The Lakers Nation

Gasol receives Flagrant 1 for Amundson foul

Marwan Marzina — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:15:43 +0000

Good thing it happens now instead of in-game.

AZ Central: Gasol received a Flagrant Foul 1 after league officials reviewed the foul in which Gasol struck Amundson’s head during Friday night’s game. The play led to Gentry’s ejection and a $25,000 fine for the coach.

Raja Bell: Kobe is the best player

Marwan Marzina — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 13:11:41 +0000

More love for Kobe from an ex-Sun. Suns LOVE Kobe!

Inside Bay Area: Warriors guard Raja Bell is perhaps most known for his rivalry with Los Angeles Lakers guard Kobe Bryant.

During his days with the Phoenix Suns, Bell was Bryant’s personal defender in multiple playoff series. The heated matchup included verbal jabs, elbows and shoves, a couple of physical altercations and zero love lost.

But ask Bell who’s the best player in the game, and he’ll answer without hesitation. He won’t say LeBron James or Dwyane Wade or Carmelo Anthony.

“Kobe,” Bell said. “He’s a winner, man. Not that the LeBrons and D-Wades and ‘Melos aren’t. But he just seems to have a sixth sense about closing and timeliness with his game that I think he’s developed over time. I think they don’t necessarily have it to the degree he has it yet. They’re on his heels. But if you ask me who I’d take to win this year, I’d take Kobe.”

Continue reading ‘Raja Bell: Kobe is the best player’

Voice of the Nation’s – “Top Lakers Moment Bracket”

David Brickley — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 07:16:27 +0000

It is time for March Madness, and Lakers fan or not, everybody will be glued to their TV sets in the following weeks to see who comes out of the field of 64.

But what if there was a bracket of the TOP LAKERS MOMENTS of ALL-TIME. What if they squared off against eachother, round by round, until a ultimate moment was crowned the TOP LAKERS MOMENT.

Magic’s hook shot against the Celtics, Kobe’s alley-oop to Shaq against the Blazers, Horry’s game winning three against the Kings.

We need the Nation’s help! Please respond via comment on this post, Voice-mail (1-866-520-4037), or e-mail votn@thelakersnation.com

Tell us what your Top Lakers Moment is, and the Voice of the Nation committee will make the selections, and the moments will face off against each other on each and every Voice of the Nation until the champion is crowned.

Thanks for all your help in advance Nation!

- The Voice of the Nation

Note: If possible a YouTube link to your top moment will help!

TLN’s Postgame Report: Lakers @ Warriors — Length vs. Speed: Advantage, Speed

Anna Gonda — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 06:51:40 +0000

If you can’t kill them with your size, kill them with your speed. That’s what Don Nelson must’ve told his injury-ridden Golden State Warriors who ran the Lakers into playing at their pace so effectively that it produced 24 turnovers. Kobe Bryant, alone, had nine and Andrew Bynum had eight. With 29 and 18 points respectively, their efficient scoring was trumped by their sheer carelessness with the ball.

The only negative for the Warriors, and true it’s a big negative, is that they didn’t win the game, but they sure played like the victors tonight.

It was obvious that this game would be played feverishly quick and a foreshadowing of all the negligence to come appeared in the very first Laker possession that ended in Bynum’s first of eight turnovers.

The 33-point Laker victory up in Oakland last November must have been clear in the minds of the Warriors as they ran the Lakers ragged to an almost-vengeful win.

At halftime, the Warriors led 65-59 and had scored 17 points off Laker turnovers. Golden State scored easily and freely, hitting wide-open shots from all around the perimeter, and beating their opponents with a quickness the Lakers could not seem to match in return.

The road team allowed three 30-point quarters by the Warriors (1st, 2nd and 4th) and were lucky they got the win when they did.

The Lakers were no match for Stephen Curry who, despite getting his fourth foul with three minutes left in the third quarter, torched every player in a purple uniform to a near double-double of 29 points and nine assists. This young rookie is fearless no matter where he is on the court. Whether he’s behind the three-point line, driving in for a quick lay-up, or taking off for the deadly teardrop, any number of players defending him are better off just letting him pass, which is what the Lakers decided to do tonight.

Defense from the Purple and Gold was scarce this evening, and against a scoring powerhouse like Curry, a little resistance may have helped cool him down.

Pau Gasol, responsible for Anthony Tolliver (6’9”) and former Laker Devean George (6’8”), gave up 27 points to the relatively smaller forwards. In one sequence early in the game, Pau helped Kobe on Monta Ellis. Monta then passed to Devean George who had so much time on his hands waiting for Pau to snap out of his momentary, but frequent, lapse in defensive judgment, that he launched a three with not one Laker less than six feet away from him.

Ron Artest’s defense on Corey Maggette was hardly notable as well, as he still managed to score 18 points on 9-15 shooting.

Monta Ellis, guarded by Kobe, was 5-23 from the field, but with five steals, was still active defensively.

With a 9-point lead and under two minutes remaining, Joel Myers was ready to declare the win when Stu Lantz quickly interjected, “Is it safe?” It was indeed, completely unsafe, as the Warriors got to within two points on Monta Ellis’ blow-past-Kobe layup. When Kobe missed his first of two free throws (the Lakers missed eight free throws in all!), Steph Curry had a chance to tie it up, but his attempt clanged and ricocheted to the right as three Lakers watched the miss grabbed fervently by Monta Ellis whose desperate shot bounced atop the rim, then bounced off.

The defending Champs had escaped another close one, but they sure know how to make a victory feel like a loss.

Pre-game Thoughts: The Warriors’ tallest active player is 6’9”. If the Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol don’t go off offensively as well as defensively, the term “soft” will be the season’s biggest understatement.

Half-time Thoughts: 59-65, Warriors. They also have eight steals to the Lakers’ three, and the road team was 13-20 from the free throw line. Really?!

Most Thoughtless Player(s) of the Game: Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum, who had 17 of the Lakers’ 24 turnovers.

Most Thought-filled Player(s) of the Game: Lamar Odom — it’s always nice to see Odom play like the beast that we all know he is. 17 points on 7-9 shooting, 12 rebounds, an assist and 1 block. If only it weren’t such a rare occurrence.

Kobe tied for 2nd in most all-time wins as Laker

Chris Manning — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 05:25:01 +0000

With the Lakers thriller win over the Warriors, Kobe Bryant tied Magic Johnson for number of Lakers wins, 640.

640 wins is 2nd all-time in Lakers history. Kareem owns the record. Congrats to a very successful career for Kobe Bean!

TLN’s Game Report: Lakers @ Warriors

Jeff Little — Tue, 16 Mar 2010 02:37:05 +0000

The (48-18) Los Angeles Lakers are in Northern California for the two remaining games of this road trip; tonight, facing the (18-47) Golden State Warriors in Oakland.

The last time these teams met; the Warriors’ Monta Ellis and the Black Mamba couldn’t go, but the game turned out to be the Shannon Brown show. Brown led the way, putting on a show for the Purple and Gold faithful by posting 27 points and 10 rebound stat line.

Before you casually look at the Warriors win-loss record and consider this an easy win for the Lakers, I urge you to proceed with caution and consider the Lakers struggles against other teams with poor records that are considered non-playoff teams.

The Lakers have dominated the Warriors for quite sometime; taking 23 of the last 26 games including tonight’s match up. The Lakers can and will build on the win against the Suns and carry it through the remainder of the season simply by playing with a sense of urgency and stringing together solid wins regardless of the opponent.

Ron Artest said that he wants the Lakers to finish the regular season 18-0; I like that thought, I like the mentality that it’s doable and I know for a fact that the Lakers Nation feels the same way.

The Lakers will defend their title, but are still in need of improvements. The Lakers needs to eliminate the turnovers, rebound better and shake being allergic to the free throw line. The Warriors are a team that causes a lot of turnovers so the Purple and Gold will have to take care of the basketball and make quality passes.

The Warriors are a team that wants to get out in transition and score easy baskets. Lakers need to control the tempo by establishing both Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol in the painted area and allow them to go to work.

The Warriors don’t have to size to defend the Lakers front line and that match up needs to be exploited. Andrew Bynum is playing aggressive, Pau Gasol, and Lamar Odom need to do the same and continuously attack the basket.

Defensively, the Lakers need to keep the Warriors out of the painted area and defend out to the three point line.

The Lakers have an inordinate amount of hand injuries this season, but no team has more injuries than the Warriors. This is not the time to break out the sympathy rule on the Warriors and give them anything easy. The Lakers need to make life difficult for the healthy players on the Warriors and contest every shot.

The Lakers should have at least five players in double digits and win this game big.

Tip-off: 7:30 PM PST

Television -

Los Angeles: KCAL 9 & ESPN (Joel Myers & Stu Lantz)
Golden State: CSN Bay & ESPN (Bob Fitzgerald & Jim Barnett)

Radio -

Los Angeles: KABC 790 AM (Spero Dedes & Mychal Thompson)
Golden State: KNBR 680 (Tim Roye)

Injuries -

Lakers:

Kobe Bryant (Avulsion fracture of right index finger, elbow & back)
Sasha Vujacic (Sprained Right Shoulder) Listed as Day-to-Day
Luke Walton (Back) Out
Ron Artest (Sprained Left Thumb)
Jordan Farmar (Broken Left Pinkie)

Artest, Odom ready to “pair” up for World Record

Chris Manning — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:28:11 +0000

This sounds awesome! Hope they break the world record!

Per ESPN Los Angeles: This Saturday, March 20th, Lamar Odom and Ron Artest will attempt to break the Guiness World Record for “Most Free Throws Made by a Pair within 60 Seconds”. Current record stands at 10 made freethrows by a pair from England.

Artest: Lakers on the right path

Marwan Marzina — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 23:02:01 +0000

Are the Lakers really doing well? Share your thoughts.

Daily News: Ron Artest has insisted for months the Lakers haven’t played well. He has been concerned about it and has suggested the reason for their mediocre play was because things were too easy at the start of the season.

He said Sunday he saw a change in the team during the Lakers’ latest victory, however. He said he saw some of the fire and efficiency they displayed while starting the season with an 18-3 record.

The Lakers ended a four- game losing streak on the road with a 102-96 victory Friday over the Phoenix Suns, which gave them a two-game winning streak. They led for most of the second half and outplayed the Suns down the stretch.

“We’ve always been confident,” Artest said. “We were just kind of waiting for it to be handed to us rather than going out there and doing the right things. In Phoenix, we did that. We didn’t play well, but we did make an effort to play team basketball.”

It’s no secret the Lakers (48-18) are a better team when they share the ball, especially when they pass it to 7-footers Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol in the triangle offense. They haven’t been nearly as effective when they abandon the triangle.

Artest called the season “a hell of a storm” and a “roller-coaster ride” when asked to explain why the Lakers haven’t played their best for a while. He said the team has been anxious to get to the playoffs and hasn’t given the regular season its due.

Continue reading ‘Arest: Lakers on the right path’

Alvin Gentry: Lakers far from vulnerable

Marwan Marzina — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 22:49:52 +0000

Alvin Gentry gives the Lakers some more love.

Daily News: Struggles? What struggles?

OK, so maybe the Lakers haven’t been as crisp in their play this month as they were in February or January, but really, what’s not to like? They’re still the team to beat in the Western Conference, according to Phoenix Suns coach Alvin Gentry.

The Lakers are not as vulnerable as some might think, Gentry insisted Friday.

“I don’t know if there’s any team out there playing that can beat them four out of seven games (in a playoff series),” he said. “I don’t know if that’s possible. They’ve got a completely different agenda than what we have. We’re trying to get ourselves into the playoffs. They’re trying to get themselves ready for a championship run.

“I don’t know if vulnerable is the word I would use.”

To be sure, the Lakers recently had their share of troubles on the road, including a three-game losing streak going into Friday’s game against the Suns. They were swept on a three-game trip to Miami, Charlotte and Orlando earlier this month.

“They haven’t closed out a few games,” Gentry said, referring to their losses to the Heat in overtime and the Magic in the closing seconds after Kobe Bryant missed a potential tying jump shot.

Charlotte played great against them.

“Even the Toronto game, they struggled in that and once again (Bryant) rescued them (with a last-second jump shot to help the Lakers win Tuesday’s game),” Gentry said.

Continue reading ‘Alvin Gentry: Lakers far from vulnerable’

Fisher ponders coaching career

Marwan Marzina — Mon, 15 Mar 2010 08:40:45 +0000

Derek doesn’t look like he wants to let go of this game after he’s done.

ESPN: Derek Fisher has steadfastly maintained plans to keep playing after his contract with the Los Angeles Lakers expires, but when retirement beckons, coaching is one of the options Fisher is considering.

“I think about a number of different things that I feel like I enjoy doing and could be committed to and passionate about doing,” said Fisher after Sunday’s practice in El Segundo. “That’s probably what would be the most important thing in terms of the impact of my decision about what I do after I’m done.”

Having always been observant of coaching strategies and approaches, Fisher said he finds himself thinking even more at this stage of his career about how he’d handle issues during a game.

“I think we all have a natural instinct to visualize ourselves in certain positions and places in our lives. Obviously being closer to the end than the beginning, those pictures are coming into vision clearer and better than they did when I first came into the league.”

Continue reading ‘Fisher ponders coaching career’