Archive for February, 2009
Here’s a gif file of some reactions to Shannon Brown’s Block against the Bobcats last week. Odom and Kobe have to have the best reaction by far. Check this, courtesy of Lakersground member Mindripper2000. I think I watched it about 10 times in a row and laughed every single time. I know it’s a little old, but still funny. Enjoy.
Found this on Ball Don’t Lie:
I don’t like the fact that Charles got the DUI, but hopefully he learned something from it. Like Skeets said “I can’t talk for everybody else, but that’s good enough for me, Chuck. Live and learn. Welcome back.”
His apology seemed very heartfelt, especially after Kenny asked him about what he learned about his friends and the people around him. I’m glad that he got the support he needed to get through something like this. It’s a bad situation to be in, but he put it on himself. He didn’t blame anyone else. He didn’t make excuses. He took it all on his shoulders like he should have, and took the blame.
Welcome back, Charles. It’s good to see you back on TV.
This has absolutely nothing to do with basketball, but it’s for a great cause so I wanted to help spread the word about it as much as possible. If you’ve ever looked into a group called Team in Training, then you already know what it’s about.
If not, here’s a quick synopsis. Team in Training will train you to run marathons, triathlons, pretty much any event you are interested in. In the process, the athletes are asked to raise $2,500 per person for the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society.
I have a friend that I just getting started with this and needs help raising funds. If you guys remember a while back I took a break from blogging to be with family. I have a cousin that was diagnosed recently with Leukemia type AML M1 Flt3, a very rare form in children. Not only would donations be helpful, but I’m sure Team in Training is also looking more participants.
If you are interested in donating to this great cause, please follow the link below and there should be options on the right hand side to donate.
Make a donation to Team in Training via Marvin Velastegui of Santa Barbara, CA.
Thanks to JD2K for this video. Check his site at Lakersmedia.com:
Clean block. Shouldn’t have been a foul, but it was called anyways. Booooo. But damn is this kid athletic. Check out where his head is. If he went forward anymore, he would have hit it on the bottom of the backboard. DISGUSTING!
Found this off Lakersground.net:
Kinda funny that they would even ask the girls to spell Vujacic, but it makes sense. Shouldn’t you know who the players on your team are?
It’s about time Lamar. For so long, you’ve shown flashes of greatness, but were also the definition of inconsistency. We all know that it’s a contract year, but what you’ve shown us over the last few games has been stellar.
Check out these numbers ever since the Boston game when he went off.
Boston: 20pts, 6 rebs, 3 assists, 60% shooting
Cleveland: 28pts, 17 rebs, 2 assists, 69% shooting
OKC: 12pts, 18 rebs, 1 assist, 35% shooting
Utah: 19pts, 19 rebs, 1 assist, 62% shooting
Those are amazing numbers for anyone. His lowest scoring came on a bad shooting night, but he redeemed himself by setting another season high in rebounds.
I’m still waiting for that 20-20 game, Lamar. I know you have it in you. Time to let the beast come out to play. Being that this is a contract year, everyone knows that you step up your game just a tiny bit more. But if the Lakers can get this type of consistency out of Lamar, look out NBA, the Lakers should be perennially be in the NBA Finals. There’s jsut too much talent on the team. Now, if only Jackson would play Odom at the 3 alongside Gasol and Bynum(whene he gets back).
Lamar, I know you said that you were willing to take a pay cut to stay with the Lakers, but hopefully it’s nothing huge. We all know that the Lakers will try to resign Ariza, but you belong in LA also. Keep up what you’re doing, cuz it’s definitely working.
Found this on Lakersground.net. Originally from SGV Tribune:
EL SEGUNDO - The Lakers’ UCLA alumni club did its best to make Adam Morrison feel welcome - so to speak.
Morrison arrived at the Lakers’ practice facility Monday, a day after being acquired from Charlotte in a trade, to find a picture taped to his locker.
There was Morrison, sobbing, moments after his Gonzaga Bulldogs had been eliminated from the 2006 NCAA Tournament by Jordan Farmar’s UCLA Bruins.
“I have a suspect,” Morrison said with a smile. “I knew I would get some flak for that, coming to L.A.”
Trevor Ariza is also a UCLA alum, but incriminating photos aside, Morrison couldn’t be happier with the trade, which sent him and guard Shannon Brown to the Lakers in exchange for Vladimir Radmanovic.
Much has changed for Morrison since that tournament game. Most visibly, his once- famous shaggy locks have been shorn to a tight cut, and his facial hair has been trimmed into a thin goatee.
In a basketball sense, Morrison has yet to resemble that dynamic college player, the one talented enough to be the third overall pick of the 2006 NBA draft. After a decent rookie year, Morrison missed all of 2007-08 after ACL surgery. This season, he averaged only 4.5 points in 44 games with the Bobcats.
While Morrison isn’t assured of much playing time with the Lakers, coach Phil Jackson said he is open to seeing what Morrison can bring once he gets acclimated with the triangle offense.
In college, Morrison was a high-scoring forward who drew favorable comparisons to Larry Bird.
“I think the confidence issue is probably more with my knee than my game,” Morrison said. “Half of the battle is just getting my knee to feel right. It feels good right now, so I’m just looking forward to contributing to this great team.”
To the extent that he plays, Brown is expected to contribute more on defense. Jackson said Brown wouldn’t have a problem playing either guard position for the Lakers.
“I’m just going to try to bring a lot of energy at both ends, some athleticism and spark,” Brown said.
I’m glad Morrison is a Laker. The guy got now love from Larry Brown. You have a great scorer, but you give him no playing time, and you expect him to perform. Then when he does get playing time, he’s thrust into the lineup and expected to be the #1 guy on offense. Any kid would have trouble dealing with this. Let’s see what he can do when he’s eased into an offense and actually given a chance. Let’s just hope he can take Luke’s spot.
Time for a poll everyone! It’s the middle of the season and the All-Star break is coming. Around this time of the year, you always hear sports analysts talking about their picks for mid-season MVP, MIP, and all sorts of other crap. Let’s see what you guys think.
Here are the numbers. Who is your MVP so far?
Just wanted to let everyone know that I’m starting to participate in Affiliate programs to take care of the costs for this site. Check out the Sponsors page in the upper right corner. I’ll be adding more as they come on board, but here are a few so far. Check out their deals.
Found this off of Blog Maverick. Check out where Jason Kidd is, and then where Kobe is on this list.
So apparently, Cubes’ system thinks that Kobe is Igoudala, Ray Allen, Rashard Lewis, Emeka Okafor, and…. Randy Foye????
Mark, you might just want to scrap your system. It puts the Crap in Scrap. How is Jason Kidd gonna be ranked #2? Possibly one of the worst system’s I’ve seen in a long time, Mark.
According to Yahoo Sports, Vladimir Radmanovic was sent packing. He has been traded to Charlotte for Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown. Not a huge move in the immediate future, but it gets Vlade’s terrible contract off the books. Hopefully this can be a career revival for Adam Morrison, who was drafted 3rd overall in 2006. He’s had a pretty slow start to his career, but didn’t really get a whole lot of minutes to prove himself. Hopefully, this is the chance that he needs. Morrison was a straight up scorer in college. Let’s see if he can get back to that level. If not, then it’s no loss to the Lakers, since Morrison’s contract has a team option at the end of this year. This then opens up some money to resign Trevor Ariza and Lamar Odom if the Lakers choose to.
CHARLOTTE, N.C. (AP)—The Charlotte Bobcats sent struggling forward Adam Morrison and reserve Shannon Brown to the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday for forward Vladimir Radmanovic.
The move is the third trade the Bobcats have made this season in a roster shakeup under first-year coach Larry Brown.
Morrison was the third overall pick of the 2006 draft and managing partner Michael Jordan’s first major move since buying into the Bobcats. But Morrison had failed to crack the starting lineup and his minutes had declined under Brown.
Morrison will give the Lakers an outside shooting threat, while the 6-foot-10 Radmanovic gives the Bobcats more depth up front.
A note to Doc Rivers and his squad: Stop whining and take the loss like men.
Otherwise, you can go play in the WNBA. Actually they probably complain even less than you do. And Pierce, what’s up with the flopping around when Farmar is guarding you? You outweigh him by a good 50 lbs. Stop being a batch. Here’s a list of their complaints and quotes after the game yesterday. Most of them found on Lakersground.net from various sources:
- Ray Allen: “I was fouled,” Allen said after the Celtics’ 110-109 overtime loss to the Lakers. “I was pushed. I think I did twist my ankle.”
- Eddie House: “They looked like they’d won the Finals the way they were celebrating,” Eddie House said. “It’s only Game 51.”
- Ray Allen: “But Fisher pushed me,” Allen said.
- I believe these were all Ray Allen: “There was a lot of thickness in the atmosphere,’’ said Ray Allen after scoring 22 points and being the victim of a last-second no-call. “It was a playoff game.”
“They still remember being in this building in June and being sent home with frowns on their faces. That’s what they sat home and thought about all summer (when) we celebrated.
“It’s important that we know and learn in the last two months where teams are really attacking us. We’re the hunted. We have to hunt back.’’…
- Ray Allen: “I was fouled. I was pushed,’’ said Allen. “I think I did twist my ankle. I thought I was fouled. I got pushed into the shot. But what can you do about it? He rode me into the shot.’’
- Doc Rivers: “I thought it was a hand check. But the officials say they don’t call the game different from the first quarter to the end of the game. If that’s true, then Ray should be on the free throw line. It was hand check the whole way. Unless the rules have changed, you can’t do that.’’
- Paul Pierce: “It was a physical game, but you’ve got to expect that,’’ said Paul Pierce, who had 21 points. “It’s two of the top teams battling for the best record in the league. With all the things said about the Lakers not being a physical team, you’ve got to expect they’re going to come and hold their chests high. They beat us once and we had a chance tonight, but we let it go.’’
- Paul Pierce: “The thing we’ve got to realize it’s not the end of the world,’’ said Pierce. “It’s still a long season. Our goals are still the same. Nothing changes. It would have been nice to get this win if it comes down to a tiebreaker, but we’ve still got work to do.’’
Alright, enough quotes. They’re just gonna make me laugh even harder at the Celtics. I thought you guys had some pride. Some heart. Apparently, it’s all fake. You lose a big game and you start making excuses. After the Christmas Day game, Garnett and House came out and said that the Lakers took it more seriously than they did, that the Lakers were waiting for that game all year, that the Lakers needed that game. Well, Boston needed this game. Now the Lakers have the tie breaker if it comes down to it during the Finals.
Whatever happened to being a humble loser? Back when I was growing up, if you lose, you take it like a man. You don’t complain. You congratulate the other team. And you just get yourself up for the next game.
A few directed words to the Celtics players:
Garnett: Enough with the fake intensity. Everyone sees right through it. Why do you think no one in the league is scared of you anymore? You got in Odom’s face just because he slapped your tooshie. Then Odom and the Lake Show were so deep inside your head that you disappeared for the rest of the game.
House: Who the fuck are you? Shut your pie hole, scrub. This is like Luke Walton coming out and saying that we’re the best in the world, and we just stomped the Celtics. You belong on the bench. You’re brought in purely to hit open shots, and nothing else. You talk about how the Lakers acted like they won the Finals… how about you stop acting like you won the Finals anytime you make a single shot? Stop with the prancing already.
Pierce: Other than your flopping around, you’re by far the most respectable guy on the team, at least in terms of what comes out of your mouth.
Ray Ray: Shut your mouth. Quit your complaining about a foul and hurting yourself on the last shot. You wouldn’t have hurt your ankle if you didn’t flail around like you just got shot. Even the media isn’t on your side this time. Everyone knows that wasn’t a foul. Fisher rode you… rode you like his bitch. Then he stopped so that once again, Gasol could block your last second attempt, kinda like the Christmas Day game. Good job, Jesus.
Rondo: You against Kobe? I’ll bet everything I own on Kobe. Maybe have something to eat, grow a little, then you’ll come close. We all know you were trying to get in Mamba’s head, but you’re not even in the same league as him.
Good job with the quotes, Celtics. You just fueled the fire even more. Damn I’m gonna love watching the Lakers stomp you in the Finals… if you get there again.
According to coach Phil Jackson and ESPN, Andrew Bynum could resume playing in as little as 4 weeks. This all depends on his rehab, of course. Jackson said that Bynum will focus on icing and resting his knee for the next 2 weeks, and then will focus on basketball activities the next 2 weeks. Not a bad timeline for a guy that was supposed to be out for 8-12 weeks.
This give Bynum much more time to get back into game shape compared to his injury last season. Don’t forget that up until this previous month, Bynum was still just trying to get his rythym back. In January, we finally got a dose of the potential of the REAL Andrew Bynum. I’ll keep you posted on any news on the Bynum front.
Found this on Lakersground.net (originally from Fox Sports, but the link is now bad):
Sean Combs was supposed to co-host a birthday party for DJ Clue at club M2 on West 28th Street Monday night with Kobe Bryant after the historic Knicks/Lakers game in which Bryant scored 61 points. But nobody warned Combs that the New York Police Department had an undercover gun detail searching guests as they came into the club. “Everyone wanted to make sure that the dozens of NBA stars in attendance, including Lamar Odom, Vince Carter and Pau Gasol, would be safe,” the insider said. When Diddy arrived at 1:45 a.m. with a six-man entourage, a witness said he “flipped out” when cops asked to search him and his friends. “He went nuts, saying, ‘Why are you disrespecting me like this? Why are you doing this to me?’ During the commotion, one of his guys slipped away, unsearched, back to the car.” Combs “stormed off and started to text DJ Clue asking, ‘What the [bleep] is going on?’ and asked if he could go in the back entrance.” When told that the cops would have to search him and his friends there as well, Combs decided not to attend the party. … At least Bryant was happy to be patted down and stayed until 4 a.m. “He was in the VIP area, where there were strict orders not to let any women in near him,” we’re told. On his way out, Bryant (who drank water), after ordering two bottles of champagne for his pals, left the waitresses a $2,000 tip. — NY Post
Kinda cool story about Kobe… even better story about how much of an idiot Puffy aka Diddy aka Sean Combs is. Glad to hear that at least some clubs protect players when they’re inside. Just because they’re famous doesn’t mean they shouldn’t be able to feel safe doing the things we all take for granted. And a note to Diddy, just because you’re famous doesn’t mean you should act like a baby when you get treated like a regular person, or when you can’t get in somewhere because your friends are idiots carrying guns into a club.
Smart move by Kobe if he really did tell the waitress to keep the women away. Gotta make sure he keeps Vanessa happy.
Found this from OC Register:
TORONTO – Kobe Bryant’s hand is still hot from New York, Andrew Bynum’s knee is still swollen from Memphis, and I want to talk about Boston?
The Lakers are waiting in Toronto while the Raptors have gone to play LeBron James in Cleveland first, and I’m looking ahead to Boston?
Absolutely.
Let’s be the first to flip the switch on the hype machine, because it’s coming Thursday night on the second part of the Lakers’ back-to-back set after Toronto. And it’s worthy.
It’s the Lakers’ lone stop in Boston this regular season, their first time back since the Game 6 calamity in the NBA Finals – a game in which Trevor Ariza mostly shoveled garbage for 9:04 of the game clock.
That was the most he played in any game of the NBA Finals, actually. He didn’t play at all in Game 1, which was a tactical error by Phil Jackson given that when he wasn’t taking spins in a nearby wheelchair Paul Pierce (7-of-10 shooting, 22 points) was the only Celtic who took more than one shot to shoot 50 percent in Boston’s victory.
Because of series MVP Pierce, we need to talk about Ariza, who was just easing back from his broken foot late last season and didn’t get to do his defensive thing. And if you think the oft-chill Ariza wasn’t dying inside for the chance, you just don’t know Ariza well enough yet.
So let’s do a quick thumbnail on Ariza, and I mean the real stuff, not how many steals he has or how much better his jump shot has become:
•He seems low-key and prefers not to be a starter, but he has enough ego that he’s switching to wear No. 1 with the Lakers next season (assuming he re-signs). To those of you whom I’ve already seen at Staples Center wearing recently purchased No. 3 jerseys, I’m very sorry … especially because I knew this bit of info as far back as last summer. Ariza actually would’ve switched for this season if he’d gotten his request in with the NBA earlier. He wore No. 1 in Orlando, where he was traded along with Penny Hardaway, the Magic’s longtime No. 1-wearer and one of the players after whom Ariza most patterns his game.
•He has a watch-yourself temper. I thought he was going to go bronco-busting on the back of Clippers center DeAndre Jordan in the Fresno exhibition game after absorbing a questionable blow from Jordan, who outweighs him by 45 pounds. Ariza lit into teammate Sasha Vujacic on the court earlier this season for not playing the right way, which was nothing compared to the fury Ariza unleashed on Danny Granger after Indiana’s All-Star hit the floor to draw an Ariza foul for what Ariza deemed to be minimal contact. Whereas Chris Paul used the “b” word for Vujacic, Ariza used the “p” word for Granger.
•He hates the Celtics. You know Vujacic does, but Ariza really does and always has. He even hates the Red Sox and the Patriots. Ariza, 23, and Pierce, 31, are both Inglewood cats who grew up near The Forum and loving the Lakers, and whereas Pierce has made a nice life for himself in Boston, Ariza would rather break his foot all the way through than ever be a Celtic.
Obviously because the injured-again Bynum is now holding a question mark in his hand – that’s actually what the new-fangled crutch he’s carrying looks like – the primary way the Lakers are better now than last time in Boston is Ariza.
Now, don’t misunderstand: Bynum was so amped up to step on the parquet floor Thursday night that after he had 27 and 15 in Minnesota to open this trip, he smiled and said: “It would’ve been nice to do it in Boston and have two (off) days after to think about it.”
But Ariza reallyhas a thing for Boston, to the point that he joked he was getting post-concussion headaches again from talking about what I caught him doing before the game in Minnesota.
Ariza had a white No. 32 Celtics jersey and a Sharpie marker in his Lakers locker, and he had gotten Kevin McHale’s autograph on it.
What the …?
No way did Ariza want it for himself. He was just too good a friend to say no to the request for a favor. He was, in fact, too sickened by the whole process to do it himself, so he asked a Target Center locker-room attendant to go get the signature from the guy far more famous for being a Celtics legend than the Timberwolves’ coach.
“I’m ashamed,” Ariza said. “I am. I’m ashamed.”
Let the rivalry resume.
This article just makes my man-crush on Ariza that much bigger. This guy is a beast and needs to be on the Lakers for the rest of his career. Everything about his game and his attitude says Lakers. Last year during the playoffs, I said that Ariza would make a bigger impact than Bynum would against the Celts. Tomorrow we can see if that’s true. Ariza can look down Pierce while Kobe locks down Allen. But don’t forget that back when he was with Orlando last year, Ariza was the guy that shut down KG. This guy can be a defensive stud at 4 out of 5 positions. Someone… please tell Phil Jackson to let this guy run wild! 18.5 hours and counting.
From Ball Don’t Lie:
Here they are, via Dime: all 61 of Kobe Bryant’s record-setting night in New York City.
Kobe passed Jordan’s opponent record of 55 points in Madison Square Garden when he made three free throws with 3:56 remaining. He then bettered Bernard King’s cool 60, set on Christmas Day in 1984, with two more from the line late.
This game reminded me of the 81 point game a few years ago. From the beginning of the game, Kobe was on fire and kept it going all game long. Oh and don’t forget that he’s playing with 2 JACKED up fingers on his shooting hand.
This was simply a statement game by Kobe. Even without Andrew Bynum, the Lakers are still one of the most dangerous teams in the league. NBA beware. It’s Kobe’s year and nothing is going to stop him.
Here’s another great highlight video from JD2K’s Lakersmedia.com
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Just some thoughts on happenings around the league, responses to the media and other bloggers, and just a good place for you to spend time instead of actually working.
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