CLEVELAND — Here are a few of the best and brightest postgame quotes after the Lakers rallied to defeat the Cleveland Cavaliers this afternoon for their sixth win on their six-game road trip. Kobe Bryant was unavailable to speak with reporters after suffering from flu-like symptoms.

Lamar Odom on scoring 28 points and grabbing 17 rebounds, both season highs: “I told myself before the game started in my little meditation that Phil (Jackson) has taught me to put myself in the moment. I told myself that the first rebound I got, I was going to take it to the hole and score. It kind of opened the game up for me and I found the flow of the game.”

Cleveland’s LeBron James on Odom’s play: “You see games like today where he gives you the points, the rebounds and the assists. He was definitely a big difference for them, with his offensive rebounding and going straight to the bucket to make some good plays.”

Jackson on Bryant: “He had chills at halftime and was struggling. But he said he was going to go out there anyway and play. We just wanted to keep a watch on him and he was going to let me know how he was doing. He was definitely not himself today.”

Jackson on the defining moments of the six-game trip: “There were two things that happened. One was, obviously, Andrew (Bynum) going down and the immediate shock of one of our key players being on the floor and the subsequent review of almost a year ago. The other thing was the game after that, with Kobe coming out and having a 61-point game at New York. The big pick-me-up type of game kind of infused the energy with this club.”

CLEVELAND — The Lakers ended their six-game trip with a 6-0 record after defeating Cleveland, 101-91, and ending the Cavaliers’ 23-game home-court winning streak today. Kobe Bryant came down with flu-like symptoms early this morning and was not himself. He had 19 points, hitting a back-breaking fadeaway over LeBron James in the fourth quarter.

Lamar Odom led the Lakers by scoring 28 points and grabbing 17 rebounds, both season highs. Odom had 17 points and 12 rebounds in the second half. The Lakers trailed, 61-51, at halftime, but limited the Cavaliers to 30 points on 28.2 percent shooting (11-for-39) in the second half. James scored 16 points on 5-for-20 shooting and added 12 assists.

CLEVELAND — Lakers coach Phil Jackson couldn’t resist taking a couple of swipes at the Boston Celtics during his pregame session today with reporters. The Lakers defeated the Celtics in overtime Thursday in Boston, but Jackson revisited the game in his own not-too-subtle way.

Asked about the difference between having Kobe Bryant guard Boston’s Ray Allen and having him check Cleveland’s LeBron James, Jackson said.”Chasing Ray Allen off multiple picks, especially ones that move as often as Boston’s do, it’s just not feasible to wear him out and get run into by (Kendrick) Perkins and (Kevin) Garnett.”

Jackson moved Bryant off Allen and onto point guard Rajon Rondo in the second half Thursday, switching Derek Fisher from Rondo to Allen.

Asked if he was aware that the NBA had fined Boston coach Doc Rivers $15,000 for barking at the referees after the game, Jackson said, “Is that all? It should have been more. That’s Boston. That’s always been Boston. It just goes along with the product.”

Rivers and the Celtics believed Allen had been fouled by Fisher before tossing an airball at the final buzzer as the Lakers held on for a 110-109 victory.

I’ve had a few conversations with front office types around the league in the wake of the Lakers trade for Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown yesterday, and a couple reactions surprised me.

First off, the general thought was that Morrison might not be here very deep into next season unless he shows some tremendous upside. And even if he does, all the better, because his expiring contract would hold that much more value.

Also, Shannon Brown is no throw-in. One Western Conference executive said that he thought, right now, Brown was better than Morrison and would help the Lakers more.

“He’s more athletic, he’s quicker and he’s a better defender,” the executive said. “I think Shannon Brown is going to help them more than Adam Morrison because he can guard faster players.”

CLEVELAND — Here’s the bulk of a question-and-answer session with Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak after the announcement of today’s trade that sent Vladimir Radmanovic to Charlotte for Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown. Kupchak talked about the reasons why he made the deal, what it means for the Lakers’ salary cap flexibility for next summer and the one after and how he might be done dealing well before the Feb. 19 deadline.

Continue reading “Kupchak on the record” »

So much for “forging ahead with what we’ve got,” as Mitch Kupchak said in the aftermath of Andrew Bynum’s injury this week.

The Lakers on Saturday, traded oft-maligned sharp-shooter Vladimir Radmanovic to the Charlotte Bobcats for former lottery pick Adam Morrison and guard Shannon Brown.

While it may at first seem like this deal is exchanging one space cadet for another, I actually think it’s a great deal for the Lakers. Radmanovic has fallen out of the rotation and turned increasingly surly in the locker room. A few weeks ago, he was benched for over-sleeping and arriving in the last five minutes of a shoot-around. He also has had several uncomfortable conversations with coach Phil Jackson about his diminished role, and made no secret of his displeasure with his reduction in minutes.

But the most overriding positive to this deal is financial. The Lakers get out from under Radmanovic’s burdensome contract, which was paying him approximately $13.4 million over the next two seasons.

Brown’s deal expires after this season, and Morrison has just one more guaranteed year on his rookie contract after this season. The team can extend him a qualifying offer for the 2010-11 season, or it could let him leave as an unrestricted free agent if he hasn’t figured out how to translate his game — which made him a star at Gonzaga not so long ago –to the NBA by then.

Morrison is under contract for approximately $4.159 million this season and $5.257 million next season. His qualifying offer would be $6.897 in 2010-11. So if the Lakers don’t extend a qualifying offer to Morrison two years from now, they’d have saved about $8 million over the next two seasons (Radmanovic’s $6.883 million salary in 2010-11 and the $1.169 difference between Radmanovic’s salary and Morrison’s salary in 2009-10).

That’s no small change for a team facing exorbitant luxury tax bills over the next few seasons with new multi-year deals due for Andrew Bynum and Kobe Bryant, plus potential long-term deals for Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza.

BOSTON — There were no wild celebrations after the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics, 110-109 in overtime tonight. At least, none for public consumption anyway. The Lakers were as calm, cool and collected in their postgame locker room as they were in overtime against the team that denied them the NBA championship last June.

Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 26 points on 10-for-29 shooting and added 10 rebounds and five assists. Pau Gasol had 24 points and 14 rebounds. Lamar Odom had 20 points and six rebounds. Odom’s free throws with 16 seconds left in OT proved to be the winning points after Ray Allen’s desperation heave fell short at the buzzer.

The Celtics wanted a hand-checking foul whistled against Derek Fisher, who pressured Allen, but none was called and the Lakers held on to win with a key defensive stop in the final three seconds of overtime.

Here’s a sampling of the postgame comments ….

Lakers coach Phil Jackson: “Neither of our teams played up to the capabilities that we are able to play, but we outlasted them. That’s about it.. … It’s nice to be able to have a game like this where they are on a winning streak and they are playing really well. The matchup created good PR for the league, and we had a great overtime game.”

Kobe Bryant: “It was more of a statement game for ourselves, knowing that we didn’t necessarily play well for three quarters and still managed to find a way to win this game.”

Luke Walton: “We all remember what it felt like leaving here (after the Lakers’ loss in the deciding Game 6 of the NBA Finals last June) and this win here doesn’t make up for it at all, but it’s still nice and it feels good to get that win.”

Boston coach Doc Rivers: “I didn’t think we played well at all for the most part, but we hung in there. And I was just proud of our guys because I didn’t think we played well. I didn’t think we executed well at all. And yet we still had chances. We still had leads.”

Celtics guard Ray Allen: “I thought I was pushed. I almost twisted … I think I did twist my ankle. I thought I was fouled. … We had some calls that went our way, some calls didn’t.”

BOSTON — So far, the big game has been a big clunker. Neither team has played as anticipated, but maybe expectations were a little too grand for an early February game. The Lakers led for most of the first half, but were outscored, 6-0 in the closing minutes of the half. Kobe Bryant led the Lakers with 13 points in the first half, and Pau Gasol had 11 points and seven rebounds. The Lakers shot 47.7 percent. Kevin Garnett led Boston with 10 points. The Celtics shot 43.5 percent, missing a slew of open shots.

BOSTON — The eyes of the basketball world will be on the TD Banknorth Garden for tonight’s rematch of the 2008 NBA Finals. The Lakers lost to the Boston Celtics in the deciding Game 6 of the Finals last June, a humiliating 39-point defeat that still angers and motivates the Lakers.

The Lakers won the first game of the season between the teams on Dec. 25 at Staples Center, but it’s safe to say they won’t be pleased until they have beaten the Celtics in Boston and then gone on to win the championship that eluded them last season. The Lakers will be without Andrew Bynum, who tore a ligament in his right knee last Saturday. Kevin Garnett of the Celtics has missed the last two games because of flu-like symptoms, but is expected to play tonight.

The Lakers have won four in a row; the Celtics have won 12 straight. Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol each have scored 30 or more points in consecutive games, with Bryant scoring a season-high 61 in Monday’s victory over the New York Knicks.

BOSTON — Greetings from the birthplace of the Revolution, home to the Freedom Trail, the Old North Church, Boston Common, the Big Dig, the B’s, the C’s and the Sox. It’s the de facto capital of New England and one of the last places in the nation where a regional accent still survives. Boston reeks of history and tradition, and nowhere is that more evident than in the city’s sports teams. The Sox’s hold on the region cannot be overestimated. The Bruins, Celtics and Patriots fall in line behind the Sox, who play in a crumbling but beloved old ballpark called Fenway Park. The Bruins and Celtics are having superb seasons. The B’s are seeking their first Stanley Cup since the 1970s and the C’s are seeking their second consecutive NBA title. The TD Banknorth Garden has turned electric after years of shabby play by the B’s and C’s. It will be bonkers again tonight, when the Lakers make their first visit since the NBA Finals last June.