Lakers Are One Victory Away from Ending the Series

If the Lakers win Game 6 against the Houston Rockets they will win all four of their last “close-out” games against playoff opponents. After an easy 118078 victory against Houston on Tuesday, the Lakers are hoping to finish their Western Conference semifinal tonight. The last time they traveled to Houston, they lost 99-87 even though Yao Ming was out due to a fractured foot. Lakers’ center Andrew Bynum went scoreless that game, with three fouls, two rebounds and one turnover in 12 minutes, but came back in Game 5 with 14 points on five-for-six shooting.Of Bynum’s Game 5 performance Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson said, “I thought he had pretty good energy out there. Rebounding was great, I thought his defensive spacing was good.”

Jackson hasn’t revealed whether for not Bynum will be in the starting lineup again for Game 6, but Lamar Odom’s injured back held him back in Game 5 (he only played 19 minutes). Should the Lakers get past Houston, they will go up against the Denver Nuggets, not to mention the Eastern teams still in the running, Cleveland, Orlando, and, of course, Boston.

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 14, 2009 - Post a comment

Lakers’ Center Lamar Odom Plays Despite Pain

Lakers’ Center Lamar Odom played through his back pain during Game 5, managing 10 points and six rebounds, helping the Lakers beat the Hosuton Rockets 118-78. It was questionable whether Odom would come off the bench Monday after sustaining a bruised back during the third quarter of Game 4 Sunday night, but he stuck it out and the Lakers now have a 3-2 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference semifinal series.

Odom told the L.A. Times, “I couldn’t really picture myself not playing in a Game 5,” but Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson wasn’t so sure, saying, “I just watched Lamar a little bit, about how he was moving and his reactions. [I watched] a little bit how he went through the warmups and after he got out there on the floor, I felt that he was pretty ginger still.” Jackson started Andrew Bynum in Odom’s place and he was given a shot before the game which “took some of the inflammation away.” Odom checked into Game 5 with 4:22 left and made his first shot, although he told the Times he was limited : “I really didn’t want to bang too much. If my man was on my back, I couldn’t really hold him out with my butt and go get those rebounds. My jumping was limited. I probably can’t slide as well. I hurt my back pretty good.” Odom will travel to Houston for Game 6 tomorrow night and will rest up before then.

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

Lakers Humbled by Game 4 Loss

Of the mood at Monday’s practice, Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson told the L.A. Times it was “somber,” while adding that the Lakers “recognize we went to Houston and did what we needed to do.” Although Jackson may have put on a brave face for reporters, in private he told his players he was “dismayed.” Of his decision to keep the heat off his young players, Jackson said: “Trevor Ariza is a young guy, this is his first time in it, and we’ve got to get him going. We also know that Sasha Vujacic’s been struggling and Shannon Brown’s a new player on our ballclub. They all play for us, but to depend on them, we’re still not exactly sure where they’re at. I haven’t called them out on this regard yet. I watched Boston go through it last year; they couldn’t win off their home court in the first two rounds, yet they got better and better.”

Houston’s Aaron Brooks has been getting ample attention after the Rockets’ Hame 4 victory. The Rockets were playing without Yao Ming, their star player, and Brooks stepped it up Sunday at Toyota Center. With a career-high 34 points, Brooks with 12 for 20 from the field, four for nine from the three-point range and had three rebounds and four assists in 39 minutes. Brooks spoke about how Houston coped with the injuries of Yao Ming, Tracy McGrady and Dikembe Mutombo, telling the Times, “We don’t never count ourselves out. If anybody is ready for this, it would be us. We’ve been through a lot this year. Mac being out. Deke being out. Shane [Battier] being out in the beginning of the year. Now we’ve got Yao out. It’s the same thing. It seem like we just keep going.”

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

Lakers’ Lackluster Performance Results in Game 4 Loss

The Lakers lost Game 4 of the Western Conference semifinals Sunday against the Houston Rockets due to carelessness and lack of effort. The Lakers trailed by as many as 29 points to Houston, who was playing without Yao Ming, and eventually lost 99-87.Yao Ming was added to the Rockets list of done-for-the-season players (Tracy McGrady and Dikembe Mutombo) the day before Game 4.

Lakers forward Lamar Odom, who left during the third quarter Sunday due to back spasms (and will undergo medical tests in L.A. today) told the L.A. Times, “We just happened to play probably our worst game of the year” later admitting, “Of course it hurts. We got beat. Now we go back home.” Foreshadowing Sunday night’s loss, Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson said before Game 4, “I don’t want to let my players think that it’s going to be an easy battle.” Looks like it was, for Houston at least. Game 5 is Tuesday at Staples Center and then the Lakers will return to Houston for Game 6 on Thursday.

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

One Game Suspension for Derek Fisher

Lakers guard Derek Fisher was suspended by the NBA for one game without pay and will thus miss Game 3 of the Lakers-Rockets playoff series in Houston tonight. Fisher’s suspension comes after he struck Houston Rockets forward Luis Scola with an elbow during the fourth quarter on Wednesday (May 7) night’s game. Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson will decide whether Jordan Farmar or Shannon Brown will start in Fisher’s place in Game 3.

NBA disciplinarian Stu Jackson announced today that Kobe Bryant was assessed with a Flagrant Foul Penalty One for elbowing Houston’s Ron Artest under the basket but he was not suspended and will play in Game 3. Alternatively, Artest is not expected to be suspended for running across the court and confronting Bryant near the midpoint of the fourth quarter. The best-of-seven series is tied at 1-1 after the Lakers’ 111-98 victory Wednesday at Staples Center.

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 8, 2009 - Post a comment

The Lakers Make It Even with the Rockets

The Lakers evened things up in their best-of-seven series with the Houston Rockets last night at Staples Center, winning 111-98. While the Lakers may have been lacking attitude during their first six playoff games, they had it in spades Wednesday, with Kobe Byrant scoring 40 points and Pau Gasol contributing 22 and 14 rebounds. Although the Lakers lost (another) large lead in Game 2, a 15-point first-quarter advantage to be exact, they had enought drive to make up for it.

Lamar Odom was fouled by Luis Scola during the third quarter and didn’t walk away before saying a few choice words to the Rockets forward first. Then Luke Walton jumped in and had some words with Scola until referees stepped in. Next, Derek Fisher was ejected for throwing an elbow at Scala and was called for a flagrant foul “two” and had to leave the game; the league will decide today if Fisher will be suspended for Game 3. Read the full article at LATimes.com.

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 7, 2009 - Post a comment

Lakers Have to Prove Themselves

After Tuesday’s (May 5) practice, the Lakers were on the defense when asked about their Game 1 loss to the Houston Rockets on Monday night. Kobe Bryant, who had 32 points on 31 shots in Game 1, told reporters that his fellow Lakers were a “little edgy” and that he was “more than anxious” to see how they will respond on the court tonight during Game 2 of the Western Conference semifinals. While Bryant may have gone as far as hinting the Lakers’ 100-92 home loss was a good thing, Coach Phil Jackson was apparently irritated at practice yesterday.

“I think last year was a cakewalk to the NBA Finals. It feels good to be tested a little bit. If you’re going to be a champion, you’ve got to be tested, you’ve got to answer those bells, you’ve got to answer the call,” said Bryant. When asked about the Lakers’ poor showing against the Rockets, the usually even-keeled Derek Fisher bristled, saying, “We don’t have to answer questions about toughness. We have to win games. You can ask all you want, but it doesn’t seem to come out until we lose. The 65 times we won, it wasn’t a big deal, but the 17 times we lost, it was a big deal. Now losing Game 1 on your home court, all those questions start to come back up, but the way you silence that is win games, win a series. That’s what we have to do.”

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

Lakers Lose Game 1 Against the Houston Rockets

Game 1 of a Western Conference semifinal series was held at Staples Center last night, and all didn’t go as Lakers’ fans hoped, with the Houston Rockets winning 100-92. The Lakers shot 44.3%, made only two of 18 three-point shots and were 12 for 19 from the free-throw line. To add insult to injury, Andrew Bynum didn’t make a smooth transition back into starter position and Kobe Byrant didn’t have a good game either (with 32 points on 14-for-31 shooting) . Lamar Odom told reporters the Rockets were a strong defensive team “that I’ve sen in a long time. They’re committed to defense,” and his words adequately foreshadowed last night’s game.

Lakers’ Coach Phil Jackson told the L.A. Times after last night’s game, “I don’t know if we can play much worse, to be honest with you.” Pau Gasol, who had 14 points on six-for-14 shooting, agreed with him: “It’s tough to play worse than that,” he said. “Our shooting was pretty poor, I would say. Maybe that affected us a little too much and carried to the other end of the floor. I’m sure we’re going to shoot  lot better during the series and the next game.”

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

MVP Award Reportedly Goes to LeBron James

According to the Associated Press, Cleveland Cavaliers superstar Le Bron James will be named the NBA’s Most Valuable Player this afternoon. Although Lakers’ Kobe Bryant was among the contenders, James is set to take home the honor. The Akron St. Vincent-St. Mary High High School alum (he has reportedly chosen the school as the site for the award presentation) led Cleveland to a team record 66 regular-season wins and the top overall seed in the playoffs.

LeBron James is the first Cavaliers player to win the award, with the 24-year-old averaging 28.4 points, 7.6 rebounds and 7.2 assists this season (his sixth season) and finished second in voting for defensive player of the year, which has some saying he is the NBA’s most dominant two-way player since Michael Jordan. James was up against Bryant and Miami’s Dwyane Wade for MVP honors; all three were teammates on the gold-winning U.S. Olympic team last summer.

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

Lakers Will Meet Houston Monday

After beating the Utah Jazz in five games of their first-round series, the Lakers will meet the Houston Rockets in Game 1 of the conference semifinals at Staples Center on Monday night. Houston finished off the Portland Trail Blazers in six games and the Lakers are likely breathing a collective sigh of relief, as Portland has defeated the Lakers eight consecutive times in Portland. Houston does have 7-foot-6 center Yao Ming, though, which may cause problems for the Lakers.

The Lakers swept the seasons series from the Rockets, 4-0, and are 5-2 against them over the last two seasons but after practice Pau Gasol told the L.A. Times, “It hasn’t been easy. I wouldn’t say it was easy. I think we match up well and we proved it this year. That still doesn’t guarantee you a free pass or a victory in the games. You’ve still got to go out there and beat them, because they are a very tough team.” Luke Walton suffered a sprained left ankle during Game 4 against the Jazz last Saturday and may be ready to play in Game 1 on Monday.

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Permalink - Posted in General on May 1, 2009 - Post a comment


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