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By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Donald Sterling has been confrontational during his 33 years as the Clippers' owner so it isn't surprising that he isn't taking his lifetime suspension without a fight. Sterling has a $1.7 billion lawsuit against the NBA in mind after he was banned for life by NBA commissioner Adam Silver. He is considering several major law firms. Sterling's advisors aren't disputing the fact that Sterling's comments were racial but they are disputing the fact the tape he made...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Shelly Sterling, the estranged wife of ousted Clippers owner Donald Sterling, wanted to attend the team’s Game 5 victory over the Golden State Warriors Tuesday night but didn’t know if she’d be welcome. Considering the fact her husband had been banned for life from NBA arenas earlier in the day she had reason to be concerned. She sought out Coach Doc Rivers for permission, which was granted. Shelly, who usually sits in a courtside seat, watched this game from...
By Bosmat Eynav Sports Columnist Many words were written about the stab in the back that the Clippers got from their owner, and many more words on the subject will follow… on my end, I'd like to add one word - I am ASHAMED. I'm so ashamed that right on holocaust remembrance day, while i'm lighting a memorial candle for the innocent souls of six million jews, my people, who were slaughtered with cruelty due to extreme racism, a jewish man would allow himself to express himself so disgracefully t...
Chicago Bulls center Joakim Noah, the centerpiece of a defense which held opponents to a league-low 91.8 ppg, is the recipient of the 2013-14 Kia NBA Defensive Player of the Year Award, the NBA announced. Noah becomes the first Bulls player since Michael Jordan in 1987-88 to earn the honor. Noah received 555 of a possible 1,125 points, including 100 first-place votes, from a panel of 125 sportswriters and broadcasters throughout the United States and Canada. Indiana’s Roy Hibbert (166 points, eight first-place votes) and the Los Angeles C...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The Lakers said they had no position for Phil Jackson, so he joined the New York Knicks and made his first move this week, firing Coach Mike Woodson. The Knicks didn’t make the playoffs and needed a change in direction. As the new man in charge Jackson acted quickly. Had he been given the same position with the Lakers Mike D’Antoni would most likely have been fired by now. Instead, the Knicks are moving toward hiring someone with a background in the Triangle Off...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor I saw two versions of Blake Griffin in the opening games of the current playoff series between the Clippers and Golden State Warriors. In Game One I was wondering why Griffin was committing useless fouls, scrapping too hard for rebounds even as the whistle was blowing. Get away, I thought. You don’t need this. Being competitive is good but, man, use your head. Griffin has been a star from the day he joined the Clippers but he took a significant leap this s...
By Bosmat Eynav Observer Columnist Clippers and the Warriors - two young teams that long to make history and bring championship to their club and fans After decades at the bottom of the league and not being a real threat, this year a big change is happening. In the first game we saw how the high pressure to win was paralyzing a number of Clippers players, and prevented the team from flowing freely and playing as naturally and joyfully as they know and can. The desire of both teams to make the ch...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor A year ago, when the Lakers completed one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history, I wrote Anatomy of a Disaster and had no intention of following with another similar article. But throughout this season, the worst since the Lakers moved here in 1960 from Minneapolis, readers have frequently requested Part 2 of this story. So here it is. It was bad enough last season when Kobe Bryant averaged 45 minutes a game down the stretch trying to get the Lak...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Here's that time of the year again when talented teams with excellent coaches are in danger of finishing as failures. It gets crazier every year because only eight Western Conference teams qualify for the playoffs and several more barely miss. There's even talk that Golden State's Mark Jackson could lose his job if the Warriors lose their first round playoff series against the Clippers. What a shame that would be as the Warriors have won 19 more games than they'v...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Just a few more weeks and the Lakers' season will be over. No playoffs this time. Of all the negatives that have occurred the one that bothers me the most is the way Pau Gasol hasn't been appreciated. This is one of the top 100 big men ever to play in the NBA, a professional who has had championship seasons here but now is struggling against age and injuries, plus a coach who doesn't want the center to have the ball in the post. Instead of Gasol being celebrated...
After Phil Jackson was introduced Tuesday as president of New York Knicks basketball operations no player immediately changed teams. But the initial impact is that it was a grand day for the Knicks and a dreadful one for the Lakers. Both teams began the day in horrible shape, both out of playoff contention, both needing a change in leadership. Both with a dominating owner. But James Dolan of the knicks said he is gladly yielding authority to Jackson in building a more cohesive Knicks roster....
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor As of this writing, Phil Jackson and the New York Knicks are making progress on details of a contract that will bring him to the team with total control in running the basketball operation. This is what the man who won 11 NBA championship rings as a coach and two as a player has sought in recent years from the Lakers. Apparently, however, Laker owner Jim Buss isn't interested. Avery Johnson, who played in the league for 16 years and then coached Dallas and New...
Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who is recovering from a fractured lateral tibial plateau of his left knee, was examined Wednesday by team physician Dr. Steve Lombardo, who determined that Bryant's injury has still not healed. With this diagnosis, Bryant will not return to play this season, it was announced by the team. "With Kobe's injury still not healed, the amount of time he'd need to rehab and be ready to play, and the amount of time remaining in the season, we've simply run out of time for him...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Based on my actions of the last 30 years or so, I made a startling decision last Friday. Without question, if the Lakers were playing that night I’d go there. It’s been my work. I need to know what’s going on with the team. But reality set in. The story wasn’t at the Lakers’ game. They’re out of playoff contention and they were playing the Sacramento Kings, a similarly awful team. No, I needed to spend the day at the Clippers’ training facility, where there w...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor It happens every year late in the National Basketball Association season. Teams believing they have a chance to win the championship add potentially important players. Teams out of contention release players to lighten their payroll. What's different here is the reversal of roles by the Lakers and Clippers. Hopelessly out of contention, the Lakers have traded away Steve Blake. Usually they're adding a key part. With a championship on their mind, the Clippers...
By Bosmat Eynav Sports Columnist Once the flame begins to catch, Steve Blake will blow it higher. Every player on the team is subjected to two opposing forces: Negative Force: drives the player to detach from the team Positive Force: bonds and connects the player to the team In my opinion Steve Blake is the player who contributes most significantly to the group's bonding force on the court. Sadly, it seems like the Lakers have given up the strongest positive force on the team, the BG bond that...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Stop me if you've heard this story before -- like last month -- but the Lakers are trying to trade Pau Gasol. If you don't follow pro basketball closely you probably wonder why they'd trade a proven player who averaged 20 points per game in January. If you do follow the NBA you know it's a common practice for teams out of playoff contention to unload players with high salaries. These teams aren't going to get the lucrative playoff revenue, so reducing the...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The most interesting part of the remaining NBA regular season games involve teams driving toward favorable playoff position. There’s a big difference between having home court advantage and not having it. There’s a big difference from playing a powerhouse opponent right away or getting a series first to work your way in. I’ve traveled with great Laker teams with players who understood this. Shaquille O’Neal used to emphasize to me the Lakers had to finish...
An injury-depleted Lakers team was dominated by the Clippers, their intra-Staples Center rivals, being blown-out, 123-87, on Friday. The 36-point victory margin was the Clippers' largest ever against the Lakers, besting a 125-94 victory in 1992 at the Sports Arena, then the Clippers' home. Some might say that an asterisk needs to be printed next to this game in the record book since both teams were playing without their injured superstar guards, Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul. The Lakers were also...
The Los Angeles Sports Council has named L.A. Clippers point guard and six-time NBA All-Star Chris Paul the 2013 Sportsman of the Year. Paul will be honored during the ninth Annual LA Sports Awards, which will be held on Wednesday, March 5 at the Beverly Hilton Hotel. The LA Sports Awards are presented annually by the Sports Council to celebrate the greatest moments of the year in sports in the Los Angeles/Orange County area. The Sportsman award is given to the local male athlete whose...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Any player on the roster of a National Basketball Association team on January 8 has his contract guaranteed for the rest of the season. In view of that, the day of decision arrived for franchises this week. Teams out of playoff contention, especially, sought to reduce their financial obligation. The Lakers and Clippers both made a salary-cutting move. The Lakers released forward Shawne Williams, who had started several games at forward. The Clippers released...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The Lakers announced that Kobe Bryant will be out for six weeks with a broken bone in his left leg. Doctor Robert Klapper, ESPN radio’s medical expert with a distinguished reputation in his field, told listeners that because the injury is on a lower extremity Kobe won’t be able to train during the six weeks to get back into playing shape. Most likely, then, the Lakers can expect to be without the Kobe they’ve come to rely on for probably two months. Well, two mon...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor After the Clippers set a franchise record for victories in a season Vinny del Negro was fired as coach. There was the matter of the Clippers losing in the first round of the NBA playoffs. That was last season and this one began with Clippers management sending a very clear message. It was time for the Clippers to approach – and possibly win -- the first NBA championship in their history. Doc Rivers, leaving Boston after nine years, was hired as the coach who m...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor When the Lakers lost to the Phoenix Suns Tuesday at Staples Center Coach Mike D’Antoni began the evening with his ninth different starting lineup in 21 games. The great Laker teams I covered in the past usually had set lineups and set substitution rotations. The players knew their roles. With roles changing game by game the defense suffers. It can take several years for teammates to learn where each other will be. This season the Lakers brought in a batch of g...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor On Tuesday, it was opening night of the National Basketball Association season and former Laker great Magic Johnson was in peak form. However, Johnson is no longer a player or even a Laker minority owner. He’s one of the Dodgers’ new owners. “But my heart is still with the Lakers,” he said. “I love the Lakers.” He loves them enough to be quite upset about the status of the franchise. Johnson spent Tuesday appearing on a variety of radio sports shows and his theme...
