Lakers trying to upgrade their 'D'

Coach Phil Jackson and players use Monday's practice to address defensive deficiencies that resurfaced in Sunday's win over Sacramento. Stopping dribble penetration is top priority. 

The Lakers went back to work Monday in search of ways to correct a defense that failed them Sunday night against the Sacramento Kings, even though the Lakers won the game. The theme at practice was simple: Stop dribble penetration. Contain the guards. The Lakers were unsuccessful in doing that against Sacramento's trio of guards. John Salmons, Bobby Brown and Bobby Jackson accounted for 60 of the Kings' 108 points. They shot a sizzling 57.7% (26 for 45) from the field and seemingly got to the basket at will.

The Lakers' backcourt will be challenged again tonight when it faces New Jersey's guard duo of Vince Carter and Devin Harris at Staples Center. "The first sequence that comes in a situation like that is stopping penetration," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "You stop that and usually the ball stops. We didn't do a relatively good job on defense, I thought, containing some of the better...read full article

Western Conference Insider: Lakers resemble '95-96 Bulls

Sacramento Kings assistant coach Randy Brown knows what a 70-win NBA team looks like. He was on one. Or should I say, he was on it, because the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls are the lone team in league history to reach the 70-win plateau during their record-setting 72-10 season. 

You might remember Brown, a role player who wore No. 0 on the Bulls' 1996-98 championship team, for trying to wrestle the game ball away from Michael Jordan after Chicago downed Seattle in Game 6 of the 1996 NBA Finals.

"I went for that ball," Brown told me before his Kings played the Lakers on Sunday. "It's Toni Kukoc's fault. I told him to give me the ball and as you can see, Michael and I are running for it and then it hit me: It's Father's Day, let the guy have the ball. So, I let it go. He was destined for it, so it was no big deal." With a 118-108 win over Sacramento, Los Angeles pushed its record to 11-1, moving ahead of Chicago's pace in '95-96. The Bulls started their season 10-2, losing to the Sonics on Nov. 26 before going on a 13-game winning streak to set their record at 23-2 by Christmas.

Only seven out of the Lakers' next 16 games leading up to their Finals rematch against Boston Celtics on Dec. 25 are against teams with .500 records or better. Brown thinks that this Lakers team...read full article