Lakers

[Dr T]

I saw this on Fox sports tonight:

The Lakers' Kobe Bryant will earn another ring and Oklahoma City's Kevin Durant will seize the MVP award away from LeBron James.

Those are among the opinions of NBA general managers who voted in the ninth annual NBA.com GM survey, which was released Wednesday. Los Angeles was picked by 63 percent of the respondents to repeat as champions...

[Dr T]

My boys lost the first two preseason games. We lost to Barcelona in a back and fourth game. This will just give Kobe more time to heal and the new guys to get familiar with the team. GO LAKERS!

[Dr T]

My boys played the first preseason game on U.S. soil tonight. We played the Kings in Las Vegas. It looks like we had a good 3rd and a horrible 4th but held on to win 98-95. Artest had 18, LO had 7 points and 9 boards, Pau had a double double with 18 pts and 12 rebounds, Kobe had 7 on 2 for 10 shooting (he is still healing), Fish had 3 pts, Barnes brought 8 points, and Shannon had 17 off the bench and Banks had 10 pts. I'll take this win but it's still the preseason and doesn't count really. GO LAKERS!

[Dr T]

We played out first preseason game at home against the Denver. We won the first three quarters and lost by 10 in the 4th. We took this game 102 ti 95. Kobe led the way with 18 and eight rebounds. LO and Devin Ebanks each had 14. I realize this is only preseason and does not really count and they didn't have Mello tonight but I'll take this win.

[Dr T]

Last night we dropped a preseason game to Utah. They beat us 3 out of 4 quarters. A week ago people were asking if Kobe will be ready to play during the regular season and now it looks like he will. Pau had a great game, LO did great on the boards, and Artest, Kobe and Brown were all in double digits with points. It was a preseason game so I'm not too sad. Good job Jazz. :)

[Dr T]

We got spanked again tonight. We played in Anaheim and lost 82-74 to Utah again. We had a horrible shooting night. Jazz did what they had to do and we didn't. Good thing it's still preseason. GO LAKERS!

[Dr T]

Tonight (10-16-10) was my boy's first regulation game of the season. We started the night with the back to back ring ceremony. It was fun to watch. We also took game one of the year against Houston 112 to 110. It was a close game. I'll take the first victory.

[Dr T]

Lakers vs. Suns tonight. 114 to 106 Lakers. We had a good game, many players stepped up and played well. L.O. for example had 18 points, 17 rebounds and 5 assists, 21 pts, 9 asts and 8 rebounds, Kobe with 25 pts and 7 rebounds and 3 asts; Artest with 14 points, Fish and Barnes both had 11 points. We played in Phoenix. Go LAKERS! The Suns are a really good team. I'm happy with the win.

[Dr T]

Game 3 this season and win #3 too. Kobe, Pau and LO all played well. They started it out hot in the 1st quarter and we never trailed against Golden State in this 107-83 victory on Sunday night. Those three were all at near double-doubles. Gasol finished with 26 points and 12 rebounds), Odom (16 points, 14 rebounds) and Kboe put in 20 points and seven boards. Keep it up boys.

[Dr T]

Game 4 of this 2010-2011 season was vs. the Griz. We won this game 124-105. We took off in the first half and let all the players play to try them out. We looked strong tonight. GO LAKERS!

[Dr T]

5th game. Tonight we played in Sac against the Kings. Kobe had a triple double (30 points, 10 rebounds and 12 asts), Pau 22 pts and 11 boards, L.O. 18 pts, Artest 17 pts, and Fish had 11 pts. Barnes had 9 pts and 6 boards. I'm happy we won our 5 straight but would have liked to see other contribute more. Final score was 100-112 Lakers.

[Dr T]

Game 6 of the 2010-2011 season. Lakers vs. Raptors. Tonight, Tor had 49 rebounds vs. Lakers 31 boards. Tor had 21 turnovers vs. Lakers 12. We had 5 players in double digits, Pau had 30 and Kobe had 23 and 6 assists. Phil let the team/bench play a long time but I guess it worked out thankfully. In the end it was Lakers 108 and Raptors 103. That is 6 in a row to start the season. Go Lakers!

[Dr T]

This was our sixth straight game that both Kobe and Pau scored at least 20 points, the first time two Lakers teammates have done so since 1970 when Jerry West and Wilt Chamberlain did. I find that interesting.

[Dr T]

Game 7 vs. the Blazers was out 7th win in a row to being this season. Pau had a triple-double (20 points, 14 rebounds, 10 assists) as the Lakers took care of the Blazers 121-96 at Staples tonight. L.O. had 21 points and 12 boards. We had 7 players in double digits tonight. Keep it up boys.

[Dr T]

With the Lakers 7-0 start we’ve seen that we are the highest scoring team so far:

Scoring: No. 1

The Lakers are averaging a 114 points per game to lead the NBA. With Pau Gasol (24.1) and Kobe Bryant (22.9) leading the way, L.A. is also getting a healthy 15.9 poings from Lamar Odom, while four other players are averaging at least 9.1 points: Derek Fisher; Shannon Brown; Ron Artest; and Matt Barnes.

Three-Point Field Goal Percentage: No. 1

Behind four players that are shooting at least 50 percent from three-point range, the Lakers lead the league with a connection rate of 45.0 percent. Last season, the Lakers ranked just 24th in the NBA from three, connecting on 34.1 percent and boasting not a single player at the 40 percent mark. But Lamar Odom (69 percent), Derek Fisher (67), Shannon Brown (52) and Steve Blake (50) have all been hot.

Turnovers: No. 1

When shooting that well from distance and scoring so efficiently (see below), to also lead the league in fewest turnovers per game is telling. The Lakers were actually tied with Sacramento heading into Sunday evening’s games in the turnover category, and after a 15-turnover game against Portland L.A. was averaging 13.6 per game.

Rebounding: No. 3

The Lakers have grabbed the third most rebounds per game in the NBA at 46.71 per contest, and rank fourth in rebounding differential at +4.28 per game more than their seven opponents. Odom ranks ninth in the league with 11.1 boards per game, while Gasol is 12th at 10.9. The team’s offensive and defensive rebounding has been equally effective.

Free Throw Percentage: No. 5

The Lakers are making 81.7 percent of their free throws, good for fifth in the league. Eight of the 11 players who have attempted a free throw are making more than 80 percent, led by Kobe Bryant’s 87.9 percent success rate (51-for-58).

Assists: No. 5

The Lakers have shared the ball very well to start the season, ranking fifth in assists with an average of 24 per game. Current starting center Gasol actually leads the Lakers in assists with 5.0 per game after his 10-dime performance in his triple-double against Portland, while Bryant has added 4.6 in six fewer minutes of playing time than Gasol.

Field Goal Percentage: No. 6

It’s not just from distance that the Lakers are shooting well, as they come in ranked sixth from the field at 47.8 percent. In 2009-10, they ranked 18th at 45.7 percent. Odom’s 62.7 percent is good for fifth in the NBA, while Gasol’s 54.4 percent ranks 21st. Both are significant due to the collectively high volume of shots taken as Bryant eases into the season.

And

Steals: No. 9

With an average of 8.4 swipes per game, the Lakers come in ninth in the NBA. Ron Artest leads the way with 1.87 steals per game, while both Fisher and Brown have nabbed 1.29 per contest.

The season is just starting but I’m pleased with what we’ve been putting out so far. GO LAKERS!

[BenRaines]

Lakers are now 8-0. Way to roll.

Ben Raines

[Dr T]

Yes SIR! Kobe scored 23 of his game-high 33 points in the first half as we beat the Timberwolves 99-94 Tuesday night at Staples Center. Pau had another double double with 18 points and 10 rebounds. We are not 8-0 to start the season as Ben said. L.O. had 15 pts and 8 boards but got in foul trouble early, while Artest had 14 and Barnes put in 9 pts. We shared for 24 assists tonight too. WTG! Our next challenge in Denver on Thursday.

[Dr T]

Back at the end of Oct I didn't post this but thought I would now.

The NBA announced Monday morning that Lakers forward/center Pau Gasol was named Western Conference Player of the Week for games played between October 26th and 31st. The Spaniard was terrific in L.A.'s 3-0 week, averaging 25.3 points,10.3 rebounds, 5.0 assists and 2.0 blocks.

I really like Pau. He was in med school and dropped out. He is well spoken in both English and Spanish, friendly and always humble. Again, I really like him.

He's been named player of the week POW 7 times and 4 times as a Laker. I got this info from this site: Pau Gasol Named Western Conference P.O.W. at Lakers.com BasketBlog

Edited November 11, 2010 by Dr T

[Dr T]

Bummer. Our opening win streak is now over. We lost 112-118 to Denver tonight. Time for bed.

[Dr T]

Last night Kobe became the youngest NBA player to 26,000 points. We've also last the last 4 in a row in Denver.

[Dr T]

From this week's NBA power ranking:

Just win, baby. The Lakers continue to outclass the rest of the field by spreading the wealth, dominating at the defensive end and getting big baskets when they need them most. Law of averages says they'll eventually lose their share, but they're by far the best right now.

[StrawberryFields]

Whoa "T", looks like you get this thread to yourself.... almost.

I have just glanced over the last few pages and it makes me smile thinking of years gone by. I am happy to see you are still enjoying them.

Back to you Dr. T.

[Dr T]

Anytime u want to add anything just go for it Berry. :) Yes, I do enjoy my boys. GO LAKERS!

[Dr T]

We lost out second in a row last night. We played the Suns and they shot 22 3 pointers and walked away with a 121-116 victory. Pau had 28 points and 17 boards, Kobe had a near triple-double with 25 points, 14 assists and 9 rebounds and LO had 22 points and 11 rebounds in this loss. I guess it had a lot to do with the almost record 3 point shooting. The other day I read about Steve Nash filing for divorce a day after his new baby was born. That made me sad too. OK, we know how to lose now it's time to get back on the winning ways.

[Dr T]

Injury update: We face a back-to-back Tuesday and Wednesday vs. the Bucks and Pistons. During our last game with Phoenix LO and Ratliff had MRI’s to check on issues. LO turned out to just have a "bone bruise" and Ratlif had to have arthroscopic surgery this morning to see if they could tell what's up with his left knee. Blake is expected to play the next game too after missing our last game because of the flu. We'll see how we do tomorrow. GO LAKERS!