(5/14/98)-Lakers: Loudmouth killers

The Lakers continue to send the big mouths home - Isaiah Rider in the first round, and Gary Payton in the second. After losing the first game of the conference semifinals, the Lakers took four straight from the Seattle Supersonics, handing the Sonics their first-ever four game losing streak with George Karl at the healm. The Lake Show shut down the Sonics with some scorching-hot shooting. The Lakers shot 51.7% from the field in the five game series. Even more impressive was the Lakers' shooting from beyond the arc; for the series, the Lakers shot 44.1% from the three-point line. In the deciding game, the Lakers shot an amazing 13-for-24 from the arc, setting a club record for most treys made in a playoff game. Shaquille O'Neal led the way for the Lakers, averaging 30.6 points, 4 blocks, 9.6 boards, and 4 assists for the five game set. Shaq wasn't the only Laker lighting it up. Eddie Jones set his playoff career high for points in three consecutive games with games of 23, 29, and 32 points in games 2, 3, and 4, respectively. Eddie finished the series averaging 22 points a game and shooting a sizzling 59.1% from the three-point line. The hottest team in the NBA now faces the Utah Jazz in the Western Conference Finals. The Lakers took three of four from the Jazz during the regular season.

(5/2/98)-Shhhh....

You'd think by now that Isaiah Rider would learn to keep his mouth shut. Instead, Rider decided to come out and predict that Portland would emerge as the first-round victors in their series against the Lakers. It doesn't take a genius to realize that talking trash to the league's hottest team isn't a good idea. The Lakers took four games to eliminate the Trailblazers from the playoffs for the second straight year. Shaquille O'Neal scored 31 points, pulled down 15 boards, dished out five assists, and turned away four shots in the series finale. After the game, it was the O'Neal's turn to talk:

Shaq on the Blazers' pre-series trash talking:
"I really don't think those guys really thought they could play with us. They're a good team, but they're not that good. They're the perfect team at running their mouth and not backing it up. They've got to learn to just come out and play, rather than just talking all the time. They'll learn. The Jail Blazers will learn."

Shaq on the Blazers' center, Arvydas Sabonis:
"I own Sabonis. Write that down. I've been killing him all year long."

The Lakers now wait to face the winner of the Seattle-Minnesota series.

(4/4/98)-Lakers continue to win

The wins are starting to mount for the Lakers. A day after Shaquille O'Neal dropped 50 points on the New Jersey Nets, his highest scoring game in the purple and gold, the Lakers handed the Cleveland Cavaliers a 105-93 loss. The win was the Lakers' 14th in their last 16 games. Mario Bennett, who was pushed into the starting power forward spot due to injuries to Robert Horry and Corie Blount, scored a career-high 21 points in the win. With the victory, the Lakers remain two games behind Western Conference-leading Seattle with eight games remaining.

(3/24/98)-Lakers creep to within 2 of the Sonics

The Lakers have won ten of their last eleven games, including wins over playoff-bound Indiana, San Antonio, Seattle, and Phoenix. The streak moved the Lakers to within striking distance of the division leading Seattle Sonics. The Lakers are two games behind the Sonics with fourteen games left on their schedule.
In other Lakers news, Nick Van Exel was activated from the injured list, but will not return to his starting role until either he or Del Harris makes the decision. Van Exel wants to stay on the bench, since the Lakers are doing well with Derek Fisher in the starting lineup.
Shaquille O'Neal has been named the Player of the Week (Mar. 16 - Mar. 22). Shaq averaged 28.8 points and 14.8 rebounds in four games. The Lakers were 3 - 1.

(3/7/98)-Lakers glad to be home

The Lakers returned from a wild (and disappointing) six game road-trip, their longest of the season, with impressive wins over the Indiana Pacers and San Antonio Spurs. The Lakers went 3-3 on the trip, which included disappointing losses to the Orlando Magic and the Washington Wizards. Considering the soap opera that took place while they were on the road, the Lake Show should be glad to be playing in the Forum again. During the trip, there were plenty of distractions, including rumors that Del Harris would be fired and Shaq ripping his teammates and the refs after their loss to the Wizards. The Lakers now return the the Forum for four games before taking a three game trip.

(2/21/98)-Lakers halt skid

The Lakers ended their longest losing streak of the season by walking over the Denver Nuggets, 131-92. The win snapped the Lakers' 3-game losing skid, and the 39-point stomping was their highest margin of victory this season. Mario Bennett had his best game ever in the NBA, setting career highs in points (17), field goals made and attempted (8-for-12), rebounds (13), steals (4), and minutes (26). Rick Fox added 22 points, and Kobe Bryant chipped in with 21. Every Laker that played, with the exception of Derek Fisher, scored in double digits. Robert Horry and Nick Van Exel didn't dress for the game - they decided to take the game off and give their injuries a few more days to heal.

(2/9/98)-Lakers' All-Stars shine

With the Lakers being the best represented team in the All-Star game, the odds were good that at least one player would have a good game. Surprisingly, all four Lake Show All-Stars had a good showing. Kobe Bryant, making his first ever start in the midseason classic, scored 18 points (tops on the West squad), grabbed six rebounds, and used up plenty of film on the highlight reel. Nick Van Exel scored 13 points in his All-Star debut, and Eddie Jones dropped in 15 points and ripped down a team-leading 11 rebounds. Shaquille O'Neal, the West's starting center, added 12 points in the East's 135-114 stomping of the West. Despite the score, the night belonged to Kobe and Michael Jordan. Jordan, playing in what may be his last All-Star game, earned MVP honors. Kobe and Jordan went at it for roughly 3 quarters in what was dubbed the "passing of the torch" by the media.

(1/23/98)-Big week in Lakers News

There was plenty of Lakers news recently. Francis "Chick" Hearn, the legendary voice of the Lakers, broadcast his 3000th straight game, a 92-89 victory over the visiting Orlando Magic. Chick last missed a Lakers game in 1965, and has only missed two total since he began his Laker broadcasting career in 1961.

Shaquille O'Neal reaggrevated his abdominal injury in the Lakers' 119-109 win over the Phoenix Suns. Luckily, the reinjury was not serious, and he will play Saturday against the Seattle Supersonics.

Kobe Bryant recently moved into a starting guard position for the All-Star Game. Eddie Jones and Nick Van Exel are fifth and eighth, respectively. O'Neal is second in voting at the center position and owns the third highest vote total in the West.

(1/5/98)-Shaq's back

After missing six weeks with an abdominal strain, Shaquille O'Neal returned to the Lakers squad feeling healthy as ever. Shaq missed twenty games - the team went 13-7 without him. In his first game back, O'Neal came off the bench to score 22 points and grab nine rebounds in 24 minutes in a 116-106 win against the Atlanta Hawks. It was the first time in his Laker career that he did not start. Commenting on the win against one of the better teams in the league, point guard Nick Van Exel said, "Tonight was just a sign of what can happen with him in there."

(12/24/97)-O'Neal suffers another injury

The Lakers will have to keep playing without center Shaquille O'Neal for at least two more weeks. Shaq, who has already missed the past five weeks due to an abdominal strain, fractured his shooting wrist two weeks ago by punching a heavy bag, part of his rehab workouts. Doctors say he will not need a cast, and fortunately for the Lakers, he won't miss any extra time because of the injury, since the team didn't expect him back for at least two more weeks anyway. The Lakers are 13-6 without Shaq.

(12/12/97)-Lakers end skid

The Lakers had lost three straight games, including dropping a game to the lowly Golden State Warriors, before beating the Houston Rockets 119-102 on Friday night. Rick Fox had his best game of the season, scoring 30 points (including 3-4 from 3-point range) and pulling down 7 rebounds. Kobe Bryant chipped in with 27 points, the highest scoring game of his career. In other Laker news, Shaquille O'Neal has been cleared to start light workouts. The Lakers expect him to be back around Christmas time.

(11/22/97)-Best Start Ever

The Lakers, with their 118-93 win over the Minnesota Timberwolves, continued their best start in the team's history, improving to 10-0. The win combined with the Atlanta Hawks' loss to the Houston Rockets left the Lakers as the only unbeaten team in the NBA. Strong play by Shaquille O'Neal (who will miss the next ten days due to a strained abdominal muscle), Eddie Jones (who is no longer on the trading block), Nick Van Exel (who seems to have patched things up with coach Del Harris), and Kobe Bryant (who has erased last season's playoff catastophe and is playing like the league's best sixth man) have helped to make the Lakers the highest scoring team in the league.

(11/8/97)-Lakers continue hot start

The Lakers once again battled back from a slow start to come back in the fourth quarter and defeat the New York Knicks, 99-94. In a game that was a fight from the opening tipoff to the final buzzer, Robert Horry scored 17 points and had a crucial steal in the final minutes of the fourth quarter to preserve the Laker lead. Shaquille O'Neal also scored 17 in his season debut despite only going 3 for 9 from the free throw line. The only thing worse was the commentary provided by Doc Rivers. With the win, the Lakers remained as one of three undeafeted teams in the NBA.

My Opinion On...The Jones Situation

By now, everyone that doesn't live in a hole has heard the rumors about Eddie Jones going to Sacramento for Mitch Richmond. The Lakers would be insane to trade Jones for anyone. Mitch Richmond is a scorer, he's a go-to guy for a team. The Lakers already have Shaquille for a go-to guy. Plus, the four other starters can score at any time. Eddie is going to be a star in the NBA for years to come. Richmond's got about 3-4 more good seasons in him. I think Richmond's a great player, but the Lakers don't need him. What do you think? Take the survey and let me know.

(11/1/97)-Lakers run over Jazz in season opener

The Lakers came back from a slow start and literally ran over the Utah Jazz 104-87. The Lakers brought back memories of Showtime by using an uptempo fast break offense to battle back from a poor first quarter. More impressive was the fact that the Lakers dominated despite not having Shaquille O'Neal or Elden Campbell in the lineup. Both were tending to injuries, with O'Neal nursing a pulled stomach muscle and Campbell battling neck spasms that sidelined him just before tipoff. Kobe Bryant showed flashes of a superstar career, scoring 23 points off the bench to lead all scorers. His night was filled with spectacular dunks and great passes. Nick Van Exel was 6-8 from the 3-point line on his way to a 22 point night. Robert Horry quietly contributed 11 points, 7 assists, a team-high 13 rebounds, and a game-high 5 blocks. The game was overshadowed by an incident involving Shaq and Greg Ostertag. Apparently words were exchanged after the Utah shootaround and ended in O'Neal knocking Ostertag to the ground. The NBA plans to investigate the matter.

Shaq to miss a week

Shaquille O'Neal was diagnosed with an abdominal strain after pulling out of the Lakers' preseason loss to the Denver Nuggets after playing only four minutes. He is only expected to miss a week of action, meaning he'll be ready for the start of the season, but will miss the rest of the preseason. In other news, the Lakers waived DeJuan Wheat, their first pick of the 97 Draft. Wheat saw very limited time during the preseason, and was battling Shea Seals for one of the final guard spots. They now have fourteen players remaining under contract. Finally, rumors have it that the Lakers are trying to work an Eddie Jones, Sean Rooks, and Corie Blount for Mitch Richmond trade with Sacramento.

Kobe sizzles in preseason opener

In the first exhibition game of the season, the Lakers pounded the Denver Nuggets 135-102. The Lakers were led by Kobe Bryant, who came off the bench to burn the Nuggets for 31 points in just 25 minutes of playing time. Kobe shot 10-14 from the field, including 3-3 from behind the three point line. He also hit 8-10 from the charity stripe. Shaquille O'Neal scored 25 points, including a 9-11 night from the free throw line. Nick Van Exel, who is bothered by a bruised knee, did not play and is not expected to play in the Lakers' next game either.