Sun Yue Returns from an ‘A’ Effort in D-League

Lakers’ rookie guard Sun Yue is back with the team after a four-game stint with the Development League D-Fenders and received an ‘A’ for effort, although his shooting still needs improvement. The goal of granting Yue time with the Development League was to allow him to play in actual games so he could gain much-needed confidence in his skills on the court. “I think I did pretty good. I think all the games helped my a lot to get a game feel. I’m not 100% sure, but I believe I can do something now in the NBA,” Yue told the L.A. Times.

Sun averaged 36.5 minutes per game but shot poorly from the field (36.4%) and from three-point range (37.5%). He was recalled by the Lakers on Monday and joined the team for practice after playing a D-League game in Colorado on Sunday night. Sun concluded, “What I learned is the most important thing is to play. I think I have to work on my shooting and defense. American players are very strong.” The 6-foot-9 guard was selected by the Lakers in the second round (40th overall) in the 2007 draft but didn’t sign until last August and received little playing time upon joining the Lakers, thus their decision to have him play in the D-League.

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 17, 2009 - Post a comment

Late Win Against Dallas Mavericks for the Lakers

The Dallas Mavericks lost to the best team in the Western Conference in the final seven minutes aftr being outscored 18-5 for a 107-100 defeat. The Mav’s Jason Terry told The Dallas Morning News, “This was a great opportnity. We dug ourselves a hole and we had chance to pull it out. But that’s why he’s Kobe Bryant. He does things in the fourth quarter that only a few players can do… We match up pretty well with thate. If it’s a team we’ve got to face down the line, we’re confident it will be a knock-out series. We’re the underdog.”

The Lakers beat the Mavericks twice back in November–106-99 in Dallas and 114-107 in Los Angeles–but Dallas proved to be a formidable opponent last night. It wasn’t just Kobe that led the Lakers, as Trevor Ariza had 26 points, including six in a row that pushed the Lakers up 98-95 with less than four minutes to go. Former Maverick DJ Mbenga missed the Finals twice and is excited for a chance this year: “I’m getting a chance, finally. Here, we only have one play, the triangle.” Mbenga was with Dallas when they lost to Miami in the finals in 2006 and was signed by the Lakers last season when they lost to the Celtics and re-signed as a free agent again last summer.

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 16, 2009 - Post a comment

Powell, Vujacic, Farmar, Walton and Mbenga Come Together Against Spurs

A bench mob comprised of Lakers reserves Josh Powell, Sasha Vujacic, Jordan Farmar, Luke Walton and DJ Mbenga came together for a combined 24 points on 11-for-20 shooting with 14 rebounds and four assists last night at San Antonio. The Lakers came away with a 102-95 win over the Spurs at AT&T Center, largely due to the Bench Mob’s strong fourth quarter. After starting Wednesday night’s game due to Lamar Odom’s one-game suspension, Powell was back with the reserves and told the L.A. Times, “I just think that the more we can trust each other, on both ends, and the more patience we have, the better we’ll be. I think that the first half, it was like we were out there kind of rushing instead of just being patient and letting things happen on both ends of the court. I think in the second half, we were able to get that back.”

The Lakers reserves scored 12 points and missed only three of their eight shots during the fourth quarter. They made some turnovers, but they were able to score. It was nice to see them fight back in this ballgames and get back in it,” said Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson. Vujacic told the Times, “We understand what out job is, what we have when we’re out there. We’re just trying to do our best and extend the score in our favor. So that’s what Bench Mob does and we try to speed up the pace a little bit and play good defense and just move the basketball. When we play like that, there’s no one team that can beat us.”

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 13, 2009 - Post a comment

Kobe Byrant Rallies During Second Half

The Lakers came away with a 102-96 win against the Houston Rockets Wednesday at the Toyota Center, largely due to Kobe Bryant scoring 31 of his 37 points in the second half, spurned on by Ron Artest’s trash-talking. With only six points at halftime, Bryant finished with 37 on stellar 14-for-23 shooting with six assists, five rebounds and four steals. Despite Lamar Odom’s absence (he was replaced by Josh Powell), the Lakers came back from their loss to Portland on Monday. In another surprise among the starting five, Trevor Ariza stepped in instead of Luke Walton and had eight points and six rebounds in almost 30 minutes. The Lakers ended the Rockets’ 12-game home winning streak and broke their own three-game road losing streak.

When asked about his one-on-one words with Artest, Bryant told the L.A. Times, “It wasn’t so much of a battle … I kicked his … We’ve had some battles in the past and he’s gotten the best of me a few times. [Wednesday], I got the best of him.” Artest, who only scored 11 points on four-for-16 shooting but did have an impressive six steals, replied “We are not friends out there at all. After the season, we might play pick-up games or something like that. Not now.” The Lakers (51-13) moved half a game ahead of Cleveland for the NBA’s best record and will play San Antonio tonight before returning to L.A.

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 12, 2009 - Post a comment

Lamar Odom Suspended for One Game

Lakers forward Lamar Odom received his punishment for leaving the bench after teammate Trevor Ariza’s flagrant foul on the Portland Trail Blazers’ Rudy Fernandez, he will miss tonight’s game in Houston while Ariza escaped suspension. The NBA’s Executive Vice President of Basketball Operations, Stu Jackson, ruled that Odom left the “immediate vicinity” of the bench on Monday; his ruling will cost Odom about $104,000 in addition to his absence for the Lakers’ game against the Rockets.

Lakers’ General Manager Mitch Kupchak told the L.A. Times, “We’re disappointed with and we disagree with the league’s ruling.” Odom, who wasn’t available for comment, won’t be allowed in the Houston arena but will be back on the court when the Lakers play in San Antonio Thursday. Despite enduring their worst loss of the season and learning about Odom’s suspension, the Lakers did get some good news when the league said Ariza wouldn’t be suspended for his flagrant foul. NBA spokesman Tim Frank delivered the verdict: “Ariza will not be further disciplined. Every flagrant foul is revied to see if it warrants a suspension. This was determined not to be the case.”

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 11, 2009 - Post a comment

Portland Remains a Thorn in the Lakers Side

The Lakers suffered their worst loss this season, 111-94 to the Portland Trail Blazers at Rose Garden, and to make matters worse they could lose Ariza and Odom to suspensions after Ariza committed a flagrant foul. The loss was the seventh by the Lakers in Portland and it was also their most one-sided loss this season. During the third quarter Trevor Ariza was ejected after laying out Portland guard Rudy Fernandez on a fastbreak layup attempt. Lamar Odom stepped away from the bench toward the jumble and could face suspension as a result. Sasha Vujacic also stepped off the bench, although he didn’t get as close as Odom. Ariza was assessed a Type 2 flagrant foul and could face further disciplicary action from the NBA in addition to automatic ejection; it looked as is Ariza tried to throw a punch possibly at Portland guard Brandon Roy. The Trail Blazers said Fernandez sustained a soft-tissue injury to his upper chest and side area.

The Lakers certainly didn’t anticipate starting their string of 10 away games out of 13 left in the regular season like this, and things may get worse if they show up in Houston without an extra player or two (or possibly three, as Lakers forward Josh Powell also picked up a technical foul). Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson told the L.A. Times, “Trevor went for the ball. That;s obviosuly going to be called a flagrant foul, but he went to get the ball and that’s what you do when you’re a player. It’s just unfortunate.” Regarding the suspension, Ariza told the Times, “I hope it doesn’t happen … I wasn’t trying to hurt anybody or do anything like that.” And although TV replays showed otherwise, Odom denied stepping off the bench: “I stayed on the bench. I stood up, but I stood right there. I didn’t go nowhere. They’ll see it and see I didn’t go anywhere.” The Lakers are now preparing for back-to-back road games against Houston and San Antonio.

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 10, 2009 - Post a comment

Lakers Try to Break Losing Streak at Portland Tonight

The Lakers have endured six straight defeats in Rose Garden, not winning against Portland since February 2005, but they will try to end that tonight against the Trail Blazers. The Lakers enjoyed an 86-83 victory over Portland Feb. 23, 2005, the same year that L.A. finished 34-48 and missed the playoffs for the first time in 11 years. Although the Lakers are currently the best in the Western Conference, the Blazers have a notable home record, 26-5, that may prove difficult for L.A. to overcome.

Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson told the L.A. Times on Sunday, “I don’t want to talk about that. It’s been belabored too many years now. It happened before I even started and just continued on here for years. Mark it down to rainy weather, depressing faces.” Kobe Bryant, on the other hand, told the Times, “We’re ready to go. It’s a good test for us. It’s a good game to start off this road trip in an environment where they play extremely well and we seem to play poorly. It’s going to be fun.” Ten of the Lakers’ next 13 games are away from Staples Center which will test their best-in-the-league road record, 21-8.

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 9, 2009 - Post a comment

Lakers Confident About Upcoming Road Trip

After tonight’s game against the Timberwolves at Staples Center, the Lakers will play 10 of the next 13 games on the road. Kobe Bryant answered with a smile when asked if the team was worried by the L.A. Times: “Why, because we’re terrified of going on the road? It’s not like a concern where we’re looking down the road and saying, ‘Maybe we can break even on the road’ or something like that. We don’t think like that … we’re not too concerned about it, Stephen King.”

Although the Lakers (49-12) recently lost to Denver and Phoenix away from home, they are 21-8 on the road. They beat Memphis Tuesday at Staples Center 99-89 but it wasn’t an impressive win, with Derek Fisher telling the Times, “We’re playing well enough, I guess, right now. There’s still weaknesses that we have and we want to shore up as the season winds down and we get into the postseason.” One of those weaknesses is undoubtedly the absence of Andrew Bynum, although Lamar Odom has been picking up the slack in recent games. Bynum won’t return until at least March 30 and the Lakers will face Portland, Houston and San Antonio on the road next week. “We have a lot of problems in the West, no doubt. We have a three-game road trip that, the way we’ve beene playing, we’ll just be happu to win two of the games,” said Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson, adding, “We hope to get back on better footing [Friday] night.”

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 6, 2009 - Post a comment

Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson Gives Team Time Off

After playing nine games in 15 days, ending with a 99-89 victory over Memphis Tuesday, Lakers’ coach Phil Jackson gave the team some much-needed time off. Jackson told the L.A. Times, “I want them to take the day off and just enjoy the day. They can do whatever they want to do, read books to their children, whatever they do.” After derailing their winning streak in Denver and Phoenix, the Lakers are back on top, and that’s exactly why Jackson gave them some time off.

Kobe Bryant agreed with Jackson’s decision, saying “You just try to use it to your advanatge. You get rest and get mentally back in tune to what we want to do and go from there. So we’re cool with that.” After playing Minnesota at home on Friday, the Lakers will embark on a three-game trip to Portland, Houston and San Antonio.

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 5, 2009 - Post a comment

Lakers Two-Game Losing Streak Over

Thanks to Kobe Bryant’s 31 points on 12-for-23 shooting, the Lakers ended their losing streak at two, with a 99-89 win over the Memphis Grizzlies last night at Staples Center. The Grizzlies came into the game with the leageu’s worst record on the road (3-23) but some fans were worried after the Lakers loss Sunday at Phoenix. The Lakers (49-12) moved a full game ahead of Cleveland (47-12) and two games ahead of Boston (47-14) for the league’s best record, and although it wasn’t their best performance they aren’t complaining.As Lakers forward Lamar Odom said, “After two losses, a win’s a win.”

The first two quarters were slow for the Lakers, but they led 52-47 at halftime and things got a little more exciting with DJ Mbenga’s strong defensive showing in the fourth quarter, blocking two shots and making two mid-range jumpers. Off the court things heated up in the fourth quarter as well, when the “kiss-cam” showed Adam Sandler kissing Jack Nickolson on the cheek. Lakers coach Phil Jackson told the L.A. Times, “There were spots tonight where I thought we played well … I still thought our offense was a little bit rusty here and there.” The Lakers now have two days off between games before playing Minnesota at Staples Center Friday.

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Permalink - Posted in General on March 4, 2009 - Post a comment


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