The 2009 - 2010 Season In Images & Video

I went home yesterday after work and was sitting around waiting for the wifey to get home, when I went to the very bottom of my DVR que and saw "NBA Playoffs: Boston Celtics @ Los Angeles Lakers, Game 7 NBA Finals" and decided to hit play. The highs and lows of that game were insane! Going from a 13 point deficit halfway through the third quarter, to tying the game halfway through the fourth quarter with Fisher's 3 pointer, to having Ron Artest sink the dagger 3 pointer with a little over a minute left to play. T'was a very nice victory, especially over the Boston Celtics.

After the game was over, I began to think about the highs and lows and the craziness of the season and thought it would be pretty cool to do a FanPost of the highs and lows of the season (in chronological order, of course). So here goes nothing........

Hope ya'll enjoy it!!!

Lakers 2009 - 2010 Season In Review (Their 50th season in Los Angeles)

July 2nd, 2009 - Ron Artest signs with the Lakers during the 2009 NBA offseason. The Lakers called the bluff of Trevor Ariza's agent and moved on with a proven defender. Ron Artest becomes a Laker one year after he visits Kobe Bryant in the Lakers locker room shower in which he told Kobe "If I can, I’m going to find a way to come to LA and give you the help you need to win a title."

October 9th 2010 - After a summer full of basketball, Pau Gasol strains his hamstring in offseason workouts. It is estimated that he will miss a couple weeks at the beginning of the season. The Lakers will have to start on their quest to repeat as champions without him.

October 27th, 2009 - Lakers receive their championship rings on opening night against the Clippers. Another opening night, another championship ring & another championship banner!!! They didn't disappoint their fans either, with a 99 - 92 victory. Everyone gets free tacos on opening night!!!  Or in the words of DJ Mbenga: DACOS!!!

November 6th, 2010 - In a game versus the Memphis Grizzlies, Kobe Bryant passes Allen Iverson (who was on the Grizzlies at the time) to become 16th on the NBA's All-Time Scoring List. Also on this night, he became the youngest player in the history of the NBA to score 24,000 points.

November 15th, 2010 - The Lakers hold their own championship ring ceremony for Trevor Ariza in a home game versus the Houston Rockets. Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher presented Trevor with his ring. Too bad for Trevor though, he could have had another one. Time to fire that agent (David Lee), isn't it?
 

November 25th, 2009 - Ron Artest appears on the Jimmy Kimmel Live Show in his boxer shorts. He said he was in a hurry and didn't want to be late, so he didn't have time to put on his clothes. The first crazy incident with Ron Artest. Nothing harmful or detrimental to the team, just CRAZY PILLS!!! A week later, he would admit that he used to drink Hennessy at halftime when he was playing on the Chicago Bulls. CRAZY!!!
 





December 4th, 2009 - Kobe Bryant banks in a 3 pointer at the buzzer against the Miami Heat to steal the victory. Kobe would later call that shot "the luckiest shot of his life." This was his first buzzer beater of the season. Little did we know, he had so many more left in his bag of tricks.
  

December 11th, 2010 - The Lakers win their 11th game in a row, but Kobe Bryant breaks his finger in the process. A Jordan Farmar pass was deflected off of a Timberwolf defender and struck Kobe's index finger on his shooting hand. Kobe insists that he wont miss any time due to injury.

December 17th, 2009 - Kobe Bryant hits his second buzzer beater of the season against the Milwaukee Bucks. This one came in overtime and was the exact same shot he missed at the end of regulation to win the game. The man ain't gonna miss twice. Especially when its a game winning shot. Check out the reaction of the fans in Milwaukee. Think they have some Laker fans there?
 

December 25, 2009 - In a game in which Laker fans saw their home team outplayed and eventually lose 102 - 87 to the Cavaliers, the fans took their frustration out in the form of Foam Fingers. Towards the end of the game, some upset fans threw their free souvenirs onto the court in a sign of disgust. Nobody was seriously hurt, though.
 

December 27th, 2010 - Involved in another off court incident since joining the Lakers, Ron Artest fell at home which resulted in an injury. The report stated that Ron had fallen down some stairs at home which caused Ron to receive a concussion. He was expected to miss about a weeks worth of games. A little too much Hennessy that night, Ron?

January 1st, 2010 - Kobe Bryant rings in the new year with his third buzzer beater of the season. This time against the Sacramento Kings. A 3 pointer from the corner. Ive never seen anybody so wide open with the game on the line. Try to stay on your feet Rodriquez....... on second thought, nevermind.
 
  

January 3rd, 2010 - Adam Morrison is a high five ninja. In what has become known (to some) as one of the stealthiest moves in franchise history, Adam Morrison steals a high five from Tim Thomas. In a game versus the Dallas Mavericks, Adam steals the high five which was originally intended for Kris Humphries. Only he who is the Ammo could pull this off.
 

January 13th 2010 - Kobe Bryant hits the eventual game winner versus the Dallas Mavericks. He spoiled Dirk Nowitzki's night, as he was the 34th player to reach 20,000 points. Farmar put in 3 free throws at the end to make it a 100 - 95 victory. This also was the 3,000th win for the Lakers franchise, which is an NBA record. 

January 25th, 2010 - The Los Angeles Lakers visit President Obama in The White House. One of the perks of being an NBA champion, I guess. While making his speech, Obama stated that Phil Jackson had won his 10th NBA title, but 6 of those were with the Bulls. Obama supports many Chicago based sports teams. He then razzled, Magic Johnson (who was there), asking him if he remembered the '90 - '91 series when the Bulls beat the Lakers.
 

January 31st, 2010 - Kobe Bryant hits another game winner versus the arch-rival Boston Celtics at The Garden. Ray Allen had played pretty good defense, but Kobe twisted and turned and hit a fade away jumper with a couple seconds remaining on the clock. The only defense against Kobe Bryant is to pray that he'll get hurt or sick from eating an artichoke.
 

February 1st, 2010 - Kobe Bryant becomes the Lakers All-Time Leading Scorer against the Grizzlies. With 44 points, Bryant surpassed West as the greatest scorer in Lakers history with 25,198 points. It seems fitting that he scored 44 points, as that was the Jerry West's number. He scored the points to pass West on an easy dunk with an unselfish pass from Jordan Farmar, who could have easily taken the layup or dunk himself.
 


 

February 3rd, 2010 - Kobe hasnt missed anytime due to his finger injury, but he is involved in an accident with Lamar Odom in a game versus the Bobcats, and rolls his ankle. He tried to fight through it, but eventually decides to take some time off to heal his aching body. Also in this game, Phil Jackson passes PAT RAILLY for most wins in NBA history, with 534.
 

February 6th & 10th, 2010 - The supporting cast shines in Portland and Utah, as Kobe has to sit due to injury. Odom shines in Portland, as he matches his career high with 22 rebounds to snap a nine-game loosing streak at the Rose Garden. Four days later, Gasol has 22 points and 19 rebounds as the Lakers won their third straight game without Bryant, beating Utah and ending the Jazz's nine-game winning streak.

February 12th, 2010 - Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant both make the All-Star team for the Western Conference. Andrew Bynum is left off of the team, as Chris Kaveman Kaman made it instead of him. Kobe sits out the game due to injury, while Pau Gasol played 20 minutes and posted 13 points with 6 rebounds. The West lost 139 - 141 in a thrilling All-Star game.
 

February 23rd, 2010 - Kobe Bryant hits his 5th game winning shot of the season. This time against the Memphis Grizzles. A deep 3 pointer to put the Lakers ahead 99 - 98.
 
 

March 9th, 2010 - Kobe Bryant hits his 6th and final game winning shot of the season. A 15 foot fade away jump shot from the baseline with two Toronto Raptors draped all over him. You just cant stop the Black Mamba.
  

March 21st, 2010 - Andrew Bynum limps of the court during a home game versus the Timberwolves. An MRI reveals that Andrew Bynum has a strained achilles endon. The inital report says that he will miss at least 6 games (around 2 weeks).
 

April 9th, 2010 - Behind a strong performance from Pau Gasol, the Lakers clinch the Pacific Division title with a 97 - 88 victory over the Timberwolves. Pau had 29 points and 15 rebounds for the purple and gold. They had a record of 56 - 23 at the time, which was the best in the Western Conference, and earned their 21st Pacific Division crown.
 





April 30th, 2010 - Pau Gasol tips in a Kobe Bryant miss with little time remaining to steal the victory away from the Thunder in the first round of the playoffs. Pau didnt have the best night from the field, going 4 - 11, but made up for it with his 18 rebounds and this tip in.
  

May 1st, 2010 - The Lakers were in the middle of a playoff run. After feeling slight discomfort in his knee, Andrew Bynum had an MRI taken, which revealed a small tear in his lateral meniscus. He discussed his options with his coaches and doctors, and decided he would not miss any time, but would be limited in what he could do on the court for the rest of the playoffs.
 


 

May 11th 2010 - In what seems to be becoming a yearly tradition, the Lakers swept the Jazz in the Western Conference Semi Finals. The Jazz looked over matched the whole time. They were without big man Mehmet Okur and Andrei Kirilenko was limited, but they never stood a chance against Kobe and the Laker's huge front court. The Jazz fans tried everything they could, but nothing was gonna help their Jazz.
 

May 27th 2010 - Ron Artest comes through in the clutch. After Kobe missed a go ahead jumper in game 5 of the Western Conference Finals, Ron grabbed the rebound a bullied in a layup with seconds remaining. Eerily similar to the tip in Pau Gasol pulled against the Thunder. Ron Artest was pretty happy about it.
  

 



May 29th, 2010 - In what many thought would not have been a competitive series, the Suns pushed the Lakers to 6 games in the Western Conference Finals. But the thing we'll remember most is Kobe Bryant scoring 9 points in the final 2 minutes to push the Lakers to the victory. Suns Coach Alvin Gentry wont forget, either.
 
Also in this game, Sasha Vujacic threw "The Elbow Heard Around Slovenia".

June 8th, 2010 - With his Lakers struggling against the Celtics in game 3 of the NBA Finals, and the Celtics threatening to take a 2 - 1 lead in the series, Derek Fisher released his intangibles. He scored 11 points in the fourth quarter including a layup that no Laker fan will soon forget, which was followed by a primal scream between him and Pau Gasol.
  





June 15th, 2010 - Shannon Brown Slams the door shut in the Lakers dominating performance over the Celtics in game 6 of the NBA Finals. The one-handed hammer dunk off of Pau Gasol's alley-oop put the Lakers up by 20 halfway through the 3rd quarter, in what ended up being a 89 - 67 blowout.
 

June 17th, 2010 - In a game 7 for the ages, the Lakers came from 13 behind to take the victory and earn the 16th banner in franchise history. Ron Artest tried to carry the offensive load, with Kobe and Pau struggling through the first 3 quarters. But Kobe and Pau answered in the 4th, combining for 19 points and 10 rebonds. Ron Artest sealed the victory with a 3 pointer with 1 minute remaining in the game.
  
The Lakers win their 16th championship in franchise history, and Kobe wins his 2nd Finals MVP.
 

June 22nd, 2010 - The Lakers celebrate their 16th championship with a parade down Rodeo Drive in front of the Staples Center. And Ron Artest continues to party...... as he would for an additional 3 months......
 

The Los Angeles Lakers are the 2009 - 2010 NBA Champions!!!

The 3 Heat cannot stop the Three-Peat!!!     Lewis Monroe said so!!!     And if you want some, come and get sum!!!