Morning Snapshot: The Sixers End Their Losing Streak

(Photo: Paul Vathis/AP file photo)

I know this is going to hurt for all the west coast readers but the Philadelphia Sixers defeated the Golden State Warriors 104-97 on Saturday night. This was huge for the Sixers because they snapped their seven game losing streak. All of the Sixers starters were playing great basketball including guard Royal Ivey who got the start in place of Nick Young who had a sprain ankle.

What was also special about this game was that it was Wilt Chamberlain bobblehead night. If you remember Wilt played for the Philadelphia Warriors and then when they moved to San Francisco he continued to play for them. Also last night marked the 51 year anniversary of Wilt scoring 100 points in a game. Last night was a great night of basketball in the city of Philadelphia.

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Morning Snapshot: The Lakers and Warriors get big wins on Friday night

(Photo: Ben Margot/AP)

For all you east coast basketball fans that did not stay up last night, there were two exciting basketball games that were going on between the Los Angeles Lakers and the Portland Trailblazers and the San Antonio Spurs taking on the Golden State Warriors.

Let's just say both California teams won in grind it out fashion. In the Lakers vs. Trailblazers game, Kobe Bryant went to work against Portland and scored 40 points. That was vintage Kobe but not to be over looked is Trailblazers outstanding rookie point guard Damian Lillard who scored his 1000th point in young career. The Lakers would go on to win 111-107.

Now the last game of the night went into overtime but the Warriors came out victorious defeating the Spurs 107-101. Leading the way in scoring for the Warriors was Jarrett Jack who had 30 points off the bench; the last Warriors player to do that was Donyell Marshall back in the late 90's. The playoff push is now on, its time to see if the Warriors can hold their playoff position and if the Lakers can find their way into the playoffs.

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Morning Snapshot: The West Defeats the East in the NBA All Star Game

(Photo: Getty Images)

Last night, the NBA held their annual all star game in the city of Houston, the home of the Houston Rockets. This all star game had a different feel to it as this will be David Stern's last year as commissioner and Billy Hunter was unanimously voted out as executive director of the union by the NBA Players Association. 

Back to the game, the Western conference all stars defeated the Eastern conference all stars 143-138. For the Western conference it was the same old faces on the team but for the East they had new players such as Cleveland Cavs point guard Kyrie Irving, Philadelphia 76ers point guard Jrue Holiday, and Indiana Pacers forward Paul George. 

The MVP of the all star game went to Los Angeles Clippers point guard Chris Paul. Paul had 20 points, 15 assists, and four steals he made incredible passes and showed off some amazing crossovers. With this performance in the all star game you cannot forget to mention Paul for regular season MVP.

Morning Snapshot: Former UW Husky Terrence Ross Wins the Slam Dunk Contest

(Photo: Jeff Haynes/Reuters)

Last night, on All-Star Saturday night, the bright lights were shining on the Sprite Slam Dunk Contest. The players that were participating in the contest were Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets, Eric Bledsoe of the LA Clippers, and reigning slam dunk championship Jeremy Evans of the Utah Jazz. Those players were representing the Western Conference.

The players representing the Eastern Conference were Gerald Green of the Indiana Pacers, James "Flight" White of the New York Knicks, and Terrence Ross of the Toronto Raptors. The eventual champion was Terrence Ross, the rookie who had spectacular dunks all night including in the final round where he did a dunk and paid homage to Vince Carter. Even though the dunk contest wasn't high flying and exciting as many NBA fans would want it to be, Terrence Ross brought the excitement and went home the 2013 Sprite Slam Dunk Contest Champion.

Kobe Bryant is Still the Best Player in the NBA

(Photo: Gary A. Vasquez-US PRESSWIRE)

Many people think that Kobe Bryant is finished and that the torch should be passed to Lebron James. Not so fast my friend as ESPN's College Football Gameday analyst Lee Corso would say. If you think Kobe Bryant's career is done then you must not have been watching basketball this season.

This season with Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant had to change the way he played the game for the betterment of the team. So far that change has gone great for Kobe and the Lakers. For the Lakers, he has been more of a passer than a scorer. On January 29th versus the New Orleans Hornets, Kobe Bryant had 14 points and 11 assists. When was the last time you saw Kobe post those kinds of numbers in a game? Lebron sure doesn't do that on a nightly basis. Instead unlike Kobe, Lebron James has become more of a scorer's mentality than anything else.

Here is another stat that will have you scratching your head. On February 1st against the Minnesota Timberwolves, Bryant had 17 points, 12 rebounds, and 8 assists. He was two assists away from a triple-double.

If you are a Lakers fan or a basketball enthusiast do you like aggressive Kobe or passive Kobe? I like passive Kobe and here is why. The way Kobe has been playing it seems like the Lakers are playing more together as a team and not as individuals. In the Lakers last seven games they have won six of them. Coincidence, I think not. The new style that Kobe is playing is actually making his team better and could definitely put him in the running for the MVP this season.

And for people that think Kobe is washed up just look at all his accolades. He was All-NBA First Team and All-Defensive Second Team last season. Then in 2011, he was All-NBA First Team, All-Defensive First Team, and All-Star MVP.

Finally, don't forget Kobe is only five years removed from a MVP title. So before you want to declare Lebron James the best in the game, the "Black Mamba" still has something to say about that.

Follow me on twitter @Jovan10 for Sixers, College Basketball, NFL, MLB, and all sports updates.