Los Angeles Lakers Blog – Page 71 – NBA Blog

Metta World Peace wants Kobe to keep tweeting during games

If World Peace created a hashtag to summarize this whole Twittergate thing, it would probably be #letkobetweet

The Lakers forward said he had no problem with Bryant’s Twitter activity during the Lakers’ Game 1 loss.

“I love when Kobe tweets,” World Peace said Tuesday. “Kobe should tweet Game 2 the whole time, every possession, critique us, criticize us, chew us out. … I love Kobe. Kobe’s great.

“He should coach. Put a suit and tie on, a bow tie, put the Mamba symbol right here and get on the bench and coach. Drag that [injured] leg here. Kobe’s a great coach. Too bad he’s not going to coach after [retirement]. He would be a great coach.”

Bryant said he would not tweet about Game 2 because it received so much attention after Game 1, some of it negative. But was it really a distraction?

“Absolutely not,” World Peace said. “I’m a distraction. I’m much more of a distraction than Kobe.”

— Reported by Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times

Steve Nash playing hurt for Lakers

It took Steve Nash three weeks to return to this point, but he made it painstakingly clear that he’s far from fully healed from a sore right hamstring.

Nash only described his hamstring as “OK” after scoring 16 points on only 6-of-15 shooting Sunday in the Lakers’ 91-79 loss in Game 1 of their first-round playoff series against the San Antonio Spurs at AT&T Center.

“I’m not myself. I’m not moving that well,” Nash said. “I was struggling a little bit. There were a few shots I would normally make.”

Will Nash feel healthy enough to play Wednesday in Game 2?

“I hope so,” Nash said.

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News

Spurs handle Lakers 91-79, take Game 1

Manu Ginobili and Tony Parker scored 18 points each as the San Antonio Spurs led from early in the first quarter and beat the Los Angeles Lakers 91-79 on Sunday in Game 1 of their Western Conference first-round series.

Tim Duncan added 17 points and 10 rebounds, Matt Bonner had 10 points and Kawhi Leonard had eight points and 11 rebounds for San Antonio.

Dwight Howard had 20 points and 15 rebounds, Steve Nash scored 16 points and Pau Gasol added 16 points and 16 rebounds for Los Angeles.

Despite the double-doubles from Howard and Gasol, the Lakers failed to take full advantage of their inside presence, much to the consternation of the injured Kobe Bryant, who watched the national broadcast.

”Post. Post. Post,” Bryant tweeted in reference to the Lakers’ offense.

Bryant is out for the remainder of the season with a torn Achilles.

Los Angeles’ length caused San Antonio problems early as the Spurs missed their first three shots – all inside the paint – as they altered their shots to avoid Howard and Gasol…

Manu Ginobili hit a pair of 3s to give San Antonio a 70-57 lead to close the third. Ginobili was 6 for 13 from the field and 3 for 5 on 3s.

— Reported by Raul Dominguez of the Associated Press

Mike Woodson and Mike D`Antoni named NBA Coaches of Month for April 2013

The New York Knicks’ Mike Woodson and the Los Angeles Lakers’ Mike D’Antoni today were named the NBA Eastern and Western Conference Coaches of the Month, respectively, for games played in April.

Woodson led the Knicks to an 8-2 month, tied for the most wins in the league in April with the Miami Heat. New York collected wins over four Eastern Conference Playoff teams — Atlanta (twice), Indiana, Miami and Milwaukee and finished the season 54-28 (.659). The Knicks surpassed the 50-win plateau for the first time since 1999-2000 under Woodson, and notched the best home record in the East at 31-10 (.756).

D’Antoni guided the Lakers to a share (Denver, Los Angeles Clippers) of the best record in the conference in April at 7-1 (.875). The Lakers won five straight games to close the season, including three over Western Conference playoff teams – Golden State, San Antonio and Houston, the final two without the services of Kobe Bryant (torn Achilles tendon). The seventh-seeded Lakers finished the season 45-37 (.549).

Other nominees for Coach of the Month were Brooklyn’s P.J. Carlesimo, Denver’s George Karl, Memphis’ Lionel Hollins, Miami’s Erik Spoelstra and Oklahoma City’s Scott Brooks.

Shabazz Muhammad declares for 2013 NBA Draft

UCLA men’s basketball freshman Shabazz Muhammad has elected to forego his remaining collegiate eligibility and enter the 2013 NBA Draft. He is projected as a lottery pick by InsideHoops.com.

Muhammad led the Bruins with 17.9 points per game as a freshman in 2012-13, securing first-team All-Pac-12 Conference honors in addition to being named Pac-12 Co-Freshman of the Year. The 6-foot-6 guard/forward from Las Vegas helped lead UCLA to a 25-10 record, the Pac-12 regular-season title, a runner-up finish in the Pac-12 Tournament and an NCAA Tournament berth.

“I am so thankful for the once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to play at UCLA and will always be proud to be a Bruin,” Muhammad said. “From a young age, I have dreamed of playing in the NBA, and I believe that this is the right time for me to move to the next level.

“I have had an unbelievable experience at UCLA and am eternally grateful to my teammates, my coaches and the program’s support staff for helping me become a better person and basketball player during my time in Westwood. It has been an honor and a privilege to play for coach Ben Howland.”

Muhammad had a decorated freshman campaign, scoring in double figures in 31 of 32 games. He scored at least 20 points in 14 games, guiding UCLA to a 12-2 record in those contests. He was one of eight finalists for the Freshman of the Year Award presented by the U.S. Basketball Writers’ Association (Integris Wayman Tisdale Award) and secured USBWA Freshman All-America honors in addition to being named a first-team NABC All-District 20 selection.

On the court, Muhammad emerged as one of the Pac-12’s most talented three-point shooters, finishing the season ranked 12th in the conference in three-point field goal percentage and fourth in scoring (17.9 ppg). Muhammad and Travis Wear tied for second on the team in rebounds per game (5.2 rpg).

The 2013 NBA Draft will begin at 4 p.m. (PT) on June 27 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

— Via UCLA Bruins

Kobe Bryant provides encouraging words for Lakers teammates

The Lakers missed Kobe Bryant’s physical presence, but they sensed his influence permeate the locker room.

Before Saturday’s practice, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak shared with the team a 30-second video on his cell phone that showed Bryant outlining how the Lakers could win their 17th NBA championship without their star because of a torn left Achilles tendon that will sideline him at least six to nine months.

“It was classic Kobe with the way he inspired us,” Lakers reserve guard Darius Morris recalled. “Mitch brought a video of him right before he went into surgery just telling us we know we have to do. Just go out there and get it done. ”

The Lakers took that first step with a 91-86 victory Sunday over the San Antonio Spurs.

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News

Lakers sign guard Andrew Goudelock

No Kobe Bryant, but at least there’s… Goudelock.

The Los Angeles Lakers have signed guard Andrew Goudelock, it was announced Sunday.

In 51 games (all starts) with Sioux Falls and Rio Grande Valley of the NBA Development League this season, Goudelock averaged 21.1 points, 3.9 rebounds, 5.2 assists and 1.16 steals in 36.9 minutes. Named NBA D-League Co-Player of the Month for March, he also earned back-to-back D-League Top Performer of the Week honors for games played 3/11-3/17 and 3/18-3/24.

Originally selected by the Lakers in the second round (46th overall) of the 2011 NBA Draft, Goudelock appeared in 40 games with Los Angeles last season, averaging 4.4 points and 0.5 assists in 10.5 minutes. In six preseason games with the Lakers this season, he averaged 3.8 points and 0.8 assists in 7.7 minutes before being waived on October 27.

The 6-2 guard concluded his career at the College of Charleston ranked 39th on the NCAA Division I all-time scoring list. In four seasons with the Cougars, Goudelock averaged 18.4 points, 3.3 rebounds and 3.0 assists in 32.8 minutes and as a senior, earned AP All America Honorable Mention honors while ranking fourth nationally among NCAA Division I scoring leaders (23.7 ppg).

The Lakers are currently in a battle with the Utah Jazz for the final Western conference playoff spot.

Lakers without Kobe beat Spurs 91-86

An empty chair sat in front of Kobe Bryant’s locker Sunday night, and the Los Angeles Lakers realized they would have to fill it together.

With their playoff hopes likely on the line against powerful San Antonio, the Lakers cobbled together a group effort that kept them in the hunt.

Dwight Howard had 26 points and 17 rebounds, and the Lakers staged a dramatic rally in the fourth quarter to win their first game since losing Bryant for the season, beating the Spurs 91-86 Sunday night to stay in playoff position.

Steve Blake scored 23 points for the Lakers (44-37), who lead Utah (42-38) by 1 1/2 games for the eighth postseason spot in the Western Conference after their seventh win in eight games – even with Bryant watching from home following surgery on his torn Achilles tendon…

”It definitely gives us confidence that if we play as hard as we did tonight, we can beat anybody,” said Pau Gasol, who had seven points and 16 rebounds…

Duncan had 23 points and 10 rebounds for the Spurs, who have lost six straight road games. San Antonio (58-22) is likely to finish second in the West behind Oklahoma City (59-21), which holds the tiebreaker.

Tony Parker scored just four points on 1-of-10 shooting while playing for just the fourth time in April, possibly slowed by his injured shin in the Spurs’ first game since waiving disenchanted forward Stephen Jackson. San Antonio is headed into another postseason as a top-two seed, but the Spurs have lost five of eight after failing to complete a season sweep of the Lakers.

— Reported by Greg Beacham of the Associated Press

Lakers GM does not blame coach for injury to Kobe

Bryant underwent surgery Saturday to treat a left Achilles tendon injury the Lakers estimate will keep him out between six to nine months. Despite Bryant playing an average of 45.6 minutes per game in the last seven contests, Kupchak doesn’t hold Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni responsible for the injury.

“I don’t think Mike is at blame here,” Kupchak said. “Even if you take Kobe out of a game, there’s a lot of times where he’ll just get up and put himself back in.”

In between quarters, Bryant would either give D’Antoni a thumbs up signaling he can play or a thumbs down showing he needs rest. Bryant usually chose the former. D’Antoni also shared Bryant’s contention that his bone spurs in his left foot would stiffen if he sat out.

That plan fell apart, though, in the waning minutes of the Lakers’ win Friday over Golden State. Bryant fell on the ground after going past Warriors forward Harrison Barnes.

D’Antoni conceded that scenario might not have happened if not for the Lakers (43-37) entering tonight’s game against San Antonio with only a one-game lead over Utah (42-38) for the Western Conference’s eighth and final playoff spot with two games remaining.

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News

Kobe Bryant vents on Facebook about his injury

Bryant took to Facebook in the wee hours of Saturday morning to vent about the injury, writing the “frustration is unbearable” but the setback will not end his career.

The 34-year-old Bryant posted about his “rage” a few hours after being hurt: “Why the hell did this happen ?!? Makes no damn sense. Now I’m supposed to come back from this and be the same player Or better at 35?!? How in the world am I supposed to do that?? ”

He added: “Maybe this is how my book ends. Maybe Father Time has defeated me…Then again maybe not!”

“One day, the beginning of a new career journey will commence. Today is NOT that day.” …

Bryant’s Facebook post continued: “If you see me in a fight with a bear, prey for the bear”. Ive always loved that quote. Thats “mamba mentality” we don’t quit, we don’t cower, we don’t run. We endure and conquer.

“I know it’s a long post but I’m Facebook Venting LOL. Maybe now I can actually get some sleep and be excited for surgery tomorrow. First step of a new challenge.”

“I have faith in my teammates. They will come thru,” he continued. “Thank you for all your prayers and support. Much Love Always. Mamba Out”

— Reported by the Associated Press