Kobe Bryant: NBA's Youngest To Reach 30,000 Points

      Bryant has proved himself in many ways over the course of his career, but in Wednesdays game against the Hornets he proved to be one of the best shooters in the league becoming the youngest player in NBA history to reach 30,000 career points. With only one minute remaining in the second quarter, Bryant scored his 30,001 career points at just 34 years, 104 days old. He scored 17 points in the first half alone against the Hornets. He surpassed the previous record of Will Chamberlin of 35 years, 179 days. ESPN.com reports "Bryant joins Chamberlain (31,419 points), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (38,387), Karl Malone (36,928) and Michael Jordan (32,292) as the only five players in NBA history to reach the 30,000-point plateau.”

     This is a tremendous achievement for Bryant who can now safely compare himself to some of the NBA greats. "It's just a tremendous honor," Bryant told reporters,  "I don't really know how else to put it. I've just been very, very fortunate."

[Interview] Behind the Scenes of the Atlanta Hawks with Assistant Coach Lester Conner

   Assistant coach of the Atlanta Hawks, Lester Conner, was suited up for the game against the Charlotte Bobcats Wednesday night. Before the game began, the calm and collective Conner answered a few questions about the Hawks, and how he and head coach Larry Drew plan to continue the Hawks 5 game-winning streak.

How do you feel about this game against the Bobcats?

 “Our guys are really focused tonight. After the past few games we have learned not to take any opponent for granted. Last year Bobcats only won 7 games, this year they have already won 7.”

What caused this 5 game winning streak?

“We have been way more focused on the defense. We are 2^nd in field goal defense (Indiana is #1) teams that excel in defense excel in the league, and we remind our guys of that.”

How will you keep the Hawks on their A-game?

“We as a coaching staff studied our team, and we decided we have to be a running team. You will see us passing and moving the ball more, looking for the open man. Over the last couple of years we run on opportunity, this year we will run whether we have the opportunity or not.”

How did your childhood and upbringing affect your style as a coach?

“Growing up in east Oakland, I had to be tough. So if I have to get on the team I’ll get on them and they know that. I always tell them, if I’m not talking to you that means I’m done with you.”

   Conner was smart to remind the team not to take the Bobcats for granted. Charlotte nearly broke the Hawks winning streak with an extremely close game. Late in the fourth quarter the game became nail bitingly close.With only 40 second remaining on the clock, Ben Gordon of the Bobcats made a three pointer while double-teamed making the score 92-91. Gordon had a great game making five three pointers in the fourth quarter alone, but just not enough to take the game. The final score was a very close, Hawks 94-91 leaving the Hawks (9-4).

   After the game head coach, Larry Drew, gave some commentary admitting that the overlooked Bobcats actually gave the Hawks a run for their money. “This was a really though win for us.” Drew admitted, “Playing a team that’s come off a loss such as they had a couple days ago against Okalahoma (City), we knew this team was going to come in and really play hard and give us their best game. They really did that.”

   When asked how Drew keeps his team so humble after their consistent of wins he replied, “We still have a long season ahead of us and we have to understand that there are going to be good times and bad times. Its great that we won 6 games in a row, but we really have to take it 1 game at a time and stay humble.”

   The Hawks have been on fire lately, but after such a close game against the Bobcats it's clear that they still have progress to be made. As Drew stated the NBA season has just began so the Hawks still have time to build up their defense like the coaches plan. Coach Conner couldn’t have summed it up better, “We want to aim for the moon and land in the stars."

Atlanta Hawks Weekend Recap

After the impressive wins this weekend beating the Charlotte Bobcats 101-91 and the LA Clippers 104-93, fans may have learned new things about their favorite Hawks players. Sports blogger Jason Walker reflects on this victorious weekend with his article “What We Think We Learned About This Team”.  In the article, he discusses the teams strengths and weaknesses while also highlighting the players with very impressive stats. Check out the recap by clicking the link above!

[Recap] Clippers VS Heat

 The Los Angles Clippers prove that they are not to be overlooked this NBA season as they beat the Miami Heat Wednesday night. The Clippers being 6-2 won their 4^th game in a row, the game was close with 17 lead changes and 14 ties, eventually ending in a 107-100 defeat. Power forward Blake Griffin and point guard Chris Paul had double-doubles. Griffin made 20 points and had 14 rebounds, while Paul had 16 points and 10 assists. Jamal “Crossover” Crawford finished the game with an impressive 22 points on 7-of-11 shooting in just 24 minutes off the bench. LeBron James of the Miami Heat was in it to win it, scoring 30 points only to lose their 5^th game in a row. "We can even be better," Griffin said. "We can't rest on a win like that."

Lakers Hire Mike D'Antoni as New Head Coach

After only the 5^th game of the season, Mike Brown was fired as head coach of the Los Angles Lakers. Losing each pre-season game and beginning the season with a sad 4-1, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak announced that they would be making one of the earliest coaching changes in NBA history. After the Lakers trade for center Dwight Howard and point guard Steve Nash, everyone had expectations for them to be very tough competition.

It could be possible that the Lakers themselves had a plan to remove Brown as head coach, as it is highly unusual for a team with 4 legendary superstar athletes to not only be 8-0 in the preseason, but to also lose each opening game. After firing Brown the Lakers began to play with noticeable improvement, interim coach Bernie Bickerstaff lead the Lakers to their second straight win Sunday night against the Sacramento Kings 103-90.

But of course the Lakers cannot continue this season without a head coach. Sunday night former Phoenix Suns and New York Knicks coach, Mike D'Antoni, signed three-year deal with LA worth $12 million. After large speculation over if Phil Jackson or Mike D’Antoni would assume the head coach role, Jackson was reportedly “stunned” when negotiations of rehiring him fell through. Kobe Byrant admitted to ESPN on Monday, "I love PJ but I'm very excited about D'Antoni". The Lakers plan to hold a news conference either Tuesday or Wednesday to answer questions and discuss the teams plans for the rest of the season with their new coach. Changing coaches this far into the season might be detrimental for the team, or it might be just the change they needed.

Knicks Start season 3-0

Although it is too early to tell who is on the path for the NBA championship, it is fair to say that the New York Knicks are going to be a tough competitor this season. The Knicks start the season 3-0; their fastest start since 1999. They crushed Miami Heat in the opening game 104-84, and dominated the court yet again by defeating Philadelphia 79ers on Monday nights game. Carmelo Anthony led with 21 points while J.R. Smith followed, scoring 17. The game concluded with the Knicks defeating the 79ers 110-88. Read the game recap by ESPN for details and game notes. 

James Harden: A Force to be Reckoned With

After recently signing a $80 million five-year contract with the Houston Rockets, James Harden lead the team to a sweet victory in a game against the Detroit Pistons. The final score was 105-96, a huge turn around from the early fourth quarter where Detroit lead by 83-72. Last season during his time with Oaklahoma City Harden was awarded the leagues Sixth Man of the Year, but according to his stats from the game –– 37 points, 6 boards, 12 assists, 4 steals and 4 3-pointers ––  critics are already counting on him to be named a Top 5 Player by the end of the NBA season. Check out the recap of the game by Noah Trister with NBC Sports, and see how Harden is stepping out of the shadows of Kevin Durant and Russell Westbrook to become his own star player.

Los Angeles Lakers Opening Game, What Happened to Nash?

 The Los Angeles Lakers played their first game of the NBA season Tuesday night against the Dallas Mavericks, and experienced a disappointing loss; 99-91. Due to recent trades as well as the addition of Steve Nash and Dwight Howard, the team may not be running as smooth as we know the previous champions to be. Steve Nash, in particular, wasn’t quite playing like himself opening night, with seven points on 3-for-9 shooting, no free throws, and four assisits. Not typical Nash stats. Take a look at ESPN blogger J.A. Adande’s recap of the game and how Steve Nash might be the key to the Lakers success this NBA season.