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

[Lou]

 

[Lou]

 

[Lou]

 

[Swillbury]

If the thread is gay, why do you keep posting in it? Jw....

 

[Swillbury]

at

starting lineup music
Probable Starting Lineups
Los Angeles Lakers

Derek Fisher

Kobe Bryant

Vladimir Radmanovic

Pau Gasol

Andrew Bynum

Bench Notables

Lamar Odom

Trevor Ariza

Jordan Farmar

Sasha Vujacic


Phoenix Suns

Steve Nash

Raja Bell

Matt Barnes

Amare Stoudemire

Shaquille O'Neal

Bench Notables

Boris Diaw

Grant Hill

Goran Dragic

hehehe
Well that's probably more fun than I should be allowed to have

Keys
Defense- don't let them score more than us
Offense- score more than them
Win- do it

GO LAKERS :clap:

 

[Swillbury]

PHOENIX -- Kobe Bryant had a below-average game. He's got so much help on this Los Angeles Lakers team it didn't matter.
Bryant scored 24 points, Vladimir Radmanovic made all five of his 3-pointers and a host of others made significant contributions to help the Lakers past the Phoenix Suns, 105-92 on Thursday night.Bryant shot only 8-of-23, but the Lakers overwhelmed Phoenix with their depth. Six players reached double figures as Los Angeles improved its record to a league-best 9-1.
"I was telling Luke [Walton] about 10 minutes ago that this might be the first season I average 31 minutes because we've been blowing people out," Bryant said. "I've been sitting the whole fourth quarter. That's pretty amazing."
Bryant did make a fourth-quarter cameo, but mostly it was left to the reserves to finish off Phoenix.
Radmanovic scored 15, Lamar Odom 13, Jordan Farmar 11, and Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza 10 apiece for Los Angeles. Pau Gasol scored only four points but had nine assists and nine rebounds.
"They're the best team," the Suns' Shaquille O'Neal said. "They're 9-1. They're playing good. Kobe's playing team ball, keeping everybody involved. He's got a lot of shooters around him. They're a very dangerous team."
Amare Stoudemire scored 21 for Phoenix on 9-for-21 shooting. The Lakers' reserves outscored their Suns counterparts 42-30.
"It's the kind of game we need from our bench," Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson said. "We were able to play them most of the fourth quarter."
The Lakers had 21 points off 15 Phoenix turnovers. Los Angeles committed just seven turnovers, resulting in seven points for the Suns.
Radmanovic had only five points and was 0-for-2 on 3s in the Lakers' victory over Chicago on Tuesday night.
"We'd been kidding him that he'd not made a shot the last week," Jackson said.
O'Neal added 15 points and nine rebounds against a team he helped win three NBA titles. The Suns' Steve Nash was scoreless in the first half and finished with eight points and 10 assists, leaving the court with back spasms with 4:38 to play.
"I thought Raja [Bell] did a great job on Kobe," Phoenix coach Terry Porter said. "He goes 8-for-23 and he has other guys step up. That's what's made these guys good this year."
The Lakers made 10 of 21 3-pointers to win in Phoenix for the third straight time.
Los Angeles took the lead for good late in the first half. The Lakers led by 14 in the third quarter and were up 89-71 when Odom sank a 3-pointer with 8:34 to play. Phoenix cut the lead to 10 in the final few minutes but got no closer.
The Lakers went on a 14-0 run to end the first quarter and start the second, taking a 32-24 lead on Bynum's 10-footer. The Suns responded with a 12-2 spurt to go up 37-34 when Grant Hill made one of two free throws with 7:05 left in the half.
Los Angeles, though, outscored Phoenix 17-7 the rest of the quarter to lead 51-44 at the break. The Lakers padded the lead in the opening minutes of the second half. Bryant's fast-break basket made it 63-51 with 7:47 left in the third quarter.
The Suns twice cut it to eight before back-to-back 3-pointers by Radmanovic and Derek Fisher gave Los Angeles a 76-62 with 2:21 left in the third. The Lakers led 80-67 entering the fourth.
Game notes
Radmanovic was 11-for-30 on 3s going into the game. Foul trouble limited Bynum to 20 1/2 minutes. ... Suns coach Terry Porter went with Sean Singletary ahead of Goran Dragic at backup point guard. Both players are rookies. ... O'Neal gave Jackson a big, sweaty hug in the hallway before the game.

Kobe Bryant scored 24 points, Pau Gasol had nine rebounds and nine assists, and the Lakers won for the ninth time in 10 games while improving to 31-6 in the regular season when Gasol plays.

• Vladimir Radmanovic, who'd scored 19 points combined in his previous five games, finished with 15 points, making all five of his 3-point attempts.

 

[Swillbury]

Denver Nuggets (8-4) @ Los Angeles Lakers (9-1)

Date: Friday November 21st, 2008
Time: 7:30 pm pacific
Location: Staples Center, Los Angeles
TV: FSW
Radio: KLAC am570



Starting Five

Chauncey Billups___________pg_____________Derek Fisher

Dahntay Jones______________sg______________Kobe Bryant

Carmelo Anthony_________sf____________Vlad Radmanovic

Kenyon Martin_______________pf_______________Pau Gasol

Nene Hilario______________c______________Andrew Bynum

Key Reserves

JR Smith / Linas Kleiza / Anthony Carter / Renaldo Balkman

Lamar Odom / Jordan Farmar / Trevor Ariza / Sasha Vujacic

 

[Swillbury]

LOS ANGELES -- Phil Jackson prefers when none of his starters has to play more than 34 minutes. Not only did he get his wish in the Lakers' one-sided win over Denver, but none of them spent 30 minutes on the court -- and they still kept Carmelo Anthony in check.
Kobe Bryant scored 11 of his 29 points in the third quarter before sitting out the fourth, Andrew Bynum had 13 points and 13 rebounds, and Los Angeles coasted to a 104-90 victory on Friday night.
"It's about taking care of business. That is how we push it," said Bryant, who is averaging just under 34 minutes. "It's a push against the clock. I think it shows the business attitude that we have, as well as depth. I wanted to do a little more service, especially in these sleeper games."
The defending Western Conference champion Lakers (10-1) are off to their best start through 11 games since the 2001-02 championship season, when they won 16 of their first 17. All of their victories have been decided by seven or more points -- which was their winning margin against four teams.
"They have a lot of offensive weapons, and they've turned themselves into a pretty good defensive team," Denver coach George Karl said. "They're much improved defensively from last year, and they haven't had a close game."
Anthony, the runner-up to Bryant for the league scoring title in 2006-07, had 10 points on 5-for-19 shooting and is averaging just 16.3 points over his last six games. He has scored 30 or more points 57 times since the start of the '06-07 season, the third-highest total during that stretch behind LeBron James (77) and Bryant (75).
"I think it's very difficult to be a star when defenses are designed and manipulated to take you out and stop you from being successful," Karl said. "Right now we're not getting a lot of opportunities for him. He's taking a lot of tough shots and getting frustrated over the shot selection. I think he's got to be patient and work with us, and we'll figure out how to help him gain more success."
Anthony didn't get to the free throw line all night. He sat out the fourth quarter and kept his double-digit scoring streak alive at 218 consecutive games when he hit a 15-foot jumper with 11:15 left in the third.
The last time the six-year veteran was in single digits was Nov. 28, 2005, when he played just 1 1/2 minutes against New Jersey before leaving with a sprained ankle and had two points.
"We focused on not giving him open opportunities, getting a body on him when he gets the basketball, turning him to the baseline a lot of times and trying to keep him from the middle so he couldn't penetrate," Jackson said. "Vlade [Radmanovic] did a good job on him and I thought guys focused on him and knew where he was."
Nene and J.R. Smith had 18 points apiece for Denver. Chauncey Billups made his first three shots, but was 3-for-9 the rest of the way and finished with 15 points and nine assists before going to the bench with 10:39 remaining.
Billups, a three-time All-Star, is averaging 18.3 points and 6.2 assists in nine games since the Nuggets reacquired him from Detroit in a trade that sent Allen Iverson to the Pistons.
"This team taught us a lesson tonight, and they beat us in every aspect," Billups said. "When you come out against a team like this and don't give 100 percent, it shows."
The Lakers never trailed in the opener of a five-game homestand, making 14 of 21 shots in the first quarter and bolting to a 35-20 lead.
Anthony had a miserable first half -- shooting 4-for-13 and committing three turnovers in a 2:47 span. The Lakers used a 20-6 run to increase a 13-point lead to 59-32 with 4:26 left in the second quarter.
The Nuggets had one brief competitive stretch at the start of the third quarter, slicing a 20-point halftime deficit to 71-60 with a 13-4 run capped by Dahntay Jones' layup with 6:53 left in the period.
But the Lakers responded with a 14-2 surge capped by Bryant's 17-foot running jumper with 2:18 left in the quarter. Denver got no closer than 14 points on a 3-pointer by Smith with 4:40 to play.
"Kobe's energy was great tonight. They got their interior game going at the end of the first half, but at that time we were 27 points ahead at the time they got their momentum," Jackson said. "They're a big momentum team, but we were able to keep him to that and not go too long without a score -- although we started that third quarter rather dismally."
Bryant, who won back-to-back scoring titles immediately preceding last season's MVP campaign, has reached the 30-point mark only once this season. That was on Nov. 1 at Denver, when he had 33 to help beat the Nuggets 104-97 in their final game with Iverson.
The Nuggets have lost nine straight meetings with the Lakers, who swept them in the first round of the playoffs, and have lost 16 of 18 regular-season games at Staples Center since the building opened nine years ago.
Game notes
Bryant shot a 30-foot airball with 1:41 left in the third quarter and the Lakers leading 85-63. ... Billups was MVP of the Finals in 2004 against the Lakers, averaging 21 points while Detroit won the series in five games. ... The Nuggets are 7-2 with Billups in the lineup, and the Pistons are the only team that has beaten the Lakers. ... No Denver player has scored 30 or more points through the team's first 13 games. It's the team's longest such streak at the start of a season since 2002-03, when they went 27 games before Juwan Howard had 30 against the Clippers in Los Angeles.

Actor/director Spike Lee watches the Denver Nuggets play the Los Angeles Lakers in an NBA basketball game, Friday, Nov. 21, 2008, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)

 

[Swillbury]

Lakers Kings tonight.....

Should be another blowout

 

[Swillbury]

LOS ANGELES -- Double-digit scoring by eight Los Angeles Lakers camouflaged what nearly cost them a victory against the young and aggressive Sacramento Kings: sloppy ball handling and poor transition defense.
The Lakers committed 18 turnovers Sunday night, which the Kings converted into 30 points. But Kobe Bryant was good when he had to be, scoring 24 points and dishing out six assists to help the defending Western Conference champs beat the Kings 118-108 and improve the NBA's best record to 11-1."I thought we were poor, defensively," coach Phil Jackson said after watching Sacramento shoot 53.4 percent against his team despite a 4-for-20 showing from 3-point range.
"Offensively we were effective, although we turned the ball over an inordinate amount of times. They shot the ball well and had a lot of speed and penetration out of turnovers. They had 30 points off turnovers. It's tough to defend turnovers. I don't think we recovered well and transitioned well back to defense."
All five Lakers starters reached double figures in points by the third quarter, as they won for the fourth straight time since losing to Detroit at home. Andrew Bynum had 15 points and 10 rebounds, while Pau Gasol chipped in with 16 points.
"I'm not happy with this win. We could have played much more solid defensively," Bryant said. "They did a good job getting out in transition. So from that aspect, we might have been a little worn down."
Despite their won-lost record, the Lakers have shot 50 percent or better from the field only three times in the first 12 games. They finished at 51.7 percent in this one.
Vladimir Radmanovic, wearing red tinted goggles after getting poked in his right eye during Friday night's win against Denver, made took only six shots and was 4-for-5 from 3-point range. He finished with 12 points, going to the bench for good with 5:11 left in the third quarter and the Lakers up by seven.
John Salmons led Sacramento with 24 points and reserve Bobby Brown added 21. Kevin Martin was sidelined for the eighth consecutive game with a sprained left ankle and Mikki Moore missed his fourth straight because of a sprained right ankle.
The Kings, who have lost five of six, used a starting lineup that included rookies Donte Greene and Jason Thompson, who has started every game since Martin's injury and scored 15 points against the Lakers.
"It's hard coming in here and playing the Lakers," Brown said. "They're 11-1 and they've got this momentum. We had some opportunities for fast breaks and we tried to use that to our advantage."
Trailing by as many as 19 points after Bynum's three-point play to open the fourth quarter, Sacramento went on a 21-6 run that narrowed the gap to 105-101 with 6:17 to play. Bobby Jackson helped fuel the rally with 10 points, including a three-point play that capped the rally.
"Our guys never quit. Sometimes they do not play that great, but they never quit," coach Reggie Theus said. "We have a tough game [at Portland], and I was considering if I was going to rest my guys. But I talked to Brad [Miller] and the other guys, and there was no quitting."
Bryant, Gasol and point guard Derek Fisher returned to the game following the ensuing timeout, and the Kings got no closer. The Lakers scored the next nine points to help put it away.
"We started the fourth quarter OK, but we ran aground a little bit," Phil Jackson said. "We turned the ball over and didn't get back on defense. Sacramento ran themselves back into the game with their quick guards and their young talent But it was a good recovery by the starters. They went out and settled us down and got the game under control."
Miller, who missed the first five games of the season because of a suspension for violating the league's drug program, escaped a flagrant foul with 3:24 in the second quarter and Los Angeles leading 50-46. Lakers reserve forward Trevor Ariza drove to the basket past the 7-foot center, who wrapped his arm around Ariza's throat while he was in the air -- sending him crashing to the floor.
Referee Eddie F. Rush didn't agree with the sellout crowd of 18,997, who were still booing while Ariza made one of two free throws.
All nine players Jackson used in the first quarter scored. Sasha Vujacic got his first points on a buzzer-beating pull-up 3-pointer from the top of the arc for a 32-27 lead, after intercepting a pass by Brown at the other end and taking off on a 2-on-none break with Ariza.
Game notes
It was the first time this season that all five Lakers starters scored in double figures. ... Jackson's best start as an NBA coach with only one loss was in 1996-97 when the Chicago Bulls came out of the gate 17-1 and won the second of three straight NBA titles. The previous season, the Bulls finished 72-10. ... Kings G Quincey Douby, who scored a career-high 32 points against the Lakers in the Kings' final game of last season, was the last player off the bench and was on the floor for less than 2½ minutes. ... The Lakers won their final two meetings against Sacramento last season by 22 and 23 points, after the Kings beat them 114-113 at Staples Center. ... Sacramento is 2-6 since Martin's injury. ... The Kings had a season-high 29 assists.

 

[Swillbury]

L.A. beat Dallas on friday, Kobe scored 35 to lead the Lakers.

13-1 Beaches!!!!!!

 

[Swillbury]

Craptors without JO got beat last night, Lakers improve to 14-1.

 

[Swillbury]

@ Indy tommorrow on NBAtv, Unless Danny Granger scores a hundred it looks like its going to be another blowout baby, 15-1 here we come!!!!

 

[Lou]

 

[Swillbury]

Looks like the Lakers are in the championhip in that picture, something the Zags will never do.

O i guess you can count the WCC title game as a championship!

 

[Lou]

At least the Zags don't make out with each other, they are straight. :lol:
P.S. You are right, the Zags will never be in the NBA Finals.

 

[Bozgriz]

Granger leads Pacers back from 15 down as Murphy's tip-in upends Lakers

Associated Press
INDIANAPOLIS -- Danny Granger scored 32 points and led Indiana back from a 15-point fourth-quarter deficit, and Troy Murphy's buzzer-beating tip-in completed an improbable 118-117 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.


The Lakers came into the game with seven straight wins, the league's best record and reigning MVP Kobe Bryant. But even another terrific night from Bryant, who scored 28 points, wasn't quite enough.

Indiana trailed 101-86 at the start of the fourth quarter, but methodically chipped into the lead

:mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen: :mrgreen:

 

[Swillbury]

I figured people would show up once the Laker's lose a game. 16 points in the fourth quarter isnt going to win any game. Hard night but things like this make them better. Still a very young team.....

 

[Lou]

I figured people would show up once the Laker's lose a game. 16 points in the fourth quarter isnt going to win any game. Hard night but things like this make them better. Still a very young team.....

Young and still experimenting............

 

[Swillbury]

What is your problem dude? Why do you keep posting that picture in every thread? I don't see why you think it's cool to come after me in every thread on here. And people think im the immature one.... :roll: