The Whole Delivery

Photo from NBA.com The Preview from Mr. Durley-Petty himself : LA Lakers Keep scoring stable connected like cable It may seem like an inconceivable oxymoron but the Lakers are actually better when Kobe Bryant isn't a dominant offensive scorer. For the series Kobe is averaging 33.8 points a night, but LA was successful in Game 5 because he got additional help from the complementary players. Five Lakers scored in double figures Wednesday. Kobe may have been limited scoring only 22 points on 13 attempts, but he delegated the pill beautifully, accepting double teams and hitting open teammates for open shots finishing with 8 dimes. Offensive versatility makes LA far more dangerous. LO, LO dey know dey know Lamar Odom finally woke up from his extended slumber as Lamar Oh No was buried and The Goods reemerged. Odom was monumental, scoring 19 points, snatching 14 rebounds and 3 assists. Odom's brilliance wasn't limited to the offensive end, but was also evident on defense as he pun...

Photo from Andrew D. Bernstein/NBAE via Getty Images The winner of this game I believe will win this series. I said the Lakers in seven games before the series start, and I still stick to just that. I feel a big Laker win tonight. And talk about some refreshing news. Sacramento Kings forward Donte Greene saved a women's life . Just for that heroic action, 'll take back everything I said about how crazy he was to leave Syracuse after one year and be a poor man's Tim Thomas. God bless to him and that women for sure. Now here's Sheed with the preview - Sluggah Jells W ith the series shifting scenes to the sunny city of California both the Los Lakers and Denver Nuggets are seeking to seize control of the series with a crucial Game 5 of the NBA Western Conference Finals tonight at 9:00 Eastern time. Following several technicals, hard fouls and a ridiculous trip by Dahntay Jones on Kobe Bryant so deliberately grimey it looked like Jones was doing his rendition of the GS Boyz ...

(Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times) It's all Nuggets right now, 97-83. The Birdman has been everywhere tonight (and so has Kenyon Martin).

(Both Photos from the Charlotte Observer) It actually was time for a charge for not only America as a whole, but also for Iverson and Billups'. Due to the overload of Election Coverage last week, I never had a chance to focus fully on the Allen Iverson-Chauncey Billups trade last week, and the ramifications of that deal for both the Detroit Pistons and the Denver Nuggets. Until now. Obviously, in terms of winning a title, both teams were not going to do that in their versions before the trade. The Pistons saw their chance go away last season against the Celtics in the East finals (as well as against the Cavaliers, Heat, and the Spurs in the recent past) . The Nuggets, who Stephen A.Smith famously thought was going to the NBA Finals against the eventual champions Celtics last year, never showed any defensive heart at all, and that was even with Marcus Camby. You know you are defensively deficient when you not only have a former Defense Player of the Year being unable to influence th...