Author Archive for Mike Trudell

Sasha Post-Warriors Sound

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 8, 2009
in Post-Game and Sasha Vujacic
. Closed

After the Lakers pulled out a tough win in Oakland against a fiery Golden State squad, I spent a few minutes with Sasha Vujacic in the locker room.

Wearing a green tie to counter his barbs at my socks last week, that fashion decision was (of course) the first thing he talked about after I asked him about his six assists and no turnovers.

Moments later, Andrew Bynum stuck his head into the mic to let us know that Sasha was his fifth favorite actor from our earlier conversation (’Drew could only think of four actors in a top five column we were doing that will go out shortly).

So it only took Vujacic a minute or so to actually talk about the game.

Here’s the audio:

 
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Lakers 114, Warriors 106: Postgame

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 7, 2009
in Post-Game
. Closed

When the Lakers dropped Tuesday evening’s contest to the Hornets at home, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum had little to no stamp on the game, combining to take just 15 shots, making five, and grabbing a collective 16 rebounds despite playing an average of 38.5 minutes.

Accordingly, heading into Wednesday’s contest in Oakland against the Warriors, it was no secret that L.A. needed a much (like, times five) bigger effort against a smallish Golden State squad.

How’s 33 and 18 from Pau, plus 18 and 11 from Bynum?

Yeah, that would work just fine.

“We emphasized throwing the ball in there and going to work,” said Gasol. “We have two talented big men that are capable of attacking and being productive … That’s a strength we need to expose consistently.”

Those two bigs also blocked two shots each, and helped the Lakers score 56 points in the paint after New Orleans held them to 24 on the night before. Gasol, in particular, was as big as his seven feet down the stretch, scoring 14 points in the fourth in large part by aggressively going to the basket.

“I just continued to be aggressive and tried not to settle too much (for jumpers),” he explained.

No kidding.

Other Lakers certainly contributed to the win, namely Kobe Bryant (21, five and five), Derek Fisher (eight assists), Sasha Vujacic (six assists, no turnovers, 12 points) and perhaps most of all, Trevor Ariza (17 points, nine boards, two key fourth quarter steals).

But there’s no getting around the reason L.A. got its 28th win to just six losses: 14 feet of big dudes.

A few numbers:

56
Points in the paint for the Lakers after they’d managed just 24 the night before in the loss to New Orleans.

26
Shots taken by Jamal Crawford to get to his 25 points. Oops, there goes the efficiency rating.

21
Trevor Ariza’s game-high plus/minus rating.

16
Fouls called on the Lakers, after 22 had been called the night before.

14
Number of threes missed by the Lakers in 19 attempts.

8
L.A.’s edge on the backboards, 51-43.

-10
Vladimir Radmanovic’s plus/minus, a team worst. Vladi struggled, missing all three of his shots and turning the ball over twice in 13 minutes, none of which came in the second half.

Lakers - Warriors: Running Diary

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 7, 2009
in In-Game, Lamar Odom and Running Diary
. Closed

As always, feel free to refresh your browser for live updates throughout the game … On second thought, I guess they wouldn’t technically be “live” updates since you have to press refresh. But whatever.

Previous L.A. - Golden State Running Diaries/Postgames
Lakers - Warriors Running Diary 12-28-2008
Lakers 130, Warriors 113: Postgame

Inactives
Lakers: Jordan Farmar, Luke Walton, Lamar Odom
Hornets: Monta Ellis, Stephen Jackson, Anthony Morrow

Instead of focusing on the game at hand, I spent the pregame talking to Andrew Bynum about his five favorite movies, TV shows, actors and musical artists. I figured that would put him in a better mood than asking him why he hasn’t been particularly effective of late. Talking about Lil’ Wayne, Jay-Z, Denzel Washington, “True Blood” and more, Bynum’s sure to do more damage than he did against New Orleans last night (I set my self up for success with that comment, if you check that box score).

In other news, assistant coach Jim Cleamons and I ranked the top nine in the Western Conference. We’ll get to that soon. Until then…

Your starters:

Lakers Fish, Kobe, Vladi, Pau and Bynum
Warriors Marco Belinelli, Jamal Crawford, Corey Maggette, Brandan Wright and Andris Biedrins

First Quarter
11:00 Bynum scores on a nice move on the baseline, dropping in the deuce with a short hook. I’m now starting to think of top five lists for next pregame.

10:01 The Warriors hit their third straight shot, a jumper from Crawford, to take an early 6-2 lead.

8:52 Bynum 17-foot jumper from the elbow. Swish. However, Golden State stayed hot, making 6-of-9 to start the game in taking a 12-6 lead. The crowd at Oracle was still filing in, but the noise level was rising steadily.

6:18 Radmanovic is unable to corral a relatively easy outlet pass from Bryant in the open court. Maybe he needs to talk about his five favorite bands…

5:04 Gasol’s dunk from Vladi gave him six points, plus four from Bynum in the quarter’s first seven minutes. Remember, the two bigs combined for only 17 points on 5-of-15 shooting last night. They’ve already converted 4-of-9 tonight, plus five total rebounds. Corey Maggette carried the load for Golden State by scoring eight points on 4-of-5 shooting to give the home team a 16-14 edge into the first timeout, but L.A.’s bigs have been the story.

4:29 Kobe’s first triple of the night gives the Lakers their first lead, after he put six threes in against the Hornets on Tuesday.

3:06 Huge block from Bynum on Belinelli. ‘Drew also likes R Kelly and Jeremy Piven. He likes Piven so much that the terrible movie “Smoking Aces” somehow made his top five movies list. That’s like putting Soldier Boy in your top five musical artists. Warriors 20, Lakers 19 at this point. Meanwhile, out of the timeout, Jackson came in with Trevor Ariza, Sasha Vujacic and Josh Powell off the bench.

1:20 A sneaky drive from Bryant, plus the harm, gave him eight points and the Lakers a 24-20 lead. More importantly, Gasol already had eight points and seven boards for the purple and gold, though to be fair, he wasn’t facing the toughest low-post defensive team in the NBA … All the more important to keep feeding the Spaniard.

7.7 STUFF. Kobe went fierce with his left hand all the way to the goal, taking the space afforded by his defender, and continuing to rise over Ronny Turiaf and Co. in the paint. That was dirty, and illegal in some states.

Bryant’s jam completed a 9-0 run to close the quarter in taking a 28-20 lead as the Warriors failed to score in the final 3:46 of play. After starting out hot, the Warriors missed their final seven shots (the first of which Bynum swatted) to go 10-of-26 (38.5 percent) for the quarter.
Continue reading ‘Lakers - Warriors: Running Diary’

Lakers - Warriors Pregame

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 7, 2009
in Pre-Game and Preview
. Closed

Coming off a tough home loss to the New Orleans Hornets on Tuesday night, L.A. embarked on its first home-and-away back-to-back of the season, as the team left promptly after the game for Oakland to face the Golden State Warriors on Wednesday evening.

Here are a smattering of headlines to preview the contest:

“Good” News on Odom’s Knee
The Lakers will have to face Golden State without Lamar Odom, who left Tuesday night’s game late in the second quarter after going for 12 points in a solid effort. While L.A. will miss Odom when facing a Warriors team that likes to play small, the results of a Wednesday morning MRI showed a bone bruise that brings with it a day-to-day label. While there’s never “good” news in terms of an injury, things could have been much worse.

Bring Back the Low Block
Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol posted one of their worst combined games of the season against New Orleans on Tuesday, making only 5-of-15 shots for 17 points, eight boards a piece and only one block despite playing an average of 38.5 minutes. With Odom and Luke Walton out with injuries, it’s very important for L.A. to get back to the basics on the block, and not rely on Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant to huck long jumpers. Particularly in Oakland, where the Warriors love to push the pace and play Nelly-ball, the Lakers simply can’t ignore their size advantage down low.

Turiaf Welcomes Former ‘Mates
Drafted in the second round of the 2005 NBA Draft (No. 37 overall, three spots ahead of Monta Ellis), Ronny Turiaf spent his first three seasons in L.A., endearing himself to all in the process. Turiaf signed as a free agent after last season as the Lakers declined to match Golden State’s offer, after the Gonzaga product averaged 5.5 points, 3.5 boards and 1.1 blocks in his L.A. career. This season, Turiaf ranks fourth in the NBA in blocks (2.21).

Maggette Likes the Lakers
Two seasons ago against the Lakers, G.S. forward Corey Maggette went for a career-high 39 points, plus a career-best nine assists on April 12, 2007 while playing for the Clippers. Maggette also had his career-high in steals (six) against L.A., on Dec. 16, 2007. This season, Maggette - who just returned from a 13-game rest due to a hamstring pull - leads the Warriors in scoring with 19.1 points a night.

No Stephen Jackson
Last season at STAPLES Center, Warriors forward Stephen Jackson sank a game-winning three-pointer against the Lakers on March 23. Jackson, who’s played for five NBA teams in eight years, won a ring with the Spurs in 2003, and he averaged a career high 20.1 points for Golden State last year. However, Jackson won’t be available on Wednesday due to a strained right hamstring.

Mamba’s Third Quarter

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 7, 2009
in In-Game, Kobe Bryant and Post-Game
. Closed

Kobe BryantEvery once in a while, Kobe Bryant gets into the kind of rhythm that only the best of the best ever reach … In any sport.

It’s like when Tiger Woods has his driver, wedges and putter locked in at the same time; when a baseball looks like a beach ball to Manny Ramirez; when Ronaldinho gathers the ball amidst six or seven defenders and zigs and zags through hopeless leg flailing en route to a goal.

That’s Mamba mode.

Tuesday night at STAPLES Center, Kobe emerged in an absurd quarter during which he hit his first seven shots before missing a contested jumper, and finally nailed his fourth three to go 8-of-9 for the period. Each of his nine shots came from the perimeter, each was contested and not one was within 18 feet.

After the game reached its conclusion, Lakers video assistant Patrick O’Keefe hooked us up with a DVD of the game, so I could break down Kobe’s 12 minutes shot-by-shot. By the way, in case you missed the game, Mamba’s third quarter explosion came on the heels of his swished 38-foot heave at the halftime buzzer.

Third Quarter, Lakers vs. Hornets: Kobe Bryant
Shot Attempt No. 1 (11:17) - Bryant makes 22-foot jumper
Coming off a half pick from Andrew Bynum, Bryant curls around Rasual Butler, steps back from just in front of the three-point line and swished the J. 63-58 Hornets.

No. 2 (10:51) - Bryant makes 19-foot jumper
Bynum collects a defensive rebound at the other end and gives Kobe the ball at L.A.’s free throw line. Bryant dribbles up the wing, uses another pick from Bynum on Butler to skirt up the sideline, then pulls up on Tyson Chandler. Bucket. 63-60 Hornets.

No. 3 (8:02) - Bryant makes 18-foot jumper, Pau Gasol assists
Kobe comes through underneath around a back pick from Vladimir Radmanovic, takes a hand off from Gasol, steps back and floats the shot over David West and Butler. 75-69 Hornets, who had led by as many as eight.

Continue reading ‘Mamba’s Third Quarter’

Lakers 105, Hornets 116: Postgame

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 6, 2009
in Post-Game
. Closed


Kobe Bryant was absolutely on fire in the third quarter of Tuesday’s contest against the Hornets.

In true Mamba form, Bryant nailed his first seven shots of the period, and added his fourth three on his ninth attempt to go 8-for-9 for 20 points, almost single-handedly leading the Lakers to a 92-89 lead after L.A. had trailed by five at the half.

The problem was, however, that the home team couldn’t really get back into any kind of offensive rhythm in the fourth quarter, whereas the Hornets seemingly couldn’t miss, nailing 8-of-12 shots in the final period to run out of town with a 116-105 victory.

David West made 10 of his 15 shots in the second half, plus 12-of-13 free throws for the game to finish with a game-high 40 points, while Chris Paul wreaked havoc on L.A.’s defense with 32 points and 15 assists without a turnover. It’d be easy to put West’s big night on the absence of Lamar Odom (who left the game towards the end of the second quarter with a hyper-extended knee, and will undergo an MRI tomorrow morning), since Odom’s the best defensive matchup L.A. has for the N.O. power forward. But West was routinely sinking 17-foot jumpers that were largely contested, and you almost have to simply tip your cap to the guy.

Bryant finished with 39 points, only two of which came in the fourth quarter, while Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum struggled to a combined 17 points and 16 rebounds.

Yet and still, Lakers fans shouldn’t read too much into this loss: A solid, highly-motivated opponent played great; L.A. was without three regulars (Odom, Luke Walton and Jordan Farmar) which threw off the rotations; and two 2007-08 All Stars were on fire.

A few numbers before we head to Golden State:

0
Turnovers for Chris Paul, who had the ball all night and assembled 15 dimes. That’s a decent assist-to-turnover ratio, Captain Obvious.

6
Three pointers made by both Kobe Bryant and Derek Fisher, on 20 total attempts. Fisher took 13 threes, while Bryant missed only one.

12
Points for Lamar Odom in 12 minutes, plus three assists and a board, before he left with his knee injury that didn’t look too bad at the time. Of course, you never know with knees, so the Lakers will cross their fingers and knock on some wood. Remember, Luke Walton’s out at least two weeks, and Farmar’s out until at least the All-Star break, it would appear.

20
Points in the third quarter for Bryant, who was in Mamba mode by cashing all four threes he attempted and missing only one of his nine FGAs.

24
Points in the paint for the Lakers, which is way below average.

50.6
Shooting percentage for the Hornets on 39-of-77, even more impressive since they weren’t effective from three (5-of-14), which is usually a strong suit.

Lakers - Hornets Running Diary

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 6, 2009
in In-Game and Running Diary
. Closed

As always, feel free to refresh your browser for live updates throughout the game … On second thought, I guess they wouldn’t technically be “live” updates since you have to press refresh. But whatever.

Previous L.A. - New Orleans Running Diaries
Game 1: Lakers 93, Hornets 86
Game 2: Lakers 100, Hornets 87

Inactives
Lakers: Jordan Farmar, Luke Walton
Hornets: Ryan Bowen, Julian Wright

Your National Anthem singers tonight were the “Colgate 13.” My only question is, what are those guys doing in L.A.? Did they come all the way out just to sing the N.A.? They were fine and everything, but doesn’t UCLA or USC have an a cappella group? Or, if you’re going to call on a private school from New York, can you at least get Andy Bernard’s Cornell group, “Here Comes Treble?”

Starters:
Lakers Fish, Kobe, Vladi, Pau and Bynum (like the first 20 games)
Hornets Chris Paul, Rasual Butler, Peja Stojakovic, David West and Tyson Chandler

First Quarter
9:48 The Lakers first point came on a free throw from Andrew Bynum after L.A. missed its first five shots, though Charlotte hit just 1-of-4. I’m still trying to figure out how to get “Here Comes Treble” in here. The potential to equal Whitney Houston’s Super Bowl Anthem is there, I feel.

7:27 Bynum’s first foul came after Chandler grabbed his second offensive board of the early goings, and he managed to make both of his free throws for an 8-6 Hornets lead. Chandler making both free throws is generally as likely as the guys on MTV’s “Bromance” not crying (seriously, did anyone watch last night? Five of the seven dudes trying to be Brody Jenner’s BFF openly wept on the show. It was awesome, just an emotional, entertaining tour de force).

6:30 Fisher’s second three pointer made me think of the extra practice time he put in after Sunday’s shootaround, and today’s shootaround, honing his stroke. Guess that’s paid off…

5:12 After West’s jumper made it 16-9 visitors, it’s not too early to say that the Hornets look much better than they did both times L.A. jumped on ‘em in New Orleans. Clearly that was a focus for head coach Byron Scott, as L.A. jumped all over his squad in November and December, and so far his troops have listened. That L.A. made only 3-of-12 shots, including a few missed layups, didn’t hurt N.O.’s cause.

3:24 Vladi’s third field goal attempt just rimmed out, much like his first two. Also missing layups today: Fisher (2), Gasol and Bynum. It’s hard to tell if it’s a lack of focus that’s plaguing the Lakers, but the Hornets have certainly been the more energetic bunch.

Indeed, Chris Paul has been as aggressive as he generally is in fourth quarters by taking five shots and making four for nine points and a 23-15 Hornets lead. CP3 often uses first halfs to get his teammates going, but that’s not the game plan tonight (oh wait … he also has four assists … scratch that).

2:47 Pau Gasol, who’s fifth in the NBA with his 56.2 shooting percentage, has missed all three of his shots tonight. But he can do THIS, which is fun.

2:32 Sasha Vujacic checks in and immediately nails a three to make it 24-18 N.O. A rhythm shooter, Vujacic often makes his second shot after canning his first. Vujacic will have other things on his mind tonight, however, as he’s guarding CP3.

1:49 Technical on James Posey, who earned a solid round of boos from Lakers fans after checking in. Posey got the T by taking a swing at Kobe’s head after Bryant dribbled around him. Posey is steadily building on his reputation for being the opposite of “clean.”

1:14 Sure enough, Vujacic’s second jumper was also a swish. But at the other end, he earned his second foul of the quarter, and had a tough time with Paul on the previous two possessions. Then, with only 10 seconds left in the quarter, Sasha for some reason got all up in Paul’s face 30 feet from the basket, and not only sent Paul to the foul line (32-24 N.O.) but committed his third foul. Silly.

The Hornets made 11-of-21 shots in the quarter, including 9-of-11 free throws, while L.A. converted 9-of-22 and 5-of-8 free throws. Neither team turned it over (one each), while the Hornets handled the glass 15-9. Paul finished with 15 points, while Odom and Vujacic had five each off the bench to go with Bryant’s nine.
Continue reading ‘Lakers - Hornets Running Diary’

Radmanovic to Start

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 6, 2009
in Pre-Game and Vladimir Radmanovic
. Closed

After Luke Walton went down with a foot injury earlier this week, Jackson started Trevor Ariza in his place Sunday against the Trail Blazers.

But tonight, it’s back to the bench for Ariza, the place he actually prefers, as Phil Jackson told reporters before the game that Vladimir Radmanovic would return to the starting lineup to face the New Orleans Hornets.

There are a few obvious reasons why Jackson’s making the switch: Vladi prefers to start, and Ariza would rather come off the bench; Vladi spreads the floor better than Ariza, who’s struggled a bit with his outside shot - this is important early in games for the offense; Vladi scored a season-high 16 points, 15 of which came in the second half, against Portland; Ariza’s most likely going to close the game, and his having rested legs can only help.

Another reason, at least in my opinion, is that Ariza may slide over to Chris Paul in the second half as he did in New Orleans a few weeks ago, and that’s a task requiring a good bit of effort and focus.

Check back for the running diary, where we’ll keep an eye on the ever-interesting small forward position.

Celtics Drop Fifth in Seven Games

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 6, 2009
in Around the NBA and Pre-Game
. Closed

As they raced to a 27-2 record to start their title defense, it was hard to find a negative thing to say about the Boston Celtics. If anything, it was starting to become obvious that their bench wasn’t producing with any kind of regularity, but that simply wasn’t an issue because the starters were so effective.

It’s an issue now.

First came the Christmas Day game in L.A., from which the Lakers would emerge with a hard fought, 92-83 victory that came down to the final two minutes. Boston got nothing from its bench in that game, but still looked very good, nothing like a team that would go on to lose four more games in the next two weeks.

But lose they did, to Golden State (99-89), Portland minus Brandon Roy (91-86), the Knicks (100-88) and finally, Charlotte in overtime (114-106) 30 minutes before L.A. braced to face New Orleans at home. That’s not exactly the cream of the NBA’s crop. Boston, now 29-7, next faces the Houston Rockets at home before traveling to Cleveland for an Eastern Conference showdown on Friday evening.

What can we learn from Boston’s post X-Mas struggles? Well, perhaps more than anything else, it’s what we saw before - a lack of depth - finally catching up to a team that was still playing with enormous fire coming off its first NBA title since the 1980s.

Another point might be that few teams were up to the challenge put forth by the defending champs, as the Celtics seemed to win many games before they even stepped onto the floor. But after the Lakers stopped their 19-game winning streak, and Golden State put up a W for the not-so-goods, perhaps other teams were emboldened.

Surely it’s hard to argue with this statement: Boston needs to add a player or two. But who’s out there? James Posey defected to New Orleans; P.J. Brown said he’s not coming out of retirement; Stephon Marbury’s still under contract with the Knicks; and the Celtics don’t have many assets to trade.

Yet for L.A., the sole focus right now - as Phil Jackson mentioned in his pregame talk - needs to be the opponent of the night, not a mid-season swoon from the Celtics … Even if it’s fun for Lakers fans to watch.

Previewing the Hornets with Joe Block

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 6, 2009
in Podcast and Preview
. Closed

Joe BlockThe first two times the Lakers and Hornets battled this season, the Lakers used superior length and a combined 38-point lead at halftime to emerge from New Orleans with 93-86 and 100-87 victories.

The season series now shifts west to Los Angeles, with Chris Paul and Co. in town for a Tuesday evening tilt at STAPLES Center. To break down the matchup and discuss how N.O. needs to play to avoid a third consecutive loss to the Lakers, we spoke to Hornets radio studio host Joe Block.

 
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