Just as we were crossing into the realm of what could be
considered ‘drama,’ by some accounts, some fairly enlightening news has
come out of the Lakers’ camp in regards to Andrew Bynum’s recovery.
But first, here’s a quick timetable of what’s gone down as of late:
July 3rd: Andrew Bynum did indeed receive medical clearance
from doctors Thursday and will begin training in earnest by mid-July.
His agent, David Lee, said the Lakers center did not have any pain or
swelling in his surgically repaired left knee and will be ready to go
by training camp in October.[O.C. Register]
July 9th: Kupchak also questioned whether
center Andrew Bynum has been cleared by his doctor to begin training.
Last week, Bynum’s agent, David Lee, said his client had been given
medical clearance by Dr. David Altchek and would start training in two
weeks. “I’m not saying what he (Lee) said isn’t true,” Kupchak said,
“I’m saying he has not been cleared.” [OC Register]
Hats off to The Lakers Nation
for getting the word out about this. AM570’s Joe McDonnell is reporting
the the Lakers will not be matching Ronny Turiaf’s $17 million, four
year offer from Golden State.
I
know, It’s just hearsay at this point in time, but Joe is one of the
most professional guys on radio, and is known for his reliable sources.
It’s really going to pain me to see Ronny in a different uni next
year, but at the same time, it wouldn’t have made monetary sense for
the Lakers to pay out that kind of change for what is essentially an
energy backup. I have a feeling that the frontladed nature of the
contract also drove the Lakers away. Reports noted Ronny will be
receiving $10 million in the first season of the new contract.
Rookie,
Joe Crawford made headlines Wednesday night as his buzzer-beating
runner granted the Lakers their second win in the Vegas summer league.
His game-winning shot was backed with 10 points and six rebounds on the
night. Four other Lakers finished in dubs, including Brian Roberts and
Lorenzo Mata-Real, who both finished with 12.
Coby Karl kept pace with his SL averages, scoring 14, but the show was stolen by an unlikely contributor.
Nik Caner-Medley with 19. Who? Let’s open the file.
Nik Caner-Medley, a product of New England, led Maryland in scoring
in his junior and senior year (2005-2006), in route to a no-show at the
draft. Nik signed a Summer League contract with the Pistons in 2006,
only to go down with a foot injury for five months. Since then, he has
played in Germany, back in the SL with the Kings, in the NBADL, and
most recently in Spain. He’s a 6-8, 200lb forward. If he keeps posting
big numbers, maaaybe we’ll see him don the purple and gold come November. This guy is new to me, but I’ll be keeping my eye on him.
Oh yeah… I forgot to mention that the Lakers beat the T-Wolves.
Kevin Love (probably my favorite rookie) lit it up. 18 points and 17
rebounds. I’m really excited to watch this guy ball. Corey Brewer put
up 19, and POOH JETER! chimed in with 15.
Sure the Lakers just got clowned, but these nuggets that I found (via The Lakers Nation), only one day after the hideous 39-point loss, may instill some hope among the optimists out there.
First, Andrew Bynum on contracts: In an interview toward the end of the regular season, Bynum said he
wanted to stay with the team and did not necessarily expect a maximum
contract extension of about $80 million.”I just want to be a Laker,” he
said. “As long as they treat me right, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t
have to be max [money] for me. I just want to be able to live
comfortably and take care of my family.” [LA TImes]
And second, Sasha on coming up short: “Next year, especially with
Andrew and the same group, we won’t be short two games like we were
this year; I can guarantee you that,” Vujacic said. “We are going to
work really hard. Personally, I’m going to work myself really hard in
the gym all summer. We want to win it. We lost our first (NBA) Finals,
and I think we have a lot more to go.” [OC Register]
There's also been a lot of talk about Ron Artest coming over, however he has made statements that suggest otherwise. I think the Lakers should consider pursuing him. He is going to be able to play a position (SF) that Lamar will need time to get adjusted to with Bynum coming back, with better efficiency, and most importantly, better consistency.
Finally, Phil Jackson, who is under increasing scrutiny (cough. after being out-coached by Doc), made these comments about the future during Tuesday's press conference:“We have to get some players if we’re going to come back and repeat, to have that kind of aggressiveness that we need.”
There's a lot of talk already. It's going to be a long off-season.
Of course Lakers fans would lash out on Paul Pierce's pseudo heroics in game one. It's been beat into the ground by columnists across the nation, but thanks to the marvelous photoshopping of a supposedly-anonymous Lakers fan, this one takes the cake:
Welcome to the greatest thing to happen to the NBA in years.
The conspiracy theorists got their wish as the #1 seed Lakers and the #1 seed Celtics clinched into the finals to make for the perfect storm of playoff basketball. Two of the most storied franchises in sports meeting in the finals for the first time since 1987. A lot of things have changed since 1987 (gasoline sold for around $1.15 a gallon... that's enough evidence), but the rivalry remains the same. Back in 2000, ESPN ranked it the the #2 "rivalry we wish still existed." Well, It's back. The importance of this rivalry spans generations, going back to their first meeting in 1959, and the subsequent six meetings in the 1960s.
This rivalry is so huge, that even I know a detailed history of it. I was -2 when the Lakers and Celtics last met in the finals, though thanks to some keen storytelling from my father and seemingly endless hours of programming on ESPN Classic, I know the history... I know the pageantry. I think it's the pageantry that puts it over the top. With the rivalry on the brink of dormancy in 1989, Electronic Arts released one of the greatest video games of all time--'Lakers versus Celtics and the NBA Playoffs.' What other rivalry has an entire video game devoted to it?
Enough about the past. Though history is there, these are two completely different teams trying to write their own page in the book.
The Celtics had a much tougher route to the finals, requiring seven games with both Atlanta and Cleveland. However, after not winning a single road game in the first or second round, the Celtics managed to grab two in Detroit... Something that closes the door to the "they can't win on the road in the playoffs" thoughts. The Lakers did away with a sluggish Spurs team in five, much to the surprise of some.
The Lakers got back a key piece to the puzzle in that Spurs series; Trevor Ariza. While Trevor didn't get much action in the conference finals (four points in around nine minutes total), the week of rest was the best possible thing for Trevor's return. “I hope he’s going to have an opportunity to play,’’ Phil Jackson said. “He can help us.’’ Ariza then stated “I can’t say what the situation is or will be, but I know when the time comes, I’ll be ready.’’
The matchups are going to be what makes or breaks this series for either team. The Lakers main concern is going to be containing the Celtics big three. No surprise there. The LA Times is reporting:
Derek Fisher will guard second-year point guard Rajon Rondo and Kobe Bryant will start out on Ray Allen, but the frontcourt is somewhat unsettled.
Lamar Odom said he expected to match up against physical Boston center Kendrick Perkins, who outweighs Odom by 34 pounds.
“I’ll try to meet him as far out on the court as possible,” Odom said. “I’ll have my hands out, be like an offensive lineman coming right off the line and jam him early. I guess I’ll be Orlando Pace out there.”
Pau Gasol probably will start out on Kevin Garnett, and Vladimir Radmanovic probably will draw Paul Pierce, though this is the type of series where defense-minded forward Trevor Ariza could get more playing time, presumably against Pierce. [LA Times]
I know it won't happen, but I figure the Lakers would be better off sliding Kobe to the three to defend Pierce, bringing Sasha Vujacic into the lineup to guard Ray Allen. Having Vlad Rad guard Pierce doesn't seem too productive... unless, like the story suggested, they can get Trevor Ariza involved at that level.
Time for all the fun stuff:
The Celtics have won both matchups with the Lakers in the regular season. One being the "short-shorts" misstep, and the other being a 13 Lakers loss in late November. Since I've made the "post-Gasol acquisition era" a bit of a trend, I'll add that the Lakers have not seen the Celtics since the acquisition of Pau . Pau, however did see the Celtics on January 4 as a member of the Grizz. Pau got contained rather well, only scoring 12 points and pulling down eight rebounds.
In the
regular season, the Lakers scored 108.6 points per game and allowed
101.3 points per game with an offensive rating at 3rd of 30 and a
defensive rating at 5th of 30. The Celtics scored 100.5 points per game
and allowed 90.3 points per game with an offensive rating at 9th of 30
and a defensive rating at 1st of 30.
Series Schedule: (2-3-2) Game One Thursday - 6/5 Lakers @ Celtics 6:00pm - ABC Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy
Game Two Sunday - 6/8 Lakers @ Celtics 6:00pm - ABC Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy
Game Three Tuesday - 6/10 Celtics @ Lakers 6:00pm - ABC Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy
Game Four Thursday - 6/12 Celtics @ Lakers 6:00pm - ABC Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy
*Game Five Sunday - 6/15 Celtics @ Lakers 6:00pm - ABC Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy
*Game Six Tuesday - 6/17 Lakers @ Celtics 6:00 - ABC Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy
*Game Seven Thursday - 6/19 Lakers @ Celtics 6:00pm - ABC Mike Breen, Mark Jackson, and Jeff Van Gundy
Player Playoff Averages:
(LAL) Derek Fisher - 10 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.2 APG Kobe Bryant - 31.9 PPG, 6.1 RPG, 5.8 APG Vladimir Radmanovic - 8.3 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 1.5 APG Lamar Odom - 14.7 PPG, 10.3 RPG, 2.9 APG Pau Gasol - 17.7 PPG, 8.9 RPG, 4.2 APG
(BOS) Rajon Rondo - 10.5 PPG, 4.2 RPG, 6.6 APG Ray Allen - 14.2 PPG, 3.4 RPG, 2.8 APG Paul Pierce - 19 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 4.1 APG Kevin Garnett - 21.1 PPG, 9.8 RPG, 3.5 APG Kendrick Perkins - 7.2 PPG, 6.8 RPG, 0.6 APG
I know. There are 4 million other things to be worried about with game two of the Western Conference Finals one hour away, but I can't help but post this.
We all remember the whole "Oh my god! Kobe just jumped over an Aston Martin" video. Well, he's back for more.
The second installment of the pseudo-viral videos promoting Kobe's Nike HyperDunk shoe takes a little bit of a different route:
Winning on the road is proving to be the most troublesome task this postseason. The Boston Celtics can attest. Coming into the playoffs, the Celtics were pinned as a favorite for the championship. Fast-forward one month and the Celtics, who have yet to win a game on the road, are beginning to look like the underdog in Eastern Conference finals.
Taking a look at the Western Conference finals, the importance of the road is just as present. The Lakers and the Spurs both closed out their semi-final series' on the road. The route for the Lakers may have been a tad easier with it being in game six, but facing the unruly crowd in Utah, the sentiment is the same as San Antonio's game seven win in New Orleans.
There's no doubt that the majority of Lakers fans would have preferred to see New Orleans for the simple reason that they aren't the Spurs, but the schedule is set, and there's no question that it's going to be an all-out war. This series is a battle of the two most fit teams in West, and regardless of the turnout, it's going to be a fun one to watch. This is the series that brought us 0.4 seconds; one of the greatest shots in Lakers' history. Need I say more?
Their last postseason meeting was in 2004 where the Lakers knocked off the Spurs in six games, cruising to a 12 point lead at home one game after Derek Fisher's heroics in game five. The Spurs were the defending champs then, and they're the defending champs now. Will history repeat?
Foremost, I have some news on the Lakers injury beat: 1. The Lakers announced today that center Andrew Bynum will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee this week. The procedure is scheduled for Wednesday in New York and involves
cleaning some rough spots and fraying on the underside of his kneecap.
It will be performed by Dr. David Altchek. [LA Times]
2. As we know, Trevor Ariza was cleared for full contact last week. Rumors swirled that he was going to suit up for game six in Utah, but that didn't end up happening. He had full involvement in practice yesterday, and according to KLAC AM 570's David Vassegh, he finished off the scrimmage with a reverse dunk. He should be suited up for game one. I would expect either Ira Newble or Chris Mihm to be moved to the inactive list.
3. Kobe has said that his back is 100% with "no lingering effects from the back spasms that plagued him a week ago." [LA Times]
Time for the fun stuff:
The Season series between the Lakers and Spurs is tied 2-2 with both teams protecting their home floor. Since I've made the "post-Gasol acquisition era" a bit of a trend, I'll add that the post-Gasol acquisition era Lakers have faced the Spurs once. You might remember that 21 point win near the end of the season where Kobe dropped 20, Lamar dropped 17 and 14, and Pau dropped 14 and 11.
In the regular season, the Lakers scored 108.6 points per game and allowed 101.3 points per game with an offensive rating at 3rd of 30 and a defensive rating at 5th of 30. The Spurs scored 95.4 points per game and allowed 90.6 points per game with an offensive rating at 15st of 30 and a defensive rating at 13th of 30.
Series Schedule: Game One Wednesday - 5/21 Spurs @ Lakers 6:00pm - TNT Marv Albert and Doug Collins
Game Two Friday - 5/23 Spurs @ Lakers 6:00pm - TNT Marv Albert and Doug Collins
Game Three Sunday - 5/25 Lakers @ Spurs 5:30pm - TNT Marv Albert and Doug Collins
Game Four Tuesday - 5/27 Lakers @ Spurs 6:00pm - TNT Marv Albert and Doug Collins
*Game Five Thursday - 5/29 Spurs @ Lakers 6:00pm - TNT Marv Albert and Doug Collins
*Game Six Saturday - 5/31 Lakers @ Spurs 6:00 - TNT Marv Albert and Doug Collins
*Game Seven Monday - 6/2 Spurs @ Lakers 6:00pm - TNT Marv Albert and Doug Collins
Starting Matchups: (Playoff Averages) Point Guard (LAL) Derek Fisher - 6-1, 205 - 11.9 PPG, 2.5 RPG, 2.7 APG (SAS) Tony Parker - 6-2, 180 - 23.6 PPG. 3.5 RPG, 6.2 APG
Shooting Guard (LAL) Kobe Bryant - 6-6, 220 - 33.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 6.8 APG (SAS) Michael Finley - 6-7, 225 - 7 PPG, 1.9 RPG, 1.1 APG
Small Forward (LAL) Vladimir Radmanovic - 6-10, 234 - 8.2 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.7 APG (SAS) Bruce Bowen - 6-7, 200 - 5.6 PPG, 2.3 RPG, 1.5 APG
Power Forward (LAL) Lamar Odom - 6-10, 230 - 15.6 PPG, 10.67RPG, 3.1 APG (SAS) Tim Duncan - 6-11, 260 - 19.3 PPG, 13.3 RPG, 2.6 APG
Center (LAL) Pau Gasol - 7-0, 260 - 20 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 4.5 APG (SAS) Fabricio Oberto - 6-10, 245 - 3.8 PPG, 4.6 RPG, 1.3 APG
All-Time Series Facts - regular season(from game notes):
Lakers vs. San Antonio in Postseason (from game notes): The Lakers and Spurs have met 10 times in the postseason (1982, 1983, 1986, 1988, 1995, 1999, 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004) with Los Angeles advancing on seven occasions, most recently 4-2 in the 2004 Western Conference Semifinals after falling behind in that series 0-2. The teams have twice met in the First Round (2-0), five times in the Conference Semifinals (2-3) and three times in the Conference Finals (1982,1983 and 2001,3-0). The Lakers 47 playoff games against the Spurs are the fourth highest total against a single team in the postseason for Los Angeles, trailing only Boston (57), Phoenix (51) and Portland (48). The Lakers are 17-8 against the Spurs at home, 13-9 when visiting San Antonio and 30-17 overall against the Spurs in the postseason.
Staples Center Advantage (from game notes): Since
moving to STAPLES Center prior to the 1999-2000 season, the Lakers have
won 82% of their postseason games (48-10). The Lakers have topped the
century mark in half of their postseason home games at STAPLES Center
(31-of-58) while the opposition has been held under 100 points in all
but 16 of those games. In their last 21 home playoff games, the Lakers
are 18-3.
Kobe's back injury in game four opened the door for ton of speculation. The fact the ABC7 reported that Kobe "couldn't stand up on the plane" didn't help much.
Throughout his career, Kobe has been known to suck it up--and he'll do just that on Wednesday: Kobe Bryant met the media Monday with a new companion - an electronic stimulating device hooked up to his sore lower back.
Plans call for the two to spend a lot of time together for the next couple of days, or longer.
The
Los Angeles Lakers' star tweaked his back in the opening minutes of
Sunday's 123-115 overtime loss at Utah that tied the Western Conference
semifinals 2-2.
"It's pretty sore right now," Bryant said Monday.
"It's tight. It's to be expected the next day, I guess. I don't know
how I made it through the game, to be honest with you."
Bryant said he was receiving treatment around the clock.
"Secret stuff," he replied with a smile when asked to be specific about the treatment.
Regarding the electronic stimulating device, Bryant said he had slept with it on Sunday night.
"It cuts down the pain," he said. "How, I don't know."...
"I'll be ready to play. I can't imagine it being any worse than it was last night." [Fox Sports]
I'm sure Vic The Brick will be equipped with some cool words for Kobe before the game.
Moving onto things of lesser importance (though they sure could use some defense right now), Trevor Ariza has been cleared by a second physician:
Hoopsworld has learned that Trevor Ariza of the Los Angeles Lakers has been cleared by a second independent doctor. Sidelined for months with a broken foot, Ariza has now sought out two additional opinions hoping to get back on the floor to help the team in its ongoing playoff run.
The Lakers' physician has been conservative as Ariza's CT Scan still shows a line on the bone which is normally interpreted as an unhealed fracture.
Ariza recently saw a doctor in Utah who postulated that the bone has indeed healed and that the line may never fully disappear.
The recent third opinion concurred which sends the ultimate decision to the Lakers who are inherently conservative when it comes to long term health of their players. To date they haven't been willing to put Ariza in harm's way, even for the ongoing playoff push. [Hoopsworld]
That's the scoop for now. Game five is on Wednesday. I'd call it a must-win. The Lakers definitely DO NOT want to face elimination at EnergySolutions in game six, so I'm calling Wednesday the game of the series.
Los Angeles Lakers center Andrew Bynum might undergo exploratory
arthroscopic surgery on his injured left knee if there is no
significant improvement in the next three to four weeks.
Lakers spokesman John Black said Bynum was examined Wednesday by Dr.
Steven Gecha in Princeton, N.J. Black said the team was told there had
been some improvement in the 20-year-old center’s knee, but Gecha’s
recommendation was exploratory surgery if there wasn’t more in the
upcoming weeks. [ESPN]
Sure, it's an unfortunate situation... but it's for the better. That's already been discussed here.
Regardless of the news, I'm still hearing "Just wait until they get Andrew back. They're going to sweep through the playoffs." Well, as of now, they are sweeping through the playoffs, and looking rather good doing so.
Some good news on the defensive front: Trevor Ariza was cleared to play on April, 27.
"A week from now, I can start doing a little bit of contact. And then a week later I can start playing." Theoretically, this means that Trevor should be good to go as soon as Sunday's game four, however reports earlier this week were hinting towards something sooner.
And, just a reminder: (Lakers up 2-0)
Game Three Friday - 5/9 Lakers @ Jazz 6:00pm - ESPN/KCAL
Game Four Sunday - 5/11 Lakers @ Jazz 12:30pm - ABC
*Game Five Wednesday - 5/14 Jazz @ Lakers TBD - TNT
*Game Six Friday - 5/16 Lakers @ Jazz TBD - ESPN/KCAL
*Game Seven Monday - 5/19 Jazz @ Lakers TBD - TNT
A couple of reasons for Lakers fans to breath a little bit easier going into EnergySolutions Arena where the Jazz had a 37-4 record: In their last meeting in Utah, the Lakers snapped a 19-game home winning streak with a 106-95 victory, anchored by Kobe's 27, and Lamar's 21 and 12. The Lakers are 3-1 in the season series. All four games were played without Pau Gasol in the lineup. Also, if the first round means anything, despite winning games one and two in Houston, the Jazz lost game three at home by two.
28.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5.4 APG, and 57 wins later, Kobe Bryant is your 2008 NBA MVP.
2008 MVP Voting (based on the NBA's MVP voting points system):
1. Kobe Bryant - 1,105 (82 first place votes)
2. Chris Paul - 889 (28 first place votes)
3. Kevin Garnett - 670
4. LeBron James - 439
5. Dwight Howard - 60
Longest-Tenured Winners*
Kobe Bryant - won following his 12th season
Karl Malone - 12th season
Hakeem Olajuwon - 10th season
Charles Barkley - 9th season
Kevin Garnett - 9th season
Steve Nash - 9th season
Dirk Nowitzki - 9th season
Magic Johnson - 8th season
Shaquille O'Neal - 8th season
Bob Cousy - 7th season
*First MVP Award
The press conference was terrific. Here are some notable quotes:
"Since you said that you couldn't have won this award without your teammates, are you going to be getting your teammates any sort of gifts?" - Luke Walton "How do you like the triangle?" - Tex Winter
And this one from Bill Plaschke: "Kobe, would you like to be a Laker for the rest of your career? Can you say that now?""I would like to. Absolutely."
Here's the full audio of the acceptance speech as well as the press conference, courtesy of myself.
Thanks to Utah's 113-91 win over Houston last night, we don't have to wait until Tuesday to see the Lakers take the floor. This is a good thing. I don't know how much longer I could take the "rest vs. rust" discussions. Anyway, the Lakers cruised through the first round, but that might be the problem. I'm not a big fan of speculation, but it's hard not to listen when someone says something along the lines of "well, the Lakers are going to get overconfident after the sweep, Denver just rolled over and gave them the series." Personally, I think the Lakers know what their doing. This whole notion of 'overconfidence' is milked too much in the media. It's playoff basketball. The Lakers (as with just about any other team) have enough experience to know what their going up against and how to react.
Sunday is going to make for some terrific basketball. Not only do we have the Lakers kicking off this series, but the #1 seed Celtics face elimination in game seven of that CRAZY series at 10am.
The Lakers are 3-1 in the season series, losing on November 30th at EnergySolutions Arena. On March 20th the Lakers issued Utah one of only four losses at EnergySolutions Arena. Interestingly enough, all three Lakers' wins against Utah were without Pau Gasol--just like the Denver series.
In the regular season, the Lakers scored
108.6 points per game and allowed 101.3 points per game with an
offensive rating at 3rd of 30 and a defensive rating at 5th of 30. The Jazz scored
106.4 points per game and allowed 99.3 points per game with an
offensive rating at 1st of 30 and a defensive rating at 12th of 30.
Series Schedule: Game One Sunday - 5/4 Jazz @ Lakers 12:30pm - ABC
Game Two Wednesday - 5/7 Jazz @ Lakers 7:30pm - TNT
Game Three Friday - 5/9 Lakers @ Jazz 6:00pm - ESPN/KCAL
Game Four Sunday - 5/11 Lakers @ Jazz 12:30pm - ABC
*Game Five Wednesday - 5/14 Jazz @ Lakers TBD - TNT
*Game Six Friday - 5/16 Lakers @ Jazz TBD - ESPN/KCAL
*Game Seven Monday - 5/19 Jazz @ Lakers TBD - TNT
Starting Matchups: Point Guard (LAL) Derek Fisher - 6-1, 205 - 11.7 PPG, 2.1 RPG, 2.9 APG (8.5 PPG in Round 1) (UTA) Deron Williams - 6-3, 208 - 18.8 PPG. 3.0 RPG, 10.5 APG (20.8 PPG in Round 1)
Shooting Guard (LAL) Kobe Bryant - 6-6, 220 - 28.3 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 5.4 APG (33.1 PPG in Round 1) (UTA) Ronnie Brewer - 6-7, 223 - 12 PPG, 2.9 RPG, 1.8 APG (9.3 PPG in Round 1)
Small Forward (LAL) Vladimir Radmanovic - 6-10, 234 - 8.4 PPG, 3.3 RPG, 1.9 APG (8.2 PPG in Round 1) (UTA) Andrei Kirilenko - 6-9, 223 - 11 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 4.0 APG (9.3 PPG in Round 1)
Power Forward (LAL) Lamar Odom - 6-10, 230 - 14.2 PPG, 10.6 RPG, 3.5 APG (11.7 PPG in Round 1) (UTA) Carlos Boozer - 6-9, 266 - 21.1 PPG, 10.4 RPG, 2.9 APG (16 PPG in Round 1)
Center (LAL) Pau Gasol - 7-0, 260 - 18.9 PPG, 8.4 RPG, 3.2 APG, 0.5 SPG (22.2 PPG in Round 1) (UTA) Mehmet Okur - 6-11, 263 - 14.5 PPG, 7.7 RPG, 2.0 APG (13.1 PPG in Round 1)
All-Time Series Facts (from game notes):
Lakers vs. Utah in Postseason (from game notes): The Lakers and Jazz have met three times in the postseason (1988, 1997 and 1998) with Los Angeles advancing on once occasion (1988 Western Conference Semifinals 4-3, the lone time the Lakers have held the home-court advantage over the Jazz). Utah eliminated Los Angeles from the playoffs in two consecutive seasons: 1997 Western Conference Semifinals (1-4) and 1998 Western Conference Finals (0-4). The Jazz sweep of the Lakers in the Western Conference Finals in 1998 included a 112-77 victory in Game 1, the largest margin of defeat by the Jazz over the Lakers in their playoff series history.
Staples Center Advantage (from game notes): Since moving to STAPLES Center prior to the 1999-2000 season, the Lakers have won 82% of their postseason games (45-10). The Lakers have topped the century mark in half of their postseason home games at STAPLES Center (28-of-55) while the opposition has been held under 100 points in all but 14 of those games. In their last 18 home playoff games, the Lakers are 15-3.
We all know where I stand on the situation, so without further ado, here's the quote: "I doubt there's going to be a comeback this year," Andrew Bynum said
Friday. "I've got to get my knee straight. At this point, I'd have to
train for a good month just to be able to go out there and play." [LA Times]
For those of you crazies out there, one month from now is June, 2. That would be just before the Finals start. So, basically if the Lakers get that far and if you believe Andrew's guestimation, then you might see him this season. As for now, the Sigma Nu house at UCLA is your best bet.
The Lakers handled the Nuggets with relative ease to close out round one of the playoffs--broom in hand. Well, it turns out, Andrew Bynum was having a good time this weekend as well. Iggy Cohn of the Santa Rosa Press-Democrat's blog, "Cohn vs. Cohn" (also a UCLA student) had this to say:
Thursday night my fraternity, Sigma Nu, threw its quarterly house
party. Andrew Bynum, the injured center for the Los Angeles Lakers, the
twenty-year-old former 1st round pick, was at the party. Word started
to spread around the party of his presence, but no one could find him.
Then suddenly he emerged from one of my friend's rooms with two girls
and a small entourage of Sigma Nus following behind him. Everyone who
had a camera or a cell phoned rushed towards him to get a picture.
Bynum walked out of the hall, down a flight of stairs, and into the
center of the dance floor, where he danced with the two girls. I don't
know what this means about the state of his knee, or if he'll be able
to play for the Lakers this post-season. But I do know that he can walk
down stairs and dance to fast paced hip hop. [Santa Rosa Press-Democrat] Now, I'm not a big fan of muckraking into athletes' personal lives, but I do find this interesting. Fortunately, the media hasn't beat him up over it, and I don't think something like this will come back to bite him... It's not like he's rolling with Lachey. All in all, he is a 20 year old kid. Had he attended college (and not left early), he'd still be there. Reports are saying that he's been doing just about everything shy of 'full-contact' workouts, so I doubt a little bit of dancing is going to throw anything off. The best thing of all is that Bynum was said not to be drinking. At all. Which I believe, considering his comments from the past on drinking, smoking, and tattoos.
The majority of Lakers fans don't seem to care about this situation, and in my entirely unbiased opinion, I don't either. I don't even like calling it a "situation," however, since it didn't make it to the major news sources (and rightfully so), I'm anxious to see what you all think.
I'm a realistic observer of the vast world that surrounds the Los Angeles Lakers. You can thank Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones, Elden Campbell, Cedric Ceballos, and Vlade Divac for making that possible. The greatest person of all time is Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn. There's no getting around that. Me? I'm eighteen years old and working my way to a journalism degree.
is reporting
the the Lakers will not be matching Ronny Turiaf’s $17 million, four
year offer from Golden State.
Rookie,
Joe Crawford made headlines Wednesday night as his buzzer-beating
runner granted the Lakers their second win in the Vegas summer league.
His game-winning shot was backed with 10 points and six rebounds on the
night. Four other Lakers finished in dubs, including Brian Roberts and
Lorenzo Mata-Real, who both finished with 12.
I lied. 
