Laker Nation

Kobe Bryant’s arms lay on the backs of the seats on either side of him as the final minutes of the fourth quarter waned. Matt Barnes sat on his right, elbows resting on his knees and a towel wrapped around his back. Both looked on, the end of their 3-game road trip coming to a perfect 3-0 close. A season [...]

Four minutes and 59 seconds into the game, Rip Hamilton was called for fouling Kobe Bryant. Clearly frustrated (or perhaps not), the Detroit Piston veteran continued to jaw at NBA official Derrick Stafford until he was forced to hand Hamilton two consecutive technicals, resulting in his early game ejection. Hamilton took off his faceguard, took off his headband, untucked his jersey, [...]

For a moment, it was like déjà vu. Three pointers raining in from everywhere, it seemed – from Brandon Jennings’ hands, Earl Boykins, Drew freakin’ Gooden. Milwaukee Bucks? Looked like the Phoenix Suns for minute there. The only difference was that after hitting 6-10 from downtown in the first half, the Bucks actually went cold, going 3-14 the rest of [...]

Live by the three, die by the three. Tonight, the Phoenix Suns lived behind the arc and the defending champs’ chances of avoiding a two-game losing streak died because of it. The Lakers shot a satisfactory 49% from the field, assisted on 30 of their 47 makes, outscored Phoenix in the paint 68-28 and outrebounded the visitors 49-32. But the [...]

Well they had to lose SOME TIME, right? But did they have to lose this way, after a 38-point second quarter and a double digit lead established in the third? Did it have to happen on another Kobe Bryant milestone day, in which he became the youngest player to score 26,000+ points? Did it have to happen on a night [...]

High on a dominant win against the Portland Trailblazers on Sunday, the Lakers should have won this game easily. Maybe they didn’t want to show up their former assistant coach, Kurt Rambis. Maybe they know they can still get by with just a few players turned on. Or maybe they need to start thinking like defending champions again. This game [...]

THERE they are! After dominating with offense in their first six games, the Lakers reminded everyone (probably including themselves) that they earned back to back titles with their defense and that is how they will earn a third. In their first true challenge this season (or so many thought), the home team greeted the 5-2 Portland Trailblazers with an early [...]

Outrebounded 49-31, beaten in points in the paint and simply shown up by a struggling (though talented and young) Toronto Raptors team, and maybe it was a good thing. Of their perfect 6-0 record, the Lakers simply outscored their opponents, but did very little to keep their opponents from scoring. Their offense, frankly, is gold, especially when they’re moving the [...]

With just under a minute left in the game, Kobe Bryant walked towards the bench, a round of cheers and applause filled the arena. This was not the Arco Arena of old, with crowds jeering, cow bells ringing and Vlade Divac flopping. The heyday of the Lakers-Kings rivalry has passed and now, instead of yelling profanities at Bryant, MVP chants [...]

Did we miss the adjustment period? The orientation? The grand tour? Because the Lakers, with all the new personnel on the roster, played like they’d been playing together for months. For a second or two, you could easily forget that the team is still missing its starting center, which speaks loads about the depth of this team. It is still [...]

The Golden State Warriors didn’t know what hit ‘em in the first few minutes of tonight’s game. The ball went up, the clock started and suddenly they were down 14-2. Going 5-5 from the field to begin, the Lakers’ starters played like the veteran bunch they are. A ball-fake into a layup from Derek Fisher (14 points on 5-6); Pau [...]

The Lakers shot 48% from the field. The Suns shot 47%. The Lakers collected 46 rebounds. The Suns grabbed 43 The Lakers handed out 21 assists and the Suns did the same. They even have the same number of turnovers with 10. In tonight’s box score, the Lakers and the Suns appear evenly matched, from shooting percentage to assists, etc. [...]

After Coach Phil Jackson received his 11th Championship ring, he recognized former Lakers from last season who were not with the team tonight (Jordan Farmar, DJ Mbenga, Adam Morrison and Josh Powell), and then he spoke a few words on Luke Walton. From there, Walton introduced Lamar Odom, who introduced Ron Artest, who introduced Andrew Bynum…Pau Gasol…Sasha Vujacic…Shannon Brown…Derek Fisher…Kobe [...]

The Lakers appeared ready to mail in this final pre-season game. The energy (or lack thereof) was evident in their movement (or, again, lack thereof). They lollygagged about the court, rarely running any offensive sets. It’s no surprise they didn’t score their first field goal until the 8:19 mark of the first quarter. And their team defense, when there was [...]