Time: 7:30 p.m. Location: The Pyramid TV: KCAL9 Los Angeles ---------------------- Probable Starters: Gary Payton/Jason Williams Kareem Rush/Mike Miller Devean George/James Posey Jamal Sampson/Pau Gasol Slava Medvedenko/Lorenzen Wright ---------------------------------- Injury Report: Lakers- Rick Fox-Out Shaquille O'Neal-Out Karl Malone-Out Kobe Bryant-Out Grizzlies- Troy Bell-Out Ryan Humphrey-Out Theron Smith-Out ------------------- Keys to the game: Lakers- The keys for Los Angeles is they have to establish a offensive rhythm early in the ballgame. Which means Gary Payton will have to make as much shots as he can, to not rush any shots, and to get his teammates involved. Kareem Rush has shown he can score when he gets extended minutes, so I look for him to shoot, and make important judgements with the basketball. At times he can be wild. The frontcourt will also be key. Slava has already proved he can score in the low post, and he's an excellent rebounder too. So the Lakers can really use his contributions. Grizzlies- The keys for Memphis is they'll have to get the ball to Pau Gasol in the paint. He'll be guarded by an inexperienced Jamal Sampson. Plus he's coming off a 10/13 effort with 24 pts...so why not get him going early? Mike Miller is an excellent perimeter shooter, and since the Lakers perimeter defense is terrible, he's capable of going off at any time. Jason Williams has really proved himself since that trade that brought him to Memphis. Look for him to score when open, shoot from the perimeter, and dish to his teammates. Assists are one of Jason's best priorities. He ranks #7 in the league. Laker Fever's prediction- Memphis is on a hot streak right now winning their fifth straight game, and eight of their last nine. This Laker team in the past two games have just been flat, they can't get into a offensive rhythm, and they're playing miserable defense. So I'm going with Memphis by 10.
Too hard for the lakers to win without Diesel or the MAilman, let alone Kobe. Gary Payton will be able to help and carry the team, but i still say Grizz..by 12
I will also have to give the game to the Grizzlies, if the Lakers were a home, I'd say it could be a toss up but Memphis has played very well lately. With that being said, I take the Grizz by 8.
I look for gp to take Jason Williams to school, Rush to have another good game. x factor is rebounding to me because if the lakers can rebound better then the grizz this can be a very close one.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Kosarkas:</div><div class="quote_post">Memphis by 15 </div> Sorry homie, but I just had to go with Memphis. Last time Lakers went to the Pyramid...they were killed. And this was with everybody healthy in the lineup. This could really look bad tonight. Don't watch ESPNEWS or SportsCenter tonight.
The Grizzlies depth is, too much for us to overcome. Everyone on their team can score and we don't have the inside presence to contain Gasol, Wright, or Swift. Maybe the Lakers can catch them on an off-night, otherwise we are going to go down hard to this team. Grizzlies are tough at home and have a balanced team this season. Hubie Brown prepares the team well every game and he won't let up on the Lakers tonight. I'd like to be the fly on the wall when Kobe and Jerry West get together and talk.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Laker_Fever_834:</div><div class="quote_post">Sorry homie, but I just had to go with Memphis. Last time Lakers went to the Pyramid...they were killed. And this was with everybody healthy in the lineup. This could really look bad tonight. Don't watch ESPNEWS or SportsCenter tonight.</div> We had good game going on in the first half, we even had the lead at the halftime but they took over in the second half b. Looks like another loss for lakers
I wasn't expecting the Lakers to win on the road, but they fought. I was pleasantly surprised to see them ahead at halftime, but unfortunately, they went down in flames.
Yeah, now I know what it feels like to be a Magic fan. Lakers put up a good fight, but came up short, everything kind of fell apart little by little but they were able to close the gap towards the end of the game. Maybe at home, we would have had a shot, but on the road, I think we all pretty much knew they were going to drop this one against a hot Grizzlies team.
Grizzles won their 6th straight game I'm surprised that the Lakers only lost by 6,so credit to L.A for not getting blownout.Looks like Payton should of taken more shots and took over,He still had a good game though.
Just would like to point this out, Brian Cook recorded his first career NBA double double tonight, 12 points and 10 rebounds. Don't know much more on what to say about this guy, he has played well in his oppourtunity of the Laker frontcourt being out, and his future looks bright as a Laker.
I wonder if he's really the height/weight hes listed at. When hes on the court, he looks pretty tall and looks bigger than 6'9. He's not a skinny guy either, and i was surpised when I found out hes 235'ish. From the first time I saw him play I was impressed, looks like he has a bright future ahead of him.
Good game by the Lakers even though in a losing effort. Losing by 6 points to a hot Memphis team at the Pyramid isn't all that bad. Gary Payton had an excellent game. 7/13 with 24 points. I just wish he could shoot like this every night. Kareem has a disappointing game. 2/10 with 5 pts? Somebody missed out on shooting practice in the gym. Devean George I won't even waste my typing speed on this guy. 4/12 shooting for 8 pts? Clearly this guy needs to be benched, and if I were Phil, I'd start Byron Russell. It's not like Byron hasn't been a starter in this league before. If Phil does start Russell, I know he's capable of dropping at least 15 points on any given night. And when he gets going, his line-drive three pointers can be a huge factor. Devean George is clearly not the same guy he is when Malone, Shaq, or Kobe is in the lineup. Like what Purple N Gold said, Brian Cook is definitely our future. His first career double double of the season. Congratulations Brian. Now if you could work on your outside shot, I'll give you more praise. :mrgreen: I'm looking forward to tonight's game with Dallas. But I think, in order for us to win tonight, it'll have to come with the success of our backcourt, and with Brian Cook and Slava Medvedenko. DEVEAN GEORGE SHOULD BE BENCHED!!!
I just created a B-Cook thread a few minutes ago, didn't see your posts here beforehand, so much of what I wrote is basically the same. Although now we can discuss his play in a separate, individual thread. Brian deserves it! :mrgreen:
