Archive for the 'Players' Category

Fisher Beats Bryant to 1,000 … By a Game

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 10, 2010
in Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant
. Closed

Derek FisherThe Lakers acquired Kobe Bryant, the 13th pick of the 1996 NBA Draft, by trading Vlade Divac to the Charlotte Hornets. Eleven picks later, they selected Derek Fisher.

Fast forward to February 10, 2010, and both players entered a Wednesday evening game in Utah with 999 career games played.

How about that?

“I didn’t realize it until someone told me today,” said Fisher. “I probably won’t say anything to Kobe just yet … but at some point, I’m definitely going to give him a hard time about it.”

Bryant would have become the first to 1,000 had he played in Portland or against San Antonio, but a sprained ankle kept him out of both contests, the first he had missed since Dec. 8, 2006.

All Fisher had to do to catch up was play in literally every game since April 13 of the 2004-05 season, when he missed a game for the Golden State Warriors with knee inflammation. Since then, he’s appeared in 384 consecutive games, and finally Fisher has one up on Kobe.

“It’s one thing I can say I did before him,” said Fisher. “He’s been the fastest to everything else.”

Dedication
How has Fisher done it? Lakers Director of Athletic Performance Chip Schaefer needed just one word to describe it: “Dedication.”

Then he added a few more.

“He’s dedicated to a set of principals and a way to live his life that include proper rest and recovery, proper nutrition, hydration and a nutrient-based diet, training and preparing mentally,” said Schaefer. “For a trainer, he’s just the best. It’s all you can ask for.”

Bryant, Odom on Team USA’s Initial Roster

Published
by
Ty Nowell
on February 10, 2010
in Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom
. Closed

blog_100210bryantodom_teamusaLakers Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom have been named to USA Basketball’s initial 27-man roster that will compete in various events between 2010-2012 leading up to the 2012 London Olympic games.

Bryant joins eight other returning members of the 2008 team that captured gold in Beijing.

“This is another important step in the reassembling of the USA National Team for the next three years of competitions that will include the FIBA World Championship in 2010, and if we qualify, the 2012 Olympics in London. Unlike 2006-08 when we were first starting the program, this time we have the benefit of including players who were members of the last national team, while also incorporating players who were involved in our pipeline the last couple of summers,” said Jerry Colangelo, who also served as Managing Director of the 2006-08 USA National Team.

Odom is no stranger to international competition as he was a member of the 2004 team that played in Greece.

For the full roster visit USAbasketball.com

Kobe Bryant Out Against Spurs

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 8, 2010
in Injury News and Kobe Bryant
. Closed

The first question asked of Phil Jackson in Monday’s pregame presser was, of course, regarding the status of Kobe Bryant for the evening’s game against the San Antonio Spurs.

“Kobe’s not going to play tonight,” said Jackson.

On Saturday night in Portland, Bryant had missed his first game since Dec. 8, 2006, due to injury because of a sprained left ankle upon which he had an MRI on Monday morning. Jackson said that he was “not informed enough to talk about” the results of the exam, but said that Bryant wants to play in Utah on Wednesday.

“I think if he feels like he can play, he’s going to play,” said Jackson. “He’s not going to sit out just because that might extend the duration (for) which he doesn’t have to play.”

As such, Bryant will be re-evaluated on Tuesday morning, and again on Wednesday prior to the game in Salt Lake City, L.A.’s last before the All-Star break.

Kobe Bryant a Game-Time Decision vs. S.A.

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 8, 2010
in Injury News and Kobe Bryant
. Closed

Kobe Bryant, who on Saturday in Portland missed his first game since Dec. 8, 2006, had an MRI exam on his sprained ankle Monday morning and is a game-time decision for the San Antonio game.

Phil Jackson said after Monday’s shootaround that the results of the exam would not be available until later on in the evening. Jackson will likely address the issue during his pregame media session at STAPLES Center.

Andrew Bynum Out Against San Antonio

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 8, 2010
in Andrew Bynum and Injury News
. Closed

Andrew Bynum, who suffered a hip contusion against Portland on Saturday evening, will miss Monday’s game against San Antonio, according to Lakers Head Coach Phil Jackson.

Bynum had missed only two of L.A.’s first 52 games.

Artest Doing It From Distance

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 8, 2010
in Ron Artest
. Closed

59491155Among the reasons Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak was eager to get Ron Artest into L.A.’s doors in the offseason was the forward’s solid three-point shooting.

And after a slow start, Artest has gotten hot from distance, improving to 40.1 percent from three-point range to lead the Lakers:

Lakers Three-Point Percentage (minimum 50 attempts):
1) Ron Artest - 40.1
2) Sasha Vujacic - 35.8
3) Derek Fisher - 35.0
4) Jordan Farmar - 34.7
5) Shannon Brown - 33.3
6) Kobe Bryant - 32.7
7) Lamar Odom - 29.5

Artest has been particularly hot in February, nailing 8-of-13 attempts, including three straight big ones to turn the tide of L.A.’s road win in Portland on Saturday:

Artest Month-by-Month From Three
October/November: 39.1 percent
December: 32.7 percent
January: 43.1 percent
February: 61.5 percent

Among a few explanations for Artest’s increased accuracy is his improved understanding of L.A.’s offense - thus, where to get his shots - and his improved health, which he detailed after the Lakers win in Philadelphia on Jan. 29.

Artest, a career 34.7 percent shooter from three that shot 39.9 percent last season, currently ranks 23rd in the NBA in three-point percentage; the No. 10 spot (42.9 percent) is well within range particularly if his shooting trend continues.

Bynum Pushing Through Sore Left Knee

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 6, 2010
in Andrew Bynum and Injury News
. Closed

Late in L.A.’s win over Charlotte on Wednesday, Andrew Bynum collided knees with the Bobcats’ Stephen Jackson, which he said affected his movement in that game and Friday night’s loss to Denver.

“It’s bothering me, but I’m going to play through it and get some rest over the All-Star break,” said Bynum. “But it’s not anything too bad.”

So, while Bynum doesn’t have full range of motion in his knee, it’s not something he’s confident won’t be a lasting issue.

To help appease the problem, Bynum is wearing a Styrofoam pad under a knee sleeve on his left knee, and he continues to wear a larger brace on his right knee. That right knee is the one that Bynum spent much of the offseason strengthening after tearing his right MCL last Jan. 31st in Memphis.

Bryant Expected To Play Vs. Nuggets

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 5, 2010
in Injury News and Kobe Bryant
. Closed

Despite aggravating his ankle sprain against Charlotte on Wednesday, Kobe Bryant is expected to play against Denver on Friday.

Phil Jackson confirmed as much subsequent to Friday morning’s shootaround at L.A.’s practice facility, saying that Bryant participated in limited fashion, though he received treatment during some of the drills.

That Bryant would again battle through an injury comes as no surprise, of course; in fact, Kobe has not missed a game due to injury since Dec. 8, 2006 against Atlanta, when he sat with a newly sprained ankle before returning two days later.

Denver is dealing with its own ankle injury, as All-Star Carmelo Anthony has missed six consecutive games with a sprained ankle, and told Yahoo! Sports that he would not play until it was 100 percent.

The Lakers won’t officially know Anthony’s status until game time, however, and Phil Jackson said that L.A. would prepare for both his inclusion and his exclusion from the contest.

Bryant A Game-Time Decision For Friday

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 4, 2010
in Injury News and Kobe Bryant
. Closed

Kobe Bryant, who on Wednesday aggravated a sprained left ankle that he originally suffered in Philadelphia last Friday, spent Thursday afternoon’s practice in full rehabilitation mode.

“He’s working with it,” said Phil Jackson. “He didn’t come out on the court and practice. He’s trying a variety of therapies on it right now to see what will work for him.”

Jackson said he’s sure that Bryant wants to play on Friday against Denver, as he always does, but that the team will have to wait and see how he feels before the game.

A regular question this season regarding Bryant - who’s played through a motley crew of injuries - has been whether or not Jackson has thought about shutting him down.

“It occurred to me yesterday during (L.A.’s win over Charlotte), but I told him he really did quite well during the game,” the head coach responded. “His shooting was 2-for-12, (but) a lot of those balls were dropped on him as the 24-second clock was running out.”

Jackson explained that Bryant kept the team running its offense, played good defense and generally did good things for the Lakers, and as long as that is the case, Jackson has maintained that he won’t keep Kobe off the floor.

Bryant uncharacteristically admitted that he was hurting in his postgame address to the media on Wednesday, but he wasn’t available for comment on Thursday. Yet and still, it certainly wouldn’t surprise Bryant’s teammates to see him in the starting lineup on Friday.

“He usually plays 82 games,” said Lamar Odom. “That wheel is going to really have to hurt for him not to play.”

Lamar Odom Nears Historical Mark

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on February 3, 2010
in Lamar Odom
. Closed

Lamar OdomSo natural and unique is his game and his contribution, Lamar Odom has at least to a certain degree existed under the radar throughout his NBA career.

Yet with just eight more assists, the lanky lefty will become the seventh fastest player in league history to reach 6,000 career rebounds and 3,000 assists, a true mark of his versatility.

In 714 career games, Odom has amassed 10,584 points, 2,992 dimes and 6,338 rebounds, and is set to join an extremely impressive club of 3,000 and 6,000:

1) Larry Bird (574 games)
2) Chris Webber (667)
3) Kevin Garnett (681)
4) Oscar Robertson (688)
5) Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (691)
6) Wilt Chamberlain (691)

If Odom doesn’t drop eight assists on Wednesday evening against the Bobcats, he’ll likely do so on Friday against Denver, which would tie him for 7th place alongside Lakers legend Elgin Baylor with 716 games.

Not too bad, huh?