The Lakers made a furious rally in the final three minutes of the fourth quarter to send the game into overtime, but wound up running out of gas against the Jazz, suffering a 123-115 series-tying loss.
“There was definitely a great chance after coming back,” said Pau Gasol (23 points, 10 rebounds) of the Lakers’ near comeback. “We had them where wanted them, and we weren’t able to execute. We didn’t get the shots that we needed to get in overtime. They got pretty good looks, and offensive boards. That is what gave them the victory.”
“It comes down to a couple defensive stops we have to make,” said Coach Jackson after the game. “I really had to jump our second unit a little bit again tonight, because they let us down in the fourth quarter. We had to come back and play out of a double digit deficit again. It put a lot of pressure on the starters to have to play at a pace in which they were pretty exhausted going into overtime.”
Continue reading ‘Game 4: Lakers vs. Jazz Post-Game’
The Lakers trailed for much of the game, but rallied to within four of the Jazz at before a critical turnover gave Utah their first win of the series 104-99 and the Lakers, their first loss of the 2007-08 post-season. Carlos Boozer led the way for the Jazz with 27 points an a playoff career high-tying 20 rebounds as his team won for the fortieth time in 45 tries this year at Energy Solutions Arena.
“(Kobe) fumbled the ball that’s what’s wrong,” said Coach Jackson about the team’s critical turnover in the waning moments of the fourth quarter. “I don’t know if he was trying to get it out of his hands too soon or what happened but it looked like he had it, and he just didn’t wrap it up.”
“We turned the ball over quite a bit,” said Bryant after the game, drawing parallels to his final mishap and the team’s sloppy play throughout the night. “Down the stretch in a critical situation we put them on the line four or five straight possessions and gave them easy opportunities. We clawed back, but with that said we can’t turn the ball over 18 times. We had a lot of open looks that just didn’t go for us. You can sustain a night like that, when shots don’t fall. We’ve really got to keep our turnovers down and not allow them to get out in transition and get some easy points.”
Continue reading ‘Game 3: Lakers vs. Jazz Post-Game’
On a night when Kobe Bryant received the top individual award in the sport–the Most Valuable Player Award–his team shined, using a balanced effort to knock off the Jazz 120-110 to go ahead 2-0 in their best of seven series.
The newly crowned MVP scored 34 points in addition to pulling down eight rebounds and dishing out six assists. After the game, Kobe said that his team was “excited” to head into Salt Lake City with a two game lead in the series, crediting the rhythm the Lakers established heading into the postseason.
Coach Jackson praised the Lakers’ fast start, using the energy of a gold-clad STAPLES Center crowd, obviously amped up after Bryant received his MVP award prior to tip-off.
“We got off to a great start,” said Jackson. “The energy of the crowd and Kobe’s night gave us a real quick start. I just didn’t think we played well the second quarter, and they kind of carried the ball from there on out the rest of the game. They kept attacking and we were able to manage point for point, but we were never able to gather momentum in the second half.”
Continue reading ‘Game 2: Lakers vs. Jazz Post-Game’
While the Rockets and the Jazz are still embroiled in their First Round series, the Lakers continue to prepare for battle against whichever rival emerges.
With four days off already since sweeping the Denver Nuggets, Lamar Odom described the overall mood of the team as “Energetic, upbeat, outgoing. Everybody’s in a good mood,” said Lamar. “We’re in the playoffs, it’s the best time of year.”
The forward added, “This is a good time for us to practice. It’ll be a tough game tonight…I’m looking forward to watching it, seeing who comes out victorious.”
“It’d be fun to play on Sunday, but if not, we’ll wait,” said Odom in regards to a possible Game 1 this weekend against Utah should they defeat Houston tonight. Kobe echoed his teammate’s statement, revealing that “If we play on Sunday, we’ll be ready on Sunday. If it’s Tuesday, we’ll be ready on Tuesday.” Bryant also mused that he hopes the Jazz win so he can stop answering hypothetical questions and start talking about matchup specifics.
Continue reading ‘Lakers Bond as They Await Next Opponent’
While fans may be surprised by Luke Walton’s breakthrough performance in the Lakers’ First Round sweep against the Nuggets, Kobe said he saw signs of improvement long before the forward averaged 14 points in the four games–third best on the team–in the series.
“He had a stretch last year where he was playing extremely well,” said Bryant, reminding everyone of Walton’s emergence as an all-around threat when Lamar Odom was injured at the beginning of last season.
Although he struggled with injuries and inconsistency during the 2007-2008 season, averaging only seven points and four assists, Kobe said that it wasn’t due to a lack of ability.
“I think for him, it’s a matter of confidence with him,” said Bryant. “Sometimes, he’ll get down on himself and be a little hard on himself…more than he should be. There’s been some times this year when after a game, after a tough loss where he went one for six or zero for six and I’ll tell him, ‘Look, Luke—I went five for thirty. Shake it off.’ You’ve just got to stay in his ear a little bit, keep him confident because he has all the tools, he has all the gifts.”
Nothing but politically correct answers from everyone when posed with the question of who they want to play in Round two.
When asked if he preferred one over the other Phil Jackson quipped, “No. Thanks for asking though.”
Home court advantage has been a huge factor for the Jazz all season and probably the biggest difference between the two teams that could face the Lakers in round two.
“Utah doesn’t lose too many games at home, they play great basketball there. The rest is the same. Half court teams that rely on their defense,” said Lamar Odom.
A matchup with the Jazz would have extra meaning for Derek Fisher after he spent last season in Salt Lake and played a pivotal role in the Jazz’s playoff run.
“The emotions will be high considering what took place while I was there and how many things have changed and the way they’ve changed over this past year. It’ll mean a lot to play against the Jazz. But at the same time it’ll be emotional in a negative way in terms of facing my former teammates with all the stakes as high as they’ll be. I’m prepared for it, but it’ll definitely be emotional.”
Phil Jackson seems to be less emotional about a trip to SLC. When asked which city he would choose to visit he replied, “There’s no choice there but Houston right?”
Although he might prefer to visit Houston, the extended travel that would be required in a series with the Rockets is also on Jackson’s mind. “That’s a three hour flight for us and a two hour time zone change. We’ve been caught in that web before with San Antonio in a number of playoffs this decade. (You get home at) three o’clock back here in the morning and have to play the next day with just a day rest and that day is almost lost when you get back at that time in the morning after flying back after these midnight games.”
For the third consecutive game, the Lakers manhandled the Nuggets, defeating them 102-84 an opening up a 3-0 series lead against Denver. L.A. outscored the Nuggets by 11 points in the second half, led by Kobe Bryant’s 22.
“We definitely got dominated in the second half–no question about it,” said Eduardo Najera after the game. “The frustration came in and we were not ourselves. We did not make enough shots. I thought we played better defensively in this game, but our offense was not there tonight.”
In all, five Lakers reached double figures, with Gasol, Fisher, Odom and Walton joining Bryant. Once again, the Lakers’ bench was also a factor with Luke tallying another 15 and Farmar and Vujacic adding nine a piece.
As a team, L.A. shot 46% from the floor compared to only 37% for Denver–an obvious source of frustration after the game for George Karl.
“I tip my hat to the Lakers in regards to their defense–they are better than I thought they were,” said Karl after the Lakers held his team to under 100 points for the first time this series. “Only a handful of teams did to us during the season what LA did to us tonight.”
Continue reading ‘Game 3: Lakers at Nuggets Post-Game’
After seeing Houston, Toronto, and Washington all win Game 3 after falling 2-0 in their playoff matchups, the Lakers know they have to be ready for Denver’s best shot. “We expect them to come out and play,” said Bryant. “They’re competitors.”
Lamar Odom recognizes that the Nuggets aren’t going to give the Lakers the series after being down 2-0, and feels that the Lakers need to be “really focused to pull this one out” and grab a playoff win on the road. He does however believe that the team is feeling a little more confident after going up two games to none. “Whenever you have a lead period, you’re going to have a little more confidence, but if you watched playoff basketball last night every team that had a 2-0 lead, lost.”
Kobe remained confident in his team and is prepared to go on the road. “We’ve been a pretty solid road team.” Bryant added. “We’ve had some big games on the road – Utah, Dallas, Denver and some other places that are tough to play and I think it helps because you understand how to get it done.”
Allen Iverson has already received three technical fouls, including being tossed from Game 1, as the Nuggets (who have a total of six technical fouls) have dropped the first two games of the series in Los Angeles. Several Lakers realize that emotion could turn the other way once they arrive in Denver.
“They’re an emotional bunch. We have to understand that could work against us, particularly in game 3;” said Bryant. “Once they get the crowd behind them and they gain momentum, their emotions all of a sudden now becomes their biggest strength. What we have to try to do is keep it quiet as much as we possibly can.”
“In the playoffs you get a little more emotional, can’t help it;” added Odom. “Every game is important. When we’re up there and facing their crowd, we will try to keep our composure so that doesn’t happen to us.”
Luke Walton did not seem to be as worried about the tables being turned in Denver as he has his relaxation methods down to a science. Taking deep breaths usually works for him, but in dire needs he suggested that he might have to rub his ears to calm himself.
While Pau Gasol and Kobe Bryant received much of the credit for the Lakers’ march to the top of the Western Conference down the stretch of the season, Lamar Odom has quietly been playing the best basketball of his career. With another double-double performance (17 points, 14 rebounds) in Game 1 against the Nuggets, Odom’s teammates and coaches are taking notice of his exceptional all-around play.
“Lamar has certainly proved his value to this team in many ways,” said Coach Jackson. “I just think that it’s given him much more of a comfort zone. Lamar’s an exceptional passer. A lot of passes come in critical, close quarters lane area-type drop-off situations and with Pau’s capabilities, it’s just improved his assist ratio, his ability to make plays. All those things have helped Lamar.”
Even though his role on offense has been reduced to third option on most nights, Jackson said that Odom fills his niche well.
Continue reading ‘Teammates and Coaches Praise Odom’s All-Around Play’
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