Lakers Thread

[Fresh8]

Ok, Lakers play the Hornets. It will be good as the Hornets have lost 10 of their last 11 games... and LA is a lil bit ahead of the kings right now. Time to capitalise on that and try to edge further away.

Also, something else interesting:

G Kobe Bryant has 21 40-point games this season. Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor holds the franchise record of 23, set in 1962-1963.

- Kobe will most likely beat that record IMO

- And what do you guys think of Odom's play after All Star weekend??? 16.5 ppg, 9 rpg and 6 apg... Whats great is he's averaging 43 minutes and making 55 percent of his shots from the field and 50% from three point land. Definitely the meaning of efficiency... I guess he proved me wrong about fitting in...

EDIT: Good News for Bynum Fans (If ur out there...)

Brown Injury Is a Concern

Just when Kwame Brown appeared to be getting on track, he might be slowed by an injury.

Brown suffered what initially appeared to be a minor hamstring injury Friday night near the end of the Lakers' 101-96 victory over the Milwaukee Bucks.

But Coach Phil Jackson was somewhat concerned Saturday. Although Brown was at practice and worked out, he was kept off the court.

Jackson said of Brown's right hamstring, "I don't think you'd say it's torn, I think it's just a slight cramp. There's some tightness there."

Jackson said Brown's injury would be further evaluated today, before the team's game against the New Orleans Hornets at Staples Center.

"I don't want to say he might not play," Jackson said. "I just want to say we have to think about possibilities. It's very possible that he may be able to come out and play at full level once he gets warm."

However, Jackson added that he'd rather give Brown the night off than aggravate the injury. He said how much Brown plays probably would be determined by how the game goes.

Brown was the overall No. 1 pick in the 2001 draft, selected by the Washington Wizards straight out of high school, but has not lived up to that billing. However, Brown, acquired in an off-season trade, is coming off his best week as a Laker.

In the last three games, Brown, starting in place of injured center Chris Mihm, averaged 16 points and 10 rebounds and made 19 of 29 field-goal attempts. In the second of the three games, he had 21 points and 12 rebounds in a victory over Sacramento. He had 16 points and nine rebounds Friday.

If Brown is not at full strength, it would probably mean more playing time tonight for Andrew Bynum, even though Jackson recently has been critical of the 18-year-old rookie's play.

[xman]

good news for bynum and his fans, bad news for lakers

[Jugs]

Yes!!!!!! "my" "boy" is getting some play time

[KB24]

Man, just when Kwame was doing good, injuries plague him, just sit him for this game, dont want to make the injury worse. The NO game is a must win, we have SAS next on Thurs.

[*Los Angeles*]

Kwame having another solid game. 14pts 6/6FG 2/4FT no rbs though. Lakers up 62-60 at the Half

Kobe shooting good as well 20pts 7/11 FGs 5/6FTs

[TRUball]

Lakers leading a high scoring game at half, 62-60.

Heh, it's kind of ironic, how 'we' just said how Kwame was injured, and Bynum would get the playing time. Bynum is actually injured, and Kwame is playing a solid game right now. He did however leave for a few minutes due to a bleeding nose, when he got smacked by Brian Cook in the first quarter.

Edit:

Lakers win 105-94

Kobe finishes with only 30, on 10/19 from the field and 9/11 from the line with 3 steals. Kwame has another solid game with 17 points on 7/7 shooting with 6 boards and 2 blocks. Odom has a very nice game wiht 23, 8 and 5.

Also, for the Hornets, David West has a great game with 23 and 10. Chris Paul had 17. 6 assists and 2 steals.

Lakers are now 2 games above the Kings.

[dada]

4 game winning streak.


Yesssss!!!!

[Fresh8]

Awesome... this is the fourth straight win? Lakers going for season high 5 in a row then!

[Jugs]

fucking bynum!!! HE SHOULD BE ROTY! not injured

[Fresh8]

^^ Since when did u start loving him?

For Jugs and others

Bynum Injures Ankle

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the NBA's all-time leading scorer, has seen a lot in his basketball lifetime.

The Laker injury situation, however, is somewhat unusual.

"It's like the incredible shrinking big man phenomenon," the Laker special assistant coach said Sunday.

Andrew Bynum became the latest to go down, sitting out Sunday's game against New Orleans because of a sprained right foot and ankle. He was injured while playing in a two-on-two game with other players after Saturday's practice at the team training facility.

The sprain was diagnosed as mild to moderate, and he might be available to play Thursday against San Antonio. The next Laker game after that is Friday in Seattle.

"We have to survive and keep going," Coach Phil Jackson said. "Hopefully he won't miss that many games."

Injuries have been part of the story for Laker post players throughout the season.

First it was Vlade Divac announcing his retirement before the season because of a bad back. Then Slava Medvedenko sustained a season-ending back injury. More recently, Chris Mihm has missed eight games because of a severely sprained ankle that could keep him out the rest of the regular season.


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


Bynum, averaging 1.7 points and 1.8 rebounds in 7.4 minutes, was given a 'B' grade so far this season by Abdul-Jabbar, who was hired mainly to work with the rookie.

"Right now, the sky's the limit," Abdul-Jabbar said. "If he stays healthy, he could be productive at both ends of the court.

"Having the opportunity to be in this situation, not having it be a thing where he sits on the bench every time, has really enabled him to put two and two together."

At the same time, Abdul-Jabbar is pushing for Bynum to get more minutes.

"I'm not at all questioning Phil on that, but because he's my project, I want to see him out there," Abdul-Jabbar said.

[gergerjai]

For those who claimed Kobe could never be an MVP because he couldnt make his teammates better like Nash, O'Neal and James do, take a look at this:
http://www.82games.com/pelton13.htm
analized in Jan, Kobe's prime of this regular season, though.

[Amphatoast]

wow 3 straight games of 15+ points for kwame brown. could he not be a bust?

[Fresh8]

Is turning out to be half the player people once thought you would be mean being a bust or not?

[TRUball]

This would be Kwame's rookie season if he played college for all 4 years. So, he may just be a late bloomer but still, he needs to prove himself in more then just a few games. We'll see how he plays for the rest of the season, and next year. He may just be, like Sit said, half the player he was supposed to be.

[Fresh8]

Well... I have read that Kwame isn't the fastest player at learning the offence Jax wants them to play... same goes for more than half the team but overall, they are all improving... We will need to see how Kame does for the remainder of this season, in the play offs and how hard he works over the Summer.

EDIT: Utah moved ahead of Nawlins and are 2 games behind the Kings.

[J@3]

This would be Kwame's rookie season if he played college for all 4 years. So, he may just be a late bloomer but still, he needs to prove himself in more then just a few games. We'll see how he plays for the rest of the season, and next year. He may just be, like Sit said, half the player he was supposed to be.

He's been in the league half a decade, it's about time he's producing.

[Fenix]

He'll probably be a good role player, but not much more. He has potential to be one of the best post defenders in the League (which he already is) and could learn how to be usefull on the other end of the court within the flow of the offense, but - IMHO - he just doesn't have the skills/talent to be much more than that. My prediction is 14/8 and I'd call that a bust, if I had picked him with #1.

[samson]

yeah 14 and 8 for a #1 pick is a bust. but if he can avverage those numbers for a couple of years he can be a great contribution to the team.

kwame is the kind of guy that you gotta let devlope outside of the box.

his inside game is alright, but he does play decent d fense and can hit the glass.

that's what people have been asking from him for years. i'm just gald to see that he's trying to improve his game on all levels.

[dada]

Man, Lakers down by alot tonight against the sonics, hopefully they can make a comeback. Not a good way to be playing this time of the year.

[Fewrookies-From2kW/Love]

Is Kobe holding a grudge against Ray? After Ray said that Kobe can't win without Shaq before the teams last meeting, Kobe have been jacking up shots against Ray. I think he attempted 33 last time, and now he is up to 20 at HALFTIME. I know Kobe hogs the ball, but it seems he is particulaly more charge against the Sonics and Ray.

[dada]

Ray has been saying that for some time now, not just the last couple meetings.




Anyways, Lakers lead by two so hopefully they can keep this going as this win is desperately needed.

[Carmo]

I am very impressed with Kwame and now I am very pleased the Lakers picked him up. He has so much more confidence now, you can see it in his body language. He will be an important factor if the Lakers are to make any noise at all in the playoffs.

[dada]

Looks like the Lakers are gonna win this one. Nice D in the second half. Kobe playing alot better.

edit: Man, Kobe hitting some big shots in the last few moments of the game. Wow.

[KB24]

Man, Kwame been steppin up his game, and at the right time.

[samson]

yeah kwame is playing ball like a real hooper these days. anyone konw how long its gonna be before mihm is back? big props to luke and ronny in last nights win also.