Archive for April, 2008
General manager, a frequent target of criticism from fans, media and even his star player, just rolled with the punches, until one great trade revitalized the team and his reputation.
L.A. Times: The first time Mitch Kupchak was mentioned for one of the most glamorous jobs in sports, general manager of the Lakers, he was standing at a urinal.
An All-American at North Carolina who became a starting power forward for the Showtime-era Lakers, Kupchak’s career was cut short after an injury in 1981 that shattered his left knee. After a limited comeback, Kupchak agreed to move over to the front office in 1986 to serve an apprenticeship under then-general manager Jerry West.
“About the second week I was there, I’m standing in the bathroom at the Forum . . . when the door flies open and Jerry walks in, face red, smoke shooting out of his ears, every other word a four-letter word,” Kupchak recalled recently. “He’s ranting and raving, talking to me, but not really talking to me even though there’s nobody else in there. I’m petrified.
” ‘You know, I’ve had enough. I’m telling Dr. [Jerry] Buss I’m quitting and I’m recommending you for the job.’ And then he walked out,” Kupchak recalled West saying. “I’m still . . . staring straight ahead at the wall, saying to myself, ‘I don’t know if I’m ready for this job.’ ”
Kupchak need not have worried. West wasn’t going anywhere for 14 years, although he would periodically threaten to bolt as his job anxiety continued to rise.
Continue reading ‘Kupchak can deal with it’
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The once great Pat Riley once said, “It is never a series until one team wins on the other’s home court.”
When looking at Game Three in Denver on Saturday afternoon, the question is: Was it even a series to begin with?
The Lakers took a commanding 3-0 series lead with a staggering 102-84 throttling of the Denver Nuggets.
The Lakers again executed their offense to perfection and the Nuggets again looked less a professional basketball team and more like the Birmingham High School JV squad. They sniveled, they kvetched and for the third game in a row, incurred the ire of the Referees earning another technical foul.
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Ariza should be available during the second round. Will he be an impact off the bench? Sound-off in the comments and tell us what you think!
L.A. Times: It took a while, more than three months, but Trevor Ariza finally heard the magic medical words.
The Lakers’ forward was cleared to begin some basketball-related activities and will be available to play at some point in the second round of the playoffs.
“A week from now, I can start doing a little bit of contact. And then a week later I can start playing,” he said. “It’s definitely good news.”
A key defender at small forward, Ariza has been out since Jan. 20 because of a broken bone in his right foot. He is not allowed to dunk yet and can work only on individual skills such as shooting and dribbling over the next week.
An MRI exam Friday showed that the bone in his foot had healed to the point of being able to begin basketball exercises.
Ariza was a fixture on the Lakers’ second unit after being acquired from Orlando in November for Brian Cook and Maurice Evans. He was averaging 6.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 18 minutes in 24 games with the Lakers, who like his length and speed as a defender.
Ariza was on the Lakers’ bench, in a suit, for Game 3 on Saturday against Denver.
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Are the Lakers really this good or are the Nuggets that bad?
Today, the Lakers cruised to a 108-84 victory over the Nuggets to take a commanding 3-0 series lead. The only question left is, will the Lakers win it in 4 games or back at home on Wednesday?
The Nuggets, once a team that scored 168 points in a game against Seattle, were held to half of that today on 37% shooting. The Lakers forced 16 turnovers compared to their 8. It’s strange that the Lakers were outrebounded by 14 and they still won convincingly.
The Nuggets stars A.I. and Melo were held to just 10 of 38 FGs in the game. The Lakers had 5 players score double figures and were led by Kobe with only 22. Even Mbenga scored!
Now, the bests of the night…
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ESPN: Once again, the Denver Nuggets couldn’t keep their emotions or Kobe Bryant in check.
Bryant scored 22 points and the Los Angeles Lakers took a 3-0 lead in their first-round series, routing the flustered Nuggets 102-84 on Saturday.
Game 4 is Monday night, and the Nuggets are going to have to get more out of their All-Star duo of Carmelo Anthony and Allen Iverson if they hope to take the series back to the Staples Center.
Anthony and Iverson were miserable from the floor, shooting a combined 10-for-38 and finishing with 16 and 15 points, respectively.
Bryant was quiet, too, at least in the first half, when he scored eight points on 3-for-8 shooting.
He scored nine quick points in the third quarter, however, to put the Lakers ahead 64-51 and quiet the Pepsi Center crowd that loves to hate him.
Bryant has always played well in Colorado, where fans have persistently heckled him ever since he was charged with sexual assault at a ski resort in the Rocky Mountains in 2003, even after the criminal case was dismissed and a civil suit settled.
Continue reading ‘Lakers blast baffled Nuggets, move one win from series win’
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Maybe it’s just us, but are you guys DISSAPOINTED in the Suns? I really wanted them to be taken out in the WCF’s. To bad they are on the verge of being SWEPT out of the post-season; not even a Smush Parker run Lakers’ team had that happen to them.
Good luck and good night Shaq.
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We knew Turiaf has been sick, but let’s hope to a fast recovery.
Yahoo.com: Lakers F Ronny Turiaf, who has played just three minutes in the series because of tonsillitis, was slow and lethargic in practice Friday, coach Phil Jackson said.
“I’m actually eating and drinking today. I’ll be ready to go,” said Turiaf, who’s lost 11 pounds while sick.
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Lakers star says he’s ‘hungrier’ for a championship than he was in 2000, when he won his first. But team is 13 wins away, and getting even one in Denver won’t be easy.
L.A. Times: It would also mean another step for Bryant in his escalating quest to win a fourth championship. The 10-time All-Star continued to express his feelings in big-picture terms, following up some positive thoughts earlier this week with the revelation that he was “hungrier” for a championship now than he was as a fresh-faced 21-year-old in 2000.
“The first one I was so young, plus I was sharing that pressure with somebody else,” Bryant said, referring to Shaquille O’Neal. “Me and Diesel both had the pressure on us to kind of get it done, he more so than I. Now the pressure’s squarely on my shoulders to try and bring another championship here. It’s something that I accept. I think I’m a little hungrier now than I was the first time.”
Can he handle the hunger?
“It comes with the territory. You can’t be Superman and not deal with the pressure of dropping somebody when you go to rescue them,” Bryant said.
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The Denver Nuggets have played good offense at times in the first two games, an they will be hoping to get a boost from the home crowd tonight. Overall, I expect a tighter game that may go down to the wire, but I ultimately can’t see the Lakers dropping this one.
Still, just as it’s up to the Lakers to play defense worthy of winning the series, it’s up to me to revise the match up predictions.
Marquee Matchups -
Point Guard – Derek Fisher and Jordan Farmar vs. Allen Iverson: A.I. has been the better performing of the two Nuggets Superstars, but even he has been settling for jump shots far too often. Farmar needs to increase his drives to the basket during second unit duties.
Advantage: Nuggets.
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