Archive for November, 2007
As expected, a win tonight for the Lakers and free taco’s for all fans in attendance!
Chants of “we want tacos” were heard as the Lakers finally held a team under 100 (barely) and won. I’m going to make this very short because I have endless studying to do for a final exam… It’s up to you all to add comments and fill in some details for the others. Now, the bests of the night:
Top 3 Laker performers:
1) Kobe Bryant played superb ball, 35 points, 8 rebounds, 6 assists.
2) Derek Fisher continued his amazing play, 3 of 4 from the field and 8 assists to go with his 14 points!
3) Lamar Odom was active all night, he put up 20 points and 8 rebounds.
Lakers Smush of the Day (Note: STD denotes the Laker that played the poorest): Chris Mihm shot 2-10, but had 8 boards and a block keeping him safe tonight. Instead, Sasha struggled 0-3 and took bad shots. Sasha is tonight’s STD.
Key play of the game: Kobe’s And1 behind the back pass to Ronny on the break for the And1.
What to look for next game: Look for a good game. The Nuggets are 9-6, but only 3-4 on the road. Game is Thursday night @ 7:30 PM (the game is also on TNT).
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When we sent Cook and Evans off to Orlando, and took in the 22 year old Ariza, it made us a very young team:
SonicsBeatBlog: The Lakers PR department notes that, after trading Brian Cook and Maurice Evans to Orlando for Trevor Ariza last week, the Lakers became the NBA’s second-youngest team in terms of average age (25 years, 158 days). They passed the Sonics, who have an average age of 25 years, 167 days.
Portland, at 24 years, 53 days, is the NBA’s youngest team in terms of average age.
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Interesting stuff from Phil. Seems like he wants Kobe to shoot the ball more…
L.A. Times: “Kobe’s reputation is such that most everybody’s staying down on his pump-fakes, not getting up in the air,” Jackson said. “He just has to get his shot back in order so that he’s taking a shot, not worrying about getting guys up off the floor, trying to create a [free-throw] situation for himself.”
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Special thanks to Justin Page for writing this take and giving us the privilege to add it to TheLakersNation.com. Again, if you write anything Lakers related and you think that it deserves to be put on the Lakers Nation please e-mail us at articles@TheLakersNation.com.
Lamar Odom is a difference maker for the Los Angeles Lakers. Using one of Hubie Brown’s phrases; he’s a player that’s going to get you 15 points, 10 rebounds, a blocked shot or two, and he defends the painted area well. Not to mention he’s a great team basketball player.
Before I get into Odom’s inconsistent play as of late, I would like to say I’ve become a big fan of his over the past three plus season’s in which he has sported the purple and gold. He plays with a lot of heart and he loves playing in L.A; he’s stated his desire to retire a Laker on numerous occasions.
Last season he played through a torn Labrum injury that would have put many other players in this league on the shelf. And if he hadn’t returned from that injury, the Lakers probably wouldn’t have snuck into the playoffs last year. Without Odom, the Lakers are a team that would finish anywhere from 9th to 11th in the brutal Western Conference.
Odom missed the first four games of this young season, so he only has nine games under his belt, which means he isn’t in pristine game condition. So by no means am I trampling and pouncing on the panic button with Lamar Odom, as many Laker fans are doing right now, when I say that Odom’s inconsistent early season play is really cause for concern for this team. But I’m very close to pushing that panic button.
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Lakers play well. Lakers blow it. Lakers regain it back. Lakers turn ball over and commit clear path foul. Kobe misses free throw. Nachbar missed free throw. Vlad Rad at this point is 0-9 for the game. Lakers down 2 with 3.7 seconds left. Inbound to Vlad for a contested fall away three pointer. Clank. Lakers lose.
Out of everyone to get a chance to win the game, why Vlad? He was 0-9! Did we really need to go for three down by 2? This is a loss that I want to forget. Sorry for venting all my frustration…
Anyways, the Lakers had several moments they played well, but a costly run in the fourth. The Lakers once again had turnover problems with 18, but had 12 steals. The game shouldn’t have even been that close. It shouldn’t have taken a miracle comeback to beat a starting frontcourt of Collins and Allen. The Lakers should have pounded the ball inside to Bynum who was 5-7 shooting. The Nets had nobody who could stop him. Now, the bests of the night…
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A nightmare third quarter, horrible 4th quarter 2nd unit meltdown, Sasha on Carter, and lastly, Vlade 0-10! Add in a clutch free throw missed by Kobe and you had my night. Lakers fans, keep your heads up!
ESPN: The New Jersey Nets have taken to heart Jason Kidd’s comments about the team’s desire to win.
There was no giving in against Los Angeles on Sunday night.Kidd had 15 points, 14 assists and seven rebounds leading the Nets to a 102-100 victory over the Lakers and Kobe Bryant, who had 31 points.
During New Jersey’s recent six-game losing streak, Kidd was quoted in New York papers as saying that the Nets have a habit of “letting go of the rope,” and playing with a “glass jaw.”Apparently, his teammates got the message. They’ve won three straight.
Continue reading ‘Late Lakers run too little, too late as Nets win third straight’
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L.A. Times: Sometimes Andrew Bynum is the future of the franchise, dragging a defender or two on the way to a roaring dunk.
And sometimes he’s that 7-foot kid who only recently exited his teenage years.
He played the part of the latter Friday against Boston, ending a string of solid outings with a four-point, four-foul misery of an evening. On top of it, Celtics center Kendrick Perkins scored a career-high 21 points, ditching both Bynum and a reputation as a defense-minded player.
“Everything went wrong for Andrew,” Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said.
Bynum had been on somewhat of a roll, averaging 14.8 points and 10 rebounds in his previous four games, but he called his experience against Boston a “shame” and “terrible.”
“I don’t know what was going on for me,” he said. “I wasn’t going to the basket strong like before.”
Bynum was also in and out of foul trouble.
“Two of them were terrible,” he said of the calls. “One time . . . I just got done talking to the official. I was like, ‘What can I do to not get the foul?’ He was like, ‘Well, if you’re in the restricted area [near the basket] and jump straight up, it’s not a foul.’ I did it the next play, and the guy who told me that blew the whistle. So I was like, ‘I guess I can’t do anything to avoid those.’
Continue reading ‘Bynum wants to get past debacle’
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Very good article on what our Ronny has dealt with in his life… Fantastic read.
Lakers.com: From the sandy beaches of the Caribbean, the iconic Eiffel Tower, the majestic mountains of Washington to the hills of Hollywood, Ronny Turiaf has seen it all.
The third year Lakers forward is no stranger to travel, bringing his amazing tenacity and energy to each of his various stopping points. While much of the creative juices flow through Turiaf naturally, his life story has had an equally large part in shaping the former Gonzaga standout into the multicultural man he is today.
TRADING IN THE SUN FOR CRÊPES:
Whereas most families flock to the Caribbean islands for vacation, Turiaf called the small tropical island of Martinique home up until the age of 14. Growing up in a resort-like setting, spending his days walking around barefoot with friends, is an experience not lost on the Creole-speaking native who soaked up every sun-drenched day he spent in his hometown.
“It’s very laid back. Very sunny. Awesome. There’s nothing better than going to visit your friend having a BBQ chicken and just enjoying yourself and having a good time with your family,” said a reflective Turiaf.
Although he grew up playing soccer, the 6’10” forward discovered his basketball talent when he was 14, following the advice of his father. A decade later, Turiaf is the starting power forward for the 14-time NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers.
The stability afforded by the NBA lifestyle is still new to Turiaf whose life story is as much about transitioning as it is about his enormous heart.
Continue reading ‘Ronny Turiaf: Life and Times’
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Kobe Bryant has one major goal in mind – DEFENSIVE player of the year.
BostonSports.com: “I’ve always wanted to play defense,” he said. “I’ve always prided myself on that.”
Now, he’s hoping to take the next step at the defensive end.
“This year, I made it a top priority of mine to win Defensive Player of the Year more than anything,” he said, “because I understand that being able to lead my team by example, by playing that kind of defense, that that will inspire my teammates to do the same.”
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A bunch of news from the L.A. Times. This should break it down in pieces for you:
L.A. Times: “He’s not shot the ball well recently,” Jackson said. “It has to do with legs. He’s talking about some knee things probably going on.”
Bryant has been bothered by knee tendinitis since training camp.
Phil on Ariza; looks like the lack of basketball IQ is in question:
New acquisition Trevor Ariza still hasn’t played for the Lakers, although Jackson doesn’t necessarily blame a lack of knowledge of the triangle offense.
“You don’t have to be a genius to play basketball,” Jackson said. “This isn’t rocket science.”
Just the same, Ariza hasn’t had a chance to practice with the team. He arrived Wednesday on a game day, there was no practice on Thanksgiving, there was another game Friday, and the team did not practice Saturday because of a lengthy flight home from Boston.
Lastly, here is Kobe on Odom and his thoughts on why he is struggling:
“He’s very emotional,” Bryant said of Odom. “We just have to stay with him and continue to talk to him to give him confidence and help him come out of it as much as possible.
“He’s played bad in two games. Man, I’ve played bad in five, six, seven, eight games in a row. I mean, come on, now. I tell him, `Don’t get down on yourself. It’s two ballgames. You’ll bounce back (tonight against New Jersey). You’ll be fine.”‘
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