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Bynumite! Andrew Bynum Returns; Lakers Cruise Past Wizards
12.14.10
Andrew Bynum back in action against Wizards.
There were two welcome sights for Lakers’ fans on Tuesday night in the nation’s capital. One was seeing center Andrew Bynum on the court for the first time this season, and the other was watching the Lakers get an easy win over an inferior opponent.
With Andrew Bynum contributing seven points, four rebounds, and two blocks in 17 minutes off the bench, the Lakers rolled over the injury-depleted Washington Wizards 103-89 at the Verizon Center, in game that really wasn’t as close as the final score.
Kobe Bryant led all scorers with 24 points in less than 24 minutes, and unleashed a barrage of three-pointers on the hometown Wizards in the third quarter, that pushed a 10-point Laker lead to 20, and the champs never looked back. Bryant hit three long-range shots after inexplicably missing three straight free throws when he was fouled beyond the arc.
Lamar Odom stayed in his starting role despite the return of Bynum, and scored 18 points to go along with 10 rebounds, making six of his eight shots. Pau Gasol, maybe happier than anyone to see Bynum back on the court, scored 16 points, with nine rebounds, and seven assists, in less than 31 minutes on the night.
Shannon Brown scored 16 off the bench, and Ron Artest had a solid night with 10 points on 4-8 from the field.
Bynum generally looked good out on the floor, wearing a big brace and black wrap to protect his surgically-repaired right knee. He struggled a bit with his shot, hitting just 1-5 from the floor, and couldn’t get enough lift to finish an alley-oop dunk, but did run the floor well for a player missing the first 24 games, and all of the preseason.
The Wizards played without rookie star guard John Wall and center Andray Blatche, and had predictable struggles all night. While they did manage to keep the game within 10-12 points until the middle of the third quarter, they shot just 40.7% from the field, and only 3-19 (15.8%) from the three-point line, which made an uphill battle even tougher.
Nick Young, who always seems to play well against his hometown teams, scored 21 points off the bench, but needed 21 shots to do it. Javale McGee had 12 points and nine rebounds, and Gilbert Arenas had 11 points and 11 assists, but shot just 5-15 from the floor, and 1-7 from beyond the arc. The Wizards have now dropped nine straight to the Lakers.
It was the first easy win the Lakers have had on this seven-game road trip. And with the second game of a back-to-back tomorrow in Indiana, the starters certainly must have appreciated the extended rest that accompanied Tuesday’s victory. Tomorow night, the Pacers may be without All-Star forward Danny Granger, who is nursing a bad ankle.
More help for the Lakers up front may be on the way, as sources have said a three-team trade has been agreed to in principle, that would send veteran forward Joe Smith to the Lakers from the New Jersey Nets, in return for guard Sasha Vujacic. That deal, however, cannot be announced until tomorrow.
Lakers Bounce Back, Topple the Bucks
11.16.10
Matt Barnes throws it down against Bucks.
The Lakers made sure their losing streak ended at two, as they came back strong in the second half and defeated the Milwaukee Bucks 118-107 at the Bradley Center in Milwaukee on Tuesday night.
Kobe Bryant scored 31 points, grabbed seven rebounds, and had three assists in a solid all-around performance. But it was really the play of Shannon Brown off the bench that propelled the Lakers to victory. Brown scored 16 of his 21 points in the decisive fourth quarter, including 4-5 from behind the 3-point line, helping the Lakers erase a 59-57 halftime deficit.
Pau Gasol had 18 points and 10 rebounds, and Lamar Odom added 13 points and 7 boards, as the Lakers rebounded from Sunday night’s shocking loss at home to the Suns at home where they allowed 22 3-pointers. On this night, they held the Bucks to 46.1% from the field, and just 9-24 from beyond the arc (37.5%).
The Bucks were hot early though, hitting 8-13 from the 3-point line, and taking a back-and-forth battle to the locker room with a lead. The Lakers turned up the defense in the second half, holding the Bucks to 22 points in the third quarter and taking a 90-81 lead into the final period. They Bucks never got closer than seven after that.
The Lakers shot the ball well in all facets on Tuesday, hitting 53.8% from the field, 82.8% from the foul line, and a season-high 10-16 (62.5%) from the 3-point line.
Los Angeles-born Brandon Jennings led the home team with 31 points and 6 assists. Drew Gooden had a superb game with 22 points and 13 rebounds, and Andrew Bogut, still struggling with his shooting elbow, scored 12, and grabbed 18 rebounds (9 offensive), but hit just 2-10 from the free throw line.
The Lakers play the second game on this three-game trip tomorrow night in Detroit against the struggling Pistons at the Palace of Auburn Hills. The Lakers have beaten the Pistons the last two years at the Palace, after dropping six straight there.
Link: Lakers @ Bucks Box Score
What’s Up, Doc?
09.03.10
I used to respect Doc Rivers. He had a solid NBA playing career. He coached a championship team. Then he started saying Laker starting five haven’t beaten Celtic starting five. And I’m thinking we’ve got some revisionist history going on here. First of all, Kobe & Bynum, two of the five starting Lakers. had surgery in the off-season. So I wouldn’t exactly call them healthy for the playoffs. In addition, injuries are part of the game. When the Celtics beat the Lakers in the 2008 Finals, I didn’t go around saying the Lakers would have won if Bynum had played and Ariza had been healthier. Nor do I recall hearing anyone in the Laker organization making 
excuses. You play the 5 best players you can and you live with the results. Does Doc think the Celtics should be declared champions because Kendrick Perkins couldn’t play in one of the seven games played for the finals? (The math here is 3 Celtic losses with Perkins playing + 1 loss with him not playing = Lakers are True Champions)
Let’s review some NBA history.
In 2004, Karl Malone was the starting power forward for the Lakers, and he was injured prior to the finals match-up against the Detroit Pistons. Now as the Lakers lost in 5 games, I don’t believe they necessarily would have won had the Mailman been uninjured. I think the Lakers were highly dysfunctional that season, Shaq’s last as a Laker. But this is another example of a team losing with one started being hobbled. When the Lakers lost to the Pistons 15 years earlier in 1989, they had entered the finals undefeated before being swept. Now when your starting backcourt goes down with hamstring injuries, that’s gonna affect team play. And when one of those players is Magic Johnson – well, nuff said. But just as you can have injuries (or calls) work against you, sometimes it’s the other team that has misfortune. Such as the Celtics in 2010 or the Pistons in 1988, when Isaiah Thomas played on a sprained ankle. Even a couple of years earlier than that, I seem to remember Larry Bird suffering from some back problems.
So my point is that it balances out – some seasons your team is healthy and other years it’s the opposing team that’s in better shape.
It all has to do with how you respond to adversity. To the 2010 Celtics credit, they managed to build a 13 point lead on the road in game 7. They just couldn’t close it out. Thirty years ago, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, starting center for the Lakers, sprained his ankle in game 5. The Lakers next game was in Philadelphia, but the team didn’t get down. Magic Johnson came onto center court, jumped as center, and played perhaps the greatest game of his career (OK, it was his greatest game). Which is really how you always want you team to respond to a teammates injury, by pulling together and playing a little harder. I’m just surprised Doc doesn’t blame the refs, the commissioner or the weather for losing as well. What’s up, Doc? I’ll tell you what’s up. My blood pressure, from listening to you whine and make excuses about not winning. Here’s a challenge for you – make it to the finals this year and show everyone the Celtics weren’t just another one and done team.
Bynum Ready to Resume Full Basketball Activities!
07.04.08
A quick note on some great news for Lakers center Andrew Bynum.
According to the Lakers blog at OCRegister.com…
Andrew Bynum did indeed receive medical clearance from doctors Thursday and will begin training in earnest by mid-July. His agent, David Lee, said the Lakers center did not have any pain or swelling in his surgically repaired left knee and will be ready to go by training camp in October.
Something about Bynum to finally be excited about again. He’s back!
Lakers Defense A Problem, Lose to the Grizz 105-95
11.10.03
If the Los Angeles Lakers don’t start to play some defense, there is no possible way they will regain the NBA title come June. Monday night’s game in Memphis was another shining example of what is turning into a major achilles heel for the team.
The Grizzlies dominated the game after the 1st quarter, stretching their lead to 16 after three quarters, and the Lakers got no closer than seven after that.
Memphis shot over 50% from the floor for most of the game, before a 4th quarter slide dropped them to a still respectable 49%. The Lakers again tried to rally with a furious 4th quarter comeback, but simply could net get enough defensive stops to get back in the game.
Shaquille O’Neal led the Lakers with 20 points and 12 rebounds, but only managed to take 14 shots in 41 minutes. Kobe Bryant again struggled for most of the game, hitting only 5-of-15 shots, although he did finish with 19 points, but six turnovers.
Gary Payton, nursing a sore ankle he sprained in practice on Sunday, played only 27 minutes, scoring six points on 3-of-6 from the field. The Lakers bench continues to do nothing aside from Derek Fisher who scored 9 points.
Devean George was one of the few Laker bright spots. He scored 17 points, made 6-of-7 shots, including 3-of-4 from beyond the arc. The Lakers only shot 44% from the field for the game.
The Grizzlies were led by Pau Gasol who scored 22 points and grabbed 11 rebounds. Memphis’ defense played well all night as, they forced the Lakers into 23 turnovers, including a stunning 17 steals.
The Lakers return home for three games starting Wednesday against Toronto at Staples Center. The Lakers finished their road trip with a 2-2 record, and are now riding a two-game losing streak after winning their first five games to start the season.
Bottom line, the Lakers need to play better defense and stop turning the ball over if they expect to win games, especially on the road.
Link: LakerStats.com Box Score
Link: NBA.com Recap
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