<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">Scottie Pippen wasn't the most important player during the Chicago Bulls' run to six NBA titles during the 1990s. But he's second only to Michael Jordan. "I sort of look at myself as a great player who played alongside the greatest player who ever played the game," Pippen said. The Bulls will pay tribute to Pippen by retiring his No. 33 during halftime of their game with the visiting Los Angeles Lakers. "It's hard to put it in perspective right now," Pippen said. "I'm starting to feel a little emotional about what's going to happen (tonight). Getting your number put in the rafters is always something that as a kid ... you dream of seeing happen to you." Former teammates Jordan, Dennis Rodman and Horace Grant will all be in attendance for the ceremony, as will Pippen's former coach, Phil Jackson, who went on to lead the Lakers to three championships earlier this decade. "A lot of players are coming, and having Phil here, it is always special to see him," Pippen said. Pippen spent 12 of his 17 NBA seasons with the Bulls, and leads the franchise in 3-pointers made (664) and attempted (2,031). He is second in points (15,123), field goals (5,991), field goal attempts (12,444), offensive rebounds (1,687), defensive rebounds (4,039), assists (4,494) and steals (1,792). After years of struggling in the post-Jordan era, the Bulls are trying to build off their first playoff appearance since 1998. Chicago is coming off a 102-93 win over the Orlando Magic on Wednesday night, playing without point guard Kirk Hinrich for the first time this season. Hinrich did not make the trip to Orlando after sustaining a concussion against Dallas on Monday night. Coach Scott Skiles believes he'll be ready to play against the Lakers. "I would imagine he'll play (on Friday), but he's still day-to-day right now," Skiles said on Wednesday. Without Hinrich, the Bulls relied on their bench players to supply some offense. Jannero Pargo scored a season-high 23 points on 9-of-13 shooting, including 5-of-8 on 3-pointers, and Luol Deng continued his stellar play off the bench with 22 points on 8-for-16 shooting, grabbing a season-high 10 rebounds. Deng, who averaged 12.7 points on 42.8 percent shooting and 5.0 rebounds in his first 13 games, is putting up 23.4 points on 56.5 percent shooting and 8.4 rebounds in his last four contests. The Lakers have won three straight games, including Wednesday's 102-91 victory over Toronto. Kobe Bryant, who sat out most of the fourth quarter, scored a season-low 11 points in only 26 minutes as Los Angeles had the game in hand for most of the second half. The Lakers have lost three of their last four visits to the United Center. Bryant averages 26.0 points career against Chicago, his second-best against any opponent. Los Angeles is 2-0 on a six-game road trip. STANDINGS (through Dec. 8): Lakers - 4th place, 4 GB, Pacific Division. Bulls - 5th place, 5 GB, Central Division. PROBABLE STARTERS: Lakers - F Sasha Vujacic, F Lamar Odom, C Chris Mihm, G Bryant, G Smush Parker. Bulls - F Andres Nocioni, F Mike Sweetney, C Tyson Chandler, G Chris Duhon, G Ben Gordon. TEAM LEADERS: Lakers - Bryant, 31 ppg; Odom, 9.7 rpg and 5.8 apg. Bulls - Gordon and Deng, 15.2 ppg; Chandler, 8.8 rpg; Hinrich, 6.6 apg. SEASON SERIES: Bulls, 1-0. LAST MEETING: Nov. 20, Bulls 96-93. At Los Angeles, Duhon scored a team-high 21 points and the Bulls went on an 11-1 run in the final four minutes to beat the Lakers despite Bryant's 43 points. ROAD/HOME RECORDS: Lakers - 5-4 on the road; Bulls - 4-3 at home.</div> link:http://sports.yahoo.com/nba/preview;_ylt=A...?gid=2005120904
As long as Lakers play they same way they have for the past two games, this should be a piece of cake for them.
The Bulls are pretty banged up right now. Luol Deng lost a tooth curteosy of Dirk Nowitzki Kirk Hinrich had a concussion curteosy of Dirk Nowitzki Tyson Chandler is having breathing problems Ben Gordon has a bum ankle Lakers are on a role, albeit against two of the worst defensive teams in the league. However, there will be motivation tonight to spoil Pippen's jersey retirement ceremony. I also like the Lakers tonight if they can play efficiently on offense. Fortunately, the starters didn't have to play heavy minutes in the Raptor blowout, so everyone should be fresh tonight.
Lakers looked pretty sharp this game. Forced alot of turnovers in the 4th quarter especially. Great bench production, while Kobe, Odom, Parker, and Mihm were on the bench, the bench boys kept the Bulls deficit at 8-10 points for a few minutes. Great ball movement on the offense, looked much like 1999-2004 Phil Jackson Lakers. Hats off to Luke Walton for making the awesome passes. A tip of the cap to Brian Cook for being a sharpshooter. and a congradulations to Scottie Pippen for getting his number 33 retired in the United Center. Is it just me, or does Luke Walton trying to follow in his dad's footsteps in regards to hair and facial hairstyles? He's got some sideburns comin in deep to the chin and his hair is as nappy as ever. Anyway lakers look as if they are about to win with 1 minute left and the lead is 12 for LA.
Nice win by the Lakers, they took an early lead again in the game and beat the Bulls with a balanced attack. The defense was outstanding tonight despite Chris Mihm getting into some b.s. foul trouble. The guy cannot catch a break when the whistle blows. Kobe Bryant was getting everyone involved and his teammates delivered. I think the Lakers had 15 assists on their first 19 shots, and Kobe led the way with 5 of them. Now we need to get some revenge on the TWolves and keep the streak alive.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">CHICAGO, Dec. 9 (Ticker) -- Kobe Bryant continues to learn that sharing the ball leads to wins. Bryant collected 23 points and eight assists as the Los Angeles Lakers won their fourth straight game and spoiled ceremonies honoring Scottie Pippen with a 93-80 triumph over the Chicago Bulls. NBA TV highlights from Lakers-Bulls: Play Criticized for dominating the ball perhaps more than any player in the league, Bryant has been more of a distributor during the winning streak. The NBA's second-leading scorer had a season-high nine assists - and a season-low 11 points - in Wednesday's win at Toronto. "It has just been patience," Bryant said. "We have said from the beginning that it is a process. This offense is a complicated one, especially for a young team. We have been patient with each other and we continue to work hard, things are starting to come together a little bit." Despite scoring just one point in the opening period Friday, Bryant dished out five assists as Los Angeles took a 33-19 lead into the second quarter thanks to 11 points from Smush Parker. Lamar Odom scored 19 points for the Lakers, who never trailed, ruining a festive atmosphere in the United Center. Bryant also tied his season best with nine rebounds. Kirk Hinrich scored a season-high 26 points for the Bulls, who cut the deficit to 72-68 entering the final period. Michael Sweetney added 22 points for Chicago, which was playing without leading scorer Ben Gordon (sprained right knee). Brian Cook, Bryant and Laron Profit scored six points apiece in the fourth quarter as the Lakers pulled away. Cook scored 16 points. "I can score in bunches sometimes," Cook said. "(Bulls center) Tyson Chandler is a roamer on defense because he likes to go block shots, so we just spread the floor out. I was then able to get to my spots and Kobe found me." "We would make a bucket and cut into the lead and then didn't get into them back on defense," Sweetney said. "Kobe Bryant then became Kobe Bryant. He is going to get his shots." Bryant was also a pest on the defensive end by holding Chris Duhon and Andres Nocioni to a combined six points. "I take pride in my defense, "Bryant said. "I like getting up on people and make them uncomfortable. If they are going to score, they have to make a big play to get around me." At halftime, Pippen, one of the NBA's 50 Greatest Players and a key member of Chicago's six championship teams in the 1990s, had his No. 33 retired by the Bulls and hoisted to the rafters. Lakers coach Phil Jackson, who coached those teams, took part in the ceremonies. "I don't know if we rode the ceremony to victory or just caught them flat," Jackson said. "There is something to be learned from it. The camaraderie between the players who won all these championships was very evident." "It was an honor to be here and see it in person." Bryant said.</div> Source Box score Man am I glad to see them win again, and in this fashion. I hope Bryant has understood by now that he needs to trust his teammates more often and be willing to give them the ball. He is still shooting under 50%, but he is attempting 15 shots less than usual.
If LA gets just one more star in midseason, they WILL be one of the most feared teams. EXCELLENT win, lets take it against Minnesota tonight to, give Garnett a taste of his future team...lol.
