game.
6. A.J. Smith is one of the best general managers in the National Football League but he can be a jerk sometimes.
7. I think Mark Sanchez made the right decision to enter the draft. ESPN’s Mel Kiper, the premier draft guru, has him going number three to the Chiefs. Last year, Atlanta’s Matt Ryan earned $34.75 in guaranteed money after being drafted third overall. Not a bad gig.
8. Who would have thought that the Ducks are just six points ahead of the Kings in the Pacific Division standings?
9. Despite their losing two out of their last three games, I have this weird feeling that UCLA is going to make another run to the Final Four.
10. LaDainian Tomlinson should not and will not be traded.