L.A. Lakers 08-09 Season (official thread)

[BengalsAndBucks]

Here's to hoping the Magic don't win the East...

[OCBucksFan]

Originally Posted by BuckeyeMafia

Terrible officiating, defense, and I don't think we had an offense after the second quarter. That being said, I take one thing from this game:

I hate the Lakers more than I did yesterday.

Originally Posted by BuckeyeMafia

Loose ball foul on Varajeo. That's the icing right there.

[censored] Lamar Odom.

I [censored]ing LOVE Mafia, his hate for the Lakers is what east coast basketball hatred is all about.

[schwab]

LAKERS: Lakers Gameday | 02/08/09 | Lakers 101, Cavaliers 91

Lakers stop Cavaliers' home winning streak

CLEVELAND(AP) No second All-Star. No triple-double for LeBron James. And now, no more home winning streak.
It's been a rough few days for the Cleveland Cavaliers.
Lamar Odom scored a season-high 28 points, Kobe Bryant added 19 and the streak-breaking Los Angeles Lakers handed Cleveland its first loss at home this season, 101-91 on Sunday.
The Cavaliers came in 23-0 at Quicken Loans Arena, but were stopped by the Lakers, who ended Boston's 19-game winning streak on Christmas Day and halted a 12-game run by the Celtics earlier this week.
James finished with 16 points on just 5-of-20 shooting for Cleveland, which hadn't lost at home since Game 5 against Washington in the first round of last season's playoffs.
The Lakers weren't intimidated in the NBA's rowdiest arena and went 6-0 on a road trip that also included stops in Minnesota, Memphis, New York, Toronto and Boston.
Pau Gasol added 18 points with 12 rebounds for Los Angeles, which played a solid all-around game and made just six turnovers - none over the final 19:28. The Lakers' trip started rocky with center Andruw Bynum injuring his knee against the Grizzlies, but it couldn't have ended any better.
Zydrunas Ilgauskas scored 22 to lead Cleveland. Mo Williams, whose All-Star snub had infuriated the Cavs, scored 19 and James finished with 12 assists and eight rebounds. It was James' first game since his apparent historic triple-double at Madison Square Garden was downgraded when the league took away one of his 10 rebounds.


Cont..

[OCBucksFan]

60-47 Lakers at the half. I love Durants game though, the guy is for real.

[OCBucksFan]

Thank god for tacos, 98-109 Lakers.

[schwab]

LAKERS: Lakers Gameday | 02/10/09 | Lakers 105, Thunder 98

Bryant reaches 23,000 in win over Thunder

LOS ANGELES(AP) Kobe Bryant showed no lingering effects from the flu, scoring 34 points and becoming the youngest player in NBA history to reach 23,000 in the Los Angeles Lakers' 105-98 victory over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.
Pau Gasol had 22 points and 14 rebounds, and Lamar Odom had 12 points and a season-high 18 boards for the Lakers, just back from a 6-0 trip they concluded with wins against Boston and Cleveland.
Bryant had chills and fever and needed intravenous fluids at halftime of Sunday's game against the Cavaliers.
Although Los Angeles has the league's best record and Oklahoma City one of the worst, the Thunder stayed close most of the game, but they trailed the entire second half.
Kevin Durant finished with 31 points, his fifth 30-point game in a row, and 10 rebounds in the loss. Russell Westbrook had 17 points and nine rebounds.
With fans chanting "MVP,'' Bryant made a free throw with 5:13 left in the second quarter to become the youngest player in NBA history with 23,000 points at 30 years, 171 days old. He bounced the first of two free throws off the front of the rim, the backboard and in for his 14th point of the game. He joined 20 others in league history who've reached the mark.
Wilt Chamberlain was formerly the youngest at 30 years, 176 days. He still ranks as the fastest to 23,000, reaching it in 606 games, while Bryant, who came straight from high school to the NBA, reached it in his 917th game.


Cont..

[schwab]

LAKERS: Lakers Gameday | 02/11/09 | Jazz 113, Lakers 109

Williams leads Jazz past Lakers 113-109

SALT LAKE CITY(AP) Deron Williams had 31 points and 11 assists and the Utah Jazz snapped the Los Angeles Lakers' seven-game winning streak with a 113-109 victory Wednesday night.
Mehmet Okur scored 22 points, CJ Miles had 17 and Ronnie Brewer added 16 to give the injury-plagued Jazz their fourth win in the last five games.
Kobe Bryant scored 37 points and Lamar Odom had 19 points and 19 rebounds, but the Lakers allowed the Jazz to shoot a season-high 58.6 percent.
The Jazz didn't score from the field and made 2-for-8 from the line in a nearly four-minute stretch in the fourth quarter to give the Lakers a last gasp.
Odom and Bryant combined for 10 points and Bryant's 3-pointer gave the Lakers their first lead of the fourth quarter, 105-104, at the 1:36 mark.
Sandwiched around Bryant's steal and layup, Paul Millsap made a three-point play for Utah and Okur hit a three-pointer to put Utah up, 110-107.
Williams made 3-of-6 free throws in the last 25 seconds while Derek Fisher missed two 3-point attempts and Bryant misfired once to clinch the Jazz win.
The Lakers closed the gap to 91-90, but Brewer sparked the Jazz with a series of scintillating plays. His reverse dunk started a 10-2 run that featured a steal, a block and another dunk over Bryant to give Utah a 101-92 lead with 5:59 to play. But Brewer missed four consecutive foul shots to open the door for L.A.
Williams has averaged 31 points in his last five games and is showing that he is finally healthy after missing 13 of Utah's first 15 games with a sprained ankle and later suffering from swelling in the knee.
He made 12-of-17 shots and his 11th assist was a Okur's 3-pointer with 42.8 seconds left.
After Williams drove the lane for a basket in the third quarter, Bryant switched to guard the Utah point guard. But Williams promptly drove past him for a layup and a foul. On the next possession, Williams got Bryant going backward and then hit a pull-up jumper. Utah led 80-73 with 2:55 left in the period.
The Jazz often double-teamed Bryant and eliminated any easy drives to the basket. Gambling to leave his teammates open on the perimeter paid off for Utah as Los Angeles went 5-of-19 from beyond the arc.
The last time the Lakers played in Salt Lake City they beat the Jazz in Game 6 of the 2008 Western Conference semifinals to win that physical series, 4-2, and this game turned very chippy as well.


Cont..

[OCBucksFan]

No defense by the Lakers last night, horrible game.

[schwab]

Originally Posted by OCBucksFan

No defense by the Lakers last night, horrible game.

I keep thinking that the Lakers really only lose when they let their guard down. They just came out of an impressive road stretch, and headed home for a win, ready for the all-star break, possibly forgetting they had to get back on the plane one more time. The Charlotte game seemed to be a gimme also, but they were gearing up for that road trip. The part that has me not worried is, they will finish off the first round or two fairly quickly, and once they get to the tough series', there will be no letting down the guard. At least that's what I keep thinking. This is the best team in the NBA. But only when they feel like they need to be.

[schwab]

NBA.com Gasol's triple-double leads Lakers past Hawks

By BETH HARRIS, AP Sports Writer

LOS ANGELES(AP) Pau Gasol had 12 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists and the Los Angeles Lakers emerged from the All-Star break with a 96-83 victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Tuesday night.
Lamar Odom had 15 points and 20 rebounds, Derek Fisher scored 14 points, and Trevor Ariza and Jordan Farmar added 10 points each to go with Gasol's third career triple-double on a night when Kobe Bryant scored a season-low 10 points.
All-Star Joe Johnson scored 14 points and Josh Smith added 13 for the Hawks, who had their three-game road winning streak end on the first night of their five-game West Coast trip. Atlanta, fourth in the Eastern Conference standings, had won four of five heading into the break.
Coming off a weekend in which he shared the All-Star MVP trophy with former teammate Shaquille O'Neal, Bryant shot 4-of-12 and never got to the free throw line in his lowest offensive performance since he had 11 against Washington on Jan. 22.
Not that the Lakers needed their resident superstar.
They improved to 25-4 at Staples Center by blowing out the Hawks in the second half after Atlanta led by nine in the opening quarter.


Cont..

[OCBucksFan]

Gasol had a tripple double, but really tonight was another night in a string of great games from Odom. He plays that way for the rest of the season, we win, whether or not Drew makes it back.

17 Rebounds 1 week.
18 the next
19 the next
20 tonight.

21 is setting the bar high, let's see if he can keep that goal and get 21 tomorrow.

[schwab]

Originally Posted by OCBucksFan

Gasol had a tripple double, but really tonight was another night in a string of great games from Odom. He plays that way for the rest of the season, we win, whether or not Drew makes it back.

17 Rebounds 1 week.
18 the next
19 the next
20 tonight.

21 is setting the bar high, let's see if he can keep that goal and get 21 tomorrow.

How often does an NBA game go in the books, with not one player on either side scoring 20 points, but one having 20+ rebounds? Lamar is on fire.

[OCBucksFan]

Originally Posted by schwab

How often does an NBA game go in the books, with not one player on either side scoring 20 points, but one having 20+ rebounds? Lamar is on fire.

The thing is, he's so off and on, if he can maintain this energy through the rest of the season and the post season, he'll end with a ring on his finger, but that's a huge if.

[OCBucksFan]

Entertaining game tonight, good win for the Lakers, looked like they could give this one away in the third quarter.

[BengalsAndBucks]

Yeah, I always have trouble taking games against Golden State seriously for any team, because they are just so wild on both ends its ridiculous. That being said, its good to get the W.