April 13th: Bryant the best, but he's not the MVP. Odom, Brown beyond just holding their own.

 
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Phil
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:54 am    Post subject: April 13th: Bryant the best, but he's not the MVP. Odom, Brown beyond just holding their own.

Bryant the best, but he's not the MVP

By STEVE BISHEFF
The Orange County Register

He is the most talented player in the game. He makes more clutch shots than anybody on the planet, and he stamped his indelible signature on this season with that big, fat 81 he dropped on Toronto.

But there is one startling reason Kobe Bryant can't be the MVP of the NBA:

He is too good for his own team.

There is such a huge dropoff between him and everyone else on the Lakers, there have been too many nights like the recent loss to Denver when he took 39 shots and finished with one assist. Too many nights when his competitiveness seems to hurt the team almost as much as it helps it.

It seems so easy to knock him for appearing selfish and scream that he doesn't pass the ball enough. But to whom should he pass on this team?

Kwame Brown, with hands that only Roberto Duran could love? Lamar Odom, whose assertiveness flits in and out more often than the drivers on L.A.'s erratic freeways? Devean George, who seems almost as surprised as his coaches when one of his jumpers goes in?
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Phil
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:55 am    Post subject:

Odom's game on the rise
BY ROSS SILER, Staff Writer

The difference between putting up good numbers and great numbers can be as simple as getting one more layup per game to fall. The difference between being selected as an All-Star or not can be connecting on one more 3-pointer than usual.

That's how Lamar Odom has rationalized things during his two seasons with the Lakers, often when the criticism of his play has grown loudest. His job is to fill up the box score, and Odom has been sensational more nights than not recently.

Odom's numbers arguably have been the best of his career in the second half of the season. He is averaging 16.8 points, 9.1rebounds and 5.6 assists since the All-Star break, shooting 53.8 percent overall and 45.6 percent from 3-point range.

For comparison's sake, Odom averaged 17.4 points, 10.9 rebounds and 3.9 assists on 45.3 percent shooting when he was named Eastern Conference player of the month with the Miami Heat in March 2004.

"We all know of his potential," Kobe Bryant said. "We all know he can be a great player. It's just a matter of him being on a team where we all embrace him and believe in his abilities. That's what he has here."

Odom followed his 23-point, 15-rebound game Sunday against the Clippers with his first triple-double in 141 games since coming to the Lakers two nights later against Golden State.

"He's beautiful to watch going to the basket making these moves he's been making the last few games," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said.
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Phil
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 5:59 am    Post subject:

Odom, Brown beyond just holding their own
Their improved play is key to any playoff success the Lakers will have.

By KEVIN DING
The Orange County Register

LOS ANGELES – One of Kevin Garnett's recent complaints about his dead-end existence in Minnesota was that the Timberwolves have been unable to identify their core - the players who, with Garnett, are the team's foundation.

For the Lakers, a look at the salary list shows that, besides Kobe Bryant, there are only two players with guaranteed contracts for two seasons beyond this one - and they are the highest-paid on the team this season after Bryant. The Lakers' core is Bryant, Lamar Odom and Kwame Brown, and if the team is to make a mark in the upcoming playoffs, Odom and Brown must continue to be consistent standouts.

Brown has made a quantum leap since being thrust into the role of starting center, when Chris Mihm sprained his ankle March 12. That changed the scope of Brown's existence because Coach Phil Jackson did not have a plan for giving Brown such an opportunity at the center position, a spot where Jackson now acknowledges Brown is "much more comfortable" than at power forward.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 6:01 am    Post subject:

Jackson Prepares for the Worst
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
April 13, 2006

Phil Jackson interrupted the pre-playoff buzz with a bit of bad news:

The Portland Trail Blazers are coming to town.


A few minutes after the Lakers shelved Golden State, the Laker coach reminded the media, effervescing fans, and, not-so-subtly, his players that the Lakers had been handled twice already this season by the league's worst team.

The Lakers and Atlanta are the only teams with losing records against the Trail Blazers, who have fallen below the other 29 teams with a 21-57 record.

The Lakers were embarrassed in Portland in January, 113-103, and last month, 99-93. They did happen to drub the Trail Blazers, 99-82, at Staples Center in February, but just the same, Jackson sent reporters searching for dictionaries when describing the importance of Friday's game at Staples Center.

"Portland is a team that befuddled us and stymied us with their ability to win on their home court," he said.

Jackson could only play up Portland so long before he began answering questions about the Lakers' roll.

The Lakers are on an 8-3 run, a game ahead of eighth-place Sacramento and 2 1/2 games ahead of ninth-place Utah.

"Now is the time to peak, if we are in fact peaking," Jackson said.
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Phil
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 6:02 am    Post subject:

What a Long, Strange Trip

Journeyman career of Jackson, LA's hired gun, more than a little mystifying

10:00 PM PDT on Wednesday, April 12, 2006

By BRODERICK TURNER
The Press-Enterprise

EL SEGUNDO - In his NBA basketball journey, Jim Jackson has found homes all across the United States.
AP photo
Jim Jackson, who was once traded for Lakers assistant Brian Shaw, has struggled in 11 games since joining LA, averaging barely more than a point in 5.9 minutes.

It is an odyssey Jackson has been on for 14 years, pulling into 12 different ports, never staying in one place for long.

Jackson, 35, is tied for playing with the most NBA teams; he would have the record, but he never reported to New Orleans after being traded there in 2004.

He has played with Jason Kidd, Rasheed Wallace, Chris Webber, Tracy McGrady, Steve Nash, Kobe Bryant and many others.

He has been in trades for David Wesley, Brevin Knight, Casey Jacobsen, Don MacLean, Khalid Reeves and Ed Gray.

For some, the question has been why has this talented player moved so much?

For Jackson, a 6-foot-6 guard, it's more about being wanted by someone and still being able to play a game he loves, no matter where it takes him.

"First of all, I'm blessed to even play the game and be in the league 14 years playing at the level with which I have played," said Jackson, whose trek began in Dallas in 1992 and now has landed him in Los Angeles with the Lakers.

What has been perplexing about Jackson playing for so many different clubs is that he's never been a mediocre player.

He has a career average of 14.4 points and a high of 25.7 (1994-95). He has started 650 of the 882 games he's played.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 6:06 am    Post subject:

Lakers reassign guard to Flyers
STAR-TELEGRAM

The Los Angeles Lakers reassigned Von Wafer to the Fort Worth Flyers on Wednesday.

Wafer was initially assigned to the Flyers on Feb. 27. The 6-foot-5 guard played in eight games for the Flyers.

He averaged 8.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 17.9 minutes before being recalled to the Lakers on March 22.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 6:07 am    Post subject:

A New Sunrise
Despite turning its roster over, playing without Stoudemire and even losing its general manager, Phoenix hasn't slowed down a bit
By Mark Heisler, Times Staff Writer
April 13, 2006

PHOENIX — If it's spring, the Suns must be rising from their ashes once more, like the mythological bird this city was named for.

Of course, even the bird didn't have to do it annually, much less monthly.

ADVERTISEMENT
Yes, the Suns are back although no one (ever) believes it, because they're still too small, don't play defense, and, of course, Can't Win That Way in the Playoffs.

Even so, they won 62 games last season, reached the Western Conference finals, swapped out half the franchise, ran away with the Pacific Division again and may be headed for a first-round matchup with the Lakers.

Not that the Lakers would be looking forward to it. The last time they beat the Suns, Shaquille O'Neal started at center. Since he left, the Lakers are 0-7.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 13, 2006 7:57 pm    Post subject:

West notes: Odom's new role gives Lakers flowing results

By David DuPree, USA TODAY
Lamar Odom hasn't had the easiest time getting used to his do-everything role with the Los Angeles Lakers. But he certainly has gotten the hang of it lately.

The Lakers have won eight of their last 11 games and are a game up on the Sacramento Kings in the seventh playoff spot in the conference, with Odom quietly being a major contributor to the recent success. He's averaged 16.9 points, 8.4 rebounds and 4.9 assists during the streak.

"I feel confident, and I am comfortable right now," Odom said. "I am just going out there, rebounding and making plays. My shots are falling, and I am trying to keep everybody involved."

Two games ago, coach Phil Jackson called on Odom to take on another role — a move to power forward from small forward. That elevated Luke Walton, probably the team's best passer, to a starting role and gave Odom more freedom in the offense. The result was his first triple-double as a Laker (15 points, 13 rebounds and 10 assists) in a 111-100 win against the Golden State Warriors.

Being able to run much of the offense through Odom has enabled Kobe Bryant to be more of a scorer. Bryant, though his rebound and assist averages are at seven-year lows, is leading the league in scoring with a career-best and league-leading 35.1 average — 5.1 more than he has ever averaged. It's the highest average in the league since Michael Jordan averaged 37.1 points in the 1986-87 season.
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