The OFFICIAL 2008-2009 L.A. Lakers thread!

[Swillbury]

DP

 

[Swillbury]

LOS ANGELES -- Kobe Bryant scored 23 points, Pau Gasol added 20 points and 15 rebounds, and the unbeaten Los Angeles Lakers routed the Houston Rockets 111-82 on Sunday night.
Jordan Farmar added 16 points and six assists and Andrew Bynum had 13 points and seven rebounds for the Lakers, who shot 65.8 percent in the second half. Los Angeles has won its five games by an average of 22.4 points.
Aaron Brooks, a reserve, paced Houston (4-3) with 20 points and four assists. Yao Ming, Luis Scola and Carl Landry had 12 points apiece.
The Rockets trailed by only seven entering the fourth quarter, but Farmar scored eight points, Gasol and Lamar Odom added four each, and the Lakers shot 9-of-10 during a 22-9 run to start the period, giving them a 94-75 lead. Los Angeles wound up outscoring Houston 39-17 in the fourth quarter.
Houston's Tracy McGrady, a two-time NBA scoring champion and seven-time All-Star, had his second brutal shooting performance in a row at Staples Center, going 1-of-11 for three points two days after missing all five of his field-goal attempts and scoring two points in a 92-83 victory over the Clippers.
Ron Artest also had an off night, shooting 2-of-11 and scoring eight points.
The Lakers, who shot 43.5 percent in their first four games, wound up shooting 53.2 percent against Houston after going 5-of-17 in the first quarter. The Rockets shot 37.8 percent.
Bryant scored six points and Derek Fisher added four during a 12-3 run that gave the Lakers a 67-57 lead with 4 minutes left in the third quarter.
Brooks entered with 2:25 left in the first quarter and scored 13 of the Rockets' 15 points in a span of 5:15, helping them build a 16-point lead. It was 41-28 when the Lakers started rolling, outscoring Houston 22-7 to finish the second quarter, and they were on top the rest of the way.
Rafer Alston scored seven points and Yao added six during a 20-3 run that gave the Rockets a 22-9 lead, and it was 28-16 entering the second quarter. Since they shot 5-of-17 and committed eight turnovers in the opening period, the Lakers were fortunate they didn't trail by more.
Game notes
The Rockets won two of their three games against the Lakers last season, the first time they've won the season series since the 1996-97 season. ... The game was just the second for the Lakers since Nov. 1, but the first of four in a six-day period. ... Rockets F Shane Battier hasn't played this season because of a bone bruise in his left foot, and coach Rick Adelman isn't sure when he'll be ready to go. "He's really a key guy, he knows how to play," Adelman said. "He's doing more and more. We don't want to rush him back. He'll let us know when he can actually go out and practice." ... The Lakers are off to a 5-0 start for the first time since the 2003-04 season and the 10th time in franchise history. They won a team-record 11 straight to begin the 1997-98 season. ... Atlanta, also 5-0, is the NBA's only other unbeaten team

The Lakers looked absolutely dominate tonight in the second half. But the real question for tonight, what the frick is up with T-Mac? Time and time again he gives people reason to demote him from superstar to barely all star....Lakers look dominate/Rockets look like trash. We are on our way to see another Lakers/Celtics finals but it is obviously a little earlier but no complaints here.

 

[Swillbury]

HOUSTON ROCKETS
STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
Ron Artest, SF 32 2-11 2-5 2-4 2 2 4 2 4 1 2 3 8
Luis Scola, PF 32 3-9 0-0 6-6 1 8 9 0 3 0 0 1 12
Yao Ming, C 27 6-11 0-0 0-4 5 3 8 0 1 2 5 3 12
Tracy McGrady, SG 32 1-11 1-3 0-0 0 2 2 4 0 0 1 0 3
Rafer Alston, PG 28 3-9 1-5 0-0 1 2 3 1 2 0 3 1 7
BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
Aaron Brooks, PG 25 8-15 3-6 1-1 1 0 1 4 0 0 5 1 20
Chuck Hayes, PF 8 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 1 2 2 0 0 0 3 0
Carl Landry, PF 26 6-10 0-0 0-0 5 1 6 2 0 0 1 2 12
Luther Head, PG 15 2-6 0-1 3-3 0 1 1 1 0 0 0 1 7
Brent Barry, SG 11 0-0 0-0 1-1 0 0 0 1 0 0 2 0 1
Joey Dorsey, PF 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
Von Wafer, SG DNP COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
31-82 7-20 13-19 16 20 36 17 10 3 19 15 82
37.8% 35.0% 68.4% Team TO (pts off): 20 (30)

LOS ANGELES LAKERS
STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
Vladimir Radmanovic, SF 20 1-4 1-3 0-0 0 4 4 2 1 0 1 1 3
Pau Gasol, PF 33 7-10 0-0 6-6 2 13 15 3 0 3 4 1 20
Andrew Bynum, C 34 4-10 0-0 5-6 3 4 7 2 2 3 1 4 13
Kobe Bryant, SG 33 10-17 1-2 2-4 2 1 3 3 2 2 4 3 23
Derek Fisher, PG 22 3-10 0-1 0-0 1 2 3 2 0 0 1 2 6
BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
Jordan Farmar, PG 26 6-9 3-5 1-2 1 2 3 6 2 0 2 1 16
Lamar Odom, PF 24 4-8 1-1 0-0 1 3 4 2 2 2 4 3 9
Trevor Ariza, SF 25 2-6 1-3 3-4 4 4 8 3 3 0 1 1 8
Sasha Vujacic, SG 15 3-3 2-2 1-1 0 2 2 3 1 0 0 2 9
Chris Mihm, C 2 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 2
Josh Powell, PF 2 1-1 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 2
Luke Walton, SF 2 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0
TOTALS FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
42-79 9-17 18-23 14 36 50 26 13 10 18 19 111
53.2% 52.9% 78.3% Team TO (pts off): 18 (29)
Flagrant Fouls: None
Technical Fouls: PLAYERS: 1 HOUSTON ( A Brooks 1 ) - TEAMS (def3sec): LALAKERS (1) - COACHES: None
Officials: Bill Spooner , Mike Callahan , Phil Robinson
Attendance: 18,997
Time of Game: 02:07

 

[Swillbury]

Los Angeles Lakers (5-0) @ Dallas Mavericks (2-4)

Date: Tuesday November 11th, 2008
Time: 5:30 pm pacific
Location: Dallas, TX
TV: KCAL
Radio: KLAC am570



Starting Five

Jason Kidd____________pg______________Derek Fisher

Jason Terry_____________sg_____________Kobe Bryant

Josh Howard__________sf___________Vlad Radmanovic

Dirk Nowitzki______________pf_____________Pau Gasol

Erick Dampier___________c____________Andrew Bynum

Key Reserves

Brandon Bass / DeSagana Diop / Gerald Green /Jerry Stackhouse

Lamar Odom / Jordan Farmar / Trevor Ariza / Sasha Vujacic



Key Matchup

 

[Swillbury]

Great article on Trevor Ariza on ESPN.com today by JA Adande. Ariza is steppin up BIG time. What a trade....Mo Evans and Brian Cookie for Ariza!

LOS ANGELES -- In a Lakers-Rockets game with no shortage of big names, you had to dig deep through the box score to find the real star, the guy Phil Jackson calls a "stealth player."
Six of his teammates scored more points. Pau Gasol grabbed nearly twice as many rebounds. But Trevor Ariza was the guy secretly responsible for an astounding 45-point swing, from a 16-point Rockets lead early in the second quarter to a 111-82 Lakers victory.
For all the stat geeks, Ariza had a plus/minus of +34 Sunday night. Put that in your web browser and click it. Good things happen when Ariza is on the court, even if he doesn't always get his name called over the loudspeakers when the play is finished.
"He's like a ghost out there," Jackson said. "Like a shadow. Just all of a sudden he shows on a screen, he's gone. He's a blip and he's away."
Ariza even tried to slip out of the postgame locker room, waiting until a crowd gathered around Andrew Bynum before moving around the reporters and flashing a "peace out" sign to the big center, until Lakers public relations director John Black reeled him in.
"Come here, Trevor," Black said. "You can't play that well and leave."
No, you can't have eight points, eight rebounds, three steals and three assists in 25 important minutes without coming in to explain yourself, even if it's just elaborating on Jackson's stealth description.
"I'm the type of player, I like to be sneaky," Ariza said. "That's how I get most of my steals, hiding behind guys and at the last second jumping in front. I try to be a team player. Whatever the team needs me to do to help us win."
He couldn't help the Lakers in the second half of last season after he fractured his foot in January. He returned in the playoffs, but with limited time and impact. Ariza said his foot didn't feel completely ready until a month before training camp this fall.
In one of the Lakers' first big showdowns of the season, against a team that seriously aspires to take their Western Conference crown, Ariza showed why his healed foot could turn out to be a bigger impact than the Rockets' trade for Ron Artest. Artest is, shall we say, more noticeable than Ariza, and a much greater threat to get 20 points. But Ariza's squad is undefeated after five games, while the Rockets are 4-3.
(It didn't help that Tracy McGrady essentially took the weekend in L.A. off, making only 1 of 11 shots Sunday after missing all five attempts Friday against the Clippers. "Probably the worst two games of my career," he said.)
The Lakers are one of the league's elite defensive teams now. They're tops in opponents' scoring and second in defensive field goal percentage. They have an abundance of that coveted asset, "length." As one scout described them, "They're all arms."
Ariza gives the Lakers another athletic player, a role Kobe Bryant has had to fill virtually by himself the past few years.
"It's fun on the wing, when we're both out there on the floor," Bryant said. "We really get a chance to get after the wings, harass them, get in passing lanes, things of that nature. It adds another dimension to our team because he can get possessions back for us."
Such as the tip-in attempt that Ariza missed, but successfully kept alive for Lamar Odom to grab and score. Or the time he swooped in on the weak side to take the ball away from two Rockets after a missed Jordan Farmar jumper, resulting in a bucket for Bryant. Or the ball he poked away from Artest to start a fast break the other way. They were all part of a second quarter in which the Lakers outscored the Rockets 34-20 to take the lead for good after a dismal first quarter.
Thanks to a schedule quirk, the Lakers played only one game last week, against the Clippers on Wednesday. They spent the first quarter of that contest looking like a team that wasn't up to game speed. They committed eight turnovers thanks to a series of poorly timed alley-oops, sloppy give-and-gos and bad entry passes. That, plus 29 percent shooting, led to a 28-16 Houston lead after one.
Then the second units took the court for period two. Ariza, Farmar, Sasha Vujacic and Odom to go with Bynum, against Aaron Brooks, Chuck Hayes, Luther Head, Brent Barry and Carl Landry for Houston. Advantage Lakers.
"We have two good units that go out there and play, and they're both drastically different," Bynum said. "The first unit is kind of slow, methodical, they're passing the ball to myself or Pau. Kobe's on the weak side, just kind of taking advantage of people. The second unit comes in, they're a fast-break, push team. They get a lot of steals."
The second unit was the group that brought the Lakers back into the game in the second quarter, and the group (with Gasol at center for Bynum) that put it away at the start of the fourth, stretching the lead from seven to 17.
That meant another easy night for Bryant, whose services were required for only 33 minutes Sunday, right on his season average and in line with Jackson's plan for less wear and tear on his superstar who played on the Olympic team this summer after carrying the Lakers to the Finals last season. The Lakers have leaned on Bryant only once so far, in the fourth quarter at Denver. Otherwise it's been a teamwide effort. At this rate, Bryant will be much fresher for a deep playoff run.
Will the Rockets be around to face them as May turns to June? Not if they keep playing at this level.
"I think it was the worst game we have ever had," Yao said.
Coach Rick Adelman pointed to their one-on-one play on offense and their undersized frontline when Yao goes out. They need to send their equivalent of the Bat signal to Dikembe Mutombo (hold one of those giant foam fingers in front of a searchlight and wag it) to lure the center back. McGrady needs to find his shot again. Artest can't try to do too much offensively.
The Lakers haven't achieved perfection, and they struggled in their only journey outside of Staples Center this season. But they have discovered the value of Ariza, a key component of their early success ... when you can find him.
J.A. Adande joined ESPN.com as an NBA columnist in August 2007 after 10 years with the Los Angeles Times.

 

[Swillbury]

Ariza's basket put Los Angeles up for the first time since the opening minutes, then Bryant began stretching the lead with a one-handed rebound-dunk on the next possession. Soon after, he scored seven straight points and the Lakers held off the Mavericks down the stretch to improve to 6-0 for the first time since going 7-0 to open 2001-02, their last championship season.
Despite being without Josh Howard -- their second-best scorer, co-leading rebounder and a top defender -- the Mavericks came out with the fire star Dirk Nowitzki criticized them for lacking in their previous game. They scored a season-best 35 points in the first quarter and a season-best 60 in the first half, but couldn't keep up the pace, scoring just 39 the rest of the way.
Jason Kidd got the 101st triple-double of his career with 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, and Erick Dampier tied a franchise record with 12 offensive rebounds. Ironically, it was Nowitzki who let Dallas down, fouling out with 14 points on 5-of-17 shooting. He was 1-of-9 in the second half and didn't score after the opening minutes of the third quarter.
Bryant scored 27 points, most coming during a 30-9 spurt from late in the third quarter to the middle of the fourth that turned things around for Los Angeles. This was the first time all year the Lakers trailed going into the fourth. This was the most points they'd allowed all season and it matched their slimmest margin of victory.
Dallas cut it to 99-97 in the final minutes, but Nowitzki passed up a shot, giving the ball to Jerry Stackhouse, who missed. After a defensive stand, Nowitzki shot an airball on a 3-pointer. After yet another defensive stop, Nowitzki passed to Stackhouse in the corner and Ariza came flying in to swat a 3-point try out of bounds with 1 second left on the shot clock.
The Mavs couldn't get a shot off in time and the Lakers finally made them pay. Pau Gasol caught an airball by Derek Fisher and made a 2-footer. Nowitzki fouled out on the play and Gasol hit the free throw with 23.1 seconds left. Dallas was out of answers after that.
Gasol had 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Andrew Bynum had 11 points and 10 boards. Ariza scored a season-best 13 points and Lamar Odom finished with 12.
The Lakers will try to improve to 7-0 on Wednesday night in New Orleans against Chris Paul and the Hornets.
Howard missed his second straight game with a sprained left wrist. Gerald Green started in his place and keyed the strong start with eight first-quarter points before going to the locker room with a split lip. He had big dunks to open the third and fourth quarters, and finished with 17 points.
Jason Terry scored 21 and reserve Stackhouse added a season-high 17 points. Dampier had 11 points and 16 rebounds.
Game notes
Bryant is 23 points shy of Larry Bird on the career scoring list. ... This was the 1,400th career game as a coach for Los Angeles' Phil Jackson, a milestone reached by only 12 others. He is 982-418, the highest winning percentage in league history. ... Terry missed a pair of free throws in the third quarter. He was 23-of-25 from the line all season until then. ... This was Kidd's fourth triple-double against the Lakers. ... Dampier had eight rebounds in the third quarter. Eight rebounds was his game high coming in.

 

[GRZFTBL]

Big win Swilly. Hope we move up to #1 in the rankings.



Kobe has scored over 30 ONCE this year. Holy hell we are deep. Need to stay healthy...

 

[Swillbury]

Health is a HUGE issue. I feel as though this team is so deep anyways that as long as the injury bug doesn't bite too bad then we will be fine. A real test is going to be tonight @ the Hornets. Last night was a great win, we didn't play very well but we found a way to win.

(6-0 Away) Lakers vs Hornets (4-2 Home)

Date: November 12, 2008
Time: 5:00 PM Pacific
Location: New Orleans Arena, New Orleans, LA
National TV: N/A
Local TV: Lakers: KCAL HD
Radio: Lakers: KLAC
Internet: http://www.nba.com/broadband/alp_schedule.html

Lakers Starting Five:

Fisher / Bryant / VladRad / Gasol / Bynum

Key Reserves:
Odom / Farmar / Ariza / Sasha

Hornets Starting Five:

Paul / Peterson / Stojakovic / West / Chandler

Key Reserves:
Posey / Butler / Wright / James

Go Lakers!!

 

[Swillbury]

AP article

NEW ORLEANS -- The Hornets were primed to pull off an improbable comeback until Kobe Bryant made it impossible.
Bryant scored 20 points, highlighted by a tough 3-pointer over James Posey with just over a minute left, and the Los Angeles Lakers improved to 7-0 with a 93-86 victory over New Orleans on Wednesday night."I just wanted to shoot it in his face," Bryant said of the late 3-pointer. "I knew I was due."
The dramatic and deflating shot stemmed a frantic 17-4 Hornets run and put the Lakers ahead 86-80 with 1:08 to go.
"I knew Posey was going to sit on my arm, so I just had to back him up and try to shoot it," Bryant explained. "I knew it was going to be a tough shot because I had Posey draped all over me, so I just needed to focus on the basket and try to put it in."
Derek Fisher hit four 3-pointers and also finished with 20. He had 18 through the first three quarters, leading what to that point had been a dominant effort by Los Angeles, which never trailed.
The Lakers led by as much as 23 before nervously holding on against a team that is expected to be one of their chief rivals for Western Conference supremacy.
Chris Paul led New Orleans (4-3) with 30 points and 13 assists, scoring 16 points in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers appeared to have the game in hand after Andrew Bynum's 8-foot turnaround jumper increased their lead to 79-63 with just under six minutes to go. But Paul scored 11 points and assisted on three other baskets during a stirring surge that pulled New Orleans to 83-80 on Paul's floater off the glass with 1:33 left.
The fans were on their feet, urging on the defense, which appeared to be on the verge of getting another stop when Bryant's difficult 3 as the shot clock wound down hit the back rim and dropped straight through.
"I'm never surprised to see him do anything," Fisher said. "He's one of those rare guys in the history of the game that I think can actually make the ball go in. ... Mentally, he's able to lock in on that rim and get the ball in the basket. That's what separates him from some of the best to ever play."
Hornets coach Byron Scott said Posey could not have defended the play much better.
"Pose was right in his face, and that is what great players do, they make big shots," Scott said. "You have to give Kobe a lot of credit because that was a big-time shot."
Soon after, Fisher made a key steal from David West and the Lakers never allowed the Hornets to get within one possession again.
However, Lakers coach Phil Jackson was a little annoyed that the game got that close.
"We sucked the joy out of a good victory," he said.
Bynum and Pau Gasol each scored 14 for Los Angeles, and Trevor Ariza added 10 points. Bynum also had four blocked shots, setting the tone with a block on Hornets center Tyson Chandler on the game's opening possession.
West had 21 points and 12 rebounds. Peja Stojakovic had 10 points but was only 3-of-13 shooting. Chandler had 10 rebounds.
"We just spotted them too many points," West said. "We just didn't have any rhythm offensively."
The Lakers dominated most of the game, taking a 28-17 lead on Jordan Farmar's jumper as the first quarter ended. The basket ignited a 12-2 run that gave Los Angeles a 38-19 lead on Sasha Vujacic's jump shot.
Poor shooting prevented the Hornets from making a sustained run in the first half. Paul kept feeding Stojakovic for open perimeter attempts, but Stojakovic couldn't get any to fall, missing his first eight shots.
Fisher's jump shot from just inside the 3-point line capped a 6-0 Lakers run to close out the second quarter and give Los Angeles a 51-30 lead at halftime.
The Hornets showed signs of making a game of it early in the third quarter, but only briefly. Stojakovic finally found his shooting touch, hitting a pair of 3s during an 11-2 run that also included a pair of alley-oop dunks by Chandler, both set up by Paul.
Fisher's running jumper stemmed New Orleans's surge, then Bynum scored inside before Fisher hit a 3 and the Lakers began to pull away again, leading 69-46 after Bynum scored inside.
The Lakers are now the only undefeated team in the league following Atlanta's loss to Boston, but Jackson didn't put too much stock in that.
"If at the end of the season it's like this then it would mean a lot," the coach said, grinning. "There have been a lot of teams that have gotten off to good starts and it doesn't mean they have a great finish, but this is what we want to do and we're doing the right thing."
Game notes
The best start to a season in Lakers franchise history is 11-0 in 1997-98. ... Bryant moved within three points of Larry Bird on the NBA's career scoring list. Bird scored 21,791 points with Boston. ... Paul extended to seven games his record streak of 20-point, 10-assist games to start a season. ... Fisher came in averaging 9.5 points. ... Paul has had a steal in 90 straight games, the longest active streak in the NBA. ... The Lakers are 2-0 in the second of back-to-back games.

Kobe starts the redemption tonight against James Posey. Bench Mob showed up again tonight. Feels good to be 7-0 even when Kobe shoots the ball bad on the road, this team is still able to hold on. Its hard to be a lakers fan these days

Box

LOS ANGELES LAKERS
STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
Vladimir Radmanovic, SF 24 1-6 1-3 2-2 1 1 2 3 1 0 2 1 5
Pau Gasol, PF 34 6-12 0-0 2-4 0 6 6 1 1 0 1 3 14
Andrew Bynum, C 35 6-10 0-0 2-2 2 6 8 1 0 4 0 1 14
Kobe Bryant, SG 38 5-15 1-1 9-9 0 4 4 6 0 0 2 4 20
Derek Fisher, PG 29 7-11 4-6 2-2 0 1 1 1 2 0 1 2 20
BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
Trevor Ariza, SF 22 3-7 0-1 4-5 2 2 4 1 1 0 1 3 10
Jordan Farmar, PG 19 2-6 0-2 0-2 1 5 6 1 1 0 0 1 4
Lamar Odom, PF 27 1-7 0-2 0-0 3 6 9 4 3 0 2 4 2
Sasha Vujacic, SG 11 1-4 0-1 2-2 0 0 0 2 2 0 0 0 4
Chris Mihm, C DNP COACH'S DECISION
Josh Powell, PF DNP COACH'S DECISION
Luke Walton, SF DNP COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
32-78 6-16 23-28 9 31 40 20 11 4 9 19 93
41.0% 37.5% 82.1% Team TO (pts off): 9 (7)

NEW ORLEANS HORNETS
STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
Peja Stojakovic, SF 32 3-13 2-8 2-2 0 2 2 1 0 0 1 3 10
David West, PF 44 9-19 0-0 3-4 1 11 12 0 1 0 6 3 21
Tyson Chandler, C 33 2-4 0-0 3-6 4 6 10 1 1 0 1 4 7
Morris Peterson, SG 15 0-5 0-2 0-0 1 1 2 0 0 0 1 3 0
Chris Paul, PG 42 13-19 0-1 4-6 1 6 7 13 2 0 2 5 30
BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
James Posey, SF 33 3-5 3-5 0-0 0 4 4 1 1 1 1 1 9
Mike James, PG 6 1-3 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 1 2
Hilton Armstrong, C 15 1-2 0-0 1-2 1 1 2 0 0 0 2 2 3
Rasual Butler, SF 8 2-4 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 1 1 0 4
Julian Wright, SF 3 0-0 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 0 1 0
Devin Brown, SG 10 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 1 0 0 0 0
Melvin Ely, C DNP COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
34-76 5-17 13-20 8 35 43 16 6 2 16 23 86
44.7% 29.4% 65.0% Team TO (pts off): 17 (23)
Flagrant Fouls: None
Technical Fouls: PLAYERS: 4 NEWORLEANS ( C Paul 1, J Posey 1 ) LALAKERS ( P Gasol 1, A Bynum 1 ) - TEAMS (def3sec): LALAKERS (1) - COACHES: None
Officials: Steve Javie , Haywoode Workman , Marc Davis
Attendance: 18,239
Time of Game: 02:15

 

[Swillbury]

Detroit Pistons (6-2) @ Los Angeles Lakers (7-0)

Date: Friday November 14th, 2008
Time: 7:30 pm pacific
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles
TV: ESPN / FSW
Radio: KLAC am570



Starting Five

Allen Iverson_____________pg______________Derek Fisher

Richard Hamilton____________sg____________Kobe Bryant

Tayshaun Prince_________sf____________Vlad Radmanovic

Rasheed Wallace______________pf_____________Pau Gasol

Kwame Brown____________c_____________Andrew Bynum

Key Reserves

Rodney Stuckey /Amir Johnson /Jason Maxiell/ Arron Afflalo

Lamar Odom / Jordan Farmar / Trevor Ariza / Sasha Vujacic



Key Notes

- After the game against the Hornets, Bryant moved within three points of Larry Bird on the NBA's career scoring list. Bird scored 21,791 points with Boston.

- Kwame Brown will make his first appearance against the Lakers at Staples Center since leaving as part of the Pau Gasol trade.

 

[ALPHAGRIZ1]

Lakers suck

 

[Swillbury]

AP article on the Laker's first loss. Looked absolutely pathetic friday night

LOS ANGELES -- The new-look Detroit Pistons still have the Los Angeles Lakers' number.
Rasheed Wallace had 25 points and 13 rebounds, Allen Iverson added 25 points and the Pistons handed the Lakers their first loss of the season, 106-95 Friday night.The win was the Pistons' eighth in the last 10 meetings.
Kobe Bryant scored 29 points for the Lakers, but went 12-of-30 from the floor.
"We just played a good all-around game," Iverson said after the Pistons won for the third time since his arrival from Denver five games ago. "It's just about playing basketball, understanding what we want to do on the basketball court.
"We didn't feel like it would take long, but we knew it would be kind of shaky in the beginning because I'm a totally different player than Chauncey Billups. I'm a lot more aggressive when it comes to driving to the basket, so my teammates have to know what spot I want them to be in to be able to create shots for them."
In winning their first seven, the Lakers had averaged a league-high 104.7 points and held opponents to a league-low 86.7.
The Pistons obviously beat them on both ends of the court, with Los Angeles becoming the final NBA team to lose this season.
"We just played defense," Iverson said. "We made them take tough, contested shots. When they missed, we got out and ran and took advantage. On the offensive end, we just attacked all night."
Bryant said the Pistons presented a "matchup issue" for the Lakers' defense.
"With Rasheed Wallace at the 5, and his ability to stretch the floor, it opened up the lanes for the guards," Bryant said. "We didn't shoot particularly well, but those guys were hot, too, in the first half and third quarter and kept us at bay.
"They're one of the top teams in the Eastern Conference, obviously. And they caught us on a night when they were hot as a pistol and we were pretty cold."
The Pistons shot 51 percent and the Lakers 42 percent. Wallace, the Pistons' center, went 4-of-9 from 3-point range.
Detroit usually plays rugged defense against Bryant, who had 17 points through the first three quarters as the Pistons took command. They have held him to 20 or fewer points in five of the last nine meetings.
The Pistons beat the Lakers in Los Angeles despite playing back-to-back games -- Detroit won at Golden State the previous night.
Both Bryant and Iverson moved up on the NBA's career scoring list. Bryant has 21,817 points and jumped into 21st ahead of Larry Bird (21,791) and Gary Payton (21,813). Iverson (23,156) passed Elgin Baylor (23,149) to jump to No. 19.
Tayshaun Prince added 18 points in Detroit's balanced scoring. Former Laker Kwame Brown had a double-double, with 10 rebounds and 10 points, and Richard Hamilton also scored 10.
Brown was booed often, but afterward he smiled and said, "They booed me when I was here."
Pau Gasol had 10 points and was the only Lakers' starter other than Bryant in double figures. Lamar Odom had 11 points and Trevor Ariza 10.
The Pistons moved in front to stay late in the first quarter, and held a double-digit lead for most of the second half.
Detroit stretched the lead to 77-62 on Arron Afflalo's 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the third period. The Lakers pulled to 61-56 earlier in the quarter, but Prince made a reverse dunk and sank two free throws to help the Pistons stay in control.
Game notes
Bryant, in his 13th season, was playing in his 874th game. Bird played in 897 games over his 13-year career. ... Iverson, who averaged 17 points in two losses in his first games with Detroit, scored 30 in a win over Sacramento and had 23 points and nine assists in a 107-102 win at Golden State on Thursday night. ... He had faced the Lakers once already this season, scoring 13 points on 3-for-8 shooting in a 104-97 loss, his final game for Denver

Box for this sh!t show of a game
DETROIT PISTONS
STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
Tayshaun Prince, SF 38 7-15 2-3 2-2 2 2 4 6 0 0 1 1 18
Rasheed Wallace, C 39 8-15 4-9 5-6 1 12 13 0 0 2 1 2 25
Kwame Brown, C 28 4-5 0-0 2-3 1 9 10 3 1 1 2 3 10
Richard Hamilton, SG 35 3-10 0-1 6-6 0 5 5 4 0 0 5 4 12
Allen Iverson, SG 41 7-12 0-1 11-12 1 3 4 4 4 0 3 2 25
BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
Arron Afflalo, SG 26 2-2 1-1 2-4 0 3 3 2 0 1 1 1 7
Rodney Stuckey, PG 17 2-6 0-1 1-1 0 1 1 4 1 0 3 4 5
Walter Herrmann, PF 4 0-0 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 1 0
Jason Maxiell, PF 11 2-4 0-0 0-0 1 0 1 0 0 0 1 3 4
Alex Acker, G DNP COACH'S DECISION
Will Bynum, PG DNP COACH'S DECISION
Amir Johnson, PF DNP COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
35-69 7-16 29-34 7 35 42 23 6 4 18 21 106
50.7% 43.8% 85.3% Team TO (pts off): 19 (24)
LOS ANGELES LAKERS
STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
Vladimir Radmanovic, SF 15 1-6 0-1 0-0 0 2 2 0 0 0 1 2 2
Pau Gasol, PF 40 6-11 0-0 3-5 5 5 10 6 0 0 3 2 15
Andrew Bynum, C 31 3-7 0-0 2-2 6 3 9 4 0 3 1 1 8
Kobe Bryant, SG 39 12-30 2-7 3-4 0 5 5 6 4 1 3 5 29
Derek Fisher, PG 34 4-16 1-5 0-0 2 3 5 3 1 0 0 5 9
BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
Trevor Ariza, SF 31 5-9 0-2 0-0 2 5 7 2 2 0 1 3 10
Lamar Odom, PF 20 5-5 0-0 1-3 0 1 1 1 1 1 1 4 11
Jordan Farmar, PG 14 3-7 0-2 0-0 0 1 1 1 0 0 1 3 6
Sasha Vujacic, SG 16 1-4 1-2 2-2 1 2 3 1 0 0 0 5 5
Chris Mihm, C DNP COACH'S DECISION
Josh Powell, PF DNP COACH'S DECISION
Luke Walton, SF DNP COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
40-95 4-19 11-16 16 27 43 24 8 5 11 30 95
42.1% 21.1% 68.8% Team TO (pts off): 12 (20)
Flagrant Fouls: None
Technical Fouls: PLAYERS: None - TEAMS (def3sec): None - COACHES: None
Officials: Tony Brown , Monty Mccutchen , James Capers
Attendance: 18,997
Time of Game: 02:27

 

[Swillbury]

7-1
VS

5-5

Arena

TV: NBATV FSN
TIME : 7:30 PM

STARTERS

FISHER-BRYANT-RADMANOVIC-GASOL-BYNUM

STARTERS

ROSE-GORDON-DENG-GOODEN-NOAH

KEY MATCH UP

BRYANT
VS

GORDON

KEYS TO GAME
Offense must start quickly
Rebounding has to be better
Defense must be much more active

 

[Lou]

That's a sweet kneepad Kobe has!!

 

[GRZFTBL]

That's a sweet kneepad Kobe has!!

Sweeter than the pair you wear?

 

[Lou]

That's a sweet kneepad Kobe has!!

Sweeter than the pair you wear?

Cooler than your mom's.

 

[CDAGRIZ]

 

[CDAGRIZ]

 

[CDAGRIZ]

 

[Swillbury]

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Lakers went to their inside game against the smaller Chicago Bulls. The strategy worked to perfection.
Pau Gasol scored 24 of his season-high 34 points in the first half, Andrew Bynum added 18 points, nine rebounds and three blocked shots, and the Lakers rebounded from their first loss of the season with a 116-109 victory over the Bulls on Tuesday night."We wanted to go inside, and we did," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We just kept rolling. We had a size advantage."
The Lakers scored 64 points in the paint, with Gasol shooting 14-of-21 and Bynum going 5-of-10.
"It was written up at the beginning of the game," Gasol said, nodding toward the greaseboard in the Lakers' locker room. "Me and Andrew, it's hard to match up. I think we should make a consistent effort to do that every game. You've got two guys who can produce. They're easy looks, 10-footers -- high-percentage shots."
Gasol's previous season high was 22 points -- two fewer than he scored in the first half of this game.
Kobe Bryant added 21 points, five rebounds and six assists for the Lakers (8-1), who had three full days to contemplate a 106-95 loss to the Detroit Pistons.
"We wanted to play a little better, and we did that," Bryant said. "We shot the ball a lot better than we did last game."
The Lakers shot 47 percent compared to 42 percent against the Pistons.
Jordan Farmar added 12 points for the Lakers and Lamar Odom had 10 points, eight rebounds, five assists and three blocks before fouling out with 8:30 remaining.
Odom said it was important for the Lakers to bounce back after losing to the Pistons, but added: 'This game is behind us that quick. It's time to move on."
The Lakers will be awfully busy the rest of the month. After playing nine games in 23 days to begin the season, they'll play six games in 11 days starting Thursday night in Phoenix.
With Bryant on the bench, Chicago rallied from a 19-point deficit early in the fourth quarter to draw within 10 on a twisting layup by rookie Derrick Rose with 4:08 remaining. But that's as close as the Bulls would get until the outcome had been decided.
Bryant made his first appearance of the final period with 3:50 remaining and made a 3-pointer on the Lakers' first possession, helping to keep them safely in front. He wound up playing just 1:21 in the final period and 30:32 in the game.
The Lakers used their size advantage to block 11 shots, and forced 22 turnovers while committing 15.
"I thought we forced some things inside, and their guys are so long that they're going to block some shots," Bulls coach Vinny Del Negro said. "We made a couple of bad judgments going up, and you're not going to go over those guys very often because they're so long. You've got to get into their body and be physical. It was kind of an up-tempo game at times and we got a little sloppy with the basketball."
Rose led Chicago (5-6) with 25 points and nine assists while committing just two turnovers. Ben Gordon added 23 points and Aaron Gray had 11 for the Bulls, who are winless in four road games.
"They've got two 7-footers down there that are real mobile," Rose said. "We were swinging the ball but just couldn't hit open shots. They'll fall any other time.
"They are a good team and they locked down. They've been in these situations before, they're used to it."
Bryant scored seven points during a 12-2 run to start the second half, giving the Lakers a 73-58 lead. Chicago drew within eight before Bynum scored six in a row and Bryant added a 3-pointer, making it 82-65. It was 90-74 entering the final period.
Bryant was held scoreless until hitting a jumper with 8:18 left in the second quarter, triggering a 21-4 run that gave the Lakers a 57-40 lead, and they were on top the rest of the way. Bryant scored eight points and Gasol six during the spurt.
The Bulls responded by outscoring the Lakers 16-4 during the remainder of the second quarter, making it 61-56 at halftime.
Gasol shot 7-of-9 while scoring 18 points in the first quarter, which ended with Los Angeles on top 30-29.
Game notes
The 21-year-old Bynum got the 1,000th rebound of his career in the fourth quarter, becoming the eighth-youngest player in NBA history to reach that milestone. ... Jackson has a 12-5 record against the Bulls since becoming coach of the Lakers in 1999. He coached the Bulls to six NBA championships before stepping down following the 1997-98 season. ... ... The game was the opener of a seven-game road trip for the Bulls that finishes Nov. 30 in Philadelphia. It's called the annual circus trip because a circus comes to the United Center while they're out of town. ... The Lakers play in Phoenix on Thursday night before finishing November with five straight home games. ... A moment of silence was observed before the game in memory of Hall of Fame coach Pete Newell, who died Monday at age 93. Newell served as Lakers general manager from 1972-76. ... Rose has scored in double figures in each of his 11 games with the Bulls. He's scored at least 20 points in five games and led the Bulls in scoring five times.

CHICAGO BULLS
STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
Luol Deng, SF 26 4-10 0-1 1-1 4 0 4 1 0 0 3 1 9
Drew Gooden, PF 24 4-9 0-0 1-1 1 6 7 1 2 0 3 4 9
Joakim Noah, PF 12 1-2 0-0 0-0 2 3 5 0 0 1 0 3 2
Ben Gordon, SG 36 6-22 3-11 8-8 1 4 5 4 2 0 3 2 23
Derrick Rose, PG 36 11-18 1-2 2-2 0 3 3 9 0 0 2 1 25
BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
Tyrus Thomas, PF 31 3-6 0-0 3-3 1 4 5 3 2 3 4 1 9
Aaron Gray, C 22 5-9 0-0 1-4 4 1 5 0 1 0 3 3 11
Larry Hughes, SG 19 2-8 0-2 2-2 0 5 5 2 1 0 1 2 6
Andres Nocioni, SF 23 1-4 1-2 4-5 1 7 8 2 1 0 1 4 7
Lindsey Hunter, SG 7 1-3 0-0 1-1 0 0 0 2 1 0 1 0 3
Thabo Sefolosha, SG 2 2-2 0-0 0-0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 4
Cedric Simmons, SF 2 0-0 0-0 1-2 0 1 1 0 0 1 0 0 1
TOTALS FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
40-93 5-18 24-29 14 34 48 24 10 5 21 21 109
43.0% 27.8% 82.8% Team TO (pts off): 22 (22)

LOS ANGELES LAKERS
STARTERS MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
Vladimir Radmanovic, SF 26 1-4 0-2 3-3 0 3 3 0 1 2 2 0 5
Pau Gasol, PF 34 14-21 0-0 6-8 3 3 6 3 0 0 3 1 34
Andrew Bynum, C 30 5-10 0-0 8-10 3 6 9 2 1 3 2 2 18
Kobe Bryant, SG 31 9-18 3-6 0-0 1 4 5 6 3 2 1 3 21
Derek Fisher, PG 29 4-9 1-2 0-0 0 2 2 2 0 0 0 0 9
BENCH MIN FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
Lamar Odom, PF 22 5-9 0-0 0-0 3 5 8 5 3 3 2 6 10
Trevor Ariza, SF 18 0-5 0-0 0-2 2 0 2 3 2 0 1 2 0
Jordan Farmar, PG 19 5-12 0-3 2-2 1 2 3 2 2 1 2 4 12
Luke Walton, SF 3 0-2 0-0 0-0 0 1 1 0 0 0 1 0 0
Sasha Vujacic, SG 19 1-3 1-2 0-0 0 1 1 4 4 0 1 4 3
Josh Powell, PF 8 2-5 0-0 0-0 1 2 3 0 0 0 0 2 4
Chris Mihm, C DNP COACH'S DECISION
TOTALS FGM-A 3PM-A FTM-A OREB DREB REB AST STL BLK TO PF PTS
46-98 5-15 19-25 14 29 43 27 16 11 15 24 116
46.9% 33.3% 76.0% Team TO (pts off): 15 (16)
Flagrant Fouls: 1 CHICAGO ( D Gooden 1 )
Technical Fouls: PLAYERS: None - TEAMS (def3sec): LALAKERS (2) - COACHES: None
Officials: Ken Mauer , Jack Nies , Jim Clark
Attendance: 18,997
Time of Game: 02:26

• Pau Gasol scored 18 points in the first quarter and finished with 34 points. Gasol is the first Laker not named Kobe Bryant to score at least 18 points in the first quarter of a game since Shaquille O'Neal had 18 points on March 21, 2003 vs. the Celtics.

• With the win, the Lakers improved to 8-3 in the last 11 games vs. the Bulls.