Lakers would definitely be better without Bryant.
I wonder what's up with the discrepancy in free throws?Interesting - Lakers shoot .388 to the Cavs .481 from the floor, have the same number of rebounds, but <a href="http://www.serverlogic3.com/lm/rtl3.asp?si=11&k=win%2098" onmouseover="window.status='win 98'; return true;" onmouseout="window.status=''; return true;">win 98</a>-94.
However.....
Cavs FTs 11-16, Lakers 28-35
Oh wait. The game was at the Staples.
Nevermind.
James one asst shy of a triple double? Lakers only won that game on freethrows...that's for sure.
the lakers.
Cool now Vujačič will play!
So how long is the rapist gonna be out for.
Let's go Lakers, I hope they go on an absolute tear with Bryant out. With Bryant gone, there's really no reason to hate the team.
Sounds like serveral weeks.
With Bryant, LA is 6th in WC. Without Bryant, LA may miss the playoffs.
===================================
LAKERS 98, CLEVELAND 94
Painful Victory
# Bryant injures ankle, team picks up slack to defeat Cavaliers
Painful Victory
By Mike Bresnahan, LA Times Staff Writer
Kobe Bryant sat down hard in the back of a golf cart, folded the wooden crutches across his lap and was carted away from the Laker locker room, a means
of transportation feared most by Laker officials.
One of the Lakers' worst visions became reality Thursday night, with Bryant crumpled on the floor, clutching his right ankle and getting carried off the court in front of a silent crowd of 18,997 at Staples Center.
Bryant, second in the league in scoring, went up for a rebound midway through the first quarter, came down on the foot of Cleveland Cavalier guard Ira Newble and was diagnosed with a severely sprained ankle. X-rays were negative, and Bryant will undergo an MRI exam today.
Without Bryant, the Lakers managed to defeat Cleveland, 98-94, and were buoyed, at least temporarily, by 24 points from forward Lamar Odom.
Bryant has had shoulder, knee and foot injuries in his nine-year career, but none were as painful as the one sustained Thursday.
"It's the worst one I've ever had," Bryant said. "Crunching, instant throbbing. A lot of pain right now. I can't hop on one leg. My foot, when it's not weight-bearing, kind of jiggles a little bit, and that hurts like crazy.
"This one might be weeks, bro. It doesn't feel like a day-to-day thing."
Bryant said he would be ready for the results of the MRI exam, whatever they may bring.
"Worst you can get is have a couple of tears in there," he said. "It's not season-ending by any means. It's just rest and recuperation. The guys will hold down the fort, I have no doubt."
The score was tied, 15-15, when Bryant went down with 5:39 left in the first quarter. He did not put any weight on his right foot as he was helped off the court by forward Brian Grant and trainer Gary Vitti.
"Everybody has to play that much better," Odom said. "One of the best players in the league goes down, we'll have to play better team basketball."
The injury was the latest to befall Bryant, who has been hit with a variety of sprains and strains since being diagnosed two months ago with plantar fasciitis in his left foot. He has also sustained a strained left shoulder and a sprained right thumb this season.
But the severity of the sprained ankle has topped all of them.
"It's the most pain I've ever seen him in, by far," said Laker spokesman John Black, who followed Bryant into the locker room.
In the short term, it meant another delay in the showdown between Bryant and LeBron James. All told, Bryant and James have been on the court together for a little more than 20 minutes in three games.
Bryant sustained a sprained right shoulder last season against Cleveland at Staples Center and left in the second quarter. He did not play in the Lakers' game in Cleveland a month later because he had sustained a cut finger.
James, in his second season, had 28 points Thursday for the Cavaliers, who came into the game with the second-best record in the Eastern Conference.
The Lakers led, 94-88, after two free throws by Caron Butler with 22.4 seconds left, but three-pointers by Jeff McInnis and James brought the Cavaliers to within 95-94. Butler made only one of two free throws, but James' three-pointer in the final seconds was no good and Odom's free throws clinched it.
Odom looked more assertive than usual, taking the ball to the basket often and making eight of 17 shots, the most attempts he has had since joining the Lakers.
Bryant has played all 82 regular-season games only once, in 2002-03. He underwent surgery on his shoulder and knee after that season.
The Lakers probably will activate rookie guard Tony Bobbitt for their next game, Saturday at Golden State.
Last edited by boutons; 01-14-2005 at 09:52 AM.
WTF are you talking about...They're still the lakers no matter what.
I don't care if the lakers release kobe and sign Manu,Nocioni, and Delfino...
i still will hate them
Hate them for what, most of their jerk fans jumped ship to Miami and Cleveland. I said most not all, I think everyone knows who I'm taking about. Not calling all Laker fans jerks, just those bandwagon jerks. Do you still hate the Jazz with Stockton, Malone, and Hornacek gone? (Hornacek is more of a personal one. I'm not sure if Jeff ended his career with them but I hated him with Pheonix too)
Big Al...still a chump...
Oh and for all these pundits saying the Lakers are better off without Kobe need to get their head examined...each new Laker with exception of Lamar are having career years playing with Bryant and they are thick in the playoff hunt. I guess people can't take it when the Kobesters win...it's sad. This is injury is a blessing, expect us to struggle, but only time will tell. Maybe we can keep him out for the rest of the season, so we can win the lottery and get a great pick...Oh, that's what the spurs did a while back....
When the Spurs had that forgetable season they were the third worse team in the league. The Lakers have a long way to go to lose that many.
Well, I was being sarcastic....seriously...I hate the fact that Kobe will be sidelined for a while. This will give more PT for Sasha et al, so that's great. The team was adjusting to Kobe all season long, now he'll have to do that when he comes back. It will be interesting for him, for sure. But I guess all Spurs fans can rejoice that the "evil" is no longer, here.
Damn straight, it's party time
That's pretty cute....
Yea, were going to pull a S*a Antonio, have Kobe go down so we can get our Tim Duncan in the draft.
I've been looking for a reason to use it for a while now.
TROLL.
2004-2005 Spurs-Lakers, 2-0.
Ira Newbel for Rasho...........
c'mon Magic...you're better than that.Yea, were going to pull a S*a Antonio, have Kobe go down so we can get our Tim Duncan in the draft. And Kobe's the toughest player in the league, He'll be back and be ready to roll you guys in the playoffs. Be afraid, Kobe owns you!
It will take at least 4 weeks... I had the same exact injury last year and it hurts like (of course I didn't get all the medical attention he will probably get but...) .... I'd rather get kicked square in the nuts than go through one of those again.... on second thought... no. But the fact still remains, it's more than your normal variety ankle sprain.
Don’t believe everything you folks see on TV...Just "O’l CIA Rudy" giving Kobe a much needed rest...
CIA Rudy? More like C'YA Rudy!
Now Kobe can brick threes directly from the bench.
This really is a blessiing for the Lakers IMO. They're going nowhere this season and it's obvious that team isn't going to jell. Their only real hopes for adding talent are either
1) moving Odom
2) the MLE next offseason
3) the draft
I think it would be much better for them to miss the playoffs and net a real player in the draft. It looks bad for Laker fans, but it looked like a nightmare for us back in 96-97 too.
It's very hard to successfully build through free agency. You just usually have to be lucky enough to draft or trade for stars when they're young and develop them in-house. Most franchise guys are untradable and/or are happy with their situations (because they're good enough players to make their situations good), so it's tough to get them to pack up and leave without even factoring in the CBA that penalizes free-agents who leave by cutting a year off the deal and 2.5% off the base yearly raise.
Look at the players drafted 9 and later the last few years:
Dirk Nowitzki
Amare Stoudemire
Paul Pierce
Ron Artest
Andrei Kirilenko
Shawn Marion
Zach Randolph
Corey Maggette
Rashard Lewis
Richard Jefferson
Manu Ginobili
Gilbert Arenas
Jamaal Magloire
Tony Parker
Desmond Mason
Al Harrington
Cuttino Mobley
Bonzi Wells
Quentin Richardson
Joe Johnson
Jason Terry
Jamaal Tinsley
Tayshaun Prince
Last edited by baseline bum; 01-14-2005 at 03:01 PM.
They will still make the playoffs.
Slava and Sasha will hold down the fort.
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