Lakers Missing Radmanovic

The Lakers acquired Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown from the Charlotte Bobcats for Vladimir Radmanovic last month and Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson revealed he is missed by L.A. Despite past criticisms about his inconsistency, when asked about Radmanovic on Monday Jackson told the L.A. Times, “He’s a qualified player. He can do things, he’s going to have an impact on ballgames. We miss him, there’s no doubt about it. But that’s it — water under the bridge, you move on.”

Radmanovic has secured a spot in Charlotte’s rotation as a reserve and will thus play against the Lakers tonight. Morrison, on the other hand, may not see any playing time against the team that made him third pick in the 2006 draft because he hasn’t yet broken into the Lakers’ rotation. Bobcats coach Larry Brown told the Times Morrison was “never comfortable here,” cotinuing to say, “He told me everybody had high expectations. When you’re third pick in the draft, that’s just the way it is — it’s not going to change. Hopefully with a year under him [elsewhere], he’ll fill his potential.” Someone whose stock is rising is Radmanovic, whose stats have gone up since his move.

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 31, 2009 - Post a comment

Lakers Lose to Atlanta 86-76

After beating the New Jersey Nets 103-95 Friday, the Lakers played one of their worst games of the season Sunday, losing to the Atlanta Hawks 86-76 at Philips Arena.  Due to a season low in points (they fell behind by 16 points in the fourth quarter) and miserable (35%) shooting the Lakers blew their chances at an undefeated road trip and fell two games behind the Cleveland Cavaliers for the league’s best record with nine regular-season games left for both teams.

Kobe Bryant, who played with a sprained ankle and intestinal flu-like symptoms and had 17 points on seven-for-19 shooting, told the L.A. Times after the Lakers’ poor showing, “It was one of those nights for us.” Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson said in reference to Lakers’ starting forwards Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza, “There were a lot of guys that I could assess their games in the same category–they really had a bad night. You just have spaces in time where things just don’t click together. Everybody hits a night like tonight, and there’s nobody that can pick anybody out of the doldrums that we were in out there.” Read the full article at LATimes.com.

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 30, 2009 - Post a comment

Lakers Break Seven-Year Drought in Motor City

After seven years, the Lakers triumphed over the Detroit Pistons 92-77 last night at the Palace in Auburn Hills. The Lakers (57-14) beat the undermanned Pistons (34-37)  to stay within a game of Cleveland (58-13) for the best record in the league. The Lakers now need only one more victory or a loss by San Antonio (47-24) to have home-court advantage throughout the Western Conference playoffs.Although they have appeared in six consecutive Eastern Conference finals, Detroit may not even make the playoffs this season.

With Kobe Byrant scoring an impressive 30 points and the Lakers playing well overall, it was a very different story than what has played out in Detroit in recent years. Veteran guard Derek Risher told the L.A. Times, “Finally, right?” expressing what all Lakers fans were thinking. Fisher had 15 points, five of them during the third-quarter run that began after former Lakers center Kwame Brown gave the Pistons a 55-50 lead with 6:42 left in the quarter. At this point Detroit was winning (despite the absence of three key players- Rasheed Wallace, Richard Hamilton and Allen Iverson-all out due to injury) but the Lakers luckily overcame them. Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson begrudgingly accepted the win: “I have some Alzheimer’s and amnesia, but it’s not that bad yet. We know what we’ve done and we know the types of games we’ve lost here. We’re not going to take a whole lot from this game. We know they’re short-handed and we should win this game because of the talent we have.”

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 27, 2009 - Post a comment

Preview of Lakers vs. Pistons Tonight

Although the Detroit Pistons beat the Los Angeles Lakers early on in the season, they are burdened with injuries and may not prove to be a big challenge tonight. The Lakers have not done well in Motor City in the past- remember the blowouts in 2003 (111-88) and 2005 (103-81), 2008’s last-second loss (90-89) and the three consecutive one-sided defeats in the 2004 NBA Finals.

The Pistons (34-36) aren’t what they used to be and the Lakers may benefit from that tonight, but why have they been a problem in the past? “They play defense, you know? It makes it tough to win games there,” offers Lakers guard Derek Fisher. Pistons shooting guard Richard Hamilton has been sidelined due to a groin injury, center Rasheed Wallace has been out due to a sore calf and Allen Iverson (who replaced shooting guard Chauncey Billups, who was traded to Denver, in the first week of the season) hasn’t been playing as well as Detroit hoped. In order the star ahead of Cleveland for the league’s best record, the Lakers could use a win in Detroit tonight.

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 26, 2009 - Post a comment

Easy Win for Lakers

The Lakers made a 17-point first-quarter margin easily stand up in a 107-89 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder at Ford Center last night. The Lakers had 15 wire-to-wire victories last season and have had nine this season, although last night’s was their first since a 20-point stroll over Washington on January 22. The Lakers were able to laugh when Lamar Odom fouled out with 8:17 left in the fourth quarter, after re-entering the game 15 second earlier. He protested the call admist amusement from Kobe Bryant, Derek Fisher and Trevor Ariza, and eventually put on a smile thanks to the Lakers’ 19 point lead at the time.

Oklahoma City (20-51) was pretty much toast in the first quarter, with the Lakers taking a 37-20 lead and after an 11-0 run in the final three minutes, the Lakers lead expanded to 62-38 at hafltime. The Lakers (56-14) now trail Cleveland (57-13) by one game for the best record in the NBA. The Lakers own the tiebreaker but have seven more road games while the Cavaliers only have four more regular season road games.

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 25, 2009 - Post a comment

Lakers Take Longest Trip of the Season

Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson has been calling the team’s season-long seven-game trip, which is the longest for the Lakers this late in a season, “penance.”The World Figure Skating Championships are being held at Staples Center, thus the reason the Lakers had to hit the road. After coming back for a late victory at Chicago on Saturday, the Lakers will need another victory tonight in Oklahoma City to stay within of the Cleveland Cavaliers (57-13) for the best record in the NBA. The Lakers(55-14) are trying to make the best of the situation, playing only one team on the road, Atlanta (42-29), that is over .500.

The Lakers are more worried about themselves, with Lamar Odom telling the L.A. Times, “We need this trip, right? Guys realize that they need each other and the only way to make it happen is to play with each other. Sometimes I think it’s a chemistry thing.” Kobe Bryant weighed in as well: “It’s great for us, especially this time of year. You can build a lot of momentum from these road trips … if they go well. There’s obviously a flip side to that, but we believe we can play very well on this trip.”

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 24, 2009 - Post a comment

Lakers Begin Seven-Game Trip With a Victory Over Chicago

The Lakers rallied in the fourth quarter to enjoy a 117-109 victory over the Chicago Bulls at the United Center on Saturday, a good start to L.A.’s seven-game trip. During the fourth quarter Lakers’ forward Josh Powell (21) and guard Kobe Bryant (24) managed to trap Bulls’ forward John Salmons on the baseline. Saturday was the reverse of the Lakers’ recent trend, with L.A. being the attackers, overturning a six-point deficit through three quarters by outscoring the Bulls, 36-22, in the final 12 minutes.

The Lakers’ second unit sparked a 21-6 run kicking off the fourth quarter, with Jordan Farmar breaking free from a monthlong slump with 13 points. Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson sent out Lamar Odom with the reserves instead of Pau Gasol to start the fourth quarter, and he seemlessly blended with Farmar, Luke Walton, Sasha Vujacic and Josh Powell. A proud Jackson told the L.A. Times, “It was good to see that from them. The confidence is important, that they recognize they have to help each other out there. That’s the first thing and secondly, that they start aggresive.” The Lakers (55-14) have six more away games ahead of them and remain within a game of Cleveland (56-13) for the league’s best record.

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 23, 2009 - Post a comment

Lakers Continue to Give Up Leads

The Lakers emerged victorious last night at Staples Center, with a 114-106 victory over the Golden State Warriors, but they dipped to three points deep after leading by 18 points in the third quarter and had fans worried. There has been a trend of building leads and losing them lately for the Lakers, shown in recent games against the San Antonio Spurs, Dallas Mavericks and Philadelphia 76ers (remember Tuesday night’s game when Philly overcame a 14-point deficit to emerge victorious?).

The Warriors closed in 107-114 thanks to a basket by Monta Ellis (27 points) but Trevor Ariza stepped into a three-point shot for a 110-104 Lakers lead. Then Stephen Jackson missed a three-point shot and Lamar Odom (16 points, 12 rebounds) was fouled; Odom made both freethrows for a 112-106 lead. Of the Lakers’ propensity to give up leads, Luke Walton said, “We know it’s there. we know we’ve got to fix it. We just can’t keep talking about it.” The Lakers are still one game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers (55-13) for the best record in the league.

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 20, 2009 - Post a comment

Lakers Only One Game Behind Cavaliers

The Lakers (53-14) are only one game behind the Cleveland Cavaliers (54-13), a fact that has some fans worried. L.A. has the tiebreaker by virtue of a two-game sweep of Cleveland this season, but there may not be a tie to be broken. The Cavaliers play 10 of their last 15 games at Quiken Loans Arena, where they are 30-1 this season, with the Lakers being that “1.”

The Lakers are about to embark on a season-high seven-game road trip after playing the Golden State Warriors tonight. With more road games for the Lakers and more home games for the Cavaliers, the ratio isn’t looking good, especially since last season the Lakers experienced the importance of home court advantage in the NBA Finals, when they lost to the Boston Celtics 0-3. When asked if the Lakers will be able to finish ahead of Cleveland, Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson told the L.A. Times, “Oh, yeah, sure, we’ll just win all our games and then we’ll see what happens. Who knows? Those are the things that make for an interesting season. But we’re still going to go out to win ballgames and put the pressure there.”

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 19, 2009 - Post a comment

Lakers Last Minute Loss to the 76ers

While everyone was celebrating St. Patrick’s Day last night, the Lakers (and their fans) were busy mourning their shocking, 94-93 last minute loss to the Philadelphia 76ers at Staples Center. Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson used six of his reserves during the disappointing game, only three of them in the fourth quarter when the Lakers built a 14-point lead, but then Andre Iguodala made a three-pointer that gave the 76ers their last second victory. Josh Powell, one of the bench players, told the L.A. Times the problem “could be a little bit of everything. It could not be focusing, worrying about the wrong things. I don’t think that like effort-wise we’re not trying. I just think it’s attention to detail.”

The Bench Mob, comprised of Powell, Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic, had significant court time in the fourth quarter but couldn’t lead the Lakers to victory. Jackson explained, “We’re not just coming out and really attacking and playing agressive in the substitution role and that’s now become prevalent and it’s become an issue.” Earlier on in the season the Lakers bench was considered the best in the league, but they have since switched things up and no longer hold on to that title. Once the sixth man, Lamar Odom is now a starter at power forward with injured center Andrew Bynum out of commission. Another key reserve, Trevor Ariza, is now starting at small forward in place of Luke Walton. Farmar offered an optomistic view, telling the Times, “It’s just not there right now. We’ll get it back. We have a very talented, deep squad. We’ll be fine.”

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 18, 2009 - Post a comment


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