Archive for August, 2007
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’
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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.
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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’
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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?’
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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!
Kobe 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.
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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?
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It was a special day, even for him, who has won everything, or does he? Because for Kobe Bryant, who has three NBA championship rings with the Lakers, there is one debt still pending: a gold medal with his country’s national team which he is representing for the first time in this FIBA Americas Championship 2007 in Las Vegas.
People even sang you “Happy Birthday” during one of your free throws, what did you feel?
It was sweet. This is the first time in my life that I have to play on my birthday.
Is it special, even for someone your age, to represent Team USA for the first time?
It’s very special. It’s a great honor to represent your country, wherever you are from.
After three rings in the NBA with the Lakers, what Beijing would mean to you?
It’ll mean everything. Playing for your country; winning a gold medal in a World Championship should be great, but nothing compares to winning one in the Olympics.
Did you watch last year’s World Championship in Japan?
Yes.
Continue reading ‘“One on one” with Kobe Bryant’
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ESPN: LeBron James threads a low bounce pass to Kobe Bryant cutting baseline. Bryant goes up and under for a reverse layup. The Thomas and Mack Center crowd goes wild.
Dwight Howard blocks a Team Canada baseline jump shot attempt. Jason Kidd scoops up the ball and flicks it fifty feet to a sprinting Carmelo Anthony for an emphatic dunk. The fans roar.
Anthony underhands a ball, like a bowler, to Bryant. Another big dunk and another giddy huzzah from the stands.
There are sweet, sublime moments aplenty when Team USA takes the floor for a FIBA Americas Championship game. The highlight reel is full of them.
But if the all-star team’s offensive exploits are a given, they aren’t definitive, they aren’t what characterizes this team in action.
If Saturday’s 113-63 win over Team Canada is any indication, the heart of Team USA ’s game, the essence of their identity, is an unrelenting collective will, a nasty killer instinct.
They’re not just beating teams in this tournament, they’re driving them into the ground, pounding Venezuala by 43 points, Virgin Islands by 64, and now Canada by 50.
Continue reading ‘Team USA puts the hammer down on Canada’
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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.
“I can handle him,” Kobe Bryant speaking about Ron Artest on a recorded cell phone conversation.
Kobe can do a lot. All of us know that. The guy is truly amazing.
But ‘baby sit’ the person we all affectionately call Ron Ron? The guy we all definitely call a “nut case.” That’s one tall order for even Mamba 24.
Ron Ron, is one gifted NBA Player. One of the few defensive stoppers in the NBA. A former Defensive Player of the Year. And the man can shoot. He can pass. He can post up. Some have said, he’s one of the most versatile players in the NBA. And, he is paid relative peanuts by NBA standards ($7,800,000).
It’s because of these gifts, that some teams have developed selective memory issues. You know, repressed memories. When things hurt so bad, you simply forget them. It’s a way us humans can deal with terrible stuff.
I think this is the case with Artest. I hear people saying, ‘Ron Ron isn’t all that bad.’ ‘He’s just misunderstood. He’s a good boy at heart.’ ‘Why, he even went to Africa to feed people.’ Of course, even there, a monkey took issue with him and wanted to fight. Ron Ron showed great restraint and didn’t swing back. Maybe he his a changed man after all?
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Thanks to Alec Eginli 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.
SI.com: After all the rumors and denials, it looks like Jermaine O’Neal will remain with the Indiana Pacers.
The All-Star forward was one of the players most discussed about in trade rumors this summer, with talk he might end up in New York, Los Angeles or New Jersey.
Pacers CEO Donnie Walsh said Friday that Indiana’s roster was virtually locked. When asked whether it was safe to say O’Neal would be a Pacer at the start of the season, Walsh said: “Yes, it is. That’s the way we’re thinking of it.”
Walsh didn’t rule out a trade completely, but he never does.
“Trades can always come up, but in our minds, Jermaine is here and our team’s intact,” Walsh told The Associated Press.
He even offered that the Pacers aren’t receiving calls about O’Neal any more.
“That’s done,” Walsh said.
O’Neal averaged 19.4 points, 9.6 rebounds and 2.6 blocks in 2006-07, one of the best seasons of his 11-year career. But the Pacers went 35-47 and missed the playoffs for the first time in 10 years.
In the weeks after the season ended, O’Neal said he respected the Pacers but wasn’t interested in being part of a rebuilding project.
Continue reading ‘Pacers CEO says team not receiving calls for O’Neal’
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