Laker Nation

We waited…and waited…and waited some more, but the miracles never came. We truly believed that Kobe Bryant’s hot start could shoulder this heavy burden, but inside we all knew that those back to back championships weren’t one-man shows. We had faith that despite his struggles in these playoffs, and whatever was going on inside of him, that Pau Gasol would [...]

Kobe Bryant drew in a double team then kicked out a pass to Derek Fisher who hit a wide open three pointer to give the Lakers a 58-51 lead in the third quarter. Bryant gave Fisher a look as they double-slapped hands after. It’s a look we’ve seen him give his co-captain often. It’s a look that says, simply, “I [...]

They say that pride comes before the fall. Had the Lakers shown any pride in this game, that saying might apply. Unfortunately, they showed very little to none of it in this game. For a 2-time defending championship team in the second round of the playoffs, in the year they can achieve a threepeat, that pride shouldn’t have to be [...]

…literally. Like candy on Halloween. The Lakers had home court advantage, they received a nicely wrapped Dallas meltdown to end the first half (four points on four free throws with not even a whole second on the game clock!), they built a 16-point lead in the third quarter, they got 36 points from Kobe Bryant and even a double-double each [...]

Well…that was easy. In a series that they were pegged to sweep, the Lakers were challenged for five games by a New Orleans Hornets team who played like they had nothing to lose, led by an elite point guard who couldn’t be stopped. No home court advantage? So? A rookie coach? No problem. No David West, the leading scorer on [...]

“I didn’t see him limp one time – did you?” Chris Paul said from the podium when asked about Kobe Bryant’s ankle. The reporter answered that he did indeed see him limp a few times, to which Paul answered, “You probably weren’t watching the same game.” You’re right, CP, we didn’t see Kobe Bryant limp either. We did, however, see [...]

Sting us once, shame on you. Sting us twice, shame on us. That’s what it should say on the Laker white board before Game 5, because if this were a game of missed opportunities, the Lakers would have won, hands down. They had a nine-point lead in the first quarter, then squandered it with careless offense and absent defense (I’m [...]

The Hornets stole a game on the Lakers’ home court in Game 1, and on Friday, the Lakers took their home court advantage back by getting down to basics. They got the ball inside and let Andrew Bynum get to work, they played team defense to keep the ball out of Chris Paul’s hands as much as possible, Lamar Odom [...]

Pau Gasol grabbed a rebound off of Andrew Bynum’s miss and tossed it up. He missed but grabbed the ball again and dunked it in with a showcase of aggression that we haven’t seen from him in this series. The shot didn’t count but he got two free throws which, for the first time in these playoffs, put him in [...]

Lamar Odom stood by the Laker bench before the game, with Mitch Kupchak at center court getting ready to present him with the Sixth Man of the Year trophy. Odom looked to his left at his captain, Kobe Bryant, who gave him a fist bump to go along with a giant smile. Bryant knows what Odom means to this Laker [...]

In the regular season, one loss to the New Orleans Hornets, even at home, would be considered trivial, inconsequential to the big picture. Unfortunately, it’s the playoffs and, well, the big picture is 16 wins away and the Lakers are still looking to scratch one off the list. No matter how the Lakers try to spin that loss (they don’t [...]

He didn’t have to stand for it. He could have complained to the coaching staff, run his mouth off to the media and pouted in games until he got his way. But as many of us who have kept a close watch of his demeanor off the court, and stand in amazement at his abilities on it, we’ve learned that [...]

Andrew Bynum sat on the bench, his face resting on his folded hands. He looked on as his teammates finished the game on the floor, probably wondering what more he could have done. Bynum’s been on and off the active roster due to injuries this past season, but he has never allowed it to affect his enthusiasm for his game, [...]

“He’s a strong kid and he’s got a big heart,” Pau Gasol said of Andrew Bynum. “I trust his will to fight through this.” And by through this, Gasol meant the hyperextension of Bynum’s surgically repaired right knee. Yes, he stepped on DuJuan Blair’s foot, fell to the ground and sat there for a time, grabbing his knee…again. It’s a [...]