Lakers in the News 12/13/12: "Lakers flat in first half, fall to Knicks, 116-107 ”
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Cha*n
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 1:47 am    Post subject: Lakers in the News 12/13/12: "Lakers flat in first half, fall to Knicks, 116-107 ”

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Los Angeles Lakers in shambles with Former NY Knicks coach Mike D'Antoni at the helm
Unbelievable as it sounds, the Lakers hit town in 12th place in the West, having lost eight of 12 games since the organization shocked virtually everyone by handing D’Antoni the reins instead of Phil Jackso

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 12, 2012, 11:04 PM

SUE OGROCKI/AP

The marriage between Mike D'Antoni and Kobe Bryant's Lakers is not going as planned so far.
In case anyone has forgotten, Mike D’Antoni’s marching orders were fairly basic when he took over the Los Angeles Lakers.

“We’re built to win this year,” he said on Nov. 15, when he was introduced in Los Angeles. “This is not a project. We have to win. Coming close is not good enough.”

WE MEET AGAIN: D'ANTONI BRINGS LA TO MSG

Those already are starting to sound like famous, last words.

The Lakers will arrive at the Garden Thursday night in a condition rarely seen, whether you want to go back to Magic Johnson’s Showtime era, the championship days of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, or their most recent title teams.

They’re in a shambles.

THE LAKERS STRUGGLES: A TIMELINE

For so long, the Knicks have always used a game against the Lakers to see where they stack up. But this will be no measuring-stick game, not with the Knicks rolling merrily along at 16-5, unless the 9-13 Lakers want to see where they stack up against the top team in the Eastern Conference.

Then again, it might not be pretty for the Lakers.

Unbelievable as it sounds, they hit town in 12th place in the West, having lost eight of 12 games since the organization shocked virtually everyone by handing D’Antoni the reins instead of Phil Jackson, after firing Mike Brown only five games into the season.

No, the D’Antoni hiring isn’t turning out very well for Jim Buss, son of the owner, and the man in charge who wanted no part of the Zen Master.

D’Antoni seemed overmatched when he quit the Knicks nine months ago, as they were sliding out of playoff contention at 18-24. Fighting a losing battle with Carmelo Anthony for control of the offense, he couldn’t make it through the end of his fourth season.

But that’s nothing compared to what is happening now. It has taken only a month for D’Antoni to start coming unhinged. He got good and mad the other night out in Cleveland, and came off looking as if he was about to crack, when a Los Angeles Times columnist questioned the Lakers’ defensive preparations after they were trashed by one of the NBA’s weakest teams.


Read more: http://www.nydailynews.com/sports/basketball/lawrence-mike-sinking-lake-hard-defend-coach-article-1.1219051#ixzz2EvMYG8Or


Last edited by Cha*n on Thu Dec 13, 2012 8:45 pm; edited 3 times in total
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 1:49 am    Post subject:

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As Lakers spiral, bright lights await
L.A. is in disarray, but Kobe has hope even as D'Antoni makes his return to MSG

Updated: December 13, 2012, 12:55 AM ET
By Ramona Shelburne | ESPNLosAngeles.com

Kobe Bryant Convo Part 1

Kobe Bryant sits down with Stephen A. Smith to talk about the Lakers' struggles on the court this season.
Tags: Kobe Bryant Interview, Lakers, Stephen A. Smith, SportsCenter
NEXT VIDEO
Kobe Bryant Convo Part 2
If you look closely at Kobe Bryant these days, really close, there are two long, raw scratches across his forehead. In person you can't miss them. But even on television, if you watched his lengthy, soul-bearing interview with Stephen A. Smith on Wednesday, it's hard to miss the pink flesh atop his forehead that's just now starting to scab over.

It's hard to know whose fingernails cut into him, or even when. The first time I noticed was at his locker Sunday night after Bryant scored another magnificent 34 points in an otherwise lifeless 117-110 loss to the Utah Jazz that feels like a million years ago after the Lakers dropped another one in Cleveland on Tuesday, then boarded a plane for New York City for a game Thursday against the Knicks.

When I gestured to the scratches and asked how he got them, Bryant shrugged his shoulders and exhaled but did not answer. Who cares? This season has already left him with more scratches and gashes than are worth counting. The ones that expose a little flesh are the least of his worries.

His Lakers, the same Los Angeles Lakers who opened the season as everybody's pick to steamroll the league until waging an epic clash with the Miami Heat in the NBA Finals, have been laid bare. Exposed and embarrassed by teams such as the Orlando Magic and Cleveland Cavaliers who shouldn't be able to beat them, much less keep up with them. And now, in a cruel bit of timing, they've reached what feels like rock bottom with a game against the hottest team in the league on what will always be the biggest stage in the NBA. So no, those aren't the scratches about which Bryant is concerned.

"I'll endure anything to win," he told Smith. "My body is beat up after every game. … Right now, it's just figuring out how we want to play."


http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/8741879/as-los-angeles-lakers-spiral-bright-lights-await-knicks-new-york
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 1:51 am    Post subject:

Quote:
If you look closely at Kobe Bryant these days, really close, there are two long, raw scratches across his forehead. In person you can't miss them. But even on television, if you watched his lengthy, soul-bearing interview with Stephen A. Smith on Wednesday, it's hard to miss the pink flesh atop his forehead that's just now starting to scab over.

It's hard to know whose fingernails cut into him, or even when. The first time I noticed was at his locker Sunday night after Bryant scored another magnificent 34 points in an otherwise lifeless 117-110 loss to the Utah Jazz that feels like a million years ago after the Lakers dropped another one in Cleveland on Tuesday, then boarded a plane for New York City for a game Thursday against the Knicks.

When I gestured to the scratches and asked how he got them, Bryant shrugged his shoulders and exhaled but did not answer. Who cares? This season has already left him with more scratches and gashes than are worth counting. The ones that expose a little flesh are the least of his worries.

Interesting. I will have to take a look.
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 1:53 am    Post subject:

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Kobe Bryant tries to stay patient
Updated: December 13, 2012, 12:47 AM ET
By Arash Markazi | ESPNLosAngeles.com

As the Lakers enter Thursday night's game against the New York Knicks with a 9-13 record after losing five of their last six games, Bryant is trying to stay as patient as possible during, what he has called, one of the most frustrating stretches of his career.

The Lakers are in disarray, but Kobe Bryant has hope even as Mike D'Antoni makes his return to MSG, writes Ramona Shelburne. Story

"I'm a bit of a psychopath when it comes to that and I don't expect my teammates to have that level of concern, but I hope that they're feeling determined and not discouraged," Bryant told ESPN's Stephen A. Smith on Wednesday. "That's something that we'll talk about, because there's a difference. ... It's human nature to get discouraged by things -- 'We're not as good as we thought we were,' and this, that and the other -- but I think at that moment is where you have to dig deep and become more determined and say by any means necessary we're going to get this thing done, we're going to turn this thing around, and it has to be a group thing."

Bryant vented some of his frustrations after the Lakers' 100-94 loss to the Cleveland Cavaliers on Tuesday but generally has tried to stay positive as the Lakers adapt to new coach Mike D'Antoni's system.

"I think I'm doing a pretty good job sitting on my lily pad and meditating through this process," Bryant said. "I think I'm doing a pretty good job of just trying to stay as patient as I possibly can. I'm trying not to forget the things that I've learned throughout my career of going through tough stretches. Just really focus on the game and focus on the mistakes we're making through the course of the game and how to correct those mistakes."


http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/8741325/kobe-bryant-los-angeles-lakers-trying-stay-patient-frustrating-stretch
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 1:54 am    Post subject:

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For Knicks and Lakers, a Reunion and a Rivalry
By NATE TAYLOR

Mark Duncan/Associated Press
Lakers Coach Mike D’Antoni during a game against the Cavaliers on Tuesday.
The Knicks and the Los Angeles Lakers, trending in opposite directions, will cross paths for the first time this season Thursday night at Madison Square Garden. In what is usually a marquee game for the league, the Knicks will see a familiar face at the Garden in Lakers Coach Mike D’Antoni.

When D’Antoni became the Lakers coach last month, every member of the Knicks who was with D’Antoni last season – Carmelo Anthony, Tyson Chandler, Steve Novak and Coach Mike Woodson – said the Lakers would find success in D’Antoni’s offensive system.

But the Lakers (9-13) have continued to flounder and are mired in a three-game losing streak; they have just one victory in their last six games. The Knicks (16-5) have been the most consistent team in the Eastern Conference.

“It should be a good game,” Chandler said after the Knicks’ thrilling 100-97 win over the Brooklyn Nets on Tuesday. He added about the Lakers: “They’re having their troubles right now, but you know how explosive they can be. They still have great players on their roster and they can get going at any time. We have to try to make sure it’s not on us.”


http://offthedribble.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/12/12/for-knicks-and-lakers-a-reunion-and-a-rivalry/
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 1:54 am    Post subject:

Unless the FO is giving D'Antoni until Feb to make this work so Phil can take over in time for the playoffs, he'll be staying. Gotta deal with it.
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 1:59 am    Post subject:

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Mike D'Antoni returns to Garden with Lakers reeling

Updated: December 12, 2012 9:34 PM
By BARBARA BARKER barbara.barker [ at ] newsday.com

Photo credit: Getty Images | Head coach Mike D'Antoni of the New York Knicks in action against the New Jersey Nets at Madison Square Garden in New York City. The Knicks defeated the Nets 99-92. (Feb. 4, 2012)

A little more than a month ago, shortly after being named the Lakers' coach, Mike D'Antoni told a reporter from ESPN.com that it had been a mistake for him to take the job in New York.
Now, after 12 games with the Lakers, he might be starting to think the same thing about Los Angeles.
D'Antoni returns to Madison Square Garden Thursday nightfor the first time since resigning as Knicks coach on March 14. The team he left has won eight of its last 10 games, has the best record in the Eastern Conference at 16-5 and has a top MVP candidate in Carmelo Anthony.
And his new team?
The Lakers, who many thought would contend for a title when they added Steve Nash and Dwight Howard, are 9-13 overall and 4-8 under D'Antoni. Nash played only two games before suffering a small fracture to his left fibula. The offense has floundered without the 38-year-old point guard and the defense has been porous. Lakers great Magic Johnson publicly questioned D'Antoni's system and whether it fits the talent the team has. And Kobe Bryant is sounding increasingly frustrated by the whole situation.
It got considerably worse Tuesday night when the Lakers lost at Cleveland, 100-94, despite 42 points from Bryant. And if there was any question about the team being at the breaking point, they were answered in a postgame news conference when D'Antoni snapped at Los Angeles Times columnist T.J. Simers when he was asked if the team had worked on defense.
"Hell yeah, we worked for a half-hour on it," D'Antoni said. "You're starting to [tick] me off. You're starting to [tick] me off because you're saying something that's not factually correct."


http://www.newsday.com/sports/basketball/mike-d-antoni-returns-to-garden-with-lakers-reeling-1.4326262
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:01 am    Post subject:

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Lakers-Knicks Preview

By ALAN FERGUSON (STATS Writer) | The Associated Press

On the verge of their longest losing streak since late in the 2010-11 season, the Los Angeles Lakers are looking for any bit of positivity.
They might have some considerable trouble finding that Thursday night when they visit Eastern Conference-leading New York in coach Mike D'Antoni's first game against the Knicks since his resignation in March.
When it hired D'Antoni on Nov. 11, Los Angeles was trying to come back from its worst start since 1993-94 and make a quick return to prominence. Instead, the Lakers (9-13) have continued to flounder, and a 100-94 defeat at lowly Cleveland on Tuesday was a season high-tying third in a row.
Los Angeles hasn't dropped four straight since a five-game skid April 3-10, 2011.
"We've got to stay focused and stay strong," center Dwight Howard said. "We can't let this break who we are as a team.
"We're not playing the greatest basketball. But there will come a day when we'll have the gun. Right now, we're rabbits. Once we get the gun, it's not going to be fun for everybody else."
Kobe Bryant had a season-best 42 points but only two other players scored in double figures for the injury-plagued Lakers. Los Angeles also allowed an opponent to score at least 100 points for the sixth time in seven games.
"We play at a very slow pace and we struggle. Maybe it shifts over to defense. Maybe we're slow. Maybe we can't do it," D'Antoni said. "It's my job to fix it - and that's what I'll do."


http://sports.yahoo.com/news/lakers-knicks-preview-233929543--nba.html
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:04 am    Post subject:

http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/7646/gashi.png (I see both of them clearly, I circled one of them.)
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:07 am    Post subject:

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Woodson vs. D'Antoni? No contest

Current Knicks coach has been embarrassing his predecessor, pure and simple
Updated: December 13, 2012, 12:22 AM ET
By Ian O'Connor | ESPNNewYork.com

Knicks Update with Ian Begley

The latest on Carmelo Anthony's resurgence, Jason Kidd's importance and a status update on Amar'e Stoudemire.
NEXT VIDEO
Kobe Bryant Convo Part 1
Mike D'Antoni was asked by a reporter on Tuesday if he was embarrassed by his basketball team, a counterfeit contender that had just lost to the 4-17 Cavaliers, and the coach recoiled from the question.

D'Antoni claimed it was too harsh a word to capture his true feelings, and maybe, just maybe, he was telling the truth. But if he hasn't been embarrassed by his own Los Angeles Lakers, D'Antoni surely has been embarrassed by Mike Woodson's New York Knicks.

Right up until Thursday night's tipoff at the Garden, Woodson's predecessor will likely swear he's happy for the guy known around the league as Woody, the trusted voice on the bench D'Antoni abandoned last March when he couldn't persuade Carmelo Anthony and the Knicks to play with any of the passion they're playing with now.

Mike Woodson: 12/12

Knicks HC Mike Woodson talks about how Melo and Jason Kidd are playing and about Mike D'Antoni's return to MSG with the Lakers.

Only human nature being what it is, D'Antoni can't possibly be thrilled his former assistant is making him look bad, as in really, really bad. Woodson is 34-11 since taking over the Knicks, 19-1 at home, numbers that mock D'Antoni and those forever apologizing for him.

At least one franchise that gave the thanks-but-no-thanks treatment to Phil Jackson survived it unscathed.

Woodson is on the books for up to $12 million, or half the value of D'Antoni's deal with the Knicks, and yet he has gotten twice the return out of his team by doing the two things any coach needs to do in pursuit of a parade:

(1) Inspire his superstar to play at the highest possible level; and (2) inspire his team to play hard on the blue-collar side of the ball.


http://espn.go.com/new-york/nba/story/_/id/8741743/new-york-knicks-mike-woodson-embarrassing-los-angeles-lakers-mike-dantoni
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:08 am    Post subject:

JUST-MING wrote:
http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/7646/gashi.png (I see both of them clearly, I circled one of them.)


Wow. I wonder what happened.
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 5:00 am    Post subject:

MA is a lousy coach, period!!!!! No D!!!
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 5:09 am    Post subject:

JUST-MING wrote:
http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/7646/gashi.png (I see both of them clearly, I circled one of them.)


I noticed that too during the interview. I thought it was pimples so I didn't pay much attention to it.

But I wonder what caused that.
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 5:26 am    Post subject:

Half Baked Hero wrote:
JUST-MING wrote:
http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/7646/gashi.png (I see both of them clearly, I circled one of them.)


Wow. I wonder what happened.



He bumped his head while forcing his greatness through the hoop.
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 5:27 am    Post subject:

Lakers First wrote:
JUST-MING wrote:
http://img818.imageshack.us/img818/7646/gashi.png (I see both of them clearly, I circled one of them.)


I noticed that too during the interview. I thought it was pimples so I didn't pay much attention to it.

But I wonder what caused that.


I'm sure it was one of the numerous times he was hacked by an opposing player.
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BigJosh951
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 7:44 am    Post subject:

Instead of acting like fans of the Lakers you are going to agree with the biased NY media? lol Let's see the articles written at the end of the year. When the Knicks are another early playoff exit and the Lakers will be improved.
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 9:20 am    Post subject:

Thanks Cha*n.

Some nice articles. I have been following some NY news myself since MDA was hired just to see what they've thought of him in the past and now.
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:07 pm    Post subject:

LKR wrote:
Unless the FO is giving D'Antoni until Feb to make this work so Phil can take over in time for the playoffs, he'll be staying. Gotta deal with it.


Phil is never returning to coach this team. Not after the way the franchise treated him and then hearing Mitch tell the world that he wasn't convinced Phil Jackson could be successful coaching this team, but that it was perfectly suited for Mike D'Antoni.

Talk about insulting.

On the one hand, we have a coach with 68.8% playoff winning percentage, including a 55% championship winning percentage. On the other hand, we have the other coach with a 47% playoff winning percentage who has never even reached the Finals.

We would have better odds of winning a TITLE under Phil Jackson than we would of winning a playoff GAME under Mike D'Antoni. To have the FO treat Phil like that and then publicly question his coaching abilities in favor of an obviously lesser coach, was clearly intended as a huge flip-of-the-bird to Phil.

He's not coming back here. That ship didn't only sail, we blew it up for Mike D'Antoni. Those trying to act as though Phil wouldn't have better success with this team, clearly must have preferred Mike and can't admit they were wrong. Either that or they have some bizarre anti-Phil issue going on, because it makes zero sense to downplay a coach who led us to 7 Finals in 11 years, winning 5 of them. That's just foolish.

But hey, it can still be exciting watching guys bomb away from three 30 times a game, right? Showtime and all.

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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:27 pm    Post subject:

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D'Antoni hopes Lakers start playing like Knicks

By BRIAN MAHONEY (AP Basketball Writer) | The Associated Press – 1 hour 33 minutes ago

Los Angeles Lakers head coach Mike D'Antoni yells at his team in the fourth quarter of an NBA basketball game against the Cleveland Cavaliers, Tuesday, …

NEW YORK (AP) -- Mike D'Antoni never built the team he wanted in New York. Now he looks at the Knicks and sees what he would like his Lakers to become.
D'Antoni returns to Madison Square Garden on Thursday for the first time since resigning as Knicks coach last March, hoping to see the type of performance his new team hasn't demonstrated nearly enough.
The Knicks were a disappointment last season, with D'Antoni saying things went ''sideways'' right from the start. Things haven't been much better in Los Angeles, where the Lakers are playing without injured starters Steve Nash and Pau Gasol.
While they struggle, the Knicks have surged to the top of the Eastern Conference, with Carmelo Anthony playing at a level he never reached under D'Antoni.
''They're playing the way I would like for us to play,'' D'Antoni said after the Lakers' morning workout. ''They're spreading the floor and one of the best things they do is they're not turning it over and they shoot 3s, and those are two big stats for winning and they do it the best in the league.''


http://sports.yahoo.com/news/dantoni-hopes-lakers-start-playing-192220559--nba.html
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:31 pm    Post subject:

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Kobe reaches out to Magic Johnson

Updated: December 13, 2012, 4:18 PM ET

By Dave McMenamin | ESPNLosAngeles.com

Kobe Searching For Answers

Kobe Bryant reaches out to Magic Johnson and Jerry West looking for answers to fix the ailing Lakers.
Tags: Mike D'Antoni, Rachel Nichols, Kobe, Lakers-Knicks, Magic Johnson, Jerry West, SportsCenter
NEXT VIDEO
TrueHoop TV: John Hollinger
NEW YORK -- Kobe Bryant had a couple of orders of business to take care of on his off day in New York City on Wednesday.

With the Los Angeles Lakers reeling from a 9-13 record, including dropping five of their last six games, Bryant got away from it all for a little bit by seeing The Rockettes perform at Radio City Music Hall with his family.

But the Lakers never strayed too far from his mind as Bryant also found time to make a phone call to Magic Johnson to talk about the team.

More on the Lakers

For more news, notes and analysis of the Lakers, check out the Lakers Report blog from the Kamenetzky Brothers. Blog

"We just talked about some of the experiences he went through and some of the systematic changes that he had to go through after Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) retired and how he kind of managed through that and how he dealt with that," Bryant said after the Lakers shootaround in preparation for their game against the New York Knicks on Thursday. "It was very helpful."

Abdul-Jabbar retired after the 1988-89 season following the Lakers' loss to the Detroit Pistons via a 4-0 sweep in the NBA Finals. Johnson played just two more seasons before retiring for the first time after acquiring the HIV virus. The Lakers lost in the conference semifinals in 1990 and were bounced by Michael Jordan and the Chicago Bulls in the 1991 NBA Finals in Mike Dunleavy's first season taking over for Pat Riley as the Lakers' coach.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/8744386/kobe-bryant-calls-magic-johnson-talk-los-angeles-lakers-how-handle-change
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:51 pm    Post subject:

Quote:
The 4-Point Play: The Lakers' fast-break disaster
By Matt Moore | Senior Blogger
December 13, 2012 4:06 am ET

The Lakers are up against the wall on Thursday night. At 9-13, the Lakers are a hot mess on both sides of the ball, and face the white-hot Knicks in Madison Square Garden. The Lakers just got handled completely by the Cleveland Cavaliers. How will they handle the best team in the Eastern Conference?

What's the Lakers' biggest problem? Where to start. But the biggest and most obvious one is this: Any team that runs fast with the ball gets to score, whenever they want, however they want.

The Lakers are 18th in transition points allowed per possession according to Synergy Sports, and are tied for worst in the league in opponent fast break points via NBA.com.

And those numbers don't really cover the horror of their defensive possessions. They give up a huge number of fast-break open layups, but maybe worse is their defense of the transition 3. Layups are obviously higher percentage, but the Lakers are getting crushed by transition threes. And a lot of it comes down to effort.


http://www.cbssports.com/nba/blog/eye-on-basketball/21385091/the-4-point-play-the-lakers-fast-break-disaster
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 2:53 pm    Post subject:

Quote:
Lakers at Knicks: What to watch, with Knickerblogger.net
December, 13, 2012

By Brian Kamenetzky

If there's an award out there for the NBA's anti-Lakers squad -- i.e. a team exceeding expectations and exciting its fan base rather than driving those loyalists towards self-medicating -- the New York Knicks would make a strong candidate. Expected by most to be a second-tier playoff team in the Eastern Conference, Mike Woodson's squad instead has a 16-5 record, is tops in the conference and has twice knocked off the world champion Miami Heat. Carmelo Anthony is making an early play for the MVP, Tyson Chandler a push for a second straight defensive player of the year award, and Raymond Felton, averaging 16.6 points and 6.8 assists after a tremendously bad year in Portland, would be a great candidate for comeback player of the year had it not been re-branded as the most improved player award (which tends to go to breakout guys, not to once-effective players busting out of slumps in part because they're no longer so plump).

The Lakers, meanwhile, are 9-13, limping into Thursday's game at Madison Square Garden having lost 8 of 11 since Mike D'Antoni's successful debut against Brooklyn at Staples back on Nov. 20. They haven't simply lost touch with the Clippers at the top of the Pacific, but are now six games behind Golden State as well.

This is a classic "nothing's got to give" type game. Nothing about the direction of either team says the Lakers should win, but having now dropped too many games to the NBA's bottom-feeders, the Lakers no longer have the luxury of allowing themselves reasonable losses to high-end teams. They need to start winning. Now.


http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/lakers/post/_/id/35027/lakers-at-knicks-what-to-watch-with-knickerblogger-net
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 3:14 pm    Post subject:

Kobe didn't want to hurt the team by opening his mouth and pointing out all the faults and mistakes that's happening this season because it wont solve anything they just need to figure out how to play as a team, he's a smart man.
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Cha*n
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 8:44 pm    Post subject:

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Lakers flat in first half, fall to Knicks, 116-107
L.A. has lost six of last seven games. Carmelo Anthony scores 30 points before leaving in the third quarter with an ankle injury.

Carmelo Anthony scored 30 points before leaving the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury. (Bruce Bennett / Getty Images / December 13, 2012)
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By Eric Pincus
December 13, 2012, 8:03 p.m.
Knicks 116 - Lakers 107 (final)

The Lakers (9-14) lost their fourth-straight game on Thursday night, falling to the New York Knicks (17-5) 113-107. After a dreadful first quarter — allowing 41 points — the Lakers fell behind by as many as 26 before finally gaining their bearings.

A late, long push saw the Lakers close within six late but the comeback fell short. Carmelo Anthony had a tremendous start, scoring 30 points in just 23 minutes but he left early in the third with an ankle injury.

Kobe Bryant finished with 31 points on 10-23 shooting. Both Metta World Peace (23) and Dwight Howard (20) had big scoring nights but the Lakers defense was once again the issue.

Devin Ebanks played 34 solid minutes, scoring 15 points while starting the second half in place of Antawn Jamison.

The Knicks had five scorers in double-figures, shot 53.2% from the field and 48% from three. The Knicks had just six turnovers, but missed 10 free throws (20-30).

The Lakers were able to contain turnovers early, dominate the boards (43-33) and hit a very strong 25-29 from the line (86.2%) but had too large of a hill to climb after a miserable first half.

Knicks 93 - Lakers 80 (end of third quarter)

Devin Ebanks started the third quarter in place of Antawn Jamison, who started the game at power forward. Ebanks was asked to guard Carmelo Anthony, who left the game as a precautionary measure after injuring his ankle in the third.

The Lakers played their best quarter of the night, holding the Knicks to 25 points while scoring 31. A late 7-0 run got the Lakers within 13 after Kobe Bryant hit a three pointer to reach 22 points for the game.


http://www.latimes.com/sports/lakersnow/la-sp-ln-lakers-knicks-live-updates-20121213,0,3707952.story
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Cha*n
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PostPosted: Thu Dec 13, 2012 8:47 pm    Post subject:

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Rapid Reaction: Knicks 116, Lakers 107
December, 13, 2012
DEC 13
8:08
PM PT
By Brian Kamenetzky
ESPNLosAngeles.com
Archive
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That the Los Angeles Lakers are struggling isn't surprising. Everyone understood coming in they had a top-heavy roster built around stars, supplemented by the type of bench players who require talent around them to be effective. With Steve Nash and Pau Gasol in street clothes, the starting lineup is substantially weaker and a bench most hoped could be average (a major improvement over last season's awful) is stretched thinner than Keon Clark's calf muscles.

Bottom line, the Lakers don't currently have enough good players to beat good teams.

But there is struggling, and then there is this.

Right now, the Lakers are a legitimately bad team, and as a result, on top of their problems with personnel, they have a problem with belief. There is zero confidence in what they're doing offensively. Kobe Bryant doesn't fully believe in the guys around him (with legitimate cause) and the other guys don't believe in what they're doing. They're turning the ball over, dribbling to places they shouldn't, and gripping the wheel too tightly in a system built on free-flowing movement and energy. Bad offense leads to bad defense, and certainly the Lakers, who were about 0.1 seconds from allowing 71 points in the first half Thursday night -- upon further review, Raymond Felton's buzzer-beating 3-pointer didn't quite beat the buzzer -- have a significant problem on that side of things.

There is no continuity, no cohesion, no consistency in the Lakers' effort. Dwight Howard doesn't believe the guys behind him have his back (with legitimate cause). As you might suspect with a team surrendering points by the bushel, the Lakers do a lot of pointing. At one another. There are good moments, but nothing close to 48 minutes of sustained competence. Instead, they tend to bury themselves early and then work for a miracle.

As a result, the Lakers are facing their most significant problem: Math.

http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/lakers/post/_/id/35038/rapid-reaction-knicks-116-lakers-107
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