Checking In... Lockout News

It's been a very quiet off-season and lockout thus far. The league and players have met several times in recent weeks but without any progress on reaching a new labor deal.

In the meantime, because it's getting close to when training camps would normally begin, the league postponed camps indefinitely today and announced the cancellation of the first week of pre-season games this season of 43 games. There's really nothing to be optimistic as far as getting a season started on time at this point, but we're probably still about a week away from reaching panic mode.

With the lockout looking like it will linger well into the fall season, several players have already taken to signing with teams overseas, primarily in Europe, to stay in game shape.

Pau Gasol is already over there, and now Kobe Bryant has an offer on the table from an Italian team for about $6.75 million. Now the question is, will he take the offer and play there until the lockout ends?

We'll know soon enough.

Two and a Half Months

Ok, so I stole that title from the CBS hit sitcom. So sue me!

But yes, it's been a while, so let's get right to it and recap from where we left off...

We knew the Lakers got the two-seed and drew New Orleans in first round.

We knew they lost Game 1 at home.

They won the series in six.

They drew Dallas in the next round, and got slammed.

Dallas swept them in four games, and it wasn't pretty.

Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom committed stupid, ugly fouls in Game 4.

Bynum has been suspended for start of next season.

Pau Gasol simply didn't show up at all in the playoffs.

Quest for Three-peat Part II came to a crashing end.

Dallas is now playing Miami for the NBA title.

Series is tied 2-2, and the series has been closer than that!

Dirk Nowitzki is in "beastmode"; Lebron James has been MIA.

Phil Jackson retired; Mike Brown (yes, really, that Mike Brown!) was hired to replace him.

So long, triangle offense.

Moving forward in the off-season, here are five things the Lakers need...

• Kobe healthy
• Younger and quicker point guard (Chris Paul or Deron Williams, anyone?)
• Shooters who can make their shots
• More consistent bench play
• Dwight Howard

All that said, everything is peachy in Laker-land.

In the meantime, we wait for a new champion, free agency and a possible league work-stoppage.

Ugly Loss

Well that wasn't very pretty now, was it?

But not to worry, these things happen. At least that's what Phil says.

Kobe did his part. Chris Paul did his too.

The rest of the Lakers didn't.

Pau was absent and took the day off.

So did the bench.

And so did the defense, especially in transition.

Ok, Hornets got their one road win.

Game 2 should be much different Wednesday night.

It better be or the two-time defending champs are in deep trouble.

Weird End to Regular Season

After rolling through 17 of their first 18 after the break, Lakers went on a five-game skid.

They finished season winning last two against San Antonio and Sacramento to equate last year's 57-25 mark.

Along the way, Pau Gasol had a knee scare, but is fine. Just a bone bruise.

Andrew Bynum hyper-extended his knee, but is fine too.

Steve Blake came down with the chicken pox.

And Kobe was dinged $100k after making a racially sensitive slur to a referee in the aforementioned San Antonio game.

So, the two-time defending champs "earned" the two-seed and get CP3 and the Hornets in round one.

Game one is Sunday.

Rocked in Cleveland

So much for that 55-point blowout win two weeks ago against the Cavs at Staples...

Gasol's 30 & 20 not enough tonight.

Lakers finish trip 4-3 after starting 4-0.

All-Star Break this weekend at Staples.

Kobe, Pau and Blake Griffin to rep the local teams.

Lakers Extend Kobe

Just days after completing a very disappointing 2-3 road trip as they prepare for the playoffs, the Lakers announced today they have inked Kobe Bryant to a three-year max extension, likely to be around $90MM.

Think it's a coincidence that Kobe's extension, Pau's extension and Ron Artest's contract all run through the 2013-2014 season? I think not. The Lakers have all but assured themselves they will be one of the top teams in the league through that season.

Celtics Barely Escape Kobe-less Lakers

Lakers lose by one, 87-86. They had several chances to take the lead in the last two minutes of the game but came up empty. Pau Gasol had 22 points for the Lakers in the loss.

The Lakers are off until next Tuesday when they begin a short two game trip in Memphis, followed by a stop in Dallas. Hopefully the extra off days between games will be plenty for Kobe to get back into a game. Lakers are 4-1 now without him, 42-14 overall.

No Kobe, No Problem!

The Lakers are 4-0 with Kobe sitting out the past four games due to a bad ankle. One had to wonder if the Lakers would go into a panic mode not knowing how long Kobe would be out and make a trade before today's deadline, but it came and went and the Lakers stood pat.

The Lakers were tied to several trade rumors, including one that would have netted them Chicago's Kirk Hinrich. The sticking point to that potential deal, and frankly, any deal, was their inability to find a taker for Sasha Vujacic. The Lakers have grown more and more weary of Sasha's inconsistencies in recent weeks and started shopping him several weeks ago. But the Lakers were not looking to add any more payroll, so in order to take on the remaining two years, $17MM of Hinrich's contract, it had to be offset with a similar contract going the other way, and that contract was Vujacic. So the beat goes on. Hinrich is still in Chicago, and Vujacic in L.A.

The Lakers have beaten Portland, Utah and Golden State on the road, three teams that give the Lakers trouble in their buildings, and San Antonio at home without Kobe. Andrew Bynum missed the first three of those games, but Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol have stepped up nicely in all four games, and Bynum had a solid game on Tuesday in Golden State while playing in pain. Shannon Brown has played well in Kobe's absence, as well.

So the Lakers forward with the same team they've had all season as they host the Celtics tonight at Staples. And once again, Kobe will not play. There's no telling when he'll play, but if the rest of the team continues to step and play with the sense of urgency they've had over the past four games, they have a legit chance tonight. And it will give Kobe even more time for his ankle to heal.

533 and 2

So you might be wondering what the two numbers mean. Well, the first one is pretty simple. Phil Jackson tied Pat Riley yesterday with 533 wins on the all-time Lakers win list for coaches in the Lakers 90-89 win at Boston. And Kobe was it again with yet another game-winner.

The number two might be a bit more difficult to decipher without a Laker "Number Translator."

Today marks the two-year anniversary of the Pau Gasol trade to the Lakers. In the process, they unloaded some dead weight on the team, most notably Kwame Brown, Marc Gasol, his little brother, and Javaris Crittenton, who was recently suspended for the remainder of the season by the NBA for taking part in the Dirty Harry weapon-draw incident with teammate Gilbert Arenas last month.

But it's become pretty obvious how valuable Gasol has become to the Lakers over the last two years. The Lakers have been in the last two Finals since the trade. And here's some irony for you:

On the two-year anniversary of the trade, the Lakers continue their eight-game road trip tonight in of all places, Memphis, where Gasol came to the Lakers from. So you can imagine that even as Gasol has become a mainstay and fan-favorite in L.A., and he has grown to love it there, he will have some mixed emotions as he takes the floor tonight to take on his old team.

And Yet Another Laker Milestone

And this one has nothing to do with Kobe.

Phil Jackson is just one win shy of tying Pat Riley atop the Lakers all-time wins list for coaches with 533 wins. Riles has a better win percentage with the Lakers with his 533-194 mark. Phil has 253 losses.

*****

Also forgot to congratulate Kobe on his All-Star selection, as well. He was voted in by the fans as a starter, and will be joined by teammate Pau Gasol, selected as a reserve on the West team. The All-Star game is next Sunday on Valentine's Day in Arlington at Cowboys Stadium. So far, more than 85,000 seats have been sold for this game, with an additional 15,000 standing-room only tickets expected to be sold. The 100,000 plus in attendance for the game would demolish the all-time attendance record for any basketball game anywhere.

A Tale of Two Cities

The Lakers got off to a great start on Thursday night in Cleveland, but couldn't finish off the Cavs, and lost 93-87. The battle between Kobe and Lebron lived up to its expectations, as Kobe scored 31 on 12 of 31 shooting while Lebron netted 37 on 13 of 25 shooting.

The Lakers demise on the night was their inability to make shots down the stretch. It was a see-saw battle for much of the game, but in the end, the Cavs kept their cool, and the Lakers couldn't hit their shot from the field or the free throw line. The Lakers were also unable to match Cleveland's intensity throughout the game, something Kobe was a little concerned after the game.

“The mentality has to change a little bit playing against these teams,” Bryant said. “These teams are physical, tough-minded, hard-nosed types of teams. That’s not part of our DNA. We have to step up and match that and still play skillful basketball.”

Meanwhile, the Lakers got a good game for most of the night from the Knicks on Friday, but in the end, they were too much for New York, pulling out a 115-105 win.

Kobe continued to struggle with his shooting in large part because of the injured index finger on his shooting hand, hitting just eight of his 24 shots to lead six Lakers in double figures with 27 points. It was a ho-hum game for Kobe until he took over late in the game. Obviously, it was a far cry from his 61-point night there last season, but he made his points matter, especially down the stretch.

Pau Gasol added 20 while Andrew Bynum poured in 11 of his 19 in the fourth quarter. Lamar Odom had an unusual line, scoring just two points while grabbing a team-high 14 rebounds.

Next up on the road trip, north of the border on Sunday in Toronto. Oh Canada!

Last Night's Win, and Pau Wins Award

The Lakers looked like they were going to roll all over the Magic early last night but wound up coughing up the lead in the third period, then had to battle back to edge the Magic, 98-92. Kobe had another horrible shooting night, shooting four-for-19 from the field for just 11 points, though he looked like he was feeling a lot better as far as his back went. Kobe will also have to wait another night to reach 25,000 points for his career.

The Lakers continue to plug along with the league's best record, now at 32-9 after last night's win. The begin an eight-game roadie on Thursday in Cleveland against Lebron James and the Cavs.

Meanwhile, Pau Gasol was named 2009 Sportsman of the Year by the L.A. Sports Council. During the year 2009, Gasol won an NBA title with the Lakers, was all-NBA third-team, won the European Championship while winning MVP honors, signed an extension with the Lakers through the 2013-2014 season, and kicked off his acting career with a cameo on CSI: Miami. Congratulations, Pau!

Finals Rematch

It's been a while again since I've blogged in this here space, but while I've been absent the Lakers have continued to roll, sort of. They continue to lead the league with the best record at 31-9 going into tonight's Finals rematch with Orlando, but they've struggled over the last eight games since January 3rd while going 5-3.

In the process of looking like the champs that they are in their five wins against Dallas, Houston, Milwaukee, Dallas again and the Clippers, they also looked lost and uninspired in losses to the Clippers, Blazers and Spurs. Kobe had his worst game of the season, if not in his career, against the Spurs, but that was largely due to his plethora of injuries.

He's still battling a broken finger on his shooting hand, and a banged up elbow, and in that Spurs game, he strained his lower back after suffering back spasms earlier in that game. He struggled in the first half of the next game in Dallas but played well in the second half that he wound up hitting the game-winning shot.

The Lakers also got Pau Gasol back in their last game, a 40-point blowout of the Clippers. Gasol had reinjured his hamstring early in that January 3rd blowout of Dallas and hadn't played since.

In the meantime, in spite of Gasol's injury and Kobe being banged up, the Lakers have been getting some nice contributions from Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum and Jordan Farmar. Ron Artest has also since returned to the lineup after his Christmas Day fall in his home that sidelined him for a few games since.

Back to Kobe. He's still fighting through the bad back but as he put it earlier today, "it's stiff, not painful." He'll play tonight. He needs 30 tonight for 25,000 in his career. (More on Kobe later as I want to touch on how he relishes the challenge of playing with all these injuries compared to other great players.)

Kobe Breaks Finger as Lakers Roll to 11th Straight Win

The Lakers keep find ways to turn close games into routs, and last night was no different. Well, actually it was.

The difference was Kobe broke his index finger on his shooting hand in the first quarter while he was reaching for a pass. He stayed in the game briefly and played through it but eventually came out of the game and went to the locker room for x-rays and treatment. He came back out for the second half and finished the game with 20 points.

With the 104-92 win over former Laker player and coach Kurt Rambis and his Minnesota Timberwolves, the Lakers improved their-league best record to 18-3 and wrapped up the easy part of their schedule on a roll. The Lakers got a generous schedule in which they played 17 of their first 21 games at home, and rolled through that stretch with a 15-2 home mark.

Pau Gasol was outstanding last night pouring in 17 points and pulling down a career-high 20 rebounds, and Ron Artest added 16 points for the Lakers.

In this last stretch, the Lakers won impressive games this week against Utah and Phoenix. With the Phoenix win, the Lakers reminded the Suns, the rest of the conference, and probably the rest of the league, as well, who the Cream of the Crop really is.

Utah will get a chance for redemption tonight as the Lakers travel into cold Salt Lake City for a rematch against the Jazz. But they won't get any breaks (no pun intended) because it's going to take a lot more than a broken finger to keep Kobe off the floor. Kobe is expected to play tonight, but how effective, or ineffective he is because of the broken finger, well, we'll just have to wait and find out, won't we?!

A Quiet Win

The Usual Suspects led the Lakers to a ho-hum 100-90 win over the hapless New York Knickerbockers last night out at Staples. And as Forrest Gump proclaimed, "And that's all I have to say about that."

Now I go prepare to eat turkey and pie tomorrow.

Happy Turkey Day and safe travels, if you're traveling, to everyone!

Lakers Win Another Yawner...

This one against the OKC Thunder, 101-85.

Didn't get to see the game as I don't have League Pass on my DirecTV. But from what I could tell just looking at the box score and whatnot, the game wasn't really even that close.

Kobe led all scorers with 26, adding six rebounds and seven assists, while Andrew Bynum poured in 25 plus seven boards. I guess that "jammed" ankle wasn't bothering him tonight. The newfound actor added 15, seven and six, as well.

Lakers improve to 10-3, and get the Knicks at Staples on Tuesday. (So, make it 11-3?!)

Lakers Run Past Bulls

Pau Gasol's return was a doozy: 24 points and 13 boards in 35 minutes of a 108-93 running of the Bulls. Word on the street is Gasol will be promoted to pick the locale of the next CSI series after this stellar season debut.

(Rumor has it he's also been asked to pick a The Who song for the show's theme song and chose "Run Like Hell" to commemorate tonight's win over the Bulls, not knowing it was a Pink Floyd song instead.)

CSI: Barcelona anyone?!

Meanwhile, 'Drew Bynum left the game midway through quarter three with a jammed right ankle, and is listed as D2D. My thinking is he was kept out of the rest of the game because of the score, and not so much because the injury is worse than it is.

Next up: Kevin Durant and the OKC Thunder Sunday night at Staples.

CSI: Miami Star Returns

To the court. Pau Gasol is back in action tonight, making his season debut against the Bulls at Staples. So far, so good.

Pau Gasol...

As Doc Brown once proclaimed in Back to the Future, "the actor?!"

A snipet...

Gasol Update

While the Lakers are battling it out deep in the heart of Texas against the Rockets and former teammate Trevor Ariza, Pau Gasol was cleared today to resume all basketball activities after his extensive MRI revealed he did not have a tear in his hamstring. That said, he's expected to practice tomorrow and could see game action as early as Friday.

Meanwhile, Ariza and Ron Artest were assessed technical fouls in the first quarter, and Artest, who played for Houston last season, was booed mercilessly by Rockets fans every time he touched the ball.

The game was tied at 22 after one quarter.