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Lamar Odom"I'll probably have to shoot the ball, be a little bit more aggressive on offense and pick up the scoring," he said
Duh.....
LAKERS REPORT
Plenty is at stake for Lakers against the Suns
The missing piece
Andrew Bynum led the Lakers to a 122-115 victory over Phoenix on Christmas Day at Staples Center with 28 points ands 12 rebounds. When the Lakers meet the Suns today, they'll do so without their injured center.
Teams are battling for best record in the West.
By Mike Bresnahan, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
January 17, 2008
You again?
It's obviously not playoff time, and the bickering coaches seem to have reached an uneasy truce, but the Lakers and Phoenix Suns face each other a third time this season tonight at Staples Center.
There's really not much at stake, merely first place in the Pacific Division, the top record in the Western Conference, and the head-to-head tiebreaker in case the teams meet again in the playoffs.
If the Lakers win, their fanciful season continues, despite the loss of Andrew Bynum for about eight weeks, an injury considered so vital to the Lakers that long-time trainer Gary Vitti briefed reporters after Wednesday's practice with a five-foot skeleton next to him for a frame of reference.
"It's about Andrew's size at birth," Vitti quipped, pointing to the skeleton.
The rivalry between the Lakers and Suns was born anew this season, just in case their back-to-back playoff series didn't cause enough tense moments.
The Lakers pummeled the Suns in November, 119-98, and beat them Dec. 25, 122-115.
In the first game, Suns Coach Mike D'Antoni had words for Phil Jackson after the Lakers' coach called a late timeout with the Lakers ahead by 30 points.
In the second game, Bynum had a career-high 28 points, made 11 of 13 shots, had 12 rebounds and thoroughly outplayed two-time All-Star Amare Stoudemire, who had 19 points and six rebounds.
Bynum's effort that afternoon was enough to prompt D'Antoni to observe, "I don't know if he's up and coming. He's there."
Bynum obviously won't be in the lineup tonight, but the Lakers are hoping to regain some balance in their attack.
Kobe Bryant had a season-high 48 points in the Lakers' 123-121 overtime victory Monday against Seattle, although he needed 44 shots to get there.
Jackson addressed the team about it Wednesday.
"He had some teammates who came out shy," Jackson said. "If you really give Kobe the la ude and you're bashful about shooting the ball, he's going to take up all the rest of the shots."
Lamar Odom, one of those who deferred to Bryant with regularity in Monday's game, acknowledged the need to increase his assertiveness.
"I'll probably have to shoot the ball, be a little bit more aggressive on offense and pick up the scoring," he said.
Meanwhile, the Lakers (26-11) would clinch a tiebreaker against the Suns with a victory tonight. They also woke up Wednesday to find themselves owning the best record in the Western Conference.
"I think it's a sense of accomplishment from where we came," Bryant said. "That being said, it's still early in the season."
Vitti, in his 24th season as the Lakers' trainer, offered his insight into Bynum's injury. Bynum was diagnosed Monday with a bone bruise in his left knee and a subluxation of his left kneecap -- a brief dislocation that popped back into place.
"When you see a player go down the way he did, with the torque that he put on his knee, usually the first thing you think of is an anterior cruciate ligament damage," he said. "Andrew has some predisposing factors skeletally if you see him -- a little bit knock-kneed, wide pelvis -- [that] makes him prone to this type of thing.
"But of course, it could have been much worse. It could have been a ligament tear and he could have kissed the whole season goodbye. We're hoping to get him back for at least a month or more prior to playoffs."
The soft tissue around the kneecap would need four to six weeks to heal, Vitti said, but the bone bruise was "probably going to be the thing that's going to take the longest to feel better. How long that takes, God knows. I don't."
Vladimir Radmanovic had an MRI exam Wednesday after continuing to feel pain in a sprained right ankle that had sidelined him for seven games. . . . Jackson acknowledged the need to look into signing a free agent such as Chris Webber. "We have to consider possibilities to strengthen our roster," he said. "We need some depth."
Lamar Odom"I'll probably have to shoot the ball, be a little bit more aggressive on offense and pick up the scoring," he said
Duh.....
Phoenix by 10+
kobe`s
by a landslide
The Lakers will just go out and take care of business...no big deal tonight for them. This game is more important to the Suns.
Well the Suns are missing Grant Hill and just looked completely out of whack against the Clippers last night. I say they lose unless they get a great offensive output from all their guys, which could very well happen.
The real test for LA is when they face DEN, DAL, DET, and SAS in the coming weeks. That could very well be 4 losses that sends them back down in the rankings. Terrible time to lose Bynum, right as they were picking up steam and beginning to distance themselves from the rest of the WC.
I'll take the Suns tonight. The Lakers without their second best player suddenly get extremely thin on the boards, and that's the main advantage teams hold over the Suns.
This is the jinx right here. Nice going.
cant believe im saying this but go suns...if suns lose mavs move back to #1
can both teams with 11 loses entering into tonights game both lose on TNT
neverminds if Suns win they will have 27 wins and be up 1/2 on mavs...anyways go suns still
yes, lamar. go do that.
Suns up by 19 almost midway through the 3rd, and have played their bench a total of 23 minutes.
D'Antoni.
lol D'Antoni is about to have a nervous break down if they lose this lead.
If the Suns lose this game they don't even deserve to be an NBA team.
Kwame Brown with the worst performance I've ever seen from an NBA center in my life. Kobe not even taking shots in the 2nd and 3rd quarters. Lakers practically gave this one up and the Suns still find a way to let them in it
its amazing how this game turned out interesting, good job suns
With Bynum the Lakers win that game easily. The Suns should be very worried about their team right now, they almost let a Laker team playing some of the worst basketball I've ever seen come back in the game. And they had a perfect night shooting too. They are a gonna plummet in the standings when they start facing tougher and healthier teams.
Yeah, the Suns shot well, but they don't usually have 24 turnovers. They average 13.
Hey SpursDynasty...where are your predictions?
Good game suns...the lakers looked lost out there. Kobe passing it off...once again Odom plays passive the entire game. Kwame looks like it's the first time he picked up a basketball...oh well. As long as we play .500 ball until Bynum comes back I don't care.
Yeah that's a 40/20 game for bynum.
The Lakers have to make a decision. Either they redefine their game or they make a trade to get a low post player to keep their game intact until bynum returns. They were treating Brown like bynum by feeding him and being out of shape and not having the hands that Bynum does, it will not work.
I was against the lakers making a trade when we had a healthy Bynum but It's time to call Indiana about Oneal. I hate to break up the team to a certain extent but a low post scorer is important to this team. If the Lakers prefer to stay pat then Webber is another option. Something has to be done.
It's just 1 game really...the suns were due and they shot well. Unless they themselves start playing within themselves they aren't going anywhere fast. The lakeshow is still another year from serious contention.
True it was only one game but you are delusional, the Lakeshow is in contention now! A low post player will keep them strong while bynum is out and keep them playing at a high level. I personally do not want to get back into the 2nd tier teams in the league.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...ck=1&cset=true
Bill Plaschke:
Lakers are missing their center, and so are fans
In their first home game since Andrew Bynum went out with injury, they look like the lifeless team of last spring. It's going to be a long two months.
January 18 2008
Two months?
This is going to feel like two years.
Knee injury?
This is a blow to the chest.
Breaths short, patience shorter, Lakers fans watched the first home game without Andrew Bynum on Thursday in an arena that was clearly missing something.
Staples has lost its Center.
Kobe Bryant looked desperate. Lamar Odom looked hurried. Kwame Brown looked just awful.
The Lakers looked like the Lakers of last spring, a team that conceded a playoff series and angered a superstar and spent the entire summer sweeping up the pieces.
It was Phoenix 106, Lakers 98, and worry through the roof.
You thought they might miss the nimble middle of their offense?
They shot 38%, if that's any clue.
You wondered if they would miss the stalking middle of their defense?
In a five-minute stretch of the second quarter, Amare Stoudemire had three dunks, if that's any indication.
"We played tired," said Lakers Coach Phil Jackson. "We reacted poorly."
Without their smooth young star, the Lakers played sluggishly, hesitantly, as if they were choking on seeds.
A No. 1 seed. A No. 2 seed. A No. 3 seed. Those sorts of seeds.
Instead of patting their backs, the Lakers' fans wanted to wring their necks.
Shawn Marion scored on an alley-oop pass from Boris Diaw on an inbounds play from midcourt.
Booooo.
Diaw stole an offensive rebound and Shawn Marion hit a three pointer.
Booooo.
Ronny Turiaf threw an ally-opp pass to . . . nobody?
Booooo.
Watching the Lakers play without Bynum was like sitting in a room after the removal of a Christmas tree.
The place is no different than it was a couple of months ago.
But it felt completely empty.
The Lakers had 21 turnovers and one blocked shot. Kwame Brown had seven turnovers and zero blocked shots and enough boos to make even his coach cringe.
When asked whether he had ever heard such continuous abuse heaped on a player, Jackson said, "None on a team I coached."
And you think you're sick? Bynum showed up before the game looking like a circus performer. His left knee is so stiff, he walked through the Staples Center tunnel as if on stilts.
"It is definitely terrible not being able to play, not being able to really move," said Bynum in his first interview since the injury was diagnosed.
His first missed game, Monday in Seattle, he watched on television.
And, yes, fans, he felt your pain . . . literally.
"I wanted to jump on the couch, but as soon as I jumped, I went, 'ahhhhhh' and had to sit back down," he said.
The Lakers won that game against the dreadful Supersonics, but it took them two overtimes, and it took Bryant 44 shots, and it was a sign of things to come.
The fun of this year's Lakers is gone. The frustration of the last three years is back.
"Bynum is a loss, but, c'mon," said Suns' Coach Mike D'Antoni, shaking his head. "They've still got Kobe over there!"
That's where the frustration will focus. Bryant will have to carry the Lakers, and you know what happens when that happens.
Everybody else will stand around and watch him. Then Bryant will get mad and stand around and watch them.
In the first quarter, he scored 13 points. In the second quarter, he scored zilch. In the third quarter, he scored eight points. In the fourth quarter, he scored nine points but only played the final 6:01.
Typical of his night -- and perhaps the next two months of his season -- was a play that occurred with three minutes left in the first half.
Playing defense as if he were the only Laker on the floor, Bryant punched the ball away from the Suns three times before chasing it over the press table, where he lay flat for several seconds.
He returned to the court, and, within a minute, the Suns had scored five consecutive points, on a three pointer and a fast break layup.
There will be times that, no matter what he does, it won't work.
Granted, this was against a Suns team with the motivation that comes with a realization that their championship window is closing faster than a Leandro Barbosa drive.
The Lakers had beaten them twice in two games this season by 28 combined points. The Lakers had overtaken them for the lead in the Pacific Division. And the Suns were coming off a Staples Center loss to the Clippers.
Plus, the Suns were giddy the Lakers were without the guy who had scored 42 points with 25 rebounds in the two games against them.
"But isn't this the same team that played so well last year before they had the injuries?" asked D'Antoni.
No. These Lakers have seen how much better they can be with Bynum, and will never be the same.
Two months?
Too much.
Bill Plaschke can be reached at [email protected]. To read previous columns by Plaschke, go to latimes.com/plaschke.
I'm really starting to dislike this guy!
D'Antoni can go himself, that arrogant prick. Anyone who has watched basketball this season knows the only reason the Lakers are good this year is because of the quantum leap Bynum has made.
The Lakers are overrated this year. You'll see.
Put this in your signatures if you'd like. The Lakers won't go far in the playoffs. Will the Suns? Probably not. But if the Lakers and Suns met in the playoffs again, Phoenix would take it in 6 or less.
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