March 17th: Lakers take on the Nets, and lose.

 
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Phil
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 7:03 am    Post subject: March 17th: Lakers take on the Nets, and lose.

HERE COMES KOBE

By FRED KERBER
KOBE BRYANT KOBE BRYANT



March 17, 2006 -- An ailing Jason Kidd didn't even bother showing up for yesterday's light workout. A sickly Vince Carter did and wished he didn't.

The cold and congestion bug coursing through the Nets' locker room, where Scott Padgett also fell victim, picked a real swell time to arrive: after all, Kobe Bryant visits tonight.

"You make it difficult, but he's going to shoot more than anybody else in the league," explained Richard Jefferson, who'll be front and center for the Nets in their ever-changing defenses against Bryant when they play the Lakers in the Meadowlands, looking for a fourth straight win. "You try to defend him so he doesn't go for 50 or more."

Or you let Kidd, Carter and Padgett breathe on Bryant and hope the bug settles on him, too. Bryant is the league's leading scorer at 34.8 points. He's hit 40 or more 19 times, including 46 in the Nets' 102-96 overtime victory in L.A. Nov. 27. Bryant's season also includes games of 50, 51, 62 and, of course, the 81-pointer against Toronto.

So maybe everyone should sneeze on him. While Bryant is trouble enough, the Nets have other problems. Jeff McInnis' rehabbing knee is still achy and led to another trip to the doctor yesterday. Carter seemed to be down with more than just a cold: "Vince doesn't look too good," coach Lawrence Frank offered.

Nice time to see Kobe.


Last edited by Phil on Fri Mar 17, 2006 10:49 pm; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 7:06 am    Post subject:

Numbers Don't Tell the Story on Brown
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
March 17, 2006

The Lakers' Kwame Brown held his ground against Shaquille O'Neal and bothered Tim Duncan to no end, so it only made sense he would draw Kevin Garnett when Minnesota came to town.

The edge, somewhat surprisingly, might have tilted in Brown's direction.

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Garnett made only four of 14 shots, was held to 16 points, more than four below his average, and acknowledged he was not in rhythm Wednesday because of Brown.

"He played a hell of a basketball game," said Garnett. "He's out there working hard, just like I'm out there working hard."

Brown doesn't have the tenacity and reaction skills of Detroit center Ben Wallace. Nor does he have the speed/strength combination of Phoenix forward Shawn Marion.

But he does muscle players out of the post, a sumo wrestler more than a leaper and blocker. His defensive numbers are mild compared to Wallace and Marion — only 5.6 rebounds and 0.6 blocked shots a game — and his offense continues to lag, but his physical post presence is invaluable to the Lakers.

Last week, in a rare victory in San Antonio, he helped hold Duncan to 12 points.

"I don't think people appreciate the defense he gives us," Phil Jackson said. "We certainly understand that he makes it difficult for people on the block. He has a strong body and he can hold guys off the block and contest shots."
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 7:07 am    Post subject:

Nets seek Kobe cure

BY OHM YOUNGMISUK
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Jason Kidd stayed home recovering from a cold. Vince Carter was sent to a doctor for a remedy for a cold of his own.

The Nets' two biggest stars were feeling sick, and Kobe Bryant had yet to step into the Meadowlands.

"Vince doesn't look too good right now, so hopefully our doctors have that secret formula," said Lawrence Frank, whose Nets face Bryant's Lakers tonight. "With Vince it's in his chest and I think Scott (Padgett) too. You feel like a truck hit you. So he's going to go see a doctor, too."

If the Nets aren't careful, Bryant will flatten them like he has done to so many other defenses this season. Bryant is averaging a league-best 34.8 points per game. He had his unforgettable 81-point explosion against Toronto on Jan.22 and also had 62 points against the Mavericks in just three quarters.

Kidd and Carter should play but at less than 100%, and Frank spent yesterday trying to devise not just a scheme to stop Bryant, but contingency plans in case one of his guards is not available.

"He's a fierce competitor," Frank said of Bryant. "He's got that fire. You just kind of see that burning fire inside of him. He's a special, special player.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 7:09 am    Post subject:

Lakers notes: Momentum hard to find
By Ross Siler, Staff Writer

NEW YORK - How to define the second half of the season for the Lakers? They have not won more than two games in a row since the All-Star break. They also have not lost more than two games in a row since the All-Star break.

It has been a long and elusive search for momentum, one that will continue for the Lakers as they open a three-game road trip tonight against New Jersey.

"The real difficulty," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said, "is when teams get weighed down with the losing, the winning, the losing, the winning, this roller-coaster disappointment that comes along without ever getting a winning streak of five or six games.

"If we can get some kind of continuity in that at the end of the season, I think it would give a buoyant spirit to this team. But the inconsistency has a tendency to weigh a team down, and we're trying to get through this period of being overwhelmed by that."

The Lakers' longest winning streak this season is four games and came in December. Just when they looked like they had turned the corner with a breakthrough victory last Friday at San Antonio, the Lakers suffered a 120-113 loss to Seattle on Sunday.

But the Lakers hope that getting back out on the road, even for a short trip, can be the start of something. They went 5-1 on a December trip and have barely a month left to find some momentum before the playoffs begin.

"When you have to build up the energy to bounce back from tough losses, it's taxing," Kobe Bryant said. "As opposed to getting on a roll, you're not really using that much energy because you're in a good groove and a good flow. That's what we're trying to build back up."
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 7:11 am    Post subject:

Kobe gives Nets a sick feeling

Friday, March 17, 2006

By AL IANNAZZONE
STAFF WRITER



EAST RUTHERFORD -- Kobe Bryant has left his defenders feeling weak in the knees and nauseous. Some Nets' superstars felt that way the day before facing the Lakers' great.

Jason Kidd stayed home from practice Thursday with a head cold and Vince Carter went to the doctor for a respiratory problem.


Kidd's illness limited him to zero points in Wednesday's win over the Blazers and Carter was coughing after the game so the Nets are concerned but hopeful both can play tonight in Bryant's only Continental Arena appearance this season.

"Vince doesn't look too good right now," coach Lawrence Frank said. "So hopefully our doctors have that secret formula."

No matter who plays, the NBA's leading scorer can expect to see multiple Nets' defenders on him.

Bryant, who is averaging 34.8 points a game, is even tougher to stop since he forced Shaquille O'Neal's exodus. Bryant takes an NBA-high 26.9 shots a game, has 19 games of 40 or more points and has scored at least 50 four times.


Last edited by Phil on Fri Mar 17, 2006 7:17 am; edited 2 times in total
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 7:16 am    Post subject:

Lakers nearing end of the road

By KEVIN DING
The Orange County Register

The Lakers began their last extended trip of the season Thursday with a flight to New Jersey for games against the Nets, Cleveland Cavaliers and Boston Celtics in a four-day span. But after that, the Lakers will eye a schedule so tilted in their favor it looks something like an alley-oop pass.

These next three games will take the Lakers to 38 played on the road and 31 at home, meaning 10 of the final 13 regular-season games will be at Staples Center. The Lakers have not dominated at home this season, which was one reason they were glad to beat visiting Minnesota on Wednesday.

The victory improved the Lakers to 18-13 in home games - still the worst home record among NBA teams with winning overall records - but countered the home loss to Seattle on Sunday.

Kobe Bryant said the Minnesota game was "a must-win for us. We needed to get this W. Going out on the road now with three games after dropping those to Seattle and Sacramento, to come back and get this win was big."

"There's no doubt we have to improve at home," Coach Phil Jackson said.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 7:19 am    Post subject:

Lakers must overcome fatigue

12:29 AM PST on Friday, March 17, 2006

Broderick Turner

You can see it in their eyes. You can hear it in their voices. You notice it from their poor body language.

The rigorous season has taken its toll on the Lakers and they are fighting themselves mentally and physically.

They have only themselves to blame. Their uneven play all season has caused the Lakers too much anxiety and stress, which has been as much a part of their fatigue as anything else.

Even Kobe Bryant admitted he's tired, that his legs feel heavy, that he has to push through this.

You can see it in his shots, many of which are clanging off the rim with regularity in recent games.

The Lakers have played 66 games and have had their share of injuries, but that can't be used as an excuse.

They have 16 games left -- starting with a three-game road trip beginning tonight in New Jersey -- to overcome what ails them.

"The real difficulty is when teams get weighed down with the losing, the winning, the losing, the winning, this roller coaster of disappointment that comes along without ever getting a winning streak of five or six games," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. "... If we could get some kind of continuity at the end of the season, I think it would give a buoyant spirit to this team.

"The inconsistency has the tendency to wear a team down, and we're trying to get them through this period of being overwhelmed by that."
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 7:21 am    Post subject:

Nets seek Kobe cure

BY OHM YOUNGMISUK
DAILY NEWS SPORTS WRITER

Jason Kidd stayed home recovering from a cold. Vince Carter was sent to a doctor for a remedy for a cold of his own.

The Nets' two biggest stars were feeling sick, and Kobe Bryant had yet to step into the Meadowlands.

"Vince doesn't look too good right now, so hopefully our doctors have that secret formula," said Lawrence Frank, whose Nets face Bryant's Lakers tonight. "With Vince it's in his chest and I think Scott (Padgett) too. You feel like a truck hit you. So he's going to go see a doctor, too."

If the Nets aren't careful, Bryant will flatten them like he has done to so many other defenses this season. Bryant is averaging a league-best 34.8 points per game. He had his unforgettable 81-point explosion against Toronto on Jan.22 and also had 62 points against the Mavericks in just three quarters.

Kidd and Carter should play but at less than 100%, and Frank spent yesterday trying to devise not just a scheme to stop Bryant, but contingency plans in case one of his guards is not available.

"He's a fierce competitor," Frank said of Bryant. "He's got that fire. You just kind of see that burning fire inside of him. He's a special, special player.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 7:23 am    Post subject:

Nets just want to contain Kobe
Friday, March 17, 2006
BY ELI GELMAN
Star-Ledger Staff

With Kobe Bryant in town tonight, Nets coach Lawrence Frank and his staff spent yesterday looking for the secret formula. And it didn't have anything to do with defensive schemes to shut down the NBA's leading scorer.

Frank was hoping team doctors would invent an instantaneous cure for the common cold -- with Jason Kidd, Vince Carter and Scott Padgett all suffering from respiratory ailments and missing practice yesterday. Carter was heading to the doctor and Frank said he was thinking of contingency plans in case he couldn't play.

"Vince doesn't look too good right now," Frank said. "It's in his chest, Scott too. You feel like a truck hit you."

And that's exactly how the Nets could feel tonight with Bryant and the Lakers at the Continental Airlines Arena. Bryant is averaging 34.8 points with a .442 field-goal percentage and has taken more shots than anyone in the league (1,720). He also gets to the line more (663 free-throw attempts) than any other player.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 10:51 pm    Post subject:

Krstic scored 26 as Nets edge Lakers

Krstic scored 26 as Nets edge Lakers


Associated Press

3/17/2006 11:11:35 PM

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. (AP) - Jason Kidd's offensive woes continued, so he turned back the clock and produced a defensive performance that belied his years.

Kidd was a major reason the New Jersey Nets held Kobe Bryant to 24 points, 11 below his average, in a 92-89 win Friday night.

Nenad Krstic scored 26 points and tapped in a missed shot by Vince Carter with 13 seconds left for the winning points, and Bryant missed a long three-pointer at the buzzer. Carter, who added 24 for New Jersey, switched with Kidd on the final play and denied the Lakers star the ball until he was several feet from the three-point line.

"It was a great read by them," said Bryant. "They sent out all small, so they were able to switch everything. They took the play away from us."

Up to that point, it had been Kidd who had performed yeoman's work on Bryant, who missed nine of his first 11 shots and finished 9-for-24 with seven turnovers.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 17, 2006 10:54 pm    Post subject:

NBA Game Summary - LA Lakers at New Jersey
03/17/2006
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East Rutherford, NJ (Sports Network) - Nenad Krstic had 26 points and tipped in a missed shot by Vince Carter with 13.1 seconds left to cement the New Jersey Nets' 92-89 win over the Los Angeles Lakers at Continental Airlines Arena.

Carter poured in 24 points and Richard Jefferson netted 16 for the Nets, who won their fourth straight contest. Jason Kidd contributed 14 assists in the win.

Kobe Bryant had 24 points and 11 assists, and Lamar Odom totaled 18 points and 13 boards for the Lakers, who have lost three of their last four games. Smush Parker finished with 13 points and nine boards

Kidd's three-pointer with 2:08 to play extended the lead to 88-83, but Los Angeles drew within one, 90-89, moments later after Parker's trey with 34 ticks on the clock.

Carter's floater rimmed out but Krstic was there to tip-in the rebound with 13.1 seconds to play.

The Nets' defense stopped Bryant from getting the ball until the offense had to rush the shot, and with Carter all over him, Bryant's long distance shot to tie the game didn't reach the hoop.

Brian Cook drained a pair of long distance shots to give the Lakers a 12-4 lead, but the Nets responded with a 13-2 run, capped by Krstic's jumper, to make the score 17-14. The center scored eight of New Jersey's first 17 points.

The Nets led 25-23 after 12 minutes of play.
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