April 9th: Playoff Status Will Be Fight to Finish. Clippers, Lakers battle.

 
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Phil
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:02 am    Post subject: April 9th: Playoff Status Will Be Fight to Finish. Clippers, Lakers battle.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakerep9apr09,1,850863.story?coll=la-headlines-sports

Playoff Status Will Be Fight to Finish

By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
April 9, 2006

Just when it seemed the Lakers had settled into seventh place in the Western Conference standings …

Their lead over the Sacramento Kings was 2 1/2 games less than two weeks ago, an edge that has slipped to nothing, with the Lakers losing the tiebreaker if the teams end up tied.


They are each 40-37 with five games to play. The Lakers get all five at home. The Kings get four of five at Arco Arena, their lone road game coming at Denver.

The Kings have clinched the tiebreaker because their 10-5 Pacific Division record is better than the Lakers' 6-7. The Lakers have only three division games left, the Kings have one.

Phil Jackson, full-time Laker coach and part-time geographer, has already weighed in: He'd rather play Phoenix than San Antonio, assuming the Spurs and Suns keep their current No. 1 and No. 2 seedings in the Western Conference.

"I would just as soon not travel to San Antonio for the fact of the long flight," he said. "That's not taking into consideration who we're playing. That's just physical fact."

After road losses to playoff-bound teams (Denver and Phoenix), the Lakers are simply happy to be home.

"We took our bumps and lumps [on the road] early in the season," Kobe Bryant said. "We've been playing pretty well at Staples Center as of late. Hopefully we can continue that."


Last edited by Phil on Tue Apr 11, 2006 5:23 am; edited 2 times in total
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Phil
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:09 am    Post subject:

http://www.dailynews.com/sports/ci_3689906

Look who's in playoffs

BY ROSS SILER, Staff Writer

EL SEGUNDO - With a week and a half left in the regular season and playoff spots at stake, the Lakers and Clippers can be forgiven for not taking time out to consider how much the NBA landscape in Los Angeles has changed.

The years of futility can't be erased easily, but the Clippers clinched a playoff berth for the first time in nine years Saturday, thanks to Dallas' 101-77 victory over the New Orleans Hornets.

And they can celebrate with a victory tonight over the Lakers in front of a purple-and-gold crowd at Staples Center.

"It's a big deal," Clippers forward Elton Brand said after practice Saturday. "We're trying to get our playoff berth by winning games, not by someone losing games. So we really want to get the game."

It would be the stamp on a season in which the Clippers have looked down at the Lakers in the standings every day after the first week of games in November. The Clippers even put playoff tickets on sale more than a week before the Lakers.

The Clippers have a chance to win the season series for only the second time since the two teams have shared the city - the 1992-93 season being the other - and guarantee finishing with a better record than the Lakers for the second straight season.

In two seasons since the Shaquille O'Neal trade, the Clippers have gone a combined 81-76 while the Lakers are 74-85.

"I don't worry about them," Clippers coach Mike Dunleavy said. "I just worry about us. Obviously, the next time we win, we clinch a spot. It's important to us. Then seeding after that is the next important thing."
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Phil
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:20 am    Post subject:

http://www.ocregister.com/ocregister/sports/pros/article_1094399.php

Lakers lack continuity on offense, defense

By KEVIN DING
The Orange County Register

If Kobe Bryant shoots and scores a lot and the Lakers defend well, they probably win. If Bryant shoots and scores a lot and the Lakers don't defend well, they probably lose - and people, including Coach Phil Jackson, start to worry.

After Bryant's 51-point game in a Lakers loss in Phoenix on Friday night, Jackson said of Bryant's production: "On some level, it's remarkable. On another level, it limits us. It heckles us a little bit, because other players don't get in the flow."

Jackson pointed to the start of the fourth quarter, when Bryant was resting: The lineup of Lamar Odom, Devean George, Luke Walton, Smush Parker and Sasha Vujacic had four consecutive empty possessions (a Walton turnover, an Odom miss and two Parker misses) before Jackson called a timeout 2:33 into the quarter to bring Bryant back. But the damage from a 6-0 Phoenix run was done; the Lakers never recovered.

"We just didn't execute well," Jackson said. "Kobe's on the bench, obviously, and he was having a big night, so it's difficult for the other players to step up right then."
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Phil
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:25 am    Post subject:

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/basketball/heat/sfl-ira09apr09,0,4445265.column?coll=sfla-sports-heat

WINDERMAN: Sunday NBA column


As they come down the stretch, six stand out but the result is too close to call.

Published April 9, 2006

With 12 days left until votes are due for NBA Most Valuable Player, and a week before we'll announce our preferences for all awards in this space, one thing is clear:

The 2006 winner will be decided by a limited plurality of votes, not anything close to a majority.

Last season, Suns guard Steve Nash edged Heat center Shaquille O'Neal in the fourth-closest vote ever, but at least it was a two-man race. The debate was as simple as either/or.

This season, upwards of a dozen candidates have been mentioned, and from this viewpoint at least six deserve serious consideration.

To put into perspective how this race trumps anything in recent years, consider who we're discarding out of hand:

Tim Duncan, the 2002 and 2003 winner. Kevin Garnett, the 2004 winner. O'Neal, last year's runner-up. Allen Iverson, who is second in the scoring race. Paul Pierce, who is sixth. And Tony Parker, the catalyst to a possible No. 1 overall playoff seed in the West.
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Phil
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:27 am    Post subject:

http://www.sacbee.com/content/sports/story/14241128p-15060710c.html

NBA insider: Blow the whistle on the refs for really fouling up things

By Martin McNeal -- Bee Staff Writer
Published 2:15 am PDT Sunday, April 9, 2006
Story appeared in Sports section, Page C4
When you get a chance to watch a lot of games on the tube, you have to wonder when the NBA, with all of its attempts to establish and maintain a high level of integrity, is going to admit its officiating has serious problems. Some will say it downright stinks.

The league worries about how its players are dressed coming to and leaving games. It concerns itself with how long players' shorts are, what kind of socks they wear and whether they can sport tights underneath their uniforms.

Everyone has opinions on those concepts as well as whether players should be suspended after accumulating 16 technical fouls.

Yet players routinely are allowed to travel, run and/or sprint to the basket while consistently and flagrantly breaking the rules right in front of three (do we need four?) officials. It's straight ridiculous and insulting to everyone who watches, much less those who pay big-time bucks to attend these games.

It's so basic and apparent that officials call traveling when they feel like calling it. It's so apparent that officials give stars and even borderline stars more leeway when it comes to seeing or overlooking these violations.

And until the league clamps down on these violations, its integrity and/or attempt to be credible is nothing more than a joke.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:29 am    Post subject:

http://deseretnews.com/dn/view/0,1249,635198233,00.html

Effort with Lakers this season ends debate on Phil

By Loren Jorgensen
Deseret Morning News
Phil Jackson has alreadyseen his team lose more this year than any other season during his 15-year career. Jackson's Los Angeles Lakers, after back-to-back losses on Thursday and Friday, are 40-37 — for a .526 percentage. His first 14 NBA teams, by comparison, won at a combined .725 rate.
But this may be Jackson's best coaching job ever.
Then again, it certainly might not be, too. He's had plenty of outstanding seasons and his team's record this year is just mediocre.
Still, those expecting Jackson to fall on his face in his return to the Lakers were wrong. He's been able to co-exist with Kobe Bryant and lead the team to a winning record and — in all likelihood — a spot in the playoffs.
The Lakers went 34-48 last season without Jackson. They'll be improved by at least eight games or more by the end of this season — without any better personnel on the court.
Jackson's coaching ability has been up for debate for years — especially by those put off by his arrogance and the media's insistence on calling him "the Zen Master" due to his beliefs in Eastern philosophy. Many NBA observers have been quick to point out that Jackson has always had the best talent to work with.
"Who couldn't win with Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen when they were in their prime," Jackson critics contend — with some validity. Jordan, simply, was the best player of the 1990s and maybe ever. M.J., more than Jackson, of course, was the reason the Bulls dominated by winning six NBA titles.
Jordan retired after the 1998 season and Bulls executive Jerry Krause disbanded the team and Jackson wasn't maintained for the rebuilding job. Iowa State's Tim Floyd, instead, got that thankless role.
After a year off, Jackson took over in Los Angeles where he once again had the chance to coach the league's most dominant player — Shaquille O'Neal — along with an up-and-coming young star in Bryant. The result was three more NBA titles along with a 10th trip to the NBA Finals after the 2003-04 season, although the Lakers got upset by the Pistons two years ago in that series.
How much of the Lakers' success was due to Jackson and how much was because he had two of the league's best players in Shaq and Kobe? It was a question that was certainly open for debate. It should be pointed out, however, that Del Harris and Kurt Rambis, who both coached O'Neal and Bryant together with the Lakers before Jackson, never won a Western Conference title — let alone an NBA championship.
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Phil
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 7:44 am    Post subject:

http://www.woai.com/sports/nba/story.aspx?content_id=54CEA2DF-8339-4996-8535-C110EB5EF220

Clippers, Lakers battle for bragging rights
LAST UPDATE: 4/9/2006 9:38:28 AM

The battle for bragging rights in Los Angeles continues tonight, as the Lakers act as the host against the Clippers at the Staples Center.
,The Lakers, who will act as the host this evening, have won two of the three meetings between the squads. The Clippers were 1-1 when they were the host and picked up a 97-91 victory over the Lakers as the visitor on November 18th.

The Clippers have won two straight after losing their last seven at the Lakers.

The Lakers and Sacramento are tied for the seventh spot in the Western Conference playoff race, while the Clippers, who clinched a playoff spot on Saturday because of a loss by the Hornets, are No. 5 and have a one-half game lead over Memphis.
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PostPosted: Sun Apr 09, 2006 12:18 pm    Post subject:

http://www.covers.com/articles/articles.aspx?theArt=75713&tid=25&t=1

Battle of Los Angeles: Hot Lakers favored

By Andrew Folkes
Sat, Apr 8, 2006

Oddsmakers are giving the Los Angeles Clippers the what-have-you-done-for-me-lately treatment in today’s tilt with the Lakers.

The Clips posted two convincing victories over their city rivals through three meetings this season, downing the Lakers 97-91 as 3-point road dogs Nov. 18 and trouncing them 102-83 as 3-point home favorites in late February. They’ve now taken the cash in seven of their last 10 encounters with the Purple and Gold.

But headed into today’s meeting, the Clips have covered in just four of their last 10, while the Lakers went 7-2-1 ATS in that span. That`s been the deciding factor in making the Lakers 2 ½ -point favorites.

“Current form has a greater impact on the odds,” says Chris, an oddsmaker for BetUS.com who prefers not to give his surname. “Obviously, the past results between the two teams are factored in, but the way they’ve been playing recently (has a greater effect).”

That might seem like a questionable handicapping method considering the success the Clippers have enjoyed against the Lakers. But when you’ve got two teams that stack up as evenly as these two, current form has to be the deciding factor.

“It really does,” says Covers Expert David Malinsky. “There’s nothing in this matchup that suggests one team should dominate the other.”
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