March 23rd: Brown is a King for the Day, in Lakers win.

 
This forum is locked: you cannot post, reply to, or edit topics.    LakersGround.net Forum Index -> Lakers In the News This topic is locked: you cannot edit posts or make replies.
View previous topic :: View next topic  
Author Message
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:43 am    Post subject: March 23rd: Brown is a King for the Day, in Lakers win.

Brown is a King for the Day
He has 21 points and 12 rebounds in an 87-80 win over Sacramento as Lakers take the seventh spot.
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
March 23, 2006

Kobe Bryant scored plenty of points, to no one's real surprise, and so did Kwame Brown.

Surprise.


The Lakers defeated the Sacramento Kings, 87-80, and took over seventh place in the Western Conference, while Brown showed what he could do Wednesday at Staples Center.

Brown, a rebound and five assists from a triple-double Monday against Boston, had a season-high 21 points and 12 rebounds against Sacramento in the biggest game so far this season for each team.

A loss, and the Lakers would have started off their cushy end-of-season schedule with another home defeat. Instead, they moved a game ahead of the Kings with nine of their final 12 to be played at Staples Center.

There were plenty of sources in victory, plenty of places to sprinkle credit.

Bryant, after taking 39 shots Monday against Boston, made an efficient 11 of 20 shots and had 28 points Wednesday.

Lamar Odom continued to be dependable, if not driven, again creeping up on his first triple-double as a Laker and finishing with 13 points, eight rebounds and eight assists.

Above all, there was Brown.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:46 am    Post subject:

Lakers' production a big hit
Lakersget crucial win
By Ross Siler, Staff Writer


Los Angeles Laker Kobe Bryant steals the ball away from Sacramento King Shareef Abdur Rahim during first half action.
Photo Gallery: 3/22: Lakers vs. Kings (Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photo)
The last thing the Lakers wanted to do after spending six hours on a plane Tuesday was go straight to the film room to review just how they gave up 114 points to Sacramento when the teams played last week at Arco Arena.

But they couldn't argue with the results after they turned steals into points in the first quarter Wednesday night at Staples Center and got the best game from Kwame Brown since he came to the Lakers in an 87-80 victory over the Kings.

Brown finished with a season-high 21 points and 12 rebounds, six on the offensive end, in 41 minutes as he continued to settle in as the Lakers' starting center with Chris Mihm out indefinitely with a severe ankle sprain.

"We told him before the game they don't bother to guard him and if he was active, he was going to find some things around there," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "He really did. He found some opportunities tonight."
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:47 am    Post subject:

Jackson thinking playoffs
The coach locks in on Sacramento's flaws as the Lakers leapfrog the Kings for the No. 7 seed.

By KEVIN DING
The Orange County Register

LOS ANGELES – Phil Jackson thought the 2004-05 Lakers had enough talent to go 46-36. They fell more than a few Rudy Tomjanovich-endorsed three- point shots short in a 34-48 finish. Jackson then took the Lakers' coaching job back and thought the same thing: winning about 46 games was doable.

If the Lakers can sustain the quality of play from their 87-80 victory over the Sacramento Kings on Wednesday night at Staples Center, Jackson might yet reach 46 this season.

Jackson said before the game he would like to do that, which would mean the Lakers finished the season with 12 victories in 14 games. Jackson also said he wants the No. 7 seed in the Western Conference, which almost certainly means a date with the Phoenix Suns to start the playoffs. By winning, the Lakers moved a game ahead of Sacramento for the seventh spot.

"All in all, we feel like we're playing extremely well," Kobe Bryant said.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:49 am    Post subject:

No mere No. 8 team

Lakers 87, Kings 80 Brown (21 points) helps LA pass Sacramento for No. 7 in the West.

12:38 AM PST on Thursday, March 23, 2006

By BRODERICK TURNER
The Press-Enterprise

LOS ANGELES - The goal for the Lakers was to play better defense against the Kings this time around. But then again, playing better defense has been the Lakers' goal all season, and they have infrequently accomplished it.


The Lakers were all over the court for long stretches Wednesday night, playing defense as if they'd finally learned from their misadventures.

And with Kwame Brown leading the defensive presence in the middle and playing perhaps his best game of the season, the Lakers defeated Sacramento, 87-80, to move a game ahead of the Kings for the No. 7 playoff spot in the Western Conference.

Brown had a season-high 21 points and 12 rebounds. He also blocked a shot and altered several others by keeping his hands up and his body in front of the rim.

"I've got to come out and be a presence on the defensive end first, and then whatever I get on the offensive end is a plus," said Brown, who made 8 of 12 shots.

With four Lakers scoring in double figures, led by Kobe Bryant's 28 points, the Lakers improved to 36-34.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:50 am    Post subject:

Reaching Jackson's Goal Will Be Tough
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
March 23, 2006

Long before last-minute losses and botched inbounds plays were enough for Phil Jackson to decree, somewhat jokingly, that the Lakers were trying to kill him, there was the hype and hope that accompanied his return.

Looking calm and relaxed after spending week after week at his lakefront Montana home, Jackson set a goal last September of 45 victories and a playoff appearance this season. He might get the latter, but the former will be difficult.

With 12 games left, the Lakers are 36-34, meaning they would have to go 9-3 the rest of the way to reach his goal.

"That would be tough," Jackson said Wednesday.

He did, however, lay to rest the concept of eighth place being better than seventh for the Lakers.

If they finish eighth in the Western Conference, the Lakers probably play Dallas or San Antonio in the first round, teams they are a combined 3-3 against this season. If the Lakers finish seventh, they probably play the Phoenix Suns, against whom they are 0-2 this season, 0-6 since the Shaquille O'Neal trade.

Steve Nash gives them fits and Amare Stoudemire is set to return from knee surgery, but Jackson would still like at least 45 victories … if not more.

"I'd really like to get to 46," he said. "That would really make me feel a lot more secure. I'd like to get the seventh spot."
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 6:54 am    Post subject:

L.A. needs fast finish
By Ross Siler, Staff Writer

The week before the Lakers left for training camp in Hawaii, Phil Jackson met with the media and set a goal for the season ahead. It was only September, but Jackson had seen one prediction that the Lakers would win 40 games in his first season back as coach.

"I don't know what is realistic," Jackson said that day at the Lakers' practice facility. "I saw a projection of 40 wins. I don't think you can make the playoffs with 40 wins in this conference.

"I think to get there a team's going to have to win 45, 46 games. That's all I'm willing to project is that we want to make the playoffs. That's what we're aiming to do.'

As they close the season with 10 of their final 13 games at Staples Center, the Lakers would have to go 10-3 to reach the goal Jackson set, one that many felt was modest for a coach with nine championships.

"I thought about that the other day," Jackson said before Wednesday's game. "I'd really like to get to 46 to move it up one more. That would really make me feel a lot more secure. I'd like to get the seventh spot."
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 7:00 am    Post subject:

Kupchak Offers Food for Thought on Future
March 23, 2006

With Ron Artest on the floor dressed in purple, Sacramento purple, I thought it'd be a good time to check in with Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak.

Kupchak was eating dinner, I sat down, and surprisingly he didn't lose his appetite.

He said the Lakers made an offer for Artest, but "what [Indiana] wanted from us," he said, while declining to name names, "we weren't willing to give up."

So the Lakers held on to Andrew Bynum, I guessed, and Kupchak just kept eating, but while we were on the subject of long-range projects, I wanted to know what he had in mind for the Lakers down the road. If there's another Kwame Brown coming this way, it'd be nice to be prepared.

He said the Lakers will have the ability to sign a midlevel, $40-million player for five years this summer, a starter, a veteran with the ability to push the team to victory in the close games they've been losing, which would allow them to compete with Phoenix, San Antonio and Dallas.

Whatever he was eating, I wanted some.

"I'm not intimidated by the teams in the Western Conference," Kupchak said. "I think we're one player away."

As for the franchise player, the one everyone talks about who will join Kobe Bryant and make the Lakers' championship timber again, Kupchak said that "it'll be 2 1/2 years, the summer of 2008, before we can go after a max player."

Chew on that for a minute.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 7:01 am    Post subject:

Jackson Hoping for 46 Victories

Broderick Turner

10:00 PM PST on Wednesday, March 22, 2006

LOS ANGELES - Coach Phil Jackson has been all over the place when talking about how many games the Lakers could win.

His latest hope is that the Lakers will win 46 games -- one more than he previously predicted.

That would take 10 wins in the final 12 games, a tall task for a team that has hovered around the .500 mark.

Jackson said 46 wins "really make me feel a lot more secure. I'd like to get (the) seventh spot" in the Western Conference playoffs -- which the Lakers currently hold, by one game over the Kings.

During training camp, Jackson said the team would win 30 games.

"I wasn't pleased with the way we looked in our exhibition season until we went to Vegas and played Sacramento," Jackson said, referring to the Lakers' 105-103 win.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 7:03 am    Post subject:

A Hall-of-Fame Hookup
Abdul-Jabbar Passes On His Knowledge to the Lakers' Bynum

By Michael Lee
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, March 23, 2006; Page E01

As Los Angeles Lakers rookie Andrew Bynum strolled into the shower after a game in November, veteran guard Aaron McKie looked down at Bynum's feet and noticed that the 7-foot center was wearing calf-high tube socks. McKie didn't think anything of it until the next game, when he shook his head in disbelief as Bynum did it again.

"I'm like, 'Why do you keep wearing your socks in the shower?' He said, 'I don't have any shower shoes,' " McKie recalled with a laugh. "I'm like, 'Are you going to wash your feet?' "
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 7:04 am    Post subject:

Lakers still need better defense

By AL BALDERAS
The Orange County Register


The Lakers' Smush Parker (1) goes for a dunk in front of New Orleans Hornets' Chris Paul during a March 8 game in New Orleans.

FILE PHOTO: ALEX BRANDON, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

EL SEGUNDO – The Lakers took an unusual step Tuesday when they reported to their training facility moments after arriving from Boston.

With 13 games left on their regular-season schedule, and a playoff berth not yet secured, the Lakers had work to do.

Players and coaches huddled in the viewing room Tuesday afternoon watching a replay of a March 14 contest in which the Sacramento Kings beat the Lakers, 114-83.

The Kings will arrive at Staples Center tonight in a tight battle with the Lakers for last playoff spots. The Kings won Tuesday night against Seattle to tie the Lakers in the standings.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Thu Mar 23, 2006 7:05 am    Post subject:

Lakers Must Use Home-court Edge

Broderick Turner

10:00 PM PST on Tuesday, March 21, 2006

EL SEGUNDO - The Lakers have 13 games left in the regular season, 10 at home, but they can't find comfort in that, not with the way they have performed at home.

They have just as easily lost to sub-.500 teams at Staples Center as they have beaten the top teams. Think back to the lowly Seattle SuperSonics, who beat the Lakers last week.

Six of the teams the Lakers play are below .500 (they play New Orleans twice) and they have lost to five of those teams.

Tonight, the Lakers host the Sacramento Kings, a team they are percentage points behind for the seventh spot in the Western Conference playoff race.

The Lakers play five games against opponents that have a playoff spot locked up and four games against opponents that are still trying to solidify a postseason berth.

"They're all big (games) for us," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "We have 10 home games, three road games and we feel like we have to win really a high majority of those games to finish where we have to finish if we want to go forward to gain momentum for the playoffs."

The Lakers are 18-13 at home.

They are just 35-34 overall and know every win counts now -- especially at home.

"Every game we play is going to be the biggest game of the year," Lamar Odom said. "... It's in our hands. We can't really worry about what other teams are doing."
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Display posts from previous:   
This forum is locked: you cannot post, reply to, or edit topics.    LakersGround.net Forum Index -> Lakers In the News All times are GMT - 8 Hours
Page 1 of 1
Jump to:  

 
You cannot post new topics in this forum
You cannot reply to topics in this forum
You cannot edit your posts in this forum
You cannot delete your posts in this forum
You cannot vote in polls in this forum






Graphics by uberzev
© 1995-2018 LakersGround.net. All Rights Reserved. Privacy Policy. Terms of Use.
LakersGround is an unofficial news source serving the fan community since 1995.
We are in no way associated with the Los Angeles Lakers or the National Basketball Association.


Powered by phpBB