Laker Nation

ESPN: Chris Paul had 27 points and 17 assists to help the New Orleans Hornets beat the Los Angeles Lakers 108-98 Friday night in what could prove to be a costly game for both teams. Paul hobbled to the finish after hurting his left ankle on a failed drive to the hoop with 2:31 to go. Lakers center Pau Gasol [...]

Great article. Good stuff. With an interesting quote from Kobe Bryant. Sound-off in the comments and tell us what you think! Sports Illustrated: Asked what his MVP ballot would look like, Bryant says, “I’m not even thinking about that.” But when somebody mentions that the Cleveland Cavaliers’ James is a favorite because he’s a near one-man team, Bryant, who was [...]

Closer and closer, our team will be set and ready. From the Lakers Report… Jackson looked over on one side of the practice court Wednesday and was flabbergasted by what he saw from Andrew Bynum. “I saw him dunking the ball a couple times, which surprised me,” he said. “He shot the ball a few times.”

The improved play of reserves Walton, Vujacic, Farmar and Turiaf has been key in the team’s success. L.A. Times: It has been a painful process for each of them. For Luke Walton, yanked from the starting lineup. For Sasha Vujacic, yanked from the floor at the first mistake. For Jordan Farmar, yanked from the team to play in the Development [...]

ESPN: Kobe Bryant scored 10 of his 34 points in the final 8½ minutes, Lamar Odom added 20 points and nine rebounds, and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Toronto Raptors 117-108 on Tuesday night to regain the top spot in the Western Conference. Now, they’ll face a major challenge staying there, playing their next four games on the road [...]

ESPN: Lakers center Andrew Bynum ran on a treadmill Tuesday for the first time since injuring his left knee two months ago. Bynum temporarily dislocated his kneecap and sustained a bone bruise early in the third quarter of a 100-99 victory over the Memphis Grizzlies on Jan. 13 when he landed on teammate Lamar Odom’s left foot while going for [...]

Say what? Kobe Bryant blog day? What’s this about? I guess today us bloggers need to blog about Kobe. But am not really going to do that. I felt like writing this sappy historic blog about Mamba, but I decided to lay-back and read some of your comments. So, tell me, what’s your favorite Kobe Bean Bryant moment. Sound-off in [...]

ESPN: Team: Los Angeles Lakers (’96-present) Titles: 3 (2000, 2001, 2002) Honors: 10-time All-Star The player: As close as it gets to MJ. He’s still just 29, so his legacy has yet to be written. But his credentials already are legit, starting with the three rings he won while teamed with Shaq. He was the fastest player to 20,000 points [...]

ESPN: Sacramento’s Beno Udrih made two free throws with 4 seconds remaining, and Los Angeles’ Kobe Bryant missed an 18-foot jumper at the buzzer Sunday night in the Kings’ 114-113 victory over the Lakers. Udrih finished with 25 points and 10 assists for Sacramento, winning for just the second time in nine games in a stretch that included a defeat [...]

ESPN: The Lakers didn’t have to cross the line. They were doing just fine behind it. Derek Fisher scored 17 points, Kobe Bryant had 16 and the Lakers went on a 3-point shooting spree in the second half of a 119-82 rout of the Clippers on Friday night. “I think what we did is that we stepped up our pressure,” [...]

L.A. Daily News: Coach Phil Jackson said Friday night for the first time that it might be another month or more before injured center Andrew Bynum can rejoin the Lakers. Jackson also said Bynum might fill a reserve role when he is fit to play. What’s more, Jackson said center Chris Mihm might play before Bynum or forward Trevor Ariza [...]

Kobe discusses the pinky that everyone is talking about… L.A. Daily News: It’s been more than a month since Kobe Bryant injured his right pinkie so severely that he will need surgery after the NBA season and the Beijing Olympics are completed. Not a game goes by that he doesn’t get a painful reminder of his injury. “You get used [...]

L.A. Times: Then there’s that other award that might drop into the Lakers’ laps. Phil Jackson has won nine championships as a coach, tied with Red Auerbach for most in NBA history, but has been selected coach of the year only once in his 17-year career. In the same way that Kobe Bryant gets mentioned as one of the front-runners [...]

Thanks to The Cougar 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. L.A. Times: Maybe the “M-V-P” chants will be backed up by actual hardware this season. Kobe Bryant has never won the NBA most-valuable-player award, [...]