The early tallying in the All-Star voting is in! Kobe Bryant and Dwight Howard lead the voting in the West along with Kevin Durant of the Oklahoma City Thunder. Kobe currently leads all players in the West with 639,419 votes with Durant not far behind with 605,965. Dwight is second among frontcourt players in the West behind Durant with 434,168 votes.
Kobe and Dwight are not the only Lakers making a showing; Pau Gasol is currently fifth among frontcourt players in the West behind Durant, Howard, Blake Griffin (307,855) and Tim Duncan (189,577) with 139,868.
Even more surprising than Gasol is Steve Nash. Despite only playing a game and a half for the Lakers so far this season, due to a leg fracture injury suffered in the loss to the Portland Trail Blazers on Oct. 31, Nash has received 118,073 votes. Nash is currently sixth in the All-Star voting for West backcourt players ahead of Tony Parker (69.983), Ricky Rubio (54,744), Manu Ginobili (47,800) and O.J. Mayo (36,495).
After the Lakers loss the other night, many people were shaking their heads at the Curse of Kobe. It seems that recently games in which the veteran out shines everyone else, the team loses because other players get less balls and are unable to keep up. The question, though, is who is at fault. Kobe takes charge, and understandably, in times of failing play, can overshadow and over control in games. Daniel Buerge of Lakers Nation offers a piece examining this phenomenon. See if you agree.
The Lakers play the Knicks tonight, which will hopefully be a road win. While Mike D’Antoni makes his return to Madison Square Garden, it comes with heavy shoulders. The Lakers are now 4-8 under D’Antoni, having lost five of their last six games, 12 in the Western conference, and have an overall record of 9-13. Alternatively, the Knicks lead the Eastern Conference at 16-5. Nash and Blake are still out. Plus it is reported that Gasol will be a no show. Los Angeles has their work cut out for them, but they have the opportunity to really turn around their season with an inspiring win. For more on tonight’s game, check out the pregame report here.
Los Angeles Lakers (9-13) vs. New York Knicks (16-5)
5:00 PM PST, December 13, 2012
Madison Square Garden, New York, NY
TV: TWC Sports Network, TNT
Radio: 710 ESPN (English) 1330 KWKW (Spanish)
Knicks Projected Starting Line-up
PG: Raymond Felton
SG: Jason Kidd
SF: Ronnie Brewer
PF: Carmelo Anthony
C: Tyson Chandler
Key Reserves: G J.R. Smith, F Steve Novak
Lakers Nation News
Phil Jackson Says He Won’t Return To Lakers; Not A Championship Team
Shootaround Report: Kobe “Owes” D’Antoni a Win, Hill to Come Off Bench
Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard Among Leaders In West All-Star Voting
Dwight Howard Mocks New All-Star Rule in “Save The Centers” Spoof
Video Exclusive: Lakers Nation Interviews Metta World Peace
Lakers Performance at Madison Square Garden Could Be Turning Point
Relive Kobe Bryant’s 61 Points at Madison Square Garden
Lakers vs. Knicks Pre-Game Report: Lakers Face the Hot Knicks in the Big Apple
Lakers News: Pau Gasol Out Thursday Night vs. New York Knicks
Kobe on Pau Gasol: “When He Gets Back, He’ll Be In His Sweet Spots”
Lakers News
Los Angeles Lakers are Considering Adding Delonte West to Fill Point Guard Void [Silver Screen and Roll]
Jim Buss Frustrated with the Lakers’ Slow Start [Silver Screen and Roll]
Lakers at Knicks, Two Teams Going Two Directions [Silver Screen and Roll]
Pau Gasol out vs. Knicks [Silver Screen and Roll]
Steve Nash Has Performed Running Drills [Inside the Lakers]
Why the Lakers are Losing [Laker Liker]
Preview and Chat: The New York Knicks [Forum Blue and Gold]
Lakers Fall to 12th Place in the West [LA Times]
Kobe Says Carmelo is Hardest Player for Him to Guard [ProBasketballTalk]
D’Antoni to a Pressing Reporter After a Lakers Loss: ‘You’re Starting to Piss Me Off’ [Ball Don’t Lie]
Dwight Howard stars in “Save the Centers” campaign [Inside the Lakers]
Pondering Kobe as a Consolation [Forum Blue and Gold]
Without Phil, Kobe Seeks Lakers’ Zen [OC Register]
Bad Timing for D’Antoni’s Return to MSG [Hang Time Blog]
Mike Brown Says in Radio Interview That Kobe Bryant Made Him a Better Coach [Inside the Lakers]
Magic Still Frustrated by the Lakers [Lakers Index]
Kobe Scoring Outbursts Can’t Help Lakers [True Hoop]
Nothing Shocking Here: Kobe, LeBron Lead All-Star Ballot Early Returns [ProBasketballTalk]
Preview: Lakers vs. Knicks [The Purple and Gold Blog]
GM Mitch Kupchak Trying to Show Patience Despite Lakers Underachieving [Daily News]
Kobe Bryant Talks With Magic Johnson About Lakers’ Struggles [Inside the Lakers]
A top-five seed may already be out of reach for the Lakers [LA Times]
NBA News
Duncan Still Stuck Outside of All-Star Mix [Hang Time Blog]
Memphis Grizzlies hire ESPN NBA stats guru Hollinger [ProBasketballTalk]
Griffin, Paul Leading in All-Star Game Voting [SB Nation]
Beer Prices at NBA Arenas Edge Up for ’12-13 Season [SLAM Online]
Mo Williams Heating Up From Three-Point Range [Hang Time Blog]
J.R. Smith is Probable for Tonight [Posting and Toasting]
Mark Cuban Contends that Don Nelson Once Wanted to Trade Jason Terry for … Raul Lopez? [Ball Don’t Lie]
Irving Re-Establishes Rapport with Varejao [SB Nation]
NBA Centers Feel Caught In ‘Frontcourt’ Squeeze [Hang Time Blog]
DeMarcus Cousins of Sacramento Kings Suspended One Game for Striking O.J. Mayo of Dallas Mavericks [ESPN]
More Sixers Injury Woes? Holiday to Have MRI on Foot [ProBasketballTalk]
Warriors Are Just Warming Up [Hang Time Blog]
LeBron Leads in First Round of NBA All-Star Voting [SB Nation]
Joakim Noah Promises to Always Taunt Philadelphia Sixers Fans [SLAM Online]
While You Weren’t Looking, Golden State Got Really Good [ProBasketballTalk]
Should Carter, Hill, Sheed, T-Mac, Iverson Make Hall of Fame? [ESPN]
The Worst Game-Winning Attempt Ever [SB Nation]
Wizards’ Owner Rejected Trade for James Harden [ProBasketballTalk]