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Lakers Breeze Past Struggling Pistons
11.17.10
Kobe Bryant scores two of his 33 against Pistons.
The Lakers made short work of the Detroit Pistons on Wednesday, leading by as many as 26 points in the second half, as they cruised to a 103-90 victory at the Palace of Auburn Hills.
Kobe Bryant took advantage of smaller defenders all night, scoring a game-high 33 points, with nine rebounds, and four assists in just under 32 minutes of action. Pau Gasol dominated the worst-rebounding team in the league in the paint, with 25 points and 12 rebounds, and Lamar Odom added 15 points and 14 boards. The Lakers outrebounded the Pistons 55-41.
In a microcosm of the Pistons’ season so far, guard Richard Hamilton was ejected with two technicals just five minutes into the game, after he picked up two early fouls guarding Kobe Bryant. Discipline and internal battles have been a recurring theme for Detroit, as they continue to unravel on the court.
The Lakers took advantage of the Pistons’ woes, jumping out to a 59-45 lead halftime. The lead ballooned to 78-52 late in the third quarter, as the NBA champs showed no mercy in piling up the points. The final score was not indicative of how one-sided the game really was, as the Pistons made it respectable against the end of the Lakers’ bench in the fourth quarter.
The Pistons were led by Rodney Stuckey’s 18 points. Tayshaun Prince had 13 points, and Austin Daye added 12. Nobody else on the squad tallied more than eight points.
The Lakers held the Pistons to a miserable 39.3% from the field, including 4-16 (25.0%) from the 3-point line. The only bright spots for the home team on the stat sheet were that they only committed just five turnovers, and held the league’s highest-scoring team to 103 points. The Lakers have now beaten the Pistons three straight times in Detroit, after dropping the previous six there.
The Lakers conclude their three-game road trip on Friday in Minnesota. The Lakers have already beaten the Timberwolves once this season in Los Angeles, but it was a struggle in a 99-94 win back on November 9.
Lakers Buried By Avalanche of Threes
11.15.10
Kobe Bryant looks to pass against Suns.
The Phoenix Suns hit 22 3-point baskets, one short of the NBA record, as they dropped the Lakers 121-116 at Stapes Center on Sunday. It was the Lakers’ second straight loss after opening the season 8-0.
The Suns led the game for most of the night, behind the hot shooting of Jason Richardson, who scored 35 points with eight rebounds, on 13-20 from the field, including 7-10 from beyond the arc.
Six different Suns hit 3-pointers as the team shot 22-40 from distance, a whopping 55%. Steve Nash had 21 points and 13 assists, and Channing Frye added 20 (4-9 on 3-pointers) off the bench. Hedo Turkoglu hit 5-7 from the 3-point line for 17 points.
Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 28 points and 17 rebounds and Kobe Bryant nearly had his second triple-double of the season, finishing with 25 points, 14 assists, and 9 rebounds. Lamar Odom had 22 points and 11 rebounds, but committed a costly technical foul late in the game with the Lakers trailing by two.
The Suns took a 56-53 lead into halftime, and stretched their advantage to 90-76 late in the third quarter with a barrage of long-distance bombs. Every time the Lakers got close in the fourth, Phoenix had an answer.
The biggest play of the night however was in the final minute. After Lamar Odom drove to the basket for a layup to cut the Suns’ lead to two, he began yelling at the officials for a foul call as well. With the new tighter rules for technical fouls in place, Odom was whistled for one which the Suns converted to put them back up three at 112-109. With the momentum gone, the Lakers were unable to rally as the Suns closed out the game for the win.
With two straight losses, the Lakers hit the road for three games this week, starting in Milwaukee on Tuesday night. The Bucks started off the year slow but have been playing much better as of late, and are back to .500 at 5-5. Last year’s game in Milwaukee was headlined by Kobe Bryant’s overtime buzzer beater to give the Lakers a 107-106 win.
Lakers Pound Warriors to Stay Perfect
11.01.10
Kobe Bryant scores two of his 20 points against Warriors.
It’s not even November yet, so it’s hard to make much of a 3-0 record, but the Lakers have started the season playing solid basketball, as they pounded the Golden St. Warriors 107-83 at Staples Center on Sunday night.
The game, played on Halloween night, must have felt like a nightmare for the Warriors who continue to struggle against the Lakers, losing 10 straight regular season contests. The world champs dominated inside all night as they outrebounded the Warriors 55-42, and held the boys from the Bay Area to under 41% shooting from the field. The Lakers led 34-14 after one quarter, and the Warriors never recovered, trailing by as much as 32 in the fourth.
Pau Gasol continued his strong start to the season with another double-double, leading everyone with 26 and 12 rebounds in under 35 minutes. Kobe Bryant, who told reporters after the game that his knee was 100%, scored 20 points and grabbed seven boards, and got most of the night off in the blowout. He played just 27 minutes. Lamar Odom had another big game with 16 points and 14 rebounds, and Derek Fisher had a season-high 14 points.
Golden St.’s big offseason acquisition David Lee, was held scoreless in 19 minutes and grabbed just three rebounds, as the Lakers made it a point to keep him off the glass. Monta Ellis led the visitors with 20 points, but struggled to find his rhythm as he was swarmed on defense all night. Dorell Wright had a solid game with 18 points and five rebounds. The Warriors played without guard Stephen Curry who is nursing a sore ankle.
The only real negative to the evening were the 20 turnovers the Lakers committed, which Phil Jackson saw as an area of concern that will need to be addressed.
The Lakers even found minutes for their two rookies, with both Devin Ebanks and Derrick Caracter scoring the first four points of their NBA careers during “garbage time” in the fourth quarter.
The Lakers’ next game will be Tuesday night at home against the Memphis Grizzlies, who have been without forward Zach Randolph since he took a hard fall and injured his back on opening night.
LAKER ROSTER: Lamar Odom
09.23.10
Lamar Odom, a 6’10” 30 year old forward remains the most enigmatic of players. He may give you a double double in points and rebounds, or he may have so few as you can count them on one hand. I believe his inconsistent play frustrates fans, his teammates, coaches, and management. The double-edged sword here is that his potential, like Andrew Bynum’s, is great enough that every trade rumor features him, and his salary is great enough that you could envision the Lakers doing it. Growing up in New York, his favorite player was Magic Johnson. And in his youth, Odom was an AAU teammate of Elton Brand and Ron Artest; his friendship with Ron-Ron would be another reason to keep him a Laker. Lamar was drafted by the Clippers after playing at Rhode Island, then spent one year in Miami. He came to the Lakers with Brian Grant and Caron Butler when Shaq was traded to the Heat. This will be his 12th season in the NBA. He is the Lakers 6th man and his main role is back-up to Pau Gasol at power forward position. He’s also capable of playing minutes at the small forward. Last season, he played in all 82 games, 38 as a starter, and averaged 11 points and 10 rebounds. This summer he was a major contributor on the US Team that won the gold medal in Turkey. He also has a bronze medal from the 2004 Athens Olympics. In case you hadn’t heard, he’s married to Khloe Kardashian.
Matt Barnes Arrested
09.08.10
And from the world of, “I Knew This Off Season Was Going Too Well,” newest Laker Matt Barnes was arrested tonight on felony assault charges, and booked into the Sacramento County Main Jail.
According to police, Barnes was arrested for assualting the woman “who lived with him and with whom he had a dating relationship.” He posted a $50,000 bond and was released shortly after 9:30 PM tonight.
According to Sacbee.com,
Both parties were said to have visible injuries, but Barnes was determined to be the primary aggressor according to police. Barnes is also charged with maliciously obstructing the use of a telephone line. He’s scheduled to appear in court on Monday.
Wow, thanks Matt. Great timing too. Let’s hope this isn’t as bad as it sounds.
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