GAME THREAD: NBA: LA LAKERS (7-4) at BOSTON (9-1)

NBA: LA LAKERS (7-4) at BOSTON (9-1)

<h3>Bryant faces new-look Celtics for first time</h3>

LA Lakers (7-4) at Boston (9-1) 7:30 pm EST


BOSTON (Ticker) -- If the Los Angeles Lakers are going to cooloff the Boston Celtics, they may need Kobe Bryant's bestperformance.


Bryant looks to help the Lakers bounce back in the finale of athree-game road swing when they meet the surging Celtics onFriday.


On Wednesday, Los Angeles saw its four-game winning streak cometo an end in a 110-103 loss to the Milwaukee Bucks despite 27points from Bryant, a two-time scoring champion.


"We didn't shoot the ball well," Lakers coach Phil Jackson said."We had guys shooting that shouldn't have been shooting downthe stretch."


Boston continues to enjoy early success on the shoulders of its"Big Three" of Paul Pierce, Kevin Garnett and Ray Allen.

Most recently, the trio combined for 60 points to help theCeltics coast to an easy 105-82 victory over the Golden StateWarriors on Wednesday here.


Los Angeles has won the three previous three meetings in thisseries, including the last two matchups on the road. Bryantaveraged 40.5 points in both contest a season ago.

 

Re: NBA: LA LAKERS (7-4) at BOSTON (9-1)

pierce/posey will lock DOWN kobe...he'll score his points but i predict a shooting percentage of between 30% and 40% for him</p>

 

Re: NBA: LA LAKERS (7-4) at BOSTON (9-1)

Yeah I think he'll get anywhere from 30 to 45. But they'll lose. (or shall I say I hope they lose) lol</p>

Celtics 109 - 97 Lakers</p>

Allen 5 threes</p>

 

Re: NBA: LA LAKERS (7-4) at BOSTON (9-1)

No one can lock down Kobe. The best they can do is slow him down. Lets see you guys stop Socks!</p>

 

Re: NBA: LA LAKERS (7-4) at BOSTON (9-1)

<p align="center"></p>
<p align="center" style="text-align: center;" class="MsoNormal"><st1lace><st1lacename><strong style=""><span style="color: black">7-4 </span>[/b]</st1lacename></st1lace><strong style=""><span style="color: black"> @ 9-1<o></o></span>[/b]
<st1:date month="11" day="21" year="2007">Friday, November 23, 2007</st1:date> &ndash; <st1:time hour="19" minute="30">7:30 pm ET</st1:time>
TD <st1lace><st1lacename>BankNorth</st1lacename> <st1lacetype>Garden</st1lacetype></st1lace> (<st1lace><st1:city>Boston</st1:city>, <st1:state>MA</st1:state></st1lace>)
Game aired on CSN</p>

Traditionally, Celtics fans are supposed to despise the Lakers, and visa-versa. When the Los Angeles Lakers came to town last season, it was not a pretty sight inside the TD BankNorth Garden. Fans were not dressed up in their usual Paul Pierce jerseys, Al Jefferson t-shirts, or Gerald Green Reebok gear. They were dressed up in purple and gold with the name &ldquo;Bryant&rdquo; on the back. Being there, it was disgusting, but it only got worse. Bryant went on to drop 43 points on the Celtics, and by the end of the night, he had more than half of the arena chanting his name.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">That, my friends, will not be happening this year. The Celtics can now give their fans something to cheer about, and the 9-1 Celtics are ready to begin a new winning streak. After hosting the Golden State Warriors as another victim of a 20+-point blowout on Wednesday night, they are ready to take on their arch rivals. Led by perhaps the most dynamic individual athlete in the entire world, Kobe Bryant has gotten his club off to a respectable start to the 2007-2008 season as well. All drama and trade talk aside, the Lakers don&rsquo;t look too shabby. At 7-4, there is more to talk about than just Kobe Bryant in LA, now. Third year center Andrew Bynum has come on particularly strong to begin the season, averaging a double-double (11.5 points and 10.0 rebounds per game) and beginning to finally show some of that potential All-Star talent that the organization believes he has. Starting for the Lakers for the past two games, Bynum has held averages of 16.5 points, 11.5 rebounds, and 2.5 blocks per game in just 28.0 minutes per contest. Dare I say it, those numbers are extremely reminiscent of our old friend Al Jefferson, who also broke out in his third year.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">On paper, the Celtics are clearly superior to the Lakers, but there is only a small handful of players in the NBA that can single-handedly take out an elite team &ndash; and Kobe Bryant is surely one of them. We&rsquo;ve seen him pull it off on numerous accounts throughout his 11-year career, and he is more than capable of turning tonight into &ldquo;the Kobe Show.&rdquo; At the same time, Phil Jackson will have more than just his hands full with three Hall-of-Fame talents on the opposing end, as well.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">Do you want excitement? Do you want star power? Do you want pandemonium? If so, you better make sure you tune in tonight. It&rsquo;s going to be quite a show.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o></o></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong style="">Projected Starters<o></o>[/b]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong style="">C[/b] Andrew Bynum / Kendrick Perkins
<strong style="">PF[/b] Lamar Odom / Kevin Garnett
<strong style="">SF[/b] Vladimir Radmanovic / Paul Pierce
<strong style="">SG[/b] <st1:city><st1lace>Kobe</st1lace></st1:city> Bryant / Ray Allen
<strong style="">PG[/b] Derek Fisher / Rajon Rondo</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o></o></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong style="">Key Matchup: [/b]<st1:city><st1lace>Kobe</st1lace></st1:city> Bryant vs. Ray Allen<strong style=""><o></o>[/b]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">We know about the tremendous level of talent each of these perennial All-Stars possess, but there&rsquo;s also some emotional history between the two. They&rsquo;ve each publicly said some relatively snide comments about one another, they&rsquo;ve gotten a little physical on the court, they&rsquo;ve certainly gotten chippy, and they&rsquo;ve also lit it up offensively against each other on numerous accounts. They may not say it publicly, but don&rsquo;t think for a second that either one of them isn&rsquo;t looking forward to pounding the other tonight.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o></o></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong style="">Celtics X-Factor:[/b] James Posey</p>
<p class="MsoNormal">&ldquo;Big Game James&rdquo; is going to have to come off the bench and give this team a big lift defensively. Yes, that is the reason Posey is on this team in the first place, but it&rsquo;s going to take more than one defender to slow Kobe Bryant down. Posey is undoubtedly this team&rsquo;s best wing defender, and one of the better wing defenders in the entire league. Nobody is asking Posey to stop <st1:city><st1lace>Kobe</st1lace></st1:city>, because by now we all know that particular task is humanly impossible, but there&rsquo;s no doubt that Posey&rsquo;s size and length can disrupt him.</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o></o></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong style="">Injury Report<o></o>[/b]</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong style="">LAL[/b] &ndash; Kwame Brown (sprained left knee)</p>
<p class="MsoNormal"></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><o></o></p>
<p class="MsoNormal"><strong style="">Celtics Keys to the Game<o></o>[/b]</p>
<ul type="disc" style="margin-top: 0in;">
<li class="MsoNormal" style="">Slow Down <st1:city><st1lace>Kobe</st1lace></st1:city>, Somehow
<li class="MsoNormal" style="">Limit Turnovers
<li class="MsoNormal" style="">Consistent Ball Movement (48 minutes)
<li class="MsoNormal" style="">Win the Rebounding Column
<li class="MsoNormal" style="">Don&rsquo;t Settle &ndash; Take It to the Basket
[/list]

 

Re: NBA: LA LAKERS (7-4) at BOSTON (9-1)

This game actually means something for the first time in like 20 years. Nice matchup.</p>

 

Re: NBA: LA LAKERS (7-4) at BOSTON (9-1)

we need turiaf tonight!</p>

 

NBA: LA LAKERS at BOSTON

<div class="pre">LA LAKERS AT BOSTON - PROBABLE STARTING LINEUPS


LA LAKERS BOSTON

F Lamar Odom F Kevin Garnett
F Vladimir Radmanovic F Paul Pierce
C Andrew Bynum C Kendrick Perkins
G Kobe Bryant G Ray Allen
G Derek Fisher G Rajon Rondo

OFFICIALS: Tommy Nunez
Joe Derosa
David Jones</div>

 

NBA: LA LAKERS at BOSTON

<div class="pre">NBA LA LAKERS 4
BOSTON 9 8:45 LEFT, 1ST QTR</div>

 

NBA: LA LAKERS at BOSTON

<div class="pre">NBA LA LAKERS 8
BOSTON 12 5:58 LEFT, 1ST QTR</div>

 

Re: NBA: LA LAKERS (7-4) at BOSTON (9-1)

Kobe is gonna have to show up tonight! I wanna see that fire that it seems that he may have lost.</p>

 

NBA: LA LAKERS at BOSTON

<div class="pre">NBA LA LAKERS 10
BOSTON 23 2:52 LEFT, 1ST QTR</div>

 

NBA: LA LAKERS at BOSTON

<div class="pre">NBA LA LAKERS 16
BOSTON 25 END, 1ST QTR</div>

 

NBA: LA LAKERS at BOSTON

<div class="pre">NBA END 1ST QTR 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
LA LAKERS 16 16
BOSTON 25 25 END 1ST QTR

HIGH SCORERS AFTER 1ST QUARTER

LAL - KOBE BRYANT 8, DEREK FISHER 6, RONNY
TURIAF 2
BOS - RAY ALLEN 9, KENDRICK PERKINS 7, PAUL
PIERCE 5</div>

 

NBA: LA LAKERS at BOSTON

<div class="pre">NBA LA LAKERS 25
BOSTON 33 9:00 LEFT, 2ND QTR</div>

 

NBA: LA LAKERS at BOSTON

<div class="pre">NBA LA LAKERS 27
BOSTON 40 6:24 LEFT, 2ND QTR</div>

 

NBA: LA LAKERS at BOSTON

<div class="pre">NBA LA LAKERS 33
BOSTON 49 2:15 LEFT, 2ND QTR</div>

 

NBA: LA LAKERS at BOSTON

<div class="pre">NBA LA LAKERS 35
BOSTON 53 HALFTIME</div>

 

NBA: LA LAKERS at BOSTON

<div class="pre">NBA HALFTIME 1ST 2ND 3RD 4TH TOTAL
--- --- --- --- -----
LA LAKERS 16 19 35
BOSTON 25 28 53 HALFTIME

HIGH SCORERS AT HALFTIME

LAL - DEREK FISHER 10, KOBE BRYANT 8, LUKE
WALTON 4
BOS - PAUL PIERCE 12, KENDRICK PERKINS 10, RAY
ALLEN 9</div>