The AP reports: Pau Gasol scored 13 points and the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Charlotte Bobcats 88-77 on Thursday night without the ailing Kobe Bryant… Adam Morrison scored 13 points for the Bobcats, who finished the preseason 0-7. The fifth-year team will open the regular season Oct. 30 at Cleveland under Larry Brown, who is coaching his ninth NBA team following the firing of Sam Vincent in April… Despite Jason Richardson’s 1-for-8 shooting in the first half and Charlotte’s 27.0 field goal percentage, the Lakers led only 36-30 at intermission.
Category: Los Angeles Lakers Blog
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Lakers waive two players
The Los Angeles Lakers have requested waivers on guard Joe Crawford and forward CJ Giles, it was announced today.
Selected by the Lakers with the 58th pick in the 2008 NBA Draft, Crawford, a 22 year-old native of Detroit, Michigan, played four seasons at the University of Kentucky, averaging 11.3 points, 3.4 rebounds and 1.5 assists in 127 games (76 starts). In six preseason games with the Lakers, Crawford averaged 2.8 points in 7.3 minutes.
Giles, a 6-11 forward who finished his collegiate career at Oregon State after playing two seasons at Kansas, averaged 6.3 points and 5.6 rebounds in ten games last season for the Beavers. Giles played in four preseason games with the Lakers where he averaged 2.0 points and 2.5 rebounds in 7.2 minutes.
The Lakers preseason roster now stands at 15.
Oct 21: Lakers 102, Bobcats 98
The AP reports: Kobe Bryant injured his right knee in the second quarter of the Los Angeles Lakers’ 102-98 win over the Charlotte Bobcats on Tuesday night and did not return to the preseason game… The extent of Bryant’s injury is not known… Andrew Bynum scored 16 points, Trevor Ariza added 14. Pau Gasol and Derek Fisher scored 12 points apiece for the Lakers in limited playing time. Jason Richardson and Gerald Wallace each had 16 points for the Bobcats, who close out their preseason schedule on Thursday against the Lakers.
Lakers waive Brandon Heath
The Los Angeles Lakers have requested waivers on guard Brandon Heath, it was announced today.
Heath, a 6-3 guard out of San Diego State spent last season playing in France for Entente Orleans 45 where he averaged 12.0 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.9 assists in 25 games. In five preseason games with the Lakers, Heath averaged 1.4 points in 8.6 minutes.
The Lakers preseason roster now stands at 17.
Oct 19: Lakers 112, Raptors 89
The AP reports: Jordan Farmar scored 16 points and sparked a fourth-quarter surge with an electrifying dunk over Chris Bosh, leading the Los Angeles Lakers to a 112-89 victory over the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night. Kobe Bryant had 13 points and six assists in 24 minutes before sitting out the fourth quarter. Trevor Ariza also was a factor in the final period, scoring six of his 14 points. Lamar Odom, still adjusting to his new role as a reserve, had 10 points in 19 minutes. Anthony Parker led Toronto with 14 points. Just 16 days earlier, Parker’s sister Candace – who plays for the WNBA’s Los Angeles Sparks – became the first player to be honored as that league’s MVP and rookie of the year in the same season.
Haq-a-Shaq likely to continue
Shquille O’Neal misses lots of free throws. And he’s continuing to do so. Other teams often resort to fouling him on purpose, just to send him to the line so he can miss free throws. This will likely continue. Here’s the Arizona Republic (Paul Coro):
It has been more of the same from O’Neal at the free-throw line in the preseason, with eight misses in 12 tries. And it might be more of the same “Hack-a-Shaq” approach this season for the career 52.4 percent free-throw shooter. The NBA reviewed the rule allowing intentional fouls away from the ball without penalty until the final two minutes but did not alter the rule to protect a weakness. “I was fine with that,” O’Neal said. “It doesn’t work. It may work in a series, but it’s not going to get you to the championship. San Antonio tried it, but they went home a couple weeks after we went home. I just have to go to the line and make them pay. And I will. “The only thing I call cowardly is when you’re up by 10 and do it. That’s a cowardly move. I didn’t say nothing last year, but that’s a coward move. They should really do something about that. When you’re down, I can see using it as a strategy, but when you’re up 10 to 15 points, there’s really no need for that.”
Shaq should try shooting free throws underhanded while facing away from the basket. He could stand, facing the opposite side of the court, start shooting underhand aiming across the entire length of the floor, only continue the motion high up in the air, bouncing the ball off the ceiling at an angle that would aim it at the proper rim. All while the arena plays looney tunes music or the theme to the Benny Hill TV show. Hey, it’s just an idea.
–Jeff
Sasha Vujacic has ankle fracture
The Los Angeles Times (Wally Skalij) reports: A second medical examination Monday confirmed that Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic has a fractured left ankle and will miss most basketball activities for at least another 10 days, the team said today.
Oct 12: Lakers 94, Kings 89
The AP reports: Pau Gasol had 12 points and six rebounds to help the Los Angeles Lakers beat the Sacramento Kings 94-89 in exhibition play Sunday night… Los Angeles built its largest advantage at 84-72 with 5:25 left. The Kings cut it 92-89 with 36 seconds to go, but got no closer.
InsideHoops.com Stat Notes: For the Lakers, Kobe Bryant (just 4-of-12) had 9 points. Andrew Bynum had 9 points and 5 rebounds. Vladimir Radmanovic had 9 with 7 rebounds and 3 assists. Lamar Odom, coming off the bench, had 4 points, 9 rebounds and 3 assists. For the Kings, Jason Thompson came off the bench to put up 15 points and 8 rebounds. Brad Miller had 10 points and 4 rebounds. John Salmons (just 4-of-15) had 11 points and 3 steals. Off the bench, Spencer Hawes had 6 points, 10 rebounds and 3 blocks.
Oct 9: Clippers 107, Lakers 80
The AP reports: Rookie Mike Taylor was 9-of-12 from the field and scored 20 points to lead the Los Angeles Clippers to a 107-80 preseason victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Thursday night… Lakers star Kobe Bryant played 24 minutes and finished with 12 points and three assists. He left midway through the third quarter and did not return. Baron Davis, who signed the Clippers in the offseason after spending the past three seasons with the Warriors, played 17 minutes and finished with 12 points and seven assists. Ricky Davis had 17 points for the Clippers (1-1), who led by as many as 13 points in the first half and began distancing themselves again early in the fourth after the Lakers got as close as 79-74 on Jordan Farmar’s 3-pointer. Farmar, who finished with 12 points, was one of five Lakers in double figures.
Lakers waive Dwayne Mitchell
The Los Angeles Lakers have waived free agent guard Dwayne Mitchell, it was announced Wednesday.
Mitchell, a 6’5” 220-pound guard out of Louisiana Lafayette, was a member of the Lakers 2008 Summer-Pro League team in Las Vegas, where he averaged 6.7 points and 1.5 rebounds in 15.0 minutes over six games.
The Lakers preseason roster now stands at 18.
There are going to be a ton of fringe players cut by NBA teams over the next week or so. Almost all of them have tiny, nonguaranteed contracts that basically only exist for training camp purposes.