The Official Los Angeles Lakers thread

[wcsoldier]

^^^^ yep lol, with the Denver game Smush got his best games against the Magics... included a 18pt 3rd quarter

[LAKERS_FAN89]

^^^yeah now he score 26 with the magics man,better play like that with the heat to maybe he can get to 30 points

[LAKERS_FAN89]

Lakers Edge Magic
Kobe Bryant nailed two jumpers and two free throws in the final two minutes of the fourth quarter, part of a 28-point night, to lead the Lakers to Friday's 109-106 home victory over the Magic. Smush Parker registered a career-high 26 points and added three steals, while Bryant added eight rebounds and seven assists despite playing with a groin injury.

[Tha G In Deee]

props to Smush Parker

^Word...

[GangstaBoogy]

I was hoping he'd reach the 30 mark. I don't think anyone from this Lakers squad has scored 30 while Kobe was playing.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Kwame is such a difference maker, we shut down Dwight Howard every time they played against eachother...Last night, completely different story.


We got the win, nonetheless...

[LAKERS_FAN89]

next game

 
Mon,
Jan 15  Lakers vs. Miami   
7:00 pm (TV: TNT) (Radio: KLAC-AM 570/KWKW-AM 1330) 

[LAKERS_FAN89]

L'UP

[Doggystylin]

Smush off that Kush again 

[GangstaBoogy]

[LAKERS_FAN89]

Shaq Comeback Won’t Be in L.A.
Posted Jan 13 2007 9:35PM
SALT LAKE CITY, Jan. 13 (AP) -- Shaquille O'Neal won't be making a grand return against his former team next week.

O'Neal said Saturday that he will continue practicing and rebuilding the strength in his left knee, but there was "zero'' chance he would play Monday night when the Heat visit the Los Angeles Lakers.

So don't plan on Kobe vs. Shaq.

O'Neal just returned to practice Thursday. He tore cartilage in his left knee on Nov. 12 and had surgery a week later. He planned to practice again Sunday with the Heat in Los Angeles, where he played eight seasons.

The Heat wrap up a six-game road trip against the Lakers. They're back at home Thursday against Indiana and play at Philadelphia the next night. The Mavericks, who have the best record in the league, visit Miami on Jan. 21.

O'Neal, who has played in just four games this season, wouldn't speculate on when he'll be back in the lineup.

"I'm not sure,'' he said before the Heat played at Utah. "I don't like to give dates because it's like giving a promise and not keeping it. So whenever I'm 100 percent.''

The Heat were 3-1 on the road trip entering Saturday's game against the Jazz, despite injuries that slowed the defending NBA champions through the first two months of the season. Still, Miami trailed Orlando by just five games before Saturday's games.

"We've got 50-something games left,'' he said. "If we can't gain (five) games in 50 games, then we don't deserve to be there.''

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

On the Webber watch and next season's free agents

January 13, 2007
Reader questions for Lakers beat reporter Mike Bresnahan.

Q: With or without Odom, Brown and Mihm, will this Lakers team get it through their heads that they need to start playing sub-.500 teams hard, coming out prepared for every game and playing harder (and smarter) defense on every opponent? Will Brian Cook and Vladimir Radmanovic stop their maddeningly frustrating habit of bouncing from great game one night to sub-par the next?

— Eric Marchese, Santa Ana

A: Even though Phil Jackson kind of rolled his eyes and chuckled after the loss the other night in Memphis, Kobe Bryant was deathly serious. And I mean deathly serious.

Bryant didn't like what he saw, and he pledged that the Lakers would learn how to beat these bad teams (Portland, Seattle, Charlotte, New Orleans and now Memphis). Whether he's right or not remains to be seen, but these losses can't help their cause for a top-four seeding in the Western Conference and home court in the first round of the playoffs. (Yes, I'm assuming they will make the playoffs and remain among the top six teams in the West once they get Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown back.)

It really is amazing to see a team play so well against good teams (4-2 against the top four in the West) and play so poorly against crummy teams. Each loss to a cellar-dweller brings out a new series of questions about the legitimacy of the Lakers.

As for Brian Cook and Vladimir Radmanovic, they're primarily shooters. Big, tall shooters. Sometimes they're on, sometimes they're not, and when they're not, it's glaringly obvious because that's the main part of their game. It's too much to blame them for all these losses to subpar teams. That has to fall on the shoulder of the guys who have started the most games this season — Bryant, Smush Parker, Luke Walton and even Odom, who was around for three of those losses.

Q: I was wondering if you could tell me what your opinion is of Chris Webber. Do you think he will become a Laker and if he does, what will the Lakers give up? Do you think it would be a good fit?

— Randy A. Stockwell, Bridport, Vermont

A: As soon as I heard about Webber's availability, I figured the Lakers would be at least somewhat interested. It makes sense: They're short on bodies, especially in the front court, and Webber would be a decent fit in the triangle offense with his outside shot and passing skills.

He is definitely not the Chris Webber of 10 years ago, or even five years ago. He lingers on the perimeter and, unlike his heyday, rarely ventures to the basket. He has played only 18 games, and any team that signs him will have to take a close look at his physical status. But, still, he averaged 11 points and 8.3 rebounds in almost 31 minutes a game for Philadelphia this season. Those numbers aren't bad at all.

The Lakers can offer him about $1.2 million this season, although he is believed to be seeking a longer-term deal, which might make them less interested. At the very least, it will be intriguing to watch this unfold over the next few days.

Q: After the Shaq trade, all we heard was that next off-season was the "Big One" — a time to sign a big time free agent. Did signing Radmanovic and Kwame ruin that? Will Brian Grant, Mihm, McKie and Kwame be off the books next year?

Any chance Grant Hill would sign for the minimum to play point guard? Also, any word on any possible Kevin Garnett trade scenarios for the Lakers?

— Jacob Harrington

A: The next off-season will not be a big one for the Lakers in free agency. (They can always make it big with a trade or two, but that's much more speculative and unpredictable, so we'll stick to the facts of free agency here.)

The Lakers' payroll is already at $58.4 million next season. The salary cap has not been determined, but it will be somewhere between $50 million and $55 million, meaning they will again have only the mid-level exception as their main spending tool. (Given annually to teams over the salary cap, it allows them to sign a player for about $30 million over five seasons.)

Radmanovic will make $6 million and Kwame Brown will make $9 million next season, so, in a sense, they are the reasons there is no free-agency money.

Brian Grant, Chris Mihm and Aaron McKie will indeed be off the books next season.

Grant Hill would probably join the Lakers for their mid-level exception, but I don't see any teams offering him that much money over that many seasons. And I don't really see Hill finishing his career as a point guard, although I see what direction you're heading with your question (he would be a veteran guard playing in Phil Jackson's triangle offense at the end of his career, just like Ron Harper and Brian Shaw).

And, no, Kevin Garnett is not coming to the Lakers any time soon. Such a concept would cost them Lamar Odom and Andrew Bynum, and that simply won't happen, even if they lose their next 20 games. (OK, maybe by that point, they'd entertain just about anything.)

[Stone Cold is Bout It, Bout It]

[Stone Cold is Bout It, Bout It]

Turiaf = Posterboy

Turiaf = Career high 5 blocks & solid defense @ the end of the game to help the Lakers win the game.

And fuck the clippers you better be ready for the lottery 

________

And props to Smush, That was probably his best game as a Laker.....he got some big steals at the end of the game & put alot of pressure on Nelson when he tried to tie the game at the end.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

^^What happened to "get rid of Smush!" under your avatar?...