Stay up to day with the latest news, updates, and press conferences from your Los Angeles Lakers.
During his pregame meeting with the media Phil Jackson officially ruled forwards Luke Walton and Pau Gasol out of tonight’s contest against the Charlotte Bobcats.
Walton has been battling a slight hamstring strain, while Gasol has been experiencing minor back pain since early in the week.
Forward Lamar Odom will be a game time decision after suffering shin contusion in Thursday’s win over the Sacramento Kings.
After preseason games at their homes away from home (Anaheim, Inglewood & Las Vegas), the Lakers return to the friendly confines of STAPLES Center in downtown Los Angeles for games this Saturday and Sunday.
The Charlotte Bobcats, Utah Jazz and fellow STAPLES Center tenant Los Angeles Clippers will join the Lakers for the two day shootout event.
The Clippers and Jazz kick off the action at 4:30pm on Saturday with the Lakers hosting the Bobcats at 7:30pm (FS West/710ESPN).
Sunday’s slate features winners playing winners and losers playing losers with the Lakers locked into the 7:30pm start time against either the Clippers or Jazz.
Your ticket for each day is good for both games on the corresponding day.
If you don’t have tickets yet, visit Ticketmaster. SATURDAY | SUNDAY
The big news out of the pregame interviews was that Jameer Nelson will dress and will “probably” play according to Magic head coach Stan Van Gundy, a surprise as it was reported earlier on Thursday that he likely would NOT play.
Here’s Van Gundy’s quote:
We’re going to dress him today and probably play him. Some ways not a difficult decision because it just comes down to trying to make a decision that we think gives us the best chance to win. The easiest decision would have been to not play him … He would have understood and it wouldn’t have disrupted our rotation. He’s ready to go, we think he can put some pressure on their defense.”
The plan is to put Nelson in off the bench when starter Rafer Alston takes a seat. Van Gundy said the Magic will stick with him regardless of how well or poorly he plays.
Injured Orlando Magic point guard Jameer Nelson, who addressed media members yesterday at STAPLES Center, is not expected to play in Game 1 and is unlikely to play in the NBA Finals, according to the Orlando Sentinel.
Nelson hadn’t played for the Magic since tearing the labrum in his right shooting shoulder on Feb. 2, but had been trying to come back early from his scheduled 6-month recovery schedule.
Nelson had been most effective for Orlando as a scorer, thanks to his 50.3 percent shooting percentage from the field, 45.3 percent from three and 88.7 percent from the line. His 5.4 assists per game also led the Magic in the regular season, and his 27.5 points per game against the Lakers were the key to Orlando’s season sweep.
Nelson explained on Wednesday afternoon that his shooting rhythm was, as expected, not what it had been during the season, and that if he played in the Finals it would be in a limited capacity. But apparently, he won’t be playing at all, but of course we won’t know for certain until the games have been played.
*****UPDATE 4:35 p.m. … Jameer Nelson WILL dress and probably play, so disregard this entire post.
If you want to focus on one thing in particular that could determine who wins Wednesday’s Game 5 between L.A. and Denver, check the boards.
Assistant coach Frank Hamblen joined us to talk about the importance of cleaning the glass (Denver won that battle 58-40 in Game 2), getting the ball into the post, containing the Nuggets’ bench and more.
CLICK HERE to get to the Lakers.com Gameday Page and scroll down for the video.
Assistant coach Frank Hamblen joined us to preview L.A.’s second game in Denver, detailing his team’s focus on stopping the Nuggets’ penetration, controlling Denver’s bench and keeping the home team off the free throw line.
Hamblen also talked about how L.A. was able to twice steal key Denver inbound passes, and the importance of getting quality possessions on offense and matching the Nuggets’ energy.
To watch, CLICK HERE.
Frank Hamblen joined us once again to talk about countering Denver’s Game 1 advantage on the low block, defending Carmelo Anthony and the importance of winning the bench battle.
You can watch from our Gameday page by CLICKING HERE.
A few other things upon which to keep an eye:
A) Andrew Bynum’s presence early, and how it affects what Pau Gasol’s able to do at both ends of the floor.
B) L.A.’s defensive adjustment, which should be designed to limit the easy buckets Denver got early on: As Hamblen pointed out, 19 of Denver’s first 20 field goals in the first half came from their starting front line, and the Lakers coaches aren’t planning a repeat.
C) How quickly the ball moves within L.A.’s offense as Denver sends multiple defenders at Bryant, which should create more touches in better position for Bynum and Gasol. Furthermore, when Odom’s in the game, the interior passing becomes even more dangerous.
Remember, tip time is again early, at 6 p.m.
Lakers assistant coach Craig Hodges knows everything you can know about shooting the basketball. That’s what he does.
As such, I thought his opinion on Derek Fisher’s 1-for-14 3-point shooting slump in L.A.’s second round series with Houston would be interesting. Perhaps most pertinent was his complete confidence that missing shots was far out of Fisher’s mind heading into Game 7, because that’s how it was for him.
Here’s part of our interchange:
MT: Coach, do you remember going through a shooting slump in a playoff series like Fisher’s?
Hodges: I couldn’t even tell you. I don’t remember misses. I only thought about makes, ever. The last thing I wanted to do was visualize the ball not going in the hoop.
MT: Really? Literally?
Hodges: I’m telling you. I didn’t even let one miss stay in my memory for one second. The only thing a miss does is prepare you for your next shot. That’s it.
If Fisher’s thinking like Hodges, you can erase his previous struggles. Sunday’s a new (shooting) day.
Check out the Video HERE
Last time the Lakers were in Houston, there was a certain sense of calm and confidence percolating through the pregame locker room air.
Lamar Odom was digging through a slew of candy bags; Trevor Ariza was messing around with Derek Fisher; Shannon Brown and Josh Powell were chatting about music … And so on.
The team’s mood subsequent to Thursday’s shootaround on this trip to Texas was decidedly different.
There were no smiles, no jokes, no candy and little engagement in interviews with Kobe Bryant (all business), Phil Jackson (quite brief) and even the ever-gregarious Lamar Odom, who kept his commentary on questions to a minimum.
Odom did reveal a few things: A) He’ll come off the bench and Andrew Bynum will start; B) His back is still stiff, but has improved slightly and won’t keep him from helping his teammates.
On the surface, it would seem that L.A. remembers all to well what happened in its 99-87 loss to the Rockets the last time they set foot on Houston’s floor, but as Odom admitted, talk is cheap.
L.A.’s going to have to prove that its more focused pregame mood will translate into effort on the court. Sure, it’d be nice to pound the ball inside to Bynum and Pau Gasol, get Bryant good looks out of the triangle, limit Houston’s three-point shooting with solid help rotations and continue to clog up the defensive paint, but assistant coach Jim Cleamons said there was only one thing upon which the Lakers need to focus: effort.
It’s the most simple point that could be made about L.A., but also the most accurate: Just look at the team’s past 92 games and see how the Lakers did when they brought the pain (er, energy).
They won.
FROM LAKERS.com
