If you have any Lakers related news or even your own article you'd like to submit to us, please feel free to e-mail us, and if you have suggestions or a question you want to throw at us, please e-mail the staff.

Archive for August, 2007

U.S. Rolls, Clinches Spot in Semifinals

Published by Jim Murdoc on August 29, 2007 in USA Basketball. 5 Comments

Washington Post: The focused look on Kobe Bryant’s face before the U.S. men’s basketball team tipped off Tuesday gave some indication of what was in store for Puerto Rico: The Americans weren’t about to let another inferior opponent hang around longer than necessary.

The United States had learned its lesson Monday night against Mexico. Although the Americans won by 27 points, they were disappointed in their overall effort, blaming everything from tired legs to the sparse crowd for their lack of energy.

That wasn’t the case against Puerto Rico, as the U.S. team got back to playing suffocating defense and efficient offense and won, 117-78, to clinch a spot in Saturday’s semifinals.

For the first time in this Olympic qualifying tournament, a player other than Carmelo Anthony led the United States in scoring, as LeBron James had a game-high 21 points. Anthony had 17 points, Michael Redd 15, Bryant 14 and Amare Stoudemire pitched in with 12 points and a game-high eight rebounds as the Americans improved to 32-0 all-time in this tournament.

The United States will play Uruguay on Wednesday and conclude the second round Thursday against Argentina, the only other unbeaten team in the tournament.

Continue reading ‘U.S. Rolls, Clinches Spot in Semifinals’

U.S. Lets Up a Bit, But Still Romps

Published by Jim Murdoc on August 28, 2007 in USA Basketball. 25 Comments

Washington Post: The ever-present focus and intensity that defined the United States men’s basketball team as it steamrolled through the preliminary round of the FIBA Americas Championship was evident only in spurts Monday against Mexico.

The Americans still won in blowout fashion, 127-100, but often appeared uninterested as the second round of this Olympic qualifying tournament began. Carmelo Anthony again led the team in scoring with 28 points. Kobe Bryant had 21, and LeBron James and Dwight Howard had 19 apiece, but the United States failed to win by at least 40 points for the first time.

Before the game, U.S. Coach Mike Krzyzewski greeted a familiar foe with a huge hug before the game began. Nolan Richardson, the former Arkansas coach who is leading the Mexican national team, had the highlight of his career against Krzyzewski, defeating Duke for the 1994 NCAA championship. He has brought his “40 minutes of hell” philosophy to Mexico, and his team stayed within 20 points for most of the game before falling into purgatory.

Mexico got within 15-11 in the first quarter, but the United States closed out the period on a 30-12 run that featured seven dunks — including three each by Anthony and Howard — and two three-pointers.

But the Americans’ intensity level dropped considerably in the second period, and they appeared to become complacent in anticipation of an inevitable romp. They got caught up playing one-on-one and forced tough shots on offense and surrendered easy baskets on defense.

Continue reading ‘U.S. Lets Up a Bit, But Still Romps’

Bryant becomes ‘pacesetter’ for Team USA

Published by Jim Murdoc on August 27, 2007 in USA Basketball. 3 Comments

ESPN: The tone of the Kobe Bryant-Leandro Barbosa matchup was set just a few moments into the first quarter, but you had to look 80 feet away from the action to see it unfold.

As a player from Brazil shot two free throws at one end of the court, Barbosa stood beneath the basket all the way at the opposite baseline, trying to get a clear view.

Every second or so, however, Barbosa had to move a step or two to clear his line of vision from the obstruction that kept moving in his way.

That obstruction was Bryant, who was gluing himself to Barbosa at that very moment and stayed attached to him like white on rice all night in another stellar defensive performance that keyed Team USA’s 113-76 drubbing of previously undefeated Brazil on Sunday night.

“He don’t guard like that in the NBA, but he did tonight and I was impressed,” Barbosa told ESPN.com. “He came to guard me, and that was good practice for me. I learned a lot of things the way he was guarding me.”

Barbosa isn’t the only one learning a few things from Bryant, whose intensity and commitment level is having a trickle-down effect on his U.S. teammates. To prepare for Sunday night’s assignment, Bryant had Team USA video coordinators prepare him a DVD of Barbosa’s offensive repertoire, comprised of some 200 plays from tapes of the Phoenix Suns and the Brazilian national team. Some paperwork came with the DVD, too — an accompanying chart listing Barbosa’s efficiency percentage for each of his favorite moves.

Continue reading ‘Bryant becomes ‘pacesetter’ for Team USA’

Fisher: Daughter is “Doin’ great.”

Published by Jim Murdoc on August 27, 2007 in Articles. 6 Comments

Good to know all is going well for his little girl. Here’s the video of the TMZ encounter.

TMZ: NBA star Derek Fisher is back in L.A. to rejoin the Lakers, and more importantly, to care for his ailing daughter. A true champion!

Fisher, who has three championship rings with the Lakers, was released by the Utah Jazz at the end of last season so he could spend time caring for his one-year-old daughter, Tatum, who was diagnosed with a rare eye cancer earlier this year.

Fisher and his wife, Candace, were headed into Mr. Chow for dinner last night, and when asked how his daughter was doing, Fisher said, “Doin’ great,” and gave a big thumbs up.

U.S. finishes unbeaten in pool play

Published by Jim Murdoc on August 26, 2007 in USA Basketball. 10 Comments

L.A. Times: Americans whip Brazil, 113-76, to advance to elimination play with a 4-0 record.

With big games from its three biggest stars, first place came impressively for the United States.

LeBron James scored 21 points, Kobe Bryant added 20 and harassed Leandro Barbosa all over the court, and the United States clinched the top spot in its group by beating Brazil, 113-76, tonight in the FIBA Americas tournament.

Carmelo Anthony also had 21 for the Americans (4-0), who for the second straight game pulled away by holding their opponent without a field goal for more than 6 minutes in the second quarter.

The Americans improved to 30-0 in Olympic qualifying games and will open second-round play Monday night against Mexico, the fourth-place finisher in Group A, in a matchup of former coaching rivals: Nolan Richardson beat Mike Krzyzewski for the 1994 NCAA title when Arkansas edged Duke.

Bryant led the defensive effort that held Barbosa to just four points on 1-of-7 shooting before a Thomas & Mack Center crowd that included former UNLV coach Jerry Tarkanian and NBA Hall of Famer Bill Russell. Injured U.S. star Dwyane Wade watched from the bench for the second straight day.

Continue reading ‘U.S. finishes unbeaten in pool play’

Bryant to crash hard when summer’s over?

Published by Jim Murdoc on August 26, 2007 in Articles. 4 Comments

Thanks to Ajay for sending us this article. Again, if you guys see anything Lakers related that you think deserves to be put up, just e-mail us at articles@TheLakersNation.com.

SFGate.com: If the Warriors see the Lakers as a threat to their postseason plans - and there’s no reason to believe otherwise - they have to be loving Kobe Bryant’s presence on the U.S. national team, currently steamrolling through the competition at the FIBA Americas tournament in Las Vegas.

Once this thing is over, Bryant returns to his worst nightmare: playing on a team that did nothing to appease his summertime malaise. While the Warriors assemble another dangerous, exciting product (this is assuming Don Nelson ends his absurd holdout), the Lakers will be stuck with a moody superstar who wants out.

This is Kobe’s season, right now, against the Venezuelas and Brazils of the world. He’s playing with Jason Kidd, a career-long dream. He’s flying down the court with LeBron James, Carmelo Anthony and Amare Stoudemire, and even with all that talent surrounding him, he’s still the man. Those on the scene say Bryant’s dominance has been evident from the first day of U.S. training camp. He’s the best shooter, the best defender, even the hardest worker. He’s living a dream.

Imagine Bryant’s disgust when he returns to the Lakers and sees Andrew Bynum resuming his tedious struggle toward respectability. No Kidd, no Kevin Garnett, no Jermaine O’Neal, just the same sorry cast of characters. Back in February, when the Lakers had a chance to trade for Kidd, general manager Mitch Kupchak balked because he wouldn’t give up Bynum. It’s entirely possible that Bynum, still just 19, will blossom into an elite center. He certainly has the body and the tools. It’s just that “projects” usually don’t work out so well in the NBA. If you can play in that league, chances are you proved it within weeks, not years.

Continue reading ‘Bryant to crash hard when summer’s over?’

Game Preview: USA VS. BRAZIL

Published by John Fatland on August 26, 2007 in Fatty's Game Preview and USA Basketball. 9 Comments

Special thanks to John ‘Fatty’ Fatland for writing this take and giving us the privilege to add it to TheLakersNation.com. Again, if you guys see anything Lakers related that you think deserves to be put up, just e-mail us at articles@TheLakersNation.com.

Fatty’s Scouting Report: Team USA vs Brazil; Sunday 6:00 PM ESPN 2. Also remember, that theLakersNation.com has Live Gameday Chat one hour prior to the game. Join us!

barbkobe.jpgKobe Bryant and Team USA have been on Cruise Control, with the average margin of victory at a whopping 51.5 pts/game.

Kobe hasn’t been needed much, only playing 17.5 min/game, just a mere sampling of Mamba24.

I feel like I’m visiting Costco, with all those food samples to try. These sweet little old ladies that smile and pleasantly offer neat things to eat are really clever. Why? Because they make you want more, and to get more you must purchase the item. With Kobe, we’ve seen a sampling of spectacular dunks, nifty behind the back passes, three point swishes, tenacious defense, and some incredible moves that have us and the crowds yelling for more.

Instead of more Kobe, we are forced to listen to Bill Walton read from the World Almanac. Question: Which is more boring? Bill Walton sharing geographical facts or elevator music? I’d say it’s a toss up.

Today all of that changes, because we play Brazil, which is led by Leandro Barbosa of Phoenix Suns fame.

Continue reading ‘Game Preview: USA VS. BRAZIL’

Build a Future and Appease Kobe

Published by cyrus on August 26, 2007 in Challenges. 133 Comments

In our last challenge, most members were very eager to get rid of our young players without being concerned about the future of our team. Swapping our young and promising talents for older and more experienced players does not guaranty instant success.

It’s easy to showoff your knowledge with household names like Jermaine O’Neal, Ron Artest, Jason Kidd and C.Webb. It’s easy to build an All-Star team around Kobe on the paper. But how much do you know about young talents? In 1996, Jerry West brought Shaq to LA and everybody applauded him, but West also traded his starting center, Vlade Divac to the Hornets for the young Kobe Bryant (1996 13th pick.). It takes the ingenuity of “The Logo” to build a contender team.

Today, Lakers are lost somewhere between their glorious past, disorientated present and uncertain future. They have the best player on the planet and don’t know what to do with him. They have surrounded him with some experienced players like Derek Fisher and Lamar Odom, as well as young talents like Andrew Bynum and Javaris Crittenton. But is that enough to build a future and appease Kobe at the same time?

Continue reading ‘Build a Future and Appease Kobe’