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Archive for the 'News' Category

Lakers don’t want to play down upcoming stretch

Published by Jim Murdoc on November 22, 2008 in News. 2 Comments

L.A. Times: Good news for the Lakers: None of their opponents the next nine games have winning records.

Bad news for the Lakers: None of their opponents the next nine games have winning records.

The Lakers finally broke a strange habit last season, able to beat teams with bad records after failing to do it for several years.

They’ll get a chance to prove themselves again with a string of games that can hardly be called running the gauntlet: Sacramento twice, New Jersey, Dallas, Toronto, Indiana, Philadelphia, Washington and Milwaukee.

The Lakers (10-1) aren’t going to start losing now, are they?

“The first three years of my career, we did stuff like that, and we would lose to teams who were under .500,” center Andrew Bynum said. “I think Charlotte still has a winning record against us since I’ve played on this team.”

The kid knows his stuff. The Bobcats are 4-2 against the Lakers since Bynum entered the league, including a 108-95 victory at Staples Center last season.

The Lakers went 1-1 against Charlotte, 1-1 against Milwaukee and 1-1 against New Jersey last season, almost cause for celebration after their performance against sub-.500 teams in 2006-07. That season, the Lakers were swept by New York, lost two of three against a shaky Portland team and went 2-2 against Memphis, which finished with the league’s worst record.

Bynum said it would be different this season.

“We’re going to carry that focus,” he said. “Plus, everybody has that taste of last year in our mouth when we lost in the Finals. We’re going to have to be sharp.”

How the Lakers are winning.

Published by Jim Murdoc on November 21, 2008 in News. 6 Comments

Inside the Lakers: Sometimes numbers really do tell the story. The Lakers, statistically speaking, have the best bench in the league and it isn’t even close. The Lakers bench has a +/- rating of +263. Utah is next at +215, followed by Chicago at +191. No other team in the league is over 100.

Where does that show up in the box score?

Quite literally, the Lakers just wear people out. In games through November 15, the Lakers outscored their opponents by a league-leading 6.5 points in the fourth quarter and second-best 3.9 points in the third quarter.

In Thursday’s win over Phoenix, the Lakers outscored the Suns 30-23 in the third quarter and played an even 25-25 in the fourth.

The Lakers bench outscored Phoenix’ bench 44-30.

Shaq has only good things to say about Lakers

Published by Jim Murdoc on November 21, 2008 in News. 7 Comments

Sooner or later, will have to have “Shaq Watch” category… I’m kidding. Seriously. I am. Anywho, here’s a few quotes from the article…

L.A. Times: O’Neal had nothing but high praise, for the Lakers and for Bryant.

“They are the best team,” O’Neal said. “They are 9-1. They are playing pretty good. Kobe is playing excellent ball, keeping everybody involved. He’s got a lot of shooters around. They are a very dangerous team. . . . They are probably the best team in the West right now.”

When asked if that’s how he wished Bryant had played when the two were teammates, O’Neal wanted no part of that question.

Instead, O’Neal talked about how impressive Bryant was.

“He’s playing excellent ball,” O’Neal said. “I can’t say anything bad about him now.”

O’Neal stopped and smiled.

He recalled how the Lakers seemingly always were in turmoil when he played there, how he and Bryant bickered, how Lakers Coach Phil Jackson kept an eye on the situation while it brewed.

“All the stuff we went through, it didn’t really matter,” O’Neal said. “We won.”

The Lakers have a new, young center in Andrew Bynum, who had 10 points and seven rebounds in 21 minutes.

O’Neal said Bynum is playing like a 7-footer should.

“He does what he’s supposed to do,” O’Neal said. “He catches it, keeps it up high and throws it down. He’s bigger, a lot stronger. He’s not really the first, second or third option. He just gets lobs, gets rebounds. He does what he’s supposed to do as a 7-footer.”

Shaquille O’Neal reaches out to Phil Jackson

Published by Jim Murdoc on November 21, 2008 in News. 12 Comments

L.A. Times: Reporting from Phoenix — Phil Jackson stood in a dim hallway amid a semi-circle of reporters, talking about how difficult it is to box out Shaquille O’Neal, when the topic of discussion emerged from a nearby practice court, pushed his way through the media pack and gave Jackson a sweaty embrace.

O’Neal whispered in Jackson’s ear for a few seconds before walking away and saying, “You know I wouldn’t do that to you.”

Jackson smiled briefly, a hint of catharsis in what had been an odd week of revisiting the O’Neal-Jackson-Kobe Bryant triangle leading up to Thursday’s game between the Lakers and Phoenix Suns.

O’Neal asserted last week in a Sacramento Bee story that the tension between Bryant and O’Neal earlier this decade was “all designed by Phil, because if you think about it, Phil never called us into the office and said, ‘Both of you all, shut . . . up.’ ”

O’Neal distanced himself from the comments Wednesday, telling reporters that, “We won championships, and it would be idiotic of me to say something bad about him now.”

(From time to time, however, O’Neal has criticized Jackson, calling him “Benedict Arnold” after Jackson returned to coach the Lakers, and Bryant, in 2005.)

A few seconds after the embrace from O’Neal, Jackson said he wanted to believe his former center.

“I had no doubt that [article] was something out of context, or whatever,” Jackson said. “We had a great time. We had a great run for four years, five years.”

Then Jackson took off his glasses and mopped his brow to make sure there wasn’t any of O’Neal’s sweat still on his forehead. He was smiling.

ESPN: Season’s early surprises: Lakers have #1 Defense

Published by Chris Manning on November 20, 2008 in News. 8 Comments

Interesting stuff from Hollinger over at ESPN. Claims the early surprise is our solid defense which has helped us get off to an 8-1 start!

ESPN: I touched upon this when I saw the Lakers hold New Orleans to 30 points in the first half, but their upgraded commitment to the defensive end has been something to behold. L.A., which made the NBA Finals last season primarily as an offensive juggernaut, is leading the league in defensive efficiency by a sizable margin.

The return of Andrew Bynum has played a big part, obviously. It’s not just his size, it’s also that he’s in shape and moving well. As a result, he has become a real presence roaming the lane and blocking shots, and he has allowed Pau Gasol to slide over to his more natural power forward role. Bynum is spiking three shots a game, the Lakers’ now-huge front line is controlling the defensive glass and L.A. in general has found a more physical edge in the wake of last year’s embarrassing conclusion to the Finals.

If they keep it up, they’ll be virtually impossible to beat.

Bynum on the boards

Published by Chris Manning on November 18, 2008 in News. 10 Comments

Congrats to Andrew Bynum who became the 8th youngest NBA player to pull down 1,000 rebounds!

Keep it up, ‘Drew!

Vujacic and Gasol ready to rock

Published by Jim Murdoc on November 18, 2008 in News. 4 Comments

Lakers Examiner: If the Lakers find themselves struggling against the Bulls Tuesday night, they can always play some of Sasha Vujacic and Pau Gasol’s favorite tunes for intimidation.

The Lakers duo will bring an international flavor to 100.3 FM KSWD as guest DJ’s on Dec. 21. Those tuning in will hear some of Vujacic and Gasol’s favorite songs, including these hardcore, menacing anthems:

Gasol (aka DJ Spanish Fly):

  1. “Losing My Religion” — REM (the song that was playing when Brenda and Dylan had their first breakup on Beverly Hills, 90210)
  2. “One” — U2 (played at countelss weddings across the nation every weekend)
  3. “Somewhere Only We Know” — Keane (the McDreamy theme song on Grey’s Anatomy)

Continue reading ‘Vujacic and Gasol ready to rock’

Lakers to make donation to American Red Cross for fire victims

Published by Chris Manning on November 17, 2008 in News. 1 Comment

At a rough time for California fires, the Lakers step up and contribute for the greater good. Our thoughts and prayers go out for everyone affected by these horrible fires…

Lakers.com: The Los Angeles Lakers announced today that they will make a $100,000 donation to the American Red Cross (ARC) Disaster Relief Fund to assist victims of the recent devastating fires in Southern California.