Lakers prepare for back-to-back blitz vs. Thunder (The Associated Press) LOS ANGELES (AP) If the Los Angeles Lakers can just shake the memory of the disastrous final two minutes of Game 2, they'll find plenty of reasons in the first 46 minutes to be encouraged about their chances this weekend against Oklahoma City.
Create-a-Caption: ‘Vengeance is mine,’ quoth Alvis (Ball Don't Lie) So, we tried something a little bit different for today's Create-a-Caption.
After this morning's post on James Harden's inadvertent "remember me?" elbow on Metta World Peace during Wednesday night's Western Conference semifinal contest between the Oklahoma City Thunder and Los Angeles Lakers drew a fair bit of interest, we decided to ask followers of the Yahoo! Sports Facebook page and @YahooSports Twitter account for their captions on the above photo of the aftermath, just to expand the C-a-C studio space a bit. And we got some good ones , too. Like, for example:
Ryan S. : ‎"Anything you can do, I CAN DO BETTER!"
Melissa S. : "And the Thunder rolls ... through a jaw or two!"
Alex B. : ‎"Damn, James, what's that nasty smell coming outta your beard?"
Thayer L. : "If you had a beard like mine, that wouldn't have hurt."
And so on.
Now, listen. I know some of you longtime C-a-C'ers, who have fought through my grading and layout changes and the capriciousness of the Y! commenting system, might find this untoward. Unfair. Unruly. Unkempt. Unclean. Unctuous. Uncy Herb.
BUT!
I know you guys have some ideas that you're just itching to let fly on this one. AND I know you're still driven by the thrill of victory and terrified by the agony of an elbow in the nose.
So let's hear it. How would you caption this photo, dear readers? Caption wins a beautiful tale on a lovely winter's night .
In our last adventure : Coach Del Negro can't even find the knobs on this Etch-a-Sketch.
Sparks-Storm Preview (The Associated Press) The Seattle Storm got only 13 games from three-time MVP Lauren Jackson last season while the Los Angeles Sparks received 17 from 2008 MVP Candace Parker.
Andrew Bynum after 9-0 Thunder run beats Lakers: ‘We’re better than Santa Claus’ (Ball Don't Lie) After an Andrew Bynum bucket with 2:08 remaining in the fourth quarter, the Los Angeles Lakers looked to be sitting pretty. They held a seven-point lead over the Oklahoma City Thunder thanks to nearly 46 minutes of gritty ground-and-pound that made the postseason's best offense — yes, the Thunder entered Wednesday night averaging more points per 100 playoff possessions than even the San Antonio Spurs — look disjointed and stale.
OKC had hit just 39.7 percent of its shots en route to 68 measly points two nights after scoring 119 in Game 1 , and didn't appear to be anywhere near gettng well against a Laker team that had held them to just 20 second-half points. Unfortunately for the Lakers, appearances can be deceiving.
Whether you'd like to laud Kevin Durant for the win, damn Kobe Bryant for the loss, do neither or choose both, the fact remains that Oklahoma City went on a 9-0 run in the final 128 seconds to score a 77-75 Game 2 win , take a 2-0 lead in their Western Conference semifinal series and deliver a serious haymaker to L.A.'s spirits as they head home for Friday night's Game 3. The Lakers blew this one, and their center knows it.
Bynum (20 points on 8-of-19 shooting and nine rebounds in the loss) said as much with a sharp, somewhat curious postgame turn of phrase that was shared by the Lakers' Twitter account and later expounded upon by Sekou Smith at NBA.com's Hang Time blog :
The Lakers led 75-68 with two minutes to play with the game seemingly in hand. But instead of the veteran Lakers salting this one away with Kobe Bryant finishing the deal, the Lakers lost control of the game and basically gave it away.
"We're better than Santa Claus giving out gifts," said Lakers center Andrew Bynum. "We like giving out gifts. We give out games, contracts and rings."
"We give out games, contracts and rings." What's that about?
James Harden elbows Metta World Peace in the face on the sneak tip (VIDEO) (Ball Don't Lie) It's just like my dude Marie Joseph Eugène Sue wrote in "Mathilde" — "La vengeance se mange très-bien froide." (Some people might know "Revenge is a dish best served cold" from "The Godfather," but I feel pretty confident that the Thursday morning crowd at BDL has its "1841 French novels" game on lock.) Twenty-five days isn't necessarily that deep a freeze, but the elbow that James Harden put in the middle of the face of Metta World Peace during the Oklahoma City Thunder's Game 2 win on Wednesday probably still felt pretty arctic to the Los Angeles Lakers forward.
[ Johnny Ludden: Lakers' Kobe Bryant fails in crunch time against the Thunder ]
Coming with the shot clock winding down during a late first-quarter scramble situation and resulting from a Harden behind-the-back dribble to evade a World Peace steal attempt, the left 'bow — captured above by our friends at the Yahoo! Sports Minute — seemed unintentional and was clearly nowhere near as violent as the World Peace shot that floored, concussed and sidelined Harden four Sundays ago. Still, you don't imagine Harden minded creating the contact too much; somewhere beneath all that beard, there may even have been a trace of a smile.
[ Create-a-Caption: Y! fans weigh in on Harden's elbow ]
Of course, because no act of physicality visited upon the former Ron Artest can expect to simply slide past, MWP came back in the second quarter with an answer befitting wrestling legend Stan "The Lariat" Hansen:
Thunder rally to edge Lakers 77-75 in Game 2 (The Associated Press) OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) Down in desperation time, Oklahoma City Thunder coach Scott Brooks called on Kevin Durant to show that he's more than just a three-time scoring champion. And that meant guarding one of the NBA's all-time best.
The Los Angeles Lakers are a professional basketball team based in Los Angeles , California, who play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). The Lakers are notable for having (at the end of the 2005-06 season) the most wins (2,806), the highest winning percentage (61.5%), the most finals appearances (28), and the second most championships (14) of any franchise.[1] They also hold the record for the longest consecutive win streak (33) in U.S. professional team sports.[2]
Who owns the Los Angeles Lakers? Who owns the Los Angeles Lakers? Learn about Jerry Buss who owns the Lakers. Jerry Buss also owns the Los Angeles Sparks and is a fixture on the Los Angeles Poker scene.
Los Angeles Lakers Home arenas: Minneapolis Auditorium (1947-1959)
Minneapolis Armory (1959-60)
(Due to scheduling conflicts, the Lakers actually played in both the Auditorium and the Armory throughout the 1947-60 period. They also played some games in the St. Paul Auditorium.)
Los Angeles Memorial Sports Arena (1960-1967)
The Forum (formerly Great Western Forum from 1988-2000) (1967-1999) Staples Center (1999-present)
Staples Center is a multipurpose sports arena in Downtown Los Angeles, California at the Los Angeles Sports and Entertainment District. The Staples Center located next to the Los Angeles Convention Center complex. Staples Center was financed privately at a cost of $375 million USD and is named for the Staples office-supply company, one of the center's corporate sponsors that paid for naming. Check out our Staples Center seating chart.
Lakers notable players:
Kobe Bryant (born August 23, 1978 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, U.S.) is an NBA All-Star GAME shooting guard in the National Basketball Association who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. Kobe Bryant is the son of former Philadelphia 76ers player and current Los Angeles Sparks head coach Joe "JellyBean" Bryant. He rose to national prominence as he became the first guard to be drafted out of high school in league history. Bryant was ranked #59 on SLAM magazine's Top 75 NBA Players of all time in 2003.
Pau Gasol
(born July 6, 1980, in Barcelona , Spain) Paul Gasol Sáez is a 2.13 m (7'0") Spanish basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association.
On February 1, 2008, Gasol was traded to the Los Angeles Lakers for Kwame Brown, Javaris Crittenton, Aaron McKie, rights to Marc Gasol (coincidently Pau's younger brother), and 2008 and 2010 first round draft picks.
Andrew Bynum (Born Oct 27, 1887) Andrew Bynum is a legit 7 footer with great mobility. Offensively Andrew Bynum has a small but solid set of post moves, including a very effective baby hook. He is very good at backing down players into the low post and ending with a slam or short hook…Defensively, Bynum is a load in the paint. Although not a prolific shot blocker, Bynum is adept at altering shots and forcing teams to shoot the outside shot. However, he is yet to face a player his size, so his one on one defense has not been truly tested…With time he should develop into an excellent shot blocker…The thing to remember here is that players with his size and mobility are a rarity.
Luke Walton Luke Walton (born March 28, 1980 in San Diego, California) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the NBA. His position is small forward.
NBA Future: Kevin Durant Kevin Durant His upside is out of this world ... This kid is not even begining to scratch the surface of his potential ... Looking at him you see his frame is going to fill out in 3-4 years ... Very fluid athlete with explosiveness ... He plays hard and is still learning the game ...
Lakers Blow Golden Opportunity: Fan Reaction The Los Angeles Lakers had a chance to make a statement in Game 2. After getting absolutely destroyed in Game 1, the Lakers had a golden opportunity to steal a game in Oklahoma City and plant some seeds of doubt in the minds of the Thunder. With two minutes remaining, Los Angeles had a seven-point lead. The NBA is a league where teams can score points in a hurry, but a seven-point lead with two ...
Fan’s Take – Why the Lakers Were Right to Choose Kobe Bryant Over Shaquille O’Neal It's been years now since the Los Angeles Lakers made a choice to keep Kobe Bryant and let Shaquille O'Neal go to Miami. The Hollywood drama has seeped out of the Lakers locker room since that trade. O'Neal and Bryant seem to have come to an understanding. Yet, with a Lakers team on the verge of another potential postseason break-up ("Kobe's Late Mistakes"), the "what if" scenarios surrounding ...
PBT: Don't blame Blake for Lakers' Game 2 meltdown The Lakers were up 7 points with 2 minutes to go. And lost. And by lost, I mean lost any real chance at the series. Do you really think the Lakers can win four of the next five games?
PBT: Lakers fail to finish and just might be done PBT: Kobe Bryant and the Lakers let victory slip through their fingers in a 77-75 loss to the Thunder and now face a daunting 2-0 deficit as the series heads to Los Angeles.
Thunder 77, Lakers 75 OKLAHOMA CITY -- The Los Angeles Lakers gave everything they had, and it still wasn't enough.
Lakers crumble late in Game 2 loss to Thunder Turnovers and sloppy defensive play hurt the Lakers in the final minutes as Oklahoma City rallies to a 77-75 victory and a 2-0 series lead. The old, plow-horse Lakers had the game won. They were about to defeat Oklahoma City and send the series back to L.A. tied at 1-1.
Will Mike Brown Be Coaching the Los Angeles Lakers in 2012-2013? Quote Roundup After the Los Angeles Lakers' near defeat in their opening playoff series against the Denver Nuggets, the Lakers got dismantled by the Oklahoma City Thunder in Game 1 of the Western Conference Semifinals. This sparked a lot of chatter in the forums on ProSportsDaily.com about how the Lakers should fire Mike Brown this offseason.
Lakers Must Shift the Momentum: Fan Reaction After Game 1, the Los Angeles Lakers looked like they did not have a chance in this series against the Thunder. However, fans know that a seven-game series can quickly change direction as momentum shifts and certain players start to get hot. On paper, the Oklahoma City Thunder are the better team, and they showed it in Game 1 as they pounded the Lakers. Still, the Lakers have the talent and the ...
Lakers' Ebanks and Bynum each fined by the league (Reuters) - Los Angeles Lakers players Devin Ebanks and Andrew Bynum were each fined by the National Basketball Association for separate violations, the league said on Wednesday. Ebanks was fined $25,000 for his actions before and after his ejection from the Lakers' 119-90 loss to the Oklahoma City Thunder in the opening game of their Western Conference semi-final series on Monday. The Lakers ...
Disclaimer: We are not affiliated with the Los Angeles Lakers, NBA, any pro sports team or any organizations. We do not have contact with any of the players listed on this site and will not contact them. All images used on this site
are properties of thier respected owners. All images on this site are for entertainment purposes only. We are just huge fans of the Los Angeles Lakers and thats all. We just got tired of seeing alot of bad Los Angeles Lakers websites so we decided to make
one. We hope you like it, if you dont oh well the Lakers still rule.
