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Know Your Enemy: The Boston Celtics

Published by Kurt on October 10, 2008 in Forum Blue & Gold. 1 Comment

Forum Blue & Gold -

Last Year Record: 66-16
Last Year Playoffs: Won NBA Championship
Offensive Rating: 110.2 (ninth in league)
Defensive Rating: 98.9 (first in league)

The rivalry with the Celtics is back. All the way back. I grew up despising all things Celtics (you had to respect Bird/McHale/Parish, but you didn’t have to like them, and I’ve always just wanted to punch Danny Ainge). Maybe that faded a little starting in the late 90s, but it is back with a vengeance now. I want to see the Celtics crushed.

With that out of the way, let’s be honest - they were the best team in the NBA last year. They won 66 games in the regular season and brought an intensity to the finals - particularly on the defensive end - that the Lakers couldn’t match. The Celtics defense was impressive, both in the team’s regular season meetings and the finals. They were aggressive on the ball, overloaded the strong side at times and were lightning quick on rotations. The help was always there. Opposing teams were forced to take 70% of their shots as jump shots, and they hit just 39.6% (eFG%) of them.

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TLN’s Post-Game Report: Lakers vs. Clippers

Published by Katie Spaeder on October 10, 2008 in Katie's Postgame. 27 Comments

Hello, Lakers Nation!

I’m Katie and I’ll be backing up Steve Avery when he’s unable to provide you with those post game reports we’ve grown to love. I’m very excited about this upcoming season and my hope is that you all enjoy what I have to say and welcome me with open arms.

Now on to my first post-game…

Well, for the first time we saw what will most likely be our starting lineup. Unfortunately, it failed to impress me. Bynum and Pau seemed to play well together, but as expected, Lamar looked lost. I’m not ready to call it a complete failure ‘cause it will take time for them to gel, but they definitely have some work to do.

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Experience the Lakers in Vegas Weekend Flyaway

Published by Jim Murdoc on October 9, 2008 in Announcements. 4 Comments

The guys over at AM570 have a extra few spots on the plane left for the Vegas Hoops Party at the Stratosphere for this Saturday through Monday!

Come join AM570’s Vic the Brick, Joe Grande, and TheLakersNation.com!

This is what you get for $570…

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Radio Hosts accuse Magic of Faking AIDS

Published by Jim Murdoc on October 10, 2008 in Articles. 0 Comments

Yahoo! Sports: A Minneapolis radio station said Friday it would air public service announcements on HIV/AIDS after a pair of talk hosts accused Magic Johnson of faking AIDS.

KTLK’s Chris Baker and Langdon Perry made the remarks during Baker’s conservative talk show on Wednesday. After Johnson condemned the statements, the station said on Friday it regretted “some off-hand remarks” by the pair.

According to a partial transcript and audio clip posted on a media watchdog site, mediamatters.org, the remarks came after a caller asserted that health care isn’t a basic right. Perry responded by asking about treatable diseases that a person can live with for a long time “if you just get some basic drugs.”

Baker responded, “Like Magic Johnson?”

Perry replied, “Like Magic with his faked AIDS. Magic faked AIDS.”

Baker said, “You think Magic faked AIDS for sympathy?”

Perry replied, “I’m convinced that Magic faked AIDS.”

“Me too,” Baker said.

Johnson issued a statement Thursday saying he was “outraged that Chris Baker and Langdon Perry would minimize such a serious and deadly issue.”

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Rumor: Can the Lakers Afford to Trade Odom?

Published by Jim Murdoc on October 9, 2008 in 2008 Off-Season. 25 Comments

Hoopsworld: Lamar Odom’s Salary Part II: I went to the expert to get a more complete breakdown on Los Angeles Lakers forward Lamar Odom’s salary. Cap guru Larry Coon was happy to oblige:

Odom signed a contract in the summer of 2003 with the Miami HEAT at a base salary of $58.5 million. In the original deal was a signing bonus of $5,781,576. According to the rules of the Collective Bargaining Agreement, signing bonuses are amortized over the life of the contract. In this case, Odom’s signing bonus counts on the cap an extra $963,596 - each and every year of his deal.

(One technical note - bonuses are not amortized over option years - player, team or ETO. In Lamar’s case this is immaterial).

Odom also benefited from a $7.425 million trade bonus when he was traded to the Lakers in 2004. That too is spread out over each year of his deal (except 2003/4 which was before the trade) - even though the money was paid up front. His trade bonus adds an additional $1.485 million to the cap each year.

To break it all down, Odom received $9 million base salary from Miami plus the entire $5,781,576 signing bonus for a total of $14,781,576 in his first and only year with the HEAT (2003/4). This manipulation from Miami was to discourage the Los Angeles Clippers from matching their offer sheet (Odom was a restricted free agent). The actual cap number for the HEAT that season was just $9,963,596.

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TLN’s Game Preview: Lakers vs. Clippers

Published by Andrew Rafner on October 9, 2008 in Varsity Shootaround. 13 Comments

After an unassuming loss to Utah Tuesday night in Anaheim, the Laker preseason Tour de Love rolls up to the bleeding heart of the Golden State’s Central Valley.

A bastion of both agriculture and a newspaper called the Bee, the Lakers venture to Fresno, California, for tonight’s second preseason contest against inter-city rivals and Staples Center co-tenants, the Los Angeles Clippers.

The Clippers come into their first preseason contest on the heels of the resignation/firing/deportation of longtime General Manager and Laker Hall of Famer Elgin Baylor, in addition to fielding a roster of which only four are returning from last season.

With newcomers Baron Davis, Marcus Camby and rookie Eric Gordon leading the new Clipper charge, the Red, White and Blue across the hall look to become something more than an afterthought in Los Angeles basketball lexicon.

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Shaquille O’Neal on Kobe Bryant

Published by Katie Spaeder on October 9, 2008 in Kobe Watch. 12 Comments

To get us prepared for the upcoming season, ESPN conducted an interviewed the one the only “Big Cactus.”

He was all praise for our MVP and team USA, and shared his thoughts on players like Kobe and LeBron getting offers to play overseas.

He was later questioned about his favorite moments with his former teams, stating “playing with one of the greatest players ever – Kobe Bryant” was his favorite when he was a Laker.

He went on to say the rivalry and tension between the two was fun and it made them play better, claiming it ultimately made it the key to their success when they won the three championships together.

The inevitable “Kobe can’t do without me” rap was brought up and Shaq being himself tried his best to blow it off saying it was entertainment and it was the media who misconstrued the whole ordeal. However, he made it clear he did personally apologize to Kobe about the incident.

TLN Pre-Season Perspective: Interviewing 3 Shades Of Blue

Published by Jonathan Somers-Harris on October 8, 2008 in Pre-Season Perspective. 0 Comments

Hey Guys,

We’re counting down the days till the start of the new season, and it’s about time for everyone to be making predictions. This year, instead of just doing one prediction, I decided to go out and interview one blogger for every NBA team.

The bloggers whose opinions we will be graced with over the next few weeks are the best of the best, as all of them have featured in Yahoo’s Ball Don’t Lie basketball blog’s Blog Association, where Kelly Dwyer has been profiling the best team-centric NBA blogs out there. If you have any inclination of increasing your knowledge about the NBA, these are the blogs you need to read and subscribe to. (I know I will be!)

Today, we are honored to interview Joshua from 3 Shades of Blue. Joshua was kind enough to impart wisdom unto us about the Grizzlies, Lakers, and the NBA in general.

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