Last night was a celebration of Latin fans in Staples Center as the Lakers said thank you with a neck-and-neck win over the Atlanta Hawks 99-98. L.A. brought such intensity, but Kobe Bryant was the real winner in the one point victory which pushed the Lakers’ record to .500.
The highlight of the night was Kobe’s dunk over Hawk’s power forward Josh Smith, which resembled a rookie Bryant fresh on the scene from many years ago. The dunk was full of power and just totally beastly. See for yourself. Bryant really knows how to motivate teammates; as he put it, the dunk was a message to get his team hungry to win.
The Lakers break the top ten this week in NBA Power Rankings, sitting right below the Nuggets at #8. After winning five of their last six games, even at a record of .500 this L.A. team is showing tremendous progress and potential. Kobe is on fire, and his desire is becoming infectious as the rest of the team appears to have the willpower to make the playoffs. The Lakers, despite how well they are doing, still need the Jazz and Rockets to falter in order to make it into the 8th seed. With consistent play, everything is still a waiting game for the Lakers. The Heat, Spurs, and Thunder round out the top three on the list.
Last week on Twitter, Lakers Nation asked the question: If you had THE Delorean and could go back and change ONE thing in Lakers history, what would you change? A number of readers responded, but it was time for the senior staff writers to take a crack at answering the question themselves. Click here to see what they each had to say, and compare their answers to the aspect of Lakers’ history you would take back.
If you missed last night’s game against the Hawks, don’t fret! Here is a compilation of all the best highlights to keep you up to speed.
It is time for desktop freebies! Kobe Bryant won the Player of the Month, and to honor him Lakers Nation has a cool new desktop, iPhone, iPad, etc. background for you. Check. It. Out!
Lakers Nation News
VIDEO: Kobe Responds To Serge Ibaka’s Groin Hit on Blake Griffin
Sign of New Times: Lakers Are Excited About Reaching .500 Mark
Hawks Forward Josh Smith Expects Dwight Howard To Stay In L.A.
Lakers News: Kobe Bryant’s Dunk Over Josh Smith Sent A Message
World Peace Says Dwight Howard Gets Hacked Without League Protection
NBA Power Rankings Week 19: Some Top Movement, Lakers Gain Momentum
Video: Kobe Dunks on Josh Smith as Lakers Beat Hawks
Lakers Nation Roundtable: What One Change Would You Make To The Lakers?
Lakers vs. Hawks NBA Highlights: March 3rd, 2013
Lakers Beat Hawks At Staples As Playoff Push Continues
Lakers Wallpaper: Kobe Bryant Wins Western Player of the Month
Lakers News
Breaking Down Kobe’s Dunk Against the Hawks [Silver Screen and Roll]
The NBA’s Instant Replay Failure [Silver Screen and Roll]
Video: Kobe’s Game-Winner and Monster Dunk Against the Hawks [Silver Screen and Roll]
Josh Smith Believes Dwight Will Stay in L.A. [Silver Screen and Roll]
Kobe’s Monster Dunk Opens the Vino Barrel [Silver Screen and Roll]
Lakers Back to .500 [OC Register]
Lakers Have Improved but Still Have Many of the Same Areas of Weakness [LA Times]
Are the Lakers on the Same Page? [Lakers Index]
Lakers Bench: Modest Numbers Represent Major Improvement [Land O’Lakers]
How the Lakers Beat the Hawks: The Evolution of a Defensive Stop [Forum Blue and Gold]
Hawks Victory Breakdown [LA Times]
Dunk That: Kobe’s Play is Ageless [Lakers Index]
Kobe Bryant Comes Up Big Against Atlanta [Land O’Lakers]
Lakers’ Dwight Howard Discusses Fouls [LA Times]
Kobe Bryant Scores 34 Points as Lakers Reach .500 Mark [ESPN]
Bryant’s Heroics Give Lakers Lift [OC Register]
Lakers vs. Hawks: Kobe Does it Again [Forum Blue and Gold
Six Analytical Reasons The Lakers Have Improved This Month [Sheridan Hoops]
Warriors Drop Fourth Straight, May Open Door For Lakers [LA Times]
Lakers’ Forward Antawn Jamison Jokes He Robbed Some Teams [CBSSports.com]
Lakers to Attend 2014 Sloan Conference [Lakers Index]
Metta World Peace Defends His Play [ESPN]
Metta World Peace Suggests NBA Doesn’t Protect Dwight Howard [LA Times]
NBA News
Detroit Pistons vs. San Antonio Spurs – Recap [ESPN]
Philadelphia 76ers vs. Washington Wizards – Recap [ESPN]
Miami Heat vs. New York Knicks – Recap [ESPN]
Chicago Bulls vs. Indiana Pacers – Recap [ESPN]
Andrew Bynum, Derrick Rose and What Little We Actually Know [SBNation]
Rotation Changes are Coming for Brooklyn Nets [NetsDaily]
Magic Wants LeBron in Dunk Contest [ESPN]
LeBron James Soars Above $1 million Dunk Offers and Other Distractions [Yahoo! Sports]
Joakim Noah Says Bulls Coach Thibodeau ‘doesn’t understand the whole rest thing’ [ProBasketballTalk]
Overheard at Sloan [ESPN]
LeBron James Injury: Heat Star to Have Knee Examined [SBNation]
Thunder Overcome Late Rally By Clippers to Win a Physical One in Los Angeles [ProBasketballTalk]
Delonte West to report to D-League [Yahoo! Sports]
Shaun Livingston, Marreese Speights Leading Much Improved Bench for Cleveland Cavaliers [Fear The Sword]
Can the Spurs Survive Life Without Tony Parker? [Pounding The Rock]
Bradley Beal Injury: Sprained Ankle Will Be Re-Evaluated Monday [SBNation]
Juwan Howard Signs 10-day With Heat [Yahoo! Sports]
Thunder’s Two-Man Game Works For Now, but What About Playoffs? [LA Times]
Blog Archive The Top 10 Surprises of the NBA Season so Far [Dime Magazine]
The Sports Guy Breaks Down the Best Contracts in Basketball [Grantland]
Derrick Rose Joins Chicago Bulls on Bench for First Time Since ACL Tear [ESPN Chicago]
Ibaka’s Flagrant Foul: Seemed Excessive To Me [Clips Nation]
Sloan Sports Analytics Conference Day 2 Bullets [SLC Dunk]
Shabazz Muhammad to Enter 2013 NBA Draft, Surprising No One [SBNation]