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06/10/2010 - Boston, MA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Los Angeles Lakers are a perfect fit for Hollywood.
The franchise sports a ton of star power. Kobe Bryant is one of the best to ever play the game, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom are two of the most skilled big men in today's NBA, and Phil Jackson is the most successful coach in the history of professional sports.
But, if you were looking for the barometer of the Lakers' success, it resides in the backcourt -- next to Bryant.
On paper veteran Derek Fisher is the weak link of the Lakers. It seems like every playoff series that LA is in, the talking heads pontificate about the advantage the opposition has at the point guard position.
It's was no different coming into the NBA Finals. Despite lacking a top-tier, consistent jumper, the ultra-quick Rajon Rondo has turned into the star on a team featuring three future Hall of Famers. Meanwhile, the book on the 35- year-old Fisher says he is just a standstill shooter these days with slow feet that gets beat off the dribble at will by the NBA's quicker guards.
It was almost a "pick your poison" type of decision for Jackson when drawing up the Lakers' defensive strategy. Bryant may be the best on-ball defender in basketball and can move back-and-forth to stifle either Rondo or sharp- shooting two-guard Ray Allen.
Jackson was clearly more concerned with Rondo's ability to get to the rim, and made his decision to place Bryant on Rondo the majority of the time. The mind set worked in Game 1 but blew up badly in the sequel when Allen set an NBA Finals record by sinking eight three-point shots in a 103-94 Game 2 win over the Lakers.
Fisher wasn't responsible for all of Allen's success in that one but he was on the floor when the ball tipped off and was the one responsible for letting Allen explode early.
Fish took Allen's performance personally and responded big in Game 3, scoring 11 of his 16 points in the fourth quarter to lift the Lakers to a road win and help them recapture home-court advantage in the set.
Fisher, like Bryant, going after his fifth championship ring, made 5-of-7 shots from the field in the final quarter after making just 6-of-21 field goals in the first 132 minutes of the series.
"We saw some things we could accomplish by playing a little two-man game between Kobe and myself," Fisher said. "When Kobe sets a screen, his man is going to be very reluctant to help off of him, so it allows somebody else to get into the interior of their defense, and a couple times I made a pass or two, and a few other times I was able to knock down shots."
As impressive as Fisher's offensive game was in the fourth quarter, it was his defense that really stood out. Allen followed his finals record performance by nearly setting another one for futility.
Allen misfired on all 13 of his shot attempts from the field in Game 3 and had just two points, falling one miss shy Dennis Johnson for worst percentage without a field goal in a finals game. Johnson went 0-for-14 for Seattle against Washington in Game 7 of the 1978 Finals
"You have to understand spots on the floor, where [Allen's] trying to get to get his shots off," Fisher said after his Game 3 performance. "We wanted to pick our spots to get a little bit more pressure, get Kobe a little bit closer to Rajon [Rondo] to take away some of the sharp passing angles where he can get the ball to Ray really fast right in his shooting pocket. And from there it's just trusting that if you keep making him work, he won't necessarily hit 8-of-11 threes every night."
It's easy to poke holes in Fisher's game but scouting reports rarely delve into intangibles. First and foremost, Bryant respects him, going so far to say that Fisher is the only player he will listen to.
"I probably am the only maybe guy he listens to," Fisher said at practice on Wednesday about his relationship with Bryant. "He's married, so I know he listens to somebody else. We've developed a relationship and a level of trust, I think professionally as well as personally, that we respect each other in a way that nothing else comes between that respect."
On the floor, he may be slow but Fisher understands where to be and has built his body up to the point where he can muscle his opposition. On the offensive end, Fisher has ice running through his veins and turns from a detriment to a big-time positive as the clock ticks down. Few players are willing to take more big shots down the stretch of a close game.
That said, the clock is clearly ticking on Fisher's career and he was especially emotional after his Game 3 performance, even breaking down on Boston's WEEI.
"Just being a part of such a big night and being so instrumental in helping our team win. That's really where the emotion came from," Fisher said. "Even though I talk a lot in terms of answering questions and sharing my thoughts about things, I hold in a lot, as well, and so it just all kind of came up. My thoughts about how meaningful it is to be in this position again in my career."
<< Reds send Leake to the hill in finale versus Giants
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - An opponent of Cincinnati rookie pitcher Mike Leake said
that you would never know that he didn't play in the minor leagues or that it
was his first year in the majors the way he has performed.
Leake will try to live up to
<< Packers CB Underwood issues apology
Green Bay, WI (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Packers cornerback Brandon Underwood issued
an apology Wednesday to his teammates for being a distraction in light of
facing possible sexual assault charges stemming from an incident over the
weekend
<< Report: USC to get two-year bowl game ban
Los Angeles, CA (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The University of Southern California will
reportedly be slapped with a two-year bowl ban by the NCAA and will also lose
more than 20 football scholarships when violations within the athletics
program
<< Chicago to host parade for Blackhawks Friday
Chicago, IL (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Chicago Blackhawks will celebrate their
Stanley Cup title with a ticker-tape parade in the Windy City on Friday.
The parade will mark the first title for Chicago's four major sports teams
since the
Padres, Mets hope to play two at Citi Field >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mother Nature played a role in major league baseball last
night and both the Mets and Padres fell victim to rain in the New York area.
Both clubs are slated for a day-night doubleheader Thursday at Citi Field.
The first co
Twins aim for sweep of Royals >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The Minnesota Twins shoot for their seventh straight win at
home and a three-game sweep of the AL Central-rival Kansas City Royals tonight
in the series finale from Target Field.
The AL Central-leading Twins are coming off
Halladay, Phillies set for perfection rematch with Marlins >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Florida's Josh Johnson and Phillies ace Roy Halladay were
able to get an extra day of rest with last night's postponement due to rain,
and will go at it again Thursday at Citizens Bank Park.
Wednesday's second contest of t
Santana, Halos aim to stay hot in Oakland >>
(Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Ervin Santana's resurgence over the past month has played
a big part in the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim's rise back to contention in
the American League's West Division. Considering Santana's history of success
against
March Madness odds and printable March Madness brackets
With the field of 64/65 set, MySportsbook.com has the Florida Gators as the 4-1 favorite to successfully defend their National Championship. Men’s Division-1 College Basketball has not seen a team repeat as National Champions since Duke won back to back championships in ’91 & ‘92. After losing three out of four late in the season, the Gators are full of momentum as they won their last four games by an average of 18 points. Not surprisingly, right behind the Gators are the other three top seeds: Kansas 5-1, UNC 6-1, and Ohio State 7-1. Many consider Kansas to be the hottest team in the country, having won 11 straight. With Kansas, it is hard to ignore all of the early exits from the “dance” in recent years. With an impressive ACC Tournament, UNC ensured themselves the other top seed. UNC has about as much talent as any other team in the tournament but with a team that’s best players are primarily freshman and sophomores, could youth be a concern. Behind freshman sensation, Greg Oden, OSU will look to do what their football team failed to do just a few months earlier. OSU seems to have peeked at the right time, as they currently have a 17 game winning streak. Since the tournament field was expanded in 1985, there has never been an instance where all four #1 seeds advanced to the Final Four. It is obvious that each of the top seeds have the talent to make it through to Atlanta. But as everyone knows, when makes the NCAA Tournament so special are all of the spoilers and “Cinderella” stories that knock off the favorites on a daily basis.
Be sure to logon to MySportsbook.com to see check out all of the early lines and “March Madness” props. Also be sure to enter the “$10,000,000 Perfect Bracket Contest”. If someone has the skills to predict every winner, they will be set for life and walk away with $10,000,000. Even if no one can cash in on the Grand Prize, with a $35,000 guaranteed prize pool and a Mazda RX-8 to the first prize winner, Sportsbook.com’s bracket is a must for all “March Madness” fans.
MySportsbook.com’s odds to win the Championship and Regions:
| EAST | National Championship | Region |
| Arkansas | 300-1 | 50-1 |
| Belmont | 1000-1 | |
| Boston College | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Eastern KY | 1000-1 | |
| George Washington | 75-1 | |
| Georgetown | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| Marquette | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Michigan State | 100-1 | 25-1 |
| New Mexico St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| UNC | 6-1 | 6-5 |
| Oral Roberts | 500-1 | |
| Texas | 15-1 | 5-1 |
| Texas Tech | 200-1 | 5-1 |
| USC | 75-1 | 20-1 |
| Vanderbilt | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Washington State | 40-1 | 15-1 |
| WEST | ||
| Duke | 50-1 | 10-1 |
| Florida A&M | 1000-1 | |
| Gonzaga | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Holy Cross | 300-1 | |
| Illinois | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Indiana | 75-1 | 40-1 |
| Kansas | 5-1 | 13-10 |
| Kentucky | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| Niagara | 1000-1 | |
| Pittsburgh | 40-1 | 8-1 |
| Southern Ill. | 50-1 | 12-1 |
| UCLA | 10-1 | 3-2 |
| VCU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Villanova | 100-1 | 40-1 |
| VA Tech | 50-1 | 15-1 |
| Weber St | 1000-1 | |
| Wright St | 1000-1 | 300-1 |
| MIDWEST | ||
| Arizona | 50-1 | 30-1 |
| Butler | 40-1 | 30-1 |
| Davidson | 300-1 | |
| Florida | 4-1 | 4-5 |
| Georgia Tech | 75-1 | 25-1 |
| Jackson State | 1000-1 | |
| Maryland | 30-1 | 6-1 |
| Miami-OH | 300-1 | |
| Notre Dame | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| ODU | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Oregon | 40-1 | 6-1 |
| Purdue | 300-1 | 60-1 |
| Texas A&M CC | 1000-1 | |
| UNLV | 100-1 | 30-1 |
| Winthrop | 500-1 | 100-1 |
| Wisconsin | 15-1 | 7-2 |
| SOUTH | ||
| Albany | 200-1 | |
| BYU | 200-1 | 40-1 |
| Central CT St. | 1000-1 | |
| Creighton | 100-1 | 35-1 |
| Long Beach St. | 500-1 | 200-1 |
| Louisville | 40-1 | 10-1 |
| Memphis | 30-1 | 4-1 |
| Nevada | 75-1 | 35-1 |
| North Texas | 500-1 | |
| Ohio State | 7-1 | 6-5 |
| Penn | 500-1 | |
| Stanford | 200-1 | 50-1 |
| Tennessee | 100-1 | 20-1 |
| Texas A&M | 12-1 | 11-5 |
| Virginia | 75-1 | 18-1 |
| Xavier | 100-1 | 40-1 |
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