The Official Los Angeles Lakers thread

[Styles1]

Fuck!

http://www.nba.com/lakers/news/080214kobeinjury.html

I hear that... when I heard this on the news, I was like that big Viking throwing a trash can in that Snickers commercial: Noooooooooo!!

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

I'm not worried...If anyone in the league can play though something like this, it's Kobe. I just think he's pushing it by claiming that he wants to play through the Olympic games with it and all. And worst case, he gets the surgery and rejoins the team with some fresh legs, ready to fuck shit up in the playoffs. Don't trip, Laker fans.

[Hatesrats™]

I'm not worried...If anyone in the league can play though something like this, it's Kobe. I just think he's pushing it by claiming that he wants to play through the Olympic games with it and all. And worst case, he gets the surgery and rejoins the team with some fresh legs, ready to fuck shit up in the playoffs. Don't trip, Laker fans.

The Fucked up part about it is, last night when they said Kobe re-injured his finger I was like.
look's like Kobe trying to get out of the All-star Game 'n shit...lol (I Was Hoping he would Miss the All-Start Game to rest Up)

Worse case Scenerio Tho, Farmar gonna have to step up and become the player we all Think he is/can be.
Gasol & Odom, Gonna have To Hold it Down.
(IF Kobe decides to Fix His prob with surgery)

[Black_Smoke]

Lakers trying to convince NBA to let Kobe skip All-Star Game

The Los Angeles Lakers are hoping that Kobe Bryant gets clearance from the league to miss Sunday's All-Star Game in New Orleans after announcing Thursday that Bryant has a torn ligament in his right pinkie.

But Bryant doesn't yet have that clearance -- and may not get it.

A league official confirmed Thursday night that the NBA is not looking for potential replacements to fill Bryant's spot on the Western Conference squad. That's because the league office still expects Bryant to start and play for the West, even if it's only for a brief cameo, after he played for the Lakers all the way through to their final game before the All-Star break Wednesday in Minnesota.

Bryant scored 29 points in 35 minutes in Wednesday's 117-92 win at Minnesota. Bryant sat out the fourth quarter and had the finger X-rayed after the game.

The Lakers, according to team sources, are trying to convince the league that Bryant should be excused after a visit Thursday to hand specialist Dr. Steven Shin revealed a ligament tear. Bryant is expected to make that plea personally once he arrives in New Orleans on Friday after Shin recommend that Bryant undergo surgery that would likely sideline him for six weeks.

Bryant also announced in a statement Thursday that he will bypass the surgery recommendation to try to play through the injury, as he did for much of a nine-game, 15-day road trip that the Lakers -- already missing injured center Andrew Bynum -- just completed with a sparkling 7-2 record.

He has been replaced in Saturday's Long Distance Shootout by Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, but the NBA's longstanding policy on these matters would require Bryant to take some part Sunday because he did play Wednesday and since he's planning to play Tuesday against Atlanta in the Lakers' first game after the break. Boston's Kevin Garnett and Washington's Caron Butler have already pulled out of the East lineup with injuries.

Bryant suffered the injury -- initially described as a dislocated pinkie -- on Feb. 5 against New Jersey. The Lakers disclosed Thursday that the damage was more extensive than first thought, with Shin's examination revealing a complete tear of the radial collateral ligament and an avulsion fracture, in which a small bone fragment had been pulled off by a tendon.

Said Bryant: "My current thinking is to give my finger some treatment and rest for a few days and hope I can still continue to compete at a high level after that rest. I would prefer to delay any surgical procedure until after our Lakers season, and this summer's Olympic Games. But this is an injury that myself and the Lakers' medical staff will just have to continue to monitor on a day-to-day basis."

The injury was caused when Bryant's pinkie got bent back against the arm of New Jersey's Jason Kidd when Bryant tried to steal a pass. He aggravated the injury in Wednesday's victory over Minnesota when Bryant went for a rebound and took a hit from Wolves guard Rashad McCants.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he'd prefer Bryant not play in the All-Star Game.

"We'll do everything we can to get him the rest he needs," Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak told the Los Angeles Times.

"We support [Bryant] in his decision. But a week or two down the road, if it gets hit again or if it just doesn't work, it doesn't mean he won't have surgery."

-espn.com



would they actually force kobe to play in the allstar game?

[SGV]

^I guess their thought process is if he was able to play Thursday and is planning on playing on Tuesday, then he should be fine to play on Sunday. The NBA probably feels they would be short changing fans who want to see Kobe play. To say that he's injured and had to be replaced, only for Kobe to play 2 days later, would not be a good look.

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Damn. I wanted to see Kobe in the 3 point contest.

[Man On The Moon]

I'm a laker fan.

[Teddy Roosevelt]

I'm a laker fan.

No you're not. We don't allow people to hop on the bandwagon, Clipper fan.

[Antonio_]

I've had the pleasure to see 6 of the 9 road games of the Lakers, so let me share with you some opinions about the 3 men who surprised me more.

•   Kobe Bryant. He played very very well, i'm impressed by his maturity and leadership. He's not forcing shots no more, he's making 6.2 assists per game in the last 10 games and he's still leading the team in scoring with 28.5 points. Injured. Imho he deserves the MVP trophy this year. It's gonna be KG or Kobe. I go with Kobe.
•   Odom is probably the best surprise. Since Lakers acquired Gasol he's starting to play like a monster.  You can see he feels a lot better now that he can share the ball more,  and be the 3rd offensive option of the team, with no pressure on him. He's playing like a great role player, focusing on rebounds and assists.  The numbers: he's averaging 12.7 rebounds and 5.3 assists since Gasol was acquired. Isn't it impressive for the 3rd best guy on the team? (arguably the 4th, with Bynum back). I'm very happy we didn't have to trade him to get Pau: if Lamar keeps playing this way with Bynum back, we will be a really nice team. Some other things i've seen from Lamar is how he plays well when Gasol is in the post with the ball. He goes inside without the ball very well, and Gasol is a 7 footer who can pass the ball, so i see a lot of potential in this type of play. I mean if Lamar plays as a 3 and he goes inside this way, he can be a real problem for the opponent defences. Other than that, i've seen him playing good defence. Lakers rarely got abused inside with Odom and Gasol on the floor, and it's a very good feeling.
•   Another great surprise was been Sasha Vujacic. The numbers: he's averaging 11.3 points in the last 10 games, shooting .532 from 2pts and .489 from 3pts. Finally. You know i'm a fan of Navarro, but i have to admit that with Sasha being so hot, we don't really need him.

I wont really go into details about Pau Gasol: i'm one of those guys who preferred him to Jermaine O'Neal and Kevin Garnett (in exchange of Odom & Bynum), so....

[GangstaBoogy]

Bynum & Ariza update

Center Andrew Bynum is at least three weeks from returning from a left knee injury and forward Trevor Ariza is still about eight weeks from returning from a broken bone in his right foot. Ariza's original timetable called for a return to health four weeks from now, but his foot was "healing more slowly than we hoped," a team official said Monday."

^ friggin a! we should sign Patterson for the vets minimum. necessary now, beneficial later.

[wcsoldier]

2 seasons full of injuries.. I seriously there is strong problems with both the medical staff and players conditionning ... there are BIG questions to answer regarding the health pbs imo ... it completely fucked us up last year , this year the deep bench and the Pau trade has allowed us to stay competitive but still not the ideal position to be .. we have a bright future, let's not ruin it with lots of injuries EVERY SINGLE season.. this can't be only bad luck imo

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Gary Vitti's got some explaining to do. The Lakers haven't stayed healthy in 4 seasons.

[wcsoldier]

The last season the Lakers were healthy was the 02-03 one minus Shaq getting surgery on company time ... actually 05-06 was almost free injury but we sucked until March ... 

[7even]

Ariza is done for the season. Bynum will be out for at least 5 more weeks.

[wcsoldier]

^^^^ 3 weeks not 5