April 2007 Archives
Quick day in El Segundo today. Phil Jackson called off practice after a quick video session. The Lakers will practice tomorrow before boarding a 3 p.m. flight to Phoenix for Wednesday's Game 5.
-- Kobe Bryant was a first-team selection to the NBA's all-defensive time, the seventh time in his 11 seasons that he's been a first-team or second-team selection. Bryant got 14 first-place votes out of 30, and fellow first-team selection Raja Bell got seven first-place votes and 11 second-place votes. Bruce Bowen, Tim Duncan and Marcus Camby also made the first team.
-- Phil said Lamar Odom felt better today, after a tough game in which he was limited by his elbow and shoulder injuries. Only rest and (likely) surgery will help Odom at this point.
-- Phil once again mentioned the possibility of putting Radmanovic on the active roster, but he said the same thing before Game 4 and didn't do it. Presumably, Brian Cook would be the odd man out, and given that he has a sprained thumb, that switch wouldn't be a stretch.
Not much else news going on. Players were not available to reporters today, so the only interview transcript is from Phil Jackson. More tomorrow...
So what happened to that vaunted Lakers defense that propelled them to victory in Game 3 on Thursday?
Yeah, that's right. That vaunted Lakers defense. That swarming, trapping, high-intensity defense that caught the Phoenix Suns so off-guard the other night.
As it turns out, it's still a work in progress.
``It's kind of new so everybody doesn't always know what to do or how to rotate yet,'' said Lakers guard Shammond Williams, one of the defensive heroes on Thursday night. ``We haven't jumped screen and rolls or played screen and rolls like that all year.
``Sometimes, when you're doing something new, you miss a few things here and there and it costs you.''
1:39 left and everyone is heading for the exits. Steve Nash put up a career high 23 assists, which is two more than the entire Lakers team.
Kobe and Lamar had nice games, but the Lakers defense never played consistently. 100 points seems to be the magic number for the Suns again. The last two playoff series', the Lakers have never beaten the Suns when Phoenix scored more than 100 points.
The three Lakers point guards -- Farmar, Parker and Williams -- are a combined 1 for 9 from the field today. They've accounted for just two asssits and two points. Steve Nash on the other hand has 13 points and 21 asssists. Barbosa has 14 points and two assists.
Lamar was 4 for 6 from the field in the third quarter. The rest of the team was 2-for 15. That's how a seven point game turns into a 14-point game. Ouch.
After a quiet first half, Lamar's really getting it going here in the third quarter. He's got eight points here in the third and could have more if his free throw shooting was better. You've got to give him a ton of credit because he really looks like he's playing through a lot of pain.
Assists that is. He's already got 18 assists this game and there's still 6:02 left in the third quarter. Jason Kidd had 19 assists the other night, but it's looking like Nash is going to go well over 20 here today.
Unfortunately, he misses all three shots he takes. Meanwhile, Phoenix opens up a 13-point lead...
The Lakers have played well and it feels like they should either be leading or a lot closer at this point, but they've been very sloppy in their dtransition defense and allowed Phoenix to score a lot of easy buckets. Take the end of the first half. The crowd was going nuts after Kwame converted a 3-point play with about two minutes remaining that cut the lead to 50-49. But the Lakers seemd to flip the switch off after that and PHoenix beat them down the court three straight times to reel off six straight points as part of an 8-2 run to close the half.
Suns 58, Lakers 51
This crowd is really behind Kwame Brown. They jsut started the Kwame chants again after he converted on a 3-point play. Kwame's got 9 points in 13 minutes.
With 2:50 to go in the first half, Kobe leads all scorers with 18 points. Nash already has 12 assists and Amare Stoudemire has 12 points and 11 rebounds. Suns lead 47-44
Not sure why he was out so long. But he's back in now and Andrew is out. Also, Sasha's in, presumably for 3-point shooting.
Lamar is still having a tough time getting involved. He's 0-for4 from the field and isn't being aggressive.
Kobe was out for a minute and the Suns just scored 6 straight points. Phil brings him back in quickly.
Andrew Bynum's been playing well, but there's no reason I can see that Kwame should be out this long. He has no fouls and started off being aggressive. He's sitting on the bench and doesn't look hurt. Not sure what's going on, but he's only played 8 minutes so far and we're more than halfway through the second quarter.
Yet another thing I didn't think I'd see. But the Lakers are dictating the pace of this game. So far, they've forced Phoenix into some strange lineups. Kurt Thomas, James Jones and Boris Diaw have seen a lot of PT, which is unusual this early. Phoenix is at its best when it goes small with Nash, Bell, Barbosa, Marion and Stoudemire. The Lakers are forcing them to go big, which slows them down.
Wow, never thought I'd see Brian Cook, Andrw Bynum, Shammond Williams, Mo Evans and Kobe on the floor together. Lakers are making an effort to go big.
Mo's looking good though. He just knocked down his second straight 3.
Steve Nash just came out for a blow at the end of the first quarter and the Lakers adjusted by going big. Briand cook, Andrew Bynum and Mo Evans are in the game, forcing the Suns to go with Boris Diaw and James Jones
Phil Jackson had to do something to try and slow Steve Nash did. Nash had been blowing by Jordan Farmar and gasily getting to the basket. Looks like Smush is going to get a crack at trying to stay in front of him. If he can't do it, Shammond Williams won't be far behind
With Lamar out, Shawn Marion has switched over to guarding Kobe. Marion is longer than Kobe, and almost as quick. But look for Kobe to drive against the All-Star small forward and try to draw fouls.
Lamar is going to have to sit on the bench a while after picking up two early fouls. Mo Evans is in. The bigger question is who will replace his scoring?
It wasn't as loud as the ovation they gave Kobe in pregame introductions, but the Staples Center crowd just erupted when video of Chicago's Game 4 victory over the Miami Heat was shown on the JumboTron. Chicago just completed a sweep of the defending NBA champs. You know, the team Shaq plays for.
It appears Shawn Marion is willing to give Lamar Odom any 3-point shot he wants. Marion is at least four feet away from Odom any time Lamar receives the ball on the perimeter. Almost seems like Marion is bating Lamar into shooting 3s.
OK. We're just a few minutes from tip-off here in Game 4. Everyone is still kind of waking up, as they usually are for 12:30 Sunday afternoon games. I saw a lot of the guys for both teams out on the court early, shooting around and trying to get it going.
Luke Walton spent a lot of time shooting before the game. He didn't seem to be bothered at all by the dislocated pinky he suffered at practice the other day.
Sasha Vujacic looked particularly sharp. Some guys just have a way of snapping the net on every shot with crisp rotation. When Sasha hits a shot, it's like it rips through the net. Still, because of his defense, I'm not sure how much Sasha will be on the court today.
No surprises in the starting lineups. Jordan Farmar is starting again, even though Shammond Williams and Smush were key to the Lakers second-half defensive effort. It'll be interesting to see how the playing time breaks down between those three today.
Vladamir Radmanovic is again inactive.
Kobe, Lamar and Phil Jackson talked today, so you'll be able to read that in its entirety below. Lamar Odom, who hyperextended his elbow in Game 3, and Luke Walton, who dislocated his right pinky finger in practice Saturday, seem ready to play Sunday but now there's an issue with Brian Cook. Cook sprained his left thumb in Game 3 and is considered questionable for Game 4. If he can't go, Vladimir Radmanovic will rejoin the active roster. The way Phil was talking, it seems like he might try to find a spot for Radmanovic regardless.
Here's the latest round of Q&A with the Lakers. The news today is about injuries and, really, when isn't it? Lamar Odom hyperextended his left elbow in Game 3 but is considered probable for Sunday. It probably won't be issue but remember, Odom is left-handed. Also, Luke Walton dislocated his right pinky finger in practice. He taped it up and kept shooting, so that shouldn't be a problem.
The team had the right attitude today. They were pleased with the victory but they know there's still a ton of work to be done, especially since the Suns will adjust to the things the Lakers did in Game 3.
The view from the other locker room:
Steve Nash:
``I thought they played harder than we did. That's really the bottom line. They played harder than we did and I don't think we stick to our game plan like we did so well in the first two games.
``We were a step slow. We weren't in the right spots. And they were so good at it the first two games. I know we played with a lot of energy, but I thought our concentration in the first two games was good too.
Raja Bell
``They were a desperate team. They played with a lot of desperation and we didn't trea it the same way. That was one team wanting to win more than the other one did.
``i thought we made it pretty clear that we didn't think we had it in the bag -- its a series.''
Thought you guys might be interested in what Kobe Bryant had to say after Thursday's Game 3 victory over the Suns.
``We made a lot of mistakes offesnively still, but when you have that hustle, when you play really hard particularly on the defensive end, you still give yourself a chance to win.
``They (Phoenix) have an explosive team and they jumped on us early. Going back to the time out, I just told the guys it's not a big deal. Since they're and explosive team, they're going to do thsi everyone in a while. The key is for us to just get our boundaries set and the great thing about it is that we still have 45 minutes to get back in the game.
``There's nthing that you could do besides that but just play harder. When you're in this position, down 2-0, you can put your tail between your legs and run or fight. I made a statement earlier in the week that this game would be a good indicator to see how many fighters we have on this team. And to a man, everybody stepped up and responded to the challenge.
On Kwame's performance:
``Like Willis Reed. It was fortunate for us, it was his good ankle. ... he came back in a he played well. From the geginning of the game throughout, he played extremely well. He didn't get discouraged when he didn't finish plays inside. He just continued to be aggressive adn continued to attack. That's what we need him to do at both ends of the floor.
Afte a woeful first quarter, the Lakers are 8 of 14 from the field here in the second quarter.
A lot of you have asked who Lamar was referring to yesterday when he said the team lacked team camaraderie and speculated he was talking about Kobe. Not so..
When asked about Kobe's leadership of the Lakers' youngsters, Lamar said, ``His patience is amazing.''
Yesterday at practice, Phil Jackson said he might use Shammond Williams as a defensive shadow assigned to Leandro Barbosa and he's gone to the veteran guard early. The Lakers have made a mini-run since he's been in, outscoring the Suns 9-3 in that span
Statistics don't always tell the story, but in this case one stat in particular is pretty telling. The Lakers just shot 25 percent (5 of 20) from the field in the first quarter. The Suns were 13 of 18 (72 percent).
The Lakers should consider themselves lucky to be down 31-17
I think most people know what I was going for here, but I should clarify it anyway...in today's notebook I discussed how the Lakers were in a 2-0 series hole in 2003 and had lost under Phil Jackson. Well, that should have been worded a little more clearly, because it didn't reflect that Jackson had two Chicago teams that fell into 2-0 holes. So that's that. For the record, the '90 Bulls dropped the first two to Detroit in the conference finals and the '94 Bulls dropped the first two to the Knicks in the second round. Both series went to seven games and the Bulls lost both series. The '03 Lakers lost the first two games to the Spurs and lost in six games. The '04 Lakers lost the first two games to the Spurs and won the series in six games. Whew...
There were a couple questions about who Lamar might have been referring to, and the relationship between him and Kobe. I can't speak for Lamar, and there's very little chance that he will call out anyone in specific publicly, but I think it could go either way. Kobe could very well be the target, especially after his post-Game 1 comments when he talked about being frustrated when his teammates don't knock down open looks. Then again, Lamar was asked, independently, about Kobe's leadership and gave him some good praise. I think the ``separating'' comments were more about Smush and Vlad. When you read their body language these days, it doesn't look good.
Kobe Bryant finished a distant third behind Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki and Phoenix' Steve Nash in MVP voting in a survery of NBA general managers posted on nba.com today.
Before you get all riled up, remember the real MVP award is voted on by the media, the results of which have not been announced yet. But according to the results of NBA.com's survey, Nowitzki received 17 first-place votes and 8 second-place votes for a total of 109 points. Nash finished second with 82 points and Kobe Bryant finished third with 21 points. 25 of the leagues 30 general managers participated in the survey. Kobe only got one first place vote.
Since there seemed to be a good reaction to posting the transcripts of the day's interviews, I'll give it another shot today. It's a good way to give you, the readers, an unfiltered look at what goes on, especially since I'll only have enough room to get about 5 percent of this stuff in the newspaper. So...enjoy!
For those who don't have the patience or inclination to read thousands of words, I'll summarize briefly:
-- The mood of the team isn't good. Kobe Bryant put up a good front, and as a team leader that's absolutely what he should be doing, but Phil Jackson flat-out said that the team's mental state was not good today. Whether they can recapture that before tomorrow night is anyone's guess.
-- There is still some mild pain in Kobe's ankle, but he will play. He didn't participate in the full-squad scrimmage, and neither did Odom, Brown or Walton, so it actually wasn't much of a full-team scrimmage, was it?
-- I found Lamar Odom's comments after Game 2 fascinating. You could dismiss them, and say that every team that falls into a playoff hole ends up in some amount of disarray, but this seems to run deeper. And it begs the question, why aren't the Laker more angry? Why aren't they pulling together with an us-against-the-world mentality, or at least putting up that front? Maybe because they're just not that unified.
-- There's lots of talk below about the screen-and-roll defense. That's something I'll be getting into more tomorrow. Hope everyone enjoys the quotes. Feel free to post any questions you might have.
Below, I've posted the transcript from the most recent media session, which includes extensive comments from Lamar Odom, Kobe Bryant and Phil Jackson as well as a couple from Jordan Farmar. For info on Smush Parker, you can (and should, of course) read Steve Dilbeck's column. After Steve finished talking to him for a couple minutes, Smush sat on a bench by himself and talked on his cell phone for about 20 minutes.
Hi guys, Ramona Shelburne here. Just came across an interesting story in the Salt Lake Tribune while checking in on our old buddy, Ross Siler, who took a day and then headed out to Houston to cover the Jazz in their first round series against the Rockets. If you get a chance, check out the story he did on former Laker Derek Fisher yesterday.
I'll make sure and forward along your comments to Ross, I'm sure he'd appreciate them. He did a bang up job with the Lakers beat and we're all going to pitch in and see if we can pick up the baton for him.
Anyway, here's the story on Andrei. Kirilenko has been one of the most disappointing, enigmatic players in the NBA this year so it's hard what to make of this story. Crying after a Game 1 loss? Just imagine how this would play if this happened in a place like New York.
JAZZ: Kirilenko cries over diminished role
By Michael C. Lewis
The Salt Lake Tribune
Article Last Updated: 04/22/2007 03:06:33 PM MDT
Posted: 3:07 PM- HOUSTON - Sitting alone at the edge of the court after the Jazz practiced for Game 2 of their first-round playoff series tonight, the team's highest-paid player cried.
Forward Andrei Kirilenko used a towel to blot away tears from his red and swollen eyes Sunday while discussing his minimal role in the Jazz's 84-75 loss to the Rockets in Game 1. Kirilenko played only 16 minutes - including only the last seven seconds of the fourth quarter.
"I want to play 48 minutes," he said.
Kirilenko, who earned $12.3 million this season in the second year of a six-year maximum-salary contract, left the game with about five minutes left in the third quarter after appearing to twist his ankle trying to block a shot. He actually endured a blow to his groin, he said, but that wasn't the reason he was on the bench while Houston's Tracy McGrady heated up and ultimately sunk the Jazz.
"I don't know," he said. "I was ready to play."
Coach Jerry Sloan said Kirilenko was playing poorly - he finished with two points, one rebound, a steal, an assist and a blocked shot - so "I have to try to play somebody who can keep us in the ballgame."
Without Kirilenko on the floor, the Jazz were left to defend McGrady with guards Derek Fisher and Gordan Giricek, and it didn't work. The Rockets took off on a 16-4 run the moment
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Kirilenko left the game, with McGrady scoring 10 of his 22 second-half points in the final 3:42 of the period.
Hello to everyone. This is Rich Hammond and I'll be taking over the Laker beat (as well as this blog) as Ross Siler has moved on. Steve Dilbeck and I will be off to Phoenix tomorrow night but for now, here's a link to the podcast you'll be able to find on the Daily News website. It's myself and deputy sports editor Matt McHale, discussing the playoffs and the Lakers' prospects.
There's no team quite like the Lakers, and Wednesday was proof of that again. So what if they're playing tomorrow in one of the season's biggest games? Luke Walton got to deny that he's dating Britney Spears, Lamar Odom had a camera crew in tow and Andrew Bynum tipped us off that Kwame Brown might not play the rest of the season.
Didn't you know the circus was back in town? I'm not sure whether to call Luke ``Mr. Spears'' or ``Federline'' right now but it's amazing how two items in the British tabloids could catch fire. Spears has attended three Lakers games since getting divorced/leaving rehab and the Daily Star and Daily Mirror tried to connect the dots.
So you end up with some hilarious gossip from ``sources'' close to Spears. From the Star: ``Luke's all man - - not like Federline or any of the guys that she's been used to. If anyone can sweep her off her feet, he can - - literally.''
Or my favorite from the Mirror: "Britney is certainly sports mad since dating Luke. She even chants his name when the rest of the fans do. Her face lights up when she sees him do well. She's really fallen for him.''
It reached the point Wednesday where Walton was debating putting out a statement denying the rumors. As Kobe Bryant put it, ``You’ve got to do what you’ve got to do.'' I did a Google News search and found Web sites mentioning the rumor in India, South Africa, New Zealand, Tunisia, Canada and England.
We'll see if Britney shows up to watch the Lakers/Clippers game on Thursday night....Walton, by the way, is down to take part in the NBA's Basketball Without Borders camps for the second summer in a row. He went to South Africa last summer and is going to Brazil this summer.
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Vladimir Radmanovic was hopeful that he could do more than just dress for the game. He played five-on-five Wednesday, had his ``moments'' on the floor, according to Phil Jackson, and said he hoped to play against the Clippers, his former team. ``It felt good enough so that I can go tomorrow and give it a shot,'' Radmanovic said.
Jackson on his team's recent fourth-quarter struggles: ``Maybe it’s the bad moon rising that’s causing those things to happen to us where we’re missing free throws down the stretch or an errant play. But for whatever reason, we’re on the bad end of the stick right now, so we’ve got to reverse that. ’’
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By Ross Siler
Staff Writer
EL SEGUNDO--With four games left in the regular season, the good news is that the Lakers are free from distractions as they make their playoff push. Unless, of course, you count Luke Walton having to deny that he’s the new Kevin Federline.
Or if you ignore the camera crew that followed every move Lamar Odom made after practice. As it turns out, Odom is launching a new Web site and played host to a party Wednesday night for his record label and clothing line.
Just your typical day at the office, Britney Spears rumors and all, for the Lakers, who will play the Clippers tonight at Staples Center in one of the biggest games in history between Los Angeles’ two professional basketball teams.
Denied a Hallway Series last spring, the Lakers and Clippers will be part of the next-best thing tonight. The Lakers could move to the brink of qualifying for the playoffs with a win while the Clippers are desperate not to fall out of playoff position.
``They really need this game like we really need it,’’ said Odom, who played the first four seasons of his career with the Clippers. ``Plus it just happens to be Clippers/Lakers. It’s a great time.’’
The two teams never have met in the playoffs and seldom have played a more important late-season game. At the same time, Wednesday’s events showed just what a unique place the Lakers continue to hold in the city.
Instead of talking about the playoffs, Walton tried to pull his personal life out of the tabloids. Somehow the dots were connected from Spears attending two recent Lakers games to a relationship between the pop princess/rehab queen and Walton.
``The rumors aren’t true,’’ Walton said. ``I’m sure Britney is a great person. I don’t even know her. I have a girlfriend right now. I’m in a relationship. I’m very happy with my relationship. I don’t know where it’s all started, but none of it is true.’’
Walton is dating Bre Ladd, a former volleyball player at the University of Arizona, who happened to be sitting five seats down from Spears at one of the games she attended.
That wasn’t mentioned when ``Entertainment Tonight’’ ran with the story earlier this week. Walton said his girlfriend was amused at first but has grown irritated. For his part, Walton’s been hearing from friends who haven’t called in years.
``If I was living in Milwaukee, this wouldn’t have happened,’’ Walton said. ``It’s definitely an L.A. thing.’’
Walton was asked if this really would be the best time to take on Spears’ ``issues,’’ including her recent head-shaving episode, and answered, ``We’ve got our own issues. We’re trying to win some ballgames and do something in the playoffs.’’
Kobe Bryant was asked if the Lakers had a modern-day Madonna and Dennis Rodman situation on their hands and replied, ``If Luke dies his hair, then I’ll start answering some of these questions.’’
Odom, meanwhile, couldn’t even make the short walk for a bottle of Gatorade without a documentary crew on his heels. They were filming a video for lamarodom.com while he had a red-carpet event scheduled at a Venice club.
``It’s really a blessing,’’ Odom said. ``I feel like I’m talented as far as basketball is concerned and I have people around me who are just as talented as far as music, fashion and the arts are concerned. So I’m really fortunate and lucky.’’
The Lakers (40-38) would be hard-pressed to say the same on the court, where they have lost six of their last eight games, a slide unlike any before for a Phil Jackson-coached team so close to the playoffs.
They still can wrap up a playoff spot with a victory tonight and one loss by eighth-place Golden State, thanks to tiebreakers they would hold over the Clippers and Warriors.
The Clippers beat the Lakers 90-82 last week but have lost their past three games to slip a half-game behind Golden State. The only way for the Clippers (37-40) to feel secure about their playoff position is to sweep their final five games.
There also was the small matter Wednesday of the continuing saga involving injured center Kwame Brown, who is bothered by a bone bruise in his left ankle. Brown has missed the last four games and said he wouldn’t play again tonight.
Jackson has said he won’t push Brown to return but also makes no secret of how much he needs his size on the court. He said nothing had changed Wednesday in regard to Brown, though teenage center Andrew Bynum made a most curious comment.
Bynum said he’d ``learned recently’’ that Brown would be out the rest of the season. Brown seconded Jackson that nothing had been determined but for the second straight day would not commit to returning for the playoffs.
``I’m just being real honest with them, letting them know how it feels,’’ Brown said. ``I definitely don’t want to go out there and put myself in a situation where I’m going to hurt myself even further or put the team in a situation where they think I’m going to be able to play a certain way when I know I can’t right now.’’
Brown pulled away in his pick-up truck as reporters headed back to hear Walton joke if there were any questions about defending the screen-and-roll. As Odom summed up so neatly, ``You never know in La-la land.’’
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By Ross Siler
Staff Writer
EL SEGUNDO--Out of the mouth of a child - - OK, Andrew Bynum is 19 years old and some 7 feet tall - - might have come truth Wednesday regarding injured center Kwame Brown’s status for the rest of the season.
Brown has struggled to overcome a bone bruise in his left ankle and is expected to miss his fifth straight game tonight. And Bynum said he was preparing as if he was going to start in Brown’s place the rest of the way.
``That’s something that I just learned recently that he was actually going to be out for the remainder of the season,’’ Bynum said. ``I didn’t know that. I just hope that he gets better. We’re going to need everybody for the playoff run.’’
Lakers coach Phil Jackson said Brown’s status was unchanged ``unless Kwame’s talking to guys in the locker room that he hasn’t been telling our trainers or myself.’’ Yet Brown again couldn’t guarantee that he would be able to return for the playoffs.
That could leave the Lakers starting the 19-year-old Bynum and using a center rotation of Ronny Turiaf and Brian Cook. Bynum played all of two minutes in last season’s playoffs and his recent play has been underwhelming.
``If we had our druthers,’’ Jackson said, ``we’d rather have Kwame taking the load out there and Andrew doing some things that would be unique and different for a team to have to handle. It’s going to be the way it is. We have to deal with it.’’
Bynum finished with 16 points Monday against Denver - - his most since a Feb. 23 game against Boston - - but played only 19 minutes because of foul trouble. Jackson wants Bynum to split minutes (24 or more) with Turiaf and be more of an inside presence.
``I need to go out there and just be more aggressive,’’ Bynum said. ``That’s what everybody keeps telling me. Just start demanding the ball more, and on the defensive end, being more of a help to my teammates, not so much worried about my guy and picking up fouls.’’
Welcome back: Vladimir Radmanovic practiced for the second consecutive day and said he wants to play tonight against the Clippers. Jackson said Radmanovic had his ``moments’’ in practice while Kobe Bryant joked about his new nickname of ``Igor.’’
That would replace ``Half-pipe,’’ the nickname given to Radmanovic after his snowboarding mishap over All-Star weekend. Radmanovic suffered a separated shoulder and was fined $500,000 by the Lakers for violating the terms of his contract.
Daughter-in-law? Luke Walton was able to joke about what his father Bill’s reaction would be to the news - - spawned by a British tabloid, all of it untrue - - that he was dating Britney Spears.
``My dad probably just thinks it’s true,’’ Walton said. ``He probably just thinks I haven’t told him. I’m sure next time I’ll see him, he’ll be like, `Luke, I see you have a new girlfriend.’’’
It's pretty amazing when you look at how Phil Jackson's 15 previous teams finished the season and compare it to these Lakers. Jackson has a way of getting his teams to peak at the right time but this season's Lakers are fading by contrast. Here's the record of Jackson's team in the last 10 regular-season games.
The Bulls years: 1989-90 (6-4), 1990-91 (7-3), 1991-92 (8-2), 1992-93 (7-3), 1993-94 (7-3), 1994-95 (8-2), 1995-96 (8-2), 1996-97 (6-4), 1997-98 (7-3)
The Lakers years: 1999-2000 (7-3), 2000-01 (9-1), 2001-02 (7-3), 2002-03 (8-2), 2003-04 (7-3), 2005-06 (7-3)
The 2006-07 Lakers have lost six of their last eight games and are 2-4 in what will be the last 10 games of the season. They closed 11-3 last season to get to 45-37. It's safe to say Jackson never has had a team close a season in such uninspiring fashion.
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Talked to Sasha Vujacic coming off the court Tuesday after his strong game against Denver. Vujacic had six points and three steals in 22 minutes and played the entire fourth quarter. Here's a mini Q-and-A of sorts.
Q: You hadn't played in two games before last night and then you get that opportunity. Was that a big deal for you?
A: I was just waiting for my chance. Like I always say, whenever I'm out there, I'm going to give my 110 percent. Sometimes I'm going to get the shots, sometimes I'm going to have to play good defense in order for my team to get the `W.'
What my challenge was yesterday was to kind of slow down their point guards. That was what I was trying to accomplish yesterday. Of course, the most important thing for us in the next few games is we have to play good defense and just execute on offense so we can get a few wins and get the better spot in the playoffs.
Q: You had a really good playoff run last year. Do you think about that ever and do you think you have that same run in you again?
A: I knew last year that coach had huge confidence in me and I just didn't want to let anybody down. He gave me the opportunity so I grabbed that opportunity and played at the level I know how to play. I'm not completely satisified with how I played last year because if I had played a little bit better, probably would have won.
I'm totally looking forward to the playoffs. Like I said, as long as coach has that confidence in me, I don't want to let him down.
Q: What needs to change for you guys as a team right now?
A: Just to get a win. We just need to find a way to win. No more excuses, no nothing. We just have to play with our heart and put everything out there. We have to give the Clippers (Thursday) what they gave us a couple days ago.
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Jackson was asked if the Lakers were preparing to resort to simply outscoring teams in the playoffs, given the state of their defense. If you go back to March 1, the Lakers are giving up 108 points on average. To put that in perspective, the Memphis Grizzlies, the NBA's worst defensive team, are giving up 106.9 points for the season.
``If you play against a team like Phoenix, everybody downplays their defense,'' Jackson said. ``But they’re actually a very good defensive team. . . .They’re going to continue to score, so you really do have to outscore them. But you’ve got to find the defense out there anyway because there’s going to be a lot of attempts.’’
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Kwame Brown's answer when asked if he was going to play no matter what in the playoffs: ``I'm not going to play and hurt the team and further injure myself. But if I can contribute anything and get up and down the court and sustain the pressure on the offense and defense, then I'll play. If not, I won't.''
Brown said his bone bruise is slow to heal because of the blood flow in the area. Jackson estimated Sunday that Brown probably would need four months of the off-season to fully recover.
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By Ross Siler
Staff Writer
EL SEGUNDO--For the coach with the reputation as the greatest closer in basketball history, with the nine championship rings to prove it, Phil Jackson never has had a team stagger to the finish line quite like these Lakers.
Never in 15 previous seasons has Jackson coached a team that failed to win at least six of its final 10 games heading toward the playoffs. This season’s Lakers would be happy just to win a game after dropping six of their last eight.
They have fallen 1 1-2 games out of sixth place in the Western Conference standings with four games to play. It would take a spectacular collapse for the Lakers not to make the playoffs, but they have a host of issues to address before the season ends.
``This team has to learn some things still,’’ Jackson said. ``We’re confident we can go in the playoffs and do some things that are good. I don’t know if we’re going to win a playoff series right now, if I was to bet on it. But I would say that we’re going to play.’’
The Lakers have done little to improve their standing as one of the NBA’s worst defensive teams (giving up 103.4 points per game) and have been a ``fourth-quarter enigma,’’ according to Jackson, unable to come through with necessary big plays.
``That’s a big part of it is that we’re not finding a way to win games that are there for us,’’ Jackson said. ``That’s concerning to us and disappointing, and those things all take a little bit out of you.’’
The Lakers have beaten only one team with a winning record since the All-Star break (at Utah on Feb. 26) and have gone just 14-25 since reaching the high-water mark of their season at 26-13 with a Jan. 17 victory at San Antonio.
Their starting point guard, Smush Parker, has been benched in the fourth quarter of three of the last four games. Their starting center, Kwame Brown, is out with an injured left ankle and could not guarantee Tuesday he would be back for the playoffs.
Their last seven wins have come with Kobe Bryant averaging 47.6 points, suggesting that the only hope in the playoffs will be a one-man scoring show. The problem? Bryant is shooting 41.7 percent (110 of 264) since his spree of 50-point games ended.
If they can’t build momentum now, Jackson was asked if he thought the Lakers could do so once the playoffs started. He cited the 1977-78 Washington Bullets (with a forward named Mitch Kupchak) that finished 44-38 yet won a championship.
The Lakers will finish the regular season against the Clippers on Thursday, at Phoenix on Friday, home against Seattle on Sunday and at Sacramento on Wednesday. They would qualify for the playoffs with one win and one loss by eighth-place Golden State.
Jackson said his first priority is keeping opposing teams off the foul line. The Nuggets went 39 of 49 from the line in Monday’s victory, yet another night in which the Lakers shot fewer free throws (28) than their opponents made.
Brown update: Brown is bothered by a bone bruise in his ankle and made no assurances about when he would next play. He questioned whether he could get up and down the floor and would not commit to returning for the playoffs.
``Everybody says, `They need me back, they need me back,’ but I’m not going to play if I’m going to hurt the team,’’ Brown said. ``At this point, I don’t think I can do anything to contribute.’’
Radmanovic back: Vladimir Radmanovic played four-on-four at the end of practice - - sinking a 3-pointer, a midrange jumper and a layup - - and plans on being in uniform Thursday. Whether he will play has not been determined.
The hand injury Radmanovic suffered in October has healed and the shoulder he separated while snowboarding is getting closer to 100 percent. In the meantime, he was asked what contribution he thought he could make.
``I think the contribution I was supposed to make, what I was brought for at the beginning of the season,’’ Radmanovic said. ``It’s been a rough season for me obviously and really frustrating but I’ll try to put everything behind me and have this as a new start.’’
Before the game, Lakers coach Phil Jackson gave us a little history lesson in response to a question about orchestrating a playoff matchup. This was not the first time the subject came up this season; Jackson has needled the Clippers for how they played(?) their way into a first-round series with Denver last season.
Jackson said he never had considered doing such a thing and didn't believe in it. Of course, the Lakers obviously are orchestrating their way into the playoffs