Time: 4:00 p.m. Location: Canseco Fieldhouse TV: KCAL 5:30 p.m. NBALP ---------------------- Probable Starters: Gary Payton/Jamaal Tinsley Kareem Rush/Reggie Miller Devean George/Ron Artest Slava Medvedenko/Al Harrington Shaquille O'Neal/Jeff Foster ---------------------------------- Injury Report: Lakers- Kobe Bryant-Out Karl Malone-Out Brian Cook-Out Pacers- Jermaine O'Neal-Out Jonathan Bender-Out Jamison Brewer-Out James Jones-Out ------------------- Keys to the game: -The keys for the Lakers is they have to feed the ball inside to Shaq early, allow him to repeat his season high of 36 pts yesterday afternoon at Toronto. Jeff Foster is only 6'11" 211 pounds, so we know Shaq can quickly take advantage of him. Plus, with Jermaine O'Neal listed as doubtful, things can quickly go the Lakers way in the inside game. For our backcourt....Gary Payton will just have to do his typical kind of game, which means getting his teammates involved early, penetrating to the basket, scoring whenever necessary, and most importantly...make good decisions when jumpstarting the tranisitional game. Kareem Rush will have to do a better job on scoring. I know last game the load was mostly on Shaq, but 2/7 with five points won't cut it. - Jermaine O'Neal is listed as doubtful because of his neck strain, so the keys for Indy is on the success of Reggie Miller and Ron Artest. Nothing is new with the Lakers poor perimeter defense, and if Kareem leaves him open, and Reggie has that stroke going, it could be a long day. (Reggie is only three points shy of 24,000 for his career.) Ron Artest has also proven himself this year. Not only can he shoot from anywhere on the court, he can also play an aggressive style of defense, and since Devean George is struggling to find his game, Ron can quickly take advantage of him. Al Harrington in his last game, scored 27 points and grabbed 7 rebounds, so for him replacing Jermaine O'Neal shouldn't be a problem. Laker Fever's prediction- This game should definitely go down to the wire. Indiana is the best team in their conference at 35-13, 19-5 at home, but with Shaq's 36 point performance at Toronto, it shows me that he's getting very close to 100% and that he'll be making a statement game. I'm going with a very close finish...Lakers by 2.
i agree with that one! Lakers will have it though. They need production from guys like George and Payton. Shaq cant do it alone. Will be close but i say Lakers win it by 4
I don't think either O'Neal is playing in this game. The Pacers should win this game at home. They have a deeper bench than the Lakers and are playing great basketball. The bottomline is the Pacers have the players who can step in and fill the void Jermaine brings, but the Lakers don't. The Lakers will be competitive, but the Pacers take the game outright. Pacers by 6
you guys are not reading..? why shaq is not playing..? and how can J.Oneal Blow up if he is questionable..? anyways...it should be an easy one for the Lakers specially with J.Oneal out. Lakers by 6.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TMac_OwNz:</div><div class="quote_post">you guys are not reading..? why shaq is not playing..? and how can J.Oneal Blow up if he is questionable..? anyways...it should be an easy one for the Lakers specially with J.Oneal out. Lakers by 6.</div> How in the hell is it a easy one for the Lakers? Do you realize Kobe is out as well? Bullsh*t call on Shaq, Stern really F*cked up on this one. Anyway, I'm still feeling the Lakers. I'll take LA by 3.
Oh, I just thought that Shaq would be fined, but not suspended. So is Slava going to replace him at the center position?
I think Slava or Horace will start tonight, or they might go real small and start George at the 4 and Fox at the 3. What's the latest on Sampson? The Laker's starting lineup got real nasty with the Big Fella out tonight.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting TMac_OwNz:</div><div class="quote_post">why did he get suspended? im lost </div> Swearing on nat'l television.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting shapecity:</div><div class="quote_post">I think Slava or Horace will start tonight, or they might go real small and start George at the 4 and Fox at the 3. What's the latest on Sampson? The Laker's starting lineup got real nasty with the Big Fella out tonight.</div> I don't understand why Phil just gives Devean George many opportunities to start. In the beginning during the Lakers 17-3 start, he played so well. So well that I questioned Rick Fox's starting job. Now since the team has been plagued with injuries, he hasn't been what he used to be and he's just stinking it up. Maybe Staples Center will have to get out of its library like atmosphere and start booing George everytime he misses a basket or makes a stupid decision with the ball. If I were Phil, I'd probably go with Rick Fox at the 3, Luke Walton at the 4, and Slava at center.
lmao I just found out...alright this changes everything..is anybody's game but I think Payton will take over the game...Lakers by 3.
my crazy prediction even with both o'neals out (shaq suspended for f-words) the lakers will win in a blowout. Lakers by 16. Don't fry me.
<div class="quote_poster">Quoting Trail_Blazer76:</div><div class="quote_post">Swearing on nat'l television.</div> ACtually, it was just a local station (KCAL 9) anyways, lakers lost tonight to the pacers 85-72...
Pathetic performance by the Lakers tonight. Another game, and yet another injury as Kareem Rush went down with an ankle sprain. The Lakers backcourt shot a miserable 8 for 32 (25%) tonight and were completely outplayed in this game. Only Payton and Slava managed double digits and the team shot a combined 35.7% from the field. The Pacers beat the Lakers to the ball on numerous times and controlled the boards all game long. Even Fred Jones got into the action slamming the ball over Slava in the 2nd quarter.
Yea, KCAL 9 says the Kareem Rush's sprain was "severe." That's too bad... Phil Jackson claims that the Pacers foul on every shot, and that they practice it...lol...
