While we all wait for the Portland game this evening and whether or not Andrew Bynum will be available to play or if he’ll be suspended by the league for his foul on Michael Beasley, below are a few links to help you pass the time. Enjoy.
*Mitch Kupchak is nothing but a straight shooter and he lives up to that rep in this very insightful sit down with Mike Trudell from Lakers.com. He talks all things Lakers including how he and Phil communicate during a season, his evaluation of Blake and Barnes in their first season with the team, and how he wouldn’t trade Andrew Bynum for anybody. Definitely worth your time.
*In this look at 6th Man of the Year candidates, John Schuhmann goes beyond scoring numbers to make his case for who should win. It should be no surprise that Lamar Odom does well when examining the players in this way.
*A quick look at some of the top teams’ records since the all-star break. No wonder the Lakers are gaining ground on some teams.
*Learn a thing or two about the Lakers weak side “solo” series and how they get good shots out of it.
*Lastly, no reading here, and we instead take you back to one of my favorite shots by a Laker ever. Just so happens it was against the Blazers. Watching this shot never gets old.
Robert Fiore says
One thing you notice about this film clip is that at the end of the game Shaq is not on the court. I think we all remember why, and it ought to be taken into consideration when people want to give Shaq most of the credit for this team’s success.
Taylor says
No link yet, but the Twitter feeds make it look like Bynum got a 2 game suspension. Let’s hope that’s not the case.
Seems a bit harsh, no? 2 games? And finding out the day of a game…weak.
That makes POR and PHX. Would have been nice if it came out tomorrow and it was PHX and LAC.
Zerb says
You can’t post that ot shot without showing the shot that got them into ot
I believe that one was even better
T. Rogers says
Does look like Andrew will be out two games. Oh well, no use in crying over spilled milk. What’s done is done.The rest of the guys have to step up. This team can still be victorious today. Pau and Lamar will have to really come through. Hit the big Spaniard early and often.
chibi says
well, maybe this is a blessing in disguise: six days of rest for Drew and the challenge of playing without him to invigorate the Lakers.
T. Rogers says
Also, I agree with post #3. The shot to send that game into overtime was classic Kobe. He twists and turns to hit and off balance long jump shot. Someone said it before, but Kobe has to be the greatest *difficult* shot maker ever. Of course, his tendency to take such difficult shots has hurt his FG%. I guess it comes with the territory.
Lastly, I hope Bynum doesn’t let this suspension make his play timid. Keep going hard in the paint, big man. Just be a little smarter next time.
The Dude Abides says
Two games
http://sports.espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/news/story?id=6240114
The Dude Abides says
@3, 5, 6. Exactly…let him use the time to rest and strengthen his knee and learn the lesson of not making a bad play out of frustration, but keep his aggressiveness.
Aaron says
This suspension is bogus and unprecedented. I have yet to see a foul like Bynum’s result in a suspension let alone a warrant a two game lay off. What a joke.
VoR says
Two games does seem harsh. Tough time for it to happen with the #2 seed still so much up for grabs.
J says
Some of you guys like this foul by Bynum cuz it shows we’re tough and people will think twice before entering in the paint. But I’m torn because I think itll work the other way with Bynum suspended 2 games HE will think twice before fouling someone hard.
I think Phil was right that he was just frustrated with not getting a foul earlier but this could work against him.
Paul says
on the bright side this may give bynum’s knee a chance to heal and get out some inflammation. the race for the 2 seed was probably going to come down to the last game against the mavs anyway
Andy says
How can you argue against this suspension? It was an absolute cheap shot with the intent to injure. If anything, I am glad he got two games for this as it will make everybody, not just on the Lakers, think twice about throwing forearm shivers to players going hard to the rim.
Imagine if that foul was committed on Kobe? We would all be saying two games isn’t enough.
Sedale says
It’s HIGHLY irresponsible for the league to dish out this suspension HOURS before the Lakers are scheduled to tip off.
What were they waiting for? This decision could have and should have been made yesterday. This may or may not affect the Lakers tonight or versus Phoenix, but the league should really consider a policy of providing at least 24 hours before tip off to suspend a player. Teams should at least have an opportunity to prepare to play w/o their player. They shouldn’t be penalized in this additional manner. Luckily for us, we are familiar with our expected starting line up.
Btw, didn’t the league suspend Kobe within hours of a game in NY a few years ago.
Josh says
A suspension is warranted…it should be only one game, but nevertheless…that was a bad foul with no attempt on the ball. Bonehead move by Bynum there.
chibi says
it would be nice if the league would explain its verdicts once in a while, given the inconsistent penalties doled out in similar incidents.
Aaron says
Andy,
Kobe gets fouled like that once a week. Just the other day I think against the Mavs he was hit with a forearm and a foul wasn’t even called. We got the ball out of bounds. The difference was that Kobe was under control and didn’t fall to the floor hard.
sT says
That Trudell article with Mitch was great. Two games is definitely to many, for that hard foul. The Pau and Lamar duo will prevail tonight, they are a great combo together. Portland is playing in our house, so we should continue the win streak.
Darius Soriano says
The game preview is up.
http://www.forumblueandgold.com/2011/03/20/preview-and-chat-the-portland-trailblazers-7/
Andy says
I would love to see a youtube clip of Kobe (or any other Laker for that matter) getting fouled that hard at any point in this season and what the resulting punishment was.
Also keep in mind that in all sports, they are really trying to clamp down on head injuries and what Drew did is probably the number one cause of head injuries in basketball. If it was the playoffs, I bet he only gets suspended one game, but it’s the regular season. It is only a minor speed bump anyhow.
Josh says
Nah, Kobe doesn’t get fouled like that. And honestly, the real reason Kobe gets no respect when it comes to fouls is because every time he makes a foray into the paint, he screams and yells and flails. For how much is made of his toughness (and I don’t deny it- the man has a high pain threshold) the way he acts about foul calls is uber-annoying.
Jaz says
Off-topic here.
When the Lakers play “at” the Clippers, what’s the atmosphere like? Is it almost a home game? A neutral site?
I’m thinking the Lakers play 39 road games, 41 home games, and two neutral games (“at” the Clips) every year. That would seem to be an advantage (however small you make it).
Jake says
hehehe it was ruben “kobe stopper” patterson guarding him
R says
I saw the Lakers “away” vs the Clips in Feb I think it was and most all peeps were cheering for the Lakers.
R says
wups Jaz – I wuz wrong. The feb game I saw the Lakers were “home”.