Luke Walton, who has appeared in only 24 games in the 2009-10 season due to a pinched nerve in his back, has not played since a five-minute, 44-second stint in Utah on Feb. 10.
Walton remains out indefinitely due to the pinched nerve, and there is no timetable for a possible return.
The Sixers (22-35) began their trip in Chicago on Saturday, falling 120-90 a day after beating the Spurs 106-94 at home, and followed up with a 110-102 win at Golden State on Tuesday. Then on another back-to-back on Wednesday in Phoenix, Philly fell 106-95.
The Lakers and Sixers have already met once this year, with Kobe Bryant out-dueling Allen Iverson (who is currently on leave of the team while dealing with family matters) in a 99-91 L.A. win in Philadelphia featuring 24 points from No. 24.
Last time the two teams saw each other at STAPLES, however, the Sixers overcame a 14-point deficit in the fourth quarter to shock the Lakers with a 94-93 victory when Andre Iguodala’s buzzer-beating 3-pointer dropped through the net [Iguodala leads the Sixers in points (17.3), assists (5.8) and steals (1.9) while Samuel Dalembert paces Philly on the glass (9.6) and in blocks (2.1)].
As assistant coach Brian Shaw explained in the above video, the Lakers would clearly like to avenge that loss.
From the NBA:
NEW YORK, Feb. 26, 2010 – Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum has been fined $25,000 for publicly criticizing game officials, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, NBA Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.
Bynum was fined for his comments made following the Lakers 101-96 loss to the Dallas Mavericks on Wednesday, Feb. 24.
The Lakers will hold no official practice on Thursday, opting instead for rest leading into a Friday-Sunday slate of games against Philadelphia and Denver at STAPLES Center.
As is customary, however, several players will congregate at L.A.’s practice facility for unofficial work outs, lifting sessions and treatment for various ailments. This group often includes but is not limited to L.A.’s non starters such as Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown, D.J. Mbenga, Adam Morrison, Josh Powell and Luke Walton.
Among the players that could use a bit of rest is Kobe Bryant, who after 18 days away from NBA games played about 40 minutes in consecutive games at Memphis and Dallas.
“He was probably a little fatigued and tried to help other guys get going,” said Phil Jackson of his guard that scored 20 points and narrowly missed a game-tying three in the final minute.
Bryant and his full complement of teammates will head back to official work at Friday morning’s shootaround, when they’ll prepare for the 76ers.
We’ll be on hand to speak with assistant coach Brian Shaw for a video preview of the matchup.
Click here for the Lakers Gameday Page
We took a look at the Lakers – Mavericks contest in Dallas while it was happening, entering a thought or three each quarter as the Lakers looked to win their third straight road game.
Inactives
Lakers: Sasha Vujacic (shoulder)
Mavericks: Caron Butler (illness)
Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol and Bynum
Mavericks: Jason Kidd, DeShawn Stevenson, Shawn Marion, Dirk Nowitzki, Brendan Haywood
How Good Is Dallas?
Few have questioned L.A.’s place as the team to beat in the Western Conference, particularly since the defending champion Lakers (43-14) have built a solid 5.5-game lead on second place Denver (37-19). But after making a trade with Washington that netted Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson for Josh Howard, James Singleton and Drew Gooden, the Dallas Mavericks (36-21) have thrust themselves into the “Who’s second best in the West?” argument along with Denver and Utah (36-20). For more CLICK HERE.
First Quarter
8:10 Dallas showed L.A. something that they didn’t have in the past early, as Brendan Haywood scored on a turnaround jump hook from the baseline over Bynum. Erick Dampier, out a month with an injury, is not a scorer. Bynum, however, responded moments later with an offensive rebound and stick-back over Haywood to put L.A. up 12-10, which was close to the score of the Canada – Russia Olympic hockey game.
2:14 On Tuesday night in Memphis, Kobe Bryant barely grazed the rim all night on a beautiful looking jump shot (particularly with his two threes in the final minute), but he was all over the orange cylinder on Wednesday. He missed his first five shots against Dallas, but Bynum (eight points on 4-of-4 shooting*) and Artest (five early points) helped the Lakers stay level.
*How easily had Bynum been scoring against Dallas? He was 8-of-8 on Jan. 3, 8-of-11 on Jan. 13 and began 4-of-4 in this one.
0:44.7 On back-to-backs, it’s typical of Phil Jackson to play his bench guys early, and Lamar Odom, Shannon Brown and Jordan Farmar had all checked in by the three-minute mark. It was Farmar who made the final contribution of the quarter, using Brown’s steal to convert a tough and-1 layup in transition despite being fouled by Jason Kidd. That hoop put L.A. up 23-20 after one despite Kobe’s 0-for-5 start.
Second Quarter
10:11 Odom had a spark of his own going to start the second, first nailing a three and then filling the lane for a lefty layup to make it 30-27 Lakers. Before the game, Phil Jackson was asked if he was at all worried with Odom’s rhythm being affected by Bryant’s return, particularly after his poor game against Memphis. Jackson’s response was, effectively, not at all.
7:07 As Odom scored again, getting to nine points to match Artest, LA revealed how its depth sometimes takes two games to showcase. Last night was all Kobe and Pau, but Odom/Artest/Bynum carried the Lakers early in this one, creating a 38-34 lead. In other news, Jay-Z and Beyonce were sitting courtside for the game, prompting the Mavs to put Beyonce’s SNL skit up on the jumbotron with the heads of Steve Nash, Manu Ginobili and Yao Ming in place of her dancers. Over/under on songs by those two played over loudspeakers: five (I’ll take the over).
3:25 Bryant hit for the first time on a tough baseline jumper, in the process passing Reggie Miller for 13th on the NBA’s all-time leading scoring list with 25,280 points. Up next is Alex English (25,613). Kobe then hit another jumper amidst L.A.’s 10-0 run, but the Mavs countered with a 10-2 run, including the final six points of the half, to get within one at 50-49.
Third Quarter
7:20 Fisher made a ridiculous over-the-shoulder shot after being wrapped up be Stevenson on a breakaway, but the continuation bucket was waived off in favor of a clear path foul. Fish nailed both free throws and Bryant hit his third straight jumper, however, to make it a four-point possession. That helped the Lakers cut into what had become a five-point deficit when Dallas scored the first six points of the quarter.
5:45 Make that four straight jumpers for Bryant, who was scoreless in the first quarter but was clearly starting to heat up. That gave him 14 points on 7-of-17 shooting, 4-of-6 in the third, to put L.A. up 61-60. In other news, we were up to three Jay-Z/Beyonce songs at that point (I set the over/under at 4).
0:53.3 Gasol, with just nine points and four rebounds to that point, did show why he’s among the league’s best passing big men by spotting a cutting Brown for an easy layup to put LA up 72-71. Kidd, however, hit his fourth three-pointer of the game at the buzzer to give the Mavs a two-point cushion heading into the deciding quarter.
Fourth Quarter
8:53 Bynum, who hadn’t scored since the first quarter, got a baseline hook to go that brought L.A. within two points. The 80-78 score wasn’t indicative of the quarter’s early flow, however, as the Lakers had turned the ball over three times in the first two minutes and change, but watched the Mavs fail to convert the TO’s into points.
5:52 How much did the Mavs want to win this game? Dirk thrust his two hands up into the air after an and-1 put Dallas up 87-82 with nearly half the fourth quarter left, to be met by Terry’s two-handed fist pound on his chest. In related news, Terry had looked like someone who drank about five Red Bulls before the game, putting up nearly as many fist-bumps and crowd-prompts-for-cheering as points (24).
0:57.0 With L.A. down nine with 2:20 to go after a Terry layup, Odom exploded for six points in a minute, thanks to an and-1 layup and a corner three, before Bryant’s driving layup cut the lead to 97-94. Could the Lakers pull off two straight last minute comebacks?…
…0:25.9 No. Bryant, just a night after nailing two threes in the last minute, actually missed a tying attempt after a big defensive stop from L.A. That forced the Lakers to foul, and Terry made both free throws to get to 30 points. Bryant and Dirk exchanged free throws in the final seconds, and the game was over, Dallas winning 101-96. L.A. seemed to run out of gas to an extent, as witnessed by the turnovers and some missed chances to clear rebounds. Bryant in particular looked a bit tired, playing big minutes for the second straight night after 18 days off.
L.A. will try to get back in the win column on Friday against Philadelphia at home, but until then, your numbers:
POSTGAME NUMBERS
61 Combined points for Dirk Nowitzki (31) and Jason Terry (30). Lamar Odom’s 21 led the Lakers.
17 Turnovers for the Lakers, including six in the fourth quarter, which keyed the Mavericks’ final push.
8 Offensive rebounds for Dallas in the first half, helping the Mavs out-rebound L.A. by 10 (26-16).
6 Lakers in double figures, led by Odom (21), Bryant (20), Artest (13), Fisher (12), Gasol (11) and Bynum (10).
4 Three-pointers made by both Terry and Jason Kidd, on 17 total attempts. Kidd added 13 assists and seven rebounds for the Mavs.
With a baseline jumper in the second quarter of L.A’s Wednesday evening contest, Kobe Bryant surpassed Reggie Miller for 13th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 25,280 points.
Bryant, who passed Jerry West for 14th in Memphis earlier this month, is within reach of Alex English (25,613), John Havlicek (26,395) and Dominique Wilkins (26,668).
Among the names Bryant has passed in the last few years: Larry Bird, Gary Payton, Clyde Drexler, Elgin Baylor, Adrian Dantley, Robert Parish, Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson and Patrick Ewing.
In response to a quesiton about Odom’s poor game on Tuesday in Memphis, Jackson declared that his versatile sub would be fine and that he isn’t someone the coaching staff worries about. “We don’t worry that much about Lamar,” he said. “He’s a pro and he knows how to get himself ready.” Jackson added that Odom isn’t like a Jason Terry, J.R. Smith or Manu Ginobili where quick offense might be available since Odom isn’t a quick-offense guy; in other words, sometimes he needs some time to get into the flow of the game.
The head coach also addressed how having Gasol, who didn’t play against Dallas last time the teams met, changes things particularly as related to Dirk Nowitzki. Jackson said that Gasol has shown the ability to guard him at times, but at others he hasn’t liked what he’s seen.
Jackson’s final note was that Kobe responded just fine to his first game back from injury.
Few have questioned L.A.’s place as the team to beat in the Western Conference, particularly since the defending champion Lakers (43-14) have built a solid 5.5-game lead on second place Denver (37-19).
But after making a trade with Washington that netted Caron Butler, Brendan Haywood and DeShawn Stevenson for Josh Howard, James Singleton and Drew Gooden, the Dallas Mavericks (36-21) have thrust themselves into the “Who’s second best in the West?” argument along with Denver and Utah (36-20).
Howard – who sadly tore his ACL on Monday night – was plagued by injuries for the past two years in Dallas, most notably a bad ankle that had limited his productivity on the wing for the Mavs, and Butler’s been a significant upgrade. Haywood, stepping right into a starting role at center in the absence of Erick Dampier (dislocated middle finger), has been arguably even better.
The Mavericks lost their first game after the trade in Oklahoma City, 99-86, as Butler struggled with his shot (4-of-16) and the Thunder won for the eighth straight time. But since then, Dallas has barely been threatened in a 4-0 spurt including victories over Phoenix (107-97), at Orlando (95-85), Miami (97-91) and Indiana (91-82).
Butler has been good for 14.4 points, 5.4 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 1.4 steals while working to find his rhythm on offense (37 percent from the field), while Haywood has averaged 11.2 points, 11.0 rebounds and 2.4 blocks on 55 percent shooting, highlighted by a 20-rebound effort against the Pacers. Stevenson has played only 28 total minutes, scoring seven points with four rebounds and two assists.
Over the All-Star break in Dallas, we actually had a chance to ask Mark Cuban if the trade was made in part to better match up with the Lakers. After all, Butler knows Kobe’s game more than most, and Haywood helps the Mavs deal with L.A.’s unmatched depth in the lane. Cuban basically declined to acknowledge the inquiry, saying that Dallas was simply trying to improve itself, but it’s hard to argue that the top team in the conference wasn’t at least in consideration when the deal was made.
The first matchup came on the season’s second game (Oct. 30) for each team, the Lakers coming off a celebratory Ring Night win over the Clippers and Dallas losing a shocker at home to Washington. From the tip, L.A. simply didn’t match the intensity of the out-to-prove-something visitors, and the Mavs coasted to a 94-80 victory that featured 21 points and 10 boards from Dirk Nowitzki. L.A. shot just 39.5 percent in the loss.
The Lakers got revenge in a big way on January 3 back at STAPLES Center, however, crushing the visitors in a 131-96 beat down that saw the Lakers jump out to a 30-13 lead after the first quarter and never look back. With the starters resting in the fourth quarter (among them Andrew Bynum, who sat down after going a perfect 8-of-8 from the field), Jordan Farmar pushed his point total to 24 to lead all scorers, connecting on 6-of-8 three-pointers off the bench.
Then, 10 days later, the Purple and Gold went to Dallas sans Pau Gasol (hamstring), and with Kobe Bryant unsure if he was even going to play due to back spasms that kept him out of the fourth quarter in San Antonio the previous night, and still pulled out a tough 100-95 victory by scoring the game’s final five points. The difference maker was a Bryant jumper that broke a 95-all tie with 28 seconds remaining. Bryant took only 11 shots in the game, making five, and added two rebounds and two assists as he labored around the court.
L.A. outshot Dallas 48.8 percent to 42.9 percent in that game and got double-doubles from three players, collectively lifting up Bryant: Andrew Bynum (21 points, 11 rebounds); Lamar Odom (18 points, 14 rebounds) and Ron Artest (16 points, 11 rebounds). Nowitzki, generally covered (effectively) by Gasol with some Odom on the side, scored 30 points for the Mavericks.
That brings us to Wednesday’s game at American Airlines Center, where a new Mavericks’ team awaits after getting to watch from home as L.A. exerted full effort in Memphis on Tuesday night before Bryant’s dagger three swished home a win with 4.3 seconds to play in a 99-98 victory.
So at 6 p.m. on Wednesday evening, Dallas will get their chance to show L.A. just how good they can be.
We’ll be watching.
A quick reminder: after every Lakers game, you can head over to the Lakers Gameday page on Lakers.com to view postgame highlights, link to the game story (or running diary on the road), check out the box score, check out quotes and more.
Furthermore, you can click on our Lakers Gameday Archive Page to get all of that information on any Lakers game played in the last three seasons (I utilize this function for story research almost every day).
But because Kobe Bryant’s last-minute mastery can’t be shown too often, here’s the video from LA’s dramatic victory over Memphis on Tuesday night, featuring Bryant’s two three-pointers in the final minute.
TWITTER COVERAGE
Another way to ensure you’re getting all the in-game and postgame coverage you can handle is to follow us on Twitter. My account, @LakersReporter, features constant updates, notes and observations as the game goes on, and will often include postgame videos as well. Further information is provided on our parent account, @Lakers.
From tonight, we have Phil Jackson (parts 1 and 2) and Pau Gasol:
Click here for the Lakers Gameday Page
We took a look at the Lakers – Grizzlies contest in Memphis while it was happening, entering a thought or three each quarter as the Lakers played their first post All-Star road game.
Inactives
Lakers: Sasha Vujacic (shoulder)
Grizzlies: Ronnie Brewer (hamstring), Lester Hudson
Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol and Bynum
Grizzlies: Mike Conley, O.J. Mayo, Rudy Gay, Zach Randolph, Marc Gasol
Phil Jackson Pregame Session
The highlights of Phil Jackson’s seven-minute pregame session with the Lakers media in Memphis (including first minute and change is above on video): CLICK HERE.
First Quarter
10:02 As mentioned extensively before the game, LA’s plan was very clearly to pound the ball inside to Bynum and Gasol right from the outset, and that’s what happened. Bynum nailed a turnaround and drew two free throws, making both, while Gasol hit a turnaround of his own to put LA up 8-2.
8:44 Welcome back, Kobe. In get-teammates-involved-and-just-fit-in mode to start, No. 24 had to take his first shot when he was given the ball with three seconds or so left on the shot clock outside the 3-point line. Instead of shooting, he up-faked Mayo, drew contact, then rose and nailed a line drive, plus the free throw. More importantly than the four-point play, Bryant appeared to be moving very well at both ends of the floor.
0:21.4 The Lakers were simply fantastic defensively in the first quarter, forcing six Grizzlies turnovers (five steals), and conceding little but deep jumpers, which LA then cleared off the boards. The Grizz shot 8-of-20 from the field (40 percent) and caused only two Lakers turnovers themselves. Bryant, who swatted Rudy Gay’s shot and fed Farmar for a quarter-ending hoop, finished with nine points, five rebounds, three assists, a steal and that block in quite the come back from five games off.
Second Quarter
5:35 Bryant’s first shot of the second came six minutes in on a slick driving finger roll off glass, putting the Lakers up 41-32. The lead was actually not reflective of LA’s dominance, since they weren’t shooting particularly well (43.5 percent in the first quarter), but still marked an impressive return from four days without games.
3:31 To their credit, the Grizzlies certainly didn’t lay down and die under LA’s defensive onslaught, settling down in their offense to convert 4-of-5 buckets to cut the Lakers lead to just three on Mayo’s corner three.
0:04.4 Speaking of credit, give some to Phil Jackson for an assist on this one: after being inserted by his coach for a final offensive play, Brown came off a curl on the perimeter and cut to the basket, receiving the inbounds pass thanks to a pick for an easy finish at the rim that put LA up 53-48 heading into the half.
Third Quarter
7:07 Well, that happened fast. The Grizz capped a 15-3 run with Gay’s layup in transition, sparked by four Lakers turnovers at the other end. Memphis seemed to make the proper halftime adjustment in beginning to flood the paint defensively as the whistles went away, and got most of their offense in transition with little contention from LA, which found itself down seven points.
4:37 One area in which LA was struggling throughout the first two and a half quarters: three-point shooting. They’d made just 1-of-9 attempts … until Derek Fisher hit back-to-back triples to cut Memphis’ lead to 68-66.
1:31 The turnovers continued to mount for LA when Shannon Brown simply threw the ball out of bounds while intending to find Farmar. It was TO number eight for the Lakers in the quarter, and resulted in Randolph’s bucket at the other end to give Memphis its biggest lead of the game at 81-70. As such, the Lakers really needed the 6-0 push in the final minute to chop the lead down to five, a 10-point turnaround from halftime.
Fourth Quarter
7:15 Lamar Odom had been almost silent for his first 19 minutes of burn, scoring only two points with three rebounds, but after entering for Bynum (whistled for his fifth foul), Odom’s nailed a sorely-needed three to cut the Grizz lead to six.
2:59 Oddly, Gasol and Fisher combined to miss five straight free throws, Gasol hitting 1-of-2 before both normally excellent foul shooters went 0-for-2. Had all five gone in, the game would have been tied; instead, LA trailed 95-90. Not what LA had in mind.
54.0 On the other hand … how glad are the Lakers to have their MVP back? With LA down three, Bryant coyly pulled up from well beyond the arc in the middle of the floor and swished a game-tying triple. In related news, he’s pretty good at hitting shots late in games. We should also mention that his legs appeared to be well under him, offering full lift on his jumper. Gay responded by getting a two-second roll on the rim to fall to put the Grizz up 98-96, and after Pau couldn’t get a leaner to go (he looked to have been mugged), Mayo missed two free throws to set up a final chance for LA.
0:04.3 And oh my, did Kobe take it. In a set play out of a time out after his attempt with eight seconds left was blocked out of bounds, Bryant ran around a screen, caught Odom’s pass from the top of the key and absolutely buried a deep three-pointer. Just splashed it through. Mayo had a chance to answer with a deep two, but Gasol’s help defense was key in the shot going wide. As such, the Lakers escaped with a 99-98 victory.
Kobe, Kobe, Kobe.
LA’s back in action tomorrow night in Dallas, but until then, your numbers:
POSTGAME NUMBERS
8 Turnovers in the third quarter alone for LA, helping Memphis post a 33-23 quarter to turn a 5-point halftime deficit into a 5-point lead leading into the fourth quarter.
13 Rebounds for Pau Gasol to pace the Lakers, while Ron Artest and Kobe Bryant added seven each. Gasol also contributed five assists, two blocks, two steals and 22 points.
32 Points for Kobe Bryant on an outstanding performance from the field (13-of-19). He nailed 3-of-4 three-pointers, including two in the final minute.
52 Points in the paint for LA, much improved from its 26 paint points in the team’s Feb. 1 in this building. Andrew Bynum had 15 points in only 23 minutes (foul trouble), while Gasol added 22 in 41 minutes.
1,000 Career games for the Lakers played in by Bryant, and what a way to do it.
– Jackson noted that among the biggest changes with Kobe Bryant’s return is the minute deduction for Shannon Brown, who will have to adjust back to his traditional role off the bench. Brown, however – along with Adam Morrison and Josh Powell – could see a few more minutes in the absence of Sasha Vujacic (shoulder) and Luke Walton (back).
– The major theme of our preview of tonight’s contest was LA’s need to get the ball into the paint, something they didn’t do in the two-point Memphis win on Feb. 1. Jackson brought that idea up almost right away, suggesting that the “Get the ball inside!” mantra has to happen immediately. The game plan is very explicitly to attack Memphis from the inside out.
Later, he expounded on the issue:
We looked at the tape from last game, and a few guys noticeably were not making the second effort. Our big guys … Andrew missed a dunk at the basket … we turned the ball over (passing it to the post), post players turned it over when we got there … there were just a lot of things that contributed to that. We got offensive fouls. So that’s some of the reason that it happened like that, we hope to remedy that (tonight).
– Andrew Bynum said in the locker room that his hip continues to bother him, but he essentially has learned how to play through it. Jackson said that he continues, of course, to be aware of the injury, but that Bynum has looked fine to him in practice.
– On Pau Gasol’s play at his old home: “I think it really has affected him coming back and playing. Maybe it’s playing against his brother. He hears the rabble out there in the crowd and he is somewhat affected. He hasn’t played as well as he plays for us in a normal situation against Memphis.”
– Jackson credited Ron Artest’s addition to LA’s improved overall defense (second in the NBA) at this point in the season. He rightly pointed out that Trevor Ariza really didn’t emerge until late in the season, as Vladimir Radmanovic and Luke Walton started for much of the year at small forward. The head coach also explained that Ariza wasn’t a 35-minute a night guy, as Artest is, which certainly affects the overall defensive production.
– That Cleveland lost three straight wasn’t a huge deal to Jackson, who said things will get interesting more in the last two weeks of the season than now. He did acknowledge that Cleveland has the easier schedule going forward, obviously because they’re in the weaker Eastern Conference.
– The Grizzlies didn’t have rookie swing man Sam Young available last game, but got a surprising career-high 13 points from unknown Lester Hudson, who received DNPCD’s in the last two Memphis games.
The last time the Lakers were in Memphis, things were just a bit off.
The details:
– LA was on the last game of an 8-game road trip, and needed a last-minute jumper from Kobe Bryant to beat Boston on the previous night.
– Memphis had won 11 straight games at home before dropping an uninspired contest to New Orleans, minus Chris Paul, in the classic we-can-relax-because-their-star-is-out trap game.
– The Lakers were tired (er, loopy) enough in the pregame locker room to spend 10 minutes giggling about a FIFA 2010 soccer match on XBOX in which Jordan Farmar and Lamar Odom upset Luke Walton and Adam Morrison.
– Bryant was well within range of surpassing Jerry West’s all-time Lakers scoring record.
– D.J. Mbenga played in the first quarter as Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum tried to find their legs on the bench.
Bryant, who’d surpass West with a third quarter dunk, went into attack mode when he seemed to sense the collective lack of energy, and finished with 44 points. He got 18 points of help from Ron Artest, but with LA down two in the final seconds after Mike Conley missed two free throws, Artest rimmed out a potential game-winning three as time expired after Bryant found him on the wing. Gasol and Bynum, meanwhile, combined for only 15 points in 56 minutes, the Lakers scoring a paltry 26 points in the paint all night.
In short, a tired group of Lakers didn’t play like themselves and seemed to hope that Bryant could steal a win late, but it wasn’t to be as Memphis snapped a five-game losing streak to the purple and gold.
However, things are quite different heading into Tuesday’s game.
First of all, Bryant hasn’t played in five games due to a left ankle injury, but is expected to start. Second, the Lakers are extremely well-rested, to the point of potential rust since a schedule quirk has kept them off since Thursday’s one-point loss to Boston. Yet and still, they’d played terrific basketball without Bryant, winning four straight before the Celtics loss and seemingly finding a nice rhythm, to which they now add Kobe.
“He practiced like he was going to go through it and play,” said Phil Jackson after Monday’s practice. “I thought his movement was good.”
Bryant called himself “good to go” and said that he feels like a gazelle.
Memphis, meanwhile, is struggling.
After that win against the Lakers, the Grizzlies dropped five straight games before beating Toronto in overtime, losing to Miami and defeating New Jersey to put them at 28-27 on the season, 2.5 games back of Portland for the eighth seed in the West. Memphis has lost four straight games at home, but at least part of its struggles can be attributed to a tough stretch in the schedule: LA will be the 15th of the Grizzlies’ last 18 opponents with a winning record.
They’re led by the front court duo of Zach Randolph, one of three players in the NBA averaging at least 20 points and 20 rebounds (Chris Bosh, David Lee), and Pau’s brother Marc Gasol, 15.0 points, 9.4 rebounds and 1.58 blocks on 58 percent shooting.
While O.J. Mayo and Rudy Gay have been at times terrific for Memphis on the wings, LA will likely focus its efforts on the interior with Randolph and Gasol, who outscored Pau Gasol and Bynum 33-15 and grabbed 30-of-49 team rebounds, nine fewer than LA’s total (39).
We’ll get a chance to see it at 5 p.m. on KCAL, or listen on 710 ESPN.
In Thursday’s narrow loss to Boston, Sasha Vujacic suffered a grade one sprain of the right shoulder and is expected to miss a few games.
We’ll check in with Vujacic, if possible, after Monday’s practice to see if there’s an update as to his status.
The Lakers were honored at the LA Sports Awards with the top sports moment of 2009 for the team’s defeat of the Orlando Magic, while Pau Gasol was named “Sportsman of the Year” for his terrific individual year including the Lakers title and his MVP performance in leading Spain to the European title.
Furthermore, Lakers owner Jerry Buss was recognized as “Sports Executive of the Year” as the franchise was thoroughly represented.
The Awards took place on Friday night at L.A. Live’s JW Marriott in a celebration of the city’s greatest athletic achievements of the year.
With LA’s unusual four-day break from games, we took a look at how some Lakers rank individually amongst the league leaders.
4th
Kobe Bryant’s rank in scoring, with 28.0 points per game.
6th
Andrew Bynum’s rank in field goal percentage with his solid 56.8 percent average.
7th
Pau Gasol’s rank in rebounding with 11.1 per game, though he has yet to qualify for the official leader board due to his 17 missed games.
10th
Bryant’s rank in minutes per game with a 38.6 average that he thinks will go down a bit leading into the playoffs (citing the 17 games missed by Gasol as increasing his early-season average).
Also, Gasol’s rank in blocked shots with his 1.82 per game, up from just 1.0 last season.
11th
Bryant’s rank in steals with his 1.67 per game.
12th
Lamar Odom’s rank on the glass with his 10.1 corralled per game.
17th
Bynum’s rank in blocked shots with his 1.47 swats per game.
19th
Gasol’s rank in field goal percentage with his 52.0 percent average, more impressive considering the amount of outside shots he takes in addition to his low post moves.
25th
Bryant’s league rank in assists, as his 4.6 dimes per game lead the Lakers, Gasol and Odom tied for second with 3.5 per game.
26th
Bynum’s rank in rebounding with 8.2 per game, an impressive number still considering the boards snatched away by Gasol and Odom.
29th
Artest’s rank in three-point shooting with his 39.2% from distance, tops on the team.
First, a rhetorical question: will we see the Lakers and Celtics meet in the 2010 Finals?
For many, that was a popular pick heading into the season, with Boston getting a (hopefully) healthy Kevin Garnett back after he missed the 2009 playoffs alongside Ray Allen, Paul Pierce, the much-improved Rajon Rondo and the acquired Rasheed Wallace. The Lakers, meanwhile, likely improved a team that beat Orlando 4-1 in the Finals by acquiring Ron Artest.
By Christmas, Lakers – Celtics still looked to be a good bet, with the NBA’s last two champions featuring largely the same players posting respective 23-5 records while looking at times like Shaun White on the half pipe, destined to settle the most current in a history of feuds.
Yet since X-Mas, Boston hadn’t held up its end of the bargain, assembling a paltry 10-13 mark to L.A.’s 19-8, pitting them a full 8.5 games behind Eastern Conference leading Cleveland (and that was before the Cavs added Antawn Jamison at the trade deadline).
At the center of Boston’s recent struggles has been Father Time, most notably as pertaining to Garnett, the league’s best defensive player and an extremely efficient and heady offensive force during Boston’s title run, who’d missed 10 games while dealing with a sore knee.
With this in mind, we kept a close eye (position-by-position) on how Boston looked against the Lakers on Thursday night in Los Angeles, albeit with the not-at-all-insignificant absence of Kobe Bryant, who missed his fifth straight game with a strained peroneal tendon.
SUMMARY
Trailing 76-69 heading into the fourth quarter, the Lakers posted a superlative 13-0 run to momentarily take an 84-80 lead with 7:14 to play, but managed just two points for the rest of the game as Boston eked out an 87-86 victory. Derek Fisher had a chance to win the game with a last second shot, but was well off on a deep jumper with Ray Allen draped to his chest (Fisher later said he thought Allen was going to take Boston’s foul-to-give).
There was some contention before the play, as Lamar Odom had cleared a defensive rebound off a Pierce miss on the previous possession and Pau Gasol had signaled a time out with around six seconds remaining, but LA was awarded just 2.2 seconds with which to work when the whistle finally blew.
In Bryant’s absence, Fisher and Shannon Brown combined to make just 3-of-18 shots as LA’s starting back court, while Pau Gasol scored 22 points, Ron Artest 15, Andrew Bynum 14 and Lamar Odom 13. Odom added 14 rebounds off the bench and Gasol three blocks as the Lakers out-rebounded the Celtics 50-43 but shot only 40.2 percent from the field.
Boston was led by Ray Allen’s 24 points, all of which came in the first three quarters on 10-of-12 shooting, while Kendrick Perkins added a 13-point, 14-rebound double-double. Rajon Rondo led the way with 11 assists, but made only 6-of-17 field goals including 2-of-10 in the second half. Like LA, Boston failed to score in the final 2:24 of action, but Rondo’s eight-foot runner high off the glass was the ultimate difference in the game.
Point Guard
When the Lakers beat Boston on Kobe Bryant’s last-minute shot on Jan. 31st, their greatest struggle in the ball game was containing Rajon Rondo in the second quarter. Boston outscored the Lakers 33-17 in that period, thanks to Rondo’s nine points, eight assists and two steals, many of which came with Shannon Brown defending him. Bryant had defended him quite well for the rest of the game, but on Thursday it was Brown who got the start on Rondo in Bryant’s absence, with Derek Fisher checking Ray Allen.
Rondo found his own offense early, scoring eight points on 3-of-4 shooting, though Brown made progress as the first quarter by blocking Rondo’s final attempt at the rim. From that point on, however, Rondo began to settle for jumpers – missing all but two of 10 in the second half. By the end of the third quarter, he’d already amassed 10 assists, many of which came on catch-and-shoot swishes from Allen, but his missed wide-open jumpers played a key role in LA’s big fourth quarter run (13-0). Ultimately, Rondo notched 14 points and 11 assists on 6-of-17 shooting.
(Sidenote: The Celtics don’t have a backup point guard; Rondo plays a team high 37 minutes per game, though Boston did acquire Nate Robinson (who’s more of a shooting guard) in a trade with New York for Eddie House (Phil Jackson actually said he thought House was the better fit in Boston, as his “quick strike” threes can really change a game).
Fisher struggled with his shooting throughout the evening, making just 1-of-9 shots (0 of 3 from three) including the potential game winner: “They had a foul to give,” said Phil Jackson afterwards. “Fish broke off his cut. He was supposed to open the floor up and we were supposed to have an option there. It didn’t work.”
Shooting Guard
Perhaps the league’s best shooter, Ray Allen was anything but when LA won the first matchup, missing all six of his three-point attempts including a potential game-winner after Kobe’s free throw line jumper. In that game, he made just 2-of-10 shots, but on Thursday it was an entirely different story. It was just the opposite in Los Angeles, as Allen was on fire in the first three quarters. He made 10 of his first 11 shots, including all four three-pointers, to pace Boston with 24 points, before missing his final four shots of the game.
Allen will always end up a tough matchup for the Lakers, since Bryant will usually guard Rondo, forcing Derek Fisher to give up at least five inches to Allen, who needs little room to get his shot off anyway … Sasha Vujacic, on the other hand, is actually two inches taller than Allen, and did an excellent job chasing him around screens in the fourth. That defensive stretch coincided with LA’s 13-0 run at the other end of the floor.
Offensively at the two guard, Shannon Brown started for LA, and struggled throughout with his shooting. He made just 2-of-9 shots, among the misses a pull-up jumper with 1:15 left that would have put L.A. up one. After scoring a career-high 27 points on Tuesday, Brown finished with eight on Thursday. Of course, it’s not Brown’s fault he had to play 39 minutes against a tough defense in Kobe’s absence, and something that wouldn’t happen with No. 24 on the floor.
Small Forward
Perhaps the most fun one-on-one matchup between Boston and LA is the Paul Pierce – Ron Artest battle, which in Boston started before the ball even went up in the air as the two refused to seed any territory. In interviews, Artest refuses to even mention Pierce as someone he thinks of as a rival, confident that he can contain him better than perhaps anyone in the league. That was certainly the case in Boston, when Artest harassed Pierce into 4-of-11 shooting for only 15 points.
As it turned out, it was more of the same in this one, Artest winning the one-on-one battle of the following lines:
Artest: 15 points, 8 rebounds, 3 assists, 1 steal, 1 block, 1 turnover
Pierce: 11 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 0 steals, 0 blocks, 1 turnover
With Artest in his face, Pierce took only nine shots, four of which were three-pointers, while on offense Artest had his two most explosive dunks of the season, including a left-handed thunder jam on Rasheed Wallace in the second quarter. It’s a big win for the Lakers if Artest simply battles Pierce – likely still Boston’s best player – to a draw, let alone taking the matchup.
Power Forward
This battle is pretty fun as well. Kevin Garnett, notorious for his maniacal level of play and eagerness to intimidate his opponents, has had success roughing it up with Pau Gasol in the past … but not so much since the 2008 Finals. Pau was excellent against Boston last season, and in Game 1 played Garnett to a draw at worst, making 4-of-9 shots for 11 points with 11 rebounds. Garnett had just 10 points himself, however, and finished the night at -13, while Gasol was only -1.
Garnett looked to be moving better on Thursday, managing four points, four boards and two assists in the first quarter before picking up his second foul. He was very effective again in the third quarter before picking up his fourth foul, getting up to 13 points, five boards, two dimes and two blocks punctuated by a fierce one-handed slam dunk from the right block. But Gasol was even better, refusing to back away from the physical play of KG and Rasheed Wallace (”I think we’re matching up well physically and stepping up – we understand that’s what it takes to win the whole thing.”) He finished with 22 points and three blocks to lead LA, plus seven boards.
If Gasol had any regrets, it was not figuring out a way to execute in the final two minutes. Most notably, Gasol tried to find Brown cutting to the hoop with 31 seconds to go and LA down one instead of looking for his own shot. Unfortunately for LA, Brown stopped his cut a bit early, and Boston gained possession back.
Center
Kendrick Perkins is known as one of the league’s better one-on-one paint defenders, particularly after his past success against Orlando’s Dwight Howard. However, Andrew Bynum has had success against Perkins this season, dropping 19 points on 7-of-13 shooting in Boston and scoring L.A.’s first six points to help the Lakers stay in a ball game that saw the Celts make 11-of-14 shots (78 percent) to start.
In the third quarter when Boston had again pushed their lead to double-digits, Bynum came up with back-to-back tough buckets in the paint, the second off an offensive board, to reach 12 points with eight boards, as Perkins had just six points and seven boards at that point. Bynum finished with 14 points and nine rebounds in 27 foul-shortened minutes, while Perkins managed 13 points and 14 rebounds in 33 minutes.
Bynum’s points came primarily from moves around or through Perkins, while the Celtics’ center got six of his 13 points on put-backs.
Bench
Rasheed Wallace was Boston’s big bench acquisition in the offseason, a necessary one at that against LA to at least try and counter what Lamar Odom offers off the pine. Wallace, however, did next to nothing in Boston (three points and one rebound in 20 minutes). Odom, playing only 21 minutes himself while dealing with foul trouble and Bynum’s success, did manage seven points, four boards and two assists in still one of his least productive games of the season.
In LA, Odom took a while to get into the action before absolutely exploding for two left-handed hammer dunks in the second quarter that energized the rest of his game. Wallace struggled in the first half, and after checking in early in the third due to four Garnett fouls, continued to struggle, checking out with just two points on 1-of-9 shooting towards the end of the period. Odom went on to star in LA’s 13-0 spurt that included his pull-up three (and subsequent wide grin) in transition to tie the game at 80, and finished with 13 points, 14 rebounds, three assists, two steals and two blocks. Wallace scored four points with three rebounds and two blocks.
Big Baby Davis, Marquis Daniels and Tony Allen didn’t give Boston anything worth mentioning off the pine (eight total points), while Jordan Farmar was the only other Laker to receive significant minutes (22). In the fourth quarter, however, Sasha Vujacic played a key role in LA’s big run, scoring six points including two at-the-rim finishes, while harassing Allen around the court defensively (as mentioned in the “Shooting Guard” section).
Odom alone, however, gave LA’s bench a clear advantage.
The Lakers now have four days off before a road back-to-back in Memphis and Dallas next Tuesday and Wednesday, for which they hope Kobe Bryant makes his return after five straight missed games.
As for the potential Lakers – Celtics Finals?
Who knows … but wouldn’t that be fun?
Until then, your numbers:
POSTGAME NUMBERS
78 Boston’s shooting percentage to start the game as the Celtics hit 11-of-14 shots. The Lakers, however, managed a 7-0 run to cut the first quarter deficit to just three when it had risen to 11.
24 Points in the first three quarters from Ray Allen, who made 10-of-11 shots to start including 4-of-4 from three-point land. Allen, however, didn’t score in the fourth quarter, thanks in part to the defense of Sasha Vujacic off the bench.
16.7 The shooting percentage of LA’s starting backcourt due to Derek Fisher’s 1 of 9 and Shannon Brown’s 2 of 9. LA shot 40.2 percent as a team.
13 Straight points scored by the Lakers between the 10:23 and 7:14 marks of the fourth quarter, turning a nine-point deficit into a four-point lead.
7 LA’s edge on the glass in the fourth quarter (17-10), partially a result of good overall defense that held Boston to just 11 fourth quarter points.
To take a closer look at the X’s and O’s, we enlisted assistant coach Frank Hamblen to talk about playing without Kobe Bryant, Rajon Rondo’s rise and the best way to attack Boston’s tough defense.
Heading into LA’s second and final regular season meeting with the Celtics in the 2009-10 season, we compared the teams through the prism of numbers:
1,000 Career victory total reached by Phil Jackson when the Lakers beat Boston 92-83 on Christmas Day last season.
97 All-time Celtics wins against the Lakers, to 83 losses, since the Lakers moved to Los Angeles.
68.4 Phil Jackson’s winning percentage (13-6) against Boston in his Lakers tenure.
42 Wins for LA, to 13 losses, putting them six games clear of Denver in the Western Conference.
33 Wins for Boston, to 18 losses, pitting the Celtics 8.5 games back of first place Cleveland.
19 Points by which Boston beat LA at STAPLES Center on Dec. 30, 2007, Boston’s last win in Los Angeles.
9.6 Rajon Rondo’s assist-per-game average, good for fourth in the NBA. Kobe Bryant leads the Lakers with 4.6 assists, less than half of Rondo’s total.
4 Boston’s rank in field goal percentage, compared to L.A.’s 12th. Kendrick Perkins leads the NBA with his 60.8 percent average, while Andrew Bynum is sixth at 57.1 percent. Kevin Garnett (53.7 percent), Rondo (52.5 percent) and Pau Gasol (51.9 percent) are also over the 50 percent mark.
3 Straight regular season wins for the Lakers over Boston.
2 LA’s rank in rebounding, compared with Boston’s 29th, an obviously major discrepancy.
1 Boston’s rank in points allowed per game. The Celtics, however, play at a slow pace, and are only 18th in points scored per game. LA, on the other hand, ranks fifth in scoring and ninth in points allowed, the second best differential in the NBA after Cleveland (Boston is fifth).
After Wednesday’s practice, Kobe Bryant said that his strained peroneal tendon would have to improve drastically overnight for him to play against Boston on Thursday night, but that doesn’t appear to be the case, as we learned after Thursday morning’s shootaround.
When asked if he expected Bryant to play, Phil Jackson said: “Not that I know of.” Assistant coach Frank Hamblen then told us that LA had prepared its scouting report under the assumption that Bryant would not play.
Since the Lakers don’t play their next game until Tuesday in Memphis, it appears that Bryant will have gone 18 days since last playing against Denver on February 5.
While wearing a pair of sandals that signified his lack of participation in Wednesday’s practice, Kobe Bryant said that he doubted he would be able to play in Thursday’s game against Boston.
“Right now it’s a no,” he said. “(It’s*) still sore … Can’t push off enough to play, so I’ll take my time.”
*UPDATE: Bryant was referring not to his ankle sprain, but a strained peroneal tendon in his lower left leg suffered on Feb. 3 against Charlotte.
Bryant conceded that if he wakes up tomorrow and feels drastically different, he’ll play, but doubts that will happen. On the other hand, he has been very pleased with how his teammates have played without him – they’ve gone 4-0 – and said that’s made it easier on him to take his time recovering fully.
“I think they’re playing with a great sense of urgency,” he said. “They’re playing extremely well at both ends of the floor.”
If Bryant does not play on Thursday, he will have four more full days to recover until L.A.’s two-game road stretch through Memphis and Dallas that takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 23-24, 18 days removed from his last game (Friday, Feb. 5).
That, however, does not affect his playing status, as his injury philosophy remains the same.
“If you’re healthy, you play, it doesn’t matter what the upcoming schedule is,” he concluded.