April 29th: "Upstart Lakers Take 2-1 Lead in Series" "This team is growing up before our eyes" "Suns looking for answers"

 
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: Sat Apr 29, 2006 6:43 am    Post subject: April 29th: "Upstart Lakers Take 2-1 Lead in Series" "This team is growing up before our eyes" "Suns looking for answers"

A New Team Song
Despite only 17 points from Bryant, the Lakers take a 2-1 series advantage when the rest of the starters chip in against the Suns.
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
April 29, 2006

It was a victory for Luke Walton.

And Kwame Brown.


And Smush Parker, who apparently knew what he was saying when he predicted last week who would take this series.

The Lakers showed they can win without a great game from Kobe Bryant, the supporting cast rising above the Phoenix Suns, 99-92, to take Game 3 on Friday at Staples Center.

The Lakers lead the best-of-seven series, 2-1. Game 4 is Sunday at Staples.

Bryant had only 17 points on six-for-18 shooting, but Walton was there with 17 points and 10 rebounds. Brown was again a handful in the post with 13 points and 11 rebounds. Parker, looking slightly more omniscient with the Lakers holding a one-game lead, had a team-high 18 points.

The Lakers curbed the Suns' small ball with brawl ball, pushing and shoving their way to victory. They stood strong through skirmishes, refusing to flinch, and clearly outmuscled the Suns with a 53-34 rebound advantage.

"I think they just wanted to make a stand," Laker Coach Phil Jackson said. "And make a statement."


Last edited by Phil on Sat Apr 29, 2006 7:48 am; edited 5 times in total
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 6:46 am    Post subject:

Upstart Lakers Take 2-1 Lead in Series
By KEN PETERS, AP Sports Writer
11:55 PM PDT, April 28, 2006

LOS ANGELES -- The Los Angeles Lakers' strategy against Phoenix is to pound the ball inside on offense, and slow down the Suns' running game when they have the ball. The Lakers worked the plan to perfection for the second game in a row, taking a 99-92 victory over Phoenix on Friday night.

Kobe Bryant had only 17 points, but all five starters scored in double figures in the Lakers' well-balanced offense, and they outrebounded the smaller Suns 53-34.

Lamar Odom had 15 points and 17 rebounds, Kwame Brown had 13 points and 11 rebounds, and Luke Walton had 17 points and 10 rebounds.

"From the start of the series, we have just been playing extremely well and are moving the ball around really well," Bryant said. "We have just evolved into this from the start of the season. It has been a process.

"We are just playing so well together."

The victory gave the upstart Lakers a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven Western Conference playoff series. They beat the Suns 99-93 in Phoenix in Game 2 after losing the opener there 107-102.

Smush Parker added 18 points in the latest win, and Bryant, who went 6-of-18 from the floor, finished with seven assists and five rebounds.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 6:47 am    Post subject:

After a Season in Wilderness, L.A. Springs Into Action
April 29, 2006

Jeffrey Osborne was here, singing a national anthem that drew sweat.

Derek Fisher and Rick Fox were here, human throwback jerseys who drew standing ovations.

History was here, this home team having lost only eight of the 48 playoff games it has played at Staples Center.

The fans were here, emerging into spring for the first time in two years, howling under a purple-and-gold light.

After a 22-month absence, a Laker playoff game was here Friday night.

Not coincidentally, so were the Lakers.

"Playoff basketball," said Lamar Odom.

"Team basketball," said Kobe Bryant.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 6:49 am    Post subject:

Lakers Suddenly Look a Lot Like the Clippers
April 29, 2006

The noise and the excitement were chilling, one playoff victory in Phoenix throwing an old-time playoff charge into a Staples Center crowd, which seemed to think they were watching greatness in the making.

The Dodgers won a playoff game two years ago too, which goes to show you any one can win a playoff game. How about two — like the Clippers?

4:47 p.m.: Arrived to find the Laker Girls practicing. I didn't think I'd find Devean George. One of the Laker Girls had "Love Pink'' in block letters across her behind. Remember, I'm paid to report what I see.

6:25: Jackson says his 2000 Laker championship ring is "cumbersome.'' He's always got an excuse when it comes to wearing a ring. Right, Jeanie?

7:45: The noise for a Laker game is amazing when everyone arrives on time.

7:48: Luke Walton commits a flagrant foul, setting the tone, and I'd love to hear what his old man is saying on ESPN. In fact I wish Bill Walton did the broadcast on all Laker games. He's got more Chick in him than any one I know.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 6:53 am    Post subject:

Mihm Still Not Right
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
April 29, 2006

The Lakers, enmeshed in a 2-1 series with the Phoenix Suns, might be without Chris Mihm the rest of the first round.

The Laker center has experienced more soreness and swelling in the severely sprained right ankle that caused him to sit out 17 games toward the end of the regular season.


He has been out all three Laker playoff games after playing 14 minutes in the regular-season finale against New Orleans.

"In hindsight, that's where it got all flared up," Mihm said Friday. "I don't know if it was too early. It was my schedule. I didn't want to come back in the playoffs without playing a game."

Mihm said he probably was out for Game 4 on Sunday and could not guarantee he would return for the first-round series.

"I don't know," he said. "I'm hoping we can find a way. We're trying everything right now. We have been all along."

Mihm, who averaged 10.2 points and 6.3 rebounds during the regular season, would not reclaim his starting job because of Kwame Brown's strong play, but, if healthy, could provide ample rest time for Brown.

Mihm had two cortisone injections and continues to undergo electro-stimulation therapy on the ankle, he said.

"The guys are playing well," he said. "It's upsetting not to be part of it."
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 6:55 am    Post subject:

Lakers: That extra push
Lakers win intense game to go up 2-1
BY ROSS SILER, Staff Writer

There was a moment before the words were exchanged and players were separated, before the Lakers and Phoenix Suns nearly squared off in the third quarter Friday night at Staples Center, when everything was clear.

In the middle of it was Kwame Brown, making a sensational left-handed block against Boris Diaw in the lane. Then Brown flipped Diaw to the floor, stood over him, and stared too long for the Suns' liking.

If one play summed up the Lakers' 99-92 victory in Game 3 of their Western Conference playoff series, Brown's block was it. The pushing and shoving that followed involved Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant and brought both coaches onto the floor as things were sorted out.

But make no mistake that the Lakers had made a statement to the Suns.

"They were trying to take it to us," Brown said. "So we just had to hit back. We can't be pushed around, especially when they're smaller than us."
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 6:57 am    Post subject:


This team is growing up before our eyes

BY STEVE DILBECK, Columnist

It's time to meet the Los Angeles Lakers!

You do not know them. Would not recognize them from a local YMCA team.

Right now, the Phoenix Suns certainly don't.

These Lakers resemble the frustrating team that moaned and groaned and labored its way through most of the six months of the regular season in name only.

They are playing so well at the moment as to be unrecognizable.

They share the ball. Make hair-thin interior passes. Control the tempo. Attack the basket. Play shockingly good defense.

Which is where the Suns are now after the Lakers' 99-92 victory Friday night in Game 3 at the Staples Center.

In shock. Maybe a little numb, but certainly shocked at the play of these suddenly new-and-improved Lakers.

"I'm sure they are," the Lakers' Luke Walton said. "I think everybody is in shock right now.

"I mean, I shot more shots tonight than Kobe. That's shocking. Smush (Parker) was our leading scorer. I think the whole basketball world is shocked."
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 6:59 am    Post subject:

Suns looking for answers
BY VINCENT BONSIGNORE, Staff Writer

Raja Bell stretched out in a chair in front of his locker Friday and stared straight ahead. After adjusting a huge ice bag covering his left knee, he folded his arms tightly across his chest.

"Watch out for my feet," Bell warned an oncoming swarm of reporters. "They hurt."

Not as much as his pride. Come Sunday, his resolve will be put to the test.

That much is clear after the Lakers beat the Suns 99-92 Friday to take a 2-1 lead in their best-of-seven series. Game 4 is Sunday at Staples Center.

Bell and the Suns, the second seed in the Western Conference playoffs and prohibitive favorites to beat the seventh-seeded Lakers, face a near must-win situation Sunday.

Only it didn't seem like they had any quick solutions to wrest control back from the Lakers.

"It's back to the drawing board," a frustrated Bell said.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 7:06 am    Post subject:

Lakers notes: Kobe becomes the 'good cop'
BY ROSS SILER, Staff Writer

How much have things changed for Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson in their second act together? So much that Bryant might be portrayed as the good cop and Jackson the bad cop if the coach was writing the story of this Lakers season.

The topic of Jackson and Bryant's coexistence has been revisited in recent days with the Lakers back in the playoffs. And Jackson suggested Thursday that he and Bryant have played different roles than anyone could have expected.

"Now I'm the one that's on them about the execution," Jackson said, "and he's telling them they're doing a good job and they'll be fine and don`t worry as long as they're hustling, that's great."

Jackson and Bryant talked through the Lakers' game plan for this series against the Suns, with Jackson asking Bryant if he was up for task of playing 45 minutes a game and spending more time initiating the offense in the backcourt.

In addition, Jackson praised Bryant for providing a "swagger" the Lakers could follow this season and for showing trust and patience in his teammates. He cited a play in the first half of Game 2 that he said spoke volumes about the change in Bryant.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 7:08 am    Post subject:

Another valuable lesson in voting
BY KEVIN MODESTI, Columnist

Are we sure this MVP race is over?

Ballots for the Most Valuable Player award have been cast already, based on the NBA regular season. The winner won't be announced for a while, probably after the first playoff round. Of course, that doesn't stop newshounds from sniffing around for the results.

The word is that Steve Nash of the Phoenix Suns will be named MVP for the second season in a row, with Kobe Bryant of the Lakers somewhere in a group of runners-up with LeBron James, Dirk Nowitzki and Chauncey Billups.

Where are these secrets guarded anyway, the White House?

The argument for Nash, the league's assists leader, over Bryant, its scoring leader, is that Nash does more of that making-his-team-better stuff that purists love.

But here's the thing.

What if Bryant's team beats Nash's here in the first round of the playoffs, where the Lakers beat the Suns 99-92 at Staples Center on Friday night to take a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven-game series?

"Too late!" Mike D'Antoni, the Phoenix coach, said before the game with a grin.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 7:10 am    Post subject:

Suns get run over by Lakers, 99-92
By Jerry Brown, Tribune
April 28, 2006
LOS ANGELES - All season long the Suns have surprised the NBA, running to 54 wins and a division championship with a depleted lineup. Three games into the postseason, they’re surprising everyone again — for all the wrong reasons.
Related Links
View slideshow
More Phoenix Suns playoff coverage
Today's Top Stories
Sports
And if the Suns can’t find a way to stop the runaway truck known as the Los Angeles Lakers in the next 48 hours — surprise! — they will be looking at a very early summer vacation.

With their offense still stuck in neutral and the Lakers in total command of the play inside, the flustered and frustrated Suns couldn’t get over the top, and for the second time in three days, 99 points was enough to turn them away in a 99-92 loss Friday at the rocking Staples Center.

“I don't know if we're trying too hard or just not believing in ourselves as much as we should," guard Steve Nash said. “We're a little tentative. We battled; we're just not scoring enough points.

“We've definitely underachieved in these playoffs. Even in the one game we won, we didn't play to our capabilities. That's making a big difference in this series.”
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 7:15 am    Post subject:

Lakers getting tough

Lakers 99, Suns 92: They play a physical game and win Game 3 to take a 2-1 series lead.

01:52 AM PDT on Saturday, April 29, 2006

By BRODERICK TURNER
The Press-Enterprise

LOS ANGELES - This series between the Lakers and Suns, two teams not known for their physical play, has taken on a nasty tone.
Silvia Flores / The Press-Enterprise
The Lakers' Luke Walton passes the ball over the Suns' Leandro Barbosa (left) and Steve Nash in the second half of Game 3 of their Western Conference playoff series Friday at Staples Center.

There were two altercations and a lot of pushing and trash-talking Friday night. Neither team was willing to back down.

The Lakers stood their ground and flexed more muscle, using their size and strength to overwhelm the Phoenix Suns, 99-92, before 18,997 fans at Staples Center in Game 3 of their Western Conference playoff series.

"I think they felt intimidated at some point in this playoff," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said about the Suns. "...Our big guys have been effective. ... They just wanted to make a stand and make a statement."

All five starters scored in double figures for the Lakers, a testament to how they are executing the game plan.
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 7:18 am    Post subject:

Mihm Inactive Again

Broderick Turner

10:00 PM PDT on Friday, April 28, 2006

LOS ANGELES - The Lakers' game plan has been to attack the Phoenix Suns inside, but one of LA's big weapons may not play the entire first-round series.

Lakers center Chris Mihm was placed on the inactive list Friday night for the second straight game because his right ankle has remained inflamed and swollen. Rookie center Andrew Bynum was activated.

Mihm was asked if that means he'll miss the entire Western Conference best-of-seven series.

"I'm hoping not," Mihm said. "I'm hoping to find a way."

Mihm sprained his right ankle March 12 against Seattle. He missed 17 games and came back to play in the Lakers' last regular-season game against the Hornets.

"In hindsight, the ankle flared up, so it maybe it was too early," Mihm said.

Mihm has been getting electric stimulation and has gotten two cortisone shots but it still isn't ready.

"The guys are playing so well, too," Mihm said. "It's disappointing to not be a part of it."
Back to top
View user's profile Send private message Reply with quote
Phil
Retired


Joined: 03 Aug 2001
Posts: 10007

PostPosted: Sat Apr 29, 2006 9:35 pm    Post subject:

Suns Try Jackson's Philosophy
Lucy Nicholson/Reuters

Coach Phil Jackson and the Los Angeles Lakers have a surprising, 2-1, series edge on the Phoenix Suns.


Article Tools Sponsored By
By HOWARD BECK
Published: April 30, 2006

SANTA MONICA, Calif., April 29 — One coach in this playoff series between the Lakers and the Suns is renowned for invoking Eastern philosophy on the basketball court. It is the other one who now sounds like a yoga instructor.

"We need to get to halfcourt, take a deep breath and relax," he said. "Get your muscles untense after fighting, fighting and everything. And just play."

The breathing instructions were from Phoenix Coach Mike D'Antoni, whose team is suddenly, surprisingly, down, 2-1, to the Los Angeles Lakers in their first-round series.

The running, gunning, carefree Suns, the N.B.A.'s darlings one year ago, seem to have lost everything that made them so enjoyable — and so dangerous — last season. They are running at half speed, if at all. They are grinding instead of flowing, clenching their teeth at every misfire instead of grinning with every 30-point quarter. And they are unusually testy, evidenced by three technical fouls in Friday's 99-92 loss.
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