Kareem preaches patience to Andrew Bynum

Young center wants to be more assertive, but Hall of Famer says opportunities will come.

The NBA's all-time leading scorer has one word for Andrew Bynum -- patience. Bynum has struggled with his shot and recently said he wanted to be more assertive once he got the basketball in the post. To paraphrase Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, it will happen in time. "The offense is designed to spread it around, but if you're getting high-percentage shots in the post, they're of great value to a team," said Abdul-Jabbar, in his fourth season as a Lakers' special assistant coach in charge of Bynum's development.

"It's a situation where he has to prove that he can deliver and then maybe the offense can look for him more than it is right now. He just has to be patient." After getting outscored and outrebounded by Detroit center Kwame Brown, Bynum lamented that he hadn't scored enough in the low post this season, feeding instead off screen-and-rolls, lob passes and offensive rebounds. Bynum, who signed a four-year, $57.4-million contract extension last month, was averaging 9.9 points and 8.9 rebounds while shooting 45.5% before Tuesday's game against...read full article

Pau Gasol scores 34 points to lead Lakers

Lakers get back to winning. Top pick Derrick Rose has 25 points for the Bulls.

Memo to the Eastern Conference: One in a row.

OK, so The Lakers didn't beat Boston, Detroit or even Cleveland, but they jumped all over the Chicago Bulls on Tuesday, 116-109, a welcome sight for them after all their issues with the Pistons last Friday. Pau Gasol had 34 points, Kobe Bryant had 21 and the Lakers returned to the winning side after a long weekend of "What happened?" queries.

Chicago is a middle-of-the-road team from the East, lucky to even to be called a Boston Lite or Mini-Detroit, but the Bulls play with enough punch to earn a "gritty" tag from Bryant the day before the game.

It wasn't quite enough to push away the memory of an 11-point home loss to Detroit, but the Lakers will...read full article

Lakers rally to stay undefeated

Reporting from Dallas -- Funny thing, life in the NBA. Phil Jackson had been preaching the importance of winning a gritty game and declined to compare the toughness of the current Lakers team to those that won three championships earlier this decade. 

So the present-day rendition went out and presented a "for your consideration" game. They collected floor burns, rang up a blocked shot at a critical time and held the Dallas Mavericks to 39 second-half points in a tense 106-99 victory Tuesday at American Airlines Center. It wasn't poetic, it won't make the year-end highlight video and it started out more Slowtime than Showtime, but it ended with the Lakers' sixth consecutive victory to start the season.

There were sighs and smiles after it ended, the Lakers now 3-0 in road games. Pau Gasol was again a steadying influence with 22 points and 11 rebounds, and Kobe Bryant had 27 points, but this was one for the reserves.

Trevor Ariza had 13 points, played all 12 minutes of the fourth quarter and had the play of the game, blocking a late three-point attempt by Jerry Stackhouse.

Lamar Odom had 12 points and played almost 10 minutes in...read full article

Lakers' Pau Gasol makes a stand on defense

He shuts down Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki in the second half, a key part of the Lakers' come-from-behind victory.

Reporting from Dallas -- Even Pau Gasol has bought into the new Lakers' defense . . . surprisingly. Gasol never has been known for his defense, for being a stopper, for being something other than a skilled offensive player.

But there Gasol was Tuesday night, grinding it out against Dallas' Dirk Nowitzki, putting the clamps on the Mavericks' All-Star forward during the Lakers' 106-99 victory over the Mavericks. "Definitely, defense was a big challenge tonight for me, to be able to step out and make it tough for him and I think I was pretty successful," Gasol said. "It's a big key when you stop Dirk on their team."

It was Gasol's job to contain his counterpart at power forward, and he did. Nowitzki finished with 14 points, but he missed 12 of his 17 shots. Gasol had a lot to do with that. Nowitzki was one for nine in the second half, his last basket coming with 10:14 left in the third quarter. He missed all five of his shots in the fourth quarter. Gasol played a major role in that happening. "Pau is really a great player, both at center and power forward," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said. "He was a good matchup for us tonight. Dirk's a great shooter and we were able to contain him at least somewhat, and Pau had a big hand in...read full article

Unplugged with Lamar Odom

Lamar Odom on the mic talking about how he is 100% sure he can win a game in NFL if he is the quarterback if he picks his teammates. Watch the video and find out who he picks.

Lakers hit the big 5-0 with ease

They win their fifth straight to start the season, erasing early 16-point deficit and routing Rockets by 29. Their average victory margin is 22.4 points.

Wait, when exactly is that challenge supposed to come? The Lakers powered through another alleged contender, overcoming a numbingly slow start (seriously, a 16-point deficit in the second quarter) on the way to a breezy 111-82 victory Sunday over the Houston Rockets at Staples Center. Pau Gasol was steady as could be, Jordan Farmar donated a 16-point, six-assist effort in a reserve role, and early-game boos turned into standing ovations as the Lakers tied their third-largest margin of victory in a 41-year history of playing the Rockets.

Through five games, the only people who have toyed with the Lakers have been, well, the Lakers. They needed Kobe Bryant's fourth-quarter bailout for a victory in Denver. They needed a 22-0 run to dispatch the Clippers. They trailed Houston, 32-16, before finally awakening. Actually, "awakening" might be the understatement of the Lakers' young season. The final score represented a 45-point swing from their early deficit. From that rickety point in the second quarter, when boos began to seep out of fans after a three-second violation on Lamar Odom, the Lakers outscored Houston the rest of the way, 95-50 (not a typo).

"The momentum of this game just turned upside down after the first quarter," Lakers Coach Phil Jackson said.

Andrew Bynum's Birthday Bash at Club Ivar

Andrew Bynum was making it rain dollars at Club Ivar for his 21th birthday. Check it out!

Lakers for redemption

Lakers and the Celtics again is what everybody wants to see in the finals.

But I think the Lakers will win the championship this time and Kobe will get his fourth ring.

The New Guitar Heroes Commercial!

Watch Kobe Bryant on the mic, A-Rod and Michael Phelps playing the guitars, and Tony Hawk hitting the drums in the latest commercial of guitar heroes. It's so funny.

Is Kobe playing tonight?

Kobe Bryant is expected to play Tuesday against Portland Trailblazer for the opening game of the season. He "kinda" injured his knee when he bang into Josh Powell against the Bobcats on Tuesday. He was a little worried when it happened but later said that he was okay. The Lakers is playing the Bobcats again tonight for another preseason game. 

Is Kobe playing tonight?

Want to trade Lamar?...Think Again.

Lamar Odom is part of the bench mob now and I don't know about you guys but I think Lamar coming off the bench is the best thing for the Lakers if they want to win the championship. The fans and media are always giving him a hard time because he's inconsistent...wanting to trade him. I think he should stay because he does all the other small stuff that builds up to something big. As a Laker fan...we shouldn't take him for granted.

Find out why he would help the Lakers

Jordan Farmar's Goal as a Laker

Jordan Farmar has been playing great so far during the preseason. Coming off the bench, he's averaging 12 points a game, 3 assists, 2 steals, making 59.1 percent of his field goals...all 2nd in the team. His goal is to definitely start for the Lakers one day and he's pushing himself to do so. Right now, he's learning from the master Derek Fisher. 

Find out when he will start