NBA News 2013: Chris Paul doesn't focus on the what ifs

Los Angeles Clippers vs. Dallas Mavericks (Photo credit: sarahr691)

The what-might-have-beens don't enter Chris Paul's mind anymore.

As his Clippers prepare for the latest Los Angeles turf war on Friday night at Staples Center against the Lakers team to which he was almost traded back in December of 2011, the point guard who has transformed one of the worst organizations in professional sports into a legitimate title contender wouldn't have it any other way.

"Never, ever – ever, ever," he told USA TODAY Sports emphatically on Wednesday night when asked how often he wonders what life with the Lakers might have been like before commissioner David Stern vetoed the deal with New Orleans back then for those infamous "basketball reasons." "

And why would he?

Even with the Clippers' losses at Denver and Golden State that followed their franchise-record 17-game winning streak, they have the league's second-best record (25-8) and are nine games ahead of this Lakers team that so many expected to dominate this season. And while Kobe Bryant responded to the latest Lakers loss by declaring that age was to blame for their woes – "We're old as (expletive)," he told reporters after they fell to Philadelphia on Tuesday night – Paul has continued this improbable push to turn the Clippers into champions.

"You can't back up any talk in January or December or nothing like that," Paul said of the matchup with the Lakers.

The game itself will come with some consequence, though, even if Clippers forward Blake Griffin said it was "just like any other game." The Clippers, who beat the Lakers without Steve Nash on Nov. 2, don't want to lose a third game in a row. The Lakers, whose fans so often point to the title count between the two organizations (16 to zero) as their ultimate defense, need a win like this to keep momentum moving forward after winning six of their last eight games.

"It's a big deal for us," said reserve small forward Lamar Odom, the longtime Laker who was traded to the Clippers during the summer. "What's most fun is to be here and to really see the change in (expectations), as far people expecting us to come out and play at a high level. That's fun."

Said reserve small forward Matt Barnes, who signed the Clippers in the summer after spending his last two seasons with the Lakers: "Any time you play an old team, and it's the talk of the town – Lakers-Clippers - it's going to be a fun one."

http://www.usatoday.com/story/sports/nba/2013/01/03/los-angeles-lakers-vs-los-angeles-clippers-chris-paul/1807855/

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NBA News 2012: Steve Nash called Kobe before deal

Home (Photo credit: Wikipedia)Before two-time MVP Steve Nash agreed to join the Los Angeles Lakers, he wanted to make sure the team's five-time champion was on board.

That meant a phone call with Kobe Bryant.

"For me, it was important to speak to him and make sure he was completely on board, and that he could kind of visualize this as being a good fit, and being excited about it. So I spoke to him," Nash told Max Kellerman and Mychal Thompson on 710 ESPN. "Kobe, he was great. He was excited, and explained to me how he thought it would help, and why he thought it would be great, and I think a lot of the reasons he had were ones I could already envision before speaking to him."

The Lakers and Suns agreed on a sign-and-trade sending Nash to Los Angeles, where he will be given a three-year deal worth an estimated $27 million. The Lakers, well over the salary and luxury tax levels, can absorb Nash into the trade exception created when they dealt Lamar Odom to Dallas last December.

Phoenix will receive four picks from the Lakers -- a pair of each in the first (2013, 2015) and second (2013, 2014) rounds.

Ultimately, Nash chose the Lakers both because they provide him the best opportunity to win a title of the teams interested in acquiring him, and because it allows him to stay in close proximity to Phoenix, where his three children live.

The trade can't be officially completed until July 11, when the NBA lifts its moratorium on new business.

http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/8132773/steve-nash-called-kobe-bryant-agreeing-sign-trade-deal-los-angeles-lakers

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NBA News 2012: Getting Steve Nash is a steal for the Lakers

Nash averaged 10.5 minutes a game in his rookie year. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Like anyone in this town who has ever bitten his knuckles purple at the sight of that pale little floppy-haired guy from Phoenix, I've seen Steve Nash twist and stretch and seriously wrinkle some Lakers uniforms.

But now he's going to actually wear one?

I'm writing this on the night of July 4, but the blasts and sparkles outside my office window can't compare to the cheery bombs bouncing through the pulse of Lakers fans, who might need until dawn's early light to believe this.

A team with a gaping vacancy at point guard just smothered it with a future Hall of Fame point guard. A team that spent last season boring the entertainment capital just acquired one of basketball's best showmen. Naptime just took three quick dribbles toward again becoming Showtime.

Steve Nash is a Laker and, man, is this going to be fun.

Like one of those no-look moves made famous by the man himself, Nash's acquisition Wednesday is stunningly spectacular from a variety of angles.

It allows the Lakers to run the sort of chaotic, choreographed offense that can hang with the turbos from Oklahoma City and San Antonio. It takes the pressure off Kobe Bryant during crunch times that are increasingly crunching him.

And, oh yes, it gives the Lakers the sort of balanced attack that would be attractive to another potential acquisition who was worried about Bryant's ball hogging. No, Steve Nash can't play defense, but that won't matter so much if his presence leads to the acquisition of Dwight Howard, who must surely see that the Lakers are now his best chance for a ring.

The Lakers can and should still acquire Howard too, because Nash stunningly cost them little. They sent Phoenix some draft picks, which is no big deal right now considering the Lakers haven't had a first-round pick since 2007 and have won two titles since then.

They also sent Phoenix the trade exception they acquired in the dumping of Lamar Odom, which leads me to write something as nutty as Nash leading a fastbreak.

Good job, Jimmy Buss. Even if you were initially just trying to save money by trading Odom, you have proved everyone wrong by essentially trading him for Nash.

At first blush, it's amazing that Phoenix would actually allow Nash to negotiate a trade with the Suns' rival. But then again, if Nash had gone to the Toronto Raptors or the New York Knicks as a free agent, the Suns would have received nothing.

It was a smart deal for Phoenix, an amazing steal for the Lakers, and the coolest of moves for Nash, whose three-year, $27 million Lakers deal is nearly $10 million less than he could have received elsewhere. He told the Suns he wanted to remain near his three children in Phoenix. And he's clearly telling the Lakers that, after spending 16 years in the league without a single appearance in the NBA Finals, he wants desperately to win.

At age 38, is he still spry enough to win? Well, he's not Chris Paul anymore, but he's still got plenty of Steve Nash. He led the league in assists in five of the last eight seasons. And last season, while he averaged only 13 points, his 53 percent shooting was the second-best percentage of his career.

He's not going to dominate games like he did several years ago in consecutive postseasons against the Lakers. But he can still steer and steady games like few others.

His biggest shortcoming remains that he plays defense like those guys in Spain wave those red capes. While the Lakers now have a brand-new offense, they still don't have anybody to guard Russell Westbrook or Tony Parker.

http://www.sunherald.com/2012/07/05/4046195/bill-plaschke-getting-steve-nash.html#storylink=rss

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NBA News 2012: Nash persuades Suns to send him to Lakers

Steve Nash (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Steve Nash wanted to go to the Los Angeles Lakers. He just needed an assist.

The Phoenix Suns would have to reach a sign-and-trade deal to facilitate the move and, according to Nash, they were reluctant.

Eventually, they relented and the two-time MVP point guard is going to the Pacific Division rival he tried so hard to beat, with little success, in his eight seasons with the Suns.

In one of those odd NBA twists, the Lakers' trade of Lamar Odom to Dallas before last season paved the way for Nash's arrival. Los Angeles used the trade exception it got in the Odom deal to make the Nash move work.

The 38-year-old Nash was a free agent, but a sign-and-trade agreement was necessary for the Lakers to afford him. He agreed to a three-year, $27 million contract. In return, the Suns get four draft picks - first-rounders in 2013 and 2015 and second-rounders in 2013 and 2014.

Nash's agent, Bill Duffy, said the deal was completed Wednesday about 9 p.m., EDT.

In a statement released by Duffy, Nash said that after he and the Suns agreed to part ways, he went back to the team and asked it to pursue a sign-and-trade deal with Los Angeles ''because it is very important to me to stay near my children and family,'' who live in Phoenix.

''They were very apprehensive and didn't want to do it,'' Nash said. ''Fortunately for me, they reconsidered. They saw that they were able to get assets for their team that will make them better, assets they would not have otherwise had, and it made sense for them to do a deal that helps their team get better.''

There had been sign-and-trade talks with New York and a lucrative free agent offer from Toronto.

The deal will put Nash on the floor with the team he tried to unseat as a Western Conference power, teaming him with Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol. That could be enough to lift the Lakers back into title contention.

The Suns at least get something for the loss of their longtime leader and one of the city's most popular athletes, although no one to help immediately, unless some or all of the picks are used in future trades.

Nash's Phoenix teammate Jared Dudley tweeted that Nash ''has not only been the best but the most unselfish player I ever played with. I only wish him the best. He deserves everything. Steve Nash has made many players millions. Only fitting to trade to a team that has a chance to win the ship and pay what he deserves.''

Nash has never made it to the NBA Finals. He was last in the Western Conference finals against the Lakers in 2010, when the Suns lost in six games and Los Angeles went on to win the NBA title.

The Suns drafted Nash in 1998, but traded him to Dallas after two seasons because Phoenix already had Kevin Johnson and Jason Kidd at the position. Nash played six seasons for Dallas, but bolted when owner Mark Cuban declined to spend big money to keep him. Then-Suns owner Jerry Colangelo brought a plane load of Phoenix players and officials to Dallas to woo Nash.

Nash thrived in Mike D'Antoni's run-and-gun system, earning MVP honors in 2005, when he averaged 15.5 points and 11.5 assists, and again in 2006, when he averaged a career-high 18.8 points and 10.5 assists. Nash averaged fewer than 10 assists only once, 9.7 in 2008-09, and topped 11 per game five times in his eight years with Phoenix.

Despite his age and the fact his team failed to make the playoffs for the second year in a row, Nash was second in the NBA in assists last season at 10.7 and averaged 12.7 points. His 53 percent shooting rate was a career high.

He is one of the most accurate free throw shooters in NBA history at 90.4 percent. His 9,916 assists rank him fifth in NBA history behind all-time leader John Stockton, Kidd, Mark Jackson and Magic Johnson.

The Suns resisted trading Nash during his final season and insisted they were interested in bringing him back, but they never seriously were in the discussion. Toronto and New York dominated the talk until the Lakers came on quickly Tuesday.

Nash's arrival should rejuvenate the Lakers, who lost in the second round for the second straight postseason after their back-to-back championships in 2009 and 2010. The Lakers struggled to move on from departed coach Phil Jackson's triangle offense to new coach Mike Brown's system during the lockout-shortened season, with four-time All-Star forward Gasol particularly failing to fit in while getting pushed to the third option on offense most nights.

Nash's peerless playmaking abilities and veteran presence could smooth over those problems, particularly after a full training camp to define the Lakers' roles in Brown's offense.

The draft picks probably don't mean too much to the Lakers, who have traded away their first-round picks the past three seasons. They haven't drafted a regular starter since 2005.

Nash's deal was part of a busy 24 hours for the Suns, who are looking to get younger and more athletic.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/nash-persuades-suns-send-him-075004804--nba.html;_ylt=ArNq.US3AgmI3DZXgg9n5mG8vLYF

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NBA News 2012: Steve Nash will be traded to Lakers

PHOENIX - JANUARY 05: Steve Nash #13 of the Phoenix Suns puts up a shot over Andrew Bynum #17 of the Los Angeles Lakers during the NBA game at US Airways Center on December 23, 2011 in Phoenix, Arizona. (Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)
At the conclusion of the NBA draft last week, Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said the Lakers were trying to hit a home run this offseason. Generally speaking, the assumption was it would have to come with a trade of either Andrew Bynum or Pau Gasol.

Or not.

ESPN.com's Marc Stein reports the Lakers have agreed on a sign-and-trade with the Phoenix Suns netting them two-time MVP point guard Steve Nash. L.A. will give him a three-year deal worth over $25 million. The Lakers will absorb Nash into the trade exception created last year in the deal sending Lamar Odom to Dallas. The Suns will also receive L.A.'s first-round picks in 2013 and 2015, plus second-rounders in 2013 and 2014.

Home. Run.

It's hard to say exactly where this places the Lakers in the Western Conference because there are still so many directions they could go with the roster from here, but as it stands now L.A. is back in the conversation. Deep into it, I would say, and once again Lakers fans have tangible evidence of the team's commitment to winning. I've been pessimistic about the team's chances of improving enough to legitimately contend over the next year or two, but the Lakers have taken a giant step towards proving me (and many others) wrong. I certainly didn't see this coming.

There is a ton to absorb here, but a few quick thoughts:

1. The major problem with trades involving either Bynum or Gasol is that in either case, it was hard to improve. Both of those guys are already outstanding, and fundamentally weren't the problem last season. Here, though, the Lakers acquire an elite player without sending talent out the door.

2. Worried about Nash's age? Don't be. He is still a remarkably consistent performer. Over the last five seasons, his efficiency rating (PER) has been between 19.55 and 21.67 (20.29 last year), true shooting percentage between 60.1 and 64.1 (62.5 last year), and assists/40 minutes between 11.7 and 13.7 (13.5 in '11-'12). Nash kept a fairly limited Suns squad in playoff contention last season, shooting 53.2 percent from the field, and 39 percent from 3-point range. He is an incredibly effective offensive player, even at 38 years old.

3. The Lakers have instantly gone from a staid, struggling team on offense to one with incredible potential. Nash at the point, Kobe Bryant on the wing, with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum up front (at least for now)? Good luck guarding those guys. The potential for spectacularly entertaining basketball is very, very strong.

4. Acquiring Nash obviously raises the same "How does Kobe work with an elite point guard?" questions prompted by last season's vetoed Chris Paul trade. Devastating a shooter as Nash is, he's someone who needs the ball in his hands a ton to be at his most effective. How exactly it'll look on the floor is tough to say right now, but just as he does Paul, Kobe has incredible respect for Nash. I don't anticipate problems with the two of them co-existing, beyond a normal adjustment period. Not only are the Lakers in better shape to help Kobe get his sixth title, his presence could easily add a couple of more productive years to Kobe's career, just because of all the work he won't have to do generating offense. Conversely, the presence of Bryant and the bigs will take a lot of pressure off Nash, and increase the odds of him staying at this level through the three years. Between Bryant, Nash, and Gasol, the Lakers have three of the highest basketball I.Q.'s the game has ever seen. If things click, the results should be beautiful.

5. A huge question here is payroll. Obviously the Lakers just added a major expense, and what they do in response remains to be seen. Does this increase the need to move Gasol? Does it impact their ability to extend Bynum beyond this season? Does this impact any Bynum-for-Dwight Howard conversations? I don't know. It's reasonable to expect a cost-cutting move somewhere (Metta World Peace seems more likely to get amnestied, for example) but the Lakers could play this in any number of ways. What I don't think they'll do -- or at the very least, hope they don't do -- is rob Peter to pay Paul. Adding Nash doesn't have the same impact if they dump too much talent in an effort to save money.

Moreover, with Nash now on the perimeter, it would help the Lakers to have all that size inside to help erase mistakes and discourage penetration defensively.

6. With the presence of Nash, Kobe, and two talented big men, if the Lakers can find a spot up shooter on the wing, they'll be in fantastic shape.

http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/lakers/post/_/id/31702/rapid-reaction-sources-say-steve-nash-will-be-traded-to-lakers

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NBA News 2012: Mo Williams clears way for trade

Wizards v/s Clippers 03/12/11 (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Los Angeles Clippers guard Mo Williams has invoked his $8.5 million option for next season, clearing the way for a proposed three-way trade that will send Lamar Odom to the Clippers and Williams to Utah, Williams' agent, Mark Bartelstein, told ESPNLosAngeles.com.

Utah will use the trade exception it created in the Mehmet Okur deal with New Jersey this past season to take on Williams' contract. The Mavericks also will create their own trade exception worth $8.2 million by shedding Odom's contract without taking any salary back.

The Los Angeles Times reported Friday that the Clippers will send the draft rights to second-round pick Furkan Aldemir to the Houston Rockets as part of the deal, and the Mavericks will receive money from the Rockets.

All parties had essentially agreed to the deal Thursday, according to sources, but it could not proceed until Williams made a firm decision on whether to pick up his option for next season. He had until Saturday night to do so.

Two sources told ESPN.com's Marc Stein the deal will be completed Friday night. Bartelstein told The Associated Press that Williams is expected to hold a news conference in Salt Lake City either Monday or Tuesday. While there was no official confirmation from the teams yet, Bartelstein said the trade was done.

Bartelstein stressed that the delay had more to do with timing, rather than any issue Williams had playing for Utah, where he began his career in 2003.

"There was no blocking going on," Bartelstein said. "When you make a decision like this, you want to study it very closely.

"But the more we looked at it, the more excited we were about going back to Utah. Mo's very happy to be going back there."

The trade will be a homecoming for Odom and Williams, who started their careers with the Clippers and Jazz, respectively.

In a text message to ESPNLosAngeles.com, Williams wrote: "It's where it all began. I'm excited about the opportunity."

Williams spoke with Jazz general manager Kevin O'Connor and coach Tyrone Corbin before opting into the final year of his deal.

Friday had been the deadline in Odom's contract for Dallas to either pay $2.4 million to buy out Odom's $8.2 million salary for next season or have him on the books for 2012-13.

While Williams pondered his options, sources told ESPN.com's Marc Stein that the Mavericks and Odom had agreed to extend the buyout deadline in Odom's contract until Saturday, leaving one more day to finalize the proposed three-way trade.

The Clippers are hoping that Odom looks more like the player who won the Sixth Man of the Year Award with the Los Angeles Lakers in 2011, and not the enigmatic player who shot just 35 percent from the field and averaged a career-low 6.6 points for the Mavericks last season.

http://espn.go.com/nba/story/_/id/8113523/los-angeles-clippers-mo-williams-picks-option-clears-way-lamar-odom-three-way-trade

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NBA News 2012: David Stern Shows Los Angeles Lakers Fans at 2012 NBA Draft Lottery

President Barack Obama makes remarks at service event with 2010 NBA Champion Los Angeles Lakers at the THEARC Boys and Girls Club in Washington, District of Columbia. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Fans of the Los Angeles Lakers have good reason to dislike David Stern after what he did to them by nixing the Chris Paul trade, but it was the results of the 2012 NBA draft lottery on Wednesday night that gave the rest of the league a reason to join them.

This comes in the wake of the New Orleans Hornets winning the first pick in the 2012 NBA Draft despite having just a 13.7 percent chance of doing so. There is plenty of skepticism going around that Stern and the NBA had something to do with the Hornets obtaining that pick and effectively winning the Anthony Davis sweepstakes. The NBA still owns the team, thus perpetuating this fundamental problem. Even though it's unlikely that there was actually any attempt by the league to fix the draft, there remains a modicum of doubt.

It's not completely unfounded, though.

Yahoo! Sports' Adrian Wojnarowski reported that several league executives felt that there were too many signs of deception to completely ignore the possibility of a fix. When professionals that deal in league matters for a living have suspicions, fans have every right to hold their own reservations.

For Lakers fans, they have to be wondering just how good the team could be today if they had Paul and Kobe Bryant in the backcourt along with a healthy Andrew Bynum at center. For fans outside of Los Angeles, the spirit of the vetoed trade was at the very least unsettling.

The trade that never was hurt the team and the league more than anyone could have imagined. Not only did the Lakers fail to acquire a major upgrade at a position it desperately needed, but also lost its Sixth Man of the Year in Lamar Odom for essentially nothing -- the pick acquired in the trade to the Dallas Mavericks was later given to Cleveland in the deal for Ramon Sessions.

The Lakers now are stuck in a situation where they are over the salary cap and luxury tax threshold with no virtually no money for free agency. With Paul, the team would have had a legitimate future and heir-apparent to Bryant. Now, the team has no first round pick in one of the deepest drafts in recent memory. Ironically, depth is exactly what the Lakers need in order to improve.

This is why fans in Los Angeles have every right to be crying foul after the results of the draft. Even if the argument itself is somewhat of a stretch, it's understandable.

http://sports.yahoo.com/news/david-stern-shows-los-angeles-lakers-fans-2012-160300744--nba.html

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NBA News 2012: Harden to top of Sixth Man of Year debate

James Harden, a player for the Oklahoma City Thunder at ARCO Arena. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
The 2011-12 Sixth Man of the Year award had James Harden's name on it since the lockout ended in December.

Sure, there were other candidates; Harden finished seventh in Sixth Man voting last year. But none of the usual veteran suspects (Jamal Crawford, Manu Ginobili, Lamar Odom, Jason Terry) had near the potential for improvement than Harden, who showed growth in last year's playoffs and just turned 22 last summer.

And improve is exactly what Harden has done, increasing his scoring output from 12.2 to 16.8 points per game. No regular bench player has had a bigger role than Harden, who has averaged more than 31 minutes and has given his team a lift every time he has stepped on the floor. And it's not like he's been putting up numbers on a bad team. He's the third or fourth most important player on one of the four elite teams in the league.

Harden's increased production comes in part because he's playing more minutes, but also because he has scored much more efficiently than he did in his first two seasons. In fact, Harden has been the most efficient backcourt player in the league this year, leading all guards in true shooting percentage.

http://www.nba.com/2012/news/features/john_schuhmann/04/25/sixth-man-award/index.html

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NBA News 2011: Chuck Person Helping In Bynum's Defensive Surge

Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Lakers assistant coach Chuck Person convinced Jackson on changing the team defense this season to keep Bynum in the lane on the defensive end, rather than amble out to the perimeter to help out guards contending with pick-and-rolls.

"He's a plug," Jackson said. "He's in there stopping penetration."

http://basketball.realgm.com/wiretap/211916/Chuck_Person_Helping_In_Bynums_Defensive_Surge

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NBA News 2011: San Antonio Spurs Against Lakers

Image by Evan Wohrman via Flickr
Record against Lakers: 2-0

Games left: 2

This is no doubt the matchup everyone is curious about.

The Lakers are heading into the playoffs as two time defending champs and are by all accounts the team to beat.

If it comes down to this matchup I believe that the Spurs have a very clear and dominating advantage.

Like I said earlier, the playoffs are very different from the regular season, and thus we will not take into account the fact that Kobe has shot below 30 percent against the Spurs this year.

In the playoffs, Kobe knows how to play and if he begins shooting poorly look for him to devote his energy to some other facet of the game.

The starting five are also very well balanced and the Duncan - Gasol matchup could be the big factor in this series.

I would love to see this match up and the winner of this could very well end up winning it all.

However, my prediction is that if this happens, the Spurs will win in a relatively easy fashion when considering the magnitude of this clash.

The Chance of Beating the Lakers: Moderate to High

http://bleacherreport.com/articles/626096-san-antonio-spurs-breaking-down-chances-against-mavericks-lakers-thunder/page/4

NBA News 2011: Lakers talk freely about what went wrong in loss to Kings

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Let's get this straight.

The Lakers lose to the lowly Sacramento Kings at Staples Center on Friday night and the media get blamed for the loss?

"Yeah, I'm blaming this on you guys," Lamar Odom said after the Lakers dropped a 100-95 decision to the Kings. "You guys are jumping to the Boston game."

Odom was joking.

But the media did begin asking about the Lakers playing the Boston Celtics on Sunday, many ignoring the Kings (11-33) in the process.

Still, the Lakers had put a gag order in place, saying no one was allowed to talk about the Celtics until after the Lakers finished off the Kings.

Lakers co-captain Derek Fisher was the one who said no one could talk about the Celtics.

All the good it did.

Again, Odom was asked if he really was going to lay blame for the Lakers' inexplicable loss to the Kings on the media.

"Yep," Odom said, half-smiling. "I'm blaming it on you."

http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers-web-20110130,0,6476639.story

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NBA News 2011: Lakers' Andrew Bynum is not worried about scoring

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Andrew Bynum had more rebounds than shot attempts against the Utah Jazz on Tuesday and had more blocked shots than personal fouls.

That was a sign of how far the Lakers' center has come since being inserted into the starting lineup.

His focus, however, is not on offense, but on defense, rebounding and being a deterrent.

"We have a lot of scorers on this team, so offensively, if you get a play run for you, you better be successful with it because we've got a lot of guys who are able to score," Bynum said after the 29-point win over the Jazz. "But defensively, I think I can be active and challenge a lot of shots, change a lot of shots."

And that's what he did against the Jazz, blocking three shots, altering several others, while picking up just two fouls.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers-fyi-20110127,0,4440438.story

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NBA News 2010: Lakers perimeter defense to challenge Heat

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At times, Ron Artest feels bored on the court.

He says playing on team with scorers such as Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol and Lamar Odom can cause him to lose interest on the offensive end. It's the life of the forwards Artest and Matt Barnes, the Los Angeles Lakers' two defensive stoppers. While the Miami Heat's superstars are arguably their best defenders, the Lakers will counter in Saturday's game with a pair of players whose priority is defense.

Tough defense.

"It's kind of cool because I get the chance to still be effective on the court rather than just be a scorer," Artest said. "But it's also kind of boring. I'm such a good defender but sometimes I'm not scoring and scoring is fun, especially when you can score."

He and Barnes, the backup small forward, will spend the bulk of the game defending Heat star LeBron James. The two have earned reputations as being aggressive defenders throughout their careers. Artest has twice made the NBA's All-Defensive first-team, with many feeling he was snubbed last year.

"It's just as exciting on defense because when I get stops and steals, it's kind of an adrenaline rush," Artest said. "I know that I'm doing things on the court that no one else is doing on the court."

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/sports/miami-heat/fl-heat-lakers-1224-20101223-5,0,4828786.story

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NBA News 2010: Five players earning $5M or less to watch on Xmas

Image by Getty Images via @daylife
Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Andrew Bynum, LeBron James, Chris Bosh, Dwyane Wade. When the Heat and Lakers take the floor Saturday afternoon at Staples Center, these will be the rock stars. The guys most likely to suck up camera time, be the focus of fancy graphics packages, and so on. They're also the guys for whom Christmas comes not just on Dec. 25, but every time a paycheck lands in their bank accounts. (Unless, of course, they insist on being handed a giant sack of cash on payday. Which, at least once, would actually be pretty cool.)

Don't confuse money with influence. Each team's roster sports players in, at least by NBA standards, a different category financially, but could still make a major impact on the result of Saturday's game. Below are five guys, each earning $5 million or less, able to make or break all the work done by the headliners:

LAKERS

Matt Barnes ($1,765,000)

Shannon Brown ($2,149,200)

HEAT

Mike Miller ($5 million)

James Jones ($1,146,337)

Joel Anthony ($3.3 million)

http://espn.go.com/blog/los-angeles/lakers/post/_/id/13788/bargain-hunting-five-players-earning-5-mil-or-less-to-watch-on-x-mas#more

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NBA News 2010: Five things to take away from Lakers' 112-95 victory over the Minnesota Timberwolves

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1. Lakers forward Matt Barnes plays bench role perfectly
2. Lamar Odom shuts down Kevin Love
3. Darko Milcic outplayed Pau Gasol?!
4. Derek Fisher played efficiently
5. Ron Artest could've played better defense on Michael Beasley

http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2010/11/five-things-to-take-away-from-lakers-to-the-minnesota-timberwolves.html

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NBA News 2010: Phil Jackson wants 'nice guy' Pau Gasol to get more physical

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Gasol is averaging 22.9 points per game (12th best in the league), 12.2 rebounds (3rd) and 1.5 blocks (21st). He leads the NBA in double-doubles (10) and leads all big men in assists (3.9), and he's shooting 55% from the field.

Jackson, however, wants to see Gasol become more physical. Jackson said Gasol is "such a nice guy and such a well-meaning person" that he won't become the aggressor.

"I told him there is a way to do that, where the player you're going against, he'll understand that you have to take care of your own territorial rights," Jackson said. "But you have to inflict some pain sometimes. And that's just the warrior mentality that you have to have.

"It's not anything that's wrong and it's not anything that makes you a bad person to do. It's the code of behavior we have in this game. That's where he has to take the next step [for Gasol] to be considered" an MVP candidate.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers-fyi-20101119,0,4374903.story

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