Laker Nation

…The Lakers are back in a town near you and they’re not leaving without a victory. The Knicks had an 11-3 lead early in the first quarter and they really thought they had something good going. Raymond Felton (20 points on 7-12, 7 assists, 3 steals) couldn’t miss and the Lakers were turning the ball over like no one’s business. [...]

Photo by Elsa/Getty Images The Lakers improved to 3-0, on their Grammy road trip, as they beat their rival Boston Celtics 92-86 at the TD Garden. Kobe Bryant started out as a facilitator only scoring three points in the first half, but turned it on in the 2nd by scoring 20 of his 23 in the final two quarters. Pau [...]

I know it’ll be said, and you all know it’ll be said – that the Lakers won this game because the Celtics had a depleted roster. Well to Doc Rivers and his “Lakers never beat us when…” philosophy, I say, cancel my subscription, I’m done with your issues. The Lakers won, not because Boston didn’t have enough players, but because [...]

…when O’s not strong. And the Lakers’ offense was definitely not in its finest hours this night in Memphis so thank goodness they had some good ol’ defense to rely on. It’s been a while since they’ve been able to fall back on that, but we’re sure glad they remembered how to use it. The Memphis Grizzlies have defeated the [...]

The Lakers walked back to the bench during a time out and the camera cut to a smirking Phil Jackson. Before that quick break, Pau Gasol had blocked David Andersen’s three-point attempt, then Ron Artest followed that by intercepting a pass. That smirk on Phil was probably one of sheer joy that his team remembered what ball movement and defense [...]

You’ve made your bed, Lakers, now you must lay in it. Get comfortable because boy have you put yourselves into a difficult situation, with more than half the season gone by and this team still not appearing close to being capable of defending anyone, let alone an NBA Championship Title. Some will look at this game and say the defending [...]

“It’s against his nature,” Kobe Bryant said about Pau Gasol. “He’s always very nice, very white swan. I need him to be black swan.” Black Mamba to Black Swan – aid needed on the floor, over. Copy that, Black Mamba. Every time the Lakers take on the Houston Rockets, no matter what state either team is in, it’s a battle [...]

Actions speak louder than words, but today, the words spoken said more than any big jump shot, rebound or block ever could. “This was a measuring stick game for us and we didn’t meet the challenge,” Kobe Bryant said. Well, YOU met the challenge, Kobe, but the rest of your team didn’t seem as interested. “I didn’t think anybody else [...]

The bright side? At least it was a single-digit loss. Still, it was another loss the Lakers could have avoided. They decided, however, that they would give the lowly 11-33 Sacramento Kings, a great big confidence boost. On a night that Kobe Bryant surpassed Hakeem Olajuwon to be the 8th highest leading scorer in NBA history, the Lakers, again, fell [...]

A 29-point win. It’s no 55-point rout but the Lakers will take it, especially over a quality team like the Utah Jazz (recent slump notwithstanding, they’re still 27-18). The three-day lay-off did the “aging” Lakers some good, apparently, because they looked fresher and more energized than they have in awhile. There was a spring in their step, an extra gear [...]

Pau Gasol drove in but fell short on his fingerroll. Offensive rebound – Ron Artest. With a new shot clock, the Lakers had another chance to score, but Gasol missed the jumper…and Artest grabbed another offensive board. Those were the only two rebounds that Ron Artest had in this game, but it’s not so much the quantity but the quality of these [...]

The Lakers shot 62% after the first quarter. They led by 10 points in the second quarter. Pau Gasol had 17 points, the Mavericks were outscored 30-16 in points in the paint, and the Lakers had just two turnovers after the first half…then the second half came. Suddenly, the Dallas Mavericks had found themselves. After a six-game losing streak, the [...]

Step aside, young fellas – the old geezers are coming through…and they haven’t forgotten how they beat you last time. For all the criticism that the Lakers get for being unable to keep up with the younger, more athletic teams in the league, you’d think they were using walkers to get up and down the court. The known fact is [...]

And this is why Phil Jackson wasn’t impressed with the team’s 7-game winning streak. Expectations for this Lakers team are high, as they should be, so a winning stretch against mostly sub-par teams was nice, but not remarkable. The theme over the last few weeks, however, was that the Lakers were finally starting to find their groove, playing more focused [...]