Lakers Week 6 Recap!

Dam Troy Murphy!

Lakers at Pacers

The Lakers hit the road against the Pacers kicking off a 3 game eastern road trip, 3 games in 4 nights after getting fat off some home cooking. The Pacers came in not having much to hang their hats on on the season but did notch an impressive victory over the defending Champs and did stay close with eastern contender Orlando until losing in overtime to them. The Lakers made it a habit of disposing mediocre teams but this night would be one to forget. A relatively close game was blown open by the Lakers by the end of the 3rd as they went on their patented 17-0 run to take a 101-86 lead going into the 4th. The lead was built to 19 points and thats when the Lakers hit the forgot to hit the snooze button. Danny Granger who had 32 and public enemy #1 Troy Murphy put in 16 points along with 17 rebounds slowly dissected the Lakers defense who had more holes then swiss cheese, led the Pacers all the way back to set up an unforgettable finish. With bench struggling and the lead dissapearing Phil put back his entire starting lineup the last 6 minutes of the game to try to preserve a Laker victory but momentum was on the Pacers bench. On the last play of the game with the Lakers up 117-116, Marquis Daniels drove baseline to the basket to miss a a reverse layup but Troy Murphy closed in quickly over the out-stretched hands of the Lakers defense to tip in the game winner as it danced around the rim seemingly forever and finally dropped in with no time remaining as the David slayed another Goliath. Kobe led the way for the Lakers with 28, Gasol contributed 20 and Trevor Ariza off the bench was spectacular with 13 and 3 steals.

Game Note:
Kobe finally became the second youngest player to score 22,000 points in his career after falling 15 points short against Toronto, he scored 16 in the first half vs. Indy to break it.

Game Quotes:
Danny Granger on the game winner: “That’s purely unbelievable, Troy is a monster on the boards. He gobbles up so many rebounds, and I’m glad he got it because I couldn’t get to it.”

...Every dog has his day!

Lakers at 76ers

After suffering their 2nd loss of the season and their first road loss, the Lakers didnt have much time to sit around and cry about it. They looked to get back on track against Elton Brand and the dissapointing 76ers. It also marked a homecoming for Kobe Bryant and what a show he put on. The game started off with a couple of runs as Philly built a double digit lead only to have the Lakers answer back with a run of their own in the first quarter. Vlad Rad got the Lakers started early with 11 quick points. From that point on, the Lakers had complete control of the game as Kobe razzled and dazzled the home crowd with some spectacular moves. He put in a game high 32 points and a sizzling 12-20 for the game. The Staples Centers, Pau and Andy Bynum contributed as Pau had 22 points and Bynum 18 points but only 3 rebounds. For the Sixers Andre Miller was a thorn on the Lakers side as he had 26 points and Andre Iguodala who put in 19. Elton Brand struggled through the whole as the Lakers defense keyed in on him, he had only 3 points on 1-7 shooting. The Lakers again build a 18 point lead to watch it trickle down to just 7 with under 3 minutes left to play, but Kobe answered that run with a dagger shot as he crossed over A.I. and nailed a perimeter jumper to put the game away to chants of MVP from a significant amount of Lakers fans in the crowd..the Lakers came out victorious and got back to their winning ways with a 114-102 win.

Game Quotes:
When asked about the Lakers recent defensive struggles, Phil in Phil fashion indirectly called out the team with, "We are what we are, I guess... A good offensive team."

Also when asked about his thoughts on Andrew Bynum's 3 rebounds in the contest, Phil responded, "Some of the guards outrebounded Andrew tonight"

And Andrew responded, "I might have gotten some [rebounds] the last six minutes, again," said Bynum, who left for good with 5:34 to play and the Lakers ahead, 99-88. "You never know until the fat lady sings and she sings for me a lot."

Lakers at Wizards

There was no better time to get back to improving that defense that has been lackadasical the last couple of games then against a 3-13 team as the Lakers played their 3rd game in 4 nights against former Laker Caron Butler and the Chicago Zephers or better known as the Washington Wizards. The Lakers started off to a quick 11 point lead as Pau Gasol & Andrew Bynum was invloved early and often. Kobe Bryant made the play of the night when he passed the ball to himself off the backboard and dished it out to Gasol for the assist. Gasol finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds and Bynum put in a season high with 19 points and grabbed 10 boards also. Vlad Rad put in 14 points on 5-8 shooting and Jordan Farmar off the bench contributed with 11. For the Wizards who sported their throwback Zephers uni's were led by Caron Butler who had 26, Antwan Jamison who had 15 and former USC star Nick Young who had 13 and a couple of key 3 pointers along with Andray Blatche who had 18 points and 12 rebounds off the bench. The Lakers build another huge lead up to 20 points only to hang on and win at the last second. Hanging on to a 1 point lead Kobe hit one of 2 freethrows with 12 seconds left to give the Lakers a 106-104 lead. Lakers nation let out a sigh of relief when Caron Butler's 3 point attempt to win the game fell short at the buzzer as the Lakers hung on.

Game Quotes:
Phil Jackson assessing himself, “Poor coaching... That’s what it was tonight. Putting too much trust and faith in a younger group—a second unit. They just can’t hold it on the road. They can’t withstand the fury or the intensity of the fourth quarter. I’m going to have to change it up a little bit.”

D. Fish on sub-par defensive play of late, "The great defensive teams are not only the ones that are great on on-ball defense, but it's really those four guys behind the guy guarding the ball that make the difference... We're still improving in that area."

Caron Butler chatting with Kobe in the closing seconds, “I was messing with him... I went and walked up to him and said, ‘Man, gimme one.”’

Caron on going for the win rather then play for overtime, “Nah, you know, I thought I took it just in time, because—clean look, and if it went in, game was over. You didn’t want it to be one of those situations in which the shot goes in, you’ve got a second left, and the best closer in basketball is at the other end, you know, asking for the ball... So it was like one of those situations—you want the time to run out and hit the shot and run to the locker room with your hands up.”

Bucks at Lakers

The Lakers ended the week returning home to face another less then average eastern conference team. Hopeful the Lakers defense would put out a better showing, the Bucks were the perfect sacrifical lamb. A sloppy first half saw both teams being held to under 40% shooting but saw the Lakers with a 12 point lead at the half. The 3rd quarter saw the Lakers take control as usual as their offense improved while the Bucks still couldnt find the basket. Despite the Lakers shooting woes, Derek Fisher was outstanding with 19 points on 7-10 shooting, Kobe had 20 points and 8 assists and Any Bynum had 14 points and 14 rebounds. For the Bucks their bench contributed most of their offensive scoring led by for UCLA stand out Luc Richard Mbah a Mute who had 14 points, Charlie Villanueva had 12 and Joe Alexander who had 15 points. Kobe and the Lakers defense held Bucks star Michael Redd to only 2 points on 1-6 shooting. The true test for the Lakers was what they would do with a big lead going into the 4th which at one point reached to 27 points. Although the Lakers did let the lead dwindle down to 12 it was different from previous games as they was no danger for loosing this lead. In garbage time Sun Yue made his debut with a clean sta-line of 4 points, 4 fouls in 5 minutes!

Game Quotes:
Phil after the Lakers struggles offensively, "Tex (Winters) is foaming at the mouth down there in the coaches' office right now... He wanted his money back at halftime. Now he wants to make sure that we take the triangle offense out of any connection with him."

D-Fish on why the Lakers are blowing...

Leads that is...

Despite going 3-1 this week the Lakers left very little desired for as far as their defensive efforts and tendencies to ease off are concerned. He reflected back to Game 4 of the Finals last year after the Lakers blew a 24 point lead, "That was a window of opportunity to be champions, to take that series to 2-2 with the fifth game on our home court... We did the same thing that we're starting to do now -- allow teams to get back into a game by executing poorly on offense, turning the ball over, taking poor shots and becoming porous on defense. I just wanted to kind of remind us that if we want to get back to that point, we have to correct this now."

This is the point that I have been trying to make, the Lakers can't allow themselvs to form bad habits. Game 4 last year was a pivotal turning point in the series. Despite the 17-2 mark, the Lakers have to hold themselves to a higher standard because of what Boston is doing right now also. There is no doubt in my mind that Lakers and Celtics will meet in the finals again, the question is who will be better prepared. Its good to take care of bad habits early then let this become a tendency or a trend.

Lamar to lead Bench Mob

After the erratic play of the bench of late on the recent road trip and last night against Milwaukee, Phil has asked Lamar Odom to step into the role of Paul Revere to the Minutemen. Phil is concerned that the younger bench players are going in looking to polish up on their statline and not play within the scope of the game.

"I've asked Lamar to take a bigger leadership role," the Lakers coach said Sunday. "I kind of called him out on it, pointed out to him in the second half of the game the other night about his leadership on the floor [Friday against Washington].

"I know he's got some wild guys out there with him at times and it's hard. . . . It's tough for me, let alone Lamar. We've had guys that come in and at times are looking to either pad their scoring average or try to play the up-tempo game when it's not the right time," Jackson said. "On the road, they've got to learn how to slow it down and exercise the options the offense gives . . . instead of just doing it off their speed and quickness and dribbling acumen."

Lakers coaches downplay the possibility of 70 wins

Doesnt seem like the coaching staff has any expectations for the Lakers to eclipse the Chicago Bulls 72-10 mark set back in 1996. Lakers assistant coach Jim Cleamons who was a part of the Lakers 1972 team which initially set the single season win total record at 69 wins and was a coach on the Bulls team that broke it stated, "The team, as we sit right now, it's not mature enough to win that amount of games," Cleamons said emphatically. "It's about talent on one hand, but it's about maturity on the other hand. The team that won 72, that team had been together." Phil also seems to think the Lakers wont reach 70 due to travel as they will play 13 games in the eastern time zone although the 71-72 team played 22 games.

I suspect the reason for the pessimism is to keep the team grounded and not to try to set too many high goals so they can focus on better preparing for the stretch run and the playoffs, more focused on what they need to do. I just wonder it comes to fruition would the coaches let the guys go after the record?

Former Laker Arrested

Corie Blount was arrested and charged with felony drug possession after authorities caught him picking up a package of marijuana. They later confiscated total of 29 pounds of marijuana, a 1996 Mercedes Benz, a 2004 Cadillac Escalade, a 2000 Chevrolet Sububan, three guns and $29,500 in cash. Blount was a volunteer coach this season at Cincinnati State and earned a degree this year in criminal justice. Define Irony?

Week 7 Preview

The Lakers hit the road tomorrow as they take on the lowly Sacramento Queens (it always feels good saying that), the Kings are 5-16 and have lost 8 in a row but you know the cow bells and red necks will be out in full force. The Lakers return home the following night to face the Phoenix Suns as Shaq makes his return to Staples Center for the first time in almost 2 years and on a Western Conference team. we get to see the Queens again on Friday night and end the week at home vs. Minnesota with new head coach Kevin McHale or better known as Kevin McFail.

Sources:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/

Written By VicDaRuler
CBS Spoortsline community member

LAkers Week 5 Recap

14-1 and oh so fun!

Nets at Lakers

The Lakers welcomed the New Jersey soon to be Brooklyn Nets in town as they continued their homestand and continued to polish their sparkling 11-1 record. A close game turned into another blow out for the Lakers as they took control of a 70-66 game in the 3rd. After a dismal defensive effort against the Kings as they allowed more dribble penetration then Dennis Rodman on Carmen Elektra, the Lakers went back to basics on the defensive end against the Nets. Pau Gasol used and abused the opposing Nets defenders as he poured in 26 points and 8 rebounds and sat out the 4th. Andrew Bynum put in 15 points but was plagued with foul trouble. The Bench Mob was big again as Jordan Farmar led the way with 18 points along with Lamar Odom with 13. Kobe had a night to forget as he went 5-17 for only 12 points but as the Lakers have shown all year they are no longer a one trick pony as the rest of the team was able to pick up for Kobe's ineffectiveness. For the Nets, Devin Harris who was acquired last year from Dallas in the deal that sent Jason Kidd to them, had a solid game scoring 21 points and dishing out 6 assists, Rookie Brooks Lopez put in a solid effort with 17 points and 10 rebounds. The Lakers bench outscored the Nets reserves 56-19 as they routed the Nets 120-93.

Game Notes:

Yi Jianlian with a 3 point make in last nights game is now 23-57 from beyond the arc for his career

The Lakers are 7-6 vs the Nets since they met in the Finals back in 2002.

Game Quotes:

Vince Carter on the Lakers bench, Carter said, “Their bench was tremendous... I thought their second unit was the difference. If you do not match their energy and play your 'A' game, you will not beat this team—especially here.”

Mavericks at Lakers

After a slow start for the Mavs, they came into the match riding a 5 game winning streak including a road victory over the Houston Rockets. They also came into the game without Josh Howard who was also side-lined the previous 4 games. The game took a franatic pace with both teams holding double digit leads. The Mavs overcame an early Lakers 10 point lead to take their own double digit lead and went into the half leading the Lakers 57-51. They build the lead to as much as 13 points midway into the 3rd quarter before the Lakers kicked into high gear and overtook the game. Another solid defensive effort in the second half helped the Lakers overcome the deficit and en route to a 114-107 victory. Kobe bounced back after a poor performance against the Nets as he had 35 points on 14-26 shooting. Derek Fisher also had a good shooting night contributing with 19 points on 8-14 shooting. Andy Bynum had another solid game with 18 points and 10 rebounds despite playing with some pain from a bone spur in his right foot. Trevor Ariza was a spark off the bench and fueled the rally with 15 points. For the Mavs Jason Terry led the way with 29 points, Dirk had 19 and Jason Kidd finished with 12 points, 11 assists and 8 rebounds.

Game Notes:

The Lakers recorded just 8 fouls against the Mavs, the fewest by the franchise since 1960-61 season.

Game Quotes:

Lamar Odom on the Lakers play, "Some games you're going to get beat... Like against Detroit, we didn't play well enough and they took advantage of us not playing well enough and, boom, beat us. So, if we come out flat, other teams should try to take advantage of it and stomp us out. If they don't. ... Boom(smacking his fist into his palm)."

...Boom! Outta here!

Raptors at Lakers

Lakers looked to get even fatter Sunday night and it wasnt from the Thanksgiving turkey, looking to end the month of November with a league best 14-1 record. The Raptors were in town and whenever the Raptors are in town one can only think back to Kobe's 81 a couple years back. The game started off with the same trend the others did, a relatively close game turning into yet another lopsided victory. The Lakers looked to take advantage of the Raptors as they played without Jermaine O'Neal by utilizing Andrew Bynum often. Bynum responded matching his best output of the season with 18 points and 10 rebounds. Kobe also had an effecient night with 23 points and matched his assist high of the season with 7. Pau Gasol was key with 24 points and Trevor Ariza off the bench put in 14 points. The Raptors were lead by Anthony Parker who had 19 points including 4-6 from downtown and Jose Calderon who had 12 points and a12 assists. The Lakers held Kobe's Olympian teammate in check with only 12 points on 4-13 shooting. A 6 point games turned into a 19 point Lakers lead in the 4th as they were able to rest Kobe and the starters for the rest of the game, the Lakers went on to win the game by a final of 112-99.

Game Notes:

Kobe fell 15 points shy of becoming the fastest player to reach 22,000 career points breaking Wilt Chamberlains record.

Game Quotes:

Phil on Kobe's missed record, Jackson said, "Somebody put in the paper that Kobe needed 38 points tonight to be the youngest player to ever reach that particular thing. I mean, that was like putting a carrot in front of a donkey... That could really mess up the game for us tonight."

...Carrots! Yuck!

Thank Rambis

The reason for the Lakers tenacious defense this season can be directly attributed to Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis convincing Phil to run more zone oriented defenses to push the ball to one side. The results although inconsistent but dramatically improved has been the Lakers new found emphasis on team defense. This has also resulted in teams taking low percentage shots and nothing easy inside, this has also lead the way for the Lakers to gamble more as far as intercepting the passing lanes resulting in more steals and the Lakers are the best in the league in that category averaging 10.4 steals per game.

Unlike Boston who threw a parade for their defensive guru, assistant coach Tom Thibodeau who got significant credit for his defensive philosophy in containing the Lakers in the Finals, Coach Rambis did his under the radar in a workmans type of approach. Per Phil, "We didn't want to announce it and make a big deal about it like Boston did with their guy," Jackson said. "But Kurt is real good at this and he's willing."....gloves are off man, lets see who's defense can hold the other!

Kobe who?

If you've noticed, Kobe's overall numbers have been down but thats not because of declining talent, its been because of a great supporting cast who has shined brighter then Kobe's star himself. Kobe's minutes have decreased significantly from 38.9 minutes to 33.3 minutes a game this season.

Lamar Odom said, "We're a deep team... I think he knows that. Kobe is a tough competitor. He's going to compete. We all know that he's going to try and score. If he's off, of course we're going to pick up the slack."

Gone are the days of Smush Parker, Kwame Brown and Brian Cook! Sigh!!

Phil on Guns

Phil Jackson in the wake of the Plaxico Buress gun incident, who is pretty vocal against guns, didnt have to worry too much on making his players more aware of guns... "I haven't talked about it in the last couple of years... The NBA has stepped up and talked about it. Their (security) department has talked about it with the players. They certainly got a lesson this weekend that ought to make them alert."

Only guns I have to worry about are these disguised as my arms!

Lamar on a new game

After being asked about his points per game this season and his overall production given its a contract year..."The game is called basketball, not shoot," Odom said. "You can play a complete basketball game without shooting a lot of shots. There aren't too many guys that can do it, I just happen to be one of them."

Hitting the Road

The Lakers will hit their first eastern road swing of the year starting tonight. The Lakers look to keep the same philosophy on the road, Lamar Odom, "(Going on the road) won't be different for us. We'll come out and do the same thing, try and play a defensive game at first, make teams uncomfortable and try to wear them down."

Phil Jackson said, "The tempo of the game changes (on the road)... There is more control and we have to be more concerned about things. We have to be more concerned about controlling the game with fewer turnovers, less fouls and for less opportunities for our opponents to win."

The Bench Mob has been great this season and hopefully can continue their dynamic play on the road. Phil touched on what the bench has to bring playing outside the friendly confines of Staples, Jackson said, "They have to be able to execute in the half-court game.. That's what we're really working with this young group at. Runs are good, transition defense, steals -- all those things. They are exploding the game a little bit with their higher-pace game. But then when that pace is over and they're into that half-court, we have to be able to execute."

The Lakers did finish 27-14 on the road last season, 2nd best in the league behind the Celtics and are currently 5-0.

Week 6 Preview

Tonight starts off a 3 game eastern road swing against those giant killers, the Indiana Pacers, who earlier this season routed the Boston Celtics followed by Elton Brand and the Sixers tomorrow night capping off the back to back. The trip ends with the Wizards in D.C. The Lakers return home to finish off the week vs. the Bucks. The Lakers should win the week but have generally had some let down losses last year with these types of road swings. The Lakers are 2 wins away from matching their best 16 game start ever.

Sources:
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/
http://www.dailynews.com/lakers

Written By VicDaRuler
CBS Spoortsline community member

Lakers Week 4 Recap

Can we please replay the Detroit game??? 4 weeks in and the Lakers sitting pretty at 11-1...

Bulls at Lakers
After suffering their first loss of the season the Lakers looked to get back to their winning ways with stand out rookie Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls in town. Pau Gasol got involved early and often as the Spaniard scored 16 of his game high 34 points in the first quarter alone. The Lakers pounded the ball inside as Andrew Bynum showed his best outing of the season with 18 points, 9 rebounds and 3 blocks as the Lakers built a 20 plus point lead. Ben Gordon in a losing effort also put in 23 points. Kobe added 21 points along with Lamar Odom who had 10 and Jordan Farmar with 12. The Lakers played stellar defense for intervals of the game but were not consistent enough to keep the Bulls under 100 points and get the Staples crowd free tacos. The Lakers had 11 blocks in the game and held the Bulls to 43% shooting but were out-rebounded 48-43. Despite a couple of runs by the Bulls fueled by rookie sensation Derrick Rose who added 25 points and 9 assists coupled with some defensive lapses by the Lakers, the Bulls couldnt overcome as the Lakers won the game 116-109. Next up for the Lakers was a Pacific Division showdown in Phoenix.

Game Quotes:
Sasha Vujacic and Trevor Ariza got into a heated exchange during the game but cooler heads prevailed, both stated it was no big deal, just 2 competitive players being competitive. Trevor was asked who his favorite teammate was and Lakers assistant coach Brian Shaw interjected with an emphatic "Sasha", Trevor smiled and agreed...

The Machine is also my favorite but who is his BFF?(click to find out!)

Lakers at Suns
There is really no need to hype up any Lakers vs. Suns matchups but former Laker Shaq made some news in the week building up to the game by stating he would be open to a possible return to the Lakers after he is done in Phoenix to a Sacramento Bee reporter. Umm thanks but no thanks...The game itself would be yet another real test as the Lakers sought out to make a statement. The Lakers turned what was a close game for about a quarter and a half into a laugher yet again against yet again another supposed Western elite. The star of the game turned out to be Space Cadet Vlad Rad himself as he was finally able to get on track draining some back breaking 3's to help sustain a double digit Laker lead in the second half of the game. The Lakers bench was also was stellar as usual as they outscored the Phoenix bench (who played w/o Leanardo Barbosa as was back home after the loss of his mother) 42-30. Lamar Odom led the charge off the bench with 13 points and 9 rebounds, Kobe added 24 but game hero Vlad Rad had 15 points going 5-5 from beyond the arc. For the Suns Amarie Stoudamire led them with 21 points, Shaq put in a respectable 15 points and 9 rebounds but the Lakers defense held Steve Nash to just 8 points on 3-9 shooting. The Lakers cruised to a 105-92 victory.

Game Quotes:
Kobe played very little in the 4th quarter as the Lakers were well ahead, he touched on his minutes, Bryant said, “I was telling Luke (Walton) about 10 minutes ago that this might be the first season I average 31 minutes because we’ve been blowing people out.. I’ve been sitting the whole fourth quarter. That’s pretty amazing.”

...Black Mamba shall be well rested when the playoffs roll around.

Shaq on running into the Bryant family at a restaurant..."If I see him and his family in a restaurant, it's, 'Hello Mr. Bryant, hello Ms. Bryant, hello little babies . . . "

O'Neal ended with, "I Like Babies, Get in Mah Belly!", just kidding, although it wouldnt shock me!

Nuggets at Lakers
After another victory vs. a West contender, the Lakers set back home on the back end of a back to back to welcome the new look Denver Nuggets who were 7-1 since acquiring Chauncey Billups from Detroit in exchange for Allen Iverson. This one would surely be a test...at least thats what it was supposed to be. The Nuggets proved to be no match for the Lakers as the Lakers jumped on them early and often. By halftime the Lakers built a 20 point lead and led 67-47. Kobe led the way with his best shooting performance of the season with 29 points going 12-18. Andy Bynum put in 13pts and 13 rebounds and even seldomly used Josh Powell came in and contributed with 3 block shots. The Nuggets chipped away at the Lakers lead but could never get over the hump, Chauncey Billups put in 15 points but the Lakers played stimy defense againts Carmelo Anthony and held him to just 10 points on 5-19 shooting. J.R Smith added 18 points off the bench for Denver but the Lakers rolled again, 104-90.

Game Quotes:
Chauncey on the Lakers and the loss, Billups said, "We're still playing good. We just had a tough night... That team is a really, really good team. . . . We just had a rough night. We're not going to let this one game stop what we've got going. We've got to wash that loss off in the shower and keep it moving."

...Try telling that to the Clippers, imagine how much soap they have gone through this season already.

Kings at Lakers
After solid wins over the Suns and the Nuggets on back to back nights, the Kings should'nt have been much trouble for the Lakers...but this is why you play the game...although not the same rivalry it once was, its still the Queens and its still fun beating them. Playing without leading scorer Kevin Martin, the Kings hoped to derail the Lakers train. The Lakers though forgot to play defense against the Kings, again they had an early lead but a 21-6 run fueled by Bobby Jackson who ended with 15 points cut the Lakers lead to just 4 points. The Lakers lack of defense was overshadowed by a brilliant offensive game for the Lakers. The Kings couldnt continue the run as the Lakers put a fork in them with a 118-110 victory. The Lakers committed 18 TO's that led to 30 points for the Suns. The Lakers offense though had 8 players in double figures including all the starters. Kobe was Kobe matching his jersey number to the total of points he had. Andy Bynum had a solid game with 15 points and 10 rebounds, Lamar Odom off the bench had 14 points on 7-9 shooting. The Kings were lead by John Salmons who had 24, Bobby Brown (who wasnt humping around) off the bench contributed with 21 points.

Game Quotes:
Kobe on the Lakers lack luster win, Bryant said, “I’m not happy with this win. We could have played much more solid defensively... They did a good job getting out in transition. So from that aspect, we might have been a little worn down.”

...I'm chalking this up 3 games in 4 nights.

Phil rememebering the Queens days, referencing Fox's notorious fight with Kings guard Doug Christie on the floor and then in the tunnel during a preseason game, Jackson said, "I just saw Rick Fox and it immediately flashed in my mind. It's Sacramento and there's Rick."

After being poked in the eye in the prior game, Vlad Rad sported orange tinted goggles, he paid omage to Kurt Rambis, Radmanovic joked, "I'm going with the throwback Kurt Rambis look tonight... Superman is back for tonight."

...When I saw those, I thought Vlad Rad was about to hit the slopes again!

Random Thoughts with Shaq
Let by-gones be by-gones I guess, Shaq did some smooching prior to the Phoenix game touching on his comments about Phil (saying they were taken out of context) being the main culprit for not easing tension between Kobe and Shaq to his thoughts on the Lakers. In regards to Phil, "On the record, Phil has always done right by me and we had a pretty good relationship," O'Neal continued. "We won (three consecutive) championships. It would be idiotic of me to say something bad about him." But that obviously didnt stop Shaq before, I guess its that easy to ridicule and bad mouth a former coach, teammate, team and city and then brush it off as a joke...oh thats just Shaq being Shaq!

Phil did actually agree though that Shaq may have been misquoted, "I had no doubt that [article] was something out of context, or whatever," Jackson said. "We had a great time. We had a great run for four years, five years."

Phil touched on what could have been, "It was purely an economic situation with our owner," Jackson said. "It wasn't about personalities. He voiced some speculation about a (lower) salary, which Shaq eventually accepted in Miami. I think if he had done that in L.A., he probably would still be there... I think the owner had every intention of restructuring Shaq's contract and keeping Kobe"

I guess we'll never know!

Shaq also touched on his former team a bit praising them...on his thoughts on Kobe as a player now and the Lakers overall, O'Neal said, "They are the best team... They are 9-1. They are playing pretty good. Kobe is playing excellent ball, keeping everybody involved. He's got a lot of shooters around. They are a very dangerous team... They are probably the best team in the West right now."

He was also asked if thats how he wished Kobe would have played when they were togerther, "He's playing excellent ball... I can't say anything bad about him now."

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

Okay, its nice to hear all these great things Shaq has said about the Lakers for a change but why does this seem like an future audition to get back into the good graces of the Lakers. But I'll give him the benefit of the doubt, if Kobe can reform then so can Shaq, I just hope he is sincere in this. Players or for that matter people in general can mature after they come to the realization of their mistakes, dont know if Shaq has reached this point yet but he's on the right track. I guess what I'm waiting for is also an admission or an acknowledgement that maybe he also along with Kobe and Phil had a little something to do with the break-up. Sure its all fun and dandy for him looking back at it but those were some tense times and it jeopradized the Lakers chances of being an immortal dynasty and it screwed us fans out of bragging rights till the end of our lifetime...Well whats done is done, and I hope that Shaq can finally move on now and us Lakers fans are grateful to him for helping us win those 3 titles but at the same time we are spiteful to him for screwing us out of 3 more possible titles. The question has been asked if Lakers fans would welcome him back, out of respect for the big fella the only thing of Shaq's that I want to welcome back is his jersey hanging on the walls of Staples alongside the other Laker greats, thats how I would like to remember him and not for the player he is now.

Week 5 Preview
Week 5 will mark the end of our current home-stand with 3 more games. New Jersey is next on the menu Tuesday night followed by the Mavs on ESPN the day after Thanksgiving and ends Sunday with a matchup against Chris Bosh and the Raptors. Week 6 kicks off a 3 game east coast road swing, so this week will be a chance to shine up the record a bit although I expect the Mavs and Raptors to give us some competition.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING EVERYONE!

Sources:
http://www.dailynews.com/lakers
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/lal;_ylt=Attadk62XPLSSs._ZHEYUKe8vLYF

Written By VicDaRuler

CBS Spoortsline community member

Lakers Week 3 Recap

Well looks like we have to settle for 81-1!


Lakers at Dallas
Coming off thier first real test of the season where the Lakers pounded the Houston Rockets, Week 3 kicked off a back to back starting in Dallas. Again the Lakers got off to a slow start and again the Lakers ended strong down the stretch. For 3 quarters the Lakers trailed the Mavericks and by double digits at one point. Jason Terry kicked off the first half with 17 points as the Mavs scored 60 points in the first half to take a 6 point lead. The Lakers then kicked it into high gear fueled by Trevor Ariza who had his best showing of the year and of course the 4th quarter meant Kobe time. Kobe scored 9 of his 27 and led the Lakers to a 106-99 victory as the Lakers only allowed only 39 points in the second half and held Mavs star Dirk Nowitzki to 5-17 shooting for only 14 points. Dirk's ineffectiveness was due in large part to Pau Gasol who added 22 points and 11 rebounds as the Lakers improved to 6-0. After the game Kobe was asked how Pau did in comparison to one of the top players in the world in Dirk Nowitzki, Kobe responded "Well last time I checked Pau Gasol is also one the top players in the world" Heres to the Spaniard!

Game Quote:
After an emphatic block by Trevor Ariza on Jerry Stackhouse, Said Ariza, "I hate when people score on me. I had to figure out a way to not foul him and not let him score, so I guess I just blocked it."

...when all else fails just block the shot!

Breaking News: Federal regulators have charged Mavs owner Mark Cuban with insider trading for allegedly using confidential information on a stock sale to avoid more than $750,000 in losses(click for more info).

Lakers at Hornets
The Lakers came into the 2nd night of a back to back against the Hornets hoping to remain the only undefeated team in the NBA as the Hawks were handed their first loss on a buzzer beater by Paul Pierce and the Celtics earlier that night. It didnt look like an easy task as they faced off against another potential threat to the Lakers Western Conference championship crown. Chris Paul and company were set to make a statement against the Lakers but instead it was the Lakers who put an exclamation mark on a statement of their own. The trend was reversed a bit as the Lakers jumped on the Hornets from the initial tip. Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant who had 20 points each got the Lakers started off early as the Lakers jumped to establish a lead as big as 23 points. But Chris Paul fueled a furious comeback as he continued to make history by scoring over 20 points and dishing out over 10 assists for the 7th straight game as he ended the game with 30 pts and 13 assists. Late in the 4th the Hornets cut the Lakers lead to just 3 points but a dagger 3 pointer by the Black Mamba on James Posey helped seal another victory for the Lakers. Andrew Bynum also had a terrific game as he had 4 blocks in the game. The Lakers improved to 7-0.

Game Note:
For as big of a matchup as this was, it baffles me that this was not on any national televised schedule. ESPN instead elected to show the Blazers at Miami...NBA needs a flex TV schedule

Game Quotes:
Kobe after draining a game clinching 3 pointer on former Celtics foe James Posey, Bryant said, "I just wanted to shoot it in his face... I knew I was due."
...take that Posey!

Phil on the how the Lakers finished down the stretch, "We sucked the joy out of a good victory..."
....can't argue with him there.

The Lakers hung to win this game and Phil wasn't too thrilled with Kobe's performance in the 4th beides the dagger shot, Jackson stated, "He was doing too much at the end of the ball game... We should have had him off ball a few times so it wasn't always him on ball. But he came through with the big shot that kind of clinched it."

Pistons at Lakers
The Lakers came into Friday nights contest as the only remaining undefeated team in the league but Allen Iverson & company wasn't impressed. The game also marked the return of our prodical son Kwame "Hands" Brown as he started the game for the Pistons. This game turned out to be the revenge of Kwame. Kwame notched a double double against his former team as he scored 10 points and grabbed 10 boards and played stellar defense helping the Pistons hand the Lakers their first loss of the year. Allen Iverson also had a great game with 25 points as he looks to have integrated nicely into the Pistons lineup. Rasheed Wallace also had a tremendous game as he also contributed with 25 points also and went 4-9 from beyond the arc. It also didnt help that the Lakers picked this game to have one of their worst shooting games of the year as they only shot 42%. Kobe put in 29 and Pau had 15 points but the Lakers couldnt get over the hump as the Pistons lead throughout the game and closed the door on the Lakers first loss of the season.

Game Quote:
Kwame Brown was booed often, but afterward he smiled and said, “They booed me when I was here.”
...some things never change ey Kwame!

Game Notes:
Kobe Bryant passed Larry Bird (21,791 points) for 23rd on the all-time scoring list, and then again in the fourth quarter when he passed Gary Payton (21,813 points) for 22nd.

Allen Iverson aslo made history as he passed Elgin Baylor (23,149 points) for 19th on the all-time list.

Blame Phil for the split of the dynasty
At least according to our favorite current resident of Phoenix, AZ. It seems like no matter what the Lakers and Shaquille O'Neal will never be at peace. The Big Shaqtus told the Sacramento Bee (for reasons I can't explain) that Phil Jackson could have intervened and brought the Shaq Kobe feud to an end but never did so.

"I think it was all designed by Phil... Because, if you think about it, Phil never called us into the office and said, Both of you, shut the (heck) up... Never did that in four years... He knew that when I read something, I was going to get upset. And he knew Kobe was going to always come out and play hard... So I think it was all done by design." ~ Shaq

How bout taking accountability for your own actions? Since when does another grown man have to tell other grown men (Kobe and Shaq) to cut it out, this isnt middle school. My take on it was that both Kobe and Shaq knew what kind of damage they were doing but both because of their inflated ego's weren't willing to back off. You cant blame Phil on this one Shaq. While Phil could have done something about it, he wouldnt have to if both Kobe and Shaq could have taken the mature approach and come to an understanding that this is bigger then them.

Shaq also said, "Now that I look back on it, that (stuff) was kind of fun," he said. "It really was. It was kind of fun. `What did he say, what did he say?' I tell people if we would have had a reality show, we'd have had the No. 1 reality show in the world. ''

Well Shaq, I'm glad you thought this was all fun cause it cost us 3 years of rebuilding when we could have been winning championships. Shaq also stated that he wouldn't rule out a possible return to the Lakers when he is a free agent in 2010...while I wouldnt completely shoot this down right away, lets see if Lakers fans would be so welcoming to you the second time around, this could be a plug for your next reality drama!

Byron Scott, a Laker again?
When asked if he would ever consider coming back home if the Lakers head coaching job was ever available, Lord Byron responded, "I'm going to be honest, yeah, I thought about it a lot," Scott said. "That's home for me. That's an organization that will be embedded in my heart for the rest of my life." While Byron praised his current employer he didnt rule out the possibility to return back to the franchise that he gave so much too and which returned the favor. "I love the situation I'm in now," Scott said. "I love this team . . . so I don't see myself leaving those guys any time soon...But I can't think of a more perfect job for me than this Hornet job that I have here," Scott said. "But my next choice would obviously be back home."

Hey Dr. Buss, I hope you're listening...if Phil ever calls if quits we know we have a worthy replacement for him.

Bynum to unleash the beast
Andrew Bynum dissapointed at his offensive performance so far has vowed to be more aggressive. Although he has been an obvious presence of defense, Andrew so far has been dissapointed in his offensive output only averaging 9.9 points per game. Look for the kid to do a little bit more offensively. I have to say, the more I read and hear about Andrew, the more impressed I am with him. To acknowledge this and to take the initiative to do something about it just shows that he is constantly willing to improve himself and you have to respect that aout this kid.

Bynum said, "I really haven't been attacking, so I'm going to start attacking on the block... Over all the games, I really haven't scored much on the block play... I'm just not being aggressive... I think I need to go out there and be aggressive and assert myself on the block. I don't think I've even scored with a post move yet this season."


Phil also has to give Andrew some freedom to operate a little and get him his chances, look for the beast to quench his hunger!

Injury Updates:

• Derek Fisher didn't participate in part of Sunday's practice because of injured ribs he suffered during Friday night's game against the Detroit Pistons.


• Vladimir Radmanovic suffered a left thigh contusion at the end of practice Sunday. His status is more uncertain. Look for Trevor Ariza to get the starting nod if Vlad Rad is unable to go.


• Sasha Vujacic, who has a sprained right ankle, practiced Sunday...this lingering injury kept him out most of the pre-season but should be okay for the coming week.

Week 4 Preview
The Lakers look to get back to their winning ways on Tuesday as they welcome Rookie of the Year candidate Derrick Rose and the Chicago Bulls to Staples. The Lakers then travel to Phoenix on Thursday to face division foes the Phoenix Suns for the first time this season (no worries I will have the Smack Talk Thread ready). Friday the Lakers return home to face a revamped Denver Nuggets team with Chauncey Billups and end the week on Sunday with a matchup with the Sacramento Kings.

Sources:
http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/teams/lal
http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/
http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_10990499

Written By VicDaRuler
CBS Spoortsline community member