Fri. 12/17 vs. Wizards - Results Inside - Postgame comments

Lakers vs. Wizards
Friday, Dec. 17
7:30pm
TV: FSN, NBALP
Radio: KLAC-AM 570/KWKW-AM 1330
Recap | Box Score | Photos

Wizards - 120
Lakers - 116

Lakers Fall in Overtime Thriller
A triple-double performance by Kobe Bryant pushed Los Angeles to overtime, but the Lakers came up just short as they fell 120-116 to the Washington Wizards on Friday. Bryant scored 20 of his 36 points in the fourth quarter and OT and added 14 assists and 10 rebounds. Lamar Odon kicked in 15 points and 10 boards. The Lakers play host to the Memphis Grizzlies on Monday night.

Post all your comments here...

Go Lakers...
95-86

This will be tricky. Those back-2-back nights are always unpredictable.

Lakers Dynasty 2000 wrote:This will be tricky. Those back-2-back nights are always unpredictable.

Especially against two teams that like to run.

Matchup to watch...Odom vs Jamison. It's another game where Odom plays a huge role. I predict this matchup will be the matchup of the night.

Kobe can take advantage of Hughes, he's a lot bigger.

Arenas will probably drop like 30 on Atkins. Tierre...save us.

Mihm will have a big game, because it's at home. Haywood vs Mihm...another good matchup.

Jeffries on Caron should be interesting. I would like to see Caron get a little more involved offensively early on. We are going to need that with Odom and Kobe having to do so much against the Kings.

Yes indeed.

In their last game:

Wizards Can't Finish Off Heat
The Wizards led by four heading into the final period, but couldn't make the lead stand in Wednesday's 98-93 home loss to the Heat. Antawn Jamison led Washington with 26 points and Gilbert Arenas scored 22, handed out eight assists and grabbed seven boards.

Lakers Dynasty 2000 wrote:

Wizards Can't Finish Off Heat
Gilbert Arenas scored 22, handed out eight assists and grabbed seven boards.

Ugh...just imagine what he is going to do against Chucky.

jsm0331 wrote:

Lakers Dynasty 2000 wrote:

Wizards Can't Finish Off Heat
Gilbert Arenas scored 22, handed out eight assists and grabbed seven boards.

Ugh...just imagine what he is going to do against Chucky.

That's why I think Brown and him will be a key matchup. They're both amazingly quick... it should be interesting now that we have some PG's that can ride with other PG's in the league in terms of their speed.

jsm0331 wrote:Matchup to watch...Odom vs Jamison. It's another game where Odom plays a huge role. I predict this matchup will be the matchup of the night.

Kobe can take advantage of Hughes, he's a lot bigger.

Arenas will probably drop like 30 on Atkins. Tierre...save us.

Mihm will have a big game, because it's at home. Haywood vs Mihm...another good matchup.

Jeffries on Caron should be interesting. I would like to see Caron get a little more involved offensively early on. We are going to need that with Odom and Kobe having to do so much against the Kings.

Wouldn't it be smarter if the Wizards put Chris Jeffries on Lamar. They are around the same weight, and Jeffries is a lanky 6-11 forward. Also, this way Antawn is safer from getting into foul trouble.

They gotta get this one! It will make the Sacramento win that much better to sweep the back to back! They have done it already vs. Orlando, but they didn't have to leave town for that back to back. The Wizards are a similar type of team to Orlando too. They should win this game!

I have a gut feeling Kobe is going to get another triple-double and shoot 50% on the field. Hopefully Odom can sustain that momentum he has from the King's game.

Lakers: 102
Wizards 89

Kobe 26pts, 7reb, 10ast
Odem 21pts
Divac 7min

I say REST VLADE till we have to play Shaq... just put send Vlade to a day spa tommorow...don't even bother having him suit up for this game... The Lakers will own every aspect of the game since the Wizards are just a mediocre version of the Lakers...

Oh... heres my prediction

Lakers 102 - Wizards 92

Kobe 30, 6 r , 9a

Mhim 20, 4 blocks

Odom 15, 12, 3

Caron, 20 pts.

yay i get to watch this game.
Wizards are doing very well. One thing they exposed us of during pre-season was the back court cuts and penetration from their point guards. And judging from what I seen last night against Sacramento, the problems are still there. Expect alot of quick points from both sides.. might turn out into a shooting contest considering both teams are capable of hitting alot from the perimeter and both love to run. Gonna be intresting. Hopefully Odom can get off his feet again..i dont expect the Lakers to shoot as well as they did last night.

lakers by 14...

odom 23 points, 4 blocks
bryant 34 ponts, 10 assits

Well Washington may have a good record but they have won only one game agaist a team with a positiv record! They lost 4 games to Miami! This is a must win game for us if we want to be in the post season! We are not allowed to let easy games beeing stealed by mediocre teams! I say 104-96! LA MUST WIN or the win against Ascramento would be nothing worthy! We have to win the next six games! All at home agaist Washington, Memphis, NO, Miami, Torronto and Denver! We need to go 5-1 or something because we will go on the road for a very long time after all those home games!

Another back to back game. We won our first back to back series with the Orlando game, so hopefully that trend continues and pounce on these Wizards.

BEAT THE WIZ!!!

A friend told me that caron butler is injured? is that true? or is it just a joke?


@KB8 till infinity

Cool, dass auch andere deutsche hier sind. Grüße aus Hannover.

After the big win on the road ....I think that we should win this one

Lakers 100
Wizards 87

Kobe 32 pts 10ast 5reb
Lamar 18pts 10reb

Arenas 500000pts on atkins....But we win anyway

LETS LAKERSSS

Preview:

Fresh off an impressive road win, the Los Angeles Lakers return to the Staples Center on Friday to host the Washington Wizards.

Shrugging off multiple controversies, Kobe Bryant led the Lakers to a 115-99 win over the Sacramento Kings on Thursday.

Bryant, who has been in the media spotlight in the past week for feuds with former teammates Karl Malone and Shaquille O'Neal, had one of his finest efforts of the season with 31 points and a season-high 12 assists.

His 10-of-17 shooting effort spearheaded Los Angeles' 55 percent performance. Bryant scored 16 of the Lakers' 37 points in the third quarter.

Friday's contest opens a six-game homestand for the Lakers, who will host O'Neal and the Miami Heat on Christmas.

Despite losing both ends of a home-and-home set with Miami earlier this week, Washington sits in a tie for second place in the Southeast Division.

The Wizards are 0-4 vs. the Heat but 12-4 vs. the rest of the league.

In a 98-93 loss to the Heat on Wednesday, the high-scoring trio of Antawn Jamison, Gilbert Arenas and Larry Hughes combined for 67 points, but not one other Wizard had as many as three baskets.

Los Angeles has dominated the series in recent years, tying or winning the season series 27 straight times and taking 11 in a row at home.

Washington Wizards (12-8) @ Los Angeles Lakers (13-9)

Date: Friday, December 17th
Time: 7:30 PM
TV: FSN, NBALP

Previous Games:
Heat @ Wizards 98 - 93 (LOSS)
Lakers @ Kings 115 - 99 (WIN)

Projected Starting Lineups




(Eddie Jordan)

C - Brendan Haywood (10.2 PPG, 8.6 RPG, 0.6 APG)
PF - Antawn Jamison (21.8 PPG, 9.0 RPG, 2.7 APG)
SF - Jared Jeffries (6.1 PPG, 4.8 RPG, 1.3 APG)
SG - Larry Hughes (18.4 PPG, 6.3 RPG, 4.9 APG)
PG - Gilbert Arenas (21.6 PPG, 3.7 RPG, 5.5 APG)

VS




(Rudy Tomjanovich)

C - Chris Mihm (11.4 PPG, 6.2 RPG, 0.4 APG)
PF - Lamar Odom (14.5 PPG, 10.5 RPG, 2.6 APG)
SF - Caron Butler (13.0 PPG, 4.7 RPG, 1.4 APG)
SG - Kobe Bryant (27.3 PPG, 7.5 RPG, 7.0 APG)
PG - Chucky Atkins (10.4 PPG, 2.6 RPG, 3.6 APG)

Factors off the Bench

(Kwame Brown, Jumaine Jones)

Game MVPs


WIZARDS - Gilbert Arenas
Predicted Stats: 25 points, 4 rebounds, 10 assists

LAKERS - Kobe Bryant
Predicted Stats: 27 points, 8 rebounds, 10 assists

Brandon's Analysis
Gilbert Arenas is simply going to take Chucky Atkins to school in this game, no doubt about it. The Lakers are going to have to shut down the paint and prevent Arenas from penetrating, or Hughes and Co. will have open shots all night long.

The Lakers are going to have to halt the scoring distribution that the Wizards bring to the table every game; otherwise, Los Angeles may find themselves running out of steam trying to defend everyone with a hot hand. The Wizards are very well capable of putting 6 players in double figures against any team they play against. However, let's not disregard the Lakers' great ball distribution last night against the Kings, who were shot out of ARCO by the third quarter with everyone contributing to the win.

An important matchup tonight will be Odom and Jamison. Offensively, Odom needs to drive the lane and take it up strong like he did against Webber last night, but keeping in mind that Jamison has a mobility advantage over C-Webb...so attempting to get to the line should be on Odom's mind at all times. Defensively, he needs to keep his hands up and contest every single shot by Jamison, while keeping him off the glass for second chance points.

If the Lakers pick up a lead by 5+ going into the half, they need to focus on building that lead instead of losing it in the late 3rd. If they find themselves down late in the 4th, it's not just Kobe time; he needs to get Odom into the game in the clutch, because this duo can be a tough cookie to crumble in the final minutes, if they play appropriately.

Brandon's Prediction
The Wizards are attempting to regain control in the East, as Miami and Orlando are fighting for their division against Washington...so look for the Wiz to come out strong and ambitious. The Lakers are out to prove that last night was no fluke, and the extra boost of confidence will in fact keep this team cooking for a while. This should be a great game...but the Lakers will pull away in the 4th and win it, 94-86.

My apologies for the late preview.

No worries bro, excellent anaylsis as always.

Lakers by 4...this should be a tight game. Is that true about Caron? I didn't see it anywhere.

I think the Lakers are wearing their throwback jerseys tonight.

Hopefully we play well in them

edit-- whoa our unis are fly!