The Los Angeles Lakers News

Lamar Odom Signs Six-Year $63 Million Contract in Los Angeles

2009-07-11T07:00:00.000-07:00

LOS ANGELES -- Restricted free agent forward Lamar Odom signed a six-year offer sheet worth about $63 million with the Miami Heat on Monday.

Odom has played his first four NBA seasons with the Los Angeles Clippers, who have 15 days to match the offer sheet or lose Odom to the Heat without compensation.

The Heat didn't make an immediate announcement concerning the signing, but the Clippers did, saying they had received a copy of the offer.

"We will evaluate this offer during the 15-day period before announcing our decision," the Clippers said, adding that during the 15-day period they would not issue status reports.

It's believed the Clippers will match the offer sheet and keep Odom, just as they did with Elton Brand and Corey Maggette earlier this summer.

Brand signed a six-year offer sheet worth a reported $82.2 million with the Heat and Maggette signed a six-year offer sheet worth $42 million with Utah.

The Clippers chose to allow Andre Miller to leave after he signed a six-year, $51 million offer sheet with Denver.

At the time Brand, Maggette and Miller signed their offer sheets, Clippers executive vice president Andy Roeser said it was the team's intention to match "any and all offers as we see fit with the goal of maintaining the nucleus of our team."

It's believed the Clippers consider Odom part of their nucleus.

Odom has said repeatedly in recent days that he wanted out of Los Angeles and wants to play for Heat coach Pat Riley.

"For me to reach my full potential, I believe it might be my time to go," Odom said last week. He reportedly turned down a three-year, $24 million offer from the Clippers last month.

Jeff Schwartz, Odom's agent, didn't immediately return phone messages.

The 6-foot-10 Odom averaged 14.6 points, 6.7 rebounds and 3.6 assists in 49 games last season. The fourth overall selection in the 1999 draft, he is averaging 15.9 points, 7.3 rebounds and 4.6 assists in 230 career games.

Brand said he didn't believe the Clippers would match the offer sheet he signed with the Heat.

But they did.

"You're obligated to be there if they do match," Brand said Monday at the U.S. Olympic team's training camp in New York. "So now they matched (Brand), they matched Corey, they got Coach (Mike) Dunleavy, so hopefully we're heading to a brighter future.

"It's going to be a tough road," Brand said of Odom's future should he remain with the Clippers. "Unless there's something you can mutually agree upon with the general manager and the owner, there's nothing that can be done. So it's a tough road."

Brand said he believes things could work out if Odom stays in Los Angeles.

"After a while, I'm sure -- I hope, because I'm there -- this will smooth out," Brand said with a laugh regarding the possibility of Odom staying with the Clippers. "If they don't match him, I wish him my best.

"You don't want to feel like the team you play with doesn't want you and only wants to pay you because someone else wants to pay. You don't want to feel like that, so you might understand why Lamar is going through what he's going through.

"You don't want to have a disgruntled employee. But if they do match him, I know what type of person he is. A lot of money, but he's not going to be a disgruntled player."

Brand said he last spoke with Odom in Los Angeles a couple weeks ago.

Source: ESPN

Lakers-At-Nuggets Game Results - 27-Feb-09

2009-02-27T22:00:00.000-08:00

DENVER (AP) -- For all the pundits who figure the Lakers and Spurs are the only teams to worry about in the West, the Denver Nuggets served notice Friday night that they deserve to be talked about, too.

J.R. Smith scored 22 points and hounded Kobe Bryant all night and the Nuggets beat cold-shooting Los Angeles 90-79 to end to end a nine-game losing streak against the Lakers.

The Nuggets got solid performances from reserves Smith and Chris Andersen, who tied a career high with seven blocks, pulled down 12 rebounds and chipped in 11 points, and their defense was, to a man, absolutely outstanding.

The Lakers, who brought the NBA's best record (48-10) into town when they checked into their hotel at 4 a.m., had their second-worst shooting night since the franchise moved to Southern California nearly a half century ago from Minneapolis -- 29.8 percent.

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Lakers-Suns Game Results - 26-Feb-09

2009-02-26T22:00:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles Lakers scored 70 points in the first half and rolled past the Phoenix Suns 132-106 Thursday night. Lamar Odom had 23 points on 12-for-13 shooting, helping the Lakers to their sixth straight win.

Kobe Bryant had 22 points and eight rebounds for the Lakers, while O'Neal had 12 points while taking just seven shots, and grabbed seven rebounds for the Suns in the former teammates' first meeting since sharing MVP honors at the All-Star game.

Pau Gasol added 16 points and nine rebounds for the Lakers, who own the NBA's best record at 48-10 and lead the Pacific Division by 15 games over the Suns.

Los Angeles' points tied a season high and the team made a season-best 54 of 94 field goals, bettering the 48 the Lakers hit against Minnesota on Jan. 30.

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Lakers-At-Thunder Game Results - 24-Feb-09

2009-02-24T22:00:00.000-08:00

Kobe Bryant scored 10 of his 36 points in a 3-minute span of the fourth quarter to stave off the Thunder's comeback bid and lead the Lakers to a 107-93 victory on Tuesday night. He didn't emerge from the Lakers' training room until about 40 minutes after the game, but he was in a good mood when he did.

Bryant moved into 19th place on the NBA's career scoring list, ahead of Adrian Dantley only one game after he passed Elgin Baylor for 20th. Entering the game, he had needed only 13 points to tie Dantley.

Kevin Durant scored 32 to lead Oklahoma City in its sixth straight loss. It was his ninth time scoring at least 30 points in the last 10 games, and the 13th time in 17 games, during a surge that's landed him right behind Bryant in fourth place in the NBA in scoring.

Rookie Kyle Weaver followed his career-best 19-point outing by scoring 16, and Russell Westbrook finished with 14 points for the Thunder.

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Lakers-At-Timberwolves Game Results - 22-Feb-09

2009-02-22T22:00:00.000-08:00

Lamar Odom had 25 points and 14 rebounds, and Kobe Bryant scored 28 to move past Elgin Baylor into 20th place on the NBA's career scoring list in the Lakers' 111-108 victory Sunday night.

Pau Gasol added 25 points for the team with the league's best record, which is 9-1 since Bynum went down with a torn MCL in his right knee on Jan. 31.

Ryan Gomes had 20 points and seven rebounds and Craig Smith scored 19 on 9-for-10 shooting for the Timberwolves, who are 1-4 without Jefferson and have lost six straight home games.

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Lakers-Hornets Game Results - 20-Feb-09

2009-02-20T22:00:00.000-08:00

Kobe Bryant scored 11 of his 39 points in OT and the Los Angeles Lakers beat New Orleans 115-111 on Friday night, snapping an NBA-record streak of overtime wins by the Hornets dating to December 2005.

Pau Gasol had 20 points and 12 rebounds for the defending Western Conference champions, who won for the 14th time in 16 games. Derek Fisher, whose 3-pointer with 14.6 seconds left in the fourth quarter forced overtime, made four free throws in the final 14.3 seconds of the extra period to ice it.

Lamar Odom grabbed 12 points and 17 rebounds, the fifth time in six games that he had 17 or more boards.

The Lakers improved the NBA's best record to 45-10 and avenged a 116-105 loss to the Hornets on Jan. 6 that ended a 15-game home winning streak. Chris Paul and David West, who combined for 72 points in that one, had 21 and 16 respectively in the rematch while Rasual Butler led the team with 31.

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Lakers-At-Warriors Game Results - 18-Feb-09

2009-02-18T22:00:00.000-08:00

OAKLAND, Calif. -- Trevor Ariza is just the latest in a long layup line of opposing players who love playing at the Golden State Warriors' breakneck tempo.

Kobe Bryant scored 30 points, Pau Gasol added 24 points and 13 rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers roared from behind in the final 5 minutes for their 13th victory in 15 games, 129-121 over the Warriors on Wednesday night.

Los Angeles trailed late into the fourth quarter against the improving Warriors, but the Lakers made a dynamite 17-3 run beginning with back-to-back 3-pointers by Ariza, who finished with 17 points.

The lanky swingman might not have had the courage to take those big shots earlier in his career, but his confidence is growing along with the Lakers' NBA-best 44-10 record.

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Lakers-Hawks Game Results - 17-Feb-09

2009-02-17T22:00:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- With the All-Star break history and two months remaining in the regular season, the Los Angeles Lakers are entering what coach Phil Jackson refers to as "countdown time."

Having owned the Western Conference's top spot through the first half, the Lakers got started on maintaining their status with a 96-83 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night.

Pau Gasol had 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists for his third career triple- double, and Lamar Odom had 15 points and 20 rebounds, Derek Fisher scored 14 points, and Trevor Ariza and Jordan Farmar added 10 points each for the Lakers.

With his teammates carrying the load, Kobe Bryant scored a season-low 10 points.

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Lakers-Jazz Game Results - 11-Feb-09

2009-02-11T22:00:00.000-08:00

SALT LAKE CITY (AP) -- With some time to rest approaching, Deron Williams was determined to leave all his energy on the court.

Williams had 31 points and 11 assists and the Utah Jazz snapped the Los Angeles Lakers' seven-game winning streak with a 113-109 victory Wednesday night.

Mehmet Okur scored 22 points, CJ Miles had 17 and Ronnie Brewer added 16 to give the injury-plagued Jazz their fourth win in the last five games.

Lamar Odom had 19 points and 19 rebounds, but the Lakers allowed the Jazz to shoot a season-high 58.6 percent.

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Lakers-Thunder Game Results - 10-Feb-09

2009-02-10T22:00:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Kobe Bryant bounced back quickly from the flu and became the youngest player in NBA history to reach the 23,000-point plateau.

Bryant showed no lingering effects from being sick two days earlier, scoring 34 points in the Los Angeles Lakers' surprisingly narrow 105-98 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.

He obviously enjoys reaching such career milestones.

"It's always fun whenever you talk about the history of the game," Bryant said. "It's always a tremendous honor."

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Lakers handed Cleveland its first home loss

2009-02-08T16:03:00.000-08:00

CLEVELAND (AP) - No second All-Star. No triple-double for LeBron James. And now, no more home winning streak.

It's been a rough few days for the Cleveland Cavaliers.

Lamar Odom scored a season-high 28 points, Kobe Bryant added 19 and the streak-breaking Los Angeles Lakers handed Cleveland its first loss at home this season, 101-91 on Sunday.

The Cavaliers came in 23-0 at Quicken Loans Arena, but were stopped by the Lakers, who ended Boston's 19-game winning streak on Christmas Day and halted a 12-game run by the Celtics earlier this week.

James finished with 16 points on just 5-of-20 shooting for Cleveland, which hadn't lost at home since Game 5 against Washington in the first round of last season's playoffs.

The Lakers weren't intimidated in the NBA's rowdiest arena and went 6-0 on a road trip that also included stops in Minnesota, Memphis, New York, Toronto and Boston.

Pau Gasol added 18 points with 12 rebounds for Los Angeles, which played a solid all-around game and made just six turnovers - none over the final 19:28. The Lakers' trip started rocky with center Andruw Bynum injuring his knee against the Grizzlies, but it couldn't have ended any better.

Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 22 to lead Cleveland. Mo Williams, whose All-Star snub had infuriated the Cavs, scored 19 and James finished with 12 assists and eight rebounds. It was James' first game since his apparent historic triple-double at Madison Square Garden was downgraded when the league took away one of his 10 rebounds.

Odom, who added a season-best 17 rebounds, scored 15 in the third quarter, when the Lakers outscored the Cavaliers 31-16 to turn a 10-point deficit into a 82-77 lead entering the fourth.

Odom scored 13 of Los Angeles' last 16 points to close the quarter, capping his one-man scorefest with a two-handed dunk off a miss in the final second as the Lakers became just the fourth team this season to lead Cleveland at home after three.

The Lakers pushed their lead to 10 before the Cavaliers rallied and closed to 93-89 on two free throws by Ilgauskas with 3:06 left. But Bryant, who was battling flulike symptoms, hit a high-arching fadeaway, and Gasol dropped one of two free throws to make it 96-89 when the jumbo scoreboard above midcourt inside Quicken Loans Arena went dark, a symbolic moment for Cleveland's players and fans.

James was stripped on the Cavs' next possession, and Gasol made two more free throws and scored on a putback as the Lakers put an exclamation point on one of their biggest wins this season.

Cleveland's crowd was at a playoff pitch from the outset for one of the most anticipated games of the season, a matchup of the league's top stars, both leading MVP candidates, and two of the NBA's best teams.

But the game never materialized into a Bryant vs. James affair as Odom stole the spotlight.

Earlier this week, Lakers coach Phil Jackson attributed some of Cleveland's dominance at home to a raucous crowd that may influence the officials.

"They all wear No. 23 and help him throw that (expletive) up in the air when he's at the scorer's desk," Jackson said. "He gets away with murder, on top of it, on his home court."

Jackson slightly backed off from those remarks before the game.

"I'm just saying, it's home court," he said. "There are going to be more fans who will be involved in every bump and grind and whatever happens individually to him. Those things will affect the decisions of referees."

James hadn't heard Jackson's remarks.

"Me get calls?" he said in a disbelieving tone. "You guys know Phil. He always makes a comment before a big game or rivalry game. He always says something to throw people's focus off. But you guys know that I don't get as many calls as I should get. We're not going to go there."

James was careful not to complain about losing his triple-double in New York, but he was clearly miffed by the league's decision.

"Um. Should I say something?" he wondered before opting to keep his opinion a secret. "We won the basketball game and that's all that matters."

Lakers Beat Celtics Again

2009-02-05T23:00:00.000-08:00

BOSTON (By Jimmy Golen, AP) - Ray Allen was still on the floor, knocked on his back, when the Los Angeles Lakers began hugging and chest-bumping under the 2008 NBA Championship banner that was earned at their expense.

"I wish we would have come here last year with this kind of attitude,'' said Pau Gasol, who scored 24 points with 14 rebounds Thursday night to lead the Lakers to a 110-109 overtime victory over Boston.

"Nobody backed down,'' he added. "We were as physical as anybody.''

In a rematch of an NBA finals in which the Celtics outmuscled the Lakers to the title, Lamar Odom made a pair of free throws with 16 seconds left in overtime and Los Angeles held on with physical defense against Paul Pierce and Allen that prevented either All-Star from getting off a clean shot.

The loss snapped the Celtics' 12-game winning streak and dropped them to 0-2 against the best in the West. Boston trails the Lakers by percentage points for the best overall record in the NBA, and would lose a tiebreaker for home court advantage in the finals - if they both make it back.

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Kobe Bryant Leads Lakers Past Raptors

2009-02-04T22:00:00.000-08:00

TORONTO (AP) - Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers warmed up for their showdown in Boston with a victory over Toronto.

Kobe Bryant scored 36 points, Pau Gasol added 31 points and 15 rebounds and the Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors 115-107 on Wednesday night for their fourth straight victory and eighth in nine games.

"We got it going a little bit more," said Bryant, who scored 10 points in the fourth to help the Lakers outscore Toronto 30-20 in the final frame. "We obviously picked up our energy a little bit. It felt like the first three quarters, we didn't have the pop we needed to. In the fourth quarter it seemed to be there for us.

Lamar Odom had 13 points, and Derek Fisher added 12 for the Lakers, set to play the Celtics on Thursday night in their first trip to Boston since losing the NBA finals.

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Kobe Bryant Scored 61; Lakers Beat Knicks

2009-02-02T22:30:00.000-08:00

By BRIAN MAHONEY, AP Basketball Writer

NEW YORK (AP)—Kobe Bryant knew Andrew Bynum was out, and potential taunts from Spike Lee and Mike D’Antoni could be ahead.

That gave him plenty of incentive to deliver a special night at Madison Square Garden—and he unleashed the biggest game the present building has seen.

Bryant broke the current arena record with 61 points, and the Los Angeles Lakers looked plenty potent without Bynum in a 126-117 victory over the New York Knicks on Monday night.

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Lakers Beat Grizzlies But Lost Bynum

2009-01-31T22:00:00.000-08:00

Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum left the game against the Memphis Grizzlies in the first quarter Saturday night with a sprained right knee. Despite that, the Lakers still beat the Grizzlies 115-98 extending Memphis losing streak to 12 games.

Kobe Bryant scored 25 points on 10-of-20 shooting, dished out seven assists, and had three steals. Pau Gasol had 24 points and eight rebounds. Derek Fisher had a very efficient shooting night making 6-of-7 including 2-of-3 beyond the 3-point line for 14 points.

Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza contributed 13 and 11 points, respectively off-the-bench.

Bynum's injury occurred at about the 7-minute mark of the first quarter under the Lakers’ basket. Kobe Bryant drove to the basket, missed the shot and crashed into Bynum’s right leg. Bynum immediately grabbed his knee.

The two were on the ground under their basket as the Grizzlies went to the other end. After Los Angeles gained possession, they called time out. Bynum, who scored 7 points and blocked a shot, was helped to the locker room with Los Angeles leading 13-11.

Last season, Bynum sustained a brief dislocation of his left kneecap in mid-January. He sat out the rest of the season, eventually undergoing surgery in May. Bynum was on a roll coming into Saturday, averaging 26.2 points, 14 rebounds and 3.2 blocked shots over his last five games.

The Lakers trailed the Grizzlies at halftime, 61-55, but unleashed a 36-point third quarter and never trailed again after taking a 91-82 lead into the fourth. Lakers reserves, led by Odom, played excellent defense to start the fourth quarter making a 9-0 run in the first six minutes of the quarter.

The Lakers held Memphis to 37 second-half points in pulling out the victory.

Rudy Gay had 23 points, while O.J. Mayo scored 21 points on 8-for-12 shooting from the field for the Grizzlies. Mike Conley and Pau Gasol's younger brother, Marc, both had 13 points for Memphis.

Bryant and Bynum Helped Lakers Rout Timberwolves

2009-01-30T22:00:00.000-08:00

Andrew Bynum bulled his way inside for his fifth straight double-double performance with 27 points and 15 rebounds, providing the perfect complement to Kobe Bryant's 30 points, eight rebounds and five assists, and the Lakers started a six-game road trip with a 132-119 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves on Friday night.

Minnesota was recently one of the hottest teams in the league having won 10 of their last 13 games for the second-best record in January. But they are no match for the Lakers.

Pau Gasol rebounded from a bad game against Charlotte where he scored only 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting. This time, Gasol had 21 points on 6-of-11 shooting and nine rebounds. Luke Walton played efficiently scoring 11 points on 4-of-7 shooting in 18 minutes. Derek Fisher added 10 points.

Lamar Odom and Jordan Farmar contributed 10 points each off-the-bench. Trevor Ariza was cleared to play after a CT scan and MRI test came back. Ariza left Tuesday's game against Charlotte with a concussion. He scored eight points in 23 minutes in this game.

Bynum is a big reason why the Los Angeles Lakers have the best record in the Western Conference.

"He looks very confident in there right now," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "I think this is a stepping-out point for him. He's a better player now than he was when he got hurt last year, but it's taken him this month, January, to get back and feel like, 'OK, I'm over my injury, it was a year ago, and I'm prepared to go forth and put this effort into it,' and he's done a great job."

Bynum, the reigning Western Conference player of the week, helped the Lakers make up for a frustrating double-overtime loss at home to Charlotte on Tuesday.

"We're starting to expect it from him because he's being aggressive. He's being assertive," Bryant said. "He's finding his niche and where he can operate in the offense. I like it. I like it a lot."

"Some teams don't have one guy that can post up and play the center position," Bynum said. "We actually have two that can do it pretty well. I think the game plan should always be to go inside. We know what Kobe can do. Offensively I think we've kind of figured it out and we know what's going to happen."

Al Jefferson led the way for the Timberwolves, scoring 34 points and pulling down 13 rebounds for his 25th double-double of the season. Randy Foye scored 27 points on 8-of-20 shooting. Ryan Gomes and Sebastian Telfair contributed 14 and 10 points, respectively.

Lakers Can't Beat Charlotte Bobcats

2009-01-27T22:00:00.000-08:00

The Charlotte Bobcats continued their surprising recent domination of the Lakers by beating them in double-overtime 117-110 on Tuesday night. The Lakers lost for the fifth time in the last seven and fell to 4-5 all-time against the Bobcats. They also suffered their fourth loss at home this season.

Kobe Bryant had 38 points, eight rebounds and five assists before fouling out for the first time this season in the final minute of the first overtime. It was the first time Bryant has fouled out of a game since doing so in a loss at New Orleans on March 14, 2008, and just the 21st time he has fouled out in 1,061 career games.

Andrew Bynum had 24 points and 14 rebounds and Derek Fisher scored 14 for the Lakers. Sasha Vujajic contributed 10 points off-the-bench.

Pau Gasol scored just 10 points on 4-of-16 shooting with seven rebounds. "Pau probably had the worst night he's had as a Laker," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

Boris Diaw had 23 points, nine rebounds and nine assists. Raymond Felton played for 53 minutes and had 21 points, a career-high 11 rebounds and 9 assists. Emeka Okafor had 18 points and 11 rebounds. Raja Bell contributed 17 points while reserve Shannon Brown scored five of his 14 points in the second overtime.

"That was a heck of a win, it was a heck of a performance," Bobcats coach Larry Brown said. "Shannon had to play when Gerald [Wallace] got hurt, and he played great."

Wallace, who scored 15 points before leaving with 2:08 left in the fourth quarter after a flagrant foul by Bynum knocked him to the floor. He suffered a broken rib and partially collapsed left-lung and was taken to the hospital.

"I just think it was a terrific performance against a great team," Brown said. "I really don't know how to explain it because they are playing at such a high level."

"It's always stops," Bryant said regarding the late-game difference. "We've just got to learn from our mistakes and not let it happen again."

"It was one of those games where Kobe had kind of taken over for them," Bell said. "So when you lose that engine, I think it was more of the fact that they just didn't have that go-to guy down the stretch. It definitely didn't hurt that Kobe wasn't around. But more than anything, we continued to do what we did."

"We didn't get too high with the highs or too low with the lows. We just kept plugging away. We gave it away for a while and them we were really resilient at times. So we just stayed the course."

The game was the Lakers' first overtime contest of the season, leaving New Orleans as the only team that hasn't gone into overtime

Lakers Defense Too Much For Spurs

2009-01-25T22:00:00.000-08:00

Kobe Bryant scored 22 points in 32 minutes, Pau Gasol added 16 points, five rebounds and four assists, and the Lakers beat the Spurs 99-85, avenging their one-point loss in their previous game on Jan. 14 in San Antonio.

This game is supposed to be a matchup of the Western Conference's best teams but it turned out to be a mismatch. The Lakers defense proved to be too much for the Spurs to overcome, holding San Antonio to 37.5 percent shooting from the field.

After a month of playing short-handed, the Los Angeles Lakers are back to full strength. Backup point guard Jordan Farmar returned after missing 18 games because of an injured left knee, and scored 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting including 2-of-3 from the 3-point range.

Luke Walton played in his third game after missing nine with an injured foot, and Lamar Odom (knee) and Sasha Vujacic (back spasms) were also sidelined for brief periods.

"We missed him a lot. He makes our second unit go, he's the motor," Bryant said of Farmar. "Now that he's back, everybody falls into their natural positions and we are back clicking on all cylinders."

"It [Jordan's return] helps us a lot. Jordan obviously has attributes -- the speed and the quickness. Those are things that we missed, that tempo change in our game, " Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.

Farmar entered the game late in the first quarter and played almost seven minutes in his first action since Dec. 19. He returned late in the third period and played another 10 1/2 minutes.

Andrew Bynum had 15 points, 11 rebounds, and four block shots. Reserve Trevor Ariza scored 17 points to match his season high. Odom contributed 6 points and 10 rebounds in 27 minutes.

Tony Parker had 19 points and six assists and Tim Duncan added 15 points and eight rebounds for the Spurs (29-14), who lost for just the fourth time in 18 games. Neither played in the fourth quarter.

Bynum Dominates Again; Lakers Routed Wizards

2009-01-22T22:30:00.000-08:00

Andrew Bynum played just 27 minutes but still had 23 points and 14 rebounds Thursday night in a 117-97 rout of the Washington Wizards, just 24 hours after he recorded a career-high 42 points and 15 boards against the Clippers.

"I'm happy for him. If Andrew can continue to have that type of presence in the middle -- no matter who the other team is -- we're going to be a much better team," Lakers point guard Derek Fisher said. "He seems to just be getting more comfortable on the court, physically. He came into the season off a serious knee surgery and really hadn't played basketball since last January."

"We went out there and moved the ball," Bynum said. "Everybody got shots. They were undermanned, and we were able to take advantage of them on the block."

Pau Gasol scored 18 points and Kobe Bryant had a quite night with just 11 points and five assists. Both of them played for less than 28 minutes as Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson kept their starters on the bench throughout the fourth quarter with the Lakers leading 97-68.

The Wizards fell to the Lakers for the fifth straight time. Los Angeles led 72-47 at halftime after outscoring the Wizards 15-5 over the final 3 1/2 minutes of the second quarter.

"It's all about how the defense is playing us," Bryant said. "We went through a stretch where teams felt like they could double on Pau, but we made them pay. Now they're trying to do the same thing with Andrew, and we're making them pay again. Teams are trying new things defensively against us to see what works."

The Lakers improved to a conference-best 22-3 at home this season and have won 13 of 16 overall. The Wizards have lost five straight against the Lakers.

Antawn Jamison scored 19 points and Caron Butler had 12 points for the woeful Wizards, who have lost eight of their last 10 games and 18 of 23 overall. Backup center JaVale McGee had 18 points and nine rebounds while former Laker, Javaris Crittenton contributed 10 points off-the-bench.

Bynum Scores Career High in Lakers Win Against Clippers

2009-01-21T22:57:00.000-08:00

Andrew Bynum scored a career-high 42 points, Kobe Bryant had his second triple-double in their last three games and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Clippers 108-97 Wednesday night.

Bryant, playing in pain two days after dislocating his right ring finger, scored 18 points, dished out 12 assists and grabbed 10 rebounds for his 16th career triple-double while Bynum had 15 rebounds and three block shots in helping the Lakers secure their 7th straight win against the Clippers and 14 of their last 15 overall.

Pau Gasol scored 10 points and Luke Walton, who returned to action after missing nine games because of an injured right foot, added 11 points. Lamar Odom contributed 19 points, nine rebounds, three block shots, off-the-bench.

Since the 1986-87 season, Bynum is the first Laker other than Shaquille O'Neal, to have a 40-point, 15-rebound game. Shaq did it seven times with Los Angeles. Bynum also became the first Lakers player to reach 40 points other than Bryant since Shaq scored 48 against Boston on March 21, 2003.

"If feels very good, to go out there and play the way I did," the 21-year-old center said. "I was able to get a lot of easy buckets. Kobe was Kobe Nash out there tonight. The ball was coming my way a lot. I was able to just get a lot of touches and get comfortable."

"I didn't know how many [points] I had, and that's just the truth," he said. "The fans were yelling for me to get 40. And then once I got the dunk, everybody was on their feet cheering."

The Lakers raised their record to a Western Conference-best 33-8 record at the halfway point of the season and earned Phil Jackson an All-Star coaching spot. He'll lead the West All-Stars on Feb. 15 in Phoenix.

The Clippers played without their four best players -- guard Baron Davis (bruised tailbone) and big men Chris Kaman (strained left arch), Zach Randolph (sore left knee) and Marcus Camby (sprained left ankle).

Rookie DeAndre Jordan, making his second career start, had career-high totals of 23 points and 12 rebounds for the injury-ravaged Clippers (9-32), who have lost 14 of 15. Al Thornton added 20 points and rookie Eric Gordon had 16 points and six assists.

Kobe Got Injured But Still Beat James And Cavaliers

2009-01-19T22:05:00.000-08:00

Kobe Bryant, dedicated to pressuring LeBron James on defense, dislocated his right ring finger early in the game, trying to knock the ball out of LeBron's hands. Despite of that, Bryant had 20 points, six rebounds and 12 assists in 41 minutes and the Los Angeles Lakers defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers 105-88 in their game at the Staples Center.

Pau Gasol led Los Angeles with 22 points on 11-of-13 shooting and 12 rebounds. Andrew Bynum and Sasha Vujacic scored 14 points each, Derek Fisher added 11 fot the Lakers and Trevor Ariza contributed 10 points and 11 steals to help snap a five-game losing streak to the Cavaliers.

"I just dove for the ball, and the finger just popped out," Bryant recalled afterward . "I was scared, I thought I was done. It felt like I had two fingers on one, it was just disgusting." Bryant, who was obviously bothered by the injury in his shooting hand, shot 9-of-22. He spoke to reporters just minutes after X-rays showed no fracture.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said, "for a while, we thought he was just going to be a playmaker tonight, but the second half, he started feeling like he could shoot it." Bryant scored 15 of his 20 points after halftime.

"It was a huge deal," Gasol said. "We didn't want to come out of this game with another loss on our home court. It was important for us to bounce back tonight. This is a significant victory for us. The defensive effort was outstanding."

James had 23 points and nine rebounds, but shot just 9-of-25. Mo Williams added 16 points, six rebounds and five assists and Sasha Pavlovic scored 12 for the Cavaliers (31-8), who absorbed their most one-sided loss of the season.

"You've got to give the Lakers credit, they played a very good basketball game," Cavaliers coach Mike Brown said. "I thought they were the aggressors tonight. I thought they got up in us and made us play quick. You have to give Kobe Bryant credit, I thought he played a whale of a game."

Kobe Bryant Is The Lakers Lone MVP

2009-01-17T17:40:00.000-08:00

With the NBA season near its halfway mark, and the Lakers having the best record in the Western Conference, it's about time we handout some midseason awards for the LA Lakers' strong 2008-'09 season.
For this round, I'd be giving four awards—MVP, sixth man, most-improved, and their Mythical Five. Feel free to comment and suggest other awards.

Most Valuable Player: Kobe Bryant

Even without looking at the stat sheets, I think nobody will argue that Kobe is still, and would continue to be in the next few years, the Lakers' best player. The Lakers still don't have a One-Two Punch, or a Big Three, or the Strong Five. They only have one MVP and that's Kobe Bryant! No more, no less.

But let's be objective and look at his numbers.

His stats are a bit off this season (27.2 points, 4.7 assists, 1.32 steals) compared to his last year's performance (28.3 points, 5.4 assists, 1.84 steals) that made him the league MVP. But this is attributed more to the improved performance of his teammates rather than his diminishing contributions.

He's playing less minutes this season (36.2 vs. 38.9 last season) but his performance efficiency rating (PER) improved from 24.09 to 25.06, the second best this year behind Miami's Dwayne Wade. Wait...let me check that again.

Oh, sorry. The Lakers lost in their last two games and Bryant's PER dropped to 24.97, just good for number three behind Portland's Brandon Roy.

Bryant also increased his contributions to the team this January when the level of competition increases as we approach the middle of the season and the trading deadline. He averaged 30.1 points on 49.2 percent shooting (45.9 percent from beyond the arc), 7.1 assists, and 6.0 rebounds in nine games this January.

And for those who think that Kobe shoots too much and misses a lot: Well, he has the best field goal percentage (47.8 percent) for shooting guards with PER of 20 or more (Roy is second, Wade third).

Sixth Man Award: Lamar Odom

Just by watching their games, it's not easy to see Odom's contributions to the team. He's coming off-the-bench; he plays shorter minutes; he usually doesn't score much; his rebounding is off; etc. etc.

Moreover, his stats are all off from last season. Last year, he averaged 14.2 points on 52.5 percent shooting, 3.5 assists, 10.7 rebounds in 37.9 minutes of playing time. This season, his averages dipped to 9.1 points on 47.3 percent shooting, 2.4 assists, 6.1 rebounds in 26.4 minutes of playing time.

So why am I giving this sixth man award to Lamar in spite of his seemingly diminished performance? Well, this award should go to the player who contributes the most to his team by doing the other things that bench players are supposed to be doing when they are on the court. The little things that current statistics don't track like setting screens, taking charges, drawing double teams, etc.

And that's what Odom keeps on doing.

By looking at his on-court/off-court statistics, which measures a player's contribution to the team when he's on-the-court and how the team performs when the player is on-the-bench, it's easy to realize how the Lakers could dominate their opponents when Odom is on-the-floor.

Odom's net on-court/off-court stat of +15.4 is the highest on the team. It's even better than Bryant's +8.7 and Fisher's +4.8 stats. This doesn't suggest that Lamar is more important than Kobe for the team. It's just that Odom is very good playing in his position (power forward) that he's either outscoring his counterparts or limiting their productions by his active defense.

Odom is No. 5 in the league on the net on-court/off-court performance per 100 possessions, behind New Orleans' dynamic duo, Chris Paul and David West, Miami's Dwayne Wade, and Cleveland's LeBron James.

All the top 16 players in this category are regular starters on their team except for Odom and Utah's Andrei Kirilenko (No. 10).

With this stats, you'd wonder why Phil Jackson continues to have Lamar come off-the-bench. I also do. In fact, I wrote an article last month regarding the need to have Odom return to their starting lineup.

Most Improved Player: Trevor Ariza

Trevor Ariza really improved a lot this season. Last year, he averaged 6.5 points, 1.5 assists, 3.5 rebounds and 1.1 steals in 24 games he played for the Lakers. Those stats are already a marked improvement over his performance in Orlando (3.3 points, 0.7 assists, 2.2 rebounds, and 0.5 steals)

This season, he raised his averages to 9.2 points, 2.1 assists, 5.1 rebounds, and 1.7 steals per game. His PER has improved from 15.83 to 17.66 and now ranks 10th among small forwards in pure point rating. Ariza ranks second among small forwards in free-throw rate, eighth in rebound rate, and fourth in field-goal percentage.

So you wonder again why Jackson keeps Trevor coming off the bench? More on this later.

Mythical Five: Fisher-Bryant-Ariza-Odom-Gasol

This combination should be the Lakers starting lineup. It is their strongest unit producing +70 and 72.7 percent winning percentage in the 82games.com rating vs. the +57 and 48.0 percent winning percentage for their current starting lineup.

But why Jackson in not putting this combination on floor to start the games? Because he feels this unit is just a minor upgrade from the lineup that was routed by the Celtics in the NBA Finals last season. Admittedly, Ariza in place of Radmanovic is a minor upgrade.

So he's really is trying to get Gasol and Bynum play together. He's very strategic-minded. If he succeed, the Twin Tower of Gasol and Bynum would be very formidable, indeed.

Jackson is trying to develop Bynum to be a defensive-minded center while Gasol, an unstoppable offensive power forward. But the problem is, the two are not getting it yet. They are taking away scoring opportunities from each other.

Pau Gasol's scoring dipped from 18.8 points per game on 58.9 percent shooting last season as a Laker to 17.6 points at 54.8 percent shooting this season. Andrew Bynum's 13.1 points on 63.6 percent shooting last year also went south with 12.6 points on 53.7 percent shooting this season.

In fairness to Gasol and Bynum, they are very good at center position. They combined to make the Lakers the third-best in that position in terms of PER difference. The best in that category is Dwight Howard's Magic. No wonder they couldn't beat Orlando.

The second-best in that category is Cleveland. And they would be playing them tonight. Watch their performance.

Gasol ranked sixth among power forwards in the league in efficiency rating at 21.77 PER. But he only plays around 50 percent of the time at that position, the other half being played by Odom. Half of the time, Gasol is playing center, which is where he's more effective.

He produces +162 net points in the 82games.com rating with net48 of 12.7 with 75 win% as a center. As a power forward, he's only +76 with net48 of just 5.5 and 50 win percentage.

In contrast, Odom, playing at power forward, is +303 with net48 of 16.5 and 85 win percentage. Andrew Bynum is +183 with net48 of 8.2 and 66 win percentage.

These stats are quite complicated but it clearly shows that Odom and Gasol should be given more playing time at their natural position—that is at power forward and at center, respectively.

I'm not suggesting that Gasol and Bynum split the 48 minutes available playing time for one position. They are both too good to be playing just 24 minutes each. Sure, play Pau some minutes at forward but reduce it a bit to give more time for Lamar to be more effective.

So please Mr. Jackson, put Odom back to the Lakers starting lineup.

Lakers Couldn't Beat Orlando

2009-01-16T17:35:00.000-08:00

Inspite of a spectacular night from Kobe Bryant, the LA Lakers lost to the Orlando Magic 109-103 Friday night. Bryant had a triple-double performance -- the 15th of his career and first since April 2005 -- scoring 28 points, grabbing 13 rebounds, and dishing 11 assists in 41 minutes.

With the Magic leading by three, Bryant missed a 27-foot three-pointer from the right wing that could have tied the game with 8.9 seconds left in the game. Jameer Nelson, who got the offensive rebound, was quickly fouled by Pau Gasol. He made both free throws to increase the lead to five.

Bryant again tried and missed a three-point shot with 4.9 seconds to go but no effort could have saved the game with only few seconds remaining in the game and the Lakers suffered its second consecutive losses this season.

But the Lakers didn't lose the game on that last two shots of Bryant. They lost it in the third quarter where they were outscored by Orlando 30-21.

The Lakers entered the third period leading by eight points. Andrew Bynum scored 12 points on 5-of-9 shooting in the first half helping lift the Lakers to a 52-44 lead over the Magic at halftime. But he went 1-of-4 in the second half and finished with 14 points with just 3 rebounds.

In the Lakers' loss in Orlando last December, Bynum scored just three points on 1-of-4 shooting and had just a single rebound. He's a non-factor again in the second-half this time.

Pau Gasol, who scored just 11 points and seven rebounds in their previous game in Orlando, only scored 13 points on 5-of-13 shooting with 9 rebounds in 33 minutes. Their two 7-footers combined for just 27 points and 12 rebounds, 7 on the offensive end.

In contrast, Orlando's Dwight Howard scored 25 points, grabbed 20 rebounds, 8 on the offensive end, and blocked three shots. Howard had his fourth 20-20 game this season in a game against the Lakers' Twin Tower! If you're the Lakers' GM, would you trade 7-footers Gasol and Bynum for 6'11" Howard? I would...

Also, for the first time in Orlando's franchise history, the Magic sweep their season series with the Lakers. The Magic wasn't able to do that when the Lakers had a 6'11" Kwame Brown as their starting center going against Howard.

Maybe the Lakers should hire Brown as special consultant to teach the Lakers big men how to play "defense" against the likes of Howard. Too bad he's still warming the bench in Detroit!

Derek Fisher also struggled with his shots missing eight of his 11 attempts for just 9 points. In their last game, he scored 27 points on 9-of-16 shooting.

Sasha Vujacic returned after missing two games with back spasms, but he didn't score in his 13 minutes on the court. Trevor Ariza added just 7 points off-the-bench.

On the positive note, Lamar Odom had a decent game this time. He had 17 points on 6-of-11 shooting and grabbed 9 boards. In their last meeting, Odom was also a non-factor on offense with only four points on 1-of-7 shooting, although he matched the total rebounding contributions of their Twin Tower with 8 boards.

Vladimir Radmanovic added 15 points on 5-of-9 shooting, including 5-of-8 from beyond the arc.

Jameer Nelson top-scored for Orlando with 28 points with 8 assists. Rashard Lewis scored 16 points with 4 steals and Hedo Turgoklu contributed 13 points. Courtney Lee added 12 points with 7 rebounds.

Spurs beat Lakers 112-111 on Mason's 3-point play

2009-01-14T22:34:00.000-08:00

The first meeting between the Western Conference finalists last season was almost a repeat of the Lakers' win the other night in Houston. The Lakers rallied from 11 points down in the fourth quarter, taking a two-point lead when Kobe Bryant hit a 3-pointer with 12 seconds left.

But Roger Mason hit a jumper with 10 seconds left and made a free throw after being fouled by Derek Fisher. The Lakers had a chance to win the game, with the Spurs just leading by a point, but Trevor Ariza was called for traveling on their last possession with 0.8 seconds left in the game, and the Spurs beat the Lakers 112-111 on Wednesday night.

Kobe Bryant had a very efficient game with 29 points on 11-of-19 shooting with 10 rebounds and seven assists in 42 minutes. Pau Gasol, rebounding from two previous ineffective games, played well offensively in this game, scoring 21 points on 10-of-14 shooting but had only five rebounds and an assist in 32 minutes.

Andrew Bynum had 18 points and just three rebounds in 35 minutes. Derek Fisher added 16 points in 36 minutes.

Trevor Ariza, Lamar Odom and Josh Powell contributed 10, 9, and 6 points, respectively, off-the-bench.

Manu Ginobilli topscored for the Spurs with 27 points. Tim Duncan and Tony Parker both contributed 20 points. Roger Mason scored 18 points on 7-of-11 shooting, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc.

Already playing without their backup point guard, Jordan Farmar, the Lakers had a brief scare when Derek Fisher left with longtime trainer Garry Vitti to the locker room after a collision with San Antonio's George Hill on a drive. He missed almost 4 1/2 minutes of actual game time but emerge back with 3:37 left in the fourth quarter.

With Sasha Vujacic day-to-day because of back spasms, the Lakers were forced to use Kobe Bryant at point guard until Fisher returned.

The Spurs and Lakers have been rivals over the last 10 years. The Spurs have won four NBA championships during that span while the Lakers have won three consecutive championships from 2000 to 2002.

The two teams have met in the playoffs six times in the last 10 years, with the Lakers having won the series four times, including a 4-1 series win over the Spurs in last season's Western Conference finals.

Lakers beat Rockets on Kobe's clutch 3-point

2009-01-13T22:34:00.000-08:00

Kobe Bryant scored 13 of his 33 points in the fourth quarter and hit the go-ahead three-pointer with 27 seconds left in the game to give the Lakers a road victory against a short-handed Houston Rockets 105-100 on Tuesday night.

Bryant was struggling with his shots early, making only eight of 23 shots through three quarters. But he sank five of his nine shots in the fourth quarter, including the final three-pointer that sealed the win. His 32 shot attempts is a season-high.

Vladimir Radmanovic made five of his six shots, including 2-of-2 from beyond the arc. Trevor Ariza scored 14 points on 6-of-7 shooting and Lamar Odom added 10 points off-the-bench. Josh Powell connected on three of his four shots for six points in 12 minutes.

Pau Gasol continues to struggle offensively, taking only nine shots and making just three for 11 points with just seven rebounds in 42 minutes. Andrew Bynum only played for 27 minutes and scored 11 points on 5-of-12 shooting with just a single rebound and five fouls.

This is the Lakers' fourth straight and 14th in the last 17 games overall. The Rockets have lost four of seven games since the start of the New Year.

Von Wafer, the Lakers' second-round pick in 2005 but waived in October 2006, scored a career-high 23 points. Carl Landry contributed 21 points on 8-of-12 shooting off-the-bench. Yao Ming scored 19 points and grabbed 17 rebounds. Rafer Alston added 11 points.

Both teams have three players out of their line up due to various injuries. Tracy McGrady, Ron Artest and reserve guard Luther Head didn't suit up for the Rockets in this game while Luke Walton, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic are in the Lakers' injury list.

Pau Gasol is the key to Lakers dominance

2009-01-12T00:01:00.000-08:00

There is no doubt that having Kobe Bryant in their lineup makes the LA Lakers a great team. But Bryant alone can't make this team win a championship. One great player can't beat five opposing players, even with lesser talents, playing on the same hard court for 48 minutes.

Even the great Michael Jordan couldn't have won a championship without another great player, Scottie Pippen.

Let's see the great NBA duos (or trio for the Spurs and Celtics and quintet for the Pistons) in the past two decades:

Jordan had Pippen in Chicago. They made the Bulls the most dominant team in the 1990s and had six championship rings together.

David Robinson had Tim Duncan earlier and Duncan had Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker later in San Antonio. And they made the Spurs one of the best teams of the 2000s in winning four championships between them.

Shaq had Kobe in LA Lakers, previous edition. And they made the Lakers the most dominant team early in this decade by winning three consecutive titles.

Chauncey Billups had four other Pistons in Detroit. And they won a championship together.

Dywane Wade had Shaq for one championship ring beating a good Dallas Mavericks team featuring just one MVP player, Dirk Nowitski.

Last year, Paul Pierce had Ray Allen and Kevin Garnett, and the "big three" won the championship last year beating a Lakers team with one great player and another all-star material who played very well in sweeping through the Western Conference playoffs but seemed to got "lost in Spanish translation" in the NBA Finals.

And Kobe?

He had Caron Butler in 2004 and they failed to make it to the playoffs.

He had Lamar Odom, Smush Parker, Kwame Brown, and young Andrew Bynum. They made the playoffs but lost in the first round for two years.

Last year, he had Pau Gasol for half of the season. And immediately, the Lakers made it to the NBA Finals. Unfortunately, they lost to Boston's "big three."

Now that Gasol would be playing a full season with the Lakers, the team is expected to achieve what it failed to accomplish last season--win that elusive NBA title!

But they can't do that while Gasol is playing just a sidekick or an afterthought to Kobe. He has to dominate the same way, or at least close to the way, Kobe is dominating in his position.

Gasol is a very good player specially now that he's playing mostly at forward position in a very balanced Lakers team. But he doesn't always play aggressively.

This season, Gasol averages 17.8 points on 55.4% shooting, 9.4 rebounds, and 12.1 field goal attempts per game. For comparative purposes, Tim Duncan of the San Antonio Spurs, averages 20.4 points on 51.6% shooting, 10.1 rebounds and 15.5 field goal attempts.

Duncan is attempting more shots despite having two other stars in Tony Parker and Manu Ginobili. In San Antonio, you wouldn't know which of their three stars is their first, second or third option on offense--all of them are good, reliable and aggressive.

Of course, the Lakers have more wins than the Spurs. But can they win important games against championship-caliber teams while Gasol is playing just a "second option" to Bryant?

Their records show they can't!

To be a championship-caliber team, the Lakers need more offensive contribution from Gasol. He shouldn't defer to Kobe specially on close games. Their recent victory against Golden State showed how Gasol can be dominating if he stays aggressive specially in closing out games.

He needs to be as aggressive as Duncan and take more than 15 attempts per game. The Lakers haven't lost a game this season with Gasol taking more than 15 shot attempts.

In their six losses this season, Gasol took less shots (10.8 on average) than his tally this season while Bryant is taking the slack by shooting five more shots (25.5 per game) than his average (20.1) this season.

This is not indicative of "Bryant shooting too much to the detriment of his team." In fact, he scored more than his average (32.2 in losses vs. 27.0 average this season) in the Lakers' six losses while Gasol scored less in losses (15.7 average) than in wins (18.3)

Can you blame Bryant for scoring 39 points on 14-of-22 field goal shooting while Gasol only had 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting in their last loss against a New Orleans team that featured a shorter frontcourt?

Clearly, it's Pau Gasol that needs to be more consistent to provide the Lakers a "one-two punch combination" that Shaquille O'Neil was so proud of during his three-peat with Bryant. It was Shaq looking at Kobe as the "two" in his boxing analogy and claiming the Lakers to be "his team" that ended their run.

The Lakers are already dominant with Kobe Bryant, probably the best player in this generation. But it takes more than one great player to make a championship team!

If you still don't believe that, ask LeBron James and Dirk Nowitski, who both went to the NBA Finals but lost to better teams featuring more than one great player.

Miami's one-two punch of Wade-and-O'Neil vs. Nowitski's Mavericks in 2006 NBA Finals...

And San Antonio's big three of Duncan-Parker-Ginobili vs. James' Cavaliers in 2007...

It both instances, one is less than two or three...

Bynum Helped Lakers Defeat Miami

2009-01-11T22:00:00.000-08:00

Andrew Bynum scored a season-high 24 points including a go-ahead follow shot with 18.5 seconds remaining and the Lakers beat the Miami Heat 108-105 to become the first Western Conference team to reach 30 victories.

Both Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol have below-par shooting night in their second meeting against the Heat this season. Bryant went 5-of-14 from the field for 19 points with 7 assists. Gasol missed 11 of his 15 shots for just 14 points but grabbed 18 rebounds to match his career high.

Vladimir Radmanovic added a season-high 18 points while Derek Fisher had 13 points and a season-high 11 assists. Sasha Vujacic added 10 points off-the-bench.

Bryant's sub-par performance on offense was probably affected by his work at the defensive end, where he guarded Dwyane Wade. Bryant showed that he is one of the best on-ball defenders in the game in his match up with Wade.

Wade scored 27 points--more than half while Bryant is sitting on the bench--and had nine assists.

Bryant limited Wade to just six points in the opening quarter and just seven points the next three quarters. In the second quarter, Wade scored seven points in less than a minute while Bryant was on the bench. Bryant came back in and held Wade to two more points until halftime.

Wade also made a mini-spree in the fourth quarter with another minute-long seven-point outburst while Bryant is on the bench. Once Bryant returned, Wade didn't score again in the final seven minutes.

The two bumped heads when Bryant reached in to knock the ball away from a driving Wade late in the fourth quarter. Bryant needed four stitches to close a cut over his right eye while Wade also had a gash on his head. It was indicative of just how intense this matchup was.

Michael Beasley scored 23 points, Daequan Cook contributed 17 off-the-bench, and Shawn Marion had 12 points and 8 rebounds in the Heat's fourth straight loss to the Lakers at the Staples Center.

Kobe takes over down stretch to beat Indiana 121-119

2009-01-09T22:34:00.000-08:00

Kobe Bryant's turnaround jumpshot with 3 seconds remaining gave the Lakers a 121-119 victory over the stubborn Indiana Pacers. It also game them their 21st win in 23 home game this season and avenged their one-point loss last Dec. 2 in Indianapolis.

Bryant finished with 36 points, 13 assists, seven rebounds and made 15 of his 17 free-throw attempts, marking just the second time he's had at least 30 points and 13 assists in his career.

For a second straight game after their lackluster performance in the Lakers loss against New Orleans, both Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum both had notable performances.

Gasol scored 21 points on 9-of-13 shooting and grabbed 11 rebounds. Bynum made 8 of his 10 field goal attempts for 20 points in just 31 minutes of playing time. But their contributions might not have been enough to score a win if not for Bryant taking over late in the game.

Gasol had not made a field goal in the fourth quarter, scoring just a single point on a free-throw. Bynum only only made one field-goal attempt and another free-throw for three points.

Even Bryant's shooting was off early in the final quarter, missing his first three shot attempts, but he kept putting the ball up. He scored 11 points in the fourth quarter.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Bryant remained patient and determined down the stretch. Even when he struggled a bit on his shots early in the fourth quarter, "He stayed with it and made some plays for us down the stretch," Jackson said.

Troy Murphy had 24 points for Indiana and Danny Granger finished with 28. Mike Dunleavy added 22 points off-the-bench.

The Pacers have lost 11 straight games in Staples Center against the Lakers.

Twin Tower Bounced Back in Lakers Win vs. Warriors

2009-01-07T21:44:00.000-08:00

Pau Gasol bounced back from a bad game just 24 hours earlier. Gasol had 33 points and a career-high 18 rebounds in their come from behind victory over the Golden State Warriors 114-106 on Wednesday night.

Andrew Bynum also rebounded from a bad game against New Orleans. He had 18 points and 11 rebounds for the Lakers, whose home loss to the Hornets on Tuesday snapped a six-game winning streak for the Western Conference leaders.

Kobe Bryant added 21 points to secure their seventh victory in eight games. Trevor Ariza, who played for 34 minutes to make up for the absence of injured Lamar Odom, contributed 17 points and 9 rebounds.

In their loss to New Orleans the previous night, Gasol made only 3 of his 8 field goal attempts for 10 points. He also grab just 8 boards and didn't block any shots. In their win tonight, he was 12-of-21, 8 offensive boards and 2 blocks. He's also hit a perfect 9-of-9 from the free throw line.

Bynum only scored 7 points on 2-of-7 shooting with only 8 rebounds in their loss last night. This time he connected on 7 of his 12 attempts, had 4 of his 11 rebounds on the offensive end, and blocked 2 shots.

Jamal Crawford scored went 10-of-26 for 25 points with 9 assists but had 5 turnovers. Corey Maggette added 19 points and Marco Binelli 14.

Andris Beidrins contributed 12 points 3 block shots and 17 rebounds, all in the defensive end. Kelenna Azubuike added 15 points off-the-bench.

Lakers' Twin Tower Is No Match To Hornets' David And Paul

2009-01-07T04:31:00.000-08:00

The New Orleans Hornets made the improbable. They pulled an upset and won over the Lakers 116-105 in their Jan. 6 game at the Staples Center behind double-double performance from David West (40 points, 11 rebounds) and Chris Paul (32 points, 15 assists).

Kobe Bryant scored 39 points on 14-of-22 field goal shooting with 7 assists in 42 minutes. Derek Fisher had 19 points and 6 assists.

Lamar Odom would have had a spectacular game, scoring 12 points on 4-of-7 field goal shooting and dishing 3 assists despite playing for only 13 minutes, but he was injured late in the second quarter with a hyper-extended right knee.

The Lakers' Twin Towers were ineffective in this game with Pau Gasol scoring only 10 points on 3-of-8 shooting in 42 minutes with 8 rebounds, 5 assists, and 5 fouls. Andrew Bynum missed 5 of his 7 field goal attempts for a seven-point eight-rebound effort.

The Lakers' loss was the first in three games against the Hornets this season. They won their first meeting in New Orleans on Nov. 12 behind a very balanced scoring from their best players.

Bryant had 20 points and 6 assists in that game. Fisher also scored 20 points on 7-of-11 field goal shooting (4-of-6 from 3-point area) while Gasol and Bynum contributed 14 points each.

The Lakers also won their last game in New Orleans on Dec. 23, two days before their Christmas day match-up with the Celtics. Bryant, Gasol, and Bynum combined for 59 points on 49% field goal shooting with 20 total rebounds. They scored 26, 20, 13 respectively.

In their game at the Staples last night, the three combined for 56 points on 51% on the field--slightly better than their performance in their last game.

But that's just because of Bryant shooting 64% from the field. Only Bryant and Odom shot better than 50% from the field in this game. The team shot 42% from the field overall but only 32% if you take out Bryant's and Odom's numbers.

Too bad Odom was injured in the first half. They could have won the game had he stayed on the floor a little longer.

But was it really Odom not playing in the second half that cost them the game?

Well, Odom's scoring was also a non-factor in their two wins in New Orleans--just 2 points on 1-of-7 shooting in the first game and 8 points on 3-of-9 shooting in the second game.

Was it Bryant "trying to do too much?"

Nope! If fact, this game was Bryant's most efficient game against the Hornets this season although he scored only two in the fourth quarter, shooting 1-of-6 after going 13-of-16, including 6-of-6 from 3-point range in the first three quarters.

New Orleans really turned on their defense, especially on Bryant, in the last quarter and relied on dominating plays by West, who had 15 of his 40 points in the final period and outscored the whole Lakers team by himself.

The whole team was 5-of-21 from the field, including 3-of-11 from 3-point range while being outscored 27-13 in the fourth quarter.

Not to take anything away from the Hornets, who played a very good game especially in the last quarter, but the Lakers lost this game because their Twin Towers played like Two of the Seven Dwarfs!

C'mon Pau and Andrew! You made the 6'9" David West looked like 9'6" the way he dominated your 7-feet ceilings inside and outside! What happened to your vaunted wing spans that made the Lakers one of the best shot blocking teams in the league?

If you two play like this in your game tonight against the Golden State Warriors, expect another upset in Oakland! The Warriors are bigger, or at least they play bigger, than the one that blown you team out in your home court.

Good luck!

It's Official - Lakers Are Now The Best

2009-01-05T04:04:00.000-08:00

With their win against the Portland Trail Blazers after the Celtics lost at New York and Cavaliers lost at Washington Sunday night, the Los Angeles Lakers claim the top spot with a league-best 27-5 record. Boston (29-6) and Cleveland (27-6) are now looking up to the Lakers' best record in the league.

Kobe Bryant played for 33 minutes and scored 26 points, Pau Gasol added 19 points in 28 minutes and Los Angeles beat the Portland Trail Blazers 100-86 Sunday night for its sixth consecutive victory and 15th straight at home.

Earlier, Paul Pierce played 42 minutes and scored 31 points, Ray Allen contributed 16 points in 37 minutes but Boston suffered another loss to a sub-.500 team, the New York Knicks (13-19) 88-100.

On the same night, the Cleveland Cavaliers, for the first time this season, lost to a team with a losing record. Lebron James played for 41 minutes and scored 30 points in a 77-80 loss to the Washington Wizards (7-25).

Cleveland and Boston are really trying hard to win regular-season games by playing their MVPs playoff-level minutes. In spite of James playing 41 minutes and Pierce 42 minutes, they both lost their game against their respective opponents last Sunday.

And the Lakers? Kobe only played 33 minutes and they won by 12 points!

So which team is the best now? The Lakers best record of 27 wins with only 5 losses says it all.

The Lakers might have won more games had Phil Jackson allowed Kobe Bryant to play the kind of minutes that Lebron and Pierce are playing. Remember their 1-point loss in Indiana? It was a won game that was lost when Kobe was resting on the bench.

Even Jackson admitted it was a coaching mistake, he should've put Bryant back at least two minutes earlier in the fourth quarter. He vowed he'd play Kobe more in the fourth quarters of their succeeding games.

Phil Jackson is more concerned about preparing his team as a potent group for the playoffs than boosting his best player's statistics. He's probably the only coach in the league who gets a bit frustrated when his best player scored 40 points in just 31 minutes saying that Bryant “tried to do too much” in the fourth quarter in their “win” against the Utah Jazz on their first game this year.

Wow! Can you imagine Mike Brown or Doc Rivers saying things like that about their best players? Only the highest paid NBA coach can do that!

James averages 36.8 minutes per game this season compared to 36.4 for Pierce, 35.7 for Allen and 35.3 for Kobe. Not much, you'd say. But the disparity in their playing times is more prominent in their crucial games.

Lebron had 10 games where he played 40 minutes or more including a 46-minute game in a loss in Atlanta and 43 minutes each in back-to-back games against Miami. He even played for 43 minutes in Oklahoma!

Yes, that's right! Forty-three big minutes against 4-and-30 Thunder! What was it with the Thunder that made Mike Brown so nervous that he wouldn't take Lebron out of the game even when his team was leading by 14 points in the last 2 minutes?

The Celtics are even worse. Or better if you feel that grinding it out in the regular season is more important than preparing your team for the playoffs and risk losing some games by giving playing time to your supporting casts.

Paul Pierce had played a staggering 15 games in which he played 40 minutes or more including a four-game stretch against Toronto, Atlanta, Denver (a loss) at home and in Milwaukee. And another three-game stretch in home games vs. New Orleans and Utah and a road win in Atlanta.

Oh, I thought Boston didn't have one MVP--they've got three!

Well, the other MVP, Ray Allen, played nine 40+ minute games including a three-game stretch in a loss to Denver (yes, the same game where Pierce played 41 minutes), a road game against the Bucks, and home game against the Knicks.

Boston even had a game where all of their “big three” played more than 40 minutes--a narrow 122-117 win in Indiana. Pierce played for 44 minutes, Garnett for 42, and Allen for 41 in avenging their 16-point road loss early in the season.

No wonder they won that game!

In stark contrast, Kobe Bryant only played four 40+ minute games. One of those games, of course, was their Christmas day match up against the Celtics where he played 43 minutes.

Of course, everybody knows who won that game.

He also played 41 minutes in a close game vs. the Knicks and 40 minutes in a 7-point win against the Mavericks.

The Lakers only loss when Kobe played 40 minutes or more was their game in Orlando. Bryant scored 41 points in 43 minutes in that game but they still lost by three points!

Could they have won that game if Kobe played a few more minutes? Maybe!

But you know, Phil Jackson wouldn't want that. He'd do everything to keep Bryant from “trying to do too much...”

So what do you think is more impressive?

The Lakers achieving their best record without burning out the reigning MVP...

Or the playoff-level minutes being played by Boston's big three...

Or maybe the unstoppable force in Cleveland who stays on the floor even on blowout games to dominate video highlight plays on TV and YouTube...

You pick! I already made mine...

The Lakers Are Now The Best in NBA

2009-01-02T23:49:00.000-08:00

With another impressive win against a quality opponent, the Utah Jazz (19-15), the Los Angeles Lakers have now secured their status as the NBA's best team.

The Lakers beat the Jazz 113-100 Friday night for their fifth straight win and 17th in 18 home games, while the other top two teams in the league also won their home games on the same day.

The Celtics won in Boston over the 6-25 Wizards, 108-83, while the Cavaliers defeated the 14-19 Chicago Bulls, 117-92 in Cleveland.

Of the top three teams in the current NBA's standings, the Lakers (26-5) have the better record against the Boston Celtics (29-5) and Cleveland Cavaliers (27-5) in terms of quality of wins.

Of the Cavaliers' 27 wins, only seven are against winning teams. Of the seven, only two were road wins (Dallas and Denver).

All five Cleveland losses are against winning teams (Boston, New Orleans, Detroit, Atlanta, and Miami).

Their perfect record at home is mainly due to the fact that they've only played five quality opponents at home. We'll see on Jan. 9 when they host the Celtics in Cleveland if they can still keep their home-record clean.

The following is the list of their wins against teams with winning records:

Nov. 3 @ Dallas 100-81
Nov. 13 vs. Denver 110-99
Nov. 15 vs. Utah 105-93
Dec. 19 @ Denver 105-88
Nov. 22 vs. Atlanta 110-96
Dec. 23 vs. Houston 99-90
Dec. 28 vs. Miami 93-86

The Celtics have seven home wins and three on the road (Houston, Detroit, and Atlanta) against quality opponents.

They've lost to two opponents with losing records (Indiana and Golden State) and three against teams with winning records (Denver at home, LA Lakers, and Portland).

The list of Celtics wins against quality opponents is as follows:

Oct. 28 vs. Cleveland 90-85
Nov. 4 @ Houston 103-99
Nov. 9 @ Detroit 88-76
Nov. 12 vs. Atlanta 103-102
Nov. 20 vs. Detroit 98-80
Dec. 1 vs. Orlando 107-88
Dec. 5 vs. Portland 93-78
Dec. 12 vs. New Orleans 94-82
Dec. 17 @ Atlanta 88-85
Dec. 15 vs. Utah 100-91

The Lakers, on the other hand, have already won 12 games against winning teams, five on the road (Denver, Dallas, Phoenix, and New Orleans twice). Two of their losses are against losing teams (Indiana and Sacramento).

Three are against teams with winning records (Detroit at home, Miami, and Orlando). The following is the list of their wins against teams with winning records:

Oct. 28 vs. Portland 96-76
Nov. 1 @ Denver 104-97
Nov. 9 vs. Houston 111-82
Nov. 11 @ Dallas 106-99
Nov. 12 @ New Orleans 93-86
Nov. 21 vs. Denver 104-90
Nov. 20 @ Phoenix 105-92
Nov. 28 vs. Dallas 114-107
Dec. 10 vs. Phoenix 115-110
Dec. 23 @ New Orleans 100-87
Dec. 25 vs. Boston 92-83
Jan. 2, 2009, vs. Utah 113-100

ESPN's Hollinger Power Ranking currently ranks the Lakers at No. 4, even below the 26-7 Orlando Magic, and I can't understand why.

Maybe it's about time that John Hollinger modifies his computer program to make its forecast more accurate. It failed in its prediction about the Utah Jazz last season, right?

Anyway, as John pointed out, it's an entirely automated ranking, so certain "human" factors are missing. So Marc Stein's Power Ranking should be more accurate, as he now ranks the Lakers as the best team in the NBA.

No doubt about that!

Lakers-Jazz: Bryant scores 40 points in Lakers’ win

2009-01-02T23:31:00.000-08:00

By BETH HARRIS, AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Sure, Kobe Bryant scored 40 points, but it was Trevor Ariza’s quick hands that saved the Los Angeles Lakers.

Ariza came up with two of his season-high five steals in the last 2:22 and scored two fast-break baskets to help the Lakers beat the Utah Jazz 113-100 Friday night for their fifth straight win and 17th in 18 home games.

“Two plays in a row Trevor changed the game,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “He anticipates well. He’s a cobra out there and he just strikes.”

Ariza had a dazzling 19-second stretch in which he swiped the ball, scored on a fast-break driving layup, got fouled, got another steal and scored on a layup. With 34 seconds left, he dunked on a fast break off a pass from Pau Gasol.

Celtics Struggling Against Top Offensive Teams

2009-01-01T23:38:00.000-08:00

With Boston Celtics' loss to the Trail Blazers and the Cleveland Cavaliers' (26-5) loss to Miami on Dec. 30, the two top Eastern Conference teams now have the same number of losses as the Los Angeles Lakers (25-5).

The Celtics' five losses are hardly surprising. Although Boston (28-5) is still a top defensive team, leading the league in limiting its opponents' field-goal shooting (41.9 percent) and second in the NBA in opponents' points allowed (90.8 per game), the C's really struggle against the best offensive teams in the NBA.

Let's break down their losses:

Loss No. 1: Pacers (10-21)
Nov. 1, 2008 at Indiana, 95-79

Indiana is a good offensive team, averaging 102.3 points per game, good for sixth best in the league. They are fourth best when playing at home, averaging 106.6 points per contest. Indiana's offensive superiority was really evident in their game, as the Pacers led by as many as 25 points in the fourth quarter.

They also made hustle plays that forced 24 Celtics turnovers, which the Pacers converted to 19 points. Boston is the worst team in the NBA in that department, averaging 15.9 turnovers per game. The Pacers also had 20 assists compared to 15 for Boston. Indiana averages 22.4 assists per game (third best in the league).

Loss No. 2: Nuggets (21-12)
Nov. 14, 2008 vs. Denver, 95-85

Boston's only home loss so far was against the Denver Nuggets. The Nuggets average 102.7 points-per-game (fifth in the league). With the arrival of Chauncey Billups, they've become a top defensive team also, limiting their opponents to 43.6 percent field goal shooting (fourth in the league).

They're also one of the best Western teams in matching up against Eastern teams. They are 8-3 in their games against teams in the Eastern Conference and are undefeated (5-0) in their games against Atlantic Division rivals.

In their game, Denver hit 48.8 percent from the field, well above the 41.9 percent the Celtics allow opponents to score against them, with six Nuggets scoring in double-figures. The Celtics only shot 39.7 percent from the field. Denver also won the rebounding battle, with 43 vs. 37 and Carmelo Anthony leading the way with 13 boards.

Loss No. 3: Lakers (25-5)
Dec. 25, 2008 at LA Lakers, 92-83

The LA Lakers lead the league in scoring, averaging 107.3 points per game. And their scoring average at home is even better at 109.4 points per contest. The Lakers are also underrated defenders. They actually limit their opponents to 44 percent field goal shooting, for sixth best in the league. They are also top rebounders, with 44.8 boards per game (second in the NBA) and the second best passing team in the league, with 23.3 assists per game.

The Lakers shot 46.2 percent from the field (it would have been 50 percent if not for Derek Fisher's 2-of-10 field goal shooting) and hit 8-of-20 from beyond the three-point line in their Christmas Day matchup against the defending champions.

They had 27 assists against 22 for the Celtics and blocked nine shots (vs. three for Boston). The Celtics also had 18 turnovers (vs. 11 for the Lakers) that were converted into 22 points.

Loss No. 4: Warriors (10-24)
Dec. 26, 2008 at Golden State, 99-89

This game was the second game of the Celtics' back-to-back against the top two offensive teams in the league. The Warriors are the second best offensive team in the league, averaging 105.2 point-per-game behind the Lakers' 107.3 average. They are No. 1 when playing at their home court, at 109.5. (The Lakers are second.)

Despite the Warriors' undersized frontcourt, they are the best shot-blocking team in the NBA, with Ronny Turiaf averaging 2.2 blocks per game. They also average 13 offensive rebounds per game (third in the league).

For two straight nights, the Celtics' turnovers proved too costly for them. Boston had 23 turnovers that were converted into 27 points by the Warriors. Golden State shot 45.8 percent from the field and was only 10-of-27 from beyond the arc but used a 35-17 fourth quarter run to seal the win.

Loss No. 5: Trail Blazers (20-12)
Dec. 30, 2008 at Portland, 91-86

Portland is just an average offensive team, scoring less than 100 points per game. But the Trail Blazers are getting 103.5 points per contest when playing at home (ninth in the league). They are also the best Western team matching up with their Eastern counterparts. They are 10-2 against teams in the Eastern Conference and 4-1 against Atlantic Division rivals.

Portland is the most defense-oriented of the five teams that beat Boston. Its record against defense-oriented East teams shows this orientation. But they are just 10-10 against offense-oriented West teams.

Portland limits its opponents to 75.9 field goal attempts per game (third best in the league). The Blazers are one of the top offensive rebounding with 13.2 per contest (second in the NBA).

In their last game, the Blazers shot 45.2 percent from the field, hitting 6-of-15 attempts from beyond the arc while Boston was 3-of-14 from beyond the three-point line and 27-of-67 overall for 40.3 percent. The teams' rebounding disparity was more prominent with Portland getting 44 rebounds (13 in the offensive end) to Boston's 24 (just five offensive boards).

Conclusion

With the exception of its last game against the Trail Blazers, Boston's losses are against top offensive teams in the league. The Celtics' current record against seven of the top offensive teams in the NBA is as follows. (Boston owns the eighth best mark, at 101 points per game.):

1. LA Lakers: 1 road loss, next game at home on Feb. 5
2. Golden State: 1 home win, 1 road loss
3. New York: 2 home wins, next game on the road, Jan. 4
4. Phoenix: 0 games played, next game at home on Jan. 19
5. Denver: 1 home loss, next game at home on Feb. 23
6. Indiana: 1 road loss, 1 home win, 1 road win, next game on the road, Feb. 27
7. Cleveland: 1 home win, next game on the road, Jan. 9

Are the Boston Celtics really struggling against the top offensive teams in the NBA? We'll see this month, when they face New York, Cleveland, and Orlando (the ninth best offensive team) on the road and play against Phoenix in Boston. They might already be a nine-loss team before they meet the Pistons in Detroit on Jan. 30.

By then we can say whether they can match up with the best offensive teams in the league and beat the Los Angeles Lakers in their next game in Boston on Feb. 5

Lakers-Warriors: Golden State Fails To Make It a Sweep

2008-12-29T23:31:00.000-08:00

The Lakers routed the Golden State Warriors 130-113, on December 28. Reigning MVP Kobe Bryant scored 31 points on 9-of-15 shooting, hitting three of his six three-point attempts and a perfect 10-of-10 from the free throw line. He had 4 steals and 4 assists.

Derek Fisher, who had a lot of help from his teammates defensively, played for less than 25 minutes and scored 19 points on 9-of-12 field goal shooting. He had 5 assists and a steal.

Sasha Vujacic scored 17 points on 6-of-10 shooting hitting 4-of-7 from beyond the arc. He also had aix assists to go with his steal. Andrew Bynum played just over 25 minutes and made 6 of his 12 shots for 13 points, 10 rebounds, 2 steals and a blocked shot.

Pau Gasol added 13 points, nine rebounds and seven assists in 30 minutes. Trevor Ariza contributed 11 points, nine rebounds, four assists, a steal and two blocked shots off the bench (including a blocked jump shot by Marco Belinelli).

Jamal Crawford returned to the Warriors' lineup after missing two games with a groin strain and scored 22 points with five assists. Belinelli and Brandan Wright had 14 points each.

As expected, the Warriors front-court wasn't be able to match up against the Lakers big men. Andris Biedrins only scored eight points, despite inhaling 17 rebounds (including a season high 15 rebounds in the first half). Biedrins tied Amare Stoudemire of the Phoenix Suns for the most reboudns in a half.

Stephen Jackson struggled with his shots hitting 3-of-9 for nine points with a single rebound. Former Laker Ronny Turiaf was scoreless in 20 minutes with a single rebound, despite blocking four shots.

The game was a shootout between the league's best offensive teams. The Lakers are the number one offensive team in the NBA averaging 107.3 points per game while the Warriors are number two with 105 points per contest.

But the Warriors are also the worst defensive team in the league, surrendering 111.3 points per game while the Lakers only allowed their opponents to score an average of 97.6 per game. The Lakers are, in fact, the 3rd leading team in the NBA in terms of point-differential, which is the average margin of victory.

The Warriors have proven that an energetic offensive team playing in their home court could win against a defensive team in their recent game against the Boston Celtics, the number one defensive team in the league that limits their opponents to 41.8% field goal shooting.

The Celtics didn't have enough offense to counter the Warriors' offensive run in the fourth quarter. The Warriors outscored the Celtics in the last period, 35-17 to seal their win.

But against the Lakers? No chance! The Lakers had enough offense to allow any letdown in any quarter in their game against the Warriors. Can the Warriors do it when they play in their home court against the Lakers on Jan. 7 next year?

Maybe... But I doubt it!

Warriors Will Try To Get Back-To-Back Wins Against Top Teams vs. The Lakers

2008-12-28T01:00:00.000-08:00

Tonight's game against the Lakers (24-5) and the Golden State Warriors (9-22) will be the first meeting between the two teams this season. The Lakers have won 13 of their last 16 games against the Warriors.

They split their four regular games last season 2-2. They last played on March 24, 2008 at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. The Lakers won 123-119. But we couldn't use their last season's record match-up to predict this game's winner as the Warriors is now a completely different team with the departure of Baron Davis, who went to the Lakers' hometown neighbor, LA Clippers, and the trade of Al Harrington to the New York Knicks for Jamal Crawford. Plus, Monta Ellis is still out with ankle injury.

Davis, Ellis and Harrington combined for an average of 57.8 points in their 4-game series with the Lakers—that's more than half of their teams' average of 113.8 points scored against their downstate rivals.

The trio scored 62 and 63 total points in their two wins against the Lakers last season. Where would the Warriors get those scoring contributions? From Jamal Crawford? Maybe! Crawford just had a breakout game, scoring 50 points in their 110-103 win against the Charlotte Bobcats last week.

The current Golden State lineup is a typical Don Nelson's small-ball, free-wheeling, offensive team. And they went even smaller after they sent forward Harrington to the Knicks for guard Crawford, who's now playing as their starting point guard while Ellis recovers from ankle injury. Crawford is averaging 19.3 points, 4.9 assists, and 1.1 steals in 16 games in Warriors uniform this season. He missed last night's game against the Celtics due to groin injury. But he is expected to play tonight's game.

The Warriors were coming from a stunning victory against the Boston Celtics at the Oracle Arena in Oakland. Stephen Jackson returned to their starting lineup and scored eight straight points during the decisive fourth-quarter stretch to finish with 28, and the Warriors sent Boston to back-to-back losses for the first time this season by rallying past the Celtics 99-89. The Warriors won five straight and was 12 of 15 against the Celtics at home.

The Lakers have had some difficulty playing against small teams with quick guards who can penetrate inside. Would Crawford get inspired by his game against Bobcats and his team's win against the Celtics without him in the lineup to score another upset?

I don't think so! First, Jamal Crawford has had difficulty scoring against the Lakers team. He only averages 15.8 points in his last 13 games against the Lakers. The Lakers is no Bobcats! They won't allow anybody to drop 50 on them. Not even Dwayne Wade, whom they allowed to score 35 points in one of their losses. That game would probably be the last time they would allow an opposing player score 35 or more points on them. Well, at least before they visit Lebron James and his Cavaliers on Feb. 8 next year.

Also, the Warriors front-court wouldn't be able to match-up against the Lakers big men. 6'11" Andris Biedrins only averages six points and less than seven boards in 13 games against the Lakers. 6'9" Brandan Wright was also ineffective, scoring just 6 and 0 points in his last two games against the Lakers.

Would Nelson start 6'5" Kelenna Azubuike at small forward with 6'8" Stephen Jackson at power forward? Or maybe former Laker, 6'10" Ronny Turiaf with 4.2 points per game. Maybe he could use Turiaf's 2.2 blocks per game to stop 7-footers Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum.

But hey, didn't the small-lineup Heat, playing like David, beat the the Giant Lakers? I'm sure Don Nelson has been spending nights watching and analyzing that game. He'd want to be the next David to defeat Goliath.

Only that Phil Jackson and his coaching staff are doing the same watching and analyzing. I'm sure they've learned already from that game.

I hope...

Lakers beat Celtics on Christmas day

2008-12-25T12:38:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles Lakers gave us "love this Christmas day" by beating Boston, 92-83, and snap the Celtics 19-game winning streak.

I knew it! There's no way the Lakers would lose this game I even made a bet that I'd stop posting in this blog if the Celtics win the game. Thank you Phil. Thank you Kobe. Thank you Pau. Thank you Lakers for keeping this blog alive!

Phil was right in sticking to his starting lineup featuring "The Twin Towers" with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum, even though it's not their most efficient unit, and they sometimes struggled on road games against smaller and quicker teams like Miami, Sacramento, Orlando, and Indiana. They almost lost in New York with a short-handed Knicks lineup. Jackson really prepared his players well for a game like this--against the best and hottest team in the league.

Bynum had 9 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks, and just 2 personal fouls in 36 minutes. Luke Walton had a solid game in 28 minutes scoring 8 points, 5 assists, 2 blocks, and 4 rebounds. He was also 2-3 in the 3-point line. Now we know why Phil inserted him in the starting lineup replacing Vladimir Radmanovic, who seemed to have found his offensive game before the switch. Luke is a better defender and passer, having mastered the triangle offense in his 5 years of playing for the Lakers. He's also more consistent against championship caliber opponents.

Kobe Bryant had his usual game that made him MVP last season with 27 points, 9 rebounds and 5 assists. Pau Gasol scored 7 of his 20 points in the final three minutes. He also had 5 assists and blocked 3 shots, one of which was on Ray Allen's 3-point attempt that would have put the Celtics within two points with 1:16 minutes left in the game.

Derek Fisher helped limit Rajon Rondo to 6 points on 3-of-11 shooting although he also struggled offensively, shooting 2-of-10 in the field scoring 6 points but he made 7 assists. Lamar Odom came off the bench and contributed 10 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks and 2 steals. He also made two of his three 3-point attempts. Sasha Vujacic also contributed 10 points.

Kevin Garnett topscored for the Celtics with 22 points with 9 rebounds. Paul Pierce had 20 points and 10 rebounds. Ray Allen scored 14 points on 5-of-14 field goal shooting.

The Lakers played excellent defense in the fourth quarter, limiting the Celtics to 16 points. Boston missed all seven of their 3-point attempts in the final period. They surely missed James Posey's clutch 3-point shooting.

Gasol, who, before this game, usually defers to Bryant in the last quarter, was more aggressive at both ends of the floor. He made all three of his shots and all three of his free throws in the fourth quarter for nine of his team's 21 points.

The Lakers' frontcourt players blocked nine of their opponents shots to Boston's three. The Lakers also had more trips to the free-throw line making 12-of-15 to 6-of-8 for the Celtics. They also made 8-of-20 3-point shots while Boston was only 5-of-22 for 22.7%. The team's swarming defense also forced 17 Celtics turnovers.

Who's the best defensive team in the league right now? They say it's the Boston Celtics. Well, maybe they were last year. But this season, the Lakers proved they can play defense to the team that beat them in the NBA Finals just six months ago.

Lakers-Celtics Preview - 25-Dec-08

2008-12-25T01:00:00.000-08:00

The Lakers will win this game against the Boston Celtics this Christmas. That's my prediction. And I'm pretty confident of this that I'd be willing to bet the life of this blog to any Celtics bloggers out there if the Lakers lose this game.

Basketball analysts either refuses or can't make their own predictions due to many variables. The Celtics is the hottest team right now, coming to the game trying to get their 20th winning streak to tie them with the third-best in NBA history. Meanwhile, the Lakers, at least on paper, made the better roster upgrade with the return of 7-footer Andrew Bynum, who was injured during last year's playoffs, while the Celtics lost James Posey and veterans P.J. Brown and Sam Cassell and haven't made yet any significant additions to their lineup.

Many believed that the Lakers' recent slide--their 2-2 performance, in their 4 game road trip--is a telling sign that they are not yet ready for a showdown with the Celtics. I don't buy that! Phil Jackson's insistence of keeping both his 7-footers in the starting lineup, even though it's not their best performing unit, is obviously in preparation for this matchup (or similar ones like with the Cleveland Cavaliers). Jackson is not the winningest coach is NBA for nothing.

Judging from their games last season's Finals and both teams' recent development, I'm convinced that the Lakers now have the right pieces to win over the Celtics, not just in this game but their eventual match up in this season's Finals (assuming the Celtics would win over the Cavaliers).

Taking out Game 6 of the Finals, in which the Lakers players and coaching staff obviously gave up, the series was evenly matched up with both teams winning their home games except for Game 4. That game showed that the Lakers could dominate the Celtics using their superior offensive game and their swarming defense. Although the Celtics won the game 97-91, the Lakers was dominant in the first half of that game. They scored 35 points and limited the Celtics to 14 points in the first quarter. Lamar Odom, who seemed to be unstoppable during that quarter, made all his field goal attempts and scored 13 points with 5 rebounds. The teams dominance continued in the second quarter when they increased their lead to 24 points on a 3-point shot of Vujacic midway through the quarter. Unfortunately, they stopped playing their game after that.

The Celtics bounced back in the second half scoring 31 points in the third quarter while limiting the Lakers to 15 points. Odom disappeared during that quarter scoring only 2 points on free throws. He added only 6 points, 2 in each quarter, to his first quarter numbers to score 19 points with 10 rebounds in the game. Bryant, who was forced to miss a lot of jump shots to make up for his team's missing offensive game in the second half, scored only 17 points but had 10 assists and 4 steals. Gasol also had 17 points and 10 rebounds. Fisher and Radmanovic added 13 and 10 points for the starters, respectively.

The Celtics superiority in defense showed up in that game. But this superiority, I believe, is now negated with the addition of Andrew Bynum and the healthy Trevor Ariza in the Lakers lineup. Plus, their best Kobe stopper in James Posey now is playing for the Hornets.

Let's see how it would go. Please share your thoughts.

Lakers defeat Hornets 100-87 in New Orleans

2008-12-24T03:05:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles Lakers used a balanced offense and swarming defense to beat their Western Conference rivals, New Orleans Hornets, 100-87 for the second time this season. Kobe Bryant played 37 minutes and had 26 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists. Pau Gasol scored 20 points on 8-10 shooting and collected 8 rebounds.

Andrew Bynum and Derek Fisher scored 13 and 11 points respectively. Trevor Ariza contributed 10 points with 2 steals and Lamar Odom had 8 points, 8 rebounds and 5 assists off the bench.

Chris Paul played 46 minutes and had 17 points, 10 assists, and 6 steals. Rasual Butler also scored 17 points. David West continues to struggle against the Lakers scoring only 13 points on 5-15 shooting. Morris Peterson added 16 points off the bench.

Read more...

Lakers defeat Memphis, 105-96, on the road

2008-12-23T06:15:00.000-08:00

On Pau Gasol's first game against his former team--also the first against his brother Mark, who was part of the trade that sent him to the Lakers--he helped his new team defeat the Grizzlies, 105-96. Kobe Bryant scored 36 points, making 14 of 23 field goal attemps, 3-6 from the 3-point line and keyed a late rally to help the team snap a two-game losing streak. Gasol had 15 points, 7 rebounds and 6 assists. Andrew Bynum scored 13 points in 21 minutes while Derek Fisher, playing more than 40 minutes due to the absence of injured backup point guard, Jordan Farmar, scored 11 points. Lamar Odom added 12 points off the bench.

Rudy Gay topscored for the Grizzlies with 23 points. Rookie O.J. Mayo hit five 3-point field goals in nine tries and scored 22 points while Darko Milicic had 11 points and 8 rebounds. Hakim Warric and Mike Conley contributed 14 and 11 points, respectively, off the bench.

Read more...

Lakers-Memphis Preview - 22-Dec-08

2008-12-22T03:17:00.000-08:00

Lakers (21-5) at Grizzlies (9-17) , 22-Dec-08, FedExForum, Memphis, TN

This is the first meeting between the two teams this season. The Lakers record against Grizzlies last season was 2-1. Their first meeting was on January 8, 2008 at Memphis. The Lakers won 117-101 in a very balanced offense with all their starters scoring in double-figures. Derek Fisher top-scored for the Lakers with 26 points on 10-11 field goal shooting hitting a perfect 5-5 on his 3 point shots. Kobe Bryant played 40 minutes scoring 25 points, 6 assists and 5 steals. Lamar Odom had 10 points, 15 rebounds and 6 assists. Andrew Bynum had 10 points and 9 boards and Luke Walton also had 10 points. Jordan Farmar added 13 points off the bench.

The Grizzlies, who never led in the game, were paced by Mike Miller with 19 points. Pau Gasol, who was still playing for Memphis during that game, added 18 points and 12 rebounds. Rudy Gay finished with 15 points.

The Lakers also won their second game with the Grizzlies on January 13, 2008 at home, 100-99 although this game might have caused them the title last season as Andrew Bynum, who was a key factor in the team's ascent to elite status at that stage of the season, sprained his left knee early in the third quarter. He played just 20 minutes and scored 10 points with 9 rebounds. Bryant scored 37 points and had 4 steals with 4 assists. Odom had 10 points and 10 rebounds while Farmar added 10 points off the bench.

Mike Miller scored 27 points and Pau Gasol, still playing for the Grizzlies, had 21 points and season-high totals of 18 rebounds and eight assists for the Grizzlies, who lost for the 10th time in their last 12 games.

The Grizzlies won their third meeting with the Lakers last season, 114-111 at the Staples Center on March 28, 2008. Pau Gasol was already playing for the Lakers, having been traded February 1, but missed the first meeting between the teams since he was traded with a sprained left ankle. Bryant had a spectacular game with 53 points, 10 rebounds, and 3 steals but his effort was "pretty much of a waste" as all his teammates in the starting lineup failed to score in double-figures. Ronny Turiaf, who started playing center in place of injured Pau Gasol, was 3-10 from the field for 6 points, Fisher was 2-7 for 4 points, Radmanovic was 3-8 for 9 points, and Odom was 1-7 for 2 points although he had 11 rebounds.

Vujacic scored 14 points off the bench although he had to take 17 field goal attempts to reach that, missing 10 of his 14 3-point attempts. Farmar was the only other bench players to score in double-figures with 11 points.

Darko Milicic had 22 points and 12 rebounds, Hakim Warrick 16 points, Kyle Lowry 11 and Mike Miller 10 points and 10 rebounds for the Grizzlies, who were 6-30 on the road and 2-20 away from home against Western Conference teams. Kwame Brown, who was sent to Memphis as part of the Gasol trade, didn't play for the fifth consecutive game but Javaris Crittenton played 18 minutes and scored 6 points.

The Grizzlies now features a different line up having lost Mike Miller but have one of the top rookies O.J. Mayo and Pau Gasol's younger brother Mark, who was part of the trade that sent the older Gasol to the Lakers. But talent-wise, I believe they are basically the same and the Lakers should have no problem disposing the Grizzlies. Unless Bryant's teammates play as lousy as the've played the last two games or their last game against Memphis. After losing 2 straight games, expect Kobe to play his best game this night. But let's just hope that his teammates, especially Pau and Lamar, play the way they used to last year.

Lakers lost to the Magic, 103-106

2008-12-20T18:41:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles Lakers suffered its first 2-game losing streak of the season. After losing to the Miami Heat the night before, the Lakers lost to the surging Orlando Magic 103-106--both losses on the road. Sasha Vujacic, who was 0-5 in the field and scored just 1 point, had a chance to win the game but his 3-point shot attempt bounced out of the basket leaving the Lakers behind 104-103, with three seconds left. Dwight Howard got the rebound and was fouled. He made both free throws for the final margin. Kobe Bryant missed a three-pointer as the clock wound down, sending the Lakers to their second consecutive defeat on this four-game trip.

Bryant had a spectacular night scoring 41 points with 8 rebounds and just 1 turnover in the losing effort. Derek Fisher added 27 points. Pau Gasol, who attempted only 9 field goals, contributed just 11 points. For two nights straight, Andrew Bynum played limited minutes and scored just 3 points, 1 rebound, 2 turnovers, and 5 personal fouls.

Jameer Nelson topscored for the Magic with 27 points. Rashard Lewis scored 22 points. Dwight Howard added 18 points with 12 rebounds.

It should be obvious by now that the Twin Tower Experiment of Phil Jackson is not working. It worked in November because their opponents haven't figured out yet how to score with two 7-footers patrolling the paint. But after their first loss against Detroit, their weakness have been exposed and teams are exploiting that--just move your Bigs outside and have your best slasher drive to the basket. Phil should really consider having Bynum come off the bench and move back Odom to the starting lineup. You may want to read my previous post for what I thought would be the "keys to this game."

Bynum doesn't have the versatility of Odom. Not yet, anyway. Sure he's able to provide some defense against big body post players like Howard but their opposing guards are killing them--in this case, Rashard Lewis--by his inability to provide help defense without committing fouls.

Moreover, Gasol's scoring opportunities are being limited by Bynum's presence. The night after taking only 10 shots in their loss in Miami, Pau attempted one fewer shots today. Was he worried about his shooting percentage or he's just not getting enough touches? Bynum-Gasol teamup is not like the old Twin Tower of the Spurs, Robinson-Duncan. Bynum passing ability is still a work in progress. How many assists he had this game? Let me check...zero? Oh, how I miss Shaq!

And how about Odom? He seems to be very confused on offense although he's still decent on defense. He made only 1 field goal in 7 attempts with 2 free throws for 4 points. Well, at least he matched Bryant's 8 rebounds and had 3 steals in 36 minutes on the floor. I think his inability to be a factor on offense is not because of his waning talent. He was an All-Star material just last year and he's on his contract year so he should be very serious about being a very effective contributor on his team.

Watching the team play, it's pretty obvious that they are not running a lot of Odom-Gasol sets that was so effective last year. I could still remember how unstoppable they were during the first half of Game 4 Finals against the Celtics. Of course, they lost that game when the "unstoppable Pau and Lamar" disappeared in the second half of the game. That game cost them the Finals, right? But at least they run unbelievable highlight plays for one quarter.

And look at how effective Lamar was in their game against the Knicks--the only time he started the game in place of Gasol who was sick. He elevated his game because he knew he had to. He didn't have Pau Gasol to defer to. He's like a Manu Ginobilli on the Spurs team with Tim Duncan and Tony Parker. He's perfect when he's the third best player in his team--one of the three options. You make him the 4th option and he'd be the worst performer on the Lakers team.

So, what should the Lakers do? I hate to keep on repeating myself but I'll do it anyway. Put Odom back to the starting lineup!

Please...

Lakers-Magic Preview - 20-Dec-08

2008-12-20T05:12:00.000-08:00

Lakers (21-4) at Magic (20-6), 20-Dec-08, 7:00pm ET

This is the first meeting between the Lakers and Orlando Magic this season. Their record last season was 1-1 beating the other team on the road. They first met at Staples Center on December 2, 2007. Magic won 104-97. Kobe Bryant had 28 points on 10-26 shooting, 6 rebounds, 5 assists and 2 steals. Lamar Odom had 19 points and 17 rebounds. Andrew Bynum had 10 points, 6 rebounds and 7 block shots. Pau Gasol was still playing for Memphis during that time.

Rashard Lewis led five Magic players in double-figures with 18 points. Dwight Howard had 17 points and 8 boards. Hedo Turkoglu scored 14 points and collected 10 rebounds.

Their second meeting was on February 8, 2008 in Orlando. Lakers won 117-113. Bryant scored 36 points, 10 rebounds, and 6 assists. Gasol, on his third game on a Laker uniform, torched the Magic with 30 points on 12-15 field goal shooting and 9 rebounds. Odom went 5-5 from the field, 2-2 on the 3pt line, for 12 points with 6 boards. Bynum was on the injured list during that time.

Howard was 8-8 from the field for 19 points and collected 11 rebounds but played for only 29 minutes due to foul troubles. Their starting point guard, Jameer Nelson had 17 points and 9 assists. Lewis and Turkoglu added 16 points each.

Orlando has an 8-2 record the last 10 games. They lost to Boston and Phoenix and beat the Clippers, Portland, Utah and Golden State on the road. They beat Minnesota, Oklahoma City, and in their last game, San Antonio at home.

Keys to the game:

With his teammates struggling, Kobe Bryant should continue to be more aggressive.
Pau Gasol should be more assertive in his offense. In their loss to Miami last night, he took only 10 shots and made 5 scoring just 13 points. He is a better offensive player than Dwight Howard and he should take advantage of that.
Lamar Odom should play the way he was playing last year. He looks very confused in his role which maybe attributed to him coming off the bench.
Andrew Bynum should avoid getting into early foul troubles. His contributions would be critical in a close game providing defense on Dwight Howard.
Phil Jackson should consider having Andrew Bynum come off the bench to avoid getting him in early foul troubles. Odom should start with Kobe and Gasol at center--their lethal combination last year. Odom can't lead their second unit. He should put Kobe to provide leadership to their bench mob as he seems to be the only player in this team that Sasha Vujacic listens to.

Lakers lost to the Heat was a coaching mistake

2008-12-19T21:50:00.000-08:00

How can the Lakers with two 7-footers and a 6'8" forward in its starting frontcourt lose to a Miami Heat team featuring a 6'9" center and forwards barely reaching 6'8" in height in its starting lineup? The Lakers bigs should have dominated their undersized counterparts and scored 100 points, right? Wrong! Here's what happened:

7' Andrew Bynum had 4 points and 4 fouls with only 6 rebounds in 27 minutes

7' Pau Gasol only took 10 shots and made 5 with 3-6 free throws for 13 points (although he had 11 rebounds)

6'8" Luke Walton was a non-factor with 2 points on 1-4 shooting

6'10" Lamar Odom took 6 shots and made 1 and 1-4 free throws for 3 points with 4 rebounds

6'8" Trevor Ariza had 7 points on 3-5 shooting

Their total score? Twenty-nine! Just 1 more than Kobe Bryant's 28 points but less than the 30 points their 'undersized' counterparts in the Miami heat roster scored.

6'7" Marion had 12 points and matched the 7' Gasol's total boards at 11

6'9" Anthony had 8 rebounds 3 steals and 2 blocked shots

6'8" Haslem also had 3 steals and 2 blocks

6'10" Beasly and 6'11" Magloire had limited minutes but still scored 6 and 2 points respectively

The result: Miami 89, LA Lakers 87. And everybody blames Kobe for not hitting the game-tying shot and their team's lack of defense. It's not their defense folks! It's their offense! They were able to limit their opponent to 89 points but at the same time, they we're held to 87 points--season lowest for the team that just 2 weeks ago, was being regarded as the offensive juggernaut in the NBA.

How can Phil Jackson let this happen? They lost on a night Kobe Bryant is having a fairly solid game and wasn't struggling on his shots. He made 12-24 shots and scored his usual 28 points (although he had 5 turnovers). I really believe it's about time that Phil revamp his starting lineup. He should put Odom back to their starting unit and have Bynum come off the bench.

Here are some additional arguments for my recommended starting unit of Fisher-Bryant-Ariza-Odom-Gasol:

Bynum takes away scoring opportunities for Gasol early in the game. He only took 10 shots in a game where his defender is much smaller. He should have been the leading scorer in this game if he was given more opportunities

Bynum is slower than Odom in providing help defense. Notice how Dwyane Wade keeps on attacking the basket and Bynum can't cover him when he get past his primary defender

Odom plays well when he starts the game as evident in the Lakers game against the Knicks just 2 days ago. And he plays a lot better with Gasol as his frontcourt partner (see his performance last year)

I really hope that Jackson considers this line up.

Odom should return to the starting lineup

2008-12-19T03:38:00.000-08:00

Lamar Odom's good game as a starter in the Lakers' last game against the New York Knicks should convince Phil Jackson to go back to their starting lineup last year with Odom on power forward slot, and Pau Gasol moving back to the center spot while Bynum comes off the bench. I think their strongest lineup is the Fisher-Bryant-Ariza-Odom-Gasol combination, and Coach Phil knows this--he keeps them at the end of close games.

According to 82games.com, this unit is their most productive combination that produced 1.21 points per possession and only allowed 0.95 opponent points per possession. Also, this starting lineup would maximize the effectiveness of Bynum on defense by keeping him out of early foul troubles and spread the floor on offense to allow Bryant to play his best game--attacking the rim and take higher percentage shots or get fouled and take free-throws--instead of taking too many long outside shots early in the game. It's hard to attack the lane if you have a 7-footer teammate in the low-block (Bynum) and another fellow 7-footer in the high-post (Gasol).

But I think Jackson is sticking with his current starting lineup because he's preparing the team for Boston Celtics. It's obvious that their strongest unit lacks the defensive force for the Celts, as they experienced in last year's finals. They need Bynum to matchup with the Perkins of Boston pound-for-pound and protect the paint, which Lamar or Pau couldn't do in last year finals.

But Phil might be overdoing it. By sticking with their current lineup, they may be sacrificing their overall effectiveness that made them the favorites to win the championship early in the season. Their current starting unit with Bynum and Walton in the lineup only makes 1.09 points while surrendering 1.00 opponent points per possession. Their previous starting lineup with Radmanovic and Bynum had a 1.11/1.05 record.

I believe the key to the continued development of the team is by doing what the other top two teams in the league, the Celtics and Cleveland Cavaliers, are doing--try to dominate the opposition in every game by letting your best players play their best games. See how the Cavaliers are dominating their opponents by letting Lebron James play his dominating attack-the-basket and play-above-the-rim game and still make the team better?

At this point, all players in the Lakers team have regressed from their last year's performance. Only Trevor Ariza has better stats. And that's mainly because he wasn't playing much last year. Everyone wonders why Kobe Bryant usually struggles with his shots early in the game. Isn't he taking too many low-percentage jump shots? Is there something wrong with him? As Phil Jackson correctly pointed out, "there's nothing wrong with him." There's something wrong with his team--specially with their starting lineup.

Kobe was very effective last year playing with two quick front court players in Pau and Lamar and two spot-up wing players, Derek and Vlad, who can make 3-point shots. He can drive and drop to the post or kick out to the wing for long bombers. Gasol and Odom also are effective feeding each other alternating in the high and low post. That unit was very effective it earned Bryant his first MVP trophy! Unbeatable, the basketball analysts used to say.

Why would you change a very effective, high-octane, running-on-all-cylinders, like-a-Ferrari-sports-car unit that cruised through the insanely competitive western conference playoffs just last year? Not even the other most dominant team of this decade, the San Antonio Spurs, were able to figure out how to put the brakes on them. Because the Celtics locomotive run over the Lakers 12-cylinder engine and beat them in six games in the Finals?

Well, the Lakers are not playing them until December 25, right? And they'd only be racing with that massive steam-engine train called the Celtics for only one more time next year. In the meantime, please give us back the Lakers that the fans love and opponents feared so much. Just twink it a little by replacing a slower Radmanovic with the faster and more defensive-minded Ariza. Give Andrew his minutes. He's too good to warm the bench and his contributions will be critical against teams like the Celts and Cavs. But allow our team to start full-throttle by putting our best players to start the vaunted Lakers Engine and try to dominate the competition early in the game.

If you do that, Coach Phil, the Lakers sports car will jump over the Celtics train in June.

Lakers is the winningest team in the NBA

2008-12-17T06:44:00.000-08:00

The Los Angeles Lakers has the best winning percentage record in the NBA. Since 1949 the Lakers have won 2,926 games in 4,753 games for league-best 61.6%. The number two team, Boston Celtics, that joined the league two years earlier, had 2,883 wins against 1,981 losses (59.3%) while the third-best, San Antonio Spurs, had 1,942 wins in 3,359 games (57.8%).

Although the Celtics has won more championships with 17 titles, against 14 championships for the Lakers, the Lakers franchise has more Conference and Division titles. The team had 16 conference and 30 division titles while Boston had only 8 and 26 respectively. The Celtics' better championship record is mainly due to their dominance in the 60's. Bill Russel, who was peerless during that period, led them to 8 straight championships from 1958 to 1966. Russel also led them to 2 championships in 3 seasons from 1966 to 1969 as a coach.

The Lakers have played in the playoffs for 55 seasons compared to 46 playoffs for the Celtics. The former had only missed the playoffs in 1958, 1975-76, 1994, and 2005, the year they traded Shaq to Miami.

Click here for the complete statistics.

Marbury attended Knicks game against the Lakers

2008-12-17T06:20:00.000-08:00

By MARC BERMAN - New York Post

After a training session yesterday morning in the Hollywood Hills, banned Stephon Marbury Stephon Marbury shocked the Knicks New York Knicks by attending their game last night vs. the Lakers at Staples Center as a fan. Marbury sat in a corner baseline, front-row seat by the Lakers girls. Marbury hasn't been under the same roof as the Knicks since Thanksgiving Eve when he was suspended, then banned.

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Jackson passed Auerbach on most games coached

2008-12-17T03:20:00.000-08:00

Lakers Team Report - Fox Sports

Phil Jackson didn't have a legendary playing career, but his coaching career continues to make quite a mark on the NBA.

With the Lakers' victory Tuesday night over the New York Knicks -- whom Jackson represented for almost his entire playing career -- Jackson passed Red Auerbach on the list of all-time games coached in the NBA. Jackson now is 12th in league history, and he's the only coach in NBA history to win more than 70 percent of his games (997-421). On March 25, 2007, Jackson coached career game 1,300 to pass his mentor, longtime Knicks coach Red Holzman.

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Lakers beat Knicks, 116-114, despite Gasol's absence

2008-12-16T21:56:00.000-08:00

Kobe Bryant scored 28 points to lead the Lakers to victory against the New York Knicks at the Staples Center, 116-114. The Lakers played without its second leading scorer, Pau Gasol because of strep throat.

Lamar Odom, who started for Gasol, scored 17 points with 12 rebounds. Andrew Bynum also had a double-double with 13 points and 11 boards. Derek Fisher added 15 points and 7 assists. Luke Walton and Trevor Ariza completes the 6 players in double-figures at 14 and 13 points respectively.

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Mismatches turn in Lakers' favor

2008-12-15T02:20:00.000-08:00

By Jerry Zgoda, Star Tribune

Kevin McHale's draft-night swap of O.J. Mayo for Kevin Love in an eight-player deal was predicated on the notion that skilled 7-footers are few and far between in the NBA these days.

The Los Angeles Lakers, and Sunday night, are exceptions.

The Lakers present two of those aberrations -- Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol -- in their starting lineup and thus, the Lakers' 98-86 victory at Staples Center featured the kind of mismatches McHale once dismissed and now bases his coaching philosophies around.

Lakers just good enough to win again

2008-12-15T02:11:00.000-08:00

By Elliott Teaford, LA Daily News

Maybe this is as good as it gets right now. Maybe this is the best the Lakers can do. Maybe winning ugly games against bad teams is their method of operation.

That certainly seemed to be the case again Sunday night, when the Lakers rumbled, bumbled and stumbled their way past the Minnesota Timberwolves, 98-86, in front of a sellout crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center.

Lakers beat Timberwolves, 98-86

2008-12-15T02:02:00.000-08:00

By Mike Bresnahan, LA Times

Lakers deliver another subpar effort, waiting until the fourth quarter to put away the 4-19 Timberwolves in a 98-86 victory that improves L.A.'s record to 20-3.

The Lakers finally revisited the concept of holding a team under 100, but there was a glaring omission of something equally important -- an offense.

The Lakers sputtered and coughed their way to a 98-86 victory Sunday night over the Minnesota Timberwolves at Staples Center.

Read more...

Lakers beats Kings, 112-103

2008-12-13T23:40:00.000-08:00

By KEN PETERS, AP Sports Writer, December 13, 2008

LOS ANGELES (AP)—The Lakers didn’t look like world beaters, but were good enough to beat the Kings this time.

Avenging their loss at Sacramento three days earlier, Los Angeles survived a late charge to hold off the Kings 112-103 on Friday night.

“We did better playing against them tonight,” said Kobe Bryant, who led the Lakers with 32 points. “In Sacramento we weren’t able to contain them in any stretch.

“They made a couple of big 3s down the stretch on a couple of blown assignments. But still in all, we did OK.”

Gasol leads Lakers to 115-110 win over Suns

2008-12-11T02:27:00.000-08:00

By JOHN NADEL, AP Sports Writer - December 11, 2008

LOS ANGELES (AP)—The Los Angeles Lakers battled like crazy to put the short-handed Phoenix Suns away.

That’s precisely what Kobe Bryant expected they would have to do.

Pau Gasol scored 28 points, Bryant had seven of his 18 in the last 6 1/2 minutes, and the Western Conference-leading Lakers struggled to a 115-110 victory Wednesday night.

Andrew Bynum added 17 points and 11 rebounds, Sasha Vujacic scored a season-high 15 points and Derek Fisher had 13 for the Lakers (18-3), who were coming off a lethargic 113-101 loss at Sacramento on Tuesday night and didn’t clinch this victory until the final minute.

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Kings stunned the Lakers 113-101 for its third loss in the season

2008-12-10T02:10:00.000-08:00

December 10, 2008 at the Arco Arena, Sacramento, CA.

Francisco Garcia and John Salmons scored 21 points apiece, and Sacramento snapped an eight-game losing streak with a surprising 113-101 victory over Los Angeles on Tuesday night.

Kobe Bryant scored 28 points while Pau Gasol played 43 minutes and had 25 points with 12 rebounds in the losing effort, only their third this season. But they are the only starters in double figures. Derek Fisher, Andrew Bynum and Vladimir Radmanovic shot a combined 9-for-22 from the field. Lamar Odom contributed 11 points and 8 rebounds off the bench.

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Lakers improve to 17-2 with 105-92 win over Bucks

2008-12-08T02:06:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES (AP)—A stubborn defense by the Los Angeles Lakers compensated for a disjointed offense that committed 25 turnovers. The cold-shooting Milwaukee Bucks weren’t able to capitalize much at the other end, though.

Kobe Bryant had 20 points and a season-high eight assists, Derek Fisher added 19 points, and the Lakers coasted to a 105-92 victory on Sunday that improved their record to 17-2 and equaled the best 19-game start in the franchise’s 61-year history.

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Lakers edge struggling Wizards 106-104

2008-12-05T02:02:00.000-08:00

By HOWARD FENDRICH, AP Sports Writer - December 5, 2008

WASHINGTON (AP)—Kobe Bryant’s first field-goal attempt, officially, came about 5 minutes into Friday night’s game.

Finding his path blocked on a drive into the lane, Bryant “shot” the ball off the glass right back to himself, then threw a perfect pass to Pau Gasol for a wide-open jumper. Bryant drew louder “oohs” and “aahs” later with a double-pump, two-handed reverse jam off a behind-the-back feed from Trevor Ariza.

Bryant entertained enough to draw “M-V-P!” chants again on the road, but he and his teammates on the best-in-the-West Lakers also nearly found a way to blow a 20-point lead against the worst-in-the-East Wizards before pulling out a 106-104 victory.

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Lakers beat 76ers in Philadelphia

2008-12-03T01:56:00.000-08:00

By DAN GELSTON, AP Sports Writer - December 3, 2008

PHILADELPHIA (AP)—Kobe Bryant heard some different sounds from the hometown crowd during his usual mix of rally-killing 3-pointers and straight-to-YouTube baskets.

Long reviled in Philadelphia, Bryant heard some cheers, even some “MVP!” chants this time around.

Winning a game and winning over fans made it a good night for Bryant.

Bryant tormented his hometown team again, scoring 32 points to help the Los Angeles Lakers rebound from a last-second loss with a 114-102 victory over the Philadelphia 76ers on Wednesday night.

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Pacers handed the Lakers its second loss

2008-12-02T01:45:00.000-08:00

By MICHAEL MAROT, AP Sports Writer - December 2, 2008

INDIANAPOLIS (AP)—Troy Murphy and Danny Granger spent most of Tuesday night working to keep the Pacers close to the Lakers. They spent those final few seconds like everyone else in Conseco Fieldhouse — watching, waiting and wondering if Murphy’s tantalizing tip would actually drop through the net. It did—just as the buzzer sounded.

Murphy’s game-winner completed an improbable comeback and gave the Pacers a desperately needed 118-117 victory after replay reviews confirmed the basket was good.

Kobe Bryant finished with 28 points, becoming the second-fastest player in league history to reach 22,000 career points, behind Wilt Chamberlain. Pau Gasol scored 20 points and 9 rebounds while Andrew Bynum had 17 and 9.

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Gasol, Kobe help Lakers beat Raptors

2008-12-01T01:37:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Kobe Bryant spent the fourth quarter on the Los Angeles Lakers’ bench, content in watching the second unit blow the game open. The last thing on his mind was Wilt Chamberlain.

This kind of trend—and attitude—has the defending Western Conference champions off to an NBA-best 14-1 record.

Pau Gasol had 24 points and nine rebounds, Bryant had 23 points and a season-high seven assists, and the Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors 112-99 on Sunday night for their seventh straight victory.

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Lakers beat Mavericks 114-107 to go 13-1

2008-11-29T01:34:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES (AP)—With every game the Los Angeles Lakers play, one nagging question keeps cropping up: How did they lose to the Detroit Pistons—at home?

Kobe Bryant scored a season-high 35 points, and the Lakers used a 17-0 run in the second half Friday night to beat the Dallas Mavericks 114-107 and improve the NBA’s best record to 13-1.

The Lakers matched the 2001-02 championship club for the best start after 14 games in the franchise’s 61-year history. That team won three more games before getting their second loss. Even the 1971-72 squad that won an NBA-record 33 consecutive games with Wilt Chamberlain, Jerry West and Elgin Baylor lost three of their first nine before going on their historic winning streak.

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Lakers routed Nets 120-93 to maintain best record at 12-1

2008-11-26T01:28:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES (AP)—When Pau Gasol made his Lakers debut back in February following his trade from the Memphis Grizzlies, he led Los Angeles to a 15-point victory at New Jersey on a night when Kobe Bryant had the lowest-scoring game of his MVP campaign.

Things looked eerily similar against the Nets on Tuesday night in the rematch at Staples Center. Gasol had 26 points and eight rebounds before sitting out the fourth quarter, and the defending Western Conference champions overcame Bryant’s shooting woes in a 120-93 rout that improved the NBA’s best record to 12-1.

Bryant had difficulty with Vince Carter’s defense, going 5-for-17 from the field in 28 minutes and finishing with 12 points in the Lakers’ fifth straight victory. He shot 1-for-9 in the first half and didn’t get to the free-throw line until 1:11 remained in the second quarter. The last time they met, the two-time scoring champion was outscored 27-6 by Carter and shot 3-for-13 with no free-throw attempts.

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Lakers are now 11-1 with win over Kings

2008-11-24T01:24:00.000-08:00

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Double-digit scoring by eight Los Angeles Lakers camouflaged what nearly cost them a victory against the young and aggressive Sacramento Kings: sloppy ball handling and poor transition defense.

The Lakers committed 18 turnovers Sunday night, which the Kings converted into 30 points. But Kobe Bryant was good when he had to be, scoring 24 points and dishing out six assists to help the defending Western Conference champs beat the Kings 118-108 and improve the NBA’s best record to 11-1.

All five Lakers starters reached double figures in points by the third quarter, as they won for the fourth straight time since losing to Detroit at home. Andrew Bynum had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Pau Gasol chipped in with 16 points.

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Lakers beat Nuggets again, 104-90

2008-11-22T01:19:00.000-08:00

Yahoo Sports - November 22, 2008

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Phil Jackson prefers when none of his starters has to play more than 34 minutes. Not only did he get his wish in the Lakers’ one-sided win over Denver, but none of them spent 30 minutes on the court—and they still kept Carmelo Anthony in check.

Kobe Bryant scored 11 of his 29 points in the third quarter before sitting out the fourth, Andrew Bynum had 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Los Angeles coasted to a 104-90 victory on Friday night.

The defending Western Conference champion Lakers (10-1) are off to their best start through 11 games since the 2001-02 championship season, when they won 16 of their first 17. All of their victories have been decided by seven or more points—which was their winning margin against four teams.

Kobe, Vlad lead Lakers past Suns 105-92

2008-11-21T01:04:00.000-08:00

By BOB BAUM, AP Sports Writer - November 21, 2008

PHOENIX (AP)—Kobe Bryant had a below-average game. He’s got so much help on this Los Angeles Lakers team it didn’t matter.

Bryant scored 24 points, Vladimir Radmanovic made all five of his 3-pointers and a host of others made significant contributions to help the Lakers past the Phoenix Suns, 105-92 on Thursday night.

Bryant shot only 8-of-23, but the Lakers overwhelmed Phoenix with their depth. Six players reached double figures as Los Angeles improved its record to a league-best 9-1.

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Lakers rebounded from first loss with victory over Bulls

2008-11-19T00:59:00.000-08:00

By JOHN NADEL, AP Sports Writer - November 19, 2008

LOS ANGELES (AP)—The Los Angeles Lakers went to their inside game against the smaller Chicago Bulls. The strategy worked to perfection.

Pau Gasol scored 24 of his season-high 34 points in the first half, Andrew Bynum added 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots, and the Lakers rebounded from their first loss of the season with a 116-109 victory over the Bulls on Tuesday night.

“We wanted to go inside, and we did,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “We just kept rolling. We had a size advantage.”

The Lakers scored 64 points in the paint, with Gasol shooting 14-of-21 and Bynum going 5-of-10.

Pistons handed the Lakers its first loss

2008-11-15T00:54:00.000-08:00

By KEN PETERS, AP Sports Writer - November 15, 2008

LOS ANGELES (AP)—The new-look Detroit Pistons still have the Los Angeles Lakers’ number.

Rasheed Wallace had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Allen Iverson added 25 points and the Pistons handed the Lakers their first loss of the season, 106-95 Friday night.

The win was the Pistons’ eighth in the last 10 meetings.

Kobe Bryant scored 29 points for the Lakers, but went 12-of-30 from the floor.

Lakers remain undefeated with win over Hornets

2008-11-12T00:42:00.000-08:00

The Lakers are now the only undefeated team in the league following Atlanta's loss to Boston. Kobe Bryant scored 20 points, highlighted by a tough 3-pointer over James Posey with just over a minute left, and the Lakers improved to 7-0 with a 93-86 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.

Derek Fisher hit four 3-pointers and also finished with 20. He had 18 through the first three quarters, leading what to that point had been a dominant effort by Los Angeles, which never trailed.

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Lakers beat Mavericks on the road

2008-11-12T00:38:00.000-08:00

By JAIME ARON, AP Sports Writer - November 12, 2008

DALLAS (AP)—Down after one quarter, two and even three, the Los Angeles Lakers found themselves in an unfamiliar place.

Yet even with the Dallas Mavericks getting terrific games out of Jason Kidd and Erick Dampier, Kobe Bryant and friends found a way to pull out another one.

Trevor Ariza turned an offensive rebound into an emphatic, go-ahead dunk early in the fourth quarter and added an equally emphatic block in the final minute to help the Lakers pull out a 106-99 victory over the Mavericks on Tuesday night. Los Angeles improved to 6-0, its best start since going 7-0 in 2001-02—which also was the last time the Lakers won the championship.

Lakers beat Rockets, 111-82, for its 5th straight win

2008-11-10T00:32:00.000-08:00

By JOHN NADEL, AP Sports Writer - November 10, 2008

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Shocking as it might sound, the Los Angeles Lakers broke out of a shooting slump Sunday night.

Shocking because they haven’t lost a game so far this season.

Kobe Bryant scored 23 points, Pau Gasol added 20 points, 15 rebounds and three blocked shots, and the Lakers shot 65.8 percent in the second half in a 111-82 victory over the Houston Rockets.

Jordan Farmar added 16 points and six assists, and Andrew Bynum had 13 points, seven rebounds and three blocks for the Lakers (5-0), who trailed by 16 points early in the second quarter.

Lakers routed the Clippers again, 106-88

2008-11-06T00:08:00.000-08:00

By JOHN NADEL, AP Sports Writer - November 6, 2008

LOS ANGELES (AP)—The winless Los Angeles Clippers were giving the unbeaten Los Angeles Lakers all they could handle until they took a fourth-quarter lead.

Suddenly, the game turned.

Kobe Bryant scored 27 points, and the Lakers used a late 22-0 run to beat the Clippers 106-88 Wednesday night, giving them six straight wins over their crosstown rivals.

Lakers beats Nuggets, 104-97, for its third straight win

2008-11-02T00:04:00.000-07:00

By ARNIE STAPLETON, AP Sports Writer - November 2, 2008

DENVER (AP)—This was not exactly the new look Carmelo Anthony was talking about.

Kobe Bryant scored 33 points and the Los Angeles Lakers nearly became the first team in three years to hold Anthony to single digits in a 104-97 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Saturday night.

Anthony, who declared last month, “You will see a different me,” this season thanks to a focus on defense, finally found his rhythm in the fourth quarter, but that’s when Bryant scored 14 points to fend off the fatigued Nuggets.

Lakers now 2-0 with 117-79 win against Clippers

2008-10-30T23:58:00.000-07:00

By KEN PETERS, AP Sports Writer - October 30, 2008

LOS ANGELES (AP)—Kobe Bryant had 16 points and eight rebounds, Andrew Bynum added 12 points and nine rebounds, and the Lakers spoiled the Clippers season opener with a 117-79 rout Wednesday night.

The Lakers began their season with a similar blowout a night earlier, breezing to a 96-76 win at home against Portland on Tuesday.

As they did against the Trail Blazers, the Lakers got deep and balanced scoring and played scrappy defense. They held the Clippers to 38 percent shooting while shooting 51 percent themselves.

Lakers routed the Blazers 96-76 to open the season

2008-10-29T23:51:00.000-07:00

By KEN PETERS, AP Sports Writer - October 29, 2008

LOS ANGELES (AP)— Kobe Bryant had 23 points, 11 rebounds and five assists Tuesday night, leading the Los Angeles to a 96-76 season-opening victory over the Portland Trail Blazers and spoiling rookie Greg Oden's debut, which was cut short by another injury.

Bryant orchestrated a well-balanced offense for the Lakers, who also played tenacious defense.

Pau had all of his 15 points in the first half as Los Angeles moved in front to stay. Trevor Ariz added 11 points and Andrew Bynum, back after sitting out the last part of last season with a knee injury, had eight points and three rebounds.