April 20th: Lakers roll into the playoffs. Bound for Phoenix. Mihm returns. Buss buys Minor league team.

 
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Phil
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 9:59 pm    Post subject: April 20th: Lakers roll into the playoffs. Bound for Phoenix. Mihm returns. Buss buys Minor league team.

Kobe, Lakers on a roll entering playoffs
JOHN NADEL
Associated Press

LOS ANGELES - Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers are on a roll as they enter the playoffs.

Bryant scored 27 of his 35 points in the first half to officially win his first NBA scoring title, and the Lakers beat the New Orleans Hornets 115-95 Wednesday night to clinch seventh place in the Western Conference and a playoff matchup with the Phoenix Suns.

The Lakers, back in the postseason after a one-year absence, open the first-round, best-of-seven series against the two-time defending Pacific Division champions Sunday in Phoenix.

The Lakers have won five straight games - their longest winning streak in more than two years - and 11 of their last 14 to put them a season-high eight games over .500 at 45-37.

They lost 19 of their final 21 last season in finishing 34-48 and missing the playoffs for just the second time in 30 years.

Bryant, making a late-season case for league MVP honors, averaged 35.4 points, the NBA's best since Michael Jordan averaged 37.1 points in the 1986-87 season. Bryant all but sewed up the scoring title several weeks ago.


Last edited by Phil on Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:40 am; edited 1 time in total
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:00 pm    Post subject:

Lakers 115, Hornets 95
Posted: Thursday Apr 20, 2006 12:54 AM


LOS ANGELES (AP) - Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers are on a roll as they enter the playoffs.

Bryant scored 27 of his 35 points in the first half to officially win his first NBA scoring title, and the Lakers beat the New Orleans Hornets 115-95 Wednesday night to clinch seventh place in the Western Conference and a playoff matchup with the Phoenix Suns.

The Lakers, back in the postseason after a one-year absence, open the first-round, best-of-seven series against the two-time defending Pacific Division champions Sunday in Phoenix.

The Lakers have won five straight games - their longest winning streak in more than two years - and 11 of their last 14 to put them a season-high eight games over .500 at 45-37.

They lost 19 of their final 21 last season in finishing 34-48 and missing the playoffs for just the second time in 30 years.

Bryant, making a late-season case for league MVP honors, averaged 35.4 points, the NBA's best since Michael Jordan averaged 37.1 points in the 1986-87 season. Bryant all but sewed up the scoring title several weeks ago.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:00 pm    Post subject:

Suns gear up for Lakers

Anne M. Peterson
Associated Press
Apr. 19, 2006 09:34 PM

PORTLAND, Ore. - Steve Nash had 16 points, 10 rebounds and 12 assists, and the Phoenix Suns brought the Portland Trail Blazers' dismal season to an end with a 106-96 victory Wednesday night.

Shawn Marion had 32 points and 11 rebounds for the Suns, who had already clinched their second straight Pacific Division title.

The Blazers, whose mounting losses on the court were compounded by a suddenly shaky ownership situation, finish the season an NBA-worst 21-61.
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After the Blazers tied the game at 36 midway through the second quarter, the Suns went on an 11-4 run capped by Tim Thomas' 3-pointer to lead 49-40. Phoenix led 55-48 at the half.

Nash hit a 3-pointer to put the Suns up 79-58 and Phoenix led by as many as 24.

The Suns started Marion, after resting him on Monday in an 115-78 victory over New Orleans. The Suns made an NBA season-high and team-record 20 3-pointers - one shy of the league record - in that win.

The Suns added 13 3-pointers against Portland, bringing their single-season record to 837 3-pointers made. Phoenix is averaging more than 10 3-pointers per game this season.

The Suns were without forward Boris Diaw, who had strep throat and didn't make the trip.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:02 pm    Post subject:

Lakers Wrap Up Seventh Spot With Win Over Hornets

POSTED: 11:43 pm MDT April 19, 2006

Los Angeles, CA -- (Sports Network) - Kobe Bryant capped a remarkable regular season with a 35-point performance, as the Los Angeles Lakers secured the seventh spot in the Western Conference playoffs with a 115-95 victory over New Orleans/Oklahoma City at Staples Center.

Kwame Brown contributed 19 points and eight rebounds while Brian Cook added 12 points in Los Angeles' fifth straight victory. Smush Parker and Devean George donated 10 points apiece in a winning effort.

"I think we are playing relatively good basketball," Lakers head coach Phil Jackson said. "Tonight we were quick to the ball and did a good job on defense."

The seventh-seeded Lakers will head to the Valley of the Sun to begin their first-round playoff series against the second-seeded Phoenix Suns on Sunday.

We're playing good basketball, but the playoffs are all about preparation," said Bryant. "We're just going to go out there and play."

P.J. Brown led the Hornets with 16 points while Marc Jackson posted a double- double with 15 points and 13 rebounds in the club's fourth straight setback.

Moochie Norris added 13 points and Desmond Mason sprang for 12 points in defeat, the Hornets fourth straight on the road versus the Lakers.

The Lakers ended the first period on a 16-4 burst to take a 32-20 advantage. Cook and Brown combined for the first 10 Laker points and Bryant's three with eight ticks left in the first quarter opened the 12-point edge.

The run was just a sign of the domination to come, as Los Angeles reeled off a 16-2 run to pull ahead 48-24. George tallied the first four points of the run and Bryant brought the Staples Center to its feet with back-to-back threes to cap the flurry with six minutes remaining.
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PostPosted: Wed Apr 19, 2006 10:03 pm    Post subject:

Lakers to Meet Suns in Playoffs

Kobe Bryant scored 27 of his 35 points in the first half to officially win his first NBA scoring title, and the Lakers beat the New Orleans Hornets 115-95 Wednesday night to clinch seventh place in the Western Conference and a playoff matchup with the Phoenix Suns.

John Nadel, AP Sports Writer
10:48 PM PDT, April 19, 2006

Kobe Bryant and the Los Angeles Lakers are on a roll as they enter the playoffs.

Bryant scored 27 of his 35 points in the first half to officially win his first NBA scoring title, and the Lakers beat the New Orleans Hornets 115-95 Wednesday night to clinch seventh place in the Western Conference and a playoff matchup with the Phoenix Suns.

The Lakers, back in the postseason after a one-year absence, open the first-round, best-of-seven series against the two-time defending Pacific Division champions Sunday in Phoenix.

The Lakers have won five straight games -- their longest winning streak in more than two years -- and 11 of their last 14 to put them a season-high eight games over .500 at 45-37.

They lost 19 of their final 21 last season in finishing 34-48 and missing the playoffs for just the second time in 30 years.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:17 am    Post subject:

Lakers Set Up for Suns
They end the regular season strong with a 115-95 win over Hornets to clinch seventh place in West. Bryant earns his first scoring title with 35.4 average.
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
April 20, 2006

The Lakers put the final imprint on their regular season as Kobe Bryant took his first scoring title, his team clinched seventh in the Western Conference, and a first-round date with the Phoenix Suns loomed on the very near horizon.

They ended the regular season on a roll, both Bryant and the Lakers, beating the New Orleans Hornets, 115-95, on Wednesday at Staples Center and winning for the 11th time in 14 games.

The Lakers finished 45-37, a game ahead of eighth-place Sacramento and 11 victories better than last season. Their best-of-seven series begins Sunday in Phoenix at 12:30 p.m.

Bryant scored 35 points, finished with a 35.4 average this season, and become only the third player in L.A. Laker history to win a scoring title, joining Jerry West (31.2 points per game in 1969-70) and Shaquille O'Neal (29.7 points in 1999-00).

He also became only the fourth player in league history to average more than 35 points in a season, following Wilt Chamberlain (five times), Rick Barry (once) and Michael Jordan (once).

"It was a good season for me individually," Bryant said. "I'm more proud of what we accomplished as a team, getting into the postseason. I'm blessed, fortunate."

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, the league's all-time leader with 38,387 points, hoped the concept wasn't lost on the general public.

"I don't think people appreciate it," said Abdul-Jabbar, a Laker special assistant coach. "People take him for granted. It's not something you're going to see very often in your lifetime."
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:18 am    Post subject:

Forecast: Sunny
BY ROSS SILER, Staff Writer


Los Angeles Laker Luke Walton attempts to block a shot by New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets Chris Paul during first period action. (Hans Gutknecht/Staff Photo)

If only they started the season the way they finished it, the Lakers never would have been playing Wednesday night for the chance to face the second-seeded Phoenix Suns in the first round of playoffs.

It took the better part of 75 games for the Lakers to come together, and it took the better part of a half for them to overwhelm the New Orleans Hornets in a 115-95 victory that set up a series with the run-and-gun Suns.

The Lakers were left with the Western Conference's No. 7 seed, facing a Phoenix team they have lost seven of eight games to since the Shaquille O'Neal trade. The best-of-seven series starts Sunday at 12:30 p.m. in Phoenix, with Game 2 on Wednesday night.

If the Lakers had lost Wednesday, they would have faced the top-seeded Spurs. They were able to make travel reservations early and led by a season-high 36 points in the second half.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson plans to fly the team back to Los Angeles - much as he did in the 2004 Western Conference semifinals against San Antonio - between the first and second games.

After so many close losses this season, so many stalled climbs above .500, the Lakers will head into the playoffs having won five games in a row, 11 of their last 14, and having met Jackson's goal of finishing 45-37.

"I'm really proud of this team," center Chris Mihm said. "There weren't too many people that put us anywhere near seventh position going into the playoffs here at the beginning of the season.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:20 am    Post subject:

Next target: Suns
The Lakers beat New Orleans to ensure they'll face Phoenix in the first round.

By KEVIN DING
The Orange County Register

LOS ANGELES – All this about Phil Jackson not wanting to play the San Antonio Spurs isn't entirely accurate.

Jackson just doesn't want to play the Spurs until the Western Conference finals.

The Lakers secured a route in Jackson's mind to surprise postseason success by crushing the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets, 115-95, on Wednesday night at Staples Center. That gave the Lakers the seventh seed in the West, which brings the Phoenix Suns in the playoffs' first round. That best-of-7 series begins at 12:30 p.m. Sunday in Phoenix.

And even though the 45-37 Lakers are the losingest team he has ever coached, Jackson looked ahead to the possibility of advancing past 54-28 Phoenix and advancing again past Denver or the Clippers in Round 2.

On Wednesday, the Lakers secured home-court advantage over Denver in a possible playoff matchup for the right to reach the West finals. If the Lakers met the Clippers in Round 2, obviously all the games would be at home.

"That bracket is probably the best bracket to advance," Jackson said.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:22 am    Post subject:

Bound for Phoenix

Lakers 115, Hornets 95: LA will face the Suns instead of the top-seeded Spurs in the first round.

12:55 AM PDT on Thursday, April 20, 2006

By BRODERICK TURNER
The Press-Enterprise

LOS ANGELES - The Lakers got what they wanted, and so did the Suns, for that matter.
AP photo
The Lakers' Kobe Bryant goes up for a shot between the Hornets' Rasual Butler (left) and P. J. Brown during the first half Wednesday at Staples Center.

The Lakers and Suns have a date for the playoffs, starting with Game 1 of a Western Conference first-round best-of-seven series Sunday in Phoenix.

The Lakers finished their regular season by winning a season-high five straight games, including a 115-95 rout of the New Orleans Hornets before 18,997 Wednesday night at Staples Center.

The Lakers, who wrapped up the seventh seed in the West, wanted to avoid meeting the defending NBA champion and top-seeded San Antonio Spurs, because they consider that bracket to be the toughest in the playoffs. The bracket also includes fourth-seeded Dallas, which has the second-best record in the West.

The Suns, who won the Pacific Division and are the No. 2 seed, didn't want to face the Kings in the first round, because Sacramento poses a tougher matchup.

Despite having a 1-7 record against the Suns the past two years, Lakers coach Phil Jackson said he's not concerned.

"You can't be," he said. "We have to respect them for what they are and how they've played against this team."
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:24 am    Post subject:

Jackson walks right back in as success
Kevin Modesti, Columnist

It's got to be the sandals.

Thinking back, it's got to be something silly that made serious people doubt Phil Jackson could be happy, effective and relatively successful in his comeback season with the Lakers.

The man showed up for his re-introductory news conference last summer in a suit, bead necklace and sandals.

He didn't seem to have one foot in retirement, he seemed to have both. So it was natural to wonder.

Even for a $10 million salary, could Jackson care enough to coach a team that had fired him a year before, a team that seemed to want him mostly for the buzz he'd bring, a team with no shot at a championship, a team led by a player he'd insulted in print, a team of youngsters and scrubs and a guy named Smush?

Last fall, Jackson laced up a pair of dress shoes and went to work, and answered that size-16 question with the regular season that ended Wednesday, when some of the Lakers' kids led a 115-95 rout of the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets on Fan Appreciation Night at Staples Center.

The Lakers will snap their playoff drought at one year after going 45-37, which is 11 games better than they were last season, not to mention one game better than they were at their highest point in 2005 before Rudy Tomjanovich's resignation and Lamar Odom's injury.

Job well done.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:25 am    Post subject:

Jackson coolly has team hot again

By STEVE BISHEFF
The Orange County Register

LOS ANGELES – He returned to the Lakers wearing a suit and sandals at his re-introductory news conference, so California cool you were waiting for him to don a pair of sunglasses and bring out the suntan lotion next.

Now Phil Jackson has trudged his way through the thick sand of the NBA's regular season, nudging this team along, subtly leading it to 11 more victories than a year ago, slipping into the playoffs with a roster that at times looked as if it could have been recruited from nearby Venice Beach.

If he helped to guide his kids safely past the shallow waters, they are about to look out and see a large, menacing wave heading in their direction.

It will be up to their surfing Zen Master to get them through it.

This is when Jackson will start earning his $10 million. This is when we find out just how good a coach he really is.

"It's unknown," Jackson said, describing the expectations of this seventh-seeded team. "That's kind of fun. The other aspect is to get them to play as a team.

"In playoff basketball, it's not going to be about Kobe getting 40 points a night. It's about taking all aspects and making them work together."
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:27 am    Post subject:

Mihm back in action

BY ROSS SILER, Staff Writer

Even if it just was one game, Lakers center Chris Mihm could say he made it back from his severe right ankle sprain before the playoffs.

The best season of Mihm's career picked up Wednesday night a long way from where it left off, when he collapsed to the floor in the final minute of the Lakers' March 12 loss to Seattle.

Mihm missed 17 games with the injury, which won't be fully healed until sometime this summer. But he returned to play 8:04 off the bench in the first half against the Hornets and will see action in the playoffs.

"He's still spending more time on that sprained foot than I'd like him to," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said before the game. "He's not as light running on that side of his body, which is always a concern.

"But he's got some strength. He's shooting the ball OK. He can make moves in the post and he challenges defensively. We just want him to have the opportunity to play a little bit and check himself out. He's had a great year this year and I want him to have an opportunity to be in this playoff roster and be successful."
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:28 am    Post subject:

Fans Friendlier This Year
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
April 20, 2006

A year later, further away from the muck and despair of a 34-48 season, the Lakers have improved, their playoff chances are mildly entertaining and even their "town-hall meetings" are kinder and gentler.

Unlike last April, Laker General Manager Mitch Kupchak saw much friendlier faces during his annual meeting with season-ticket holders Tuesday night at Staples Center.

Kupchak and Laker Coach Phil Jackson answered questions for an hour in front of about 1,000 people, most of the queries polite and appreciative, as much to do with the team's end-of-season success as the modified format for the question-and-answer session. (Instead of an open-microphone, fire-at-will arrangement, questions were e-mailed ahead of time and read to Jackson and Kupchak by emcee and TV broadcaster Bill Macdonald).

The loudest negative reaction came after a question about the likelihood of Shaquille O'Neal's returning to the Lakers when his Miami Heat contract expires after the 2009-10 season. A few people applauded, but mostly there were boos, so many that Jackson and Kupchak began propping up the importance of O'Neal to the organization. Kupchak even said O'Neal's jersey number eventually would be retired and hung up at Staples Center.

Salary-cap space was a concern in some corners, and Kupchak acknowledged that the team's most important transaction during the off-season probably would be limited to signing a player for the mid-level exception of about $5 million a season.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:31 am    Post subject:

Minor Acquisition

Broderick Turner

10:00 PM PDT on Wednesday, April 19, 2006

LOS ANGELES - The NBA on Wednesday approved the ownership of a National Basketball Development League team by Lakers owner Jerry Buss, making him the first NBA owner to control one of the league's minor league franchises.

Lakers public relations director John Black said Buss would make a comment about his purchase -- believed to cost about $300,000 -- in the coming days.

Buss' team will play at Staples Center next season but is expected to move to an arena in Ontario for the 2008 season. The stadium in Ontario has not been completed.

NBA players in their first and second years of eligibility are allowed to play in the developmental league, and no more than two NBA players can be sent down to the D-League.

The Lakers currently assign players to the Fort Worth (Texas) Flyers in the D-League.

By Buss having his own team, the Lakers can send their players closer to home and can more easily monitor their progress.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 5:32 am    Post subject:

Vision for Postseason Looks Letter-Perfect
J.A. Adande
April 20, 2006

In the spirit of the Clippers' successful slide to the sixth spot in the West, the NBA playoffs could use some more Ls.

Ls as in Los Angeles and Lakers and LeBron.

The league needs some fresh faces and new story lines, because if we get another Detroit-San Antonio Finals, ABC would be better off serving up reruns of "Lost" and "Desperate Housewives." From the first season.

But first, the most simple of requests. Please, let the Clippers and Lakers and LeBron James' Cleveland Cavaliers make it past the first round.

If the Clippers and Lakers faced off, L.A. would be jumping. Laker fans would take the car flags out of their trunks and start driving around town with the Laker logo flapping in the breeze again. Clipper fans would start popping up everywhere, and the bandwagon would expand just like Donald Sterling's entourage, which has included everyone from Lee Iacocca to David Hasselhoff this season.

If the Clippers made it to the Western Conference finals maybe they'd even get some local love. The Clippers have had the best record in town for two years running, but on any given day, people would rather talk about what's wrong with the Lakers instead of what's right with the Clippers.
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PostPosted: Thu Apr 20, 2006 6:36 pm    Post subject:

Howard, Kobe Pick up NBA's Top Monthly Honor
2006-04-21 10:10:10 CRIENGLISH.com

The Orlando Magic's Dwight Howard and the Los Angeles Lakers' Kobe Bryant have been named Eastern Conference and Western Conference Players of the Month, respectively, for games played in April.

Averaging 18.1 points on .559 shooting and a league-high 14.0 rebounds and recording an NBA-best seven double-doubles, Howard led the Magic to a 7-2 record and their best month of the season. In a 102-97 win over the Sixers on April 15, he registered a season-high 28 points and a career-high and NBA season-high 26 rebounds.

Behind Bryant's averages of a league-high 41.6 points on .509 shooting, 5.5 rebounds, 3.6 assists and 2.3 steals, the Lakers went 6-2 and won their last five games to secure a spot in the playoffs. Bryant scored more than 30 points in every contest and recorded his fifth and sixth 50-point games of the season. Bryant captured the 2005-06 scoring title with 35.4 points per game and became the first player since Michael Jordan in 1989-90 to amass 2,700 points in a single season with 2,832 total points.

Here is a recap of the month for Howard and Bryant:
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