I’m glad he’s getting it checked rather than just playing through it. Either way, looks like we’ll most likely have another Kobe-less lineup.
LakersBasketBlog: 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.
Looks like Lakers will be without 2 starters tonight.
ESPN: Kobe Bryant did not participate in the team’s shootaround and spent the time undergoing “diagnostic tests” on his sprained left ankle, according to Lakers coach Phil Jackson. Andrew Bynum, who suffered a bruised right hip that caused him to sit out the second half of Los Angeles’ win in Portland on Saturday, is probably not going to play, according to Jackson.
“He had some discomfort and can’t move very well,” Jackson said. Bynum is also dealing with a swollen left knee that he injured last week against the Bobcats when he collided knee-to-knee with Charlotte’s Stephen Jackson.
Tex’s value to the Lakers can’t be measured.
Before the game against Portland on Saturday, Tex Winter, wearing a black Lakers jersey, paid a visit to Phil’s office. He had some words with the coach and then asked to speak to the team, and his words to the team…
Twitter: There is no substitute for hustle, but if you don’t hustle there will be substitute
And as surprising as it sounds, it actually got to the Lakers with Lamar grabbing a career high 22 rebounds and the Lakers flying everywhere to get every loose ball possible. The man that brought the triangle offense to the Lakers brings much more to the team, the love for the franchise and years of dedication to help make this franchise what it is today, along with his vast knowledge of the game.
Here is a small injury update on Bryant and Bynum…
L.A. Times: The Lakers listed Bryant as questionable for Monday night’s game against the San Antonio Spurs at Staples Center and Bynum as “more doubtful.”
Phil gave his thoughts on the players and fatigue.
Daily News: Lakers head coach Phil Jackson is thinking about giving his team some additional rest as the playoffs approach.
“I noticed they fell asleep on the plane last night, which is unusual for them,” Jackson said of how different his team looked from Friday night to Saturday morning. “They’re night owls. They all sleep in the morning when we fly in the mornings.”
Jackson called off their morning shootaround and held a film session on Saturday.
“You can see a drain on players all around the league,” he said. “Last night, I was watching Minnesota beat Dallas by 10, Orlando got beat by Washington. You see guys who are struggling, veteran players who play a lot of games.”
Jackson has already curtailed the team’s practice schedule.
“We really haven’t had a practice in two weeks,” Jackson said. “These guys rejoice in it because practice is practice. I get to work ‘em out the way I want to get it done. There are some joys to just playing games.”
Continue reading ‘Jackson: Players are wearing down’
Kobe could use some a lot of rest…
ESPN: “I would say he is day to day,” coach Phil Jackson told the Lakers’ official Web site. “We have an opportunity here with two games before the All-Star break and there is some time there if he does need to take a longer time, we’re trying to give him the liberty to do that.”
Andrew Bynum got banged up a bit too; he also sat out the 2nd half of the Portland game.
L.A. Times: Center is wearing two knee braces and he sits out the second half because of a hip contusion.
Lakers center Andrew Bynum has been wearing another knee brace, this one because of swelling in his sore left knee.
Bynum said he was injured when he collided with Charlotte Bobcats forward Stephen Jackson during Wednesday night’s game at Staples Center.
Bynum still played in the game Friday night against the Denver Nuggets and Saturday night against Portland, but he is in pain.
Bynum started at center against the Trail Blazers, but he didn’t look mobile. He logged only nine minutes, and didn’t play at all in the second half because of a right hip contusion.
“It’s some swelling in it and I’m trying to get it out,” Bynum said of the knee before the game. “The only way to do that is rest. So over the All-Star break with that time that we have, I should be able to get back.”
That it’s the same knee that he had surgery on didn’t leave Bynum nervous. “I knew it was swollen up,” he said. “But it’s not anything that’s going to be too bad.
“It’s like a pain thing [and] range of motion. I’ve just got to get the swelling out and get back up. I’ll be getting treatment and just chillin’.”
Continue reading ‘Andrew Bynum banged up too’
Derek is too valuable to let go, whether many fans like it or not.
O.C. Register: I did not tell Derek Fisher he is slow and done and the problem with the Lakers.
I did the next-best thing, as far as many Lakers fans are concerned: I told Fisher you think he is slow and done and the problem with the Lakers.
He smiled.
He could smile because he is uncommonly confident and because I was bringing it up at a time when Fisher had just reiterated his worth not just to this franchise through the past but to this team right now.
He had 14 points on 50 percent shooting, six assists, two steals and one turnover Saturday night, when the Lakers won in Portland without sore-ankled Kobe Bryant. Beyond the numbers, Fisher was the undeniable leader on the court all night long – Pau Gasol might be the second All-Star, but he was the one needing counsel from Fisher during second-half warmups – with words that alternately educated and encouraged so many teammates.
It was no coincidence that Fisher was more assertive in Bryant’s absence.
“He and I are co-captains, and we work together to manage this team,” Fisher said. “So when he’s out, I know guys are going to look to me more than usual, so I just try to be even more vocal, more aggressive, stronger out there on the floor. They need to see me not worried about the fact that Kobe’s not playing – and I don’t think they’ll worry much about it either.”
I did not tell Fisher he is slow and done and the problem with the Lakers because I do not believe it is true – even if so many others do.
Continue reading ‘Why Fisher is still good for the Lakers’
After last night’s loss to Denver, a game that the Lakers SHOULD have and COULD have won, a trip to the Rose Garden in Portland the day after seemed the least likely source of redemption and encouragement.
The losing streak in that arena for the Lakers is completely incomprehensible.
How can a team have that much bad luck in one place? If history served its purpose tonight, we’d be looking at another hash mark under the L-column, and given Kobe’s absence from the line-up, it might’ve been a relatively acceptable loss. Thankfully, there was no loss to accept. Instead, there is a victory to relish.
The first shot for the Lakers came from a Lamar Odom tip-in after an offensive rebound off an Andrew Bynum miss. It was a foreshadowing, to say the least, as Odom rebounded all evening to match his career-high of 22 boards. If rebounds signify effort, the Lakers were full of it, out-rebounding the Blazers 47-30 and playing a most inspired evening of basketball.
They won every quarter after the first, bearing down their defensive prowess as the game wore on.
In the 3rd quarter, the Lakers kept Portland to 16 points and then only 18 in the fourth. But it wasn’t just defense that won this game tonight. It was also a balanced offensive attack.
+Continue Reading
Kobe out for tonight’s game. Never thought I’d type that sentence again. Thank God we have Sasha to step-up! Ugh. Who am I kidding? The curse continues after tonight. Seriously folks, Lakers squad need to play one perfect game to escape with a win in Portland.
Lakers Basketblog: Lakers guard Kobe Bryant will miss Saturday evening’s game in Portland due to his sprained left ankle, an injury he originally suffered in Philadelphia on Jan. 29 and that he aggravated against Charlotte on Wednesday.
It will be the first game Bryant has missed due to injury since Dec. 8, 2006, when a sprained ankle kept him out of L.A.’s game against Atlanta.
He will be re-evaluated on Sunday in Los Angeles; the Lakers next game is on Monday, Feb. 8, against San Antonio.
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