Lakers

[Dr T]

We, the Lakers, fell two this week to number 7 on the power ranking list. Here is what it said,

L.A. Lakers (23-11)

Pace: 95.8 (10), Off: 107.6 (6), Def: 102.0 (10)

Wednesday's win in New Orleans was the Lakers' first victory over a winning team since before Thanksgiving. That's about the only positive thing you can take out of the last couple of weeks in Lakerland. Sunday's loss to Memphis was the fifth time in eight games they've been held under a point per possession.

[Dr T]

The Lakers (23-11) look to bounce back from Sunday's loss tonight as we host the Detroit Pistons (11-23) at 7:30pm PT. LA won it's only other meeting versus Detroit this season. There are several things the Lakers could be doing better on the basketball court right now. Of that they’re well aware. “Better execution on both ends of the floor,” began Derek Fisher.

“More energy. More focus. Taking advantage of our size. Really moving the basketball Really moving the basketball ... We haven’t stopped short of throwing out the things we feel like are holding us back right now, but we haven’t been able to collectively put that together in the game.”

We have a great team in my boys. Don't throw out the baby with the bath water. The Lakers are still confident in what we are capable of playing. GO LAKERS!

[BenRaines]

Lakers are walking to this win. No effort needed against Detroit.

Ben Raines

[Dr T]

Yes sir Ben thankfully we did. My Lakers played good ball tonight. I'm proud of them. Here are some thought about tonight's game.

Tonight vs. the Pistons 1st quarter we saw Bynum starting off well. Dres scored on his fist 4 shots that were in the paint. Pistons center, Ben Wallace, had a difficult time with the young Bynum and I’m glad he looks much stronger than years past. He picked up two early fouls so we brought in LO. Kobe did a good job sharing tonight. He had a hard time getting the ball to drop so he passed out assists instead! That’s what I mean! We are much better when he plays team ball. Good for you Kobe. The Lakers finished the first quarter with a 24-19 lead despite shooting only 38.5 percent, thanks largely to our six offensive rebounds and zero turnovers. That allowed the Lakers to attempt twice as many shots, making Detroit’s 53.8 percent shooting matter little. It was a solid all-around quarter of basketball despite the poor shooting from Kobe (0-for-9).

2nd quarter with an early 3rd foul, Bynum had to sit on the pine for the rest of the half. Pau finish the half with 13 points and six rebounds, both highs for the game, put the Lakers up 10. The Pistons have a strong bench and they cut the lead to a 45-42 half time break.

Even though Kobe did share he also scored some. In the 3rd he became the NBA’s 10th all-time leading scorer with 26,668 career points (and he ended with 26,671 points), surpassing Dominique Wilkins. We did well in the 3rd quarter with a 31-17 quarter that gave us a 17 point lead. Kobe had 17 points, 8 assists, and 7 rebounds tonight while Pau led with 21 points and 7 assists.

In the 4th we closed things out to the tune of 108-83. The starters all sat and all the bench players played. I love having LO on the team and playing off the bench for us. LO had 16 points and 7 boards with 4 assists while Blake and Brown had 15 combined points.

In the end we had 60 points in the paint while they had 20. I know they are a parameter shooting team so that is no surprise but I’ll take the points inside when I can get them. We had 29 assists tonight with Kobe passing out 8, LO, Artest and Blake each with 4. Finally, we only had 6 turnovers. I’ll take it. We play the Suns tomorrow though. We’ll see how we do with them there.

[Dr T]

Tonight (1/5/11) we played in Phoenix. Kobe scored 24 points while four other Lakers were in double figures to win 99-95. Our bigs played well tonight We dominated the boards 47-31, including 14-5 on the offensive end. Bynum scored 14 for LA, Shannon Brown 13, Lamar Odom 12 and Ron Artest 11, including a wide-open 3 with 1:30 to play after Phoenix had cut the lead to one. Pau scored 6 points and had 9 rebounds. Steve Nash, the man, had 11 points and 10 assists for Phoenix. Vince Carter scored 14 but his extra-long 3-point attempt was blocked by Pau in the final minute. Artest had three 3-pointers tonight including the game-clinching dagger with 1:30 left in the fourth. Artest had a really solid all-around game, scoring 11 points with 4 boards and 4 assists, some good D tonight. We had 16 more rebounds (47-31), led by LO’s 10, Pau’s 9 and seven each from Bynum and Kobe. LO made a finger roll and came down on his left elbow and lay there for a minute which quieted the Laker fans tonight but he came right back in after the timeout. Our bench had 40 points led by Shannon Brown’s 13, LO’s 12 and Steve Blake’s 7. We kind of let them stay in the game with a bad quarter tonight but overall I’ve very happy with this win. Kobe started out hot, tonight hitting 9-of-12, before missing his final five shots but he did a fine job tonight. I liked that we came out playing and worked hard on defense. The Suns changed their starting lineup to try something different but it didn’t seem to work out like they wanted I think. Good job Lakers. We play the Hornets on Friday.

[Dr T]

The Lakers (25-11) are back in Los Angeles tonight (1/7/11) to play the New Orleans Hornets (21-15). LA is 1-0 against New Orleans this season. Kobe needs only 16 points to pass Oscar Robertson for 9th on the NBA All-Time scoring list. N.O. should be ready to play us tonight.

[Dr T]

Third All-Star vote returns: Kobe continues to lead all vote getters by a healthy margin with a total of over 1.39 million. Pau Gasol remained third at forward trailing Kevin Durant and Carmelo Anthony, while Andrew Bynum is still second at center behind Yao Ming.

[Dr T]

Before tonight’s game, Kobe and Fish presented a championship ring to DJ Mbenga. He never scored much for us when he was on our team and didn’t play on the court much for us. When he did he did not impress me much. I always thought he was just a tall body for use during practice. He was always a nice guy though and I did see some highlights of his blocks. Kobe had a game high 25 points, Pau 21 points, 13 rebounds, 7assists. Bynum 17 points, 5 rebounds, LO 17 points & 13 boards off the bench. I love that Pau and LO had double doubles. On a sad note, Matt Barnes got hurt tonight. He sprained his right knee in the first half L & will have an MRI tomorrow. I hope is will recover soon. Kobe hit his second free throw to tie with Oscar Robertson for 9th on the NBA's All-Time scoring list then Kobe crosses the lane and hits the running jumper to take sole possession of 9th place. WTG Kobe! Kobe is at Next up for Bryant is Hakeem Olajuwon in eighth place with 26,946 points. We won 101-97 over the Hornets. Kobe recently revealed he has almost no cartilage left in his right knee. Phil Jackson made a deal with him almost 3 years ago to limit his practice time, keeping him fresh for the championship chase.

[Dr T]

Barnes Suffers Tear of Lateral Meniscus

Published by Mike Trudell on January 8, 2011 3:06 pm in Injury News and Matt Barnes

Lakers reserve forward Matt Barnes suffered a tear of the lateral meniscus of his right knee in the first half of Friday evening’s game against New Orleans and will need surgery.

His knee was classified as a sprain during the game before diagnostic tests were taken, and the MRI exam on Saturday morning confirmed the tear.

The Lakers will avoid giving a time table on the injury until after the surgery, likely to be early next week, though an exact date is currently being determined.

In 37 games for the Lakers, Barnes averaged 7.4 points, 4.8 rebounds and 0.70 steals while along with Ron Artest being charged with defending the opposing team’s best wing players. While Barnes is out, Artest’s minutes are expected to go up, while Luke Walton and rookie Devin Ebanks could also see increased roles.

That's sad news for us. Artest has not played very well for most of this season so added minutes for him does not make me feel positive. Ebanks has not done anything either. We'll see how this goes. We play the Knickerbockers, a great team with Amar'e who has been playing strong ball recently, tomorrow night.

[Dr T]

Tonight (1/9/11) vs. Knicks. We had 3 people with double doubles. Kobe (27 points, 10 rebounds and 5 assists also) was one of of them, Pau was another (20 points, 14 rebounds) and LO(13 and 18). Bynum scored 18 and Brown put up 16 with 3 of 4 3 pointers. 18 was Odom's highest of this season. We did really well shutting down the NBA's top-scoring team in a 109-87 win Sunday over the visiting Knicks.

[Dr T]

Last night's game by the numbers:

36.0 New York’s shooting percentage, far below its usual 46.9 percent, as the Lakers played solid defense throughout the contest, earning Phil Jackson’s postgame praise for following the game plan well.

29 Amare Stoudemire’s shooting percentage, a surprise as he came into the contest shooting the ball very well throughout the season, so much so that Phil Jackson praised his jumper prior to the game. Stoudemire opened really slowly, hitting just 2-of-14 shots, and finished at 7-for-24 plus 9-of-11 from the foul line for his 23 points.

27 Points for Kobe Bryant, though it took him 28 attempts to get there, plus 10 rebounds and five assists.

19 More rebounds grabbed by the Lakers, who held a 61-42 edge. That included a 17-7 advantage on the offensive end, which resulted in a 28-9 controlling of second chance points.

18 Rebounds for Lamar Odom, a season-high despite only 28 minutes of run. He added 13 points and four assists, continuing the best season of his career.

17 Blocked shots in a game that was highly contested around the rim, even though the Lakers did hold a major advantage. The Knicks blocked 11 shots, the Lakers six, led by four from Pau Gasol, who added 20 points and 14 boards with four assists and two steals in a complete game.

16 Points off the pine from Shannon Brown, including a big buzzer-beating three-pointer to close the third quarter, squashing a 5-0 Knicks run that came on one possession after a flagrant foul on Ron Artest.

Above by Mike Trudell, Lakers writer

[Dr T]

Lakers confirmed the NBA rescinded Andrew Bynum's second technical foul from last night. :) good call.

[Dr T]

The Lakers (27-11) look to improve on their four game winning streak in tonight's matchup with the Cleveland Cavaliers (8-29) and their new head coach Byron Scott, who played 11 seasons for the Lakers.

[Dr T]

The Lakers dominated in every aspect Tuesday night, defeating the Cleveland Cavaliers 112-57, setting a new franchise low for points against. All five Lakers starters were in double digits as well as Shannon Brown (13) and Lamar Odom (13). The team now travels to Golden State for a Wednesday game against the Warriors.

[Dr T]

The Lakers (28-11) put their five game winning streak on the line tonight just 24 hours after one of the most lopsided results in team history. We take on the Golden State Warriors (15-22) at 7:30pm. LA has won 11 straight against Golden State.

[Suzie]

We take on the Golden State Warriors (15-22) at 7:30pm. LA has won 11 straight against Golden State.

We? Do you play for the Lakers? I am just teasing you! I do the same thing while talking about my favorite teams.

[Dr T]

Yes Suzie it's all about ownership and since they've been my team forever it's "we." I like your Einstein quote btw. :)

[Dr T]

Last night's game: The Lakers used a 46-35 fourth quarter to grab their sixth straight victory over the Warriors LO got LA back into the game in the fourth by scoring ten consecutive points, ending with 20 total. Kobe finished with 39 points overall, including 17 down the stretch. It looked, to me, Kobe's knee was slowing him down.

FIRST QUARTER

Lakers gave increased attention to the relatively new defensive schemes, which played out in the opening minutes against Golden State and all their points came in transition. We basically set a 1-2-2 zone, with Bynum and Gasol staying home on most pick and rolls, with the wing players forcing the ball into the corners and keeping the paint covered at all times. I took notice of Monta Ellis’ play for Golden State tonight.

The second quarter we saw Golden State take control a little bit. I guess the plan we started with did not continue in the start of the 2nd. We did get a 10-0 run to cut their lead to four. The key was Pau’s paint presence, and the score was 37-33. Pau continued his dominant quarter with two more buckets to reach 12 in the quarter, 14 in the game so we went up a point. BUT after his and-1, the Lakers conceded 11 points while scoring just two to close the quarter, allowing the Warriors to head into halftime with all the momentum, plus a 53-45 lead. L Most of the damage came in transition, the Lakers failing to get back quickly enough after missed shots and turnovers, as L.A.’s coaches warned against before the game.

The halftime message must have addressed L.A.’s need to get back in transition after conceding 20 fast break points in the first half, and doing so helped the defense, with LA getting two more buckets from Gasol in addition to Bryant’s driving and-1 to make sure they took advantage at the other end in a 55-52 game at this point. Kobe scored six straight himself to bring us within two at 62-60.

In the 4th Bynum was dictating his own terms in the paint at the quarter’s onset, grabbing his 12th rebound and sticking back the miss to cut the lead to just two again. Odom thoroughly controlled the fourth, scoring 14 of his 18 points in an 8-minute stretch to put the Lakers up three points after sinking his fourth straight free throw. Again, Odom was proving how entirely invaluable he is coming off the bench, the Lakers Ellis had tons of point so Kobe thought he’d have a 1-on-1 duel with him. With L.A. up three, Kobe pulled up from 27 feet and absolutely buried the dagger triple to reach 13 points in the past five minutes in the 4th. We got help from Odom to lead by five in the closing seconds. Gasol would add two final free throws to make it 115-110, L.A.’s sixth straight win.

[Dr T]

The latest All-Star returns have been released and a Laker still sits at or near the top.

Kobe leads all vote getters with more than 1.75 million votes. Bynum and Pau held their previous positions at second and third and LO remains in the mix at the forward position. You can go to nba.com to vote.

[Dr T]

Longtime Lakers guards Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic, both of whom have two rings, return to Staples Center tonight as members of the New Jersey Nets (10-28) for a matchup with the my Lakers (29-11). We started the first recently. Go Lakers!

[Dr T]

With the Lakers winning the last 3 quarters we walked away with a 100-88 victory over the Nets tonight. Kobe finishes with 27pts, Pau 20pts and 9 rebounds tonight, Odom had a double-double with 11 boards and 14 points and Artest had 14 too while Shannon Brown had 12 points. I'll take this win. Good job boys!

[Dr T]

The Lakers and Clippers play again tonight. We last played them in early December and we won by a buzzer-beater shot by Fish. The Clippers have been playing well against top notch teams. They have Griffen which is big, young and strong. Go Lakers!

[Dr T]

We played the Clippers this afternoon. Blake Griffen had his 26th double-double in a row! That guy is good. Kobe scored 27 points, Bynum had a double-double (18 points, 13 rebounds) and Pau scored 13 points, 4 players were tossed in the end of the 4th and my Lakers lost 99-92. We play OKC next.

[Dr T]

Oklahoma City has won four straight and 13 of 18, and is two games behind the Lakers for second place in the West and we took them on in the first round of last season’s playoffs. They were a tough match up for us and they’ve become tougher this year. I hope we take up this challenge tonight against them. Go Lakers!

[Dr T]

Five players scored in double figures as the Lakers defeated the Thunder 101-94 home last night. Kobe scored 21 points and 7 assists while Pau had 21 points and 7 rebounds. I'll take this win happily!