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Lakers forward Jordan Hill was examined today in Nashville by Dr. Thomas Byrd, and has scheduled surgery for tomorrow morning on his left hip.
Hill, who suffered the injury on January 6th in a game against the Denver Nuggets, has appeared in 29 games this season, averaging 6.7 points and 5.7 rebounds in 15.8 minutes.
An update, including an estimate for Hill’s recovery time, will be issued following the surgery.
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At least one person is excited about his future with the Lakers.
Metta World Peace could become a free agent in July by declining a player option for $7.7 million next season. He doesn’t plan on it.
“I want to stay here the rest of my career,” he said, and “get past this adversity. I want to finish as a Laker.”
The adversity would be the team’s 17-24 record after a 95-83 loss Monday against Chicago.
It makes sense that World Peace, 33, wants to stay. He’s almost surely not going to get more than that as a free agent next season.
But whether he finishes his career with the Lakers might not be up to him.
— Reported by Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times
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A worn-down Kobe Bryant called it a ”sub-par” performance. For the Los Angeles Lakers, it was the latest in a string of similar efforts by a struggling team.
Landry Fields had a season-high 18 points and 10 rebounds as the Toronto Raptors sent the Lakers to their fifth straight road loss, 108-103 on Sunday.
Bryant scored 26 points and Pau Gasol had 25 for the Lakers, whose road skid is their longest in six years. Dwight Howard was ejected after drawing his second technical foul with 1:18 left in the first half.
The Lakers fell behind by 15 points midway through the first quarter and lost for the eighth time in 10 games.
”We’ve got a lot of issues,” coach Mike D’Antoni said. ”Offensively the ball sticks and we don’t take very good shots. Defensively, ups and downs, we forget guys.”
Jose Calderon had 22 points and nine assists while Ed Davis had 18 points and eight rebounds for Toronto. Alan Anderson added 14 points and eight assists as the Raptors ended a four-game losing streak against the Lakers.
”That was one of the most complete games we’ve had all year, top to bottom,” Raptors coach Dwane Casey said.
Bryant made 10 of 32 shots, including 3 of 12 on 3-pointers, and complained the ”heavy legs” had dulled his shooting effort…
Steve Nash scored 16 points and Earl Clark had 14 points and 14 rebounds for the poor-shooting Lakers.
— Reported by Ian Harrison of the Associated Press
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LeBron James had 39 points and eight assists [plus seven rebounds and three steals], Dwyane Wade added 27 points on his 31st birthday and the Miami Heat held off the Los Angeles Lakers 99-90 Thursday night to finish their six-game road trip with three wins.
Ray Allen scored seven of his nine points in the final 5 minutes as the defending NBA champions repelled a late charge by the Lakers, who lost for the seventh time in nine games.
Kobe Bryant scored 13 of his 22 points in the fourth quarter for Los Angeles, which rallied for a brief lead midway through the final period before James and Allen secured the Heat’s second win in their last eight road games against the Lakers.
Dwight Howard had 13 points and 16 rebounds, but missed two key free throws with 1:51 left while Miami pulled away, capping the All-Star starting center’s 5-for-13 effort at the line. Metta World Peace scored 16 points for the Lakers, who committed 20 turnovers and didn’t score in the final 2 1/2 minutes.
Pau Gasol had 12 points and four rebounds in his return from a five-game absence with a concussion for the Lakers, who had hoped to build on consecutive victories following a six-game losing streak that knocked them well out of the Western Conference playoff picture…
James and Wade got little help until Allen’s late flurry, but they didn’t need it. Chris Bosh had just seven points and six rebounds in 35 minutes for Miami.
Bryant scored at least 20 points in his 23rd consecutive game, but the NBA’s leading scorer missed 14 of his first 17 shots.
— Reported by Greg Beacham of the Associated Press
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Kobe Bryant played relentless defense, spurring his fellow Los Angeles Lakers to do the same. Dwight Howard dominated the paint, scoring easy baskets and blocking shots against the bewildered Bucks.
Over the last two games, the Lakers have resembled the powerhouse everybody envisioned before their tumultuous season began.
They’re about to find out whether they got it together in time to compete with the Miami Heat.
Howard had 31 points and 16 rebounds, Bryant also scored 31 points and the Lakers beat Milwaukee 104-88 Tuesday night for their second straight win after a six-game skid.
Metta World Peace added 12 points as the Lakers prepared for Thursday’s visit from the NBA champion Heat with an impressive effort featuring 30-point games for both Bryant and Howard for the second time in their brief tenure together. After a similar effort against Cleveland two days earlier, the Lakers are cautiously optimistic they’ve solved a few problems.
”It’s been great,” Howard said. ”When we play the way we played these last two games, I don’t see anybody beating us. The problem is we have to do it on a consistent basis and not have any lapses during the game. We’re learning, but stuff like that takes time. The biggest thing, we’ve just got to stick together. We can’t let nothing on the outside tear us apart.” …
Monta Ellis scored 17 points for the Bucks, who lost for the second time in five games under interim coach Jim Boylan. Brandon Jennings was held to 12 points on 4-of-14 shooting by Bryant, and Milwaukee’s young star emerged from Staples Center with newfound respect for the fifth-leading scorer in NBA history.
— Reported by Greg Beachman of the Associated Press
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Two days removed from playing for the first time in a week, Lakers center Dwight Howard provided a positive prognosis surrounding his right shoulder.
“It’s fine,” he said. “I haven’t had any issues.”
Howard will play tonight when the Lakers (16-21) host the Milwaukee Bucks (19-17) at Staples Center. But Howard missed Monday’s practice in favor of getting treatment on his right shoulder, which had a separated labrum. That injury stemmed last week from the Clippers’ Caron Butler and Denver’s Andre Miller fouling him on his shoulder. Howard then missed the next three games to restrengthen the shoulder before being susceptible to more contact inside.
— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)
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Dwight Howard arrived at Staples Center expecting to sit out another game to rest his injured shoulder. He ended up helping the Los Angeles Lakers out of their longest losing streak in nearly six years, which made that shoulder feel a whole lot better.
Howard had 22 points and 14 rebounds in his return from a three-game absence, and the Lakers snapped their six-game losing streak with a 113-93 victory over the
Cleveland Cavaliers on Sunday night.
”When we play like this, we win, and we win big,” Howard said. ”We’ve just got to continue to learn from games like that, and hopefully we can just string together some wins.”
Kobe Bryant scored 23 points for the Lakers, who finally earned their first victory of 2013 while ending their longest skid since February 2007. Howard went 9 for 11 despite his torn labrum while leading Los Angeles to a comfortable victory over the lowly Cavaliers, who beat the Lakers last month.
Steve Nash said the win was ”mandatory” for the Lakers, and they played with an appropriate effort. Nash had 10 points and nine assists for the Lakers, whose skid has been severe enough to cause fans to worry about this star-packed roster’s playoff chances even in mid-January…
Irving and Dion Waiters scored 15 points apiece for Cleveland, which has lost seven of nine. Alonzo Gee added 14 points for the Cavaliers, who fell behind by 19 points in the first quarter of their second stop on a five-game West Coast road trip…
Nash hit three free throws, improving to 18 for 18 this season and increasing his minuscule lead on Mark Price for the best free throw percentage in NBA history. … Cleveland continues its road trip in Sacramento on Monday night against the Kings, who have lost four straight. … The Lakers won despite 22 turnovers, including 18 by their starting lineup.
— Reported by Greg Beacham of the Associated Press
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Lakers forward Jordan Hill was examined by team doctor Steve Lombardo and hip specialist Dr. Jason Snibbe, and underwent an arthrogram test today on his injured left hip.
Results of the test showed he has loose fragments in addition to a possible labral tear. Hill has been advised that surgery will be needed to repair the injury, and he will be out for the remainder of the season.
Hill is expected to get a second opinion before he schedules surgery.
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Vanessa is on Instagram, and she was posting a significant message on Friday that she and Kobe are officially back together.
“We are pleased to announce that we have reconciled. Our divorce action will be dismissed. We are looking forward to our future together. Kobe & Vanessa,” read the gram.
The Bryants were wed in 2000. Vanessa filed for divorce in 2011 but reconsidered.
— Reported by Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times (Blog)
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Not even a hard-fought loss against a longtime rival did little to brighten the mood of one of the more tumultuous seasons in the storied history of the Los Angeles Lakers.
Tony Parker scored 24 points and the San Antonio Spurs handed the slumping Lakers their fifth straight loss with a 108-105 victory Wednesday night.
Manu Ginobili added 19 points and Tiago Splitter and Stephen Jackson had 14 each for San Antonio (28-10), which has won 11 straight at home. Splitter also had a career-high 14 rebounds.
Kobe Bryant had 27 points, Metta World Peace added 23 and Earl Clark 22 for Los Angeles (15-20). Bryant was 10 for 24 from the field, missing a 3-pointer on his final attempt that would have tied the game. Clark missed a follow-up 3 off a long rebound…
Leonard finished with 11 points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot in 33 minutes while primarily guarding Bryant and World Peace.
”Kawhi Leonard was the start of the show as far as I’m concerned,” Spurs coach Gregg Popovich said. ”He had a great night and is getting better and better defensively and starting to find his way offensively. I thought that was great.” …
Lakers G Steve Blake (abdominal surgery) missed his 28th game of the season. Howard (shoulder), Gasol (concussion) and Hill (hip) also sat out the game. The Spurs had every player on their current roster active.
— Reported by Raul Dominguez of the Associated Press