Yardbarker: Los Angeles Lakers

Sasha Vujacic and Maria Sharapova Make it Official

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 12:22:16 -0500

Six days ago Twitter spread the word about Los Angeles Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic dating Maria Sharapova. The sources were Darren Rovell and Matt Cronin so you had to figure the story was solid. Thanks to Sports by Brooks we now have visual proof of the relationship. Sasha Vujacic must eat rabbit’s feet for breakfast [...] Related posts:Sasha Vujacic Dating Maria Sharapova to Add to Lakers Circus Twitter rumors say Los Angeles Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic is...Arturo Gatti’s W...

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar Reveals That He Has Rare Form of Leukemia

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 10:20:00 -0500

Former NBA great, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has revealed that he has been diagnosed with chronic myeloid leukemia. The good news is that the prognosis is encouraging. The NBA's all-time leading scorer was diagnosed last December with chronic myeloid leukemia, he told The Associated Press on Monday. The 62-year-old Abdul-Jabbar said his doctor didn't give any guarantees, but informed him: "You have a very good chance to live your life out and not have to make any dr...

Is Kobe Bryant the Lakers’ Best Scorer of All-Time?

Tue, 10 Nov 2009 00:03:00 -0500

Kobe Bryant's reputation as a scorer will never be doubted but is the the best scorer the Los Angeles Lakers franchise has ever seen? To wit, here are some of the franchise milestones Kobe Bryant is in the Top Five of (as of this blog post): #4 in Field Goals made #3 in Field Goal attempts #1 in 3-point Field Goals made #1 in 3-point Field Goal attempts #2 in Free Throws made #3 in Free Throw attempts #3 in career points #4 in career scoring average The list is pretty impressi...

Lakers Coach Phil Jackson looking to limit Derek Fisher's minutes

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 21:53:43 -0500

The 35-year-old guard averaged 32.2 minutes in Lakers' first five games. Jackson says that ideally, he'd like to keep the 14-year veteran under 25 minutes a game to help him be fresh for playoffs. In five of the Lakers' seven regular-season games, veteran guard Derek Fisher has played way too many minutes for Coach Phil Jackson's liking.

Sasha Vujacic and Maria Sharipova Blah Blah Blah

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 20:47:09 -0500

Another Laker has fallen for a celebrity- Sasha Vujacic was recently photographed holding hands with Maria Sharipova. I can’t bring myself to waste this space with the photo, so go to TMZ if you want to see it. Sasha: Dating someone famous won’t get you more minutes. I hope I’m not the first one to [...]

Ron Artest vs. Charles Barkley

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 17:15:22 -0500

Ron Artest vs. Charles Barkley: Here’s background - Artest called Barkley overrated last year. Barkley then said Artest had no credibility. “TNT was trying to make me look good, but Charles was trying to make me look bad. They were pointing out a lot of good things I was doing, and Charles totally took my [...]

Create-a-caption: Giggles McKobe

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 14:15:53 -0500

Injured big Pau Gasol(notes) and Kobe Bryant(notes) share a laugh on the bench during the Lakers convincing win over the Hornets at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sunday. Best caption/imaginary conversation wins this. Good luck. After the jump, Wade eats a slice of pizza.Winner, JM:Wade: "Miami pizza is OK, but sometimes I feel like Chicago-style pizza ... or New York-style pizza ... or, heck, even Oklahoma-style pizza. Know what I mean?"Heat Executive: [quickly throws bags of...

Extra work pays off for Lakers' Shannon Brown and Luke Walton

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 13:08:19 -0500

Both reserves play well in a 104-88 victory over New Orleans. Both reserves play well in a 104-88 victory over New Orleans.

If Iverson Wants A Ring, He Should Listen To Me

Mon, 09 Nov 2009 12:30:00 -0500

First off, let me say that I’m a huge Lakers fan and a huge A.I. fan on the low. I’ve always respected and appreciated the way he’s played the game of basketball from all of his years in Philadelphia up until his brief stint with the Nuggets a couple of years back. But his time spent with the last two teams in his career being Detroit and Memphis, makes me question exactly what Iverson is playing for. He always claims that it’s all about winning for him. So if that is the case, why in the...

Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol to miss another game

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 22:54:21 -0500

Neither 7-footer is able to practice, and both will sit out Sunday's game against New Orleans -- Bynum because an elbow strain, Gasol because of a strained hamstring. Because the healing process has been slow, Lakers center Andrew Bynum and forward Pau Gasol will miss another game.

Newlywed Laker selling Manhattan Beach digs

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 03:00:00 -0500

Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom has listed his Manhattan Beach home for $2,399,000.

Lakers' Ron Artest responds to Charles Barkley's criticism

Sat, 07 Nov 2009 01:07:06 -0500

Artest takes exception to the TNT analyst's assertion that the veteran forward could become a distraction to the Lakers. The two have sparred verbally before. Ron Artest fired back at Charles Barkley on Friday after the TNT analyst criticized the Lakers forward by saying he could become a distraction to the team.

Ron Artest keeps his cool in return to Houston

Thu, 05 Nov 2009 10:42:00 -0500

He says his former teammates tried to rile him up, and though he did get a technical foul, he kept his emotions in check, for the most part, in the Lakers' 103-102 overtime win. He says his former teammates tried to rile him up, and though he did get a technical foul, he kept his emotions in check, for the most part, in the Lakers' 103-102 overtime win.

LeBron to LA? It will never happen

Wed, 04 Nov 2009 12:56:19 -0500

Via Bulls.com blogger Sam Smith:

The obvious reason this never gets discussed is no one can see James hooking on with Bryant. I really cannot understand why not.

How good a team would that be with Bryant, James, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom? Supposedly it would look like James searching out a place to win a championship instead of lifting his team to one. Allegedly a no-no.

But Bryant is 31; James is 24. Bryant has probably three really high level seasons left before some sort of a transition. It was the transition Shaq could never accept and why I think the Lakers dynasty broke up. Not because of Kobe. But because Shaq refused to be viewed as a supporting player to Bryant, and the Lakers understood that. So they traded him. Clearly the right move.

The Lakers are no sure thing to win the championship with the Celtics healthy and the Magic deep. But you add LeBron and it’s hard to imagine anyone beating them the next three or four years.

No way, no way, no way.

Despite what Smith says, LeBron joining the Lakers is akin to LeBron saying - "I'm not good enough to win a title on my own, I need Kobe's help."

The egos are too big to co-exist. Maybe if Kobe was a few years older, in a declining stage of his career.

The Lakers don't have the cap room to outright sign James during free agency. The only way this could happen financially, is through a sign and trade. Smith throws around names like Bynum, Artest, Farmar and draft picks.

Enough with this fantasy.... although watching the Celtics beat a LeBron and Kobe tandem in the Finals would be the greatest thrill in sports.

Lakers are humbled at home by the Mavericks

Sat, 31 Oct 2009 01:21:20 -0500

They shoot only 39.5% and get blown out by Dallas. Kobe Bryant scores 20 points, but makes only six of 19 shots. They shoot only 39.5% and get blown out by Dallas. Kobe Bryant scores 20 points, but makes only six of 19 shots.

Pippen Thinks Lakers Can Make Run At Bulls Record

Thu, 29 Oct 2009 16:00:00 -0500

Via Chris Mannix of SI.com:

"The Lakers have a chance," Scottie Pippen said. "They have the luxury of a young center like [Andrew] Bynum, a young power like [Pau] Gasol and even Josh Powell is a guy who deserves minutes. They have a lot of depth. If anybody can challenge [the record], it's them."
Before I blast the most overrated player in the history of the NBA, I should point out that I don't know what type of question lead to this response. Did Mannix say "Can the Lakers challenge your Bulls record? or did he say "Can any team challenge your Bulls record?" There's a difference. But for the sake of this blog, I'm going to assume it was the latter.

If you are going to cite depth, than you gotta mention the Celtics. And if you are going to cite the Lakers depth, naming Josh Powell won't help your argument. Andrew Bynum? He's the first name out of Pippen's mouth? I have more health concerns about his knees than I do with KG.

It's really just Pippen showing his ignorance about basketball. What can you expect from a guy who refused to take the floor at the end of a playoff game because he was asked to pass and not shoot?