Official Los Angeles Lakers Thread

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11/28/03 update: well, fwiw, Shaq is definitely playing tonight, so put him on your fantasy team if it's not too late

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11/29=8/03 update: Lakers 103-87 over the Spurs

with Duncan and Parker at full strength, this was a very surprising result, as the Lakers dominated the entire game, with the lead going as high as 32 points before garbage time in entire 4th quarter.

look at these incredible stats:
Karl - 10 points, 10 assists, 11 boards -- first triple double since 1999, and 4th career
Kobe - 17 points, 2 assists and boards
Payton - 17 points, 4 boards, and 7 assists
George - 19 points on 8 of 9 shooting -- he was hot the entire game!!

and this is the most surprising stat of the game:
Shaq - only 7 points, 8 boards, and 2 assists in about 25 minutes of action.

Boy, watching this game, it was a combo of good Lakers offense/defense and bad Spurs offense/defense.

Not sure why the Spurs played so badly.

Karl did a good job defending Duncan, who scored only 11 points, and had 11 boards

Payton did a good job stopping Parker, who only had 12 points and 4 assists

Kobe did a farily good job on Ginobili, who had 13 points (recall that Ginobili had 33 points in the last encounter, his career high)

Slava had another good game, with 6 points and 6 boards.

Pargo looks to be the odd man out once Rick Fox returns this christmas, as Pargo missed all 4 of his shots. He's struggling from the field, and really hasn't done much.

Lakers now 13-3, and meet the Indiana Pacers (who have the best record in NBA) at Staples this coming Sunday

Spurs now 9-8.

[slugger21]

man they SMOKED the Spurs

[minew_m]

Awesome game. I'm thinking now that Shaq should have rested one more game. He looked very out of rhythm

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yea, Shaq looked rustier than a watery nail left out in the sun.

but it's ok, hopefully, he'll work out the kinks in time for tomorrow vs the Pacers!

[minew_m]

He probably will. When's the last time in his career he had terrible back to back games? Look for him to come out shooting!

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and Minew is correct, regarding Shaq!!

11/30/03 update: Lakers 99, Pacers 77

In a battle b/t the 2 teams with the 2 best records, the Lakers dominated.

Well, so far, the Lakers have proven they are a MONSTER at Staples Center, but are breakeven (3-3) on the road.

Lakers blew out Spurs and Pacers at home, and now, they play Spurs and Dallas on the road this coming Wed - Thurs. This will be their true test. Anyone can win at home; but the real test is if you can dominate the opposing team on THEIR home court.

Today's game was pretty similar to Spurs game this past Friday -- Lakers had tremendous offense/defense, and the Pacers didn't.

Shaq led the way with 23 points, but only 5 boards; he played a total of 5 minutes in the 1st half, saddled with 3 fouls.

Karl had a great game with 11 points and 15 tough rebounds (didn't play entire 4th)

kobe and Payton had average games; Kobe with 12 points and 7 assists
Payton with 8 and 5. Payton needs 2 more points for 19,000 career, but also didn't play in 4th quarter

For the Pacers, Al Harrington had a great game, with 18 points and 10 boards; Jermaine O'Neal chipped in with 14 and 6. Otherwise, the rest of the Pacers had very sub-par shooting nights, esp.. Artest with 9 points on 2-9 shooting (Artest averages 19)

Lakers and Pacers both now 14-3; Lakers don't play again until Wed, at San Antonio, then a killer back-to-back at Dallas the following night.

[minew_m]

Great game! Didn't Shaq also have something like 4 blocks!! Can't wait till Wednesday!

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there are 2 teams that can prevent the Lakers from getting to the NBA Finals

San Antonio and Sacramento

Tonight, San Antonio lost by 8-12 points at Staples to the Clippers, without Duncan, who was suspended one game for bumping an official.

San Antonio is now 9-8, and faces us this coming Wed. If we win, unless SA reels off a 15-game winning streak, it looks like our only competition will be Sacramento, who is only 1 game behind us in loss column

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12/3/03 update: 90-86 Lakers beat Spurs and Tim Duncan at the SBC Center for the first time in 10 tries. Lakers are 2-8 vs Spurs at SBC in the 2+ years since it opened in 2001, both victories coming this year; but their first victory at SBC was with both Parker and Duncan sitting out due to injuries, and it took double OT!!

Spurs were ready for this game, and Duncan (having been suspended Monday vs the Clippers for bumping an official) was well-rested. Spurs played a great game for 3 quarters -- good defense, good offense...but then came the 4th quarter, as the Lakers erased a 9-point deficit!

Now, this is a very impressive victory by the Lakers. Any team can win at home.....but to come into an opponent's home court, trail by 9 points in the 4th quarter, maintain your composure, and win --- this bespeaks of a contender for NBA title.

One last hurdle -- how do we do vs. Sacramento Kings -- we don't meet them until Jan 16, if you can believe that!!

Tomorrow is a killer back-to-back AT Dallas, who have been waiting for us since this past Sunday, not having played Mon-Wed. Dallas hasn't won at Staples for the past 12+ years (that's right, something like 29 consecutive defeats).

But the Mavs are 10-0 at home this year, and chomping at the bit to get at us. Can we go into Dallas tomorrow, following this GREAT win, and beat Dallas?

To get a 2-game sweep means a lot!!