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Lakers big man Pau Gasol was one of the few guys wearing purple that wasn’t in constant foul trouble tonight against the Nuggets. Subsequently he carried the Lakers offense in the first half and buoyed the team on the boards (16 rebounds) with Andrew Bynum only logging 21 minutes.
In this post-game interview Pau talks about how the Lakers were able to win tonight in Denver.
Before L.A. goes for its third-straight win to start the 2008-09 campaign, I sat down in the locker room not to talk Nuggets - we’ve already done plenty of that - but to talk Slovenia with Sasha Vujacic. Sasha covered Slovenian women, food and music in comparison to American versions of those topics.
Here’s the conversation:
As for the game tonight, Phil Jackson in his pregame media access primarily repeated what we’ve heard the last two days, specifically that he expects a big effort from a Nuggets team still mad about last year’s playoff drubbing. Other than that, he joked around about why he keeps shaving his beard, saying he likes to keep photographers guessing about his expressions.
You can check back with us at about 7 p.m. (that’d be 6 p.m. L.A. time) for the live running diary in Denver’s season opener at the Pepsi Center.
Before we took off for Denver, I spent a few minutes with Chris Mihm on the practice court to get his take on the transition from practice to the plane.
Here’s what Mihm, who was the last Laker player on the floor as he worked alongside assistant coach Kurt Rambis, had to say:
The talk surrounding Andrew Bynum’s contract extension was pretty much universally positive after practice today. From Mitch Kupchak to Phil Jackson to Andrew himself, everyone seems to think it was a nice deal for all involved.
Not only do the Lakers have another of their key pieces locked up long term, but now everyone can get down to the business on the court without having to worry about the business off of it.
“I think both management and Drew’s people understand that it’s probably as good a thing as can happen for both ends. For us as a team it’s really great because now he’s settled into the season and you don’t have to think about that anymore,” Jackson said.
As much as we’d all like to believe that these kind of things don’t effect a players performance, they can. Andrew admitted that it wouldn’t have been a big deal, but it would have been something he thought about.
“That would have added a little bit more pressure I think. It’s definitely a sigh of relief to get it off your shoulders, but it would have been my same philosophy–just go out there and play, everything will take care of itself,” said Bynum.
Andrew also reiterated his excitement for this squad and their potential. “To be a Laker, which I want to be for life, and to play with Kobe & Pau and the rest of the gang. It would be nice get three or four (championships) before Kob does what he does.”
On to Denver
Now that the financials are taken care of the team can focus on their trip to Denver. In their two games this season the Lakers have been nothing short of dominant, but this will be their first real game on the road as well as Carmelo Anthony’s first game of the season (Melo was suspended for the first two games due to a DUI conviction).
“They’ll be full of vim and vigor when he comes out there to play. He’s an emotional guy and has tremendous energy as a player. They’ll be on a back-to-back but they’ll still be ready,” said Jackson.
Video from the Locker Room following the Lakers 117-79 victory over the Clippers on Wednesday night.
 Bynum, Ariza, Odom Post-Game |
 Pau Gasol 1-on-1 |
And they did it by 38 points.
Easily the most impressive part of L.A.’s second-consecutive blowout win to start the season* was that the Lakers, collectively, did not let up on the crosstown Clippers for even a minute of the 117-79 annihilation at STAPLES Center Tuesday. A few bullet points elucidate that fact:
*L.A. beat Portland 96-76 on the front end of the back-to-back.
Stay tuned on lakers.com for a 1-on-1 video interview with Pau Gasol, plus a montage of Lamar Odom, Trevor Ariza and Andrew Bynum.
Later.
Before the first of four “Battle for L.A.” - eh, on second thought, that’s kind of a lame phrase - takes place at STAPLES Center, we put a mic in front of Lakers head coach Phil Jackson and forward Josh Powell.
To the media, Jackson emphasized his team’s need to continue what was a terrific defensive effort on opening night, and said that he and his staff think they understand what the Clippers are going to bring to the table.
Afterwards, I spent a few minutes with Powell (and Young Geezy) since he played for the Clips last year, even though only five players remain from their 2007-08 roster.
Here’s Phil & JP:
Phil Jackson Pre-Game: Clippers [7:38m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download Josh Powell Pre-Game: Clippers [3:12m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | DownloadIf you haven’t seen the Activision “Guitar Hero World Tour” commercial featuring Kobe, Michael Phelps, Alex Rodriguez and Tony Hawk … Well, just watch it.
After completing a media session following Monday’s practice, Bryant comically fielded some questions about the video.
See it for yourself…
1) Your team, the L.A. Lakers, was picked before the season by a majority of NBA general managers to win the title in June. Many were influenced in large part by your return to the team after last January’s knee injury.
2) The Philadelphia Phillies destroyed Tampa like Daniel vs. Cobra Kai in game four the night before your b-day to take a commanding 3-1 lead. Beast Cole Hamels is set to pitch game five at home. The last time a Philly team won a championship was in 1983 when Dr. J’s 76ers beat your Lakers.
3) Illinois Senator Barak Obama could become the nation’s first African American president just eight days after your birthday, should all recent polling prove accurate on November 4, 2008. This will be the first election in which you can vote for your candidate of choice.
4) One of Wall Street’s worst months in history is about to come to a close, but now’s a good time to buy some real estate, ‘Drew!
5) Pop star Christina Aguilera is debuting her new music video “Keeps Gettin’ Better” on the internet, not MTV. Music videos actually existed when you were born.
6) Kim Kardashian celebrated her 28th birthday just six days before your 21st, though she was mostly at the hospital caring for her boo Reggie Bush, who was recovering from minor surgery on his knee.
FROM LAKERS.com
