Los Angeles Lakers Blog – Page 81 – NBA Blog

Lakers re-assign Robert Sacre to D-League

The Los Angeles Lakers have re-assigned center Robert Sacre to the Los Angeles D-Fenders of the NBA Development League, it was announced today.

Sacre has played in 13 games with the Lakers this season, averaging 0.5 points and 0.8 rebounds in 4.2 minutes.

Selected by the Lakers in the second round (60th overall pick) of the 2012 NBA Draft, Sacre finished his collegiate career at Gonzaga ranked second all-time in school history in career blocks (186), while averaging 9.4 points, 5.0 rebounds and 1.4 blocks in 135 games.

Starting at center for the D-Fenders’ first three games of the season, Sacre averaged 7.7 points, 9.7 rebounds and 1.0 blocks in 27.0 minutes. Sacre, on his third assignment with the D-Fenders this season, will join the team for tonight’s game against the Sioux Falls Skyforce (NBA Affiliates: Miami, Minnesota, Orlando, Philadelphia) at 6:30 pm in El Segundo.

Pau Gasol not seeking trade from Lakers

After he endured his fourth benching in the fourth quarter since Mike D’Antoni was hired as coach, there is no denying Los Angeles Lakers forward Pau Gasol is having a hard time fitting in with the team he once helped win two championships.

The Lakers ultimately could decide they just can’t make it work with the former four-time All-Star; however, it won’t be Gasol pushing his way out of town.

“No, oh, that’s radical,” Gasol said when asked whether he would request a trade following the Lakers’ 107-102 loss to the Los Angeles Clippers on Friday. “I still believe. I still have faith in what we have. I still have faith that I can be a big part in helping this team succeed. Right now, I’m not being able to do that very often.”

Gasol finished with just two points on 1-for-6 shooting along with four rebounds and two assists in 27 minutes against the Clippers. He sat the entire fourth quarter until Dwight Howard fouled out with 1:07 remaining and Gasol finished off the game in his stead.

— Reported by Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles

After losing 2 straight, Clippers beat Lakers

Los Angeles belongs to the Clippers right now, and they’re looking for much more than city dominance at this point.

Chris Paul had 30 points and 13 assists, Blake Griffin added 24 points, and the Clippers led all the way in a 107-102 victory on Friday night, giving them two wins in two games this season against their Staples Center co-tenants. They also stopped a two-game skid and maintained the NBA’s second-best record at 26-8.

”Right now we’re just focused on being one of the best teams in the league, not just the city,” said Lamar Odom, one of four former Lakers on the Clippers’ roster. ”Focus can’t be just to be better than one team. Now we’re trying to be great.”

Kobe Bryant scored 38 points and Dwight Howard had 21 points and 15 rebounds for the Lakers.

Bryant carried them in the fourth quarter when they closed to 99-97 on his 23-foot jumper with 1:29 left. But Paul scored the Clippers’ final eight points to seal the victory and drop the Lakers two games below .500. The Clippers lead the Lakers by 10 games in the standings…

Bryant scored 16 points in the fourth, when the Lakers rallied from 19 points down. The Clippers fouled for much of the final 5:51, and the Lakers made 10 of 12 free throws. Howard missed two foul shots but then made two to get the Lakers within four before Bryant’s jumper got the Lakers the closest they had been since early in the game…

Clippers F Jamal Crawford missed the game with a sore left foot that he hurt in Denver. … Clippers G Chauncey Billups will start working out Saturday after being out most of the season recovering from surgery.

— Reported by Beth Harris of the Associated Press

Jeanie Buss tweets engagement to Phil Jackson, shows off ring

Known for getting rings, Phil Jackson finally has given one as well.

The retired coach, who won 11 NBA titles with the Los Angeles Lakers and Chicago Bulls, is engaged to longtime girlfriend and Lakers executive Jeanie Buss.

Buss posted a picture Thursday night on her official Twitter account of her left hand with a diamond ring on her finger.

The accompanying tweet read ”Twitter family – Phil finally gave me that ring I wanted!” followed by a smiley face.

— Reported by the Associated Press

Kobe Bryant says Jamal Crawford should be Sixth Man of Year

“He gets my nomination for sixth man of the year,” Bryant said of Crawford after Thursday’s Lakers practice.

It’s quite an endorsement, though Crawford’s numbers speak pretty well for themselves.

Crawford, who comes off the bench for the Clippers, is averaging 16.5 points in 29.1 minutes a game. He was instrumental in the Clippers’ franchise-best 17-game winning streak and has helped the team to an impressive 25-8 record.

Crawford, 32, was named sixth man of the year in 2010, but he’s never made an All-Star team.

— Reported by Melissa Rohlin of the Los Angeles Times

Phil Jackson and Jeanie Buss are finally engaged

Former LA Lakers coach Phil Jackson has finally popped the question to his longtime girlfriend Jeanie Buss — after 12 years of dating — but the real question … could this affect the Zen Master’s possible coaching gig with the Brooklyn Nets?

Our Lakers source tells us the engagement went down on Christmas day, but Jeanie — daughter of Lakers owner Jerry Buss — didn’t reveal the ring until moments ago.

— Reported by TMZ.com

Patience wearing thin around the Lakers

Dwight Howard sat sullenly in front of his locker Tuesday night and tried to explain what is wrong with the Lakers. Like how can they one night can beat a team by 17 points and the next fall to the Philadelphia 76ers, 103-99?

“The games we’ve won, blowing teams out, we’ve played a certain way,” Howard said. “The games we’ve lost, we’ve played a different way, so we need to find a balance.”

Finding that equilibrium, however has been difficult for the Lakers this season. They’re up, they’re down. They’re winning, they’re losing. Mostly, however, they seem to be stuck in neutral and the frustration is mounting.

“It is frustrating,” Steve Nash said. “Obviously we haven’t been able to find that understanding. We’ve had it in moments, but overall we’re still looking for our chemistry.”

Both Howard and Nash said the team — and Lakers fans — needs to be patient.

— Reported by Janis Carr of the Orange County Register

Kobe Bryant says Lakers are old and slow

Following the Los Angeles Lakers’ 103-99 loss to the Philadelphia 76ers on New Year’s Day, Kobe Bryant had a simple answer for what has been plaguing the 15-16 Lakers this season: their age.

“‘Cause we’re old as s—,” said the 34-year-old Bryant when asked why a lack of energy has been a problem for L.A. all season. “What do you want? We just got to figure out how to play when we don’t have that energy. We got to change things up a little bit defensively. We got to figure out what we want to do offensively, figure out what we want to do on nights when we don’t have those legs or have that energy.”

The Sixers beat the Lakers on Tuesday primarily with the contributions of 22-year-old Jrue Holiday (26 points, 10 rebounds) and 24-year-old Evan Turner (22 points, 13 rebounds).

“You just saw an old damn team,” Bryant continued. “I don’t know how else to put it to you. We’re just slow. You saw a team over there that was just younger and just had fresher legs and just played with more energy, and we were just stuck in the mud. I think individually we all have to figure out how to get ourselves ready each and every game to have high level of energy. That’s all that is.”

Bryant, who has managed to lead the league in scoring this season despite being in his 17th year, said every player has to learn to create that energy individually.

— Reported by Dave McMenamin of ESPN Los Angeles

Jrue Holiday leads Sixers over Lakers 103-99

Jrue Holiday had 26 points and 10 assists, Evan Turner added 22 points and 13 rebounds, and the Philadelphia 76ers rang in the new year with a 103-99 victory over the Los Angeles Lakers on Tuesday night.

The Lakers (15-16) have matched their worst start after 31 games since the 2002-03 season, when they began defense of their third straight NBA title with a 12-19 record.

Kobe Bryant, who shifted from shooting guard to small forward five games ago in coach Mike D’Antoni’s redesigned rotation, led the Lakers with 36 points. Steve Nash added 12 points and 10 assists.

The Lakers, who tied a franchise record with 10 3-pointers in the first half of their 111-98 win at Philadelphia on Dec. 16, were 1 for 11 from 3-point range before intermission in the rematch and finished 3 for 22 from behind the arc.

Pau Gasol had 11 points and nine rebounds, but shot only 2 for 12 while playing on a sore right foot. Dwight Howard missed his first five shots and finished 1 for 7 with seven points and 14 boards. The six-time All-Star’s only field goal came with 6:15 left in the third quarter, a put-back dunk that reduced Philadelphia’s lead to 67-63…

Lakers reserve F Antawn Jamison was benched for the sixth straight game. The 15-year veteran, a two-time All-Star and former sixth man of the year (2003-04), hasn’t played since Dec. 16, when he went scoreless in 13 minutes against the 76ers.

— Reported by Joe Resnick of the Associated Press

NBA fines Dwight Howard for flagrant foul on Kenneth Faried

Los Angeles Lakers center Dwight Howard has been fined $35,000 for his Flagrant Foul Two against Kenneth Faried of the Denver Nuggets, it was announced today by Stu Jackson, Executive Vice President, Basketball Operations.

The incident, in which Howard made excessive contact with Faried above the shoulders, occurred with 5:02 remaining in the third quarter of the Lakers’ 126-114 loss to the Nuggets at Pepsi Center on December 26.