Lakers in the News 5/12/12 11:25pm Lakers outlast Nuggets 96-87 in thrilling Game 7

[Cha*n]

Magic Johnson: Mike Brown will be fired if Lakers lose to Denver

The Lakers are at a crossroads.

They're either a game away from finally meeting the Oklahoma City Thunder in the Western Conference semifinals, or a game away from the end of their season. Should the Lakers lose Saturday in Game 7 of their first-round series against the Denver Nuggets, Magic Johnson has a definite idea on what will happen next.

"They're going to run Mike Brown first out of town," Johnson said as an ESPN NBA analyst Friday. "Then second will be [Andrew] Bynum. Then third will be [Pau] Gasol."

Whether that will happen remains unclear.

The Lakers' front office has publicly praised Brown's performance as head coach in his first season. Brown, who makes an average of $4.5 million a year, has two more guaranteed years followed by a team option. The Times' Mike Bresnahan talked to Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak, who indicated in March his intention to exercise the $16.1-million option for the last year of Bynum's contract. Gasol had been the subject of endless trade rumors since the Lakers' attempt to trade him for Chris Paul. The Lakers forward is owed $38.3 million for the next two seasons.

[Cha*n]

Metta World Peace rejoins Lakers

EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- It had been 20 days since Metta World Peace last slipped on his practice jersey with a game to play the next day.

Back on April 22, in the Los Angeles Lakers' penultimate game in the regular season, World Peace threw his left elbow and connected with the head of Oklahoma City's James Harden. The mercurial forward hasn't had a game to look forward to since.

After serving the seven-game suspension levied by the NBA for the Harden hit, World Peace is set to return for Game 7 of the Lakers' first-round series against the Denver Nuggets.

As his team is teetering, having lost two in a row and three of the past four against the Nuggets to tie the series at 3-3, World Peace did not want his return to the lineup to throw the Lakers off any more.

"(Saturday) is more about, kind of like all bets are off," World Peace said before the Lakers practiced on Friday. "All in. Whatever we have to do as a team. It's not about what I can and what I can't do. It's about really what I'm going to do."

[Cha*n]

Denver at Los Angeles

TIME: 10:30 P.M. EST
VENUE: STAPLES Center

LOS ANGELES (AP) - Although George Karl has spent nearly a quarter-century on NBA benches, the Denver coach can't beat down the butterflies when he thinks about the Nuggets' next game.

With a third straight victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night, Denver would become just the ninth team to escape a 3-1 series deficit, completing an improbable comeback against Kobe Bryant and Co. The Nuggets have stared down two elimination games with a maturity their coach only hoped he would see in this series, sending the bigger, stronger Lakers staggering home for a big finish.

Oh, and Saturday is Karl's birthday, too.

"I'm nervous already," Karl said Friday before the Nuggets caught another flight to Los Angeles. "I am 61 years old and I haven't been nervous, this nervous, for a game this early in a long time."

[Cha*n]

Lakers face Game 7 - Friday practice videos
May, 11, 2012
To some degree, there's only so much players can say about a Game 7, given the general lack of nuance to the situation. Win, or the season's over.

For the Lakers, coming off weak efforts in Games 5 and 6, the winning formula isn't a huge mystery. At the very least, it starts with matching Denver's effort and energy. From there, the other considerations come into play. Hitting outside shots. Continuity in pick and roll defense. Finding creases in the paint, despite the flood of bodies Denver sends.

At least Kobe Bryant isn't tossing cookies any longer. His health, he said Friday, has improved. "They’ve been a tough couple days, but I’m feeling a lot better now," he said. Obviously good news, because the stakes in Saturday's game are large. Nervous hours for Lakers fans, maybe, but not for Kobe. "They’re fun," he said of Game 7's. "They’re fun games. Every possession counts even more so. There’s a lot of energy in the building and teams play with a sense of desperation on every single possession. It’s a fun game to be a part of."

[Cha*n]

Pressure gauge has been turned up on Lakers for Game 7

By MIKE BRESNAHAN — Los Angeles Times
Posted: 1:00am on May 12, 2012

History can be made Saturday, but it has nothing to do with Kobe Bryant catching Michael Jordan. Quite the opposite.

The Denver Nuggets could become only the ninth team to complete a comeback from a 3-1 series deficit. The Lakers are trying to avoid their second Game 7 home loss in their 64-year history.

The pressure is clearly on the Lakers, who won championships in 2009 and 2010 before flaming out in four games last season against Dallas in the Western Conference semifinals. They might not even get that far this year.

Bad omens are tricky to identify, but Andrew Bynum finished talking to a semicircle of reporters Friday and, noting the glare of one particularly searing TV camera light, squinted and muttered, "That's bright."

[Cha*n]

Game 7: Bynum's chance to do the right things

Kevin Ding column: The Lakers' Game 7 against Denver looms a golden opportunity for Andrew Bynum to show the growth and substance that often shrouded by his lack of seriousness.

By KEVIN DING

THE ORANGE COUNTY REGISTER

kding (@) ocregister.com
EL SEGUNDO – If it's a legend that Andrew Bynum is building, he's going to do it his way.
And it's not sticking to the script.

For the unstructured early part of Lakers practice Friday, Pau Gasol worked on specific Lakers sets with the help of Steve Blake and Christian Eyenga to simulate game situations to set Gasol up to take shots in his favorite spots or drive for dunks more decisively.

It wasn't required that the players
do any specific work, and after Kobe Bryant came out and spoke to reporters, he actually just chilled and sat on a table, being informed by Gary Vitti that the longtime Lakers trainer's all-time Game 7 record stands at 7-1.

[24over6]

I'm surprised i haven't seen any FIREMIKEBROWN.COM sites yet!

I totally agree. He should be fired if the Lakers lose to Denver. Pau or Bynum gotta go as to Blake & Barnes.

[Cha*n]

Karl can't wait for Nuggets' Game 7 vs. Lakers

Published May 12, 2012

Associated Press

LOS ANGELES – Although George Karl has spent nearly a quarter-century on NBA benches, the Denver coach can't beat down the butterflies when he thinks about the Nuggets' next game.
With a third straight victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Saturday night, Denver would become just the ninth team to escape a 3-1 series deficit, completing an improbable comeback against Kobe Bryant and Co. The Nuggets have stared down two elimination games with a maturity their coach only hoped he would see in this series, sending the bigger, stronger Lakers staggering home for a big finish.
Oh, and Saturday is Karl's birthday, too.
"I'm nervous already," Karl said Friday before the Nuggets caught another flight to Los Angeles. "I am 61 years old and I haven't been nervous, this nervous, for a game this early in a long time."

[aticusCL]

I've never agreed with Magic more...

[viper2]

This team is experienced but its old..........and its those worn out legs that Denver is exploiting.....

This team is gonna have to make baskets, PLAIN AND SIMPLE. If they dont shoot better than 40% this game they arent winning. And Denver....well, they game plan is simple. RUN....and run some more and in the half court set pick and roll.....and then Run. The magic number is 94 in my opinion. If we can hold Denver below 94 and we can shoot at a reasonable percentage we can win

But changes still need to be made win or lose these playoffs. All of those years of selling/trading draft picks have caught up. Too many in our rotation over 30

[Cha*n]

Lakers outlast Nuggets 96-87 in thrilling Game 7

By GREG BEACHAM

Posted May 13 2012 1:39AM

LOS ANGELES (AP) Pau Gasol had 23 points, 17 rebounds and six assists, Metta World Peace scored 15 points in his return from a seven-game suspension, and the Los Angeles Lakers outlasted the Denver Nuggets for a thrilling 96-87 victory in Game 7 on Saturday night to win their first-round series.
Steve Blake scored a playoff career-high 19 points and Kobe Bryant had 17 points and eight assists for the Lakers, who blew a 16-point lead in the second half before surviving a finale with wild momentum swings and furious physical play. With Gasol leading an emotional effort, the Lakers narrowly avoided becoming the ninth team in NBA history to blow a 3-1 series lead.
Andrew Bynum had 16 points and a career playoff-high 18 rebounds for Los Angeles, which will open the second round Monday night in Oklahoma City against the second-seeded Thunder.
Ty Lawson and Al Harrington scored 24 points apiece for the sixth-seeded Nuggets, who committed 19 turnovers and managed just 7-of-27 shooting in the fourth quarter. Arron Afflalo scored 15 points in just the third Game 7 in franchise history for the Nuggets, who have lost in the first round in eight of the last nine postseasons - but never with this much excitement.

[Cha*n]

Gasol, Lakers outlast Nuggets in thrilling Game 7

LOS ANGELES (AP) – Stretched to the limit in the series and in Game 7, Pau Gasol and Metta World Peace led the Los Angeles Lakers off the brink of collapse and into the second round.

Gasol had 23 points, 17 rebounds and six assists, World Peace scored 15 points in his return from a seven-game suspension, and the Lakers outlasted the Denver Nuggets for a thrilling 96-87 victory Saturday night to win their first-round series.
Steve Blake scored a playoff career-high 19 points and Kobe Bryant had 17 points and eight assists for the Lakers, who blew a 16-point lead in the second half before surviving a finale with wild momentum swings and furious physical play. With Gasol leading the Lakers' emotional effort — exemplified when he got five offensive rebounds on a single, unbelievable tip play with 7:10 left — the Lakers narrowly avoided becoming the ninth team in NBA history to blow a 3-1 series lead.

[Cha*n]

Lakers hold off Nuggets' rally to win Game 7 in L.A.
Denver's season ends at the hands of Kobe Bryant
POSTED: 05/12/2012 11:32:30 PM MDT
UPDATED: 05/13/2012 12:22:18 AM MDTBy Benjamin Hochman
The Denver Post

LOS ANGELES — If only there could be a Game 8. The Nuggets' season is over, following a breathtaking but heartbreaking loss in Game 7 of their first-round playoff series, 96-87 to the Lakers at the Staples Center.
It was a fun ride, to be sure, but the Nuggets are once again sitting at home after round one, while the Lakers are heading to Oklahoma City for a second-round series.
Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant hit an impossible 3, with Arron Afflalo seemingly up inside his gold jersey, giving L.A. an eight-point cushion in the final minute that put the seal on the victory.
"The game was so physical — bang, push, shove, grab, hold — I think their size won over our speed," Nuggets coach George

Kenneth Faried grabs for a rebound over the top of the Lakers' Jordan Hill. More photos. (John Leyba, The Denver Post)
Karl said.
The Lakers' two big men, 7-footers Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol, took over when it mattered most down the stretch Saturday night. Bynum had 18 rebounds and Gasol 17. They combined for 20 offensive rebounds.