Laker Nation

L.A. Times: As the Lakers wrapped up their final practice before Sunday’s first-round playoff game against the Denver Nuggets, Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza sat together on a large medicine ball. Sunday and throughout the first round, the injured pair figure to be sharing a spot on the bench. The odds of Bynum returning for the series from his knee [...]

Yahoo! Sports: Lakers forward Lamar Odom is convinced there won’t be any big surprises in the first round of the Western Conference playoffs. Odom isn’t making any predictions, nor is he disrespecting the Denver Nuggets and the other so-called underdogs. He just believes the conference’s eight playoff teams are so evenly matched that anything can happen. The final regular-season standings [...]

L.A. Times: Here are questions that readers had for our Lakers beat reporter, Mike Bresnahan. Question: If Andrew Bynum does come back in the playoffs, would it be fair to say he would come off the bench? I really believe he will be great coming off the bench to play with Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, Ronny Turiaf and Co. I [...]

Thanks to Batres, C. for e-mailing us this article that he found on the net. Again, if you find an article that you think deserves to be on TLN, please e-mail it to us at Articles@theLakersNation.com. ESPN Page 2: Do you remember what your life was like at the age of 17? Were you a know-it-all? A rebel who didn’t [...]

Here’s something to pump the Nation up for Sundays playoff game (taken from the 11/30/07 Lakers win)…

We wanted to avoid you too. L.A. Times: Dirk Nowitzki came right out and said it: The Dallas Mavericks did not want to open the playoffs against the Lakers. “This was definitely a win we wanted to get,” Nowitzki said. “The Lakers are probably the hottest team in the West. We definitely didn’t want to face them in the first [...]

The Lakers Nation is proud to announce that we will have a exclusive interview with NBA Correspondent Elie Seckbach. Most of you might know him from his entertaining reports on YouTube where he interviews NBA Superstars with his “unique questioning style.” If you’d like to submit possible questions that you’d like to be answered by Elie, please add them to [...]

Ohio.com: ”I’d give it to Kobe,” James said. ”What he’s done this whole year, to carry that team to the No. 1 team in the West right now. He’s playing his best basketball all around. I’ve watched him the whole year. I saw it last summer when I played with him with USA Basketball and the sacrifices he’s made for [...]

Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant have been fighting for position in the MVP race, just like their respective teams — the Hornets and Lakers — have been battling it out atop the tight Western Conference. ESPN: A season like no other has had an MVP race like no other. The hot names early in the season were Kevin Garnett (for [...]

Even without Bynum, Lakers show they are better against Spurs with Bryant, Odom riding the Gasol express. L.A. Times: On the bright side for the San Antonio Spurs who were laid out Sunday, looking like the Ghost of Dynasties Past, at least they’re not likely to play the Lakers in the first round. Bringing the Wildest West season into sharper [...]

Center says he must ‘slow it back down’ in recovery because of swelling in knee, while forward’s foot injury still hasn’t healed and he’s doubtful for start of playoffs. L.A. Times: … The Lakers’ center said his left knee still felt “unstable” and continued to cause a “little bit” of pain. “Jumping, landing, backpedaling, quick change of directions are still [...]

L.A. Times: Kobe Bryant is in his 12th season, and it may be getting embarrassing to explain why the game’s best player has never come closer than two third-place finishes. (In 2005-6, Bryant didn’t get a single vote, which meant he finished behind New Orleans’ P.J. Brown, who got one 10th-place vote.) “I think that’s the most remarkable stat of [...]