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lakersfreak
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 12:58 am    Post subject:

Lakers Front Office Has Failed Miserably
by Anthony Yassa - lakeshowlife.com

The Lakers front office has further exercised its ineptitude with massive missed opportunities this season

The Los Angeles Lakers were expected to struggle this season. Led by an aging Kobe Bryant and an assortment of young players, no one expected the Lakers to compete for a championship. However, this didn’t mean that the Lakers couldn’t use this season to their advantage. With nothing truly on the line, the Lakers could have easily dedicated this season to developing the youth on their roster, as well as taking the time to try out a few project players.

Instead, the organization began the season with the first of a multitude of missteps. Instead of rounding out the roster with young players who could gain value with time on the team, the Lakers signed a plethora of aging players, most of whom have failed to even be serviceable this season. Lou Williams, Brandon Bass, and Roy Hibbert were brought in to not only to be completely ineffective on the court, but to stand directly in the way of the progress of young players like D’Angelo Russell, Larry Nance Jr., and Tarik Black.

Metta World Peace was given a roster spot that clearly should have been given to a young player like Jabari Brown, whose chemistry with Jordan Clarkson, and ability to shoot from outside at an NBA level has been sorely missed. Ryan Kelly and Robert Sacre were bafflingly retained, despite representing value to the team that was marginal at best, non-existent at worst. Entering the season as a rebuilding team with very few actual assets, the Lakers front office made sure to completely squander one of the few actual assets they did have: their roster spots.

However, the foolishness of their choices during free agency doesn’t end with the sub-par players they selected or with their lack of foresight. In opting to sign veteran players whose services were quite unnecessary, the Lakers also squandered their cap space, which could have ultimately been their most valuable asset this season.

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 12:59 am    Post subject:

Byron Scott wants D’Angelo Russell to focus more on defense than on offense
by Mark Medina - dailynews.com

The endless cheering for Kobe Bryant came to a sudden halt for one simple reason.

After playing the first 12 minutes, Bryant sat out the entire second quarter for rest purposes in the Lakers’ 110-102 loss to Friday at Smoothie King Center.

Lakers rookie guard D’Angelo Russell could not exactly fill that buzz after hearing endless boos during lineup introductions. That’s OK. Russell filled in a much more tangible way. He posted a team-high 32 points on 9-of-16 shooting and 11-of-16 from the foul line, marking his highest scoring output since a career-high 39-point effort against Brooklyn on March 1. He also posted 13 points when Bryant rested in the second period.

Lakers coach Byron Scott argued Russell “needed a good game” after averaging 12.4 points on 32.4 percent shooting, 2.4 assists and 3.0 turnovers in the previous five games. Yet, Scott lamented Russell’s two assists and poor defense.

“These games really don’t mean anything,” Brynat said. “In a 20 or 30-point (blowout) game, you can’t judge anything in these type of games. You really can’t.”

Scott judged plenty, however, on Scott’s progression.

He said he was “not surprised or disappointed” Russell’s recent play contrasted last month’s outburst. In his first 10 games in his second stint as a starter, Russell averaged 21 points, 4.8 assists and 3.2 rebounds, while shooting 47.4 percent from the field and 46.3 percent from 3-point range.

“I wanted to keep even keel and see how he would end up,” Scott said. “He’s come down a little bit. But I still think the upside is so great for him.”

So, Scott has not focused on those fluctuating numbers. Scott also made little of Russell recently surpassing Nick Van Exel for most 3-pointers made by a rookie in Lakers history.

Instead, Scott said he wants Russell to spend his offseason bulking up in the weight room, studying film, learning the offense and mastering defensive concepts. In other words, Scott suggested Russell remains far from a finished product.

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 1:02 am    Post subject:

Heisler: Kobe Bryant and me, the roller coaster ride of a lifetime
by Mark Heisler - dailynews.com

I met Kobe Bryant two months shy of his 18th birthday in Chicago in 1996, where he was attending the NBA pre-draft camp. He was all by himself on the mezzanine of the Marriott Hotel in the Loop, staring wistfully down into the lobby like a teenage boy a long way from home.

So I was wrong about Kobe from my very first impression.

He wasn’t overwhelmed in the least. Innocent as he looked, he was like a crown prince perusing a world he felt born to rule.

Given his up-front ambition to surpass Michael Jordan, a long line of people were wrong about Kobe — essentially everyone who ever heard of him aside from immediate family.

Perhaps half the little boys in the nation born after 1975, and a significant percentage in the world, set out to be like Mike, although few announced their intentions as Kobe did. None of them made it. Only Kobe came close.

The rest of those boys only had dreams. Kobe had a destiny.

Well, he thought he did, anyway. He realized is at age 6, he would tell me years later.

Precocious as he was, everyone tried to let him down easy. In the Philadelphia summer league he grew up playing in between his father’s seasons in Italy, founder Sonny Hill made all the players attend instructional sessions, in which it was hammered into the heads of the players, all of whom dreamed of playing in the NBA, what a long shot it would be.

The kids were supposed to list realistic ambitions for when the dreams faded. Kobe wouldn’t. He was going to play in the NBA, period.

Teenagers had already begun coming straight to the NBA from high school. Kevin Garnett had done it the year before, but they were all young bigs.

Kobe was a shooting guard — “Grant Hill with a jump shot” according to his prep rep. The world wasn’t ready for 17-year-old, 6-foot-5, 165-pound NBA rookies.

“He’s kidding himself,” said NBA scouting director Marty Blake, an old league hand whose job was to tell the press nice things about prospects. “Sure, he’d like to come out. I’d like to be a movie star. He’s not ready.”

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 1:04 am    Post subject:

Kobe Chronicles: Amar'e Stoudemire remembers Bryant dominating in playoff series
by Lindsey Thiry - latimes.com

As Kobe Bryant plays out his 20th and final season with the Lakers, The Times has reached out to players, coaches and broadcasters for recollections about his career.

Amar’e Stoudemire, a 15-year pro and six-time All Star now with the Miami Heat, played eight seasons with the Phoenix Suns and faced Bryant twice in the NBA playoffs. (Stoudemire was sidelined for a third Lakers vs. Suns playoff series).


It was 2010, Game 5 of the Western Conference finals in Los Angeles. The Lakers and Suns were even in the series, two wins each.

“He just could not miss a shot,” Stoudemire said. “We sent double-teams at him, we sent triple-teams at him and normally he would pass out of it, but he was just on fire that night and he scored every time.”

Bryant made 12 of 27 shots and finished with 30 points in a 103-101 victory. He also grabbed 11 rebounds and dished nine assists.

Stoudemire scored 19 points.

The Lakers won the series in six games and went on to defeat the Celtics in the NBA Finals.

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 1:06 am    Post subject:

Memories of Kobe outweigh the whole story
by Jeff Miller - ocregister.com

In this, the most imperfect of seasons in 68 years of Lakers basketball, the oddest thing can now be found: perfection.

Honest. That’s in there, among the rubble of 62 defeats and D’Angelo Russell recordings and Byron Scott frustrations.

More specifically, it can be found despite his 1-for-14 performance at Golden State, 13 errant 3-point tries in Philadelphia and career-worst, almost impossible minus-44 against Utah.

The memory of Kobe Bryant remains unsullied even while standing amid the swirling garbage of his franchise’s most forgettable season.

And that makes 2015-16 the perfect bow to place atop a career during which Bryant swung wildly from beloved to detested and back, repeatedly, almost predictably and sometimes, when such things still mattered around here, within a single Lakers possession.

As for the ideal soundtrack, there has been Staples Center on many nights during these otherwise miserable past six months – discontented and mounting boos throughout until, in the end, without fail, lusty chants of Bryant’s name.

Perfect.

The question we always ask at this point – in the darkening twilight of an accomplished career – is how an athlete will be remembered. The answer, despite our attempts to complicate things, is typically pretty simple.

Bryant will be remembered as a champion, a champion times five. He’ll be remembered as an 18-time All-Star and league MVP. He’ll be remembered for 81 points, an abundance of game-winning jumpers and one magnificent lob to Shaquille O’Neal.

Perfection? How perfect is that irony, one of the most famous gunners in NBA history – Bryant once answered the ball-hog accusations thusly: “Some people thought Mozart had too many notes in his compositions” – being remembered for a pass?

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 1:08 am    Post subject:

Video Montage - Kobe vs Houston Rockets
by lakersnation.com
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 2:35 am    Post subject:

lakersfreak wrote:
Lakers Front Office Has Failed Miserably
by Anthony Yassa - lakeshowlife.com

The Lakers front office has further exercised its ineptitude with massive missed opportunities this season

The Los Angeles Lakers were expected to struggle this season. Led by an aging Kobe Bryant and an assortment of young players, no one expected the Lakers to compete for a championship. However, this didn’t mean that the Lakers couldn’t use this season to their advantage. With nothing truly on the line, the Lakers could have easily dedicated this season to developing the youth on their roster, as well as taking the time to try out a few project players.

Instead, the organization began the season with the first of a multitude of missteps. Instead of rounding out the roster with young players who could gain value with time on the team, the Lakers signed a plethora of aging players, most of whom have failed to even be serviceable this season. Lou Williams, Brandon Bass, and Roy Hibbert were brought in to not only to be completely ineffective on the court, but to stand directly in the way of the progress of young players like D’Angelo Russell, Larry Nance Jr., and Tarik Black.

Metta World Peace was given a roster spot that clearly should have been given to a young player like Jabari Brown, whose chemistry with Jordan Clarkson, and ability to shoot from outside at an NBA level has been sorely missed. Ryan Kelly and Robert Sacre were bafflingly retained, despite representing value to the team that was marginal at best, non-existent at worst. Entering the season as a rebuilding team with very few actual assets, the Lakers front office made sure to completely squander one of the few actual assets they did have: their roster spots.

However, the foolishness of their choices during free agency doesn’t end with the sub-par players they selected or with their lack of foresight. In opting to sign veteran players whose services were quite unnecessary, the Lakers also squandered their cap space, which could have ultimately been their most valuable asset this season.

Continued....




Who writes this (bleep)? Yeah, Bass and Lou were both "completely ineffective" on the court.

The author should go cheer for the Sixers if he would rather have Jabari Brown-style scrubs on his team.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 3:56 am    Post subject:

tox wrote:
Who writes this (bleep)? Yeah, Bass and Lou were both "completely ineffective" on the court.


Seriously, and talking about squandering their cap space on ineffective veterans... When two of the three veterans will be off the books at the end of the season.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 6:44 am    Post subject:

Kobe Bryant's fiercely competitive drive defined him from day one of his 20-year Lakers career
by Ryan Kartje - ocregister.com

The button is pushed. It’s a rare occurrence these days, two weeks until The End, but this, unequivocally, is one of those moments. Years ago, before time wore it down, this button was so constantly and unrelentingly pressed that, as one person with an intimate understanding of it describes, simply walking into a gym in its presence became “a personal confrontation.”

In an age of analytics, there are no advanced stats to measure this particular fortitude. But on this March night, from each of the 18,118 seats at Staples Center, it’s impossible to miss. For eight minutes, the worn-down button of the NBA’s most relentless competitor is damn near jammed into place.

It’s a Wednesday night, and Kobe Bryant is backing down Heat star Dwyane Wade in the paint, throwing the full weight of his creaky, 37-year-old frame at his longtime friend and nemesis – two labels for which Bryant sees little distinguishable difference. This is their final meeting on a basketball court, and neither is holding back. In a season full of nostalgic niceties, the moment is a rare glimpse into a now-mythologized past. There are no pleasantries, no coy smiles exchanged between possessions. Only aggressive elbows and subtle shoves. If you squint from the cheap seats, you might just think it’s 2006.

Until Bryant misses a shot, and then another. Wade backs him into a corner, and he throws up a prayer. It airballs. Wade fires out on the fast break, and every ounce of Bryant, every fiber of being that crafted the league’s most legendary killer instinct, wants to chase him. But he pulls up short.

“I just couldn’t,” he’d say later. “There was no hope tonight.”

Bryant spends the rest of the game on the bench, half-mummified by an arrangement of bulging heat packs and athletic tape. His shoulder aches. His ankles and feet hurt. “General soreness,” the team calls it.

And yet, he’s smiling. It’s a jarring metamorphosis for a man who more regularly compared himself to predators from the animal kingdom than his NBA peers. To see Bryant so intimately aware and accepting of his own mortality seems to contradict the skyscraping self-assurance that once defined him as the NBA’s isolationist superstar.

But since announcing his retirement at the end of November, Bryant has softened in a way no witness to his cold-blooded career thought possible. Now, the unrelenting will is reserved for getting his aching body out of bed.

“He’s just been more at peace,” Coach Byron Scott says.

Peace? To a pre-retirement Bryant, peace was an antithetical abstraction. And perhaps, 33,500 points and 48,500 minutes into a 20-year career, that’s as good an indication as any the end has arrived.

Because for the better part of two decades, there was no unpushing the button. Over the span of a legendary career, it created rifts between rivals and grated teammates. It captivated a generation. It sparked a dynasty. Without the button, there is no Kobe.

And without Kobe, that button, as the NBA once knew it, may never be the same.

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 6:45 am    Post subject:

TDIKH: April 10, 2013
by nba.com

Kobe Bryant didn’t sit for one second. Instead he tormented Portland in every possible way, leading the Lakers to a 113-106 victory, which earned him “MVP!” chants on the road.

Bryant — who had promised a playoff berth two months earlier — did it all for Los Angles, dropping 47 points while collecting eight rebounds, five assists, three steals and four blocks.

“What he is doing is phenomenal,” head coach Mike D’Antoni said. “He’s determined to get us in the playoffs. That’s what happens when you open your mouth and guarantee that we’ll get in the playoffs.”

The Trail Blazers were smoking from the start, as they scored 41 in the first quarter for an eight-point lead.

But the Lakers eventually work their way back behind Bryant, who tallied 11 points in both of the middle quarters.

Pau Gasol scored six straight for the Lakers late in the game to steal a 102-100 lead. From there, Bryant took over, hitting a pair of free throws and a jumper for a six-point edge with four minutes left.

Led by Bryant, the Lakers shot 58.9 percent from the field, while Gasol (23 points, seven rebounds, nine assists) and Dwight Howard (20 points, 10 rebounds, three blocks) both had big nights.

Rookie Damian Lillard did all he could for Portland, scoring 38 points with nine assists and three steals, but his team nonetheless dropped its ninth straight game.

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 6:46 am    Post subject:

How Did The Top Sophomores Fare?
by Jabari Davis - basketballinsiders.com

With the NBA’s regular season winding down, it’s time to acknowledge which promising second-year players stepped up in the 2015-16 campaign.

Just prior to the season, a panel of Basketball Insiders writers were asked to list the second-year player they were most intrigued by, which can be found here. ESPN.com’s Kevin Pelton and Chad Ford were also asked to chime in on the top sophomores about 20 games into the season and their rankings can be found here. Here’s a look at some of the top performing sophomores with the season coming to an end:

Julius Randle, PF- Los Angeles Lakers

11.6 PPG, 10.2 RPG, 1.7 APG, 43.3 percent FG, 27.3 percent 3PT

Randle only played a total of 14 minutes during what would have been his rookie season (2014-15), but that didn’t stop him from showing clear signs of improvement for those who have watched his body transition and the early stages of his all-around progression over the past 18 months. For a 21-year-old who has already endured the disappointment of essentially losing his entire first year, multiple corrective surgeries (broken leg, screw removal from his foot), a lengthy rehabilitation schedule and the highs and lows of being removed and inserted into the starting lineup and general rotation several times this year, Randle still shows a tremendous amount of poise.

Randle continues to be a force on the boards and is already one of the better, young rebounders. His 34 double-doubles on the season are tied for 14th overall and while he leads the Lakers in boards, he’s also 10th in the league in rebounds per contest. A continued dedication to his jumpshot, right hand and countermoves within the paint are needed on the offensive end (and will likely come with time), but a dedication and focus on defensive principles both as an individual and team defender would actually place Randle comfortably within the discussion as one of the more promising young players.

Jordan Clarkson, PG/SG- Los Angeles Lakers


15.4 PPG, 3.9 RPG, 2.9 APG, 43.1 percent FG, 35.7 percent 3PT

After his First Team All-Rookie selection last season, it was a bit of a surprise to not see his name mentioned on very many of these lists or conversations heading into the year, but Clarkson has done a solid job of continuing to show his potential at this level as he enjoyed increases in most offensive statistical categories. The question moving forward will be whether he will continue to transition into a more efficient scorer rather than a volume-shooter who simply puts up points on a bad team.

The trouble with Clarkson is that it also remains a question as to which backcourt position will ultimately suit him best. Another legitimate concern is that he does not provide nearly the type of consistent and focused defensive effort you need to be effective as a backcourt player in this day and age. Like his teammate Randle, Clarkson shows a great work ethic and willingness to do what it takes to improve with the ball in his hands; but, like Randle and many other young players these days, Clarkson also needs to take as much pride in learning how to slow opposing players down as he does in scoring over them.

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Cha*n
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 3:12 pm    Post subject:

lakersfreak wrote:
Cha*n wrote:
24 wrote:
lakersfreak wrote:
Cha*n wrote:
Nice job lakersfreak


I had a good teacher


Are you saying you do this 4 Cha*n?


I think he does it for all of us. I'll help or sub if you need lakersfreak. I know what a pain it is sometimes.


Ch*n for the win

If I recall correctly Ch*n needed a break so I pitched in.

Thx for the offer, if I am become unavailable I will let you know


Hope you keep this up for a long, long time
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 5:16 pm    Post subject:

'Kobe Bryant: Laker for Life' is an engrossing look back at a legendary career
by Harrison Faigen - silverscreenandroll.com

Memories of the Mamba's best moments as they appeared in real-time

For those looking to take a walk down memory lane through Kobe Bryant's career, there are few better tour guides than Kobe Bryant: Laker for Life. A collection of stories from the Los Angeles Daily News published by Triumph Books, KBLL takes fans on a journey through Bryant's legendary 20-year career.

Sitting at 127 pages, KBLL is just beefy enough to justify it's around $16 dollar price tag for a die-hard Lakers fan, or for those too young to remember the early years of Kobe's career that want to know how it appeared in real time. The text is almost like a giant magazine, both from the print-writing style to the light and glossy material it's printed on. An assemblage of the L.A. Daily News' best photographs pop off of the pages.

The first half of KBLL is a step-by-step walkthrough of Bryant's career using previously printed L.A. Daily News stories, with the oldest ones from before the internet serving as particular highlights. After opening with this introduction from Mark Heisler, the book segues into a report from Marc Stein on the Lakers imminent trade for the little-known 17-year old. Sure, most know that Bryant was traded for Vlade Divac, but did you know Lakers management was leaking (before the trade even went down) that Bryant had "more talent than anyone on the present roster?"

Fun, lost to the passage of time anecdotes like that are peppered throughout the book. From Magic Johnson calling Bryant after his 81-point game to Kobe and Pau exchanging 3 a.m. text messages about strategy during the NBA Finals, reading KBLL is akin to mainlining nostalgia. The photographs amplify the effect, with Bryant holding his youngest daughter Natalia as a toddler on the Lakers championship parade float serving as a jarring contrast to the tall, nearly ten-year-old girl trailing him around on his current farewell tour.

Around halfway through, KBLL shifts into a collection of the L.A. Daily News' most memorable features about Bryant. Again, most Lakers fans remember bits and pieces of these stories, but the details from the time make them a fun look back.

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 5:17 pm    Post subject:

James Harden: Final Game Vs. Kobe Will Be Remembered ‘The Rest Of My Life’
by Corey Hansford - lakersnation.com

Sunday afternoon marked the final meeting between Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant and Houston Rockets All-Star James Harden. For more than a decade, Kobe was the NBA’s premier shooting guard and most consider Harden the best at the position today.

A California native who graduated from Artesia High School in Lakewood, Harden grew up watching Kobe dominate the NBA, and he relished his final outing against him.

According to Lakers Nation reporter Serena Winters, Harden said he will cherish his final game against Kobe for the rest of his life:

James Harden said his final game vs. Kobe Bryant tonight is "something I will remember for the rest of my life."

Harden also revealed that in his conversation with Kobe as they walked off the floor, he asked Kobe and the Lakers for a little help in their final game via Winters:

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 5:19 pm    Post subject:

Kobe Chronicles: Lopez twins grew up watching Bryant in family living room
by Lindsey Thiry - latimes.com

As Kobe Bryant plays out his 20th and final season with the Lakers, The Times has reached out to players, coaches and broadcasters for recollections about his career.

Brook and Robin Lopez, eight-year pros, play for the Brooklyn Nets and New York Knicks, respectively.


The Lopez twins might play for different NBA teams, but they share the same spot in the visitor’s locker room at Staples Center and many of the same memories of Bryant, whom they grew up watching on TV in their family’s living room in Fresno.

“I’m a California boy, born and bred,” Brook Lopez said. “So I was a huge Laker fan, a huge Shaq and Kobe fan and I remember watching all the great moments in the regular season and playoffs sitting in front of our tiny TV at our house.

“Watching the Philly finals, the three-peat, all sorts of stuff. It’s just had a huge effect on me growing up.

"He’s a big role model of mine and, you know, it’s been such an honor to play against him and compete against him all these years.”

Robin Lopez called it “surreal” to play against Bryant.

Continued....
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 5:20 pm    Post subject:

Kobe Bryant Reflects On Being Roasted By Chris Paul, Carmelo Anthony And Dwyane Wade (Video)
by Ryan Ward - lakersnation.com

During NBA All-Star weekend in Toronto back in February, a few of Kobe Bryant’s closest friends in the league decided to take the Los Angeles Lakers superstar and his wife, Vanessa, to private dinner.

NBA stars Dwyane Wade, Carmelo Anthony, and Chris Paul took this opportunity to thank Bryant for all he’s done for them during their careers while also giving the future Hall of Famer a few gag retirement gifts.

Bryant recently talked about the dinner in which his friends gave him a cane, mamba robe, underwear and many other hilarious gifts to send him into retirement, via ESPN’s Baxter Holmes:

“It was great, man,” Bryant told ESPN. “It was really a great night. I saw them come into the league and they were a couple generations after me, so to see these players come up and grow and now being able to stand up there and joke about playing me for the first time and how I’ve inspired them throughout their careers and all this other stuff.

“It was really, really awesome. It was one of those things that I’ll remember forever.”


Following the loss to the Houston Rockets on Sunday, Bryant has only two games left in his NBA career. The Lakers will head on the road once again to play their final game away from the Staples Center facing the Oklahoma City Thunder in the second game of a back-to-back on Monday.

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 5:21 pm    Post subject:

Kobe Bryant Stars In Apple Commercial With Michael B. Jordan (Video)
by Ryan Ward - lakersnation.com

Before taking on the Houston Rockets on Sunday in one of the last games of his career, a hilarious Apple commercial starring Los Angeles Lakers superstar Kobe Bryant and actor Michael B. Jordan surfaced online.

Jordan, star of the critically acclaimed movie “Creed,” is wearing Bryant’s Lower Merion High School jersey in the commercial. The up-and-coming actor has taken on the role of portraying Bryant in a biographical movie and picked the NBA legend’s brain in his trailer on the set of the film.

Bryant is no stranger to starring in commercials with the superstar appearing in many different ones throughout his 20-year career in the NBA. This commercial is a bit different though with Bryant openly poking fun at his battle with Father Time over the past few years.

The title of the Apple commercial, “Father Time,” is fitting as Bryant heads toward his final game in Lakers uniform on April 13 in Los Angeles at the Staples Center.

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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 5:22 pm    Post subject:

Cha*n wrote:
lakersfreak wrote:
Cha*n wrote:
24 wrote:
lakersfreak wrote:
Cha*n wrote:
Nice job lakersfreak


I had a good teacher


Are you saying you do this 4 Cha*n?


I think he does it for all of us. I'll help or sub if you need lakersfreak. I know what a pain it is sometimes.


Ch*n for the win

If I recall correctly Ch*n needed a break so I pitched in.

Thx for the offer, if I am become unavailable I will let you know


Hope you keep this up for a long, long time


Thx for the kind words Cha*n
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SweetP
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 10, 2016 8:33 pm    Post subject:

Cha*n wrote:
lakersfreak wrote:
Cha*n wrote:
24 wrote:
lakersfreak wrote:
Cha*n wrote:
Nice job lakersfreak


I had a good teacher


Are you saying you do this 4 Cha*n?


I think he does it for all of us. I'll help or sub if you need lakersfreak. I know what a pain it is sometimes.


Ch*n for the win

If I recall correctly Ch*n needed a break so I pitched in.

Thx for the offer, if I am become unavailable I will let you know


Hope you keep this up for a long, long time

You both deserve major props for doing this!
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 7:35 am    Post subject:

After Game Videos - Lakers at Houston Rockets
by lakersnation.com

Houston Rockets Kobe Bryant Tribute Video

Kobe Bryant On Warriors, James Harden, Hakeem Olajuwon
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 7:37 am    Post subject:

A hero, a villain or a legend? What Kobe Bryant meant to readers
by Matt Wilhalme - latimes.com

As Kobe Bryant prepares to take the court for the Lakers for the final time, we asked readers to share what he meant to them and to share some of their favorite memories.

Below are some their responses and personal photos:

Father Time won't defeat his legacy

Kobe Bryant isn't just a basketball player. He is a way of life for fans in Los Angeles and around the world. His work ethic, his tenacity, his complete drive to be the best and win at all cost inspires and motivates us as fans throughout our daily lives. At work, at school, through competition. The mentality he has instilled on us all helps us overcome struggle, face adversity and never be satisfied, while always remaining humble.

Kobe Bryant the basketball player is retiring, but to me, there is something beyond that which remains, and can't be defeated by Father Time. The "Mamba Mentality" will live forever in myself as well as millions of others, and the mark this man has left on the game will never ever be forgotten.

"There is beauty in the struggle"

Hero/Villain/Legend.

Nick Caro, Sydney, Australia

Kobe Bryant was the Lakers legend of my generation

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 7:38 am    Post subject:

Kobe Bryant credits his Fusionetics treatment for getting him through the season
by Mark Medina - dailynews.com

The searing pain in Kobe Bryant’s back left him struggling to walk.

He sat in a cold tub nearly all night, but his back still felt tight. He rested hours leading into tipoff, but he still felt stiff.

So in a season in which he hoped he could log all 82 games, Bryant did the unthinkable. He sat on the bench when the Lakers visited Miami in late November. The same thing happened the next day in Orlando.

That prompted one of Bryant’s therapists, Michael Oviedo, to increase his Fusionetics treatment the Lakers’ 37-year-old star increasingly has received this season. The routine has entailed massage therapy from his legs to shoulders. Oviedo has measured Bryant’s range of motion. Then, Oviedo has treated Bryant more to fix any muscle imbalances.

The cutting-edge treatment, initially popularized by Dr. Michael Clark with the Phoenix Suns, also significantly explains how Bryant has nearly completed his 20th and final NBA season without suffering a season-ending injury.

“They’ve done a great job for the last four or five years making sure the body is in complete alignment,” Bryant said. “They’ve removed the guess work from the procedure. Things are very measured.”

The Lakers (16-64) expect Bryant will finish out the last two games, including Monday’s contest against Oklahoma City (54-26) at Chesapeake Energy Arena and the season finale against Utah on Wednesday at Staples Center. That impressed Lakers coach Byron Scott, who projected Bryant to play between 50 to 55 games after suffering season-ending ailments to his left Achilles tendon (April, 2013), left knee (Dec. 2013) and right shoulder (January 2014).

“He still hasn’t changed his mentality. Every game is still a work day. It’s ‘Every day I’m going to come out, get ready and give it everything I got,’” Scott said. “That’s the thing that has made him so great. Until Wednesday’s game is over, it’s not over.”

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PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 7:39 am    Post subject:

TDIKH: April 11, 2008
by nba.com

Kobe Bryant and co. rolled out to a 30-point advantage, but the Lakers needed every bit of their superstar in order to hold on against the Western Conference-leading New Orleans Hornets.

Bryant racked up 29 points, 10 rebounds and eight assists to lead Los Angeles to a 107-104 victory and its first Pacific Division title in four years.

“It’s good to be No. 1,” Bryant told the media. “This was the first step.”

The Lakers rolled out to a 19-point first-quarter advantage and just kept going, pushing their lead up to 63-33 late in the second.

But the Hornets were far from out of it, as they worked their deficit down to 75-71. But Bryant immediately responded with 10 points during L.A.’s ensuing 17-6 run.

New Orleans once again fought back, bringing the Lakers’ lead down to 96-95 with four minutes remaining, but the purple and gold scored six unanswered to seal the win.

While Bryant shot 9-of-17 with three 3-pointers, Pau Gasol (25 points, 9-of-12) and Lamar Odom (13 points, 16 rebounds) each had huge hands in the win.

Meanwhile, the Hornets shot 51.3 percent and received strong efforts from Peja Stojakovic (24 points) and Chris Paul (15 points, 17 assists), though it wasn’t enough against the eventual Western Conference champions.

Continued....
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PostPosted: Mon Apr 11, 2016 7:40 am    Post subject:

Bryant, Lakers return to glory with Gasol
by Bill Oram - ocregister.com

He was the alpha Laker, and part of the accompanying persona was an intense, self-prescribed seclusion from matters that did not directly contribute to winning. His friendships were born out of respect and intensity.

“If you cannot help him win,” trainer Gary Vitti said, “then he doesn’t waste his time developing a relationship with you. It’s that simple. He’s not looking for friends.”

Pau Gasol became the rare player who bridged those two islands.

The Lakers were 29-16 and in first place in 2008 when the Lakers pulled off the trade that finally gave Bryant the big man complement he had missed since Shaquille O’Neal was driven out of town.

In their first game together, on Feb. 5 in New Jersey, Bryant became giddy, he would later reveal, after a pass to Gasol in the post did not bounce off his hands as it likely would have with his predecessor, Kwame Brown, but resulted in a slick basket for the Lakers.

Bryant described running past the Lakers bench and hollering to Coach Phil Jackson, “We’ve got a big man that can catch and finish! We’re going to the Finals!”

The Lakers had in place the core that would bring them their next two titles.

Jackson had returned in 2005 after labeling Bryant as “uncoachable” in his book, “The Last Season,” in 2004. The tome is remembered primarily for its strong, disapproving stance on Bryant’s attitude and accusations of selfishness.

By 2008, the icy relationship between Jackson and Bryant had warmed, with the two working together after they had “locked horns” in previous years, in part fueling Jackson’s departure following the 2004 season.

“It wasn’t until the second time around where Phil just stopped arguing with him,” Vitti said. “That’s what happened. Phil just stopped arguing with him.”

Continued....
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PostPosted: Tue Apr 12, 2016 5:41 pm    Post subject:

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