ESPN Ranks Lakers as Greatest Basketball Franchise in History

In a recent article for ESPN, John Hollinger ranks the NBA Franchises.  To no one’s surprise, he ranks the Los Angeles Lakers first and the Boston Celtics second.

No. 1: Los Angeles Lakers

The Lakers are the greatest franchise ever because of their incredible collection of trademark stars.

1. LOS ANGELES LAKERS: 80.2 POINTS PER SEASON (1947-2010)

• Wins: 3,027
• Playoff wins: 426
• Series wins: 106
• Titles: 16
• All-Stars: 127
• Best player: Magic Johnson
• Best coach: Phil Jackson
• Best team: 1971-72 (69-13, won NBA title)
• Intangibles: +150. Endless stream of superstars — on the court and in the seats.

Magic. Kareem. Jerry West. Kobe. Shaq. When it comes to superstars, the Lakers are so far out in front of everybody else it’s not even funny — their all-time starting five would crush any other team’s; in fact, it might be better than that of the rest of the league’s put together. So star-studded is their legacy that I left Wilt Chamberlain, Elgin Baylor and George Mikan off my five-man team that opened this paragraph, also neglecting the likes of James Worthy, Bob McAdoo and Gail Goodrich

And those big names won, too. Although the Celtics have more championships, the Lakers have more of everything else — wins, playoff wins, playoff series wins and conference titles. About the only thing that hurts L.A. in the all-time rankings is the penalty for relocating from Minnesota to Los Angeles in the 1950s.

The story begins with the Mikan years up north, where he led Minneapolis to five championships in six seasons in the formative years of the NBA. As the league’s first dominant big man, he established something of a tradition.

FRANCHISE HISTORY

Los Angeles Lakers (1960-Present)

Minneapolis Lakers (1948-60)

Since then, the Lakers have almost always had at least one monstrous big man — Mikan, Wilt, Kareem, Shaq, Pau Gasol — and one electrifying perimeter star to go with him (Magic, Jerry West, Baylor, Kobe).  About the only thing the Lakers haven’t been able to do is best the Celtics head-to-head. In 11 meetings against Boston in the Finals, L.A. has prevailed just three times. In that regard, Baylor’s Minneapolis team got the ball rolling in 1958-59 in the team’s last season before heading west, and in the ’60s, Chamberlain and West were foiled by the Celtics five times

Ultimately, those Lakers broke through with a 69-13 season in 1971-72 that featured a 33-game winning streak — still a record for North American pro team sports — to win the team’s first title in L.A.  After a brief lull in the late ’70s, they would get five more rings when Magic arrived to join forces with Kareem. Although there was one more painful loss to Boston interposed — a seven-game defeat in 1984 — L.A. avenged it by becoming the first team in nearly two decades to repeat as champs, winning in 1987 and 1988. A hamstring injury to Magic Johnson in the Finals the next year derailed the Lakers’ quest for a three-peat, but they would get one a decade and a half later after Phil Jackson came to Tinseltown to guide Shaq and Kobe.

That team provided plenty of last-second excitement — most notably the alley-oop from Kobe to Shaq that cemented a Game 7 conference finals comeback win over Portland in 2000 — and produced one of the most dominant playoff runs in history with a 15-1 romp through the field in 2001.  Amazingly, the franchise has missed the playoffs only five times in its 62 years. The Lakers, who have played in seven Finals in the new century, are now only one title behind the hated Celtics after defending their title in 2010 with a dramatic seven-game win over Boston.

Artest Comes Through When Lakers Need Him Most

In a sobering interview after the game Ron Artest thanks God for giving him a second chance.

He was the only one on the floor who played without the weight of the world or at least the city on his shoulders. He was the only one who bought into the cliché that it was simply another game, because maybe in Ron Artest’s mind it was.  Maybe he thought there would be a Game 8. Maybe he forgot he was playing in the NBA Finals. Maybe he thought it was a regular-season game in November. With Artest you just never know. Whatever it was, the Lakers’ mercurial forward was the only player on the court for much of the Lakers’ 83-79 win against the Boston Celtics in Game 7 of the NBA Finals who wasn’t wound tighter than a spring coil.

He allowed the Lakers to remain within reach of a game they trailed by 13 points in the third quarter. In the process, he cemented his place in Lakers history. Artest was all over the court, finishing with 20 points, five rebounds and five steals, and making key play after key play while changing the momentum of a game that was seemingly slipping away from the Lakers from the opening tip.  History will remember Kobe Bryant as the Finals MVP, but there is no way he celebrates the honor and a fifth championship without the help of Artest, who scored 12 points in the first half (all in the second quarter) while the triumvirate of Bryant, Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum went 7-for-31 for 16 points and the team shot a collective 25.5 percent from the field.  It was Artest who kept the team within striking distance with his defense on Paul Pierce, who finished with 18 points, and his hustle on both ends of the floor. He was responsible for two of the game’s signature moments and ultimately was the reason why the Lakers won their 16th championship.  He converted a three-point play when he hit a six-footer while getting fouled by Pierce in the paint to tie the score at 61-61 with 7:28 left after the Celtics had led for much of the game. He then essentially put the game away when he made a 3-pointer to give the Lakers a 79-73 lead with less than a minute to play.  This was the moment Artest had dreamed about when he signed with the Lakers in the offseason. After his childhood friend Lamar Odom — who told Artest he would win a championship if he signed with the Lakers — tossed the ball into the air as the clock expired, Artest ran around the court as mindlessly as he did while dribbling the ball during the Lakers’ loss in Game 2 of the Finals.  As much as the players on the Lakers admire Bryant, look up to Derek Fisher and confide in Odom, there isn’t a player on the team more liked than Artest. He’s essentially the lost puppy who simply wants to please everyone but more often than not trips over himself in the process. The reason everyone on the team ran to the other end of the court when Artest hit the winning layup in Game 5 of the Western Conference finals against the Phoenix Suns wasn’t only because it was a big shot but because it was Artest who made it.

As Artest sat in front of his locker after the game, surrounded by his family, he began showing them around like a school kid showing his parents his classroom. “This is where I do my interviews after games,” he said as he held a bottle of champagne. When he was asked about the toughness he brought to the Lakers, he looked up at his father standing above him and pointed to him.  “When you talk about tough Ron, that’s my dad,” he said. “My dad threw me on the floor, roughed me up real bad and used to make me real mad. He prepared me for this moment right here. That’s why when you see me I can’t control it. That’s my dad. I played hard because my dad did. Don’t blame it on the alcohol, blame it on my dad.”  As Artest spoke, his brother Daniel, gave Artest the Larry O’Brien Trophy, which he cradled in his arm like a baby before looking at his 7-year-old daughter, Diamond.  “You want to kiss the ball,” he asked her as she laughed and put her right hand over her face.  Before Artest could answer another question, he screamed he was losing his voice, prompting Diamond to whisper to him, “If you talk low, it comes back.” Artest smiled and nodded his head, “OK, I will.”

Artest’s carefree demeanor in the locker room mirrored his attitude on the court for much of the game, which he credited to a sports psychologist he has been seeing. In fact, after the game when he was being interviewed on the court he made it a point to thank his psychologist and mention the release of his new single, which he recorded last year.  “I was nervous as a mama, but I have to thank my doctor,” he said. “She came and saw me last night, and she’d come follow me on the road because there’s so much going on on the road and I know myself. I know in these situations I don’t think the right way and I need help to think the right way and focus and stay relaxed. All I did was relax at the moment I took the 3-pointer. I settled in and trusted in myself.”

Later pressed about the shot, Artest said God told him to shoot it when he wasn’t so sure. “A voice came down and told me to shoot the ball,” he said. ” ‘Shoot the ball,’ he said. God told me to shoot the ball and I shot the ball.”  If it all sounds a little crazy, it’s because you’d expect nothing less from Artest, who clutched the trophy in his arms after the game and admitted he didn’t fully realize he was playing for the championship until he was handed a championship cap after the game.  “I really couldn’t feel where I was at,” Artest said. “I couldn’t feel the Finals. I was more in the game and what my coach wanted me to do. When we won, I didn’t even know we won. I honestly didn’t know we won. I actually cried before the game. How stupid is that? How dumb is that? How do you cry before the game and then you don’t cry after you win? Daddy, you raised a dumb child.”  He then smiled at his parents, standing above him and laughing, then kissed the trophy again.  “Hey, Daddy. Hey, Mommy. Look at me now!” he screamed. “Look at me now!”

Lakers Beat Celtics in Game 7 to Win 16th NBA Championship

A Game 7 classic and this time, it finally went the Lakers’ way. The Lakers came from behind to win 83-79 over the pesky Boston Celtics and become the 2010 NBA Champions.  Bryant, the finals MVP, scored 23 points despite 6-of-24 shooting, and the Lakers won their 16th NBA championship Thursday night, dramatically rallying from a fourth-quarter deficit to beat the Boston Celtics 83-79 in Game 7 of the NBA finals.  Bryant earned his fifth title with the Lakers, who repeated as NBA champions for the first time since winning three straight from 2000-02. Coach Phil Jackson added his 11th, matching Russell’s total and possibly putting a cap on his remarkable career if he decides to leave the Lakers.  “This one is by far the sweetest, because it’s them,” Bryant said after the Lakers beat Boston for the first time in a Game 7. “This was the hardest one by far. I wanted it so bad, and sometimes when you want it so bad, it slips away from you. My guys picked me up.”  Ron Artest added 20 points for the Lakers, who didn’t exactly show a champion’s poise while making just 21 shots in the first three quarters, even hovering around 50 percent at the free throw line.  Yet with Bryant driving the lane for eight free throws and Pau Gasol finally coming alive with nine of his 19 points in the fourth quarter, Los Angeles reclaimed the lead midway through and hung on with a few more big shots from Gasol, who had 18 rebounds, and Artest, a first-time champion as the only newcomer to last season’s roster.  “Well, first of all I want to thank everybody in my hood,” Artest said in an ABC interview right after the game. “I definitely want to thank my doctors … my psychiatrist, she really helped me relax a lot.”

Watch Game 7 Lakers Vs Celtics NBA Final

Jackson won his fifth ring in Los Angeles to go with his half-dozen from Chicago. And it might be the last: Weary of the regular-season grind and facing a likely pay cut with the Lakers, Jackson hasn’t determined his future, though he previously said another title would make him more likely to chase an unprecedented fourth threepeat next season, when he’ll be 65.  “I’ve got to take a deep breath. I’ve got to take some time to think about this,” Jackson said, wearing a satisfied grin underneath his championship hat. “This was great. I’ll wait to make that decision in a week.”  With his hands already full, maybe Jackson will follow Russell’s lead and put that 11th championship ring on a chain around his neck—and Bryant isn’t likely to settle for just one handful of rings.  He made that clear to his coach.  “He knows how bad I want him back,” Bryant said. “I’ve been openly blunt about how much I want him back.”  With their fifth title in 11 seasons, the Lakers moved one championship behind Boston’s 17 banners for the overall NBA lead.  Amid the confetti and streamers after the final buzzer, Magic Johnson rushed the court to congratulate Bryant, who now has the same number of titles, and to hug Artest.

Paul Pierce had 18 points and 10 rebounds for the Celtics, who just couldn’t finish the final quarter of a remarkable playoff run after a fourth-place finish in the Eastern Conference. Kevin Garnett(notes) added 17 points, but Boston flopped in two chances to clinch the series in Los Angeles after winning Game 5 back home. “Listen, give the Lakers credit,” Celtics coach Doc Rivers said. “They were terrific.”  Rivers knows changes are coming, even saying afterward that the ’10-11 Celtics will be different than the ’09-10 team.  “We were the tightest, most emotional, crazy group I’ve ever been around in my life,” Rivers said, adding that he’ll wait a while before deciding on his oft-speculated future. He called this team “crazy close” and throughout the playoffs, the Celtics only got closer. Down by 14 in their first playoff game against Miami, they won that night and rode that instant burst of confidence not only past the Heat, but through Cleveland and Orlando in the next two rounds. The Celtics were a .500 team for the final two-thirds of the season, prompting many to wonder if they could turn it back on for the playoffs.  That question was answered long ago. Yes, they could—and one or two more stops on Thursday, they’d have won an 18th title.  “There’s a lot of crying in that locker room,” Rivers said. “A lot of people who care. I don’t think there was a dry eye. A lot of hugs, a lot of people feeling awful. That’s a good thing. Showed a lot of people cared.”

The Celtics had never lost a seventh game in the finals. Despite nursing a lead through most of the night while holding the Lakers to ridiculously low shooting percentages until the final minutes, Boston couldn’t close it out on the coast, becoming just the seventh team to blow a 3-2 finals lead after winning Game 5.  The Lakers tied it at 61 on Artest’s three-point play with 7:29 left, and Bryant’s free throws 90 seconds later gave the Lakers their first lead of the second half. The Lakers forged ahead by five points before Bryant and Sasha Vujacic(notes) hit free throws in the final seconds to keep Los Angeles ahead by at least two points on every possession.

Bryant said he had to downplay the magnitude of the rivalry during the series, but it was a gigantic part of his motivation for this title, without question.  Because it was Lakers-Celtics, the best rivalry in league history. And because it was against the team that denied him a title in 2008, the Celtics then blowing out the Lakers in Boston in Game 6 two years ago for their 17th championship. That loss drove Bryant all last season, and drove him again Thursday night. He was not at his best in Game 7, and acknowledged as much. Didn’t matter— he still captured the finals MVP award, after averaging 28.6 points in the series. He’s won three straight crowns before, and is already eyeing another three-peat try. “Let’s go for it again,” Bryant said, moments before hoisting the finals MVP trophy.

The Lakers will hold a parade Monday, with the team riding floats from Staples Center down Figueroa Street to the USC campus in downtown Los Angeles. A rally at the Coliseum last year attracted 95,000 fans, but the Lakers are skipping the arena in favor of a more interactive celebration, the team said.  The Lakers will relish this title because they took it from the Celtics, their greatest rivals, with fourth-quarter poise and defense. The teams have met in 12 NBA finals, but the Lakers won for just the third time.

Exactly two years to the day after Boston beat the Lakers by 39 points to clinch the 2008 title, Los Angeles got revenge for perhaps the most embarrassing loss of Bryant’s career—even if he did little more than grab 15 rebounds for most of the night.  The Celtics had much more poise from the opening tip in Game 7, playing vicious defense that forced Los Angeles to miss 21 of its first 27 shots. Bryant and Gasol were a combined 6 for 26 in the first half. But forget how it looked, because history will. Bryant even did something Jerry West and Magic Johnson never could: He beat the hated Celtics in Game 7 of the finals. The Lakers are the first team to rally from a 3-2 deficit to win a finals since Houston did it in 1994, beating the New York Knicks. Although Los Angeles stumbled to the brink of elimination for the first time in these playoffs last weekend in Boston, Bryant’s teams still are spectacular finishers: They’ve closed out their playoff opponents on the first try 10 times while winning three straight Western Conference titles over the last three years.

Home teams improved to 14-3 in Game 7 in the finals. No road team has won a title in Game 7 since 1978. … The Lakers are 14-1 in a seventh game at home, losing only the 1969 finale to Boston. … Garnett nearly flattened Jack Nicholson when he chased a loose ball into the front row in the second quarter, but the Lakers’ most famous fans got back up smiling. Other fans near courtside included Jake Gyllenhall, Kirsten Dunst, Ryan Seacrest, Timbaland, director Todd Phillips and George Lopez in purple-and-yellow plaid pants.

Lakers Need to Do the Right Thing and Pay Lamar Odom

I’m no Alan Greenspan when it comes to finance, but let’s start with a very basic premise, no advanced degree required: The Lakers and the luxury tax seem about as comfortable together in the same sentence as Barack Obama and Sarah Palin. I bring up the salary cap talk up because the Lakers seem to be playing the luxury tax card as they talk vaguely about what they can and cannot afford to pay their free-agent forward, Lamar Odom. The versatile Odom that created match-up problems for Lakers opponents every game, made about $14 million in 2009. Now there are hints about offering him the mid-level exception of $5-plus million, something like a 60% pay cut. You want to cut somebody? Ask Andrew Bynum to give some of that 52 mil back.

Now, it’s not my place to spend Jerry Buss’s money. If he wants to blow some of it on poker, 21 being a great number for both blackjack and girlfriends, that’s his business. But riddle me this: If the Cleveland Cavaliers can pay THEIR power forward, the klunky Anderson Varejao, $50 million and he’s about a quarter as good as Lamar Odom, are the Lakers telling us they can’t pay a talent like Odom $8 to $10 million?   And if the Cavaliers — remember, the market is Cleveland — can live with being $14 million over the cap, which they are today, why are the Lakers crying poor about being $12 million over?  Twelve million dollars? Isn’t that what it costs to park at Staples? Doesn’t $12 million represent about 20 games’ worth of profit from those yummy chicken burritos they jack you for at about $8 bucks a pop there?  Oh, and before we even get into how much the Lakers franchise is worth, the Dallas Mavericks are $26 million over the cap.  Mark Cuban spending to win while Jerry Buss cuts corners? Say it ain’t so. Now, the Lakers have been pretty clever in selling us on the cap. But if it’s a snow job, does that make it like the candy, Sno-Caps? Lessons in capology are coming out of Mitch Kupchak’s office every day. Lakers beat writers then dutifully carry the message to the public without investigating the profit side of the ledger, so we don’t get a balanced story where Lakers finances are concerned.

Right now the cap propaganda is getting so thick, I’m starting to think Kupchak has moved his office to the Kremlin.  Jerry Buss bought the Lakers (and hockey’s Kings, the Forum and a ranch in Bakersfield) for $38 million. Today most major financial publications estimate the Lakers’ worth at between $650 million and $900 million!  I believe this is known as a substantial profit. Wait, I mean windfall.  And boo hoo, they’re crying about a few mil in cap money?  I’ve known the good doctor Buss for 35 years and never once in all that time has he ever acted like Charlie Cheapskate. So in that context this Odom business, hard-balling such a key championship ingredient, does surprise and disappoint me.

The Lakers don’t sell cheap. They usually leave that to the team down the hall.  When you’re on the cusp of starting another run of championships, with two, three or even four in a row feasible, this is no time to channel Donald Sterling.  While you’re basking in the glow of the ’09 title, look around, Dr. Busschak. The Cavs got Shaq, the Celtics got ‘Sheed, the Spurs got Richard Jefferson and the Blazers are on the brink of getting Paul Millsap.   This is not the time for the Lakers to penny-pinch and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SX_5o-mxH4wget left at the starting gate.   Cry about the cap? What’s next, passing the hat?  Besides, Odom’s been a good soldier. Occasionally, a great one, a three-star general.

Ask Lamar to start, he starts. Ask him to be sixth man, he’s sixth man. Ask him to bail out Andrew Bynum every time the kid is called for two fouls before he gets off the bus, which was just about every game in the playoffs, he bails out Bynum. Ask him to help you win a championship, you win a championship.   So don’t diss Odom, either. Show him the respect and appreciation he’s earned. Just because the market’s turned in the Lakers’ favor is no excuse to take undue advantage of it.   

Ten million a year for Lamar? A little too much. The market has changed. Money’s tighter. Lamar’s gonna have to live with it; it’s a fact of life.  But if you’ve given Ron Artest about $6.9 mil per when he has no history with the Lakers, other than getting in Kobe’s grill from the enemy side, then give Lamar at least the same annually. Or a little more because he’s been there for you. Say 8 per … $16 million for two years and call it a deal.  Dr. Busschak, nothing less than your reputation for doing the big, important things right and stylishly rests on it. Only that and winning the championship again next season.

Watch Lamar Odom Slap Kevin Garnett’s Celtic Ass

Article Written by Ted Green (Green formerly covered the Lakers for the L.A. Times. He is currently senior sports)

Artest Signs with Lakers as Ariza Signs with Rockets

David Lee? Wait are we talking about the New York Knicks player that led the league in double doubles last year? A player that you would think would be talked about this off season because of his free agency? That’s not the case, seems the other David Lee is getting more attention. A man who has made himself notorious with many, especially in the eyes of beloved Lakers fans when he tried to pull a Scott Boras with the most historic franchise in all of basketball.

The question now is, did he do the Lakers a favor by his little stunt? In some eyes yes he did, because in turn the Lakers got a proven winner in Ron Artest.

A player who has shown that he is a brilliant player with an amazing skill set that goes beyond his famous defensive ability in which he is so known for. A player that can not only lock down the team’s top player, but that can score when called upon. I’m not just talking about just a spot up shooter.  But a player that can create his own shot. He can wear you down with his big 6 7’ frame by posting you up and pounding it in the inside. He can spot up and shoot the three, contested or not. Go off the dribble and shoot. Though again known for his defensive ability, that is only one aspect, one mere dimension of his all around game. His rebounding is exceptional, and it will be welcomed with an already strong front line of Andrew Bynum, and Pau Gasol.

The defense will be the gem in this whole acquisition. It helps out more than just what you see on paper, or a stat sheet. Artest’s defense ability will help Kobe Bryant in the present as well as in the future. Instead of Kobe having to guard the opposing teams best player night in night out, that duty now can be passed on to Artest. Think of it, Kobe Bryant in the 2010 NBA Finals against the Cleveland Cavaliers. The Lakers can have Artest on Lebron the whole time with Kobe there to switch over. What a two headed nightmare for the opposing team.  The wear and tear on Kobe can be minimal with him having to carry less of a load. Therefore in the end it leads to him performing better and more efficiently on the offensive end.

Losing Ariza will hurt the Lakers because he had the speed and the quickness added with the youth for the long run. But when you sink it all in, Ariza went to a team where he won’t hurt you too much, and you won’t have to face him much at all. He went to a Houston team that seems to be going only down-hill. With your two franchise corner stone’s in question, there isn’t much to look forward to.

Not taking anything away from Ariza as a player, but he won’t shine as much as he did in Los Angeles. The wide open three pointers that were given to him in the playoffs as a result from the double teams on Kobe will not be present. He will have to work to create his own shot on the perimeter which he has proven he cannot do night in night out. Especially on a team where he is going to be one of the main focal points of offensive production.

Artest going to a championship team, where he gets to live in one of the most beautiful cities, with the most marketable team. Ariza goes to a Houston team with no bright road ahead. A lost opportunity for a man that could have been such a marketable figure. He is losing more than just another shot at a ring here. It should paint an interesting picture. But having Artest on a team and being able to say he is the 4^th best player on the roster? That is unheard of, but wait this is Lakerland, when we thought we seen it all, we are again proven wrong. Welcome to LA # 37.   Article was written by Tony Moustakelis Read original artile > Ariza out Artest in

Stairway to Eleven Championships

Watch this Featured Lakers Youtube

There’s a coach who’s defined, As the greatest of all time,
And he’s building a stairway to eleven,
Up in Cleveland Shaq sings, Of a ring for the king,
But King Kobe already has four,
Ooh, ooh, and Phil’s building a stairway to eleven,

Now in Boston they need, To at least sign Rasheed,
If they want any chance at a title,
Cause L.A. was the best, Then they added Artest,
Now they barely have even a rival,
Ooh, ooh, and Phil’s building a stairway to eleven,

In Orlando, they’re sure, That Vince Carter’s the cure,
But a title they will not be winning,
Because Ron from the hood’s, Coming to Hollywood,
They’ll be only one Magic left grinning,
Ooh, can I get a witness, Ooh, can I get a witness,

As Mark Cuban makes bids, For an old aging Kidd,
All the teams in the West are left crying,
When your dealing is done, With Richard Jefferson,
Well, I think you had better keep trying,
Ooh, can I get a witness, Ooh, I really need a witness,

Shaquille and Lebron can do dances, Put on a real show,
But that won’t make those missed free throws,
The league just saw their title chances, Go right up in smoke,
When Artest signed with the Lakers,
Can I get a witness?

And as Phil rides on down the road, Ten rings are under his control,
Zen spirit running through his soul, With a lady we all know,
Another title is the goal, For the purple and gold,
And if you know your basketball, The scene will come to you at rest,
It’s Phil and Kobe and Gasol, Celebrating with Artest,

And Phil’s building a stairway to eleven.

For more Lakers videos go to http://www.ryanparkersongs.com

Lakers Slide Show – Winning 15th NBA Title

Lakers won their 15th NBA title!  This video reflects back at the LA Lakers and Magic in the 2009 NBA Finals.

Enjoy this Slide Show of the Lakers Winning # 15

Photography by Wally Skalij and Robert Gauthier / Los Angeles Times, Produced by Kathy M.Y. Pyon

Coach Phil Jackson has yet to confirm whether he’ll return after winning his record 10th NBA title, moving him past Boston’s Red Auerbach. But some of his players believe he’ll be back.  “I didn’t get the feeling leaving that he wasn’t going to be my coach next season,” Fisher said. “I could be wrong, but I just think that we have a collection of players with the veteran leadership of Kobe and myself, he can feel good about the ability to coach and manage this team. All the work is not just on him to try to continue to get this team to grow.”

Gasol said he got the feeling Jackson wants to continue coaching.  “I really hope he can coach us again, not just for one year, for as long as he wants or can,” he said.  Luke Walton said the way Jackson spoke led him to believe there won’t be a coaching change next season. “He was saying what he expects for next year,” Walton said. “Everything he said was with the intention he will be back, but obviously I can’t read him, not many people can.”

Bryant Has Big 4th and Lakers Beat Nuggets in Game 1

Kobe Bryant scored 40 points, including six free throws in the final 30 seconds, to elevate the Los Angeles Lakers to a 105-103 victory over the Denver Nuggets on Tuesday night after the LA Lakers were behind most of the game.  Pau Gasol chipped in for 13 points and 14 rebounds and Derek Fisher had 13 points for the Lakers, who faced a seven-point deficit in the fourth quarter.

Gasol’s two free throws tied the game for the last time at 99 before Bryant went to the line, offsetting a 3-pointer by Chauncey Billups and a free throw by J.R. Smith.  Carmelo Anthony scored 39 points, Billups added 18 and Kenyon Martin had 15 for the Nuggets, who hadn’t played since taking care of Dallas in five games last Wednesday.

Kobe Bryant for a One-Handed Dunk!

                  1.  2   3   4    T

DEN (8-3)  31 23 22 27 103

LAL  (9-4)  23 32 19 31 105

Lakers Go Light & Easily Beat the Thunder 107-89 in Blowout

To Kobe Bryant, a little bit of rest is way overrated. Getting ready for the playoffs are what the last stretch of the season is all about.  Bryant scored 19 points before taking the fourth quarter off, and the Los Angeles Lakers cruised to a 107-89 win against the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday night.  The Lakers led from start to finish for the ninth time this season and closed within a game of idle Cleveland for the best record in the NBA, and they did it without any of their starters stepping on the floor in the last 8 minutes. 

NBA Recap Lakers Vs. Thunder 3.24.09

That rest could prove helpful as the Lakers continue a seven-game road trip, having won the first two games.“I don’t really care about that too much,” Bryant said. “It’s all about how well we’re playing, if our bench comes in and holds our leads.” Lamar Odom scored 18 points before fouling out and Pau Gasol had 14 points, 14 rebounds and seven assists for Los Angeles. Lamar and Pau looked solid and their rebounding totals were good for their light minutes played. 

Los Angeles was up by nine within the first five minutes and then closed out the first quarter with eight straight points to go up by 17. For a team that hasn’t lost this season after leading by 17 or more, the Lakers could feel pretty comfortable by then—if not for their last visit to Oklahoma City. In that game last month, the Lakers let an 18-point lead get whittled down to one before Bryant came to the rescue by scoring 15 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter of a 107-93 win.   Get the latest Lakers News as it happens, Sign up for Laker Buzz.com.

Even rarely used reserves Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown—picked up in a trade last month with Charlotte—got into the game. “We can’t complain about that,” Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. “I think we played all right in the first quarter. After that, I think we just kind of toyed with the game. I didn’t like that so much.Lakers coach Phil Jackson suggested it could be tough for L.A. to catch Cleveland, considering that the Cavaliers play eight of their last 12 games at home—where their only loss came to the Lakers. We’ve got a few more road games than they do, they’ve got a better home record than we do, so that means that they have a better chance right now,” Jackson said. “But the tie goes to us, so that’s important that we keep pressure on them.”Bottom Line is that “the Lakers beat an up in an coming team looking for a 30 win season.  The Lakers maintains a healthy lead teetering at 10 games up in the west.  Don’t let any one fool you, the Lakers focus is to pick up that one game that the Cav have over the Lakers Squad, but the Lake Show owns the tie-breaker by beating Cleveland both games this year.     Article written by JEFF LATZKE, AP Sports Writer

Odom and Bryant too Much as Lakers Beat the Suns

Watch Game Highlights as Lakers Beat Suns 132-106

Once again Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O’Neal met on the court, but this time it was back at the Staples Center where both players won 3 championships.   Without Steve Nash, the Suns were no contest for the Los Angeles Lakers. The Los Angeles Lakers scored 70 points in the first half and rolled past the Nash-less Phoenix Suns 132-106 Thursday night for their sixth consecutive victory. 

For the Lakers, Kobe Bryant had 22 points and eight rebounds and Lamar Odom had 23 points on 12 for 13 shooting. O’Neal had 12 points and seven rebounds for the Suns, who trail first-place Los Angeles by 15 games in the Pacific Division.

                 1    2    3   4  Total  

Phoenix     26 29 26 25 106  

LA Lakers  39 31 32 30 132 

PHO: L. Barbosa 18 Pts, 6 Reb, 7 Ast

LAL: L. Odom 23 Pts, 9 Reb, 4 Ast