The Lakers Beat Golden State In Spite of Traffic Jam

The Lakers arrived just 39 minutes before tipoff at Tuesday’s (Oct. 20) exhibition game against the Golden State Warriors due to a traffic jam caused by a brush fire near the Pomono Freeway, but that didn’t stop them from winning! After a two-and-a-half hour road trip, the Lakers beat the Warriors at Citizens Business Bank Arena in Ontario 113-107 and Lakers Coach Phil Jackson joked, “I think we’ll take a helicopter next time.” Although the NBA can technically fine a team for arriving so late, a spokesman said the Lakers had justifiable circumstances. Jackson also revealed the team’s strategy for not having their normal pregame preparation saying, “You just short-change the [locker room] talk that the guys normally have. You’re just going to strap them on, pull up your jocks and let’s go.”

Lakers Kobe Bryant and Andrew Bynum has 21 and 20 points, respectively, while Golden State’s guard-forward Stephen Jackson has 15 points and some harsh words for Bryant: “I’m not a fan of Kobe. I’m not somebody who looks up to him. I’m a grown man, so when I go out there and play the game, I play the game. I feel like I’m just as good as him. I might not get the publicity or the notoriety he gets, but I feel like I can play with anybody in the NBA.” Although Kobe declined to comment, Phil Jackson said in response, “That’ll motivate Kobe. I was wondering why he was so hyped up to start the game.”

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Permalink - Posted in General on October 22, 2009 - Post a comment

Adam Morrison’s Potential

Lakers reserve forward Adam Morrison missed just two of seven shots, made all four of his three-pointers and finished with 14 points during the Lakers exhibition game against the Clippers at Staples Center on Sunday night (Oct. 18). The 25-year-old has been urged to take open shots by Lakers Coach Phil Jackson during training camp and appears to be taking his words to heart. Said Morrison to the Los Angeles Times, “When you’ve got the coach backing you up to take more shots, that definitely helps. I’ve shot the ball well in practice, but I didn’t shoot it well in the first couple games in the preseason. I don’t think I was being aggressive enough. [Sunday] night I was and the shots staretd falling.”

Morrison has gotten more playing time lately (backup small forward Luke Walton was out the past two games due to a sore back) and is making 40% of his shots, 50% of his three-pointers, averaging 16.6 minutes per game and 4.6 points in five exhibition games thus far. Said Morrison of his progress, “I think my legs are back. That’s the biggest thing. Getting more comfortable and getting in the right spots in the triangle helps.” After Monday’s practice (Oct. 19) Jackson said about Morrison, “It’s just a matter of having an opportunity to play some minutes so he gets comfortable out there. I think that Adam is one of those guys where it takes him a little bit of time to loosen up.” Read the full article at LATimes.com.

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Permalink - Posted in General on October 21, 2009 - Post a comment

Contract Decisions Loom for Five Lakers

Five Lakers–Derek Fisher, Jordan Farmar, Adam Morrison, DJ Mbenga and Josh Powell–are in the final year of their contracts and the Los Angeles Times is taking a look at what that might mean. Last year Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza were in similar positions and in the end Ariza left the Lakers for the Houston Rockets and Odom stayed in L.A. One year from now, Fisher will be 36-years-old; he makes $5 million this season and has already expressed his desire to play after his contract is up. Said Fisher about his future, “I’m kind of excited about it this time around. I think I’m in a more powerful position in terms of being in a contract year because I’m confident in what my choices are. I’m confident in my ability to keep playing for as long as I want to because of the way I prepare and train and my value to the team. I’m comfortable that if a higher power took basketball away from me for whatever reason, I’m going to be successful in other areas the rest of my life. So there’s no fear of next year for me.”

Farmar and Morrison, almost-23 and 25, respectively, may not share Fisher’s sense of calm, as they have less history to fall back on and have competition (Morrison seeks more small-forward time while Farmar has to compete with Shannon Brown as Fisher’s backup point guard). The Lakers could give both players contract extensions before the regular season begins next Tuesday (Oct. 27) but that doesn’t look likely–which means they would become restricted free agents next July. Powell and Mbenga’s return is on a year-by-year basis and will be contingent upon their backup play this season; they both are under contract for $959,000.

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

Shannon Brown Starts in Lakers’ Exhibition Game

Due to Lamar Odom’s bruised leg and Pau Gaol’s strained hamstring, Lakers backup Shannon Brown got moved up to starter in the Lakers’ 91-87 exhibition win over the Charlotte Bobcats at Staples Center Saturday night (Oct. 17). Lakers Coach Phil Jackson put guard Brown in the backcourt with Derek Fisher while Kobe Bryant and Ron Artest started as forwards and Andrew Bynum started as center. Luke Walton was also out (sore back) and Jackson told the L.A. Times, “I’m concerned that we have some minor injuries at this point.”

In other NBA news, there is a new rule under which players are allowed to take two steps before they have to stop, pass or shoot, reports the L.A. Times. Said Jackson, “Well, I guess if you can’t call it, you just regulate it as a rule. But, it’s really hard to digest that as a person that’s been in basketball for as long as I’ve been in basketball, that we’re just going to give in to this new rule of doing it.” Jackson referred to Reggie Miller’s tendency to catch the ball and take two steps back to make a shot from the three-point line and claimed he’d always been in opposition of the “two-step walk,” also saying that he thinks Europe has been influencing the NBA.

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

Lamar Odom: “I’m alright. It’ll be alright.”

During Friday’s 97-92 win over the Sacramento Kings in Las Vegas, Lamar Odom endured an injury when he was kicked in his right shin and limped off the court at the end of the first half. Sacramento’s Jon Brockman may have been the one who kicked Lamar, as he and Rom Artest got into it on the court. Josh Powell started for Odom in the second half and when he tried to re-enter the game he quickly bowed out due to the pain. After the game, however, Odom appeared unscathed saying, “I’m alright. It’ll be alright. They were wrestling down there, Ron, the wrestler and Brockman, they were wrestling and someone down there kicked me. Front side. Right side on my shin. Right on the muscle there. It’s a tough place to get hit. Treatment, that’s it.”

Because of the game’s insignifiance, Odom was right in sitting it out. “I was done. I tried topush off, and (couldn’t). It was not the time nor the place. You’ve gotta be careful, and take care of your injuries,” said Odom. According to the Los Angeles Times, the Lakers called it a contusion of the lower right leg and declared his status as day to day.

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

Defensive Duties Shared by Lakers’ Assistant Coaches

Now that Kurt Rambis has left the Lakers (he is now head coach of the Minnesota Timberwolves), remaining assistant coaches Jim Cleamons, Frank Hamblem and Brian Shaw have to share defensive duties. Lakers Coach Phil Jackson expressed his confidence in their ability to take on more duties saying, “All of them have more responsibility, obviously, for defensive setups. A personal responsibility for me is working with some of the guys I thought Kurt took personal pride in coaching and helping.”

Cleamons, Hamblem and Shaw will share the defensive burden and all have teams that they scout (10 for Cleamons and Shaw and 9 for Hamblem). “We haven’t talked about it, but my imgaination is that we’ll do it by committee. I think everything is in place. I think we know most of the sets that teams will use,” said Cleamons before adding, “There is an awful lot of professionalism because of the respect we have for each other. I think we’re always conscientious of giving each other space to talk. Sometimes one guy is going to say exactly what you’re going to say.” Both Cleamons and Hamblem assisted Jackson when he coached the Chicago Bulls and later joined him with the Lakers and Shaw played for four seasons under Jackson earlier this decade. Read the full article at LATimes.com.

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Permalink - Posted in General on October 15, 2009 - Post a comment

Lakers Forward Lamar Odom Talks About the Spotlight

A lot has changed recently for Lakers forward Lamar Odom, as he recently wed reality star Khloe Kardashian and inked a $33-million contract extension. Although Odom is still a reserve for the Lakers, he resigned his “single” status a few weeks ago when he married Kardashian after a highly publicized whirlwind romance. Said Odom recently about the ever-present paparazzi, “It’s part of what they do. It’s part of the world. Once I’m in the house and a comfortable place, they can’t come on private property. If we’re in a restaurant and they want to sit there and take pictures, it doesn’t matter.”

Comparing his high-profile marriage and similarly high-profile career, Odom continued to say, “Playing basketball at a high level and of course playing basketball in L.A., and being from New York and understanding lifestyle has probably prepared me for it and has helped my stay patient in those situations. This is a high-profile city we live in and we won a championship, and those things have helped me prepare for what’s to come in my relationship with my wife.” While some Lakers fans have worred that Odom’s heightened fame would affect his skills on the court, Lakers Coach Phil Jackson recently said that he noticed “absolutely nothing” different about Lamar.

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

DJ Mbenga’s Role with the Lakers

According to the L.A. Times, third-string center DJ Mbenga “is the physcial force that brings it every day in practice.” Due to his size (7-0, 255-pounds) and strength, Mbenga is able to help out starting center Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol (when he moves to center from power forward). Said Lakers Coach Phil Jackson about Mbenga, “He changes our practices around. He gives us a physcial aspect. He’s a contesting defender, and that makes it tough for the [starting] white team and the [second] blue team to just run overrun [teams].”

Due to an injured hip flexor, Mbenga missed the first five practices but was able to practice prior to the first exhibition game last Wednesday, although his injury reared its ugly head at the last second and rendered him unable to play. After also missing the second exhibition game against the Golden State Warriors last Friday night (Oct. 9), Mbenga was able to practice a little yesterday (Oct. 12). “He lost a little bit of practice this afternoon, but he’s running better. The pressure was too much, too many big guys coming at him from the blue [practice] team. But he’ll get it back by tomorrow,” said an optimistic Jackson before continuing to say, “We definitely want to use him. He’s a guy that we rely on to be backup. But what his minutes are going to be, I can’t tell you that.”

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

The Fate of Jordan Farmar

The Los Angeles Times‘ Broderick Turner reports that the Lakers have until Halloween (October 31) to offer Jordan Farmar a contract extension, but reveals that it doesn’t look like it will happen. Turner suggests that Farmar will be a restricted free agent next summer due to the “combination of current payroll and future obligations,” citing the fact that Pau Gasol is up for a new deal in the near future as an example. Says Turner of the Lakers’ situation with Farmar, “Committing to Farmar if they’re not convinced he’ll be a major cog down the road-they’re not, nor should they be-doesn’t make much sense for the Lakers.”

For his part, the fourth-year point guard told the L.A. Times, “There’s always going to be pressure playing in the NBA for the Lakers. That’s just part of the job. This is my first time up for a renewal, so that’s a little different aspect to it. I just try to stay mentally tough and continue to work hard.” This season Farmar will earn $1.947 million and the Lakers have a payroll of $91.3 million (which means they are over the luxury-tax threshold of $69.92 million). Lakers Coach Phil Jackson weighed in on Farmar’s situation saying, “He knows that he’s a desired product in this game. I know he doesn’t feel like this is it for him. He’s got a lot of followers in this game.”

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

Lakers To Return to Forum in Exhibition Game

The Lakers haven’t played at the Forum in Inglewood since 1999 but will be returning in an exhibition game against Golden State, for the franchise’s 50th year in L.A. Lakers owner Jerry Buss has wanted to return to the Forum for some time now, but have had some diffuculty doing so. Reports the L.A. Times, “The Lakers have had to work overtime to get the building in game shape. The gradually deteriorating arena is owned by Faithful Central Bible Church, which purchased it for $22.5 million in December 2000 and has never had to put on a full-scale basketball production.”

Tim Harris, senior vice president of business operations for the Lakers said of the work that went into planning the exhibition game, “Ever since we left the Forum, people have been asking us if and when we’re going to return. It doesn’t take much to understand why the Forum is so important … given the success and all the memories we had there.” Kobe Byrant and Derek Fisher are the only players on the Lakers’ current roster who played at the Forum, with Kobe recalling, “We got our [behinds] kicked in that building. The ‘Showtime’ Lakers had a great time, though our home is Staples Center.” Bryant continued to say, “There’s so much history and tradition. It’ll be good to see what it looks like. That’s where it all started [for me]. The locker, the smell of it, the orange seats, it’ll be cool to get back there.”

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


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