Los Angeles Lakers

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) Herald Weak effort beneath Celtics Lakers drop 2nd straight Globe Lakers hear it in loss It’s tough to defend Celtics’ play Celtics 17 Ray Allen Contributing to the Welfare of the Greater Good Celtics Hub How Does Pace Really Work?

By dberri Jordan Farmar [2007-08]: 0.111 WP48 What of the other players on the Lakers? PG: Derek Fisher [199 Minutes, -0.024 WP48] PF: Pau Gasol [injured] C: Andrew Bynum [200 Minutes, 0.181 WP48] PG: Jordan Farmar [199 Minutes, 0.063 WP48] SG: Sasha Vujacic [55 Minutes, 0.048 WP48]

LeBron James won't rule out playing for the Clippers or any other team.Kevin Durant missed some big shots that could have sealed a win against the Lakers, and an emerging commitment to defense played a role. Darnell Mayberry of the Oklahoman: "Although Durant wouldn’t use it as an excuse Th...

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) Celtics 105, 76ers 74 Celtics, 105-74 CelticsBlog Philadelphia 74ers Boston Celtics Blog - A glance at the free-agent class of 2010 Boston Celtics Blog - Defense, bench, Rondo show way Live Blog: Celtics at 76ers Perkins: Bulls' Look The Same Fast break: Celtics-Sixers

By dberri Although Phoenix was on top of the West, it was clear in February of 2008 that the reign of the Suns was going to soon end.  The Lakers had just traded for Pau Gasol, and this move was likely going to send the Lakers to the top of the conference.  In response to this move, the Suns sent Shawn Marion t...

By J.E. Skeets Mary Schmitt Boyer, The Plain Dealer: "Shaquille O'Neal raised a few eyebrows after practice Thursday by declaring this Cavaliers team 'the best team I've ever played on. On paper, anyway.' Some might take the 1999-2000 NBA champion Lakers with Bryant, Glen Rice, Robert Horry(notes), R...

By J.E. Skeets Mary Schmitt Boyer, The Plain Dealer: "Shaquille O'Neal raised a few eyebrows after practice Thursday by declaring this Cavaliers team 'the best team I've ever played on. On paper, anyway.' Some might take the 1999-2000 NBA champion Lakers with Bryant, Glen Rice, Robert Horry(notes), R...

By feltbot I left Shannon Brown out of my Lakers/Spurs analysis, which may prove to be a mistake.  He can give the Lakers a strong defensive presence at the point, which is currently their Achilles heel on defense.  I would not be at all surprised to see him beat out Farmar before the end of the season.  I’m...

By dberri Reviewing the Lakers PG: Derek Fisher [2.6Wins Produced, 0.051 WP48] C: Andrew Bynum [4.8 Wins Produced, 0.158 WP48] PG: Jordan Farmar [-0.9 Wins Produced, -0.035 WP48] SG: Sasha Vujacic [2.7 Wins Produced, 0.099 WP48] What About Bynum? Mathletics, Kobe, and Odom

By dberri Table One: Denver Nuggets in 2008-09 Of these ten players, eight were with the Nuggets last season.  And the new players – Afflalo and Allen – produced -0.4 wins last season.  So again, Denver’s success this season is going to depend upon the players Denver is returning.

By Eddie Johnson The Lakers have been one of the most dominant forces in the Western Conference for decades and the last few days tell you why. When it looks like this franchise might be on an elevator going down, they find a way to re-direct it back up again. A few years ago the Lakers were fighting to [...] The Laker...

By dberri It all began when the Lakers acquired Pau Gasol.  At the time Andrew Bynum was still hurt.  But I argued that once Bynum was healthy, the Lakers with Kobe Bryant, Gasol, Bynum (as well as Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom), would be the favorites to win the NBA title.  That was my argument in the midst o...

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Though this apparently has not received nearly as much coverage as his original comment did, Lakers legend Jerry West has backed off of his statement that James has passed Bryant as the best player in the NBA; West told interviewer Jim Rome, "I said something that I wish I wouldn't have said, to be honest with you, because it was in no way demeaning to Kobe Bryant. I love his passion. I want him to win a championship without Shaquille O'Neal because I think it would vindicate him in some respect. If I had to watch a player play, there's about four players I would pay to see play on a regular basis, and Kobe Bryant certainly would be at the top of that list. Late in the game, who are you going to take to make a shot, who are you going to take in the last quarter o...   [read the full post]

By Tatum Gia Where are we? It tugs at your heartstrings to see our Purple and Gold clad warriors so down, but it really isn’t hard for them to beat the Nuggets, and it’s actually quite frustrating that the Lakers’ won’t just make the necessary adjustments and play to their full potential.

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) Lee used 30 cameras to track a day in the life of the 2008 NBA MVP--specifically, April 13, 2008, when Bryant's Lakers defeated the defending NBA champion San Antonio Spurs 106-85, the third of four straight victories to close out the season and clinch the top overall record in the Western Conference. Despite not playing in the fourth quarter due to the comfortable lead, Bryant tied Tony Parker for game-high honors in points (20) and assists (five)--and you can rest assured that if the Lakers had lost this game or the preceding game (versus Chris Paul's New Orleans Hornets, a contest that was billed as a battle not only for the best record in the West but also for league MVP honors) then plenty of people would have decided that those were the "...   [read the full post]

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) 1) While discussing the Lakers' toughness (or lack thereof), Jeff Van Gundy mentioned the recent Sports Illustrated article about Dwight Howard. Someone asked Kobe Bryant if he would have let Nate Robinson jump over him in the Slam Dunk Contest the way that Howard did; Van Gundy cleaned up the language while noting that Bryant responded very firmly that he would not have done that. Some people question if Howard is too nice to lead a team to a championship. No one harbors such doubts about Bryant, though Bryant is not certain that the Lakers are mean enough or angry enough to win the title. Is it really necessary to be mean and/or angry to be a champion? What do those traits represent in the context of winning basketball games?   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) Dwyane Wade has forced his way into the MVP conversation with his scoring, passing and defensive exploits since the All-Star Game. Assuming that Wade's scoring average does not drop, LeBron James will need to average about 33 ppg in the last 15 games to pass him; Wade has obviously not clinched the crown just yet, but he is in pretty good shape unless he closes out the season with 10 or 15 point outings. Kobe Bryant has been averaging more than 31 ppg since Andrew Bynum got hurt but he only had 11 points in the Lakers' loss to the 76ers and it does not look like he is poised to score the 33-34 ppg he would need to score down the stretch to pass Wade, particularly since Lakers' Coach Phil Jackson has spoken openly of possibly resting Bryant and Pau Gasol...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) 1) L.A. Lakers (44-10): The Lakers own the best record in the NBA and have kept rolling along even after starting center Andrew Bynum suffered a knee injury that may end his season. Kobe Bryant leads the Lakers in scoring (27.4 ppg) and assists (5.0 apg) while averaging 5.5 rpg and is thus on track to post his seventh "25-5-5" season, which would tie him with Michael Jordan for second on the all-time list behind Oscar Robertson, who had nine "25-5-5" campaigns. Perhaps the most overlooked aspect about the Lakers' success last season and so far this season is how much Pau Gasol has benefited from playing alongside Bryant. In Memphis, Gasol was the primary offensive option and thus had to deal with double teams on a nightly basis but in L.A. he often gets t...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(Doc319@yahoo.com) On the other hand, Pau Gasol has played the most efficient basketball of his career in L.A., Bynum's game has grown by leaps and bounds, Trevor Ariza's play has stepped up since becoming a Laker, Sasha Vujacic and Jordan Farmar have markedly improved and you can go straight down the line: Bryant sets an example in terms of work ethic and his leadership has rubbed off on his team, particularly after the Lakers wisely got rid of some players who did not have the right attitude, work ethic or skill set to be rotation players on a good team, let alone starters (yes, that is a Kwame Brown/Smush Parker reference). Just this past summer we saw Bryant set the tone for a U.S. Olympic Team filled with All-Stars and All-NBA players--and we saw that when the gold...   [read the full post]

Some of Synergy Sports' fancy statistics are now on the EA Sports website. Synergy's stats are informing the tendencies of players in the video game, which is pretty amazing.You know about black swans? The idea is that if you see something really really rare, you notice, remember, and talk...

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) Also, according to the LA papers, the Lakers are obsessed with the Celtics. Vujacic refuses to wear green. They are sitting in their locker room rooting against the Celtics and getting upset when the Celtics win. The Celtics are in their heads. This was in today's LA Times:

By Doc319@yahoo.com (David Friedman) One of the biggest stories in the NBA this season has been the Lakers' improved defense but you wouldn't believe that if this was the only Lakers' game you've seen; during Laker Coach Phil Jackson's postgame standup, someone asked him what he did not like about the Lakers' defense versus Indiana and Jackson replied, "Everything." The Lakers led 88-86 when Bryant went to the bench with 2:07 remaining in the quarter. This time, the bench player performed well without him: Jordan Farmar scored on a drive to the hoop, then penetrated to the hoop and delivered a behind the back feed to Bynum for a dunk. Inspector Gadget--I mean Ariza--got a steal and a slam, Sasha Vujacic drilled a three pointer and Bynum scored a reverse dunk on an alley oop feed fr...   [read the full post]

By Elliott Teaford The Lakers didn't practice Saturday, so there's nothing new to report. There was quite a bit of reaction from Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom and Jordan Farmar after their first loss of the season Friday, however. Here's a copy of the... Jordan Farmar agreed that the Lakers' poor defense cost them.

By Massacre Between Pau and Kobe both varying their offense, the rest of the team running off the ball to a T at times and Phil doing a great job of rotation tonight, it’s no wonder why the Rockets looked frazzled throughout the entire second half.

By Kurt Records: Lakers 0-0 Trailblazers 0-0 Offensive ratings: Lakers NA Trailblazers NA Defensive ratings: Lakers NA Trailblazers NA Projected Starting Lineups: Lakers: Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Vladimir Radmanovic, Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum

By dberri It's important to remember, though, that this team only had Andrew Bynum for 35 games.  Furthermore they only had Pau Gasol for 27 contests.  This season the Lakers will probably have Bynum and Gasol the entire season (barring any injuries).  And this means the Lakers are very likely to win m...

By Massacre Following the Lakers to Vegas were the ever-dwindling Kings of Sacramento. At this moment in time, a good team for the Lakers to tune up against. But really Vladi played a solid game as the first 3 in the rotation. I’m sure next game will see all 3 of the bigs start but for his turn Radmanovic did ju...

By Andrew Ungvari The Lakers could trade Odom for Hinrich and the expiring contract of Cedric Simmons, or they could try to swing a three-way deal in which they get Artest and Hinrich, the Bulls get Odom, Kenny Thomas, and Jordan Farmar, and the Kings get Drew Gooden and Tyrus Thomas.

That same story also has a bit about how Richard Jefferson is a strong defender against Paul Pierce, which could help the Lakers in a potential rematch. If Mitch Kupchak or Phil Jackson give even one second to thinking about whether their third-best player, a guy they are considering tradi...

By noreply@blogger.com (David Friedman) The Celtics finished with the best record in the NBA (66-16), while the Lakers had the best record in perhaps the most competitive Western Conference race ever (57-25). The top two seeds have generally not both made it to the Finals in recent seasons but the Celtics and Lakers each vanquished tough foes to advance to the championship round, where Boston earned the right to hoist a 17th championship banner, denying Phil Jackson his 10th coaching title and Bryant his fourth ring as a player and in the process completing the one blank space on the Hall of Fame resumes of Garnett, Allen and 2008 Finals MVP Paul Pierce.   [read the full post]

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) Kobe Bryant: Lakers’ man of steal Celtics fans keep the faith CelticsBlog Celtics in 6 Lakers survive Celtics comeback, win game 5 Farmar steps up in game 5 USA Today Lakers' Gasol, Odom deliver in time of need Pierce does his job, but Celtics can't clinch Now real test comes for Kobe, Lakers LA Times Lonnie White's X's and O's for the Lakers-Celtics series Odom is key for the Lakers Lakers rise to the occasion to beat Celtics Lakers have a faint pulse Lakers still have desire Heroics just elude Celtics' Paul Pierce Tough Lakers hold off key Celtics Lakers look to Kobe to turn around series against the Celtics FanHouse James Posey: The new Robert Horry Courtside View No Hollywood ending Metro Back to Boston   [read the full post]

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) Curse the Celtics!! May their cockiness get the best of them!! Something inside tells me we win this game, we win this series. I think an angel is talking to me. Garnett has given at least 3 illegal screens in the 2nd half... Such BS The Boston Celtics lose to sasha vujacic and Kobe Bryant here at staples center.... There was no lakers tonight...there was 2 people....vs the Celtics! 2-1! Finally we beat Boston this season Great pic, all 5 Celtics in shock and awe. Pierce - sprained knee Perkins- sprained ankle Rondo - sprained ankle Cassell - sprained wrist PJ Brown - old age Celtics are in trouble. Discuss this topic on the Celtics Green Forums!]   [read the full post]

By noreply@blogger.com (FLCeltsFan) Paul Pierce puts hurt to LA Lakers Time’s right for Celtics Paul Pierce is proving incomparable for Celtics Globe Survivor Boston Celtics Survive Furious Laker Rally in Fourth Celtics hold on - Up 2-0 Celtics survive late Laker run to go up 2-0 Celtics hang on, open up 2-0 lead vs Lakers Lakers notebook game 2 Laker Nation vs NBA referees Ray Allen: Celtics will have to be better finishers in L.A. Benches play big roles for Celtics, Lakers Lakers forced to respect Celtics Perkins has a leg to stand on Time for Kobe to earn his MVP Expect Ray Allen to shore up Celtics' defense NBA Finals game 2: Or how Leon Powe destroyed the LA Lakers Sports of Boston Celtics fend off Lakers in the 4th NY Daily News Paul Pierce, not Kobe Bryant stealing spotlight   [read the full post]

By Andrew Ungvari With Game 1 of the NBA Finals in the books, I thought it was time for an NBA Finals edition of my News, Notes and Observations. Sam Cassell looked great with Derek Fisher guarding him. After he made three consecutive shots, the Lakers put Kobe Bryant on him and he wasn't heard from again until...

By Will Leitch History lesson: Famous Celtics who were a part of this rivalry include: Larry Bird, Bob Cousy, Dennis Johnson, John Havlicek, K.C. Jones, Sam Jones, Kevin McHale, Robert Parish and Bill Russell. The famous Lakers include: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Elgin Baylor, Wilt Chamberlain, Magic John...

Lakers vs. Celtics. Celtics vs. Lakers. I just watched both games, thanks to Synergy Sports. The first was November 23 in Boston, and the 10-1 Celtics beat the 7-5 Lakers 104-97. The second was December 30 in L.A., when the 26-3 Celtics beat the 19-11 Lakers 110-91.

By David Friedman(noreply@blogger.com) NBA Finals The first meeting was a 107-94 home win for Boston on November 23, 2007. That was the 12th game of the season for the Lakers (7-5) and the 11th game for the Celtics (10-1). Andrew Bynum--who is course out of action now due to a knee injury--had just moved into the starting lineup for the Lakers and he finished with four points on 2-7 shooting plus nine rebounds. Lamar Odom also shot 2-7 from the field. The Lakers were still putting their rotation together, as Ronny Turiaf started while Luke Walton and Vladimir Radmanovic came off of the bench. Bryant had a slightly subpar game, 28 points on 9-21 shooting plus four rebounds and three assists. This was the third game in four nights for the Lakers, all on the road. The Celtics had been home since a...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman(noreply@blogger.com) The Detroit Pistons beat the Orlando Magic 91-86 on Tuesday to win that series four games to one and thus advance to the Eastern Conference Finals for the sixth straight season. The Showtime Lakers from the 1980s are the most recent team to make it to the Conference Finals at least six years in a row (they did it from 1982-89), so this is quite an accomplishment for the Pistons. On the other hand, the Lakers did a much better job of taking advantage of those opportunities than the Pistons have: the Lakers made it to the Finals seven times and won four championships during their run while the Pistons have only made two Finals appearances and won just one title during their streak. Basically, the Pistons of the 2000s are like the Atlanta Braves of the...   [read the full post]

By Massacre Before I get into the hows and whats of the game though, remember this in your pre-panic phase. The Lakers have yet to truly be beaten in this series. Both of these dings on the Lakers’ otherwise perfect playoff record have come largely in part to the Lakers not taking care of business. There has...

By Crucifido Crucifido’s Corner: Lakers vs. Nuggets (Round 1 / Game 3 4/26/08) A Sharp Team-First Game Pushes The Lakers to A 3-0 Lead In came Game 3 and the Lakers looked more than ready for the challenge. The intensity the Lakers showed from the very first tip was exactly what they needed to show. Having a t...

By David Friedman Kobe Bryant passed early (six first quarter assists) and scored late (11 third quarter points) as the L.A. Lakers dismantled the Denver Nuggets 102-84 to take a 3-0 series lead. Bryant finished with game-high totals in points (22), assists (eight) and plus/minus (+21, tied with Derek Fisher) while tying for the team lead in rebounds (seven). He shot 9-19 from the field. Even more significant than Bryant's impressive numbers is the way that he controlled the game--and has controlled the entire series so far--with his scoring and passing; the Nuggets have tried several different defensive schemes but nothing they have done has stopped him individually or slowed down the Lakers collectively. Bryant simply reads the situation, shoots whe...   [read the full post]

Tonight, at 10:30 Eastern/7:30 Pacific, the Los Angeles Lakers will face the New Orleans Hornets in Tinseltown. Chris Paul is the insurgent. The new kid. The future that may or may not be here yet. And Kobe Bryant? He's the people's champ, even if he can't really jump over a car.

By David Friedman One victory against a mediocre Nets team is not enough to convince me that the Lakers are the favorites to win the Western Conference--but considering how dangerous the Lakers could be at times even when they consisted of little more than Bryant and four bystanders, it is obvious that this upgraded squad has the potential to do a lot of damage once the key players have an opportunity to jell as a unit. Maybe that will happen this season, maybe it will take an offseason and a full training camp to enable this team to reach its full potential but the days of Bryant trying to go big game hunting with butter knives are over--and that is not a pleasant thought for the other teams in the Western Conference.   [read the full post]

By David Friedman Here is what Triangle Offense architect Tex Winter told the L.A. Times : "The ball has to move, the players have to move. And when they don't, they start standing and watching Kobe. Kobe might get 50, but we still ain't going to win, or we'll have a tough time of it. It's a team concept. It's based on ball and player movement with a purpose. It's predicated on that, and if we don't have that, then we're not a very good team. Lamar (Odom) and Luke (Walton) really might be the key to this. They're going to have to hit the open shots. They're going to have to hit a good percentage of their shots, which they're not doing right now. They'll get better and more open shots if we play a team concept and move the basketball and go through with our cuts." Uninformed people try to...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman Paul Westhead, sometimes called the "guru of go" because of his love for fast break basketball, is the only person who has coached a championship team in the NBA (1980 Lakers) and the WNBA (2007 Mercury). I spoke with Westhead, who is currently an assistant coach with the Seattle Supersonics, prior to Seattle's 95-79 loss at Cleveland, after which I posted some of his thoughts about the WNBA and the development of Seattle rookie Kevin Durant. Westhead coached for nine years at LaSalle before becoming an assistant coach with the L.A. Lakers. After Coach Jack McKinney suffered a serious head injury, Westhead took over and guided the team to the 1980 title. Later, Westhead turned Loyola Marymount into a national power and made a brief return to t...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman The big difference that everyone can see with this year's team is that young center Andrew Bynum has turned into a legitimate double-double threat. A difference that is perhaps not as noticed by the casual fan but is also very important is the switch at starting point guard from the unreliable Smush Parker to the steady Derek Fisher, who played on three championship teams with Bryant. The Lakers' bench has played very well so far and was strengthened by the acquisition of Trevor Ariza, who adds length, athletic ability and defense. Will the bench maintain this level of play throughout the season? When--not if--injuries hit, can one or more of the bench players temporarily move into the starting lineup without the team suffering a drop in p...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman Kobe Bryant had 39 points, 11 rebounds, eight assists and two steals as the L.A. Lakers built a 25 point lead and held on to post a 95-90 victory over the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden. Early in the third quarter, Bryant scored the 20,000th point of his career, becoming the youngest player in NBA history to reach that milestone, beating Wilt Chamberlain by 12 days. Of course, Bryant got a head start by jumping straight from high school to the NBA, so Chamberlain still easily holds the record for reaching 20,000 points in the fewest number of games (499; it took Bryant 811 games). The Lakers finished their road trip with a 3-1 record, with the only loss coming Thursday night in Cleveland. After that game, Bryant vowed to go back to the gym and...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman The Lakers led 49-45 at halftime. Bryant and Vujacic each had 10 points. NBA TV's Frank Isola commented, "Kobe is not 100% yet with that groin injury. He's playing--and I think that a lot of other guys would take a week off--but this is Kobe Bryant, who loves to be out there." Despite Bryant's brief scoring burst early in the third quarter, the Bulls made a little run to tie the score at 58 before a Bryant turnaround jumper at the 7:26 mark put the Lakers up, 60-58. Those would be the last points that Bryant scored (he sat out the start of the fourth quarter, like he does in most games) but he found other ways to contribute: he got all three of his steals in the fourth quarter and the Lakers scored on the ensuing possession each time, including one sequence...   [read the full post]

By David Friedman There were many interesting storylines and subplots in this game. The Nuggets came in averaging 106.6 ppg (fourth in the NBA) and the Lakers were right behind them (106.1 ppg, fifth in the NBA), so the resulting shootout is hardly a surprise. However, as ESPN's Jon Barry noted, Denver should clearly be the superior team: "I don't think there's a more talented roster in the NBA." The Nuggets have a former MVP (Iverson), a perennial All-Star (Anthony), the reigning Defensive Player of the Year (Marcus Camby), a former number one overall draft pick (Kenyon Martin) and several other talented role players, yet something is clearly missing with this group. Even granting that Bryant is the best player in the league, the Nuggets have the deeper and m...   [read the full post]

By alleyoop PREDICTION:  The Lakers will win a game at home, but the Suns will win this series rather easily in 5 games. Tags: Front Page, Big Lakers News, Bloglockers, The NBA Playoffs, Lakers, NBA, Los Angeles Lakers, Kobe Bryant, pro basketball, Phil Jackson, basketball, LA Lakers