March 7th: Spurs attack, Lakers fall back.

 
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Phil
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 6:18 am    Post subject: March 7th: Spurs attack, Lakers fall back.

Spurs attack, Lakers fall back
Bryant's 43 points aren't enough to make up for the defensive mistakes made against a savvy opponent.

By KEVIN DING
The Orange County Register

LOS ANGELES – Playing hard and smart can beat a team as good as the Detroit Pistons.

On Monday night, the Lakers might well have still played harder than another elite team, the San Antonio Spurs, but the Lakers didn't come close on the other count.

So the savvy Spurs carved up the Lakers with precision and execution and won, 103-96, even though Kobe Bryant lit it up late and finished with 43 points.

"It is what it is," Bryant said. "We came out, gave a good effort. They executed better, knocked down more shots and won the game."

In all 12 of the Lakers' losses since Bryant returned from his NBA suspension on Jan. 4, the team has allowed at least 99 points. The adjustment to the triangle offense has taken hold well enough, but the Lakers will scramble haplessly with defensive rotations against a team that can move the ball as well as San Antonio can.

That was the case in the third quarter, when the Spurs scored as many points as the Pistons scored in the third and fourth quarters combined Saturday night. San Antonio outscored the Lakers, 36-19, in the third to more than wipe out the Lakers' 45-43 halftime lead.
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Phil
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 6:20 am    Post subject:

Lakers are be-treyed
By Ross Siler, Staff Writer


Chris Mihm fights for a loose ball with San Antonio's Rasho Nesterovic during the 2nd half Monday night against the Spurs at Staples Center. (Andy Holzman/Staff Photographer)
If there was one thing for the Lakers to take away from Monday night's game, after watching the San Antonio Spurs bury one 3-pointer after another, it was that making the playoffs as the eighth seed comes at a price.

The Lakers haven't beaten the Spurs in seven regular-season games since Shaquille O'Neal was traded, and Monday was no different as San Antonio turned it up in the third quarter of a 103-96 victory at Staples Center.

It was significant because the Lakers and Spurs would meet in the first round if the playoffs started today. And if Michael Finley and Manu Ginobili are shooting like they were Monday, the Lakers could be looking at a quick exit.

Ginobili hit four 3-pointers in the third quarter and Finley hit four in the fourth quarter as the Spurs connected on 10 of 14 3-pointers in the second half and improved to 47-12 with their seventh straight win.

"We'll see if Friday night they can shoot at the same level with the 3-point shots," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson, whose team will face the Spurs again Friday night in San Antonio.

The Spurs got 21 points each from Ginobili, Finley and Tony Parker and 18 points from Tim Duncan, who was poked in the eye by Smush Parker with 5:45 left in the fourth quarter and did not return.
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Phil
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 6:22 am    Post subject:

Lakers Get Third Degree
L.A. suffers another post-halftime meltdown, getting outscored, 36-19, in quarter by defending champion Spurs, who go on to win, 103-96.
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
March 7, 2006

The Lakers fell back a step, knocked off balance again after a decisive victory over Detroit, pulled back toward ninth and 10th place in the Western Conference after a familiar ending against an equally familiar foe.

Another loss to the San Antonio Spurs.


The Lakers made it interesting in the first half but faded and fell to the Spurs, who outscored them by 17 points in the third quarter and won, 103-96, Monday at Staples Center.

Now 0-6 against San Antonio since the start of last season, the Lakers slipped to a combined 1-15 against the Spurs, Phoenix and Detroit over the same span.

Kobe Bryant kept it close with 43 points on 17-for-32 shooting, and he set up Devean George for an open three-point attempt that could have brought the Lakers to within 100-93 with 2:12 to play.

But George missed, Michael Finley hit a three at the other end, and the game belonged to the Spurs, who shrunk the Laker lead over Utah and Sacramento for eighth place to 1 1/2 games.

Balanced scoring? Finley, Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker each had 21 points.

At the other end, Lamar Odom had 13 points and was the only other Laker to score in double figures besides Bryant.

The Spurs being what they are, defending league champs for a reason, thumped the Lakers in yet another poor third quarter for the home team.

Ginobili hit all four of his three-point attempts, Tim Duncan had four assists, and the Spurs took the quarter, 36-19. Bryant did hit a running 15-foot bank at the buzzer, but the score still didn't bode well for the Lakers: 79-64, Spurs.

"We let them get away, third quarter," Laker Coach Phil Jackson said. "Again, a nemesis for us. We'll address it again."
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 6:23 am    Post subject:

He's in Uniform but Out of Practice
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
March 7, 2006

Jim Jackson arrived in town, passed his physical and, the Lakers hope, remembered to bring his jump shot with him.

The 14-year veteran hasn't played in a game since Jan. 4 but was picked up for a relatively minimal financial investment after being cut last week by the Phoenix Suns.

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He walked through some plays during Monday morning's shoot-around and re-familiarized himself with the triangle offense, which he ran with Dallas for part of his first four years in the league.

"Trust me, there's a lot of cobwebs," Jackson said.

There are also going to be a lot of minutes for Jackson — perhaps not right away, but the Lakers didn't sign him to sit at the end of the bench.

Coach Phil Jackson considered giving him a night off, letting him observe in street clothes and adjust a bit longer to his 12th team. Then assistant coach Brian Shaw said something to the effect of "throw him in there."

"So he's dressing," Jackson said before Monday's game against San Antonio.

Jim Jackson ended up not playing in the 103-96 loss to the Spurs, but he'll get plenty of chances.

"It's a great opportunity for me to help a young team try to get into position for the playoffs, teetering right on the cusp of staying in that eighth position, being able to take it to the next step," said Jackson, who signed for the rest of the season for what was believed to be closer to $300,000.

"It was an opportunity for me to come in and play some good minutes and also, again, helping young guys to get to that next level."
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 6:25 am    Post subject:

New addition Jackson learns an old system
By Ross Siler, Staff Writer

Not only did the Lakers find the veteran guard they needed for the final 22 games of the season, they found one with experience in the triangle offense as well.

Of course, that was 11 teams ago for the much-traveled Jim Jackson, who signed Monday for the rest of the season. The Lakers waived injured forward Slava Medvedenko to make room for Jackson, who was released last week by Phoenix.

Jackson played in the triangle for two coaches - Quinn Buckner and Jim Cleamons - at his first NBA stop with the Dallas Mavericks. He walked through a couple of sets after Monday's shootaround, with the Lakers hoping Jackson will have a short learning curve .

"I ran it before, but it was a while ago, so trust me, there were some cobwebs," Jackson said, adding, "The basic set I'm very familiar with, but it's the little intricate things, the terminology and things like that, that I've got to get used to."

Lakers coach Phil Jackson decided to activate the 35-year-old guard for Monday's game against San Antonio and summed up what he hoped to get out of Jackson the rest of the season.

"Hopefully, he can give us some relief minutes out there on the floor," the coach said, "get Kobe (Bryant) off the floor and have a chance to play some guard position and solidify that too."

The Lakers have been searching for a veteran guard ever since Aaron McKie was lost in December to a torn left quadriceps tendon. They have lost eight games in the final minute of regulation and are counting on Jackson to help close out games.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 6:26 am    Post subject:

Jackson's $10-Million Idea: Let the Lakers Take It Easy
March 7, 2006

The question before Monday's night game was an obvious one: "How come our heroes can't play every night like they did against Detroit?"

Without hesitation, Phil Jackson said, "You have to understand this is a very complicated game. [The Lakers] played four games in five nights so they were too tired to think and they just had to play."

Not exactly Jon Stewart, but a darn good attempt.

"You need to practice them harder," I suggested, and you would think the guy getting paid $10 million a year would figure that out, but instead, he gave them Sunday off.

"No, the reality of it is scheduling had something to do with it obviously," Jackson said. "Detroit looked tired and they faded in the fourth quarter."

So much for the Lakers' most stunning win in the last two years. The Lakers were fortunate to win because Detroit was tired, and Jackson thinks I'm negative.

"Might this be an indication of what you could get out of these guys, though, or was it just a mirage?" I asked.

"I've been optimistic," Jackson said. "You're the one who has been pessimistic," and I have no idea where he got that idea.

"I'm going with you right now," I assured him.
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PostPosted: Tue Mar 07, 2006 6:29 am    Post subject:

Spurs notebook: Bowen, Bryant join forces

Web Posted: 03/07/2006 12:31 AM CST

Johnny Ludden
Express-News Staff Writer

LOS ANGELES — After spending much of the past five seasons chasing Kobe Bryant, Bruce Bowen is looking forward to the opportunity to line up alongside him.

Bowen and Bryant were among the 21 NBA players USA Basketball officially named Sunday to the national team. A training camp in July in Las Vegas will help determine the 12-man roster for this summer's World Championships.

"I think we've developed a respectful bond with one another over the years through our competition," Bowen said. "I think we have a lot of similarities as far as our competitiveness ... and that could add to some great conversation over the process."

Bowen is appreciative that Bryant has never joined the chorus of players criticizing him for playing dirty or too physical. After agreeing to join the national team, Bowen wondered what it would be like to have some of his critics as teammates.

Seattle's Ray Allen and New Jersey's Vince Carter, who voiced the loudest complaints about Bowen in past seasons, decided against joining the team.


"Some of the guys that were invited were guys that had bad words for me," Bowen said. "I sort of felt like a person who was out of place."
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