Ariza Vujacic chest bump

[nkdlunch]

the machine after the bump:

[angelbelow]

this is ing great

[Hemotivo]

[duncan228]

Ariza brings bundle of energy
Trevor Ariza was inspiring, Kobe Bryant was closing, and the Lakers stayed perfect with a new entry in the book of comparisons to Scottie Pippen and Michael Jordan.
Kevin Ding

DALLAS - Trevor Ariza beat everyone to the ball for the offensive rebound. He lost it in the scrum and it rolled into the corner, so he beat everyone to the ball again. Then he ditched Dirk Nowitzki with a nifty shoulder shake and juke that surely impressed courtside fan Tony Romo and dunked for the first Lakers lead since the game's opening minutes.

The Mavericks called time out with 10:03 left, and Ariza's teammates streamed onto the court to congratulate him.

Ariza was so energized that he knocked Sasha Vujacic to the floor when they jumped together in celebration. Ariza was so amped up that he doesn't even remember it.

DJ Mbenga was so energized that he didn't care that he wasn't playing and was wearing a suit. He jumped into Ariza with a chest bump that nearly knocked Ariza to the floor.

"It definitely swung the momentum and kind of sat their fans down and got us going," Ariza said of the play. "That was exciting. We were just out there having fun."

In that festive timeout Kobe Bryant, a towel comfortably curled around his neck, gave everyone who was on the court — Ariza, Andrew Bynum, Jordan Farmar, Lamar Odom and Vujacic — high fives. But Bryant kept it cool.

And when he re-entered the game a minute later, Bryant clearly had a reservoir of energy to make sure the Lakers never lost the lead that Ariza had given them.

"It's great," Bryant said of having such depth on the team. "All of us starters get a chance to rest and recuperate, and when you get back in the game, you've got to make the plays."

Bryant and Ariza have quietly developed a very strong mentoring relationship. And for all that has been said — including within the Lakers' organization — about how Bryant and Lamar Odom could be the next Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen, it is actually Ariza who is now evoking memories of Pippen in his prime.

There's the incredible wingspan and the same 6-foot-8 height as Pippen. There is a beauty in athletic movement that Phil Jackson described after this game as "very graceful." There is inconsistent but capable 3-point shooting. There is the gentle, soft-spoken demeanor that belies furious defensive pride and energy.

"I hate when people score on me," Ariza said.

Ariza was trying to explain what happened on the play with 45.2 seconds left when hot-handed Jerry Stackhouse's 3-pointer could've given Dallas a 100-99 lead. Ariza was able to offer the proper help defense to his teammates yet recover to the corner and block Stackhouse's shot with a second left on the shot clock.

"I had to figure out a way to not foul him and not let him score, so I guess I blocked the shot," Ariza said.

Yes, there's a ways to go for Ariza with the ball-handling and the halfcourt a en that made Pippen such a force in Jackson's triangle offense. But the 3-point shooting is definitely coming along after a lot of hard work over the summer, and more work will bring more muscle. The defensive knack is already ridiculous, as seen by Ariza taking the ball away from a dribbling Jason Kidd in a one-on-one matchup near midcourt just before halftime and sailing the other way for a dunk.

This was a game the Mavericks, 0-2 at home after going 70-12 here the previous two seasons, wanted much more than the Lakers but still couldn't get. That's because the Lakers started playing harder in the second half, largely inspired by Ariza's energy.

Odom also played pretty well in spurts, but it's becoming apparent that the Lakers will be just fine this offseason re-signing Ariza, 23, for much less than the asking price of Odom, 29. Ariza's innate skill at moving without the ball — a fundamental area of the triangle where Odom remains deficient — is a magical complement to Bryant's game, which features more ball-handling than Jordan's did. Bryant also hinted late Tuesday night that Ariza has a lot more in his bag.

"He's always in the gym early, working on his game," Bryant said. "So I think the other parts of his game will continue to develop — off the dribble, moves off the post. He has a lot of that stuff already, but he sacrifices a great deal for the team."

[IronMexican]

I LOVE ARIZA! That was a huge steal in that trade. We would have given up Cook for free, but to get Ariza? man.

[manufor3]

Flops on his own teammate.

[JamStone]

You'd think he could handle a little bump after getting elbowed so often by Kobe.

[sook]

sasha reminds me of a pubic hair

[mystargtr34]

Sasha is such a little , purple head bands now to.

Ariza on the other hand, ive liked him since he was a Knick.

[Allanon]

TheMachine is pure comedy, I love having him on the Lakers. Seeing that video just confirms that he's definitely no high flying act.

Ariza is "delusional", at least according to Larry Brown.

We gotta come up with a cool nickname for him though.

[mVp]

Ariza is "delusional", at least according to Larry Brown.

We gotta come up with a cool nickname for him though.

Trevor "Ibump shard" Ariza.

or

Trevor "Tootoughfor s" Ariza

or

Trevor "Thegayrepeller" Ariza

Any of those is good...