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Bullish on the Lakers

November 19, 2007 | 9:00 am

The grass always seems greener on the other side. That is, of course, until said grass takes a visit to your home turf, shoots 35%, scores 32 points in the second half, and is on the wrong end of a 106-78 loss, as the Bulls were to the Lakers on Sunday. So if Chicago indeed remains Kobe's desired destination, it probably doesn't look quite as lush and verdant as it might have a couple months back. Not after the Lakers overcame some first half sloppi/sluggishness to blow the game open in the final 24 minutes. It was a rally kicked off by the starters (Kobe and D-Fish keyed a nice little run to start the third) and blown open by the reserves, who continued their great play as a unit, accounting for 73 of L.A.'s 106 points. The box shows five non-starters finished the game in double figures. Clearly, if the supporting cast was initially bothered by the trade talk, they got over it (unlike their counterparts in Chicago), winning what looked like a few months back like possible homecoming game for a Bullish Kobe with a serious team effort. Now, at least, things look far better as they are for 24. Kobe, some say, even looks happy.

Chicago coach Scott Skiles called the Kobe-to-Chicago speculation a dead issue. It isn't, of course, until Kobe says he doesn't want to be moved, but at the very least, recent events might have put the trade talk in a nice deep coma.

The news wasn't all positive, though, as Kwame Brown went down in the first quarter with knee and ankle injuries after colliding with Chicago's Ben Wallace. He had to be helped off the court, and said he won't make this week's road trip back east. Ronny Turiaf, who missed Sunday's game with a bum ankle, hopes to play Tuesday in Indiana.

A Q and A with Lakers draftee Marc Gasol, who is having himself a quality season in Spain. My Spanish isn't good enough for a direct translation, but here's what the reader who sent the link said. Obviously, additional input is welcome (thanks to Mark R. for the email!):

"...first, the story says that gasol has improved immensely since last year, emerging as the best player in spain's pro-league this year. (el pais comes out of madrid, while gasol plays in girona, six hours away, so this is not a case of local boosterism.) his
stats so far for 32 minutes a game are 17.6 points, 6.4 rebounds, and 1.9
assists. second, he says he's not sure if he'll want to come to the u.s. to
play in the nba. he says nothing negative about the lakers, and is too smart
to comment on the kobe situation, but says he doesn't know if he wants to leave spain. (i don't know enough about the local scene to know if that's just spin--being polite--or if he's genuinely uncertain. and i don't read Spanish well enough to know if his choice of words offers subtle clues to those who can read between the lines. i'll i can tell you is that his literal meaning is that he just doesn't know.) but even though Spanish competition is not at nba level, it does sound as if he's got more potential than people thought even a few months ago, at draft time..."

More in: Extra! Extra!

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Comments (206)

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Comments

Kwame Brown is made of GLASS

Posted by: samski | November 19, 2007 at 09:04 AM

AK/BK...

can you just post the last comment I sent on the other thread?

Posted by: wondahbap | November 19, 2007 at 09:05 AM

wondahbap-

It's up. If you want to repost it here, just cut and paste.

Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | November 19, 2007 at 09:07 AM

Repost:

Should we be worried that our bench outplays the starting unit?

Posted by: fkillah | November 19, 2007 at 09:12 AM

PJ's genius is finding a role for players. Besides LO and Kobe, all the other players are limited in terms of their skill set. Remember when Mihn went down and Kwame stepped up?

Whilst Kwame does appear a little brittle, he's inarguably our best defensive center, whilst I think Mihm is our best offensive center, when both are 100%. Drew is not yet as good as either Kwame defensively, nor Mihm offensively, when both are 100%, but is far better offensively than Kwame, and far better defensively than Mihm.

The point is that Drew (do we still call him "Socks"?) is closing fast on either, and for now, having this three-headed dragon at center is a great luxury. The other teams should note the ancient Chinese proverb that you should never leave a sleeping dragon out of your calculations.

Posted by: Glenn | November 19, 2007 at 09:15 AM

Well that game definately proves that we can win a team without a Big Scoring Center. So there really wasn't much use KWAME anyway. I didnt mind seing him out.

He is made out of glass , I think he gets injured to most , on our team.

BK / AK Last Season and this Season , who is the player that has missed the most games due to injurie ???. Chris Mihm is an exception.

Posted by: RICO TICO | November 19, 2007 at 09:17 AM

Kwame butterfingers Brown down with another injury eh? Big surprise, what a waste of a 7 foot frame!

Posted by: BrandonC | November 19, 2007 at 09:18 AM

samski,

"Kwame Brown is made of GLASS"

He is the most injury prone center in the NBA. Trade him now!

Posted by: fkillah | November 19, 2007 at 09:19 AM

BK/AK

Appart from the euforia of beating this demoralized Chicago Team, playing without Deng and in a back to back staples/journey...I have one question for the K. Brothers....

How come this blog (one of the most visited online) doesn't appear yet in the list of blogs related to NBA that showcase the new Amazon Kindle electronic reader?

http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=sr_nr_n_2?ie=UTF8&rs=310394011&rh=n%3A241647011%2Cn%3A310394011%2Cn%3A320697011

Posted by: jorema | November 19, 2007 at 09:22 AM

What an impressive game! The total overall team chemistry right now is awesome to watch, and the way the victories are coming is great. The season is a long one, so I understand the careful optimism shared by Kobe, but I think that if the Lakers keep playing team ball, we can do a lot of damage in the latter part of the season. A true test will be on extended road trips, and although this next one coming up isn't a protracted one, it'll still gauge where our teams mental and physical toughness stand. I don't see why we can't go 3-0 on this trip, and I really have this gut feeling that we are going to handle Boston. God, I hate the Celtics, so if you Lakers can just please kill them, I would be much obliged.. not to mention a great birthday present. GO LAKERS!!!

Posted by: Chris H. | November 19, 2007 at 09:24 AM

The latest injury to Kwame proves what I have always said - you can't have too many bigs. With all of the controversy about Kwame, Andrew and Chris Mihm and who should we get rid of, the fact is that we are better off with all three. Right now, if Ronny doesn't get back soon, we are one injury away from a disaster. Also, while I thought Mihm played like a total dork when he first came into the game, he did seem to recover well and had some nice plays in the second half. Andrew, is playing great, but from what PJ said, he still has to watch his minutes, as Drew tends to run out of gas. Of course, it is fairly difficult to find anyone who plays 48 minutes every game - the only one I know of was Wilt Chamberlain.

Roger

Posted by: Roger B | November 19, 2007 at 09:31 AM

A COUPLE OBSERVATIONS FROM THE GAME:

1) Kobe Bryant is not the guy the Bulls need, they need a post scorer. Zach Randolph would be perfect for that team.

2) Bynum needs to continue to work hard for position and the ball on offense, he often gets caught in a go through the motions approach and the offense stagnates. We're so much better when this offense works inside out.

3) Not sure if the "Bench Mob" can be this team's "#2 guy" but they are looking like it right now. However, the Lakers could still use another player who can take some of the attention off Kobe on the offensive end. If he works harder on offense, Bynum might get there.

4) So, we've lost our starting PF and C to injury in the first 9 games, both to sprained ankles. I guess the more things change the more they stay the same.
`

Posted by: Andrew Z | November 19, 2007 at 09:37 AM

samski
"Kwame Brown is made of glass"

Please... I don't think anyone could walk away from that hard of a hit.

It was pretty brutal!

Posted by: keifo | November 19, 2007 at 09:44 AM

The "no accident improvement" of Bynum, according to Kobe.

"I think Andrew's been doing a tremendous job. When I get in the gym early, he's in there as well, working on the same moves that he was showcasing tonight, so it's no accident that he's playing this well." Kobe Bryant.

Posted by: jorema | November 19, 2007 at 09:48 AM

Nothing to do with his latest article. But I CAN'T STAND J.A. Adande. He's just another "Around the Horn" bobblehead blowhard. I think ESPN made a bad choice making him their new NBA correspondent/writer and supposed man in the know. So now, we have to deal with Ric Bucher, J.A., fip flopping Marc Stein, and numbers geek John Hollinger. WTF. which reminds me, did they get rid of Tim Legler. He was terrible. Bring back David Aldridge.

Posted by: wondahbap | November 19, 2007 at 09:48 AM

Samski,

I would like to see how your legs would react with BEN WALLACE landing on them! It was only a freak accident. Kwame is a DEFENSIVE BODY for our team. If he scores, nice, we will take it.

Everyone needs to support the Lakers for who they are. I wish Kwame the best and sppedy recovery because we will miss his inside body forcing other bigs to work.

janaya

Posted by: janaya | November 19, 2007 at 09:49 AM

All of you who hate on Kwame don't seem to understand his value. I mean if PJ and the rest of the coaching staff feel his value is significant enough to start him, speaks volumes. PJ was noticibly worried when asked during his podium time after the game about Kwame's injury. And that is the key: in games against teams like The Spurs and Rockets, he is invaluable. He is one of the few people in the league that can handle both Duncan and Yao defensively. When I see Kwame these days, I see a player that is playing hard. He will be missed when we play against JO and KG this week.

Posted by: richard | November 19, 2007 at 09:51 AM

Mike T,

It's always "wait a few games". When is it going to be NOW? Are you just waiting for your point to be proven? "Well, it didn't happen tonight, but just wait a few more games!!!"

Bynum may not be as strong as Brown (yet), but he is already a better player offensively and getting better defensively.

Posted by: zen | November 19, 2007 at 09:56 AM

I hate B.S. like this - reporters taking advantage of the ambiguous tone of the written word:

"Bryant's teammates almost refuse to ponder life without him, with one particular question -- why would Bryant even want to play for the Bulls? -- drawing a sharp response from Lamar Odom.

"I'm definitely not going to answer that question," he said. "Why would you even ask me that? I don't think he wants to go anywhere. As far as I'm concerned, he's happy here. We're 6-3.""

Anyone who saw the video could see LO wasn't giving that reporter a "sharp" response. He was joking around. It's actually irresponsible of Bresnahan to incorrectly describe the tone of the response.

Posted by: lakers_sth | November 19, 2007 at 10:00 AM

It looked like Kwame was actually going to have a good game too before he got hurt.

Posted by: zen | November 19, 2007 at 10:00 AM

This was an interesting quote from PJ:

"Asked about Farmar's spark, Jackson said: "A lot of what I changed in the offense this year is meant for his game."

You could read that two ways. On the one hand, it sounds like PJ may have tweaked the offense for Farmar. On the other hand (and the more probable one), PJ is saying that the tweaks to the offense suit Farmar's game better.

Posted by: lakers_sth | November 19, 2007 at 10:04 AM

One things is definate , although i believe Kwame is out third best center, having a 3 headed monster is great. We have one experience vet , who post moves a solid and can score ( Chris Mihm), One who is young , atheltic , and improving his scoring, and defense (Andrew Bynum), and one that is a good solid defensive player and is a decent passer (Kwame Brown) .

I definately don't mind having this 3 headed dragon. One thing is for sure , i don't want to go through last year where we only had 1 center healthy. That would would hurt us. So this pretty much gurantee's that we have a great chance of always having 2 centers available. That is a luxury worth having.

Posted by: RICO TICO | November 19, 2007 at 10:11 AM

The KURSE of the KWAM

He was lookin' good. A good start could mean a bit of a breakout game.

Dribble drive to his left, kiss of the glass against Big Ben D. Sweet.

Then he steps up to take a charge, great; quick choice of not going for the block and the foul. And then...

Kobe drives, a pass to Kwam, he's going to slam... oH No, Kobe charge,
and ouch... out...again.

He just wants to feel better, he said, poor kid that he is. It is frustrating as hell. So much size and speed, so many millions.

We're all waiting for the ying to be yang, the other shoe to drop, the tide to turn and all them cliches that say Kwame will do the things he looks like he could do on a permanent basis.

The team needs him. If this stays on this winning pace, he's a stopper that would come in very handy against Amare, TD and KG. Start or not, it doesn't matter, just get well,

and GOOOOO Lakers.

Posted by: Vman | November 19, 2007 at 10:11 AM

I am beginning to feel like Kwame's personal defender, but there's no way to fault him for not manning up after that injury last night. Here he was, about to dunk after a pass from Kobe, and then a tree named Ben Wallace is crashing into his leg at full speed. He's lucky he can walk!

Does it seem like Phil is holding back praise for Andrew Bynum in order to push him in the one area he seems to need the most help - conditioning? Phil seems to be challenging Socks to show him something during every post-game press conference.

Ankle injuries - if any team needed to invent the bionic ankle, it's the Lakers. Either that, or we may have to change the term to 'Achilles Ankle'.

In general, the team looks pretty damned good, and it's amazing that we're winning with the turnovers we've committed. I think we're still adjusting to a new speed and style of play in the post-Smush era, and I am hopeful that the sloppy play will start abating after a month of so. Andrew's starting to rack up the double/doubles off the bench (and thankfully, not the ones from In-N-Out), and I stand by my negative vote for the J-Kidd trade (the only player I would have been okay with trading Bynum for was Garnett).

Posted by: Tully Moxness | November 19, 2007 at 10:20 AM

The NBA needs to penalize flopping, Kwame got hurt because Ben Wallace was trying to flop and as a result hurt another player.

Posted by: jay el. | November 19, 2007 at 10:22 AM

Lakers are really coming into their own, and their beginning to define themselves, answering questions from earlier in the season "who is this team?" Consistency in this road trip can really be really telling.

I am half expecting for Kobe or Lamar to be really aggressive in the first quarters of games now, because of the slow starts of late, just coming up with a 48 minute masterpiece

Posted by: jay el. | November 19, 2007 at 10:27 AM

THIS WOULD BE A GOOD TIME TO SIGN CHRIS WEBBER.
2 Things before I go
Why on GOD'S green earth do we have cook starting..............it's a billion other options.........like trying out CHRIS M at (PF).
VLAD IS HAVING A BREAK OUT SEASON THERE IS NO WAY HE SHOULD ONLY PLAYED 12 MIN LAST NIGHT..........
Luke 24 min 10 pts
cook 15 0 pts
We should use VLAD how the hornets use PEJA..........Drive an kick........un-like cook he can drive to the cup when defender's running at him an create his on shot an a very underated passer.........

Posted by: COMPTON'S FINEST | November 19, 2007 at 10:28 AM

TULLY MOXNESS

I belive that PHIL JACKSON is definately holding his praise on ANDREW BYNUM for 4 reasons.
1. He doesn't want him to get a big head to quickly, he still is very young and has to grow mentally
2. He needs to improve on his overall conditioning , last years he was great for 3 months than disappeared
3. He needs to understand that his work is not done , and definately need to improve defensively ,
4. He needs to improve in team defense, being a second defender from the other side

Although he is good now, he can get better , and Phil is just trying to push him and just saying your work isn't done yet. If we CAN get more out of BYNUM, How GREAT would that be.

BUT I like what i see from him. I think he is our best center.

Posted by: RICO TICO | November 19, 2007 at 10:32 AM

go sasha!!!!!!!!!!!

Posted by: greek dude | November 19, 2007 at 10:37 AM

Damn... suddenly, the Front Office is looking like a bunch of geniuses for not pulling any trades... I guess the only mistake for now is Cook’s extension... but maybe luck is on our side now and he will become useful (in a trade or in the court)... So maybe Jimmy Buss and Kupcake are not morons after all... There, I said it...
Go Lakers!

Posted by: CLeon | November 19, 2007 at 10:38 AM

that's not fair to Kwame. I was at the game and the defender on Kobe, I think it was Ben Wallace tried to flop backwards and barrel rolled Kwame. I feel for the guy, he was somewhat establishing that he does indeed have value in the league as a defensive presence and now this happens.

Lost in the joy of a blowout victory was the fact that Lamar came out, made the first shot of the game for us and then... disappeared for the rest of the first half when the game was still close though I did appreciate him nodding his head to the music during a timeout...

Posted by: TaosHum | November 19, 2007 at 10:38 AM

I know it is early and it is a long season... but I guess it is better if we don’t pull any trades now...

Posted by: CLeon | November 19, 2007 at 10:39 AM

Don't forget - we still have rights to Mark Gasol, in case Kwame is out for a while. Haven't seen him play lately, but he is tearing up the Spanish league. Worst case scenario, he is 7'1, 280 lbs worth of 6 fouls.

I was surprised he lasted until late second round. You gotta give some props to the FO for another great pick. If nothing else, he's got some trade value already.

Posted by: HAB | November 19, 2007 at 10:44 AM

fkillah -

I don't think we should be that concerned if it happens. It's only natural if the
Bench Mob is playing a more up-tempo game with Farmar pushing it up the
court. Also given Bynum's superior offensive game (opposed to Kwame),
and given Kobe's early shooting struggles recently, I'd say it's somewhat
expected. However, if it remains that LARGE a difference as last night,
then yeah, we might be a little bit concerned.

jay el. -

I totally agree with you on the flopping. This goes back to Kobe's
suspensions with his arm flailing... in both cases, it was highly unlikely
that the action was meant to harm somebody, but since the result is/was
that somebody was hurt, I think Big Ben should be punished.

Hopefully, then we'd see a lot less flopping, which I can't stand.

Bzar

Posted by: Bzar | November 19, 2007 at 10:47 AM

So we with wins over the rockets, pistons and bulls we drop in the power rankings? And the only lost coming to the spurs, what hell is up with that? Gee we only beat 3 teams that will be in the playoffs

http://sportsillustrated.cnn.com/2007/writers/marty_burns/11/19/power.rankings/1.html

Posted by: Bonez | November 19, 2007 at 10:51 AM

CLEON,
"I know it is early and it is a long season... but I guess it is better if we don’t pull any trades now..."

YOU READ MY MIND LOL!

Posted by: MAMBA24 | November 19, 2007 at 10:54 AM

Compton,

>>>>VLAD IS HAVING A BREAK OUT SEASON THERE IS NO WAY HE SHOULD ONLY PLAYED 12 MIN LAST NIGHT.

Vlad is a DUMBASS!! Period. Yeah, he can hit the open 3. Yeah, he has size and athleticism. But he is usually at the wrong place at the wrong time on D, on O, in the locker room, in front of an open mic, in front of a tree..etc..

No contender will have a dumb guy like this playing major minutes. Vlad is Borat without the brains..hehe

Posted by: HAB | November 19, 2007 at 10:55 AM

I hate flopping, unless we get the call.

Posted by: Vman | November 19, 2007 at 11:01 AM

IMPORTANT REMINDER.. ONLY 62 DAYS LEFT TO VOTE
VOTE NOW AND VOTE DAILY!!

VOTING STARTED ON NOVEMBER 15 AND YOU CAN VOTE EVERY DAY!
MAKE SURE TO VOTE FOR LAMAR, LUKE AND KOBE FOR THE ALLSTAR @ LAKERS.COM AND MAKE SURE TO VOTE DAILY!!
EVERY BLOGGER GO VOTE NOW IF YOU HAVEN'T ALREADY AT NBA.COM OR LAKERS.COM (DAILY!!)
REMIND EVERYBODY TO VOTE DAILY EVERYDAY FOR THE NEXT COUPLE OF MONTHS!
LET THE VOTES STACK TO THE CEILING PEOPLE!!!
THAT GOES FOR YOU TOO AK & BK

Posted by: Violator | November 19, 2007 at 11:04 AM

What if the lakers stay healthy and win 53 games, Kobe bags the MVP trophy that the sports writers will be dying to give him...wouldnt that be ironic? and not like rain on a wedding day or a free ride when youve already paid ironic.This would actually be ironic...We'd have to get hold of Alanis and get her to change the words of the song...

...'Its like an MVP season
after trade demands for no reason
Its like a Kobe/ Bynum ring
After that parking lot thing
And isnt it ironic...?'

And Kobe would have to sheepishly say at some point that he may have been incorrect in his assessment of the team and front office moves?How awkward!... and then it gets talked about whenever a player wants to be traded until the end of time...This is how a guy like Kobe is SUPPOSED to win an MVP award...it can be no other way.It will be the most awkward MVP award since dawky Dirk won it last year (that too couldnt have turned out any other way)

Then theres those who are relieved about Kobe's no trade clause as they are convinced that without one lakers management would trade him away in a few months time when the teams are sitting on a record of 37 and 5....

Posted by: Kiwi | November 19, 2007 at 11:13 AM

yeah right!

The Lakers are winning still there are alot of haters!

what's wrong with you people...?
every players on the team are contributing big...

We as fans needs to shut up and just support our beloved team!!! which is the Lakers!!!

Go LAKERS!!!
Go LAKERS!!!
Go LAKERS!!!

Posted by: Jan | November 19, 2007 at 11:14 AM

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ELGIN BAYLOR, JERRY WEST, PAT RILEY, JAMES WORTHY, SILK
COACHED BY THE 9 TIME TITLE WINNER PHIL (9RINGS) JACKSON AND
NO ONE WILL EVER CONQUER OR DIVIDE US
LAKERS TODAY LAKERS TOMORROW LAKERS FOREVER
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Posted by: MAMBA24 | November 19, 2007 at 11:15 AM

Violator (and others with small children)-

I asked Lakers PR, and they said that kids under two don't need a ticket. I assume at that point they sit on your lap or stand in front of you. And if your kid is say, 2 and three months, just get him/her a fake ID.

Posted by: Brian Kamenetzky | November 19, 2007 at 11:21 AM

Bonez,

I agree. They drop us two spots for getting injured?! Marty is smoked out.

Posted by: fkillah | November 19, 2007 at 11:25 AM

Observations:

-That Kwame injury was a direct result of another Ben Wallace FLOP. Flopping is the worst aspect of the NBA game. This beautiful game is slowly turning into soccer. With an increasing number of international players entering the league who most likely grew up with soccer, flopping will be even more rampant in the near future. Rasheed Wallace made a great suggestion last year that blatant flopping should be penalized. It's a great suggestion, but I am a bit conflicted on this issue, because DFish will lose most of his effectiveness on defense if flopping was penalized.

-I must say that I have been wrong about Farmar. I am a big UCLA fan and after watching Farmar for two years of college ball, I never thought he would be successful in this league. I was shocked when I found out his vertical was 42 inches during the pre-draft. It seems Farmar's uptempo abilities have always been confined in Ben Howland's half court system and in the triangle, but Phil has let him loose this year. Although its still early, Farmar has proved all the doubters, including myself, wrong.

-It's common knowledge that NBA teams love visiting LA for obvious reasons. The Bulls, who are struggling, and were without their best player, was playing on the second night of a back to back. The first night was in LA against the Clippers on a Saturday night. I'm going to go out on a limb and say the young Bulls made full use of the night life in LA after the Clips game, and it definately showed against the Lakers.

-If Cook, Luke, Mihm and Fish played 48 minutes a game, the Lakers would give up 160 points a game.

-The issue is not whether Kobe would rather play with Heinrich, Deng, and Gordan over Lamar, Luke and Cook. The issue is Kobe would rather play for Jim Paxon over Jim Buss.

Posted by: LAKER TRUTH | November 19, 2007 at 11:26 AM

So, is Kobe making his teammates better?

Posted by: exhelodrvr | November 19, 2007 at 11:26 AM

Bonez: "So we with wins over the rockets, pistons and bulls we drop in the power rankings? And the only lost coming to the spurs, what hell is up with that?"

So does this mean we don't have a shot at a BCS Bowl game?

Posted by: lakers_sth | November 19, 2007 at 11:26 AM

Vman,
"I hate flopping, unless we get the call. "

I believe what you mean is that you hate it when someone flops like Ben Wallace does, but you love the hard-nosed defense that Derek Fisher plays.

Posted by: exhelodrvr | November 19, 2007 at 11:28 AM

Jan,
"We as fans needs to shut up and just support our beloved team!!! which is the Lakers!!!"

THATS THE SPIRIT JAN!!

Posted by: MAMBA24 | November 19, 2007 at 11:35 AM

mamba 24

im going to jump into your 55 win bandwagon!!!

Jan

Posted by: Jan | November 19, 2007 at 11:35 AM