Archive for the 'Podcast' Category

Previewing the Suns with Kurt Rambis

Assistant Coach Kurt Rambis previews the Phoenix Suns before Thursday night’s showdown. Check out Lakers Gameday for the full preview.

 
icon for podpress  Talking with Kurt Rambis [2:40m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Wednesday Practice

Before the Lakers headed to the team plane bound for Phoenix, Phil Jackson stopped to talk to the media about last night’s win over the Bulls and Thursday night’s showdown with the Suns.

  • Phoenix isn’t the run-and-gun team that they were under Mike D’Antoni but that doesn’t mean they can’t score. They still like to get out and push the ball and light up the scoreboard.
  • Vladimir Radmanovic has been struggling with his shot, the numbers show it. Much of that can be attributed to how his teammates are setting him up. Vladi only took four shots over the course of 26-minutes last night (making one) and Jackson commented that only one other was a good look. “He’s a great shooter, we all know it, he’s got great range. How we set him up is important.”
  • In commenting on the trade that sent Shaquille O’Neal to Phoenix from Miami last season Phil said it was more about the Suns reaching a high point with their current group. That point wasn’t a championship so they made a move to give themselves a shot at reaching a higher point. “To go any farther towards the goal that is the championship they thought that maybe they should make the change. It was a philosophical change of a basketball philosophy that I think makes sense. They had knocked at the door a little bit and hadn’t got past the finals in the West. This is probably the time for them to try and get it while the window is still open, so to speak, with the group they have.”
  • The Lakers don’t have anyone seriously injured at the moment but a lot of guys are nicked up. “That’s what the season’s about. Working through injuries and getting back to as close to 100% as you can be,” said Jackson. Andrew Bynum walked out of practice with his knee wrapped but it doesn’t appear to be serious. “He’s alright. This is something he’s going to go through a little bit now and then. He got a little bang in the knee. We’re always conscious about that part of it,” Phil mentioned. Sasha Vujacic and Radmanovic are also less than 100% but will play through their ailments.

    Click below to listen to Phil or check out our video page here to watch it.

     
    icon for podpress  Phil Jackson Practice Audio [4:49m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
  • Previewing the Bulls with Ben Shields

    To preview Tuesday’s game against the Chicago Bulls, Lakers Reporter Mike Trudell called up his college buddy Ben Shields, who spent eight years watching the Bulls while getting his doctorate in media technology and society from Northwestern University. The co-author of a sports marketing book called “The Elusive Fan - Reinventing Sports in a Crowded Marketplace,” Shields also happens to have a silky smooth jump shot.

    The first part of the conversation focused on Chicago’s coaching change, the 5-5 Derrick Rose-inspired start to the season, the worth of Ben Gordon and Luol Deng and more. After talking hoops, Shields gave his take on Chicago’s hiring of veteran sports writer Sam Smith, who now writes exclusively for Bulls.com, marking a significant change in the industry.

     
    icon for podpress  Talking with Ben Shields [22:01m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

    Previewing the Pistons with Keith Langlois

    Before the Lakers go up against each opponent, we like to spend a few minutes picking the brain of someone who follows that respective opponent personally. In this case, we got ahold of Pistons.com editor Keith Langlois, who spoke to us prior to Detroit’s 107-102 win in Golden State on Thursday night. That win was the second straight for the Pistons after two losses after the acquisition of Allen Iverson.

    You can listen to the entire interview on our Gameday page under the “Lakers.com Preview” tab.

    A few subjects we tackled:

    A) How A.I. fits in with his new teammates
    B) Why the trade (AI to Detroit for Chauncey Billups, Antonio McDyess and Cheikh Samb) was made in the first place
    C) How much Rodney Stuckey’s presence in Motown factored in
    D) Rasheed Wallace, on and off the court
    E) Shooting struggles for Richard Hamilton
    F) Boston vs. Cleveland
    G) The rise of the Eastern Conference
    H) Facing a 7-0 Lakers team

    A few other things to keep in mind:

    1) Detroit’s veterans played big minutes last night, including 46 from Tayshaun Prince, 43 from AI, 40 from Hamilton and 39 from Wallace.
    2) Rodney Stuckey didn’t play against the Warriors due to “dizziness” and is day-to-day.
    3) The Pistons probably won’t be able to use the small lineup they utilized for most of the Warriors game (AI, Arron Afflalo, Hamilton, Prince and Wallace) against a big Lakers’ lineup.
    4) The Lakers play 7-of-8 games at STAPLES Center before a trip through Indianapolis,

    Check back on the BaseketBlog before, during and after the game for complete coverage.

     
    icon for podpress  Talking with Keith Langlois [18:51m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

    Locker Room Lamar

    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.

    Phil Jackson Post-Game Audio

    Head Coach Phil Jackson’s post-game media session.

     
    icon for podpress  Phil Jackson Post-Game [4:30m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

    Lakers 93, Hornets 86: Postgame

    “We sucked the joy out of a good victory.”

    That was Phil Jackson’s postgame quote about a game that L.A. thoroughly dominated for about 42 minutes before allowing the Hornets to get within three points at 83-80 before Kobe Bryant made a shot so tough that, realistically, few if any other players in the league would have even attempted.

    With James Posey draped to him like stink on an NFL offensive lineman, the shot clock down to one and a glass circle seemingly covering L.A.’s rim, Bryant somehow got a flat, 26-foot, fading bomb to go down that restored normalcy to a furious Hornets’ comeback.

    Though out of rhythm as he largely deferred early in the contest, Bryant managed 20 points (including nine free throws), the same total reached by a very solid Derek Fisher, who canned four threes in the first half that pushed L.A. to a 51-30 lead at the break. No misprint there … L.A.’s swarming defense (and some missed open Hornets looks, to be fair) held the Hornets to only 30 points in the entire first half. New Orleans managed to pull only two points back in the third quarter before scoring more points (34) in the fourth than in that first half, but it just wasn’t enough to beat the Lakers.

    Phil Jackson shortened the rotation a bit to nine players (Odom, Ariza, Farmar and Vujacic off the bench), while New Orleans showed its lack of depth by giving minutes to Mike James, Hilton Armstrong, Rasual Butler and Devin Brown. A solid defensive game plan effectively trapped CP3 all over the court before that big N.O. run, keyed in part by Andrew Bynum’s defensive presence, which produced four blocks and changed several other shots. L.A.’s now the only undefeated team in the league with Detroit coming to town on Friday.

    A few numbers:

  • 0 - Times the Hornets led the Lakers in a wire-to-wire L.A. victory.
  • 3 - More points Bryant needs to tie Larry Bird on the NBA’s all-time scoring list to rank 23rd all-time. He’s trying to get to 21,791.
  • 4 - First-half threes from Fisher, a big boost for the Lakers after he missed all four of his threes Tuesday night in Dallas.
  • 9 - Turnovers by the Lakers, a season low. New Orleans didn’t climb back in the fourth because of TOs, but because of missed Lakers shots (6-for-15).
  • 16 - Fourth-quarter points for Chris Paul, more than his 14 in the first three quarters. Many of those hoops came far too easily. Paul added 13 assists and seven boards, though most of his production came far too late. The Lakers actually did a terrific job on him for 40 minutes.
  • 27.9 - New Orleans’ shooting percentage in the first half after making just 12-of-43 shots.
  • 66.7 - New Orleans’ shooting percentage in the second half on 22-of-33 shooting.

    Up next for L.A., the Pistons on Friday. Here’s Derek Fisher in the locker room:

     
    icon for podpress  Fisher Postgame Audio [1:52m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download
  • Lakers 106, Mavericks 99: Postgame

    Finally getting four quarters of good basketball from an opponent, the Lakers raised their collective game enough in the second half to emerge with an impressive W in a hostile American Airlines Arena in Dallas.

    The best stretch of the game came just after an explosive Gerald Green dunk that put the Mavs up 81-76 at the start of the fourth, when a 7-0 run featuring a Sasha Vujacic three, Lamar Odom finish in the lane and Trevor Ariza two-handed flush from the baseline gave L.A. a lead it would not concede. Nine points in the next two minutes from Kobe Bryant, some of which were of the truly special variety, helped build an eight-point Lakers lead, and a collectively strong defensive effort that limited Dallas to 20 fourth-quarter points sealed the deal.

    A few key stats:

  • L.A. held Dallas to 39 points in the second half after allowing 60 in the first half.
  • Pau Gasol was a key factor in Dirk Nowitzki’s 5-for-17 shooting night, and the Spaniard put up a 22 and 11 double-double in return.
  • Trevor Ariza’s block of a potential game-tying Jerry Stackhouse three in the corner made me think of Hakim Warrick’s National Championship sealing swat against Kansas. He finished with 13 points, six boards, three steals, a block and a dime in a very impressive 28 minutes.
  • Jason Kidd tallied the 101st triple-double of his career behind 16 points, 11 rebounds and 10 assists, not to mention four steals. It’s a testament to how great the game was that the fans really had no idea when Kidd’s 10th assist came with only 13 seconds left on the clock. He still trails Magic Johnson (138) and Oscar Robertson (181) for the all-time record.
  • Kobe Bryant finished with a game-high 27 points, including that ridiculous fourth-quarter stretch.
  • L.A. was outrebounded for the first time this season, 54-58, but forced 22 Dallas turnovers to make up for it.
  • The last time L.A. started a season 6-0 was in 2001-02, the last time the Lakers won the NBA championship.
  • Jackson coached his 1,400th game, becoming only the 13th coach in NBA history to do so. More impressively, he boasts the best win percentage in history, winning 70.1 percent of his games (982-418).

    Finally, here’s what Jackson had to say after the contest:

     
    icon for podpress  Phil Jackson Post-Game [4:25m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

    I’ll have to trust you to pull out Jackson’s best points yourself, because if I don’t get off the bus and onto the plane in the next two minutes, Mychal Thompson and Stu Lantz are likely to knock me around, and that doesn’t sound like a good idea.

  • Lakers - Mavericks Pregame

    Spero Dedes and I talked about it earlier today - this edition of the Dallas Mavericks, even with many of the same players, is much different from that which won 67 games two years ago.

    Yet and still, the Lakers didn’t seem overconfident heading into Tuesday night’s game at American Airlines Arena in Dallas. I spent a few minutes talking to Lamar Odom, Sasha Vujacic, Derek Fisher and Chris Mihm, and their collective message was the same: this Dallas team is better than its 2-4 record. Sometimes players will offer the company line of respect prior to a game just out of habit, but that didn’t seem to be the case here … And that’s good, because overconfidence or indifference generally equals a loss in the NBA, especially on the road.

    So while those of us that just get to look at the numbers might think the Mavericks have slipped considerably, the Lakers players and coaches want to see for themselves.

    At the usual time, Phil Jackson addressed collected media, addressing Dr. Jerry Buss’s comment about hoping to have Phil around for several years, addressing the difference between an Avery Johnson/Rick Carlisle coached team and more.

    Here’s the audio:

     
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    Juice Bar Mavericks Conversation

    Down at the juice bar (have to admit, the first one I’ve ever been to) at our Dallas hotel, Lakers radio voice Spero Dedes and I took some time to chat about a struggling 2-4 Dallas Mavericks team prior to Tuesday evening’s 7:30 p.m. tip against the Lakers.

    After dropping a 103-92 road game to the previously winless L.A. Clippers, Dirk Nowitzki - who has had three 30-point games - had this to say:

    “If you don’t compete hard, it’s not about X’s and O’s. You can run whatever play you want. You can have all the schemes you want defensively. We’ve just got to push ourselves to play harder. I don’t know what’s going on. We don’t leave it all out there.”

    Spero had a good point about the quote, that it’s not something you hear from players until they’re starting to panic. And it’s quite early in the season for that…

    Alas, Dedes and I talked about that comment, chatted about Josh Howard (who’s day-to-day with a sprained wrist) and Jason Kidd (who certainly hasn’t turned the Mavs around) and also paused while his spread of berries and granola was delivered by the waiter. Finally, let me apologize if you hear any interference in the audio interview … Just remember, journalists, don’t put your recording device anywhere near an iPhone, or that’s the sound you’ll hear. My bad on that one.

    Here’s the audio:

     
    icon for podpress  Mavericks Preview with Spero [8:43m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download