Lakers Thread

[J@3]

FUCK YOU JAE. im a lakers, bulls, clippers fan forever.

LMAO! You pathetic little bandwagoner.

[J-Smoove]

that's all you can say? guess its obvious i am right and you're wrong.

[Jackal]

What is it that you exactly said? You said "FUCK YOU JAE." Wow? Is that impressive? Not really, just shows you've got a limited vocabulary.

Why don't you just be a fan of all the teams in the NBA and when someone calls you a bandwagonner you can go:

"Fuck you [insert name here] I am fan of [insert list of all team names here]"

Yeah, it's obvious you're right. Right about what again? Being a bandwagonner? Yes, you're right. You are.

Anyways, who gives a damn, do what you please, you're an amazing fan. W00t.

[Riot]

How can you honestly be a fan of more than two teams? I don't think I could be a fan of more than one. I couldn't picture myself rooting for another team besides the Timberwolves.

[J-Smoove]

very simply: i root for 3 different teams. when the play each other, (in order) 1. lakes, 2. bulls 3. clips.

though i root for them to beat other teams. its very similar to like having a favorite team in one sport and another team in another.

fan doesn't restrict you to being a fan to just one sports team.

[Riot]

Actually, I think it does.

But to each his own.

[Kbryant8]

Guys,thats a lakers thread not a kindergarden.

[Fresh8]

J-Smoove... I don't see it possible to say you're a fan of three teams in the same league. To be a fan of teamsin different sports is different to ahving three favourite teams in the same league. Yes, you can root for them but to be a fan of all three or more teams doesn't really make you a true fan. IMO and maybe others, I see a fine line between being a fan; supporting that team and liking/rooting for a team.

Anyways- back on topic, Lakers won another to start their road trip and Kobe keeps his average up with 37 points. I'm posting two articles.. one on Kwame and one on the game.

Odom the swami has tip for Kwame

ATLANTA - If anyone understands what Kwame Brown is going through right now, it might be fellow Lakers forward Lamar Odom.
A season ago, Odom was the newcomer trying to find his way, the centerpiece player acquired in the Shaquille O'Neal trade. He has maintained ever since that it takes a year to get used to all the expectations that come with playing for a team like the Lakers.

Now it is Brown who is trying to adjust to his new surroundings after coming to the Lakers this summer in a sign-and-trade from Washington. But he has yet to have a breakthrough game and played only 2 1/2 minutes in the fourth quarter Sunday.

Which led to a question for Odom in the aftermath of the Lakers' 112-92 victory over Denver: What advice would you give to Brown having been through it all yourself?

"Just keep playing," Odom said. "Don't worry about numbers. It's not all about numbers. It's about playing basketball the right way and that's with energy and effort and everything else will take care of itself."

With that in mind, all eyes will be on Brown tonight as the former No. 1 overall pick plays in his home state against the Atlanta Hawks. Brown played high school basketball in Brunswick, Ga., about six hours away, before jumping to the NBA.

Through three games this season, Brown is averaging just 6.3 points and 4.7 rebounds, having committed 10 turnovers and been called for 14 fouls. There also has been a string of embarrassing moments for the 23-year-old.

Already in foul trouble, Brown was called for his third foul only 16 seconds after checking back in during the second quarter of the Lakers' home opener against Phoenix. Brown was called for a block trying to set a pick 30 feet from the basket and went back to the bench.

Brown also nearly had the ball hit him in the face in the first quarter of Sunday's game. Thinking that Odom was squaring up to shoot, Brown barely got a hand on the ball when Odom rifled a jump pass instead in his direction.

The Lakers never looked back after the first quarter Sunday, in part because coach Phil Jackson never took both Odom and Kobe Bryant out of the game at the same time. Bryant played more than 42 minutes while Odom played nearly 41 minutes.

Bryant sat briefly at the end of the third quarter while Odom went to the bench at the start of the fourth. Jackson had tried sitting Odom and Bryant at the start of the second quarter against Phoenix and watched as the Lakers reserves gave up a 10-0 run.

Bryant finished with 37 points and said afterward he wasn't even tired. He has been spectacular since moving to the wing in the triangle offense, averaging 36.3 points through three games, and has been lethal with his turnaround jumper over smaller guards.

"I had the same zest for the game a few years ago when Phil got here and he proposed a challenge to me to become a facilitator," Bryant said. "My hunger just increased to a level where it never was before because it was just a completely new challenge. And now it's the same situation."

Surprising Parker, Lakers Fly by Hawks

ATLANTA, Nov. 8 (Ticker) -- The early favorite for Most Improved Player is Smush Parker.

Parker scored 13 of his 21 points in the decisive third quarter as the Los Angeles Lakers began a three-game road trip with a 103-97 victory over the winless Atlanta Hawks.

Kobe Bryant scored 37 points for the Lakers, who are off to a somewhat surprising 3-1 start. Their biggest surprise unquestionably has been Parker, who has been nothing short of phenomenal thus far.

A journeyman 6-4 guard, Parker averaged 6.2 points as a rookie with Cleveland in the 2002-03 season. He sat out the entire 2003-04 campaign before splitting last season between Detroit and Phoenix, averaging 3.0 points.

With an invitation to Lakers' training camp, Parker won the starting point guard job alongside Bryant. He has eclipsed 20 points three times - establishing a career high each time - while averaging nearly three steals.

In the third quarter, Parker paired with Bryant to score 20 of the Lakers' first 22 points, culminating with Parker's 3-pointer for a 70-63 lead. His three-point play pushed the advantage to 76-65 with 1:08 left in the period.

It often was difficult for the players to determine the score and time as a courtside computer malfunction knocked out the scoreboards and clocks for part of the game, an embarrassing situation for the Hawks in their home opener.

Atlanta closed to 86-78 with eight minutes to play before Bryant took a pass from Brian Cook and went in for a thunderous breakaway dunk, then found Cook with a lob for a dunk. A slam by Laron Profit and two free throws by Lamar Odom made it 94-78 with 5:12 left.

Odom had 13 points and 11 rebounds and Devean George scored 12 points for the Lakers, who won despite being beaten on the boards, 40-32, and missing 13 free throws.

Joe Johnson scored 26 points and Al Harrington added 10 and 10 rebounds for the Hawks (0-4), who had won two of the last three meetings between the clubs.

Bryant scored 21 points in the first half, but Los Angeles missed nine foul shots and trailed, 51-48.

[J@3]

that's all you can say? guess its obvious i am right and you're wrong.

Oh God you're completely retarded anyway I got the response I was waiting for, now I can ban you.

[Fresh8]

It's early but the Lake Show is beating Minny so far halfway thorugh the second.

EDIT: Ok, they fallen behidn by 1 I hope I dnt jinx them

[Riot]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT!!!!!!!!

Eat it!

[Kbryant8]

They lost the game but kobe did still really good job(Again 0 3pt shots)
28 pts and 4 assists ,other guys like brown and smush scrued it up,smush play`d like 31 minutes r so and fuckin 0 pts.Asshole.

[Riot]

Kobe did great in the first half but in the second half the Wolves defense was amazing.

[air gordon]

good game by minny

[Riot]

I'm telling you guys, the Timberwolves could be the 3rd seed in the West this year. I think they could win the division.

[Fresh8]

Nice game by Minny. Kobe played well again... 28, 4 and 4 although he didn't do too well in the second half. I guess it could be back to back game fatigue? lol

And after a few games.. Smush has become overrated IMO.

[Fresh8]

Odom Missing the Points

MINNEAPOLIS — Lamar Odom has been making fantasy league general managers a happy bunch, logging statistics in numerous categories across the board, a rarity for 6-foot-10 types.

He'd please his coach too, if he were a little more selfish.

As the former power forward acclimates to becoming a primary ballhandler, his assists are skyrocketing and his rebounds are strong, but his points are lagging a bit.

Odom is growing more comfortable as a facilitator, averaging 5.6 assists, and he still manages to take enough rebounds to average 10 through five games. But he is averaging only 15.8 points, just under his career average of 16.

"He's done a real nice job of playmaking and setting the table a little bit," Laker Coach Phil Jackson said. "The other aspect is, of course, getting himself involved and finding a comfort zone for himself to score."

Odom asserted himself in Wednesday night's game against the Minnesota Timberwolves, taking 16 shots, second-highest on the Lakers. But he made only six of them and continued a trend of misfiring. He has shot only 36.9% this season.

The points, and the percentage, will come, Odom maintains. Until then, he'll keep trying to make fantasy draftniks satisfied.

"Throughout the whole game I'm going to fill the stat line, slowly but surely," he said. "If it's not scoring, I'm going to rebound the ball … push it up the court, get it to those guys. It's all about playing a complete basketball game. I don't mind being an intangible."


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Andrew Bynum has been getting his four or five minutes a game, learning on the fly and adjusting to an NBA game that is a little faster than that at Metuchen (N.J.) St. Joseph High.

Then there are the other Laker rookies.

Von Wafer and Devin Green, parked on the inactive list for almost every game so far, are candidates to be the first two Lakers sent down when the Development League starts its season Nov. 18.

Green, an undrafted rookie from Hampton, was activated for one game, getting an assist and a rebound in nine minutes against Phoenix last week. Wafer, a second-round pick from Florida State, has not been on the active list for any of the Lakers' five games.

The Lakers have the option of sending up to two players at a time to their affiliate in Fort Worth. Players must be in their first two NBA seasons, leaving Wafer, Green, Bynum and Sasha Vujacic as the only Laker possibilities.

"Sitting on the bench and not getting plays is a bit different," Wafer said. "If the opportunity comes [in the Development League], I would have to grab it with open arms. I've been playing basketball for 16 years, and I've never had to deal with something like this."

Laker Ending Isn't Happy
Bryant has a poor fourth quarter, and Garnett has a good one, leading Timberwolves to an 88-74 victory.

MINNEAPOLIS — NBA facts of life, learned by a team trying to scratch out enough victories in November and December to make the games in March and April mean something.

It's hard to win on the road.

Especially when your defense softens. And your star scores only two fourth-quarter points.

The Lakers lost to the Minnesota Timberwolves, 88-74, Wednesday night at Target Center, a slow bleed of a setback that left Kobe Bryant with few words and Phil Jackson with many, most of them aimed at the referees.

It was a close game, and then it could no longer be described that way, the gradual erosion of the Laker offense preventing a road victory after it mustered only 13 points in the fourth quarter.

Bryant had 26 points after three quarters, but he missed all five of his fourth-quarter shots, two of four free throws, and committed three turnovers.

"I evaluate my performances on how we do as a team," Bryant said. "It's about how we execute, and we didn't do a good job."

Jackson didn't blame Bryant — "They did a good job on him … they identified and helped out," the coach said — and spent most of his postgame shooting in the general direction of NBA referees, in particular Steve Javie, Tim Donaghy and Eli Roe.

Center Chris Mihm scored only two points for a second consecutive game and had three fouls, enough for Jackson to raise questions.

Mihm was called for what Jackson labeled a nonexistent foul 22 seconds into the game. Jackson also singled out an offensive foul called on Mihm while he tried to post up Mark Madsen with 7:44 left in the second quarter.

"You know that this kid doesn't have a chance out there playing," Jackson said. "The referees just give him nothing out there. It's embarrassing.

"I could see why he can't get things going. He hasn't got a chance out there, and I don't know why. He doesn't abuse the referees. He doesn't talk to them. He's a well-meaning guy. Those kind of calls just take the energy right out of a player."

Mihm had 20 points and 13 rebounds in a victory Sunday over Denver, but since he has had almost twice as many fouls, seven, as points.

"It's frustrating because I want to get out on the floor helping the team," said Mihm, who got his three fouls in 22 minutes Wednesday. "I'm constantly being forced to come to the bench. I'm getting whistles where I don't know where they're coming from."

Otherwise, Kwame Brown had his best night as a Laker and Smush Parker had his worst.

Brown had been averaging six points and 4.8 rebounds before springing for 10 points and 13 rebounds Wednesday. He looked more aggressive and managed to avoid the foul trouble that had been affecting him.

Parker, on the other hand, cooled down considerably, going scoreless on 0-for-4 shooting after averaging 17.8 points over the first four games.

"We missed out on like 20 points [there]," Bryant said. "It was just a tough game for him."

The Lakers were good, but not so good, the example being the final five seconds of the second quarter.

Devean George scooped up a loose ball fumbled by Kevin Garnett and went almost the length of the court for a layup with 1.3 seconds left until halftime. But the Lakers ignored the defensive end, allowing Wally Szczerbiak to sneak down court and pull down a long lob from Garnett for a layup that beat the halftime buzzer.

The Lakers held Garnett to 10 points through three quarters, but he made all three of his fourth-quarter shots to finish with 17 points and 15 rebounds.

When Bryant was connecting and the defense was stifling, the Lakers took a 31-21 lead on Bryant's 18-footer with 9:05 left in the second quarter.

From there, the points gradually tilted Minnesota's direction.

"We didn't keep hooking," said Lamar Odom, who scored 15 points. "They kind of jabbed their way off the ropes and put us on the ropes, and we didn't handle it well tonight."

[Fresh8]

Philadelphia 85, LA Lakers 81

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Allen Iverson made the most of the wide-open look Andre Iguodala never gave Kobe Bryant.

Iverson outplayed Bryant in an anticipated matchup of the league's leading scorers, scoring 34 points and sinking the winner with 22.2 seconds left to lead the 76ers to an 85-81 win over the Los Angeles Lakers on Friday night.

Iverson -- stumbling in the fourth quarter after he missed an easy layup, two free throws and was whistled for traveling -- stepped just inside the 3-point arc and buried a jumper in the final seconds for an 83-81 lead.

Bryant missed a jumper over Iguodala with about 5 seconds left, and Iverson made two free throws to seal Philadelphia's third straight win after losing its first three.

Kyle Korver and John Salmons each hit critical 3-pointers in the final 2 1/2 minutes to pad the Sixers' lead, but it wasn't enough once Bryant finally got going.

Unable to find his shot all game against Iguodala's sticky D, Bryant came through in the final minute with a three-point play and then another basket with 37.8 seconds left to rally the Lakers and tie the score at 81.

But Iverson made up for a small stretch of miscues that nearly cost the Sixers, hitting a jumper that sent the crowd into a frenzy.

"Once they made one breakdown, they left me open and I got a good look at it," Iverson said.

Bryant came in averaging a league-high 34.8 points, but was held in check by Iguodala on 7-for-27 shooting.

"That's something we expect from Dre every night," Iverson said. "We know he has the ability to shut people down."

Chris Mihm picked up the slack inside with 20 points, and Lamar Odom added 16.

Iverson -- second in the league behind Bryant with 29.8 points -- fired up the Sixers and started a rally late in the fourth when he was challenged on his way to the basket.

After a rare miss on an uncontested fastbreak layup on the previous possession, Iverson was staggered on a hard foul the next time down by Sasha Vujacic. Vujacic threw his arm back and connected with Iverson in the neck, sending the feisty All-Star into a fit. He needed to be restrained from a possible fight.

Both players were whistled for technicals, so Iverson attempted only two free throws for the shot, and he paced around the court, agitated, before going to the line.

After he sank the first one, he turned to his left and glared at Vujacic. He hit the second to pull the Sixers to 69-66.

Iverson added two more free throws the next time down and Chris Webber followed with a spin move to give the Sixers a 70-69 lead.

But Iverson missed two free throws with the Sixers holding a 78-74 lead and traveled with 52 seconds left, allowing Bryant to make the game-tying running jumper.

Bryant missed his first eight shots before going up-and-under for his first bucket late in the second quarter. Bryant added another before the halftime buzzer to give the Lakers a 46-42 lead.

He was stifled in the first half (3-for-14) by Iguodala.

"That was a game I was forced to take a lot of shots with a hand in my face," Bryant said.

Iguodala might have concentrated too much on defense, because he was a non-factor offensively until his baseline jumper gave the Sixers a 73-71 lead. Iguodala made another timely play when Bryant was hit with an offensive foul for pushing off on the next possession.

Iguodala scored five points, but he finished with 11 rebounds.

"I had some shots I should have made," Bryant said. "We had difficulty down the stretch. We weren't able to capitalize on some makable shots."

While Bryant struggled, the Lakers relied on Mihm. The 7-foot center with the meager 6.8 points per average played outstanding, shooting 8-for-12 from the floor and finishing with nine rebounds.

Notes

Lakers G Aaron McKie got a standing ovation in his return to Philadelphia. McKie, who played at Temple and scored 4,143 points in seven-plus seasons with the 76ers, was averaging only 5.3 minutes and 0.5 points this season. "Just coming in this locker room alone is strange to me," McKie said. "I'm pulling for those guys (the Sixers), but at the same time we need to win." ... While McKie was cheered, Bryant was booed, the way he always is when he returns home. Bryant, who went to nearby Lower Merion High School, said the boos don't bother him. "I love it," he said. "I love it. I love it. I mean, I love it. This is where it all began for me." ... NBA referee Joe Crawford worked his 2,000th career game, joining four other refs to reach that mark.

- Wow, AI2 really showed Kobe up. And AI showed Vujcic up too

[maes]

Damn i wish the Bulls had Iguodala.

[air gordon]

hinrich for iguodala. sign me up

[Fenix]

hinrich for iguodala. sign me up

God, Bulls could have Hinrich AND Iguodala. The question is - would you rather take Gordon or Deng with the 3rd pick in the 2004 draft? I would go with Deng.

[Drex]

And AI showed Vujcic up too

Hehe, Vujacic lip fouled Iverson elbow Who was talking about that superstars don't get the benefit of the calls?

[Fresh8]

Well, I find it funny that AI stared down Vujacic!

And with the Bulls, I would have taken Ben Gordon. However, I would start him or trade him. Now that we got to this.. what do you think Chi-town could have got from Gordon + Curry?

[kingtrobe807]

hey...any of u guys know y kobe is wearing those leg sleeves.??...just wondering cuz i know kobes never worn them before....

[Kbryant8]

hey...any of u guys know y kobe is wearing those leg sleeves.??...just wondering cuz i know kobes never worn them before....

He wears em cause it`s better to play with em.They keep leggs warm also
Also T-mac wears them.