The Lakers reclaimed the best record in the league with a Sunday night win over Portland.
The Lakers won their 15th straight at home with amazing defense, holding the Blazers to only 39% shooting. The Lakers shot 49% themselves and a had a nice balanced attack.
Five players scored double figures, including three off the bench.
After some rough games on the road, the Lakers are looking much better again. Also, great to see Luke out of the lineup. Even though Ariza didn’t make a shot, he still had a positive impact.
Now, the bests of the night…
Continue reading ‘TLN’s Post-Game Report: Lakers vs. Blazers’
Lakers Examiner: Los Angeles Lakers forward Luke Walton is expected to miss a minimum of two weeks due to a right foot injury.
Walton sat out Sunday night’s win against the Portland Trail Blazers, and was examined today by foot specialist Dr. Ken Jung who confirmed that Walton is suffering from sesamoiditis.
After riding the pine for most of the season, Luke was re-inserted into the starting lineup about a month ago and was giving the Lakers valuable minutes.
Trevor Ariza started in Walton’s place Sunday, but Phil Jackson is on record as saying that he prefers Ariza off the bench. Maybe look for Lamar Odom to slide to the three in the starting lineup or for Vladimir Radmanovic to reclaim his role as the starting small forward.
Either way, the Lakers will sorely miss Luke Walton.
Andrew Bynum came out and talked about his energy and where he needs to be…
Daily News: “I don’t think I’m taking advantage of the opportunities I’m getting,” Bynum said Sunday. “I just need to go out there and put more energy to it.
“When I watched last year’s tapes and this year’s tapes, there’s a difference you can see pretty clearly.”
Congrats to Gasol and his well deserved award!
Yahoo! Sports: Pau Gasol just missed two championship titles in 2008, but he landed one other title: European Player of the Year.
Gasol was honored by La Gazzetta dello Sport, one of the premier sports journals in the world. It was judged by a panel of players, coaches and basketball journalists.
This scares me… and I’m a Lakers fan…
AP: “It’s obviously important to have homecourt advantage, so we look at it as a challenge to achieve that goal,” Bryant said.
“Obviously we have a long way to go. It’s a great opportunity. We have quite a few home games here, so we look forward to trying to stretch this out a little bit. We have plenty more gears to go to. Plenty more. I haven’t even played in third gear yet.”
Walton has a foot injury which, depending on the results, could keep him out for some time…
O.C. Register: Luke Walton, dressed in a three-piece suit and brown dress shoes, walked gingerly toward the locker room. He walked as fast as his painful right foot would allow.
“It hurts to wear these shoes,” Walton said. “But the NBA has rules about what you can wear.”
Walton missed Sunday’s game because of sesamoiditis, an inflammation of the sesamoid bones that began in his right foot last Friday. The two small bones are located just behind the large toe.
He is expected to see Dr. Ken Jung, a foot specialist Monday and is out indefinitely pending the examination.
Phil wants Bynum to recieve the ball lower on the block for better position. I completely agree…
L.A. Times: Jackson wants him to get better position in the post.
“We talked a little bit about getting the ball deeper and getting a better start,” Jackson said. “He’s getting the ball a little bit higher than I’d like him to.”
The Lakers hit the hardwood looking to extend their winning streak to six games against the talented young Portland Trailblazers the team that was the opening night opponent. The Lakers are 26-5 with a 17-1 record at Staples Center.
The Blazers are one of the NBA’s deepest teams, one that always plays the Lakers tough, they’ve had a hot start as well and their record is 20-13. The Blazers have experienced their best start since the 1999-2000 season.
This is a team that is arguably already the second best team in the Western Conference. They’ve an outstanding coaching staff and good young talent to develop.
Continue reading ‘TLN’s Game Preview: Lakers vs. Blazers’
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