Vegas oddsmakers consider Lakers the team to beat with or without Odom

This shouldn't really come as a surprise, but Vegas bookmakers have ranked the Los Angeles Lakers as the favorite to win the NBA championship in the upcoming season regardless of how the Lamar Odom situation plays out.

Jay Rood, the director of the MGM/Mirage Race and Sports Book, who was quoted by the L.A Times, stated "Getting [forward Ron] Artest is better than losing Lamar. The core of that team still is what it is, and as long as you keep Kobe [Bryant] and [Coach] Phil [Jackson], nothing changes."

At MGM/Mirage, the Lakers are an 8-5 favorite to win the NBA title, followed by the Boston Celtics, and recent addition Rasheed Wallace, at 3-1, and the Cleveland Cavaliers, with Shaquille O'Neal joining LeBron James, at nearly 4-1. The Orlando Magic are 13-2 and the San Antonio Spurs are 7-1.

"We didn't change anything when they got Artest, and if they lose Odom it'll just be a wash," said Jay Kornegay, executive director of the Las Vegas Hilton's Race and Sports book, which has the Lakers as the 2-1 favorite over the 3-1 Cavaliers and 5-1 Celtics.

"Odom's a component, but he's not a star. As that team has already shown, if they lose someone, they'll find someone else."

I can see what they're saying about it being a wash after acquiring Artest, but what they dont really consider in this article is the fact that Ariza is now in Houston. I don't think one could make the argument that gaining Artest is better than losing Lamar and Ariza, two intregal factors in the Lakers run for NBA supremacy.

I like the attributes that Artest can bring to the table but for now he is bringing some uncertainty as well, where as the guys were already proven to mesh with the team.

With that said, I like the picking up of Artest over Ariza(sadly), but I would not like to see this Lamar situation go the same route. Lamar, please do yourself and the fans a favor by kicking your agent in the nutts and getting this damn contract negotiation over with. Miami is a fun place to visit but L.A. is your home, and in the wise words of Adam Sandler's character Happy Gilmore "go to your home."

Lakers Stop the Thunder in Vegas

As we saw during L.A.’s fourth Summer League game in Las Vegas, each NBA franchise sending a squad to Sin City has a different goal, depending primarily on that team’s roster heading into the 2009-10 season.

The Oklahoma City Thunder (0-2) - a team building for what looks to be a bright future - falls among those squads eager for a first look at their first-round picks (James Harden and B.J. Mullens in this case), looking for an early indication of how they’ll fit in with the senior squad.

The championship-winning Lakers (3-1), on the other hand, sold their first two picks and, based on the minute distribution and the way the offense was run, were primarily interested in the health and form of signed-through-next-season Adam Morrison.

Morrison, who came into the game averaging 22 points in his previous three, again led the Lakers in scoring with 17 points, even though he needed 18 attempts to get there (5-of-18) in a come-from-behind 74-68 win.

“I wasn’t happy with how I played tonight, but I’m glad we got the win,” said Morrison, who added five boards, two assists and two steals. “Overall I feel pretty good and am glad to be getting some good minutes on the floor.”

Morrison, who said his health is no longer an issue, moved quite well in an active 34 minutes, and his stroke looked pure the few times he managed to find space against an athletic Thunder defense that keyed on him doggedly. At least six players on OKC’s Summer League roster will play for the big squad, which gave the Thunder a distinct edge in on-paper talent.

Still, the teams went back-and-forth through the first three quarters with the Thunder up five heading into the final period, but the Lakers outscored their opponents 23-12 in the period to steal the contest. L.A. turned it on in a big way in the final two minutes, highlighted by a 6-0 run capped by a Ben McCauley reverse lay-up with 24 seconds left that sealed the game.

“It was good to come out with a win using our team concepts,” said Lakers Summer League Head Coach Chucky Brown. “Adam is our best scorer, and we wanted to get him the ball.”

That they did, but OKC countered with Kyle Weaver - who started and guarded Kobe Bryant in the regular season - to chase Morrison all over the place. The former No. 3 overall pick out of Gonzaga saw frequent double and triple teams particularly when he got into the paint, resulting in a tough night from the field even as he kept his average at 20.8 per game in Vegas.

“They were doubling (Morrison), but I thought Adam did a good job,” said Brown. “I thought he got hit on the arm a few times … They just tried to take him away from us because he’s our biggest scorer.”

Though L.A. lacked OKC’s athleticism, they didn’t lack for effort, typified by second round pick Chinemelu Elonu’s game-high eight rebounds, plus 14 steals that signaled 23 Thunder turnovers.

“We wanted to turn up the defensive pressure in the second half, and we were able to do that,” said Brown, whose team opened the half on an 11-2 run and caused 12 of OKC’s TO’s in the second half.

That helped the Lakers overcome a poor shooting night all around (41.4 percent) even as OKC hit 52.8 percent of its shots, led by an excellent 9-of-14 for 23 James Harden points. Fellow rookie Mullens added 10 points, five boards and five blocks for the Thunder.

With that, both teams essentially got what they were looking for at the Summer League: A flash of young talent for OKC and a heavy dose of minutes for Morrison.

L.A.’s final game comes against Houston on Thursday evening.

Mike Trudell - Lakers.com

Lakers Fall to Clippers in Summer League

L.A.’s two NBA teams met for the fifth time in the last calendar year, with the Clippers winning for the first time after a regular season sweep by the Lakers.

Of course, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol weren’t in the building.

Instead, it was the Summer League backdrop in Las Vegas, where there wasn’t a great deal at stake in terms of wins and losses even as young players attempted to prove their individual worth.

Despite 20 more points from Adam Morrison - who’d averaged 23.0 in L.A.’s (2-1) two previous wins - the Lakers weren’t able to deal with the Clippers combination of No. 1 overall pick Blake Griffin and last year’s lottery pick Eric Gordon in a 93-82 loss.

Griffin had little trouble with L.A.’s front line, bullying his way to 27 points on 11-of-15 shooting along with 12 rebounds; Gordon, who went seventh in 2008, added 21 points and three steals.

L.A.’s lone 2009 draft pick, Chinemelu Elonu, was productive in his 18 minutes. He scored eight points and grabbed seven rebounds despite committing a game-high nine fouls (there’s no fouling out of Summer League games).

The Lakers shot a decent 44.3 percent from the field, but led by Griffin’s 73.3 percent, the Clips hit at an outstanding 57.1 percent … uh … clip … to make up for 20 turnovers, including five from Griffin. The Lakers made just 1-of-7 three-pointers, were out-rebounded by eight and committed 35 personal fouls in the loss.

The purple and gold has a chance to get back in the win column against Russell Westbrook, James Harden and the Oklahoma City Thunder on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m.

Mike Trudell - Lakers.com

Lakers, Clippers to play in Vegas

It’s not exactly the battle for Los Angeles hoops or anything, but the respective Summer League teams for the Lakers and Clippers are set to face off at 5:30 p.m. in Las Vegas.

The Lakers won their first two games against Cleveland (88-82) and Toronto (85-84), while the Clippers will be playing for the first time.

The purple and gold feature Adam Morrison - who dropped 24 on the Raptors and 22 on the Cavs - and second round pick Chinemelu Elonu, while the Clippers will get their first look at No. 1 overall pick Blake Griffin. The Clips also have a potential Summer League MVP candidate in second-year guard Eric Gordon, not to mention big, young center DeAndre Jordan.

Mike Trudell - Lakers.com

Espy Awards name the Los Angeles Lakers the best team in sports

The Los Angeles Lakers were named the best team of 2009 during the annual ESPY Awards.

Led by their team captain Kobe Bryant, the Lakers stormed their way to the best record in the Western Conference at 65-17 . They fought tough battles with the Utah Jazz, the Houston Rockets, the Denver Nuggets, and the Orlando Magic to win their fifteenth franchise championship.

Phil Jackson, the coach of the Lakers, was also named coach/manager of the year at the ESPYs.

The Lakers came back from suffering an unfair and humiliating loss by their rivals, the Boston Celtics, in last years NBA Finals to win an NBA title this season. They wanted to establish their role in the NBA as the best team, and now they have accomplished that.

Congratulations to the Los Angeles Lakers in winning this coveted award as well as Phil Jackson. Fortunately for Laker fans the Zen Master will be returning next season to hopefully mirror the recent results of 2009.

The REFS and the magic strike again

Accountability, that's the word of the day. Sadly, I continue to watch Laker games and can't help but feel infuriated and ripped off by the 3 smallest assholes on the court. In case you didn't notice the title, I'm talking about the refs. WTF is going on that the referees feel the need to screw the Lakers over at nearly every chance they get?

Sure, being a ref is not the easiest job and there are always going to be missed calls and errors but it's getting to the point now where I dont even want to watch the games because I know that if the lakers don't completely destroy a team, the refs will probably destroy them.

There are always going to be those tough calls that could be easily and honestly missed but where is the consistency? One would think that since the lakers can be consistently victimized by bad calls throughout whole games that just as often they would get the benefit of some bad calls.

I hate to say it but I'm at the point where I would like to see the opposition get screwed by little whistle-blowing nazis every time they meet the Lakers.
All I'm really asking for is fairness and consistnecy. It's a sad day when myself, a die-hard Lakers fan could referee a Laker game more fairly.

Where's the accountability? I know that there are people whose jobs are to review all the calls made by all the refs but do they actually do anything? I've never once heard of a ref getting fired for suspicious, or neglegent conduct(obviously besides that moron Tim Donaghy, who was cought gambling on games that he worked)

Tim Donaghy is a prime example of what could possibly happen when some little jerk with a whistle has too much power. Was he just the tip of the iceberg? Who knows, but something is going on here. Maybe its just hatred for particular teams, maybe it's betting, or maybe there is some form of sydrome that seems to impair the vision of referees 4 feet away from a player like Pau Gasol getting hit on the arm by the huge hand of Dwight Howard. Now unless Dwight's hands (and ELBOS) are visible only by t.v. I'd say somone has one of those problems listed above. It is somewhat magical how that same ref that goes blind when the lakers had the ball can suddenly view the most minute of touches when Orlando had the ball.

I can't even count the amount of times I have seen Gasol or Kobe get hammered with no whistle only to send a player on the opposing team to the line for a weak foul or no foul at all.

The NBA needs to make some friggin changes. Maybe do like the NFL and give the coaches a few challenges to use when they see fit. Or some limited instant replay. I hate anything that slows down the game too much but I am sick and tired of seeing teams getting shafted by one or many bad calls.

I guess the Lakers just have to step their game up and stomp teams so badly that the refs can't determine the outcome. In the end, things will probably never change, unless it starts to loose money for the league. As I type this line, the replay airs on the news and is over as soon as it began, if only karma worked that fast.

I just hope that the Lakers and the refs do a better job when they meet Boston or whoever it might be in the Finals(I'm still pissed about games 1 and 2 last year).

Analysis: Hornets prove to be worthy adversary for Lakers

By Dave McMenamin, NBA.com

LOS ANGELES -- The Hornets got their third shot to audition for the role of the Western Conference's supporting lead. This time, New Orleans came away with the part after a 116-105 victory over the Lakers on Tuesday night at Staples Center.

"I thought over there they probably felt that we couldn't beat them and I thought we had to try to prove a point to not only them, but to ourselves," Hornets coach Byron Scott said.
Not that you can blame Los Angeles for that arrogant line of thinking after it went into the Big Easy twice already this season and rode big early leads to two easy victories.

Counting those wins, L.A. was 19-1 against the West this season, having made quick work of Denver, Phoenix and Portland twice apiece and Dallas, Houston and Utah once each.
It was starting to look like the Lakers' only competition this season in the West would be the challenges that the 14 guys in purple and gold presented each other in practice.
Now they're 19-2 in the conference and maybe, just maybe, a worthy No. 2 has emerged.

"We try to tell our guys it's not a statement game, it's just a game," Scott said. "If we win the game we're still second best in the West right now, if we lose the game we're still second best, so really there was no pressure."
Sure, if the Hornets lost they would still have the second-best record in the West, but an 0-3 mark instead of a 1-2 showing against the Lakers would put New Orleans light years away from L.A., if only from a psychological standpoint.

During a stoppage of play in the first quarter, Chris Paul chatted to Jason Segal of Forgetting Sarah Marshall fame and went on to play like he had forgotten all about those previous two home losses to the Lakers.
Paul's 32 points, 15 assists and zero turnovers and David West's career-high 40 points and 11 rebounds might have been the lines that sealed it. But to be the team that's going to take the Lakers toe-to-toe when the rest of the conference has looked like not-quite-ready-for-prime-time players, it takes more than two guys.

"Their two All-Stars are going to do what they have to do, but they have complementary players around them that allow them to do what they do," said Kobe Bryant after his 39-point effort went to waste because of the Hornets' 22-6 run to finish the game.

New Orleans is fully equipped to contend with L.A. -- or any other team in the conference. From the transcendent star in Paul who finished second to Bryant in last season's MVP race; to the All-Star sidekick in West, whose 15 points in the fourth managed to somehow out-sparkle Kobe's 20 in the third; to the token feisty defender and the oop-end of the best alley-oop going these days in Tyson Chandler; to the guys who make the Hornets the third most accurate team (39.1 percent) from three in Peja Stojakovic and Rasual Butler; to the savvy ring-wearing vets in James Posey and Antonio Daniels. The pieces are there. Sure, they are thin in the depth department with their bargain-basement back-up big men bunch of Melvin Ely, Sean Marks and Hilton Armstrong. But even the Lakers' talent pool isn't looking quite as bottomless as it used to.

The recent rash of injuries -- including Jordan Farmar's torn lateral meniscus in his left knee, Luke Walton's sesamoiditis in his right foot and Lamar Odom's hyper extended right knee -- have transformed the Lakers' Bench Mob into the Bench Maladies.

The Hornets might not have started the season as sharp as last year when they snuck up on the league to the tune of 56 wins (the second-best record in the conference) and lost an epic seven-game series with San Antonio in the second round of the playoffs, but Lakers coach Phil Jackson still thinks they're a group that his team has to watch out for.
"I'm anticipating them somewhere in the [conference] semis or in the conference [finals]," Jackson said.

Los Angeles (27-6) was put on notice by New Orleans (21-10) and there's one more team in the conference the Lakers have to worry about: those perennial Spurs.

San Antonio (23-11) takes the casting couch against L.A. on Jan. 14 and will get its first chance to be the team to write in another main character into the West's script for this season.
"We know we're going to be chasing them the rest of the year," West said.
Before Tuesday, it wasn't much of a chase. But the Hornets just made their scene-stealing debut and the Western Conference should be real interesting until the end credits.

Lakers Back From Vacation Refs Still On Vacation

It Appears the Lakers are back from their vacation. Upon arrival their missing defense was regained from the airport lost and found. It had been a while since the Lakers had shown some real defensive tenacity. Maybe they have the same outlook on the season as past Laker teams that would loose games to crap teams but win against the contenders. Its a long season and you can't win them all, but it's a good practice to make defense a habit.

For the most part, the Lakers played a great game on Christmas. The handling of the Boston Celtics and the snapping of their 19 game winning streak was by far the best gift I received for the holidays.

I for one love the rivalry and am very happy to see it alive once again but as good as the Celtics are now I don't respect them like the Celtics of the Larry Bird days. They have turned into a team of crybabies, complaining on every call, including the ones where they are obviously guilty. This is nothing new to the NBA but for fucks sake just shut up and play. Maybe they have never heard the story of the boy who cried wolf, maybe they still think that after crying to the refs over every call they still have some credibility or maybe they follow the lead of their ever complaining coach Doc Rivers.

Now this is not just pointed at Boston, so many players are looking like over-sized babies every time they step on the court. To make matters worse some of the refs out in the league look more like bad parents than NBA officials.

I cant help but recall a recent game against Orlando. Its good to see that team finally headed in the right direction since the Shaq and Penny days. Ok back to the point, Im not going to name names but a certain large headed bald hater of a ref during that game called countless technical fouls against the Lakers for complaining on calls even when no complaining was apparent. And to be honest most of the time they complained it was an obvious bad call. Conversly Dwight Howard and some other members of that team complained on every call under the sun , including the ones which were right. The funny thing is, I can't recall a technical foul given to any of the Magic player for complaining.Honestly that type of b.s from that particular ref doesn't surprise me at all.

I suppose in the end Im just waisting my breath or fingers in this case, I know it's a tough and mostly thankless job of an official for any sport and your not going to get every call right but damn at least be consistent.

Lakers-Celtics just another game? Yeah, right

Broderick Turner-LA TIMES


All parties preferred to downplay the significance of Thursday's encounter between the Lakers and Boston Celtics.

It's just another game, they all claimed.

It doesn't mean much this time of the year, they all maintained.

It's the journey that counts, they all said.

That's what the Lakers and Celtics were selling, whether one was buying it or not.


"No, I don't think it's any more important for either team," Boston Coach Doc Rivers said. "I think it's a great game. It's a great game to have and whether you win or lose the game, you're going to learn something about the other team and you're going to try to put that into the next time you play them."

The Lakers defeated the Celtics, 92-83, at Staples Center, giving them the upper hand, at least until the two teams meet again Feb. 5 in Boston.

Lakers Coach Phil Jackson was given his opportunity to explain what the victory meant to his team.

"I don't know," Jackson said. "We'll have to see what happens after this. It's a good win. We know we wanted to win it. We knew we had the ability to do that."

Maybe revenge is too strong of a word, but the Lakers had to want to show the Celtics something.

The Celtics had defeated the Lakers in the NBA Finals last June, 4-2, dropping a 39-point loss on the Lakers in Game 6 in Boston, the second-most-lopsided clinching game in Finals history.

The Lakers blew a 24-point lead in Game 4 at home, allowing the Celtics to take a commanding 3-1 lead in the series.

So why wouldn't Thursday's win have special meeting for the Lakers?

"We want to get them back in six games, in the NBA Finals," Lamar Odom said. "This was for the fans. It was a big game because they had a big-time streak going on and they are one of the best teams in the league. Other than that, it was just another game."

The Lakers ended Boston's 19-game winning streak, the longest in the NBA this season, but the Celtics (27-3) still have the best record in the league.

The Lakers won their third straight game, their 12th in a row at home, and improved to 24-5, the best record in the Western Conference.

"It's just a game we lost," Rivers said. "But other than that, it doesn't mean that much. You wanted to win the game. It would have been great to come in here and to win another game. Our guys feel comfortable in this building. And they still do. That hasn't changed. But we lost the game and you've got to give them all the credit."

The Lakers still have 53 regular-season games left, the next coming Sunday night against the Golden State Warriors.

The Celtics still have 52 regular-season games left, the next tonight at Golden State.

Boston also has to contend with a tough Eastern Conference.

"Listen, we have to get through the East," Rivers said. "We have the Cavaliers. We have the Orlando Magic. We have the Detroit Pistons. We have to get through the East just to see them again the third time. If we play them the third time, then that will mean a lot. And they have to get through the West."

Because the Lakers and Celtics play two regular-season games, a third time would be Game 1 of the NBA Finals.

That's if both teams get there.

"For us, we're confident already, but we feel confident that we can play with the elite teams," Ariza said. "But it is just one game and we've got a gang more to go."

Andrew Bynum and the Lakers Have Fowl For Dinner Defeating Raptors 112-99

The Los Angeles Lakers are that much closer to the best season start in their long history. They are currently 14-1 after their 112-99 victory last night over the Toronto Raptors. If they can pull out wins in the next 3 games, they will take bragging rights for best start from the 2001-2002 Lakers team, although that team won a championship and this season still has a long way to go.
When I say if , it's not a very big if because their next 3 games are not exactly against the cream of the crop. In fact Indiana, Philly and Washington have together won only 1 more game than the Lakers have, so I look at this as more like a trip to the grocery store than a road trip.

Now to get back to last nights victory over the CRaptors. Pau , Kobe , and Bynum all had great games out of the starters. Pau scored a team high with 24 points. Big Drew came to play with 18 points and 10 rebounds while mr. consistent, Kobe hit 23 points and 7 assists with his eyes closed.

Lamar had a very quiet 3 point 6 assist game despite the Lakers being +19 with him on the floor and Trevor Ariza had a great game with 14 on 6-10 shooting.

The Laker defense wasn't bad overall , keeping the Raps barely under 100, but there were a few lapses. It would have been nice to see the Lakers hold the Raptors sans Jermaine O'Neal to around 85-90.

The lakers did a great job on Chris Bosh, limiting the MVP campaigning forward to 12 points but Toronto had some nice balance with 6 players scoring double digits. The most notable was Anthony Parker, brother of WNBA star Candace Parker, who had 19 points on 6-12 shooting including 4-6 from the the 3 point line.

The Lakers haven't had a very tough schedule to start and have been toying with teams by stepping up the intensity in the second half, but to me that's a sign of complacency. Sure with the ease at which they have been beating teams some complacency is inevitable but it's always safer to make defense a habit rather than a necessity to break the game open in the 3rd or 4th quarter.

We all know that this Laker team has dynasty potential , but I am anxious to see how they take to the tougher schedule that begins later this month.

Lakers Defeat Mavs 114-107

The Lakers ended the Dallas Maverick's five game winning streak to bring their record to 13-1, which is the second best Lakers start in history behind the champion 2001-2002 team that won 16 of their first 17 games(although they went 17-12 in the next 19 games).

My time is limited at the moment so heres the post game wrap up

POST-GAME NUMBERS From Lakers.com
36% - is the Lakers field goal percentage to end the first half of the game. Their offense got off to a slow start shooting 19 out of 52 to end the half. They created easier scoring opportunities in the second half and finished the night shooting 49 %.
25 - points from the Bench Mob, who struggled early in the game and scored their lowest points of the season. Even thought it might not have been their best game of the season, they were a big part of a comeback rally in the fourth quarter and kept the momentum going for the win. They had been averaging 48 points per game going into tonight's contest.
15 - points from Trevor Ariza, who was huge in the win tonight. All of his points came from the second half of the game while also managing to grab 5 boards, 3 assists, 1 steal and 1 block.
13 - fourth quarter points for Kobe Bryant who had been struggling from the field. He made critical shots in the game and secured the win for the Lakers.
+9 - Lakers out rebounded the Dallas Mavericks 45-36. Their offensive rebounds gave the Lakers second chance opportunities to help a rally in the second half of the game and come out with a W.

Lakers Roll Over Nets To Improve 12-1

By Elliott Teaford, Staff Writer-Daily News

The Lakers were imperfect winners again Tuesday night.

Say what you will about their recent method of operation, their consistently inconsistent play and their obvious lack of rhythm, the bottom line was that they routed the New Jersey Nets, 120-93, at Staples Center for their 12th victory in 13 games.

What's more, the Lakers have won five consecutive since suffering their lone defeat of the season, a 106-95 loss to Detroit on Nov. 14, a game that in hindsight was as close to flawless as the Pistons have played this season.

Lately, the Lakers' victories have lacked the sort of resounding nature that some of their early-season wins did, but the results have been winning, nevertheless.

They are four wins away from matching the club record for the best start in Lakers history, a 16-1 mark in 2001-02, when they won their last NBA title.

They certainly reverted to their earlier form Tuesday, taking their biggest win from the Nets since New Jersey joined the NBA as one of four ABA refugees in 1976.

Pau Gasol led the Lakers with 26 points on 9-for-12 shooting. He also had eight rebounds and three assists. Jordan Farmar added 18 points in a reserve role, Andrew Bynum had 15 points and six rebounds and Lamar Odom had 13 points.

Oh yeah, and Kobe Bryant scored a season-low 12 points on 5-for-17 shooting.

Of the Lakers' starters, only Bynum played in the fourth quarter.

"It's a good sign, a healthy sign," Lakers coach
Phil Jackson said of winning big without getting much offense from Bryant, who averages a team-leading 23.7 points. "But we want Kobe to shoot the ball well and have good games, obviously. That's the focal point of our offense. We want him to be the threat that everyone has to overplay and be concerned with because that makes everyone else have an easier game."

In the end, holding Bryant well below his average only got the Nets so far. The Lakers toyed with them during the third quarter, turning a tight game into a runaway.

The Lakers broke open the game by outscoring the Nets, 34-22, in the pivotal third quarter. They did it by shooting 59.1 percent (13 for 22) and limiting New Jersey to 26.1 percent shooting (6 for 23) in the quarter.

"It just shows you their balance," New Jersey coach Lawrence Frank said of the Lakers. "I think that's the greatness of the Lakers. You know, Kobe is one of the elite players in this league, but they have so much around him."

The Lakers went inside to Gasol and Bynum early and often, hoping to take advantage of the inexperience of Brook Lopez and Li Jianlian. Gasol and Bynum more than made up for Bryant's shooting struggles - he would miss eight of his first nine.

Still, despite 16 points from Gasol and 11 from Bynum, the Lakers led by just two, 56-54, at halftime. The Nets, like the Sacramento Kings, Denver Nuggets, Phoenix Suns and Chicago Bulls, weren't rolling over and playing dead in the first half.

The Lakers made their break in the third quarter, however.

Unlike some recent games, the Lakers would not let down in the fourth quarter. Their lead grew to 29 points late in the game. Moreover, they outscored the Nets by a whopping 64-39 in the second half.

Farmar sparked the Lakers' second unit with 12 points after halftime, leading the reserves to a 56-19 edge over the Nets' backups.

"I thought we came out and played a stellar second half," Jackson said. "The first half was like feeling each other out. We had trouble stopping their penetration and they shot the ball well. The second half, we got our defense in order.

"Our emphasis tonight was an inside game. They have a lot of young players. I thought both (Gasol) and Andrew would be players we could feature as far as getting the ball inside. (Gasol) hit outside shots as well. He had a fine game."

Devin Harris led the Nets with 24 points. As expected, the Lakers had heaps of trouble guarding Harris, who had 16 points and five assists in the first half.

http://elliot.teaford@dailybreeze.com

Sacramento Kings Still Ruled By The Lakers

It's no surprise that the Lakers have added yet another victory to the list after tonights 118-108 win over the Queens of Sac-town.

The Lakers won but it wasn't pretty and King's managed to score 108 points on 53% shooting even without their best scorer K-Mart(Kevin Martin). The Lakers lacked some of that defensive enthusiasm that they have shown to start the season while holding teams to under 100 points.

In addition to their lacking defense they had too many turnovers at 17. On the bright side there were 8 of 9 players in double figures(all five starters plus Odom, Farmar, and Ariza).

In the end all that really matters is winning, but hopefully this lethargic defense doesn't rear its head more often since not all teams are bad like the Kings.

Kobe scored his usual 24 points in nearly 34 minutes, and Gasol scored 16 in the same amount of minutes.

Vlad, sporting the protective shades after getting his eye poked in the previous game was 4-5 from the three point line with 12 points.

Bynum shot well and had 15 points but had 6 turnovers as well. In his defense though he does seem to get mauled quite frequently while in the paint.

Ariza had a nice game with 11 points and 5 assists, also 3 steals but that shouldn't surprise anyone.

Lamar looked good with 14 points and three assists shooting 7-9 in 34 minutes.

For the Queens, Salmons had 24 and brown had 21. Brad Miller was held to 6 points despite being on the floor longer than anyone with 36 minutes.

On another subject the Detroit pissed ons got spanked by the Timberwolves 80- 106 and no thats not a typo.

Next game is on Tuesday vs. the Nets, who shouldn't put up too much of a fight. Just looking at the shedule and noticing the Lakers dont face any tough teams for a while. If they don't choke a 25-1 start to the season is quite feasible.

Fisher: Defense is main concern for Lakers

Daily News

It's not difficult to figure out what the Lakers need to improve to take the next step this season and become NBA champions.

At least, not in the mind of veteran guard Derek Fisher.

"We have to defend a whole lot better," Fisher said. "We want a team that when we have to get stops to finish a game or finish a quarter, we get them.

"We just weren't able to lock teams down. I can't remember a lot of games where we were down eight or 10 points and kept them from scoring the rest of the game and stole the game at the end. It was more like we were close and then we went on an offensive spurt where we were able to win the game."

In fact, the lasting image of the Lakers in the NBA Finals in June was of a team that seemed incapable of preventing the Boston Celtics from charging to the basket for layups and dunks.

Fisher said he believes that must change this season.

"Defense first, is the biggest thing," he said.

The Lakers are banking on the return of Andrew Bynum, who suffered a season-ending kneecap injury Jan. 13, to help them patrol the paint. They also hope the pairing of Bynum and fellow 7-footer Pau Gasol makes them intimidating.

Certainly, a front line of Bynum, Gasol and the 6-foot-10 Lamar Odom at "small" forward would give the Lakers a great deal more for opponents to consider. Coach Phil Jackson has even experimented with Odom at guard.

But Lakers observers believe Jackson will return Odom to a forward spot when the regular season begins Oct.28.