March 31st: Spurs rout Lakers, 96-85. Lakers-Sonics Preview.

 
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Phil
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 6:06 am    Post subject: March 31st: Spurs rout Lakers, 96-85. Lakers-Sonics Preview.


Spurs rout Lakers, 96-85

By Ross Siler Staff Writer


Staples Center - Los Angeles Laker Lamar Odom battles his way to the hoop in the first period against the San Antonio Spurs. (Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photo) • Photo Gallery: 03/30: Lakers vs. Spurs
LOS ANGELES - Unless they slip to eighth in the Western Conference standings, the Lakers likely won't face the San Antonio Spurs in the NBA playoffs this season - an almost annual event during Phil Jackson's previous five years as coach.

The two teams are expected to take their places on opposite sides of the playoff bracket and would meet only if both advanced to the conference finals, which the Lakers would have to win two playoff series to do.

That didn't stop Jackson, however, from raising the stakes for Thursday night's game against the defending champion Spurs at Staples Center. Even if the coach might not be making a trip back to the Riverwalk this season.

"This is a good measure of what we would see in a playoff situation," Jackson said before the game.

The Lakers had a chance at notching their first five-game winning streak since March 2004 and had beaten the Spurs earlier this month on the road at AT&T Center.

But Jackson wanted to see just what the Lakers could do with three days to prepare and their home court to defend. As quickly as they took the lead in the second half Thursday, though, the Lakers came apart in a 96-85 loss to the Spurs.


Last edited by Phil on Fri Mar 31, 2006 6:18 am; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 6:08 am    Post subject:

Lakers notes: Jackson's opinion on Bowen a cut-up
By Ross Siler, Staff Writer

The chatter about Bruce Bowen didn't end at practice Wednesday when Lakers coach Phil Jackson dubbed the San Antonio Spurs' defensive stopper "Edward Scissorhands" to laughs from reporters.

After all, Kobe Bryant stated at an All-Star event in February that Bowen is the toughest defender he must face and Jackson was asked a little more before Thursday's game about what Bowen does that is special.

"The more you move against Bowen," Jackson said, "the quicker he reacts and the more chops he gets in."

Jackson grouped Bowen among the top five players who give Bryant problems on defense, naming two of the others in Phoenix's Raja Bell and Sacramento's Ron Artest. The key for Bryant against Bowen, Jackson said, is to make decisive moves on the floor.

On the strength of his defensive reputation, Bowen was invited to attend USA Basketball's training camp this summer along with Bryant. And Jackson also was asked Thursday if he would consider Bowen a dirty player.

"He's had a license for about four years now," Jackson said. "Prior to that, he was a spot player and it was difficult for him to get those kind of calls."
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Phil
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 6:10 am    Post subject:

Lakers don't measure up to Spurs
Turnovers, third quarter doom L.A.
By Ross Siler, Staff Writer

After meeting the San Antonio Spurs in the playoffs four times in his first five years as Lakers coach, Phil Jackson wasn't ready to rule out a return engagement and trip to the Riverwalk when he met with reporters at practice Wednesday.

"If we play well enough and survive," Jackson said, "we'll see them some place."

Those dreams of the Western Conference finals might have to be put off until next season, or maybe the one after that, after the Spurs took care of the Lakers 96-85 Thursday night at Staples Center and Jackson conceded the obvious.

"We're not quite good enough yet to stay with this ball club and make it a game," Jackson said.

What was supposed to be a measuring-stick game for the Lakers - the chance to record their first five-game winning streak since March 2004 - quickly turned into a multiplication exercise at the end of the third quarter.

As in, how many times could the Lakers compound one turnover with another. They had eight turnovers in all in the quarter as the Spurs went from six points down to 18 points ahead in a matter of minutes.

All Jackson could say afterward was, "They beat us to the punch."
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 6:11 am    Post subject:

Bowen May Be a Cut Above
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
March 31, 2006

There was never a sequel to "Edward Scissorhands," but Laker Coach Phil Jackson followed up his own thoughts on Spur forward Bruce Bowen.

A day after referring to Bowen as Edward Scissorhands, Jackson expanded his opinion, probably searching for an edge if the teams meet in the playoffs, assuming the Lakers qualify.


"The more you move against Bowen, the quicker he reacts and the more chops he gets in," Jackson said Thursday. "He'll whack away at you while you're doing that. But more than anything else, Bruce plays with his feet a lot. He gets his feet underneath people and he's tough to get through.

"He's had a license for about four years now. Prior to that, he was a spot player and it was difficult for him to get those kind of calls."

Bowen, for his part, helped hold Kobe Bryant to 23 points on nine-for-26 shooting Thursday.

Now that Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal have made amends, the league apparently has turned toward the feuding New York Knicks, specifically Coach Larry Brown and guard Stephon Marbury.

"You had Shaq and Kobe in L.A., and now that they've made up, you needed something else," Celtic All-Star Paul Pierce told the Boston Herald. "It's all a soap opera. It just shifted to New York now."
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 6:13 am    Post subject:

There's No Question About Jackson Now
March 31, 2006

It was time for the pregame audience with Phil Jackson stepping behind a lectern and taking on the air of a president, while I took my customary role as Helen Thomas and asked the first question.

"Are you making a late-season run for coach of the year…. " I began, being nice as I always am, but the president cut me off.


"Why are you always asking the first question?" he said, turning away, pointing to another reporter and telling the "rookie reporter," as he labeled him, to ask a question.

I don't know what Helen Thomas would've done, but I asked Jackson if there was some kind of chart on the wall with gold stars indicating who has and has not asked a question while Jackson remained mum, waiting for the rookie reporter to think of something to ask.

Now normally I'm used to coaches doing what they can to avoid tough questions, but begging other reporters to ask questions while obviously sending the message — if it's a tough one — you might get the cold shoulder too, was something new.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 6:15 am    Post subject:

Lakers Aren't Quite There
Spurs, at the top of their game and the Western Conference, end L.A.'s win streak. The third quarter is a springboard to a 96-85 victory.
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
March 31, 2006

Tim Duncan looked like his old self, Tony Parker like his young self, Robert Horry like Robert Horry in all the clutch moments, and the Lakers were left staring at a loss.

The Lakers had been moving swiftly toward a playoff spot, and then the San Antonio Spurs came to town, putting an end to all the recent momentum around here, winning with conviction and ending the Lakers' four-game win streak with a 96-85 victory Thursday at Staples Center.


More telling, from the big-picture point of view, the Lakers fell to 1-7 against the Spurs over the last two seasons, evidence of a team that has pushed and pushed toward a likely postseason appearance, but is still not in the same arena as the West's best.

Lamar Odom took a step back after a recent surge, scoring 13 points on four-for-13 shooting and logging only two assists in 43 minutes. Kwame Brown dipped a bit, with only nine points after averaging 16.3 over the previous four games, and Kobe Bryant was also askew, scoring 23 points on nine-for-26 shooting.

The Lakers were undone by a season-long adversary, the third quarter, turning a one-point halftime deficit into a Spur rout after they lost the quarter, 35-18.

With it came a less comfortable seat in the Western Conference, their lead over eighth-place Sacramento dropping to 1 1/2 games with nine to play.

"We're not quite good enough yet to stay with this ballclub and make it a game," Laker Coach Phil Jackson said. "We just didn't have the input we needed in that ballgame."
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 6:16 am    Post subject:

Kobe brings his one-man show to the Key tonight

By GARY WASHBURN
P-I REPORTER

KeyArena will be electric tonight. The Northwest basketball fans have only seen Kobe Bryant on the NBA cable package. They've only seen highlights of his amazing grace and domination.

So it will be jumping tonight in Seattle, despite the Sonics being headed for the NBA draft lottery and merely playing for pride and perhaps Bob Hill's job.

If he has his way and the Sonics play the way they did Wednesday in Houston, Bryant could challenge his career-high 81-point effort, which was the second-highest single-game point total in NBA history.

A sexual assault charge, a well-chronicled feud with former teammate Shaquille O'Neal, criticism that he's only concerned with personal statistics and an icy exterior that has alienated some teammates in the past have not stopped Bryant from attempting to fill Michael Jordan's humongous shadow.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 8:48 am    Post subject:

Lakers take a trip to the Emerald City
Last Update: 3/31/2006 11:33:20 AM

The Los Angeles Lakers try to bounce back from a loss and continue their push towards earning a berth in the postseason, as they visit the Seattle SuperSonics tonight at KeyArena.
,The Lakers are No. 7 in the Western Conference playoff race and lead the eighth-seeded Sacramento Kings by 1 1/2 games.

On Thursday, Tim Duncan scored 20 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to lead the San Antonio Spurs to an easy 96-85 win over the Lakers at the Staples Center.

Kobe Bryant finished with a game-high 23 points and seven rebounds in the loss to San Antonio for the Lakers, who lost for the first time in five games. Lamar Odom ended with 13 points, while Sasha Vujacic netted 11 in defeat.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 6:16 pm    Post subject:

Preview: Lakers at SuperSonics

Associated Press
Fri, Mar 31, 2006

GAME: Los Angeles Lakers (38-35) at Seattle SuperSonics (29-42).

TIME: Friday, 10:30 p.m. EST.

LINE: Oddsmakers list the Sonics as 3-point home favorites. The total is set at 211 1/2.

Kobe Bryant had a tough time getting untracked against one of the NBA`s best defenders on Thursday. He faces another challenge just one night later.

The Los Angeles Lakers hope to bounce back after having a four-game winning streak snapped when they make their only visit to Seattle to meet the SuperSonics.

Los Angeles missed a chance for its first five-game winning streak since an 11-game run from March 13-April 2, 2004, losing 96-85 to San Antonio on Thursday. Bryant scored 23 points, but missed 17 of 26 shots and all six 3-point attempts while being hounded primarily by Spurs stopper Bruce Bowen.

It was Bryant`s lowest output since he scored only 22 points on 8-for-29 shooting in a 120-113 loss to Seattle on March 13.

Bryant, averaging a league-high 34.6 points per game, was held in check in that contest thanks in part to a solid game plan by the Sonics. Seattle used Ray Allen as the primary defender on Bryant while also employing extra defenders in certain situations.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 6:18 pm    Post subject:

Big Fella showing big hints of a slowdown

Michael Rosenberg / Special to FOXSports.com
Posted: 1 hour ago

He has loomed over the NBA for 14 years.

At first, we wondered what he would do if he ever figured out how to play. Then we got the answer: Domination that was so complete, it was almost scary. And now we enter another phase, one that has arrived sooner than most of us thought it would: Are Shaquille O'Neal's days of dominance over?

Shaq just turned 34, and unless he starts shrinking 30 years early, he will still be a major force in the league for a few years. In a league of giants, it takes a seriously large man to be recognized by everybody as The Big Fella. He will always be The Big Fella. He will go into the Hall of Fame as The Big Fella, just as Magic is still Magic. But there are several signs that, on the court, Shaq is no longer the same Shaq.

Shaq's best days just might be behind him. (Otto Gruele Jr. / Getty Images)

He is averaging 20.1 points, 9.2 rebounds and 1.7 blocks for Miami, the lowest numbers of his career. That's partly because he has been hurt and is only averaging 30.4 minutes. And it's partly because he has been playing himself into shape. But what if he is only a 30-minute-a-night player now? Despite the lower number of minutes, Shaq is committing as many turnovers as normal and, he is committing more fouls — not more fouls per minute, but more fouls per game, even though he is playing the fewest minutes of his career. That is the sign of a player who can't physically keep up with his opponent, who gets beaten often and must make up for it by fouling.

Shaq has been better recently — he had 35 points and 12 rebounds against Charlotte, and a few weeks ago he made 15 of 16 shots against Seattle. But even as the Heat got hot, Shaq has been hot and cold. Earlier this month, he scored 18 points or fewer in four of five games.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 6:20 pm    Post subject:

Lakers look to bounce back against Sonics
Buy Tickets | 2005-06 Stats at a Glance
LA Lakers (38-35) at Seattle (29-42) 10:30 pm EST

SEATTLE (Ticker) -- The Los Angels Lakers hope to start a new winning streak and bolster their playoff hopes Friday when they visit the Seattle SuperSonics.

The Lakers had their season-high four-game winning streak halted Thursday in a 96-85 home loss against San Antonio. The defeat also shaved Los Angeles' lead for the seventh seed in the Western Conference standings to 1 1/2 games over Sacramento.

Kobe Bryant scored 23 points but made only 9-of-26 shots. Thanks in large part to the pressure of Spurs defensive specialist Bruce Bowen, Bryant missed his last seven shots from the floor and did not score in the fourth quarter.

Lamar Odom scored seven of his 13 points in the fourth quarter when the Lakers cut their 18-point deficit to nine before the Spurs sealed the win.

Seattle is coming off one of its worst losses of the season, a 115-87 drubbing at Houston on Wednesday. All-Star Ray Allen had one of his worst games of the season, scoring just 10 points on 1-of-13 shooting.
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PostPosted: Fri Mar 31, 2006 9:54 pm    Post subject:

Turiaf Returns to Old Stomping Grounds

By TIM BOOTH Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press

SEATTLE — Ronny Turiaf doesn't have the fondest memories of playing in Seattle's KeyArena, having lost there in the 2004 NCAA tournament.

The former Gonzaga star gladly put that bad experience aside Friday night. After open heart surgery, playing in any arena is a joy.

"I'm just thankful I get a chance to play for the Lakers," Turiaf said. "It was hell. I went through the toughest thing in my life. I don't want to think about it anymore."

Turiaf was back in Washington state for the first time as a member of the Los Angeles Lakers when they faced the SuperSonics. It's been just seven months since his surgery to repair an enlarged aortic root.

Turiaf signed with the Lakers on Jan. 17, and has slowly worked his way into coach Phil Jackson's rotation. Lately, Turiaf has been playing more as the Lakers' frontcourt is riddled with injuries.

Turiaf is averaging 1.8 points, 1.7 rebounds and 6 minutes per game.

"We haven't given him a role yet," Jackson said. "He brings enthusiasm to the game and he's got an upside to his game because he's got intelligence to play the game, a knowledge to what he should be doing and a feel for it."
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