Archive for the 'Lamar Odom' Category

Lakers - Spurs Pregame

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on January 14, 2009
in Lamar Odom, Phil Jackson and Pre-Game
. Closed

Odom Ready to Play
When asked how his knee responded to Tuesday evening’s win in Houston, Lamar Odom likened himself to Humpty Dumpy … You know, the whole fall-down-and-get-back-up-again thing.

Odom’s said he’s feeling “all right,” and will indeed face off against the Spurs (as expected), which is a good thing because Odom was terrific in the Western Conference Finals last season. He averaged nearly 13 points, 10 boards, three assists and over a block in L.A.’s 4-1 series win.

He’s particularly important in the matchup because the Spurs will occasionally go small with Duncan in the middle and Bruce Bowen or Kurt Thomas at the four, when Odom’s defensive versatility becomes a big factor.

Phil Jackson Pregame
A few bullet points from Phil’s pregame chat:

  • On the toughest thing about the Spurs: “One of the best things San Antonio does is coming out in the third quarter and having a really tremendous burst of energy … We have to be prepared for that.”
  • Jackson explained that the Spurs are still running the same things as they always have under Gregg Popovich, but that they probably shoot more threes.
  • Jackson didn’t take a reporter’s bait to go critical on Andrew Bynum, instead suggesting that he did “fine” against the Rockets last night despite foul trouble and just one rebound. Read into that as you will.
  • The Spurs really spread out the floor, Jackson said, meaning the Lakers may have to match their lineup.
  • Phil’s been impressed with Josh Powell’s ability, though at the same time, the Lakers did recognize Powell’s skill when they signed him.
  • Sasha Vujacic is still hurting back in Los Angeles, though his back spasms are dissipating.

    • Lamar Odom Post-Game Sound

    Published
    by
    Ty Nowell
    on January 13, 2009
    in Lamar Odom, Podcast and Post-Game
    . Closed

    Audio from Lamar Odom following the Lakers 105-100 victory over the Houston Rockets on Tuesday night.

     
    icon for podpress  Lamar Odom Audio [4:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

    Health (or lack there of) the Story in Houston

    Published
    by
    Mike Trudell
    on January 13, 2009
    in Injury News, Lamar Odom, Practice News, Preview and Sasha Vujacic
    . Closed

    A great deal of talent that surely would have played a key role in Tuesday’s Western Conference matchup between L.A. and Houston won’t even get onto the court … And it’s not just the Lakers that are hurting.

    Houston will certainly be without Tracy McGrady, and most likely Ron Artest, while the Lakers will go forward without Sasha Vujacic (who remained in Los Angeles on Tuesday and is also doubtful for Wednesday’s game in San Antonio), Jordan Farmar, Luke Walton and, possibly, Lamar Odom.

    Odom did participate in 3-on-3 drills on Monday and shootaround on Tuesday, and said that he’s feeling better since originally hyper-extending his knee. So while he’s the most likely to play, Odom will be a game-time decision. Surely LO’s ball-handling abilities could be used with the Lakers so paper-thin in the backcourt.

    And, since Sun Yue could see more playing time than perhaps he’s ready for (Kobe and Fish, get ready for 40 minutes…), it’ll be particularly important for the Lakers to force-feed Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum. Not only is Bynum’s scoring up and Gasol due to come back strong from a poor shooting performance (remember last time Gasol struggled at home before exploding at Golden State for 33?), but Yao Ming is the Rockets’ only player big enough to stand alongside L.A.’s front line. That’s not a good thing for Houston, since Yao’s defense is nothing to write home about.

    Check back before the game, when we’ll hopefully have some more news on Odom in particular.

    Good News, Bad News on Injury Front

    Published
    by
    Mike Trudell
    on January 12, 2009
    in Injury News, Lamar Odom, Practice News, Sasha Vujacic and Video
    . Closed

    We learned some good and bad news at Lakers practice on Monday:

    The bad: Sasha Vujacic is suffering from back spasms after tweaking his back late in Sunday’s win over Miami. He will not make the trip to Houston with the team, but it’s the team’s hope that Vujacic will be able to make a separate flight either Tuesday or Wednesday prior to the team’s games against Houston and San Antonio, respectively.

    The good: Lamar Odom played a game of 3-on-3 at full speed following Monday’s team workout. Odom, who looked to be moving quite well, hit several jumpers and even exploded for a left-handed dunk. In talking to reporters afterwards (video below), Odom said that he’s going to see how the knee feels on Tuesday at Houston, and will try to play if the pain level is tolerable. Since he can’t make his bone bruise any worse by playing, it’s mostly about pain management, and Odom’s wide variety of skills allows him to compensate better from movement or pain restrictions than many players. He remains listed at day-to-day, but recognizes that a team missing both Jordan Farmar and potentially Vujacic in the backcourt needs his ball-handling skills.

    We’ll have more on both Sasha and Lamar from Houston tomorrow.

    Video below the jump.

    Continue reading ‘Good News, Bad News on Injury Front’

    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
    Warriors: 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’

    Lamar Odom Injury Update

    Published
    by
    Ty Nowell
    on January 7, 2009
    in Injury News and Lamar Odom
    . Closed

    Lamar Odom
    From the Lakers PR department:

    Lakers forward Lamar Odom was examined today by team physician Dr. Steve Lombardo and MRI results show that Odom has a bone bruise in his right knee. Odom will not play in tonight’s game in Oakland against the Golden State Warriors, and his status beyond that is listed as day-to-day.

    Odom suffered the injury in the 2nd quarter of last night’s game against the New Orleans Hornets at STAPLES Center.

    Odom, Phil and Kobe’s Shoes

    Published
    by
    Mike Trudell
    on December 19, 2008
    in Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Phil Jackson and Pre-Game
    . Closed

    An hour before tipoff here in Miami, here are three quick topics for you to nibble on leading into the running diary:

    A) Lamar on Miami.
    B) Phil on low tops and the game.

    Lamar Talk
    Business first - Odom said he’s feeling better than he was last game (when he threw up during the win over the Knicks) but is still a little bit stuffed up.

    Odom’s a big fan of the MIA: “It was my transformation from a boy to a man when I was in Miami, so for that reason (my year here) was special to me.” Lamar, who keeps an offseason home in Pinecrest, loves coming to Miami as he gets a relaxing reprise in his place of living.

    Back in 2003-04, Odom spent his only season with the Heat and averaged 17.1 points, 9.7 boards and 4.1 assists plus 1.1 steals in one of his best statistical seasons as a pro. The next season, of course, he came over (with Caron Butler and Brian Grant) to the Lakers for Shaquille O’Neal. He kept it pretty simple when asked about this year’s Heat team: “They’ve played well this year, and they’re definitely playing hard,” he said. “They have a tremendous player in Dwyane Wade, some people who really understand their roles and a player in Michael Beasley who’s going to be one of the top scorers in the game in three or four years.”

    Phil Jackson Pregame

  • On Pau Gasol’s availability: “Yes, (he’s going to play). I think he’s OK. I don’t think he’s restricted at all. He worked out last night after a long trip across the country.”
  • On wearing low tops, as Kobe will tonight: “I played most of my career in low tops. I think the reason low tops went out (of style) is because when you got your shoe or heel stepped on, your foot came out of the shoe … Now a lot of low tops have velcro straps to try and keep them on your feet.”

    Jackson added that he doesn’t think low tops - or high tops - really prevent ankle injuries, though taping might help “somewhat.”

  • Jackson said he’s wary of Miami’s speed, in particular as it applies to their pressure defense and attention to the passing lanes. Both Dwyane Wade and Mario Chalmers rank among league steal leaders, with Wade in fourth (2.17) and Chalmers in eighth (1.96).
  • On the Wade - Kobe matchup: “It’s a tough match up for both guys. Kobe is locked in on guarding him, but they cross match a lot of times (like) in transition.” Basically, when players have to switch defensive assignments due to screens or pick and rolls, they’ll see each other.

    More on Kobe’s Shoes
    Finally, it’s not just Kobe who’s going to be wearing his new Nike Zoom Kobe IVs; you can expect his teammate like Trevor Ariza to be sporting them as well.

    • Kobe Leads West On First All-Star Ballot

    Published
    by
    Mike Trudell
    on December 11, 2008
    in All-Star 2009, Andrew Bynum, Around the NBA, Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom and Pau Gasol
    . Closed

    Kobe Bryant
    CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR YOUR LAKERS ALL-STARS

    The NBA’s 58th All-Star Game is all set to be played in Phoenix on Sunday, Feb. 15. All it needs is some players.

    One will surely be Kobe Bryant, who after the first ballot returns leads all Western Conference players with 719,252 votes, followed by Yao Ming’s 529,290. That’s not close. Chris Paul follows Bryant at the guard position with 406,220 votes, while Tim Duncan (442,203) and Amar’e Stoudemire (370,470) lead Western Conference forwards. Pau Gasol ranks fifth among forwards with 260,374 votes. At center, Shaquille O’Neal (227,273) trails Yao, and is followed by Mehmet Okur (162,139) and then Andrew Bynum (155,689).

    Let’s take a look at the whole ballot, and then summarize the positioning of each Lakers player:

    2009 Western Conference All-Star Balloting - No. 1
    Forwards: Tim Duncan (SA) 442,203; Amar’e Stoudemire (Pho) 370,470; Carmelo Anthony (Den) 327,233; Dirk Nowitzki (Dal) 261,952; Pau Gasol (LAL) 260,374; Ron Artest (Hou) 214,063; Bruce Bowen (SA) 121,739; Shane Battier (Hou) 115,981; Josh Howard (Dal) 113,456; Luis Scola (Hou) 82,344; Lamar Odom (LAL) 78,422.

    Guards: Kobe Bryant (LAL) 719,252; Chris Paul (NO) 406,220; Tracy McGrady (332,222); Manu Ginobili (SA) 166,981; Jason Kidd (Dal) 162,286; Tony Parker (SA) 161,638; Steve Nash (Pho) 142,410; Jason Terry (Dal) 105,345; Chauncey Billups (Den) 87,172; Brandon Roy (Por) 78,071; Rafer Alston (Hou) 73,613.

    Centers: Yao Ming (Hou) 529,290; Shaquille O’Neal (Pho) 227,273; Mehmet Okur (Utah) 162,139; Andrew Bynum (LAL) 155,689; Greg Oden (Por) 71,366; Andris Biedrins (GS) 65,496; Al Jefferson (Minn) 46,242; Tyson Chandler (NO) 39,467; Marcus Camby (LAC) 25,824; Chris Kaman (LAC) 9,104; Brad Miller (Sac) 6,892.

    Kobe Bryant
    Kobe’s huge lead in the Western Conference should only grow as the season goes on. If Kobe isn’t voted in as a starter for the 11th time in his career (every year but his rookie season and there was no game in 1999), then “The Office” is a terrible show that’s never funny and has bad actors. We don’t even need to bother discussing this.

    Pau Gasol
    Pau’s case is a bit more interesting. First of all, I’ll argue that he should be an All-Star. He’s very clearly been the second-best player on an 18-3 team, and has the numbers to back it up: 18.0 points (20th in the West); 9.2 rebounds (7th); 3.4 assists; 0.95 blocks; and, perhaps most impressively, 57.1 field goal shooting, which ranks fourth in the league behind three players that score mostly on dunks and layups (Nene, Shaq and Emeka Okafor). While Pau is unlikely to be voted in as a starter ahead of Duncan, Amare, ‘Melo or Dirk, one would think that the NBA’s coaches value and respect Gasol’s game enough to put him on the squad. Even if the just mentioned four players all get into the game, it’s hard to think that the coaches would rather have Artest, Bowen, Battier, Howard or Scola, who trail Gasol in votes. A few other players not yet cracking the vote minimum are Carlos Boozer (who’s been hurt); David West, who was an All-Star last season; Zach Randolph, who - no matter what you say about him - is averaging 20 and 11; LaMarcus Aldridge; and Al Jefferson, who’s actually listed as a center but is averaging 21 and 10 and could get in as a forward/center if Minnesota wins a few more games. Yet and still, do you think any of those players are more deserving than Pau? Me either.

    Andrew Bynum
    Unless Sun Yue makes a few calls to China on Bynum’s behalf, it’ll be quite difficult to jump Yao as the West’s starter at center. But there’s a good argument for Bynum being the West’s No. 2 center, particularly when we consider that his numbers should keep improving all the way up to the All-Star Game. Right now, he’s averaging 13.3 points, 8.9 boards (8th in the West), 1.95 blocks (7th in the NBA) and is shooting 56 percent from the floor (9th in the NBA). Andris Biedrins is putting up impressive numbers (15.2 points, 12.4 rebounds) but is on a bad team, just like Al Jefferson. Were Bynum the focal point of a team’s offense (like Al) or its only big man (like Biedrins), his numbers would probably rise to their level. As for the other two besides Yao ahead of ‘Drew, Shaq’s 15.4 and 8.4 are fine, but he doesn’t play the second side of back-to-backs. Okur’s numbers are right there with Shaq at 15.2 and 7.8, but the Turk is really more of a perimeter-oriented player on offense and doesn’t protect the rim on defense. Marcus Camby’s playing well, but Chris Kaman, Brad Miller, Tyson Chandler and Greg Oden shouldn’t threaten Bynum too much - it’ll be more about if Drew’s production continues to progress as it has in the last few weeks. If so, the kid’s first All-Star berth could be his reward.

    Lamar Odom and Derek Fisher
    While Odom’s currently the 11th player in terms of votes on the All-Star ballot, and certainly has All-Star caliber skills, he probably isn’t getting enough playing time on L.A.’s talent-laden squad to make as good of a case as other players. So with Lamar, let’s monitor his play (and minutes) heading into the next round of votes.

    Fisher is the fifth Lakers player on the ballot, but with point guards like Chris Paul, Deron Williams, Tony Parker, Steve Nash, Baron Davis and now Chauncey Billups out West … Well let’s just say it’ll be tough.

    CLICK HERE TO VOTE FOR YOUR LAKERS ALL-STARS

    Wednesday Practice Report

    Published
    by
    Mike Trudell
    on November 26, 2008
    in Lamar Odom, Phil Jackson and Practice News
    . Closed

    Lamar Odom likes stuffing the best, though he isn’t complaining about cranberry sauce.

    Turkey Day aside, Odom and Phil Jackson addressed a few media members subsequent to Wednesday’s practice. Though you can watch the videos for yourself, here’s what stood out to me:

  • Jackson used the word “buoyant” to describe how his players looked on the court Tuesday night, which is interesting diction. The idea is that when so many guys are contributing individually to the team, the general mood is quite positive. Winning of course improves a team’s collective mood, but even more so when nine guys are contributing than five. I’m on board with that theory.
  • Phil explained that Kobe said he’s “Feeling the best he’s ever felt at this time of the season, so that’s a nice thing to hear him say.” Jackson went on to express concern that Bryant’s not shooting the ball with “the kind of accuracy he has in the past,” saying the team would “really (like to) get him going before the trip we take next week.”
  • I asked Odom if there’s anything that’s surprised him about how far along the Lakers are at this stage of the season: “Nah. In the beginning of training camp, I remember the first day we all got together and this is kinda what I had in mind … We had a long summer to sit back and think about what we did wrong, and now we’re just going out there playing hard and playing to win every game. Our chemistry has gotten that much better inside and outside the locker room.”

    Now, if you’re looking for a breakdown of a Dallas Mavericks team that has won five straight after losing five straight, I spent five minutes with assistant coach Jim Cleamons, and that video will be up on Friday morning, when you’re still digesting Thursday evening’s meal.

    • Locker Room Lamar

    Published
    by
    Mike Trudell
    on November 12, 2008
    in Lamar Odom, Podcast and Post-Game
    . Closed

    In the locker room after L.A.’s seventh win in as many tries, I caught up with Lamar Odom. We spoke for a few minutes before he got distracted since Sasha Vujacic didn’t deliver some soap to the locker room. Fair enough.

    Here he is…

     
    icon for podpress  Locker Room Lamar [1:48m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

    Check below for Phil Jackson’s post-game audio.