Utah Jazz vs. Los Angeles Lakers: Postgame Grades and Analysis for LA

Alec Burks scored 24 points off the bench as the Utah Jazz routed the shorthanded Los Angeles Lakers, 96-79 at the Staples Center on Tuesday night, sending the Lakers to a franchise record-tying sixth straight home loss.

The Lakers, who were without Pau Gasol, Jodie Meeks, Nick Young and Jordan Farmar, jumped out to a quick start in this one, using a 27-5 run to take an 11-point lead into the second quarter. The lead evaporated almost immediately, however, and at halftime, it was the Jazz who were up by 11.

Things then worsened when Steve Nash went down. It was first reported by Los Angeles media that Nash had nerve root irritation (per Mike Trudell of Lakers.com), but after the game, head coach Mike D'Antoni said it was just his hamstring acting up.

Utah out-rebounded LA 55-40 and held D'Antoni's ballclub to 38.8 percent shooting.

Chris Kaman led the Lakers with 25 points and 14 rebounds.

Derrick Favors had a double-double for the Jazz, registering 11 points and 10 boards.

Free-falling Los Angeles has now fallen behind Utah in the Western Conference standings.


Key Player Grades


Steve Nash, Point Guard

Is there an athlete who deserves more sympathy than Steve Nash right now?
When Nash started out in this one, he actually looked all right.
But then, Nash hurt himself, and you know what? Based on Nash's injury history since coming to the Lakers, it felt like it was inevitable.
Nash checked out with two points and two assists while shooting 1-of-4 from the floor.
Obviously, it's not appropriate to give the veteran a grade.
Now, you have to really wonder whether it would just be best for Nash to hang 'em up. This is getting sad.

Grade: Incomplete


Chris Kaman, Center

You probably know that Chris Kaman really likes to shoot, and if you didn't, he made sure you did in this one. Early.
Kaman got up 10 shots in the first quarter alone, making four of them for eight points. He also pulled down seven rebounds in the period.
The big man actually had a really nice game all around, though.
Kaman scored 25 points off 11-of-24 shooting overall and grabbed 14 rebounds. He also handed out four assists and blocked three shots.
Most of all, Kaman provided a lot of energy, consistently battling on the offensive glass and doing his best to track down 50-50 balls.
Not bad for a guy who probably wouldn't even be playing if Pau Gasol were healthy.

Grade: A-


Steve Blake, Shooting Guard

Steve Blake aggravated his elbow injury during the game. To his credit, he returned, but the results weren't pretty.
Blake shot 2-of-11 from the floor, misfiring on three of his four three-point attempts. A lot of the shots he missed were open looks, too. In his defense, the elbow was really bothering him.
Blake did dish out eight dimes, so at least there's that, but his inability to put the ball in the cup really hurt the injury-plagued Lakers.
He ended up with five points in 36 minutes.
He gets a bit of a break because of the injury.

Grade: D+


Wesley Johnson, Small Forward

Wesley Johnson has been one of the quieter feel-good stories of this season.
The young man has finally made something out of his NBA career, and while he may never live up to his status as a No. 4 pick, he is turning into a productive player.
Johnson had 15 points off 7-of-14 shooting on the evening, including a highlight reel alley-oop slam which was undoubtedly the best moment of the night for LA.
Johnson also hauled in six rebounds.

Grade: B+


Shawne Williams, Power Forward

From the Lakers, to the D-League, to, well, back to the Lakers.
Shawne Williams enjoyed a solid evening, posting 11 points off 4-of-8 shooting. He scored eight of those 11 in the first quarter where he knocked down a couple of triples.
Williams was active on the glass, as well, grabbing six boards. As an added bonus, he blocked two shots.
It's a shame such a nice effort went to waste.

Grade: B


Jordan Hill, Sixth Man

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Jordan Hill really didn't do his job off the bench.
Normally a rebounding machine, Hill only collected one board in 17 minutes of action. He also went only 2-of-6 from the floor, scoring seven points.
There really isn't much else to add about Hill's performance, other than the fact that he posted a minus-20.
Yikes.

Grade: D+


Bench

Kendall Marshall was simply awful against Utah, shooting 3-for-13, misfiring on all three of his long range attempts. He also committed four turnovers in 31 minutes.
Was there anything positive to take from Marshall's outing? Well, he did tally seven assists and three steals, but all of those missed shots and turnovers...not good.
Robert Sacre and Ryan Kelly also saw some minutes, and they combined for seven points and four boards.
Not exactly a banner night from the Lakers bench, but it's hard to blame these guys. I mean, hardly any of the regulars are healthy.

Grade: D-


What's Next for the Lakers?

Well, it doesn't get any easier, as the Lakers' next two contests are against the Oklahoma City Thunder and Houston Rockets. After that, they get a winnable game versus the Boston Celtics, but then the Brooklyn Nets, Indiana Pacers and Memphis Grizzlies, the latter two of those being on the road.
Not exactly a remedy to cure what currently ails L.A.
Gasol coming back soon would go a long way in doing that, however.
Hopefully, the Lakers can get some guys back from injury so they can be mildly competitive.

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Olympic Alpine Skiing 2014: Live Men's Downhill Medal Results and Analysis

The winner of the Olympic men's downhill race was not a favorite going in, but he became a household name afterward.

Austria's Matthias Mayer was the 11th racer on the course at the Rosa Khutor Alpine Center and he would prove to be the best of the 50 competitors with a time of 2:06.23.

Mayer, who has not finished higher than fifth in a World Cup downhill race, took the skiing world by surprise as the favorites slipped up in the middle of the course.

Mayer was close to being taken out of the lead by Italy's Christof Innerhofer, but the Austrian survived by six-hundredths of a second to keep the gold.

Innerhofer finished in second place with a time of 2:06.29, while Kjetil Jansrud of Norway earned the bronze by racing a 2:06.33.

Bode Miller of the United States came in as the gold-medal favorite, but he failed to place anywhere close to the podium in eighth after he lost plenty of time in the middle of the course.

The same section of the course caused problems for two other medal hopefuls, Aksel Lund Svindal of Norway and Didier Defago of Switzerland. Svindal finished fourth and Defago ended up in 14th.

The highest-placing American was Travis Ganong, who finished in fifth place with a time of 2:06.64.

Gold: Matthias Mayer (Austria): 2:06.23
Silver: Christof Innerhofer (Italy): 2:06.29
Bronze: Kjetil Jansrud (Norway): 2:06.33

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Olympic Speed skating 2014: Live Women's 3000m Medal Results and Analysis

It's not very often that you win an Olympic gold medal and find that your accomplishment has been completely overshadowed, but that's exactly what happened to the Netherlands' Irene Wust on Sunday afternoon in Sochi.

Wust, 27, captured gold in the women's 3,000-meter race her third overall speed skating gold and second at that distance but it was underdog Russian skater Olga Graf who stole the show.

Graf, who wasn't expected to reach the podium, set the arena on fire with a tremendous performance, initially snagging the lead and ultimately holding on for a bronze medal, the Russian team's first medal of the Sochi Games.

The Czech Republic's Martina Sablikova the 2010 gold medalist in the women's 3,000 meters had to settle for second place and a silver this time around.

Claudia Pechstein, who was attempting to capture her 10th overall Olympic medal, finished a surprising fourth and failed in her quest to become the oldest winter athlete to win individual gold and the first to medal in six different Games.

For the American team, it was another disappointing day at the rink.
Jilleanne Rookard, who entered today as a long shot, and finished tops among American women in 10th place.

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Miami Heat vs. Los Angeles Clippers: Game Grades and Analysis

The Miami Heat (35-13) ended a five-game road losing streak to the Los Angeles Clippers (34-18) on Wednesday night, clawing and scratching their way to a narrow 116-112 victory at the Staples Center. 

Ball movement was key to Miami's victory. The team had 33 assists on 41 made field goals, including 12 from LeBron James and eight from Dwyane Wade.

The Clippers outscored the Heat 37-27 in the final quarter, but an offensive foul by Jamal Crawford and clutch shooting by Ray Allen helped put the game away in favor of the opposition. 

"It was a battle. We expected that coming in here tonight, we knew (LA) would play with urgency."

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LA Lakers vs. Minnesota Timberwolves: Postgame Grades and Analysis for Lakers

The Minnesota Timberwolves (24-24) defeated the Los Angeles Lakers (16-32) 109-99 on Tuesday night behind 31 points and 17 rebounds from Kevin Love. 
The Lakers have lost seven games in a row dating back to Jan. 20 and are now co-occupants of the Western Conference cellar with the Sacramento Kings and Utah Jazz.

Lakers: allowed 100 or more points in 15 straight games (2-13), longest such streak since 1986-87 season (17 games - team went 12-5)

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Texas National Signing Day 2014: Instant Updates and Analysis

New coach, no problem.
Texas enters national signing day with less than ideal circumstances. Not only did Charlie Strong replace legendary head coach Mack Brown with little time to make his pitch to uncommitted recruits, but the Longhorns are coming off an 8-5 season in which they finished outside the Top 25 for the third time in four years.
No matter.
According to 247Sports' composite rankings, the Longhorns begin Wednesday's crucial day with the No. 15 class nationally and the top-ranked class in the Big 12.
With plenty of other targets remaining, Strong has an opportunity to make a major splash in his first season in Austin.
Let's take a look at the Longhorns' national signing day activity.
Note: All rankings and player information courtesy of 247Sports. 
Texas Longhorns 2014 Recruiting Class Player Position Position Rank Stars National Rank ENROLLES Blake Whiteley TE No. 2 (JuCo) 3 53 (JuCo) Andrew Beck ILB 25 3 521 Alex Anderson OG 50 3 999 HARD COMMITS Derick Roberson DE 4 4 64 Jerrod Heard QB 2 4 72 Armanti Foreman WR 16 4 110 Edwin Freeman OLB 14 4 174 Lorenzo Joe WR 29 4 187 Donald Catalon RB 10 4 210 John Bonney S 19 4 249 Roderick Bernard WR 54 3 393 Jermaine Roberts CB 31 3 403 Cameron Hampton OLB 44 3 543 Dorian Leonard WR 75 3 555 Terrell Cuney C 7 3 559 Garrett Gray WR 108 3 802 Jake McMillon DE 33 3 812 Kevin Shorter ATH 63 3 825 Jason Hall S 74 3 908 D'Onta Foreman RB 68 3 NA Elijah Rodriguez OT 124 3 NA TOP TARGETS Poona Ford DT 22 4 263 Sione Teuhema DE 19 3 354 Chris Nelson DT 56 3 810 247Sports

Top Commits
Derick Roberson, DE
The San Antonio native, who had offers from schools such as Alabama, LSU and Texas A&M, committed to Texas back in August—of 2012.
“I’ve always wanted to go to UT,” Roberson said, via ESPN.com's William Wilkerson. “They have always been my top option. I just like Texas. I have been looking at Texas ever since I was a little kid.”
And it doesn't sound like the hiring of Strong swayed that opinion at all, courtesy of The Orange Report's Big Mike:

2014 DE commit Derrick Roberson on Strong. "Texas is going to be raw next year" Sounds 100% committed to me.
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National Signing Day 2014: Live Updates, Commitment Reaction and Analysis

National Signing Day 2014, the silliest, weirdest, most absurd and awesome day on the college football calendar, is finally upon us.

Every football fan's guilty pleasure, the day will take us across the country, from east coast to west coast to everything in between, for live look-ins at high school prospects as they commit and sign to their future schools.

Whether it's a 5-star, 4-star or 3-star recruit—heck, even if it's something lower—every commitment matters. For this one happy day, before practice and workouts weed the strong out from the weak, everyone could be the next superstar, the next program-changing quarterback, the next All-American linebacker.

According to the 247Sports composite, nine 5-star players will enter the day uncommitted, but all of them will likely leave having pledged themselves to a school. In both spectacle and substance, no day on the recruiting calendar comes close to comparing with this. So much still hangs in the balance.

Stick with B/R throughout the day for updates and highlights of the madness.
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Six Nations Championship 2014: Predictions, Analysis for Remainder of Tournament

The opening weekend of this year's Six Nations action served in answering several questions regarding the title-challenging credentials of some of the championship hopefuls.

Wales, France and Ireland all started the tournament with wins at home and as a result are in the driving seat for eventual glory at the end of the campaign.

As Planet Rugby pointed out in December, this year's table had no truly outstanding favourite in its build-up:

No clear winner ahead of Six Nations.
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