The Official Los Angeles Lakers thread

[Halu Sination]

damn for like a good 4 or 5 mins in the 4th quarter kobe was juss hitting everything. at that point, the fans were cheering every time kobe touched the ball and they were booing wen the refs called kobe for a foul.

[LAKERS_FAN89]

The Lakers never trailed and led by as many as 11, handling the Hawks on Monday, 90-83. Kobe Bryant scored 27, 11 coming in the final quarter, and grabbed six rebounds. Lamar Odom recorded 15 points and 18 rebounds, while Andrew Bynum scored 14 and grabbed 10 boards.

L'UP haterz down

[rik]

Good to see us winning against the teams we should beat easily.

[wcsoldier]

Good win.. hopefully we'll finish the trip with AT LEAST 2 more wins... I want the 4th spot 

[GangstaBoogy]

Phil doesn't sound too happy with Bynum...


Bynum has work cut out for him
By Mike Bresnahan
Times Staff Writer

February 6, 2007

ATLANTA — Andrew Bynum and Jordan Farmar, the center and point guard of the Lakers' future?

Not quite yet.

Lakers Coach Phil Jackson took a long look at their progress to date and definitely didn't over-endorse them in an impromptu "state of the kids" address.

Jackson was asked whether Bynum and Farmar were the team's future foundation at their respective positions.

"I'm not going to say that about either one of them," he said. "They haven't shown the ability to compete in a real NBA arena where they've overcome adversity, learned what they have to learn, have the work ethic.

"I'm not doubting Farmar's work ethic right now at all, but by saying that, immediately I throw aspersions on Drew's work ethic. He's more of a lackadaisical kind of guy. You have to push him a little bit to get him going out there. Not only play, but also win. That's what it's about here."

This isn't the first time Jackson has picked at Bynum's work habits. He removed the second-year center from the starting lineup after the first 14 games because the 19-year-old was showing up progressively later for pregame workouts and struggling on the court.

"There's some things that we're pleased with what Andrew does, and there are a lot of things that we want him to improve on," Jackson said. "Until that improvement comes along, you have to wait and see. Initiative is one of the things. Correctable mistakes is another thing. Discipline is a third thing.

"You've got guys in this league that are symbolic and emblematic of that kind of effort, like Tim Duncan and Yao Ming, guys that are centers that are ahead of you, that show great discipline. They go out on the court before games, they're working hard on their games, they're showing improvement year by year. They're at a point where they're correcting mistakes and getting better, even as they age in this league. You really have to push yourself as a player."

As if to prove his point a few minutes later, Jackson broke up a small media session with Bynum by telling him gruffly to go out on the court for pregame activities.

Bynum had 14 points and 10 rebounds Monday against the Atlanta Hawks. He is averaging 8.5 points and 6.6 rebounds in 22.1 minutes this season.

Bynum said he felt he was "playing pretty well right now, pushing my averages up," and said he and Jackson had not spoken about work ethic.

"We don't really talk much, and he never really tells me anything like that," Bynum said. "I guess that's what they're trying to instill in me because they wouldn't let me go anywhere over the summer. I'm going to be myself. That's all I can be. I think I'm going to get better as time goes on."

Jackson had an idea about why Farmar has been slumping recently, scoring a total of seven points in six games before getting six against Atlanta.

"He's hit the proverbial wall as far as a rookie goes," Jackson said. "I know kids don't want to admit it or face up to it a lot of times. They can't think of it in those terms."

Farmar is averaging 5.5 points and 2.1 assists in 16.6 minutes, although Jackson wants him to cut down on turnovers and organize the team better on offense.

The Lakers can keep Bynum under contract for two more seasons before presumably forking over more than the $2.8 million they'll be paying him for the 2008-09 season. They can keep Farmar for three more seasons.

"There's not even going to be a maturity in [Bynum's] body, let alone mentally at the time that we have to make some big decisions," Jackson said. "He's got to show a certain sense of responsibility. That really takes it a long ways."

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

^^Well, I guess he expects a whole lot out of him, cuz Bynum has been tearing it up since Kwame went down...

Since regaining the starting roll (20 games):
11 PPG
9.2 RPG
2.4 BPG


I guess Phil knows Bynum's TRUE potential...

[wcsoldier]

^^^^ well Andrew has stepped it up.. he's only 19 and I'm already pleased with his improvment from his latest season to this current one... of course we can expect more from him in the future but RIGHT NOW I'm pleased with it... well I trust Phil even if I don't share his views but I guess theirs are WAY more valid 

[GangstaBoogy]

LMAO @ this...

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/sports/abox/article_1565190.php

Bynum had one of his better games (14 points, 10 rebounds in 35 minutes) Monday and felt good enough about things to attempt a three-point shot from the corner with 28.8 seconds to play and the Lakers ahead, 86-78.

“It wasn’t smart,” Jackson said. “There were 12 seconds on the 24-second clock. I had just written down a minute before: ‘Just use the clock. Don’t worry about anything else.’ It shows me how anxious he is to finally make his first three. He’s really into that.”

Bynum said he saw the shot clock and shot anyway. He did think the Lakers were ahead by nine points, not eight.

“I almost made that, man,” Bynum said. “I was mad about that. Right in and out. It’d have been funny.”

Jackson said Bynum would be fined $50 — although he would not have been fined had the shot gone in. Responded Bynum: “I’ll just give it to him in pennies.”


for those that didn't see it...

[Doggystylin]

lmao @ Bynum, I'm just kinda worried about Kwame, cause he hasn't even played much this season so I wonder if he'll even be prepared for the playoffs cause he wasn't even at his full potential yet, he was still workin' on this game, and this injury has setback his progress majorly.

[Vegasmac25]

ive said it before and ill say it again the Lakers need to stick to Bynum and have Kwame on the bench.I dont know about everyone in here but i think we have seen Kwame full potential and thats not going to get the Lakers a championship.Bynum needs to the get the expeirence and with him starting he will become even better for next year when i truley think the Lakers will take it all.

[LAKERS_FAN89]

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Q&A
Posted Feb 4 2007 10:28PM

Six NBA championships. Six NBA MVPs. Two Finals MVPs and the NBA’s all-time scoring record. NBA fans are very much aware of Kareem Abdul-Jabbar’s most notable on-the-court accomplishments but equally impressive is his literary résumé off of it.
The Hall of Famer’s latest book, On the Shoulders of Giants, My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance, is his sixth publishing venture in which he chronicles the flourishing African-American cultural movement of art, music, dance and social commentary he witnessed first hand as a child growing up in Harlem. In a recent NBA Store visit, Abdul-Jabbar spoke about this critical period and why he needed to write this book.


What inspired you to write On the Shoulders of Giants, My Journey Through the Harlem Renaissance?

Abdul-Jabbar: It was my attempt to explain who I am and why I am who I am. A lot of my life people have seen me as a mystery man and this enabled me to explain the things that helped form me.

Abdul-Jabbar's book cover.

Talk about the self discovery in going back to your childhood in researching the book?

Abdul-Jabbar: When I was in high school, between my junior and senior year, I took part in a program that was designed to show the kids in Harlem how to make it a better place. In order to do that, we had to learn a few things. I was in a journalism workshop and I had to write about Harlem. I found out at that point that I didn’t know much about the history of Harlem. All I knew of it was the black neighborhood that I lived in. At that point I started reading about Harlem’s past and the Harlem Renaissance jumped out at me. I had read a little bit of W.E.B DuBois and Langston Hughes, and I knew that they were famous authors, but I didn’t know that they were part of a larger movement that thrived and was centered in Harlem from approximately 1920 to 1940.

What other writers and artists emerged from that era?

Abdul-Jabbar: Some of the artists and photographers included Romare Bearden, the Smith brothers and James Van Der Zee. Political activists included Adam Clayton Powell Sr., Adam Clayton Powell Jr. and Marcus Garvey. Then you had Claude McKay, Countee Cullen, Langston Hughes, and Zora Neale Hurston, who were all authors that wrote poetry and prose, both novels and non-fiction. It was really a very amazing output from a very small community, which was an extraordinary statement. It had so much to do with Black Americans finally having the opportunity to show America and the world that they were more than just field hands.

Where do you see the influence today?

Abdul-Jabbar: The music of the Harlem Renaissance included Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Fats Waller. That’s jazz. It’s still a major art form throughout the world and it has given birth to R&B and rap and a few other things. So those influences are still evolving and being felt. In other areas, the political activism that led to the successful efforts of the civil rights movement really started with people like Garvey and Adam Clayton Powell, Sr. and Jr. There was so much to it. One additional element that I talk about was the fact that Black American athletes, they were looking for equality too. The Negro Leagues and the black basketball teams, they went about trying to prove to America that in their fields, they were equal to the best. It all was all about the same thing – giving Black Americans the opportunity to show the world that they belonged and that they counted for something.

Your father Ferdinand Alcindor was a trombonist who played in Harlem. How did his talent influence you growing up?

Abdul-Jabbar: I have to say I have an incredible musical education because of my father. He went to the Julliard School of Music and there he learned classical music, so I heard that along with Count Basie, Nat King Cole, Billy Eckstein, Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker and Sarah Vaughn. I heard all those sounds in my home. Music is really something that makes people whole. As they say, music soothes the soul of the savage beast, and it’s a very true statement.

What kind of doors did your father’s talent open up for you in terms of meeting some of the performers of that era or seeing some of their performances?

Abdul-Jabbar: I did both. My father would take me with him to rehearsal sometimes. So I would be at rehearsal and people like Dizzy Gillespie or Art Blakey would be there. Some of his friends were backing up Sarah Vaughn at the Apollo at one point. My dad took me while they were rehearsing in the afternoon, led me back by Sarah’s dressing room and allowed me to go in and say hello to her. I was so shy at four years old, but I knew who she was. I knew she was a star. It was a thrill for me to go in and meet her. Being in Harlem at that time, you would see superheroes walking by you with a bag of groceries. Somebody from Duke Ellington’s band could be standing six feet away for you waiting for the same light that you were waiting for. It was a pretty amazing place.

This is your sixth book. What is the most challenging aspect for you when you take on a new literary project?

Abdul-Jabbar: I think it is the same for any author – getting the research done and figuring out how you want to tell a story. There are a lot of authors in the world, so it’s difficult to find a unique niche to present your take on things. That is always a challenge for any author.

Abdul-Jabbar's famous "skyhook."
Rich Pilling/NBAE

Is there a specific audience that you were targeting with goal of educating about this critical period?

Abdul-Jabbar: The youth are the ones I really want to get to because there is a disconnect here. Today’s youth are told to get rich or die trying and they really shouldn’t take that attitude forward with them. The whole idea of finding some values that will enable them to focus their ambitions and their talents in a positive direction is very important. In learning about some of the people that went before them, I think they can go a long way to making that happen.

So you felt this was a responsibility of yours to tell this story?

Abdul-Jabbar: That’s what a historian is supposed to be doing. I studied history at UCLA and the whole idea was to make it relevant and accessible.

Is this book on Phil Jackson’s book club list to distribute to the players or did you give each member of the Lakers their own copy?

Abdul-Jabbar: I gave all the members their own copy. Phil was generous enough to give me a quote to put on the book jacket.

[Teddy Roosevelt]

ive said it before and ill say it again the Lakers need to stick to Bynum and have Kwame on the bench.I dont know about everyone in here but i think we have seen Kwame full potential and thats not going to get the Lakers a championship.Bynum needs to the get the expeirence and with him starting he will become even better for next year when i truley think the Lakers will take it all.

Bynum has proved he doesn't have the maturity to be starting yet. Like Phil (or someone) said he is still growing physically and mentally. Kwame is doing a great job. He is a real threat in the paint when healthy.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

ive said it before and ill say it again the Lakers need to stick to Bynum and have Kwame on the bench.I dont know about everyone in here but i think we have seen Kwame full potential and thats not going to get the Lakers a championship.Bynum needs to the get the expeirence and with him starting he will become even better for next year when i truley think the Lakers will take it all.

Bynum has proved he doesn't have the maturity to be starting yet. Like Phil (or someone) said he is still growing physically and mentally. Kwame is doing a great job. He is a real threat in the paint when healthy.

Bynum would be the starting 5 on almost any team with the numbers he's currently putting up...Since it's Phil Jackson and since we're the Lakers, were simply not gunna start a younger prospect over a more mature and experienced one, especially when the mature prospect has proven he can play like a beast on both ends of the court...Hopefully, this 2nd half of the season will be even better than Kwame's 2nd half last year...That would really push us over the top...PeACe

[Teddy Roosevelt]

The Lakers are the only team this year yet to lose to a divsion team (5-0). The Grizzlies are the only team yet to win one (0-11).

[GangstaBoogy]

Bad news for Luke Walton fans...


Walton not likely to be back soon
BY ROSS SILER, Staff Writer
Inside SOCAL

ATLANTA - Never would the Lakers have guessed when they left on this eight-game trip more than a week ago that they might arrive home with forward Luke Walton still struggling to return from a sprained right ankle.

Walton suffered the injury Jan. 26 and has missed sixgames as a result. He hoped to return Monday against the Hawks.

Yet Walton was unable to practice Tuesday, and his availability is in question with the Lakers playing back-to-back games against the Pistons and Toronto Raptors. They will finish the trip Sunday at Cleveland.

"He's getting frustrated with the situation," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "It's longer than he ever thought it would be. It's just difficult for him to sustain it when you're on the road like this, and you're trying to find a way to get out there and nothing seems to work right."

Walton said Monday he woke up with the ankle feeling great. When he got on the floor at shootaround he couldn't shake the pain. The Lakers have had to scale him back from rehab work to treatment sessions.

"I'm able to do more and more stuff," said Walton, who initially was expected to miss about a week. "I just can't do the full-out running or the cutting yet. Until I can do that, I can't play."

Meanwhile, Kwame Brown was to fly to Indianapolis after practice to get a second opinion on his injured left ankle, which he rolled Dec. 31.

Center Chris Mihm also is on this trip and was working out on an elliptical machine Tuesday. Mihm was supposed to be out for the season after undergoing a second ankle surgery but could return if his rehab continues to be ahead of schedule.

Two-man game: Jackson was asked about Kobe Bryant's balancing act between taking over games and trusting his teammates. He did both in the fourth quarter Monday, scoring 11 points but also giving up the ball to Smush Parker for a key 3-pointer.

"We really think that if we distribute the ball at the right time in the game when the focus comes on him, there's some easy shots that people have," Jackson said. "If he trusts his teammates in those situations, we're really a difficult team to stop."