There’s very few things Antawn Jamison hasn’t seen in his 15-year NBA career.

He played on the Washington Wizards for four seasons, including the 2009-10 campaign when Gilbert Arenas brought firearms to the locker room. Jamison was traded to the Cleveland Cavaliers later that season where he witnessed LeBron James’ hasty departure. This year, Jamison experienced the firing of Mike Brown only five games into the Lakers’ season.

In the Lakers’ 101-100 victory Tuesday over the Charlotte Bobcats, Jamison went through one thing for the first time in his career. He didn’t play.

“I’ve never had this,” Jamison said in a quiet moment with this newspaper. “I’m going home and going to pray. I’m doing something I love to do. You just have to find the positives in life. We won.”

Jamison’s demotion coincided with Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni overseeing a number of moving parts. Pau Gasol returned to the starting lineup after missing the past eight games because of knee tendinitis. Lakers forward Metta World Peace has assumed the backup power forward spot. It’s possible Jodie Meeks will start at shooting guard, while Kobe Bryant slides over to the small forward position. Meanwhile, Jordan Hill also sat on the bench with Jamison.

“Nothing they did to deserve it,” D’Antoni said. “I’m just trying to figure out the best way to play the team.”

Continue reading “Antawn Jamison perplexed by reduced role; vows to stay positive” »

With the game appearing out of reach, the Lakers depended on one rare source of stability.

Kobe Bryant.

The Lakers’ 101-100 victory Tuesday over the Charlotte Bobcats hardly looked pretty. The Lakers trailed as many as 18 points. The Bobcats’ 40 percent mark from the field represented more missed shots than disciplined defense. The Lakers high-paced offense came to a screeching halt with 39.8 percent shooting and eight fast-break points.

But Dwight Howard’s game-securing block on Kemba Walker on the final possession aside, it was Bryant who once again saved the day. His team-leading 30 points on 11 of 24 shooting and seven assists marked his seventh consecutive game where he posted at least 30 points, the first time any NBA player has performed such a feat at age 34.

“I’m just hoping this whole Benjamin Button thing doesn’t wear off,” Bryant said, alluding to the fictional character who gets younger as time passes.

That day might come. Bryant logged 43 minutes in that game, marking the seventh consecutive game he’s played at least 40 minutes.

“I’m not tired,” Bryant said. “I don’t know what to tell you. I jammed my foot a little bit. That stopped me from being aggressive in going to the rim in a little bit. But stamina-wise, I’m fine.”

That paid off in various ways against Charlotte.

Bryant split a pair of defenders for an open layup to give the Lakers a 99-97 lead with 1:26 left. On the next possession, Bryant sank a 19-foot jumper to extend the cushion to 101-97 with 52.2 seconds remaining. Bryant became directly involved in eight of the Lakers’ 10 fourth-quarter field goals, including 10 fourth-quarter points and three assists.

Bryant and the Lakers now can enjoy the day off today.

“I just feel good,” Bryant said. “I’m in a good rhythm. I’m still doing what I’m doing really, going out there and playing. I’m being aggressive while still trying to keep everybody involved.”

Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter and e-mail him at mark.medina@dailybreeze.com

Without much attention and fanfare, Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni stripped away the starting position of his most eccentric player.

After providing the team’s most consistent energy outside of Kobe Bryant, Metta World Peace came off the bench in the Lakers’ 101-100 victory Tuesday over the Charlotte Bobcats. After giving the Lakers a dependable option at small forward, World Peace will now play at power forward. And unlike past seasons where he considered a demotion a slight, World Peace made little of D’Antont’s lineup change.

“There’s nothing to explain,” World Peace said. “He’s the head coach, man. We’re trying to win. When we were kids, maybe you get things told to you in a little nice tone and things like that. But we’re grown men. There’s no need to explain. Just come off the bench sucka. Just come off the bench and go play.”
Continue reading “Metta World Peace fine with playing power forward off bench” »

With a solemn expression on his face, Pau Gasol peered over the team huddle.

The image fit all too well on how Gasol continuously feels he’s on the outside looking in regarding his role. It also provided a literary picture – Gasol sat in the final 2:36 of the Lakers’ 101-100 victory Tuesday over the Charlotte Bobcats.

Gasol stressed he wouldn’t worry about his role in his first game back after sitting out the past eight because of knee tendinitis. But after sitting in late fourth quarter stretches in two other games, Gasol voiced his displeasure as swiftly as one of his lobs to Dwight Howard or pull up jumpers.

“Hopefully it won’t happen too often,” Gasol said. “When the game is on the line, I need to be on the court. That’s what I get paid to do.”
Continue reading “Pau Gasol balks at sitting out late in Lakers-Bobcats game” »

The questions surrounding Pau Gasol no longer rest on when he will heal his knee tendinitis. Following a two-week absence that has kept him out for eight games, Gasol will return to the starting lineup tonight when the Lakers host the Charlotte Bobcats at Staples Center.

Instead the questions center on how he will fit in Mike D’Antoni’s system.

“I would be shocked if he can’t,” Lakers coach D’Antoni said. “He could be good in any system. He’s one of the most skilled big men. There can’t be a system for someone that’s skilled and knows how to play, it can’t work for you.”

Yet, that hasn’t happened for Gasol.

He has averaged a career-low 12.6 points on 43.7 percent shooting. Gasol had admitted a learning curve in playing a stretch power forward and running up and down at a much faster speed. During his absence, Kobe Bryant and Magic Johnson have advocated for Gasol to be featured more in the post.

Yet, D’Antoni believes the problem pointed more Gasol’s health than needing to adjust his system.

“He feels better,” D’Antoni said. “I think that’s a big factor. Hopefully as we go forward, the team will play better around him and give him some room. Some of it, I think he feels better. Some of it, I hope the team can better understand how to play with him a little better.”

But how do the Lakers do that?

D’Antoni insisted he’s not stubborn to his system, saying “the ultimate thing is to win. I won’t compromise and then lose.”

Yet, D’Antoni made some issues clear regarding Gasol’s role.

D’Antoni expect Howard to play less in the post to make room for Gasol.

“Dwight is pretty much the center and is going to play that way,” D’Antoni said. “We’d like to expand his game a little bit, put the ball on the floor every once in a while where ever he is and give him. It’s Pau who has to expand his game. He’ll stand out in the corner 3’s.”

D’Antoni answered definitively whether he would bring Gasol off the bench.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “You look at everything. I think he’ll be good right where he is and then sub him early to get him a blow so he can take Dwigth’s place in a few minutes. We could play stretch 4 way out. That could be the key. That’s what we’ll look at right now. We’ll see what works.”

And D’Antoni bristled at Gasol ever becoming a stronger focal point in the offense than Kobe Bryant and Howard.

“It’s wrong to say somebody is a focal point,” D’Antoni said. “I think you share the ball and play with energy and the ball moves.”

Yet, that hasn’t always happened.

So much that D’Antoni admits prior to the Lakers’ two-game winning streak that the team strayed away from his ball-sharing principles. So much that Metta World Peace publicly called D’Antoni out on it.

“He was right to a certain degree,” D’Antoni said. “There were three or four games there where I thought we were bad and we weren’t doing the things that we talked about. We got back to it in Washington. Hopefully it sticks.”

Whether Gasol will help contribute to that remains to be seen. But D’Antoni touts Gasol’s two NBA championships and basketball intelligence to prove enough.

“His knowledge of basketball is really good,” D’Antoni said. “He’ll enjoy playing this way. It will be right down his alley. I think he’s going to be really good.”

Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter.

After making a list and checking it twice, Steve Nash predicted he will “most likely” return on Christmas Day when the Lakers host the New York Knicks at Staples Center.

Nash will first go through full five-on-five drills Thursday and Friday to assess how his fractured left leg responds to the contact after missing the past 23 games. Should Nash respond well to those practice, Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni considered it “possible” for Nash’s return to happen Saturday when the Lakers travel to Golden State.

But Nash is hedging his bets out of extra precaution. Still, he revealed his obvious excitement with playful sarcasm on his return will mean.

“A lot of people are excited for an out of shape guy to come and play,” said Nash, who is 38 and has played 17 NBA seasons.

The Lakers have been more complimentary.

“When I signed and knew I had Steve, that perked me up,” said D’Antoni, who coached Nash through four seasons in Phoenix. “We didn’t really have that yet. But it’s good. He’s going to be a big part of it obviously. I can’t wait to get him back.”
Continue reading “Steve Nash says he will “most likely” return Christmas Day vs. Knicks” »

After battling knee tendinitis over the two weeks, Pau Gasol sounded full of optimism surrounding his return tonight when the Lakers host the Charlotte Bobcats.

“No limitations,” Gasol said with a smile. “Sky’s the limit. 48 minutes, overtime, 50…”

Gasol reported “no setbacks” in the knee tendinitis that emerged during training camp. Gasol also went against returning Saturday at Golden State despite having an additional three days of practice and rest for one simple reason.

“It’ll be good for me to get up and down, and so since we don’t have long practices, this is a better way to get in game shape,” Gasol said. “So there’s no point on waiting any more days.”

The Lakers eagerly awaited his return. After all, the Lakers are 3-5 without him in the lineup. Still, Gasol conceded there’s plenty of things he doesn’t know surrounding his debut.

The most immediate concern involves his health. Gasol had indicated that his knee tendinitis limited his explosiveness, athleticism and post positioning. But he hesitated envisioning how those elements will become easier now that he’s healthy.

“We’ll see as I try to get back into game shape and get my conditioning back up and my feel for the game since I haven’t been doing much basketball these last few weeks,” Gasol said. “Just do that for the first game or two and hopefully my explosiveness or quickness will be better.”

The other element involves his role.

Gasol has averaged a career-low 12.6 points on 47 percent shooting and has expressed hope Mike D’Antoni’s system would feature him more in the post. Magic Johnson and Kobe Bryant expressed similar sentiments during Gasol’s absence. Despite calling him “one of the best big men in the league,” D’Antoni threw cold water on that idea.

“We’ll see. It’s hard to feature everybody,” D’Antoni said. “We want him in there because he’s good. We want him everywhere. We want him featured as everybody should be featured on every play. The ball is going to find one guy hopefully in a great position to score. I’m just not real big on pinpointing you go here. I don’t like that. Then you do this. That ball moves and it finds the weak spot in the defense. Then the guys is wide open. Then he’s going to make a shot.”

It’s just a matter of us sharing the ball and moving the ball and everybody moving and feeling good about things. You’ll be surprised how many times he’ll get in the post because he’s supposed to. You’ll be surprised how many times Dwight should get in the post. Kobe gets his opportunities. Everybody gets their opportunities. But everybody has to understand when Steve comes back, you have six guys out there where not everybody will be able to score 30 points every night. Some guys will. But they all should have career years.”

Gasol insisted he’s “not worried” about his role at least for his first game. But he’s been worried enough to talk to D’Antoni about his role.

His message?

“We have such talent individually, right now with Kobe and Dwight [Howard] being the main guys, being the focus of the offense,” Gasol said. “He wants the rest of the guys to spread, to faciliate, to give us balance, to move the ball, because if everybody did their individual thing, we wouldn’t be in good shape. So we’ll see. I’ll try to be aggressive, I’ll try to get to positions where I’m comfortable and can be effective. But at the same time we want to give space to our guards to penetrate the lane and find open guys.”

Still Gasol conceded he hopes his post role expands.

“I’d like to but we’ll see how that happens,” he said. “If that happens, I think that’s a good weapon to have and use.Like I said, I’ll get myself there one way or another.”

Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter and e-mail him at mark.medina@dailynews.com