Los Angeles Lakers Rosters, Statistics, Records, News, and More!
Lakers Off To Fast Start!
10.31.08
The Lakers are off to a fast start this season, thanks to a rejuvenated commitment at the defensive end, as well as a willingess to share the basketball.
The team has thoroughly dominated its first two opponents, a season-opening win against Portland 97-76 on Tuesday, and a demolshing of the Clippers, 117-79 on Wednesday night. The domination has also come on both ends of the floor as the Lakers have allowed just 36.4% shooting from the field, and have outrebounded both teams 100-76.
They have also shared the ball consistently, as evidenced by seven players being in double figures in points against the Clippers, and Kobe Bryant hasn’t been forced to shoulder the offensive load, averaging just 19.5 points and 32 minutes through the first two games. They also dished out 28 assists as a team in the win over the Clips.
The Lakers have one of their deepest teams in years, which should be a recipe for success if they can stay healthy. There are few teams that can go 10-12 deep in their roster and still get healthy contributions from guys at the end of the bench like the Lakers can.
Andrew Bynum in the middle will help a team that was pushed around inside by the more physical Boston Celtics in last year’s NBA Finals. The concerns about the team’s toughness up front should not be an issue this season, as long as Bynum can remain healthy. And the Lakers hope he can since they just signed him to a 4-year/$58 million extension this week.
Eighty-two games is a lot of basketball, but if the Lakers’ start to the campaign is any indication of how this season will go, Laker fans may once again get to enjoy one of those parade thingies down Figueroa in June.
2008-2009 NBA Schedule Out!
08.06.08
The 2008-2009 NBA schedule was released today by the league. The Lakers will open the regular season against Portland at Staples Center on October 28, 2008.
The Lakers playing on Christmas Day has become a yearly tradition, and again they will take center stage this year, hosting the World Champion Boston Celtics in a rematch of last year’s NBA Finals.
The Lakers will also appear on the ABC national telecast five times, 10 times on TNT, and 10 more times on ESPN. The team closes out their 82-game schedule at home to Utah on April 14th.
It is worthy to note that the Lakers have two brutal trips where they play 7-straight on the road, once from January 30 – February 8, and then March 21 – April 1.
To see the complete schedule, go to our 2008-2009 Lakers Regular Season Schedule/Results.
Lakers Keep The Machine!
07.25.08
According to the Riverside Press-Enterprise, the Lakers have signed restricted free-agent guard Sasha Vujacic to a three year contract, worth $15 million.
The signing comes just one week after the Lakers failed to match the Warriors’ 4-year, $17 million deal for their other restricted free-agent, forward Ronny Turiaf. There were also serious rumblings from Vujacic’s camp that he may return to Europe for more money.
The Lakers originally offered a 3-year, $12 million deal that Vujacic and his agent turned down, and then threatened to accept an offer from a team in the Europe if they didn’t get a better one from the Lakers.
“The Machine” had his best season last year, as he averaged 8.8 points and 43.8% of his 3-pointers off the bench for the Western Conference champs. He also had a very memorable Game 3 of the NBA Finals, where he scored 20 points and nailed a clutch 3-pointer in the final minutes to give the Lakers the victory.
Management’s goal this offseason was to keep both Turiaf and Vujacic, and after they lost one, they wanted to make sure they kept one of their top bench players, and their most prolific long-range shooter. They did.
It’s Official: Lakers Don’t Match Offer For Turiaf
07.18.08
It’s finally official. Lakers forward Ronny Turiaf, is now former-Lakers forward Ronny Turiaf, as the team declined to match his 4-year, $17 million deal with the Golden State Warriors.
According to ESPN.com, the contract the Warriors offered would have pushed the Lakers further into the luxury tax for being over the salary cap.
Turiaf spent three years as a Laker, his best being this past season where he played in 78 games and averaged 6.6 points, 3.9 rebounds, and 1.38 blocks per game off of the bench.
His enthusiasm and energetic play will be missed, but it had became apparent this week that his days with the Lakers were numbered.
Lakers Trying to Land Artest?
07.11.08
According to the Sacramento Bee, the Lakers have contacted the Kings about a trade for mercurial forward Ron Artest.
Details of the deal are sketchy, but it appears the Lakers are offering Lamar Odom for Artest, and forward Kenny Thomas. The Kings would love to get rid of Thomas’ $18 million salary over the next two years, but it’s questionable whether the Lakers would take that on considering they are already over the salary cap.
It is also very questionable whether the Kings would agree to make a trade with the Lakers considering the teams’ intense dislike for each other, and the fact they reside in the same division. Odom’s $14-million salary does come of the books after next season, which does make him an attractive trade piece.
It’s no secret that Artest likes the Lakers and is good friends with Kobe Bryant. The Lakers could definitely use his perimeter defense and tenacity on that end of the court. He’s also a dependable scorer and can hit from beyond the 3-point line.
Stay tuned for further developments if something should break.
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