The Official LA LAKERS thread!!

[chaddy42]

Series tied at 2 all - Lakers still with HCA.

This one only turned into a 19 pt game in the final minutes. Lakers got within single figures, rolled the dice on a couple of 3s, and lost.

I'd rather be in the Lakers position than the Cavs!

 

[WoobieZarz]

Just saw some highlights...And well.....


Dantay Jones what an absolute JOKE of a PLAYER.....Cant Defend Kobe so he decides to trip him instead???WTF????And the push in the back in GM3 i mean seriously?What are the REFS doing just letting this sorta stuff go???

Ask and ye shall recieve!

Denver Nuggets guard Dahntay Jones is on the brink of a one-game suspension after the NBA upgraded his Game 4 trip of Kobe Bryant to a flagrant foul.

The foul -- deemed a Flagrant 1 by the league office -- is Jones' third flagrant of the postseason and his second in the past two games in the Western Conference finals. That gives Jones three flagrant-foul points in the playoffs, with players who exceed three flagrant-foul points receiving an automatic one-game ban.

The league does not formally announce its rulings on such fouls, but the Nuggets confirmed Tuesday that Jones' trip has been reclassified as a Flagrant 1.

Lakers coach Phil Jackson complained loudly about the trip after Game 4, accusing Jones of "unacceptable defense, tripping guys and playing unsportsmanlike basketball."

Because all flagrant fouls are automatically reviewed by league officials, Andrew Bynum's fourth-quarter Flagrant 1 against Denver's Chris Andersen was also getting a second look before Wednesday's Game 5. A follow-up review of Anthony Johnson's Game 3 elbow to Mo Williams' eye in the Orlando-Cleveland series led to the hit being downgraded from a flagrant foul to a personal foul.

Asked if he thought Jones' trip was deliberate, Bryant quipped: "I just fell on my face for no reason. I'm a klutz."

The trip..
[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z6BWYMjTs3c"]YouTube - 05-25-2009 Dahntay Jones trips Kobe Bryant on purpose!![/ame]

Looks on purpose to me.

 

[ozballer23]

more info on the jones foul - NBA.com: PLAYOFFS 2009

Phil Jackson also fined for criticizing the refs...

Nuggets' Jones given flagrant foul after tripping Kobe

Posted May 26 2009 6:10PM

DENVER (AP) -- A day later, the NBA blew the whistle on Dahntay Jones for tripping Kobe Bryant.



The league assessed Denver's defensive specialist a flagrant-1 foul for sending the Lakers' star sprawling through the lane with a trip late in the third quarter that Bennett Salvatore's officiating crew missed.

Los Angeles coach Phil Jackson complained about Jones' "unacceptable defense, tripping guys and playing unsportsmanlike basketball" during a rant about the officiating after Los Angeles fell 120-101 to Denver to tie the Western Conference finals at 2.

Asked if he felt Jones went out of his way to trip Bryant, Jackson replied: "Yes. It's not the first time it's happened in this series."

Bryant kept things light when asked if Jones tried to trip him.

"I just fell on my face for no reason," he said. "I'm a klutz."

Was Jones playing him dirty?

"Good defense," Bryant said.

Bryant had beaten Jones cutting to the basket when Jones stuck out his right foot.

Jones called it an accident, an instinctive move that lacked any malice or even forethought.

"It wasn't intentional," said Jones, who was at a loss to explain his actions.

"I can't. I was just playing basketball. We got tangled up."

Nuggets coach George Karl went to the film room to watch the play after the game.

"It was a weird reaction by Dahntay," Karl said. "I don't think it was premeditated and not in any context other then he got off balance, Kobe back-doored him, he looked like he slipped a little bit and it looked like he kicked out."

Jones had no explanation for extending his leg.

"Every movement that I have out there is not something I can explain. I'm just playing basketball, just reacting," Jones said. "I think he cut, so I guess I was trying to get my upper body position back there and we got tangled up."

Karl felt relieved that the league didn't suspend his top defender for Game 5 Wednesday night in L.A.

"I'm glad it just was a flagrant and no suspension," Karl said. "I don't think this series is anything but a pretty even, NBA playoff series. They're not liking us, we're not liking them and it's not getting any kinder. It's going to be harder, tougher and meaner."

Karl said the league is toeing a thin line, however, by imposing a foul that wasn't whistled in the game.

"I don't think the precedent is good. If Bennett Salvatore saw that play would he have called a flagrant? I think he would have called a foul, but I don't think he would have called a flagrant," Karl said. "I think the mood of the game is being overridden by the mood of the office. I'm not sure that's the right precedent."

Jackson is the second coach to call Jones dirty during the Playoffs, joining Byron Scott of the Hornets, who said the same thing in the first round, when Jones relentlessly hounded Chris Paul.

"I wouldn't expect them to call me the greatest player in the world," Jones retorted.

The Nuggets' defensive-first philosophy and physical style of play has produced plenty of critics, including Mavericks owner Mark Cuban and his team's fans, who filled the arena with chants of "Den-ver Thug-gets!" during the semifinals.

"Everybody knows how we use him," Karl said. "We sic him on the best perimeter guy. That's his job, that's his assignment. A Bruce Bowen mentality and he's done a good job with it. He's done well with it."

And although Bryant is still scoring at a fantastic pace, the Nuggets are wearing him out, and Jones is playing a big part in that.

"If I was Kobe I wouldn't want him to cover me. He's a pain, he's a nag, he's always bothering you," Karl said. "He has a good defensive base, he has a good stance. He's professional, whatever we want him to do from fronts to denials he's willing to do. I think he's doing as good a job as anyone on our team."

Jones isn't backing down from his detractors.

"They know there's a presence there and I'm going to play hard and I'm going to scrap and I'm going to try to help my team win, so whatever you want to call it," Jones said. "We call it playing hard."

 

[pennysdaman]

Scotty it does look VERY on purpose!!!As soon as Kobe got past him he followed him with his foot for the intentional trip i mean it was that clear when it happened not so sure why it has taken the NBA so long to get the call right??

 

[*Oz]

Scotty it does look VERY on purpose!!!As soon as Kobe got past him he followed him with his foot for the intentional trip i mean it was that clear when it happened not so sure why it has taken the NBA so long to get the call right??

Exactly. I couldn't care less if it was a 'reflex action' without thinking. A reflex action for a boxer is to counter, I know that's a bit of a dramatic comparison but you get the point. Whether Jones thought, 'I'm gonna trip him' or just did it without thinking, it's besides the point and after 2 incidents with this guy he deserves to be punished.

Not that it will effect the outcome of Game 5. Mark my Words.

Damn, it wasn't so long ago Rondo got away with it twice, these are highly different plays and I'm not comparing them, I'm just saying it's great to know that the NBA has messed up and has no intent to correct future mistakes...

And even if they've corrected it, why does it take two incidents for something to happen?

---------- Post added at 11:02 PM ---------- Previous post was at 10:59 PM ----------

Anyway, enough of that. With the new addition of the 'post adding feature', I'll add;

Bring on Game 5!

 

[GoldenBoy23]

pretty much another close game for the lakers and nuggets. It's nice to watch NBA players bringing their A-game during the playoffs.

 

[chaddy42]

A MUCH better start by the Lakers bench.

Scores tied at the half with Kobe having taken just the 4 shots...I'd take that so far.

We need a big second half...I don't just want a win, I want to send a statement to the Thuggets.

 

[loafic]

gee kobe has started efficiently 3-4fg & 5-5ft for 11 first half points to lead the team... very even game so far... both benches have contributed early

 

[WoobieZarz]

How big is Odom right now!!!

Making some big plays on both ends. Lakers up by 10 less than 8 mins to go....

EDIT:
Odd, Anderson picks up his 4th, so they replace him with Nene who has 5??? I would have thought Nene would have been a better choice to "Save"?

6 Mins to go, Denver already over the limit.

Lakers back up by 10......

 

[chadjaja]

There's the break you wanted from the refs. Pau with the forearm not given the charge it was. Nene out.

 

[WoobieZarz]

Nuggets forced to go small, suprised Bynum's not in yet...

Spose, with Gasol & Odom with 5 & 4 blocks respectively, why bring in Bynum.

 

[chaddy42]

Now THAT'S the team effort we have been looking for (except for the anti-guard). Odom shows up, Gasol comes up big with 5 blocks...and now we head into game 6 with a 3-2 lead.

One more solid game, and we are back in the finals...this time against the Magic.

 

[GoldenBoy23]

lakers all the way... nice game by Odom.

 

[*Oz]

There's the break you wanted from the refs. Pau with the forearm not given the charge it was. Nene out.

Yep, it was an offensive foul if anything, no doubt about it. But just as everyone has been saying; 'It's been going both ways'. No flagrant on Melo either...

That was a beautiful thing to watch. We hung in there and went back and fourth the whole game. Dominated the boards down the stretch, getting the bigs invoved and exploiting our strengths and their weeknesses, Odom coming through and playing to the level we expect and just about everyone on the bench hitting the shots we need them to when called upon. Combine that with what Kobe brings every night. When they play at that level you are watching the best team in the NBA right now with 'arguably' the best player in the NBA.

We can end this in Denver, this should not go 7 games if they really want to advance. Send a message to the Cavs/Magic and take this in 6 in Denver because if we're to be playing in a weeks time we'll need to win some tough games on the road.

I'm pretty happy with that, a loss tonight would have been one game closer to vacation.

Up 3 - 2. I'm loving it.

---------- Post added at 02:04 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:02 PM ----------

On a side note; Couldn't help but notice Ron Artest in the crowd. Hope he enjoyed the show, I guess he's Kobe's biggest fan again...

 

[ozballer23]

Just got home and saw the scoreline, watched the highlights, impressive win by the Lakers! Great to see them up 3-2!

 

[loafic]

looks like after all the bagging the lakers have been copping, they are dealing with the nugs quite well overall... theyve really got the better of the paint, with their big men gasol, odom, even bynum outplaying particularly nene but also kenyon and birdman...

 

[WoobieZarz]

Looks like JR Smith might finally do something in this series, he's keeping the Nuggets in this one with 13 points in the 2nd.

Lakers need to fire up soon.... I know it's in Denver, but they really need to take this game.

 

[ozballer23]

Looks like JR Smith might finally do something in this series, he's keeping the Nuggets in this one with 13 points in the 2nd.

Lakers need to fire up soon.... I know it's in Denver, but they really need to take this game.

He just top co-top scored for the nuggets in game 4

 

[WoobieZarz]

KOBE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Way to close out the half. His first triple, then a buzzer-beating blocked shot! Nice work!

Smith cooled off, Billups started knocking down a couple, and Ariza has 3 personals. Only 13 points in it, but it's the type of lead that can be brought back quickly, or turned into a blow-out.

 

[chaddy42]

I'm predicting that is the first of many Ts for the Thuggets in this half...look out for at least one ejection too.