Stay up to day with the latest news, updates, and press conferences from your Los Angeles Lakers.
Assistant coach Frank Hamblen joined us to discuss how to keep the Kings off the offensive glass, play against their screen and roll and eliminate easy transition baskets.
Injury Note: Ron Artest (concussion) is expected to miss the game for the Lakers, as is Kings point guard Tyreke Evans (ankle).
Though the Golden State Warriors just welcomed big men Andris Biedrins and Ronny Turiaf back into the fold, their attack centers upon guard Monta Ellis, who leads the team with 25.6 points, 5.2 assists and 4.37 turnovers per game (clearly, he has the ball quite a bit).
The Warriors also like to work through Corey Maggette, among the league’s best at getting to the foul line (11 attempts per game), and utilize the shooting talents of Anthony Morrow (45 percent from three) and and rookie Stephen Curry (40 percent).
Assistant coach Brian Shaw joined us on LakersTV to break it all down.
Over the last 13 years, you’ve been almost as likely to see Kobe Bryant on Christmas Day as Santa, Rudolph, candy canes, and ornament-laden trees.
We might as well just give him a red robe.
Since entering the NBA in 1996, Bryant has appeared in 11 Christmas games, save only the 1997-98 and 98-99 seasons, including the last nine.
After L.A. won three of its first four X-Mas games with Kobe, they lost five straight before beating Phoenix in 2007 and Boston last season.
This year, the Cleveland Cavs come to town, but until we get there, here’s a quick look at Kobe’s Christmas performances.
1996: Lakers 108, Suns 87.
In just five minutes of playing time for the 18-year-old, Kobe went scoreless in taking only two shots.
1999: Lakers 99, Spurs 93.
Two seasons later, Bryant’s minutes bumped to 35 minutes, which he used to score 18 points with five boards and five assists as the Lakers took down the defending champion Spurs.
2000: Portland 109, Lakers 104.
Bryant managed 29 point sand six assists againt a tough Blazers team, but it wasn’t enough for the win.
2001: Lakers 88, 76ers 82.
Kobe had a tough shooting night (6-of-19) to score only 12 points, but he did manage nine assists and 11 rebounds to help the Lakers overcome a 13-point fourth quarter deficit to defeat their previous NBA Finals opponent.
2002: Sacramento 105, Lakers 99.
Speaking of teams L.A. beat in the playoffs … Bryant dropped 27 points and gathered a Christmas-Day-high 15 rebounds plus six assists in the loss.
2003: Rockets 99, Lakers 87.
Another tough shooting night it was for Kobe, who made only 9-of-26 shots to get his 23 points, with six assists and eight rebounds in a loss.
2004: Heat 104, Lakers 102.
In the much-ballyhood return of Shaq to STAPLES Center, Kobe went off for 42 points (including 13-of-13 from the line) but missed a three-pointer in overtime that would have made the difference.
2005: Heat 97, Lakers 92.
The Heat bested L.A. again despite Bryant’s 37 points, eight rebounds and six assists, as Shaq posted 18 points and 17 boards for Miami.
2006: Heat 101, Lakers 85.
Bryant had one of his worst games on X-Mas by making just 4-of-17 shots for 16 points against a solid defensive effort from Miami, who was led by 40 points from Dwyane Wade.
2007: Lakers 122, Suns 115.
Kobe amasseed his second-highest Santa Day scoring output with 38 points on 12-of-20 shooting to lead L.A. past the Suns in a shootout, adding seven assists, five boards and two steals just over a month before Pau Gasol joined the team.
2008: Lakers 92, Celtics 83
Bryant scored 27 points with nine rebounds and five assists as L.A. exacted (regular season) revenge on the 2008-title-winning squad from Boston. In the meantime, L.A. ended the impressive 19-game Celtics’ winning streak.
When ESPN’s Ric Bucher joined us last season leading into L.A.’s Christmas Day showdown with Boston, the team was in quite a different state.
We were still hearing phrases like “lack of toughness,” or as Bucher said it, “mental tenacity,” before the Lakers went on to prove their mettle with tough regular season road victories and of course, their journey to the NBA title.
This season, with LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers (22-8) coming to town, Bucher told us the one area in which he thought L.A. (23-4) may be susceptible, put Kobe Bryant’s greatness into perspective, looked at the dominance of Pau Gasol and L.A.’s front line and more.
We finished with a quick preview of the Lakers - Cavs game, set to tip off at 2 p.m. tomorrow after ABC.
Clem Breaks It Down
As the Lakers brace for their third meeting already this season against Oklahoma City, assistant coach Jim Cleamons joined us to talk about defending Kevin Durant, how to best utilize Pau Gasol and what L.A. plans to do with the Thunder defense (see above video).
Last Time They Played
When L.A. defeated the Thunder 101-85 on Nov. 22 in Gasol’s third game since returning from injury, the purple and gold jumped to a 35-16 lead to basically bury OKC right out of the gates. Cleamons warned that the Lakers can’t expect such a slow start from Scott Brooks’s team on Tuesday night. One other nugget: that Nov. 22 meeting was also the night that Will.i.am of the Black Eyed Peas sand “I Got A Feeling” at courtside while Fergie, Alex Rodriguez and B-Real from Cypress Hill stood nearby.
Thunder Stats
The Thunder are led by Durant’s 27.2 points, which ranks fourth in the NBA behind Carmelo Anthony (30.5), Kobe Bryant (28.8) and LeBron James (28.6). Point guard Russell Westbrook adds 15.9 points and a team-high 6.6 assists (ninth in the NBA) while power forward Jeff Green contributes 15.1 points and 6.2 rebounds. From a team perspective, OKC ranks 23rd in scoring, 14th in rebounding and eighth in steals, but they are one of the league’s better defensive teams, allowing the seventh fewest points in the NBA and the sixth worst field goal percentage.
Prior to each and every game, Phil Jackson takes some time to address assembled media. His roughly six-minute conversation in Detroit is summarized below:
On his message to the L.A. beat writers that couldn’t make it out of the East Coast snowstorm:
Jackson: Too bad, so sorry. They’ll have to write about it from New York.
On the team’s energy level:
Jackson: We got a run out of our second unit in the second quarter last night, kind of saved our starters for the second half (in New Jersey) and hopefully for tonight, so we didn’t burn them out. We’ll see how it goes.
Oh his thoughts about the Pistons:
Jackson: They’re on a little bit of a losing spell, they have to come out and stand up and we know that. They’ve been winning at home … they’re a physical team, an aggressive team, they play a physical game so we have to meet that physicality in the game.
On if seeing the Pistons a month ago without Tayshaun Prince and Richard Hamilton helps prepare for Detroit despite limited time:
Jackson: They’re starting (Chucky) Atkins and (Jason) Maxiell, so they put different guys in the starting lineup and we have to be prepared for that. We anticipate that (Ben) Gordon might play tonight - I’m not sure what it’s going to crank out to be. Hamilton’s been in and out, we were anticipating perhaps he might be (ready) for this game. But we have to be prepared for drive and screen roll, those are the things that are going to be at us tonight.
On how Kobe’s finger continues to affect him:
Jackson: He said last night it bothered him more than it did two games ago, the game prior to that. Those are the kind of things where if he gets hit, it irritates him, but he’s found a way to play through it.
On how big of a factor Pau Gasol has been:
Jackson: He just gives us so many options. He’s a great passer, and when he plays a power forward role with Andrew (Bynum) in the game, he’s capable of playing outside guys, inside big players … his speed is good enough to get back on defense so we don’t get hurt transition wise, and his screen-roll defense is very good for a big guy. When Andrew goes out and he moves over to the post, he can play a variety of things from high post to low post. It changes up our offense, makes us really flexible.
On if this is as complete a starting five as he’s had:
Jackson: Well, we’re a little clumsy. We lost speed with (Ron) Artest, we don’t have that outright speed or fastbreak that we had, the capability of breaking games like that. But Ron gives us a defensive player that really is a lock-down guy. He can get on a guy and limit his touches, limit his offensive productivity, so that’s a whole different aspect of our game. Trevor (Ariza) was a good defensive player, good at (getting steals), but Ron is good on bodies and getting to guys, so that’s a great aspect for our team.
On Saturday night, the Lakers beat not just the New Jersey Nets, but also a major East Coast snowstorm, escaping from Jersey on a late-night flight that arrived in Mo-Town at approximately 3:02 a.m. Sunday morning.
Lakers beat writers Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register, Mike Bresnahan and Brad Turner of the L.A. Times and Elliott Teaford of the L.A. Daily News weren’t so fortunate, with most flights out of the East being canceled due to the plethora of white fluff.
But don’t worry … Lakers.com will be there for you (you can follow us on Twitter: @LakersReporter). Also in town is radio voice Spero Dedes, who took a one-game hiatus to call the UCLA - Notre Dame game for CBS.
This will be the second and final time the Lakers face the Pistons, whom they beat 106-93 on Nov. 17 behind 40 points from Kobe Bryant, who was “recovering” from a tweaked groin earlier that week. Andrew Bynum had a nice game with 17 points and 12 rebounds as Pau Gasol had yet to play due to his strained hamstring.
Since Gasol’s return, however, the Lakers have been (knock on wood) among the league’s healthiest teams, while the Pistons are just the opposite. Detroit was without veterans Richard Hamilton (hamstring) and Tayshaun Prince (back) in the November matchup, and both of whom will miss tonight’s game as well. Meanwhile, gunner Ben Gordon is a game-time decision with an injured ankle, leaving Rodney Stuckey and Charlie Villanueva to handle the scoring load.
Speaking of scoring … it’s not something the Pistons have done well this season, averaging just 93.7 points, also known as 27th in the NBA, while allowing 95.7 points against them, which is the sixth fewest (think: slow pace). The Lakers, meanwhile, rank seventh in points scored (103.7) and fifth in points allowed (95.1) for a league-second-best second place in point differential (+8.6), all while allowing the worst field goal percentage against in the NBA (42.3 percent).
The game tips off at 3 p.m. Pacific, and can be seen on KCAL and heard on 710 ESPN.
We’ll see you there.
Always a man with a plan, Lakers assistant coach Jim Cleamons joined us to preview in detail L.A.’s Saturday evening contest against the New Jersey Nets, the second and final meeting between the two squads this season.
New Jersey, winners of just two games in 24 tries, is led by second-year center Brook Lopez, whose success (team high 19.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 2.04 blocks) is counter-intuitive to that of his team. Point guard Devin Harris (16.8 points, 5.4 assists) has yet to reach his last-season form after missing 10 games to injury, while big man Josh Boone is the only player besides Lopez to appear in all 26 Nets games. In other words, it’s literally been basketball’s version of “M.A.S.H.” in Jersey.
Cleamons broke down how his squad plans on dealing with the team it beat 106-87 on Nov. 29, a game before the Nets set the NBA’s single-season record for consecutive losses to start the season with 19.
The Milwaukee Bucks (11-11) are set to host the Lakers (18-4) for the only time this season, and as an Eastern Conference team that isn’t necessarily a potential Finals opponent for L.A., they’re not at the top of the purple and gold radar screen.
But they’re also not a bad team; particularly at home, the Bucks can play basketball. They’ve lost only three times in 12 games at the Bradley Center, and as L.A.’s coaching staff insisted, can certainly beat the Lakers if a full effort isn’t exerted.
Let’s take a closer look at Milwaukee:
Watch the First Quarter
When the Bucks go into the second quarter with a lead at home, they’re 6-1, including wins over Denver and Portland. Andrew Bogut, perhaps the key to Milwaukee’s success, has played in five of those seven games, averaging 20.8 points and 10.2 rebounds.
The Rookie
Everyone heard about 10th overall draft pick Brandon Jennings’s 55-point outburst at home against Golden State on Nov. 14, as well as his escapades playing professionally in Italy after high school instead of going to college. But how’s he done lately? Pretty well. In his last five, Jennings is averaging 19.2 points, 6.6 assists, 3.6 assists per game. At the same time, Jennings has needed 18.4 shots per game to get to his 19.2 points due to 40.2 percent shooting from the field, not the most efficient of shooting numbers.
United Nations
The Bucks start four international players, one each from Australia (Bogut), Turkey (Ersan Ilyasova), Cameroon (Luc Richard Mbah a Moute) and Argentina (Carlos Delfino), and each has been productive this season. Bogut’s been terrific in his last three games, putting up 21.3 points, 10.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists and 1.7 blocks, and Ilyasova’s averaged 15.7 points plus 8.3 boards, 1.3 steals and 1.0 assists while shooting 50 percent from three-point land. Delfino has struggled with his shot (39.2 percent field goals), but still provides 10.0 points, 4.5 rebounds and 2.4 assists in 28 minutes per night.
Turnover Tornado
Head Coach Scott Skiles is known for getting/demanding defensive effort out of his players, and his Bucks have been forcing an average of 16.9 turnovers per game, which ranks second in the NBA. Of course, it’s important to convert those turnovers into points at the other end, and Milwaukee’s succeeded in that facet as well, scoring 18.3 points off turnovers to rank third in the NBA.
Throwing up Triples
Milwaukee likes to shoot threes. In fact, they average 8.4 three-point makes per game, which has them on pace to make 686 on the season to shatter the club record of 595 set in 2001-02. And remember, this is a franchise that featured gunners Ray Allen, Sam Cassell and Michael Redd, who’s still on the team but has played in only six games this season as he attempts to recover from knee surgery.
Milwaukee’s Best on Reserve
OK, stole that title from Milwaukee’s PR staff, as it’s always fun to name things after cheap brew. Alas, we’re referring to Luke Ridnour, who has been one of the NBA’s better bench players this season, ranking in the top 10 in five categories including assist-to-turnover ratio (3.43 to 1), where he leads all pine sitters. He also has 35 points in his last 37 minutes, and will demand attention from Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown.
The Lakers know the Utah Jazz better than perhaps any other team … but not as well as Salt Lake Tribune beat writer Ross Siler, who joined us on the phone to preview Saturday evening’s rematch between the two Western squads.
A former Lakers beat writer for the L.A. Daily News, Siler offered his perspective on this year’s group of Lakers, detailed the Carlos Boozer situation and went through the 101-77 Lakers victory on Wednesday that came as L.A. held the Jazz to just six fourth quarter points.
FROM LAKERS.com
