Archive for the 'Players' Category

Bryant Passes Miller For 13th on NBA Scoring List

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 24, 2010
in Kobe Bryant
. Closed

59720393With a baseline jumper in the second quarter of L.A’s Wednesday evening contest, Kobe Bryant surpassed Reggie Miller for 13th on the NBA’s all-time scoring list with 25,280 points.

Bryant, who passed Jerry West for 14th in Memphis earlier this month, is within reach of Alex English (25,613), John Havlicek (26,395) and Dominique Wilkins (26,668).

Among the names Bryant has passed in the last few years: Larry Bird, Gary Payton, Clyde Drexler, Elgin Baylor, Adrian Dantley, Robert Parish, Charles Barkley, Allen Iverson and Patrick Ewing.

Vujacic Out With Shoulder Sprain

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 22, 2010
in Injury News and Sasha Vujacic
. Closed

In Thursday’s narrow loss to Boston, Sasha Vujacic suffered a grade one sprain of the right shoulder and is expected to miss a few games.

We’ll check in with Vujacic, if possible, after Monday’s practice to see if there’s an update as to his status.

Lakers, Gasol Honored at LA Sports Awards

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 21, 2010
in Miscellaneous and Pau Gasol
. Closed

The Lakers were honored at the LA Sports Awards with the top sports moment of 2009 for the team’s defeat of the Orlando Magic, while Pau Gasol was named “Sportsman of the Year” for his terrific individual year including the Lakers title and his MVP performance in leading Spain to the European title.

Furthermore, Lakers owner Jerry Buss was recognized as “Sports Executive of the Year” as the franchise was thoroughly represented.

The Awards took place on Friday night at L.A. Live’s JW Marriott in a celebration of the city’s greatest athletic achievements of the year.

Bryant Expected to Miss Celtics Game

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 18, 2010
in Injury News and Kobe Bryant
. Closed

After Wednesday’s practice, Kobe Bryant said that his strained peroneal tendon would have to improve drastically overnight for him to play against Boston on Thursday night, but that doesn’t appear to be the case, as we learned after Thursday morning’s shootaround.

When asked if he expected Bryant to play, Phil Jackson said: “Not that I know of.” Assistant coach Frank Hamblen then told us that LA had prepared its scouting report under the assumption that Bryant would not play.

Since the Lakers don’t play their next game until Tuesday in Memphis, it appears that Bryant will have gone 18 days since last playing against Denver on February 5.

Bryant Likely Out Against Boston

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 17, 2010
in Injury News and Kobe Bryant
. Closed

While wearing a pair of sandals that signified his lack of participation in Wednesday’s practice, Kobe Bryant said that he doubted he would be able to play in Thursday’s game against Boston.

“Right now it’s a no,” he said. “(It’s*) still sore … Can’t push off enough to play, so I’ll take my time.”
*UPDATE: Bryant was referring not to his ankle sprain, but a strained peroneal tendon in his lower left leg suffered on Feb. 3 against Charlotte.

Bryant conceded that if he wakes up tomorrow and feels drastically different, he’ll play, but doubts that will happen. On the other hand, he has been very pleased with how his teammates have played without him - they’ve gone 4-0 - and said that’s made it easier on him to take his time recovering fully.

“I think they’re playing with a great sense of urgency,” he said. “They’re playing extremely well at both ends of the floor.”

If Bryant does not play on Thursday, he will have four more full days to recover until L.A.’s two-game road stretch through Memphis and Dallas that takes place on Tuesday and Wednesday, Feb. 23-24, 18 days removed from his last game (Friday, Feb. 5).

That, however, does not affect his playing status, as his injury philosophy remains the same.

“If you’re healthy, you play, it doesn’t matter what the upcoming schedule is,” he concluded.

Fisher Six Points From 9,000

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 17, 2010
in Derek Fisher
. Closed

After scoring 11 points against Golden State on Tuesday, Derek Fisher moved to within six points of 9,000 for his career.

With the Lakers, Fisher has scored 6,202 points to vault past Wilt Chamberlain (5,985) into 17th place in franchise history. Next up for Fish is Elden Campbell (16th, 6,408).

Kobe Bryant Nets GQ Cover

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 17, 2010
in Kobe Bryant
. Closed

Kobe Bryant has nabbed the March cover of GQ for an extended feature story, detailed below by the magazine:

For fourteen grueling seasons, Kobe Bryant has cracked, fractured, strained, torn, cut, bruised, nicked, and risked every party of his finely tuned self. And he’s got the rings – and the scars – to show for it. In the March issue of GQ (on newsstands nationwide February 23), J.R. Moehringer sits down with the notoriously private, Lakers co-captain to discuss his many injuries, going to the Olympics, and his famously volatile relationship with Shaq.

Here’s the cover:

kobegqcover500

Kobe Bryant Doubtful for Warriors

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 16, 2010
in Injury News and Kobe Bryant
. Closed

58932081Kobe Bryant (left ankle), who has missed LA’s last three regular season games in addition to Sunday’s All-Star Game, is doubtful to play in Tuesday’s game against Golden State.

This comes as somewhat of a surprise considering that Bryant participated fully in Monday’s practice, leading to these comments from Phil Jackson.

“He said he didn’t have the normal strength he’d like to have, but it’ll come back,” Jackson said. “That is just getting back in the flow and getting some strength there again, reconditioning it. He hasn’t played in two weeks, so there’s a lot of things that he was trying out and trying to figure out … but he’ll come (around).”

At Tuesday morning’s shootaround, however, the team was disappointed with how Bryant’s ankle responded to Monday’s practice, according to Lakers spokesman John Black.

Bryant will continue to be evaluated on a day-to-day basis.

Pau Gasol Post All-Star Quotes

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 14, 2010
in All-Star 2010 and Pau Gasol
. Closed

Pau GasolAfter his Western Conference team’s narrow 141-139 loss to the Eastern Conference in the 2010 All-Star Game in Dallas, Lakers forward Pau Gasol - who scored 13 points with six rebounds - joined respective media members for a Q&A session:

Q: On accomplishing his dual goals of having fun and staying healthy:
Gasol: We accomplished both goals. It was fun game, an unbelievable crowd, incredible stadium. Definitely a one-of-a-kind experience. I was tearing up. I couldn’t believe how many people came to the game and supported us and enjoyed the game. Really, really pleased that I had a chance to experience this. I look forward to continue to be apart of other All-Star weekends.

Q: On always playing to win:
Gasol: Sometimes I think about it, but it’s hard to get loose out there. You try not to make mistakes, even though it’s a game (where) you have to try and put on a good show. My goal is always to try and help the team win.

Q: On the crowd:
Gasol: It looked like a lot, a lot of people. It’s hard to get a feel for how many were there. We thought there were going to be 90,000-plus, but we didn’t know there were going to be over 100,000. It was great to feel the love.

59603495Q: On playing 20 minutes and 18 seconds:
Gasol: You can always play more, you can always play less. I’m thankful that the coach put me out there for as long as he put me out there.

Q: On shooting in a different type of stadium:
Gasol: It’s a different feeling, but once you get over that … because the dimensions are so different and the crowd is so far away and the building is humongous, you get used to it and it’s still just basketball.

Q: On Kobe Bryant looking a bit antsy on the sideline:
Gasol: I’m sure he would have loved to have been apart of the game. He would have enjoyed it. I’m sorry that he missed it, especially in close games. I (thought), oh I hope it doesn’t get too close, because he loves those kinds of shots in those kinds of situations … You always miss one of the best players in the world.

Q: On the potential of playing the All-Star game in a European city one day:
Gasol: I’m sure there are a lot of (good venues). Obviously, personally I would love for it to be in Barcelona, so (the people) would get to enjoy this kind of environment and this party of basketball. Anywhere would be interesting, but it’s hard to do it in the middle of the season.

Q: On the whole weekend:
Gasol: There was a lot going on, a lot of media availability, a lot of commitments and appearances. They keep us pretty busy, but at the same time, it’s fun to be apart of it. I think it’s a great honor to be named an All-Star, and it’s a party of basketball. It’s a good break from the daily routine that we go through, and now it’s over and we have to get back to work.

Q: On L.A.’s momentum heading into the post-break stretch:
Gasol: The momentum is there. We finished with a nice three-game swing and we were playing really well. Now we want to continue to play well and build on it. We’re ready for those 28 regular season games that we have left, and then getting back a playoff mindset.

Q: On the stadium:
Gasol: Unbelievable, incredible. I’ve never been to a football stadium before, I’ve been to a couple of soccer stadiums. But never like this, a once-in-a-lifetime experience for us.

Video: Gasol Warming Up

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 14, 2010
in All-Star 2010 and Pau Gasol
. Closed

About two hours before the 2010 All-Star Game at the more-than-impressive Cowboy’s Stadium, Pau Gasol began going through his usual series of pregame warmups.

The Spaniard, like his fellow All-Stars, was very excited about playing in front of the biggest crowd in the history of basketball.

“I’m really looking forward to getting the game started soon,” he said. “This place is really amazing.”

Gasol did concede that he won’t allow the buzz in the arena to change the way he plays his game, as he said his primary concern is staying healthy for another Lakers championship run.