ESPN

Kobe Bryant called into Max and Marcellus on 710 ESPN this afternoon -- I believe he appeared on the call screen as "Kobe in Orange County" -- and stayed on the phone for about an hour. Needless to say, with that kind of time there was an incredible amount of ground covered.

Listen to the whole hour here.

One of the more interesting moments came when Kobe was asked whether or not the idea of catching and perhaps exceeding Michael Jordan's ring count (that would be six) is a major motivating factor for him:

“To be really frank with you, I really do not look at it as that, for the simple fact that Michael has really taught me a lot. Really taught me a lot. The trainer of his, Tim Grover, he’s passed on to me and I work with him a great deal, and he’s shown me a lot. So I can’t sit there and say, well, I’m trying to catch Jordan at six, I want to pass him after six. That’s not how I approach that, because most of the things that I have learned, most of the things that I do, I owe to him. People don’t really understand that. They want to make it a me vs. him type of thing, and I just don’t feel that way.

I have a great sense of admiration and respect for the things that I’ve learned from him. I feel like I owe it to him, and I owe it to Jerry West, and I owe it to Oscar [Robertson], and I owe it to Elgin [Baylor] and I owe it to all those players who I’ve come in contact with and have passed on a lot of information to me, to carry that torch and to carry that mantle...

...It’s truly not [what motivates me]. I want to win as much as I can just because if anything else, you have to hear everybody talking about this is it for him, he’s done. The newer generation is taking over, and this that and the other. That’s more of a driving factor. If I win six and I end up tying M.J., that’s great, but he and I have had completely different career paths.”

Some won't believe him when he says chasing Jordan isn't a major motivation -- listening to the interview, certainly Max Kellerman doesn't -- and it indicates the battle Kobe faces having his career evaluated on its own terms. It seems like a mistake as well to distill Kobe's admittedly pathological competitiveness so neatly. The M.J. factor probably fits in there somewhere, since Bryant has said before he sees those legends coming before him as measuring sticks. But so do other factors like the desire to quiet those who doubt him, and an internal motivation fueled not just by intense desire to win, but a hatred of losing.

Kobe hates losing. Hates, hates, hates it.

More from the interview below, including comments on L.A.'s postseason championship odds, his relationships with Mike Brown and Jim Buss, Derek Fisher's battle with Billy Hunter and the NBPA, and more.

(Read full post)

It was a lively morning on the chat in the wake of Metta World Peace's suspension. Plenty of conversation about the implications going forward, and they are significant. Plus questions about resting starters for Thursday's game, whether Kobe Bryant ought to go for the scoring title, and more.

Here's the link to the transcript.

The day has been dominated by bad news for the Lakers, starting with an ankle injury for Matt Barnes and moving on to a seven-game suspension for Metta World Peace. At least they can end it with something positive.

Tuesday night in Atlanta, the Hawks knocked off the Clippers 109-102, giving the Lakers the Pacific Division title, locking them into the third seed in the Western Conference playoffs, and making Thursday's game in Sacramento irrelevant to anyone not in a Las Vegas sportsbook or calculating draft lottery odds for the Kings.

This is a good thing, removing any need for starters to play big, or even little, minutes. Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum, and Pau Gasol should have early nights, if they dress at all. Perhaps coach Mike Brown will elect to give key starters a little bit of burn, allowing him to see different floor combinations that might be needed in the playoffs with Barnes potentially hobbled and World Peace out. Either way, not actually having to win the game is a great luxury.

As for a first-round opponent, it will either be Dallas or Denver. The Nuggets control their own destiny, but either team remains a legitimate possibility.

Newton's third law contends that for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction. Using that principle as a guide, Metta World Peace met the side of James Harden's head on Sunday with a fairly vicious elbow, laying out the likely NBA Sixth Man of the Year and earning himself an ejection. In other words, a powerful force of action. Tuesday, the league office met that action with one of its own, announcing that MWP will be suspended for seven games.

Does this truly constitute an "equal" reaction? Hard to say, as the science of comparing 'bows and penalties is similarly murky to that of apples and oranges. But the penalty was no joke, which was to be expected. Between the act itself, the way MWP squared off against Serge Ibaka afterward and his long list of previous transgressions (including last season's playoffs against Dallas), a wrist slap felt unlikely. And MWP didn't deserve to be let off easily. This was extremely dangerous, dirty and unwarranted, a sucker punch with an elbow. Harden could have been seriously hurt, and a strong reaction was necessary to create a future deterrent.

Since Sunday's incident, I've heard Los Angeles Lakers fans on the blog, on Twitter and on radio say Harden got what he deserved because he "talks trash to Kobe Bryant" and "was making contact with Metta." Respectfully, either rationale is ridiculous. The "contact" initiated by the Oklahoma City Thunder guard was what I often refer to as "getting in place to receive an inbound pass." Were Harden looking to instigate or irritate, he'd have hit MWP with some actual force, rather than meander into him at a glacial speed. And second, yapping throughout a game isn't grounds for an elbow that could result in having your jaw wired shut. This isn't a street fight. You don't go clocking dudes because they got in your face or talked smack. Everyone in the NBA is a paid professional, and in the case of Metta, a rather handsomely paid one.

There are boundaries, and everybody knows them. Admitting the painfully obvious -- Metta's actions were irrefutably wrong -- doesn't make you any less loyal to the Lakers or even to Metta himself. It just makes you sound like you possess a shred of objectivity.

As for matters concerning basketball, Metta's ban puts the Lakers in a bind. Offensively, he has experienced an April rebirth, particularly during Bryant's absence. Whether as a scorer or facilitator, an outside shot and comfort zone has been discovered after nearly a season's worth of physical and mental struggles. The Lakers may be stockpiling scorers these days, but they can never have enough sources of scoring, especially with Ramon Sessions currently in a funk. Plus, World Peace has a knack for hitting big shots. That Kobe has consistently passed to Metta late in fourth quarters isn't only because the dude's always left open. That ability to come through in crunch time will be missed.

(Read full post)

The news is here.

The NBA released a statement regarding the suspension:

"The Lakers' Metta World Peace has been suspended for seven games without pay for striking the Thunder's James Harden in the head with his elbow, the NBA announced today.

The incident, which resulted in a Flagrant Foul Two and ejection, occurred with 1:39 remaining in the second quarter of the Lakers’ 114-106 victory over the Thunder on April 22 at Staples Center.

“The concussion suffered by James Harden demonstrates the danger posed by violent acts of this kind, particularly when they are directed at the head area," NBA Commissioner David Stern said. "We remain committed to taking necessary measures to protect the safety of NBA players, including the imposition of appropriate penalties for players with a history of on-court altercations."

The suspension will begin with the Lakers’ next game at Sacramento on April 26. The remaining games of the suspension will be served over the next six games in which the player is eligible and physically able to play, including this season’s playoffs."

Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak issued a statement on behalf of the team:

"Metta has for the most part been a model citizen both on and off the court since joining the Lakers. Still, his most recent lapse in judgement is not to be condoned or accepted. His actions could have seriously injured another player, and his absence during this suspension will hurt our team as well. While we accept the league’s decision, we will be supportive of Metta and try to help him be more professional on the court.”

EL SEGUNDO -- Over the last few weeks, the Lakers have been bolstered by improved play at the small forward position.

Now, they have serious depth issues.

Matt Barnes did not practice Tuesday and will not make the trip to Sacramento for Thursday’s regular season finale against the Kings thanks to a sprained right ankle. Barnes suffered the injury during the first half of Sunday’s 114-106 double overtime win over the Oklahoma City Thunder at Staples Center. He managed to play just over nine minutes in the third quarter, but didn’t play in the fourth or either extra session.

Starting small forward Metta World Peace is expected to be suspended after elbowing Oklahoma City’s James Harden in the head with 1:37 remaining in the second quarter Sunday.

The issues don’t stop there. Second year forward Devin Ebanks, who finished Sunday’s game after World Peace’s ejection and Barnes’ suffered bruises on his left ring and middle fingers after dropping a weight on his hand during a workout.

He is probable for Thursday’s game, and is a strong candidate to start.

Head coach Mike Brown acknowledged the lack of bodies could be a problem.

“There’s concern there. We don’t want any of our guys out if we can help it. But Metta has to abide by what the league says, whatever that means. Matt has to get healthy and then same Devin,” he said. “Otherwise, we’ve got to fit guys in how they can. But nobody’s going to feel sorry for us right now, so we’ve got to figure out how to get wins.”

Barnes, who missed 26 games last season after surgery to repair torn cartilage in his right knee, was playing arguably his best basketball since signing with the Lakers before the 2010-11 season, averaging 8.8 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 3.2 assists in 26.8 minutes through 13 games in April.

The decisions coaches make are too frequently boiled down to overly binary, results-based evaluation. A choice was good or bad depending on the final score, as opposed to the logic driving it or the context creating it. It's one of the reasons quantifying the impact of coaches is tough, and why they often get credit or blame for things they shouldn't. The swings for coaches of marquee teams in major markets can be massive and often reflexively tilted negatively, something for which Mike Brown wasn't fully prepared entering his first season as Lakers coach.

Working under extremely difficult circumstances, Brown's first season has been a mixed bag. Clearly his credibility isn't firmly established, whether with his team, the media covering him or the fans evaluating him. While it may have been lost in the wake of the vicious foul of James Harden by Metta World Peace, Sunday's win over the Thunder at Staples was significant for Brown.

Down their starting small forward after World Peace's ejection and best bench player (Matt Barnes was limited to just over nine minutes in the second half after turning an ankle early in the game), the Lakers mounted a furious fourth quarter comeback fueled in part by choices Brown made from the bench.

If it wasn't his best day as coach of the Lakers, it was right up there, and was badly needed just one game away from the start of the postseason.

It started by dusting off Jordan Hill in one of the more significant games of the season.

Brown explained his thinking after the game. "On my ride back from the airport after our loss to San Antonio, I just had a gut feel. I picked up the phone and called Hill at two in the morning and said, "Jordan, you ready to play?"

Brown told Hill he wanted athleticism and aggression against the pick and roll, and a presence in the paint. Hill gave him all three, rewarding Brown with a great first half, and more good play starting the fourth. Faced with the decision to stick with Hill or give Andrew Bynum, ineffective Sunday but still an All-Star averaging 18.7 points, 11.8 rebounds, and toting a team leading PER of 23.02, his normal playing time, Brown stuck with Hill.

In some ways, the decision was easy: The Lakers' fourth quarter comeback was sparked by excellent defense on OKC's relentless pick and roll game, and Hill was integral to that effort. Bynum, meanwhile, was only periodically engaged. Still, while keeping an effective group on the floor sounds logical, had the Lakers come up short or had Hill made key mistakes, Brown would have been criticized.

Putting Bynum back in the game might not have been the best decision, but was safer.

(Read full post)

Andy and I participated in today's 5-on-5 at ESPN.com's NBA page weighing in on Metta World Peace's elbow to James Harden. Also joining the panel are ESPN.com's Kevin Arnovitz and Michael Wallace, and ESPN the Magazine's Chris Palmer. The five questions:

1. What was your gut reaction to the play?
2. How long should the NBA's suspension of World Peace be?
3. Should MWP's track record influence the NBA's decision?
4. How will this impact MWP and the Lakers going forward?
5. What's your take on violent play in the NBA?

Check out our takes, and leave your own in the comments section below.

There wasn't foul trouble or an injury or an ill-advised 3-pointer that had Andrew Bynum glued to the bench for all of the fourth quarter and during both overtimes in the Lakers' epic 114-106 come-from-behind win over the Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday.

If you believe Lakers coach Mike Brown, it was simply a coaching decision to continue to ride backup big man Jordan Hill, who was playing his best game as a pro (14 points, 15 rebounds, three blocks), rather than an intentional benching to punish Bynum.

"That group that we had with Jordan and Pau [Gasol], they played well in the first half," Brown said. Hill played nine minutes in the second quarter when the Lakers were able to cut an 11-point deficit down to just one. Bynum played just five minutes in the second quarter. "So in the second half when we didn't play as well in the third quarter and I went with that group to start the fourth quarter and they went on a little run, I think it was a 10-point game at about the time that I usually put the big fella [Bynum] back in. I said, 'You know what? This group is playing well. Not only are they scoring some points and they're chipping into this thing little by little, but they're defending.' I said, 'I'm going to roll with this group.'"

Bynum played all 12 minutes in the third quarter, going 2-for-7 from the field as the Thunder turned a five-point halftime lead into a 16-point advantage headed into the fourth.

"From the standpoint that yes, Drew is 7-foot and he's an All-Star and he's played very well for us, that makes it tough, but it wasn't tough because I had a feeling," Brown said. "I had a gut feel, plus just watching the flow of game that group was playing extremely well on both ends of the floor and I felt there was plenty of time left for us to get a win."

Brown's gut feel didn't seem to sit well with Bynum as he appeared to become increasingly disengaged on the bench as the game dragged on through the fourth quarter and the subsequent overtimes. During several timeouts he was the lone Lakers player sitting down away from the huddle as the rest of his team stood up and fed off the energy of a tight ballgame with playoff seeding implications.

If Bynum was upset with Brown's substitution pattern however, he didn't say it with his actual vocal language after the game the way he did with his body language during the game.

"This is a team game," Bynum told reporters after the game. "I think [Brown] made the right decision. Jordan was playing phenomenal basketball. That unit brought the game back and he left him out there. I'm all for that."

(Read full post)

Amazing how fast the tide can turn. What looked like it might be among the team's uglier losses turned into arguably the most inspiring victory in a couple seasons.

Lakers take Sunday's game against OKC in double overtime, 114-106.

Among the topics in a very busy show:

• A spectacular fourth quarter defensively, and some very instructive words from Kobe Bryant after the game on what the game means for the Lakers.
• Contributions from the bench. Jordan Hill, Devin Ebanks, and Steve Blake all came up big.
• Andrew Bynum's reaction to sitting through the fourth quarter and OT. To his credit, it was much more positive than the last time this happened.
• Metta World Peace, and his foul on James Harden. We play his postgame statement, and talk about what sort of discipline is likely coming from the league office.

Click below for video from Kobe, Hill, Ebanks, Pau Gasol (who finished one assist shy of another trip-dub), and Blake ...

(UPDATE: Mike Brown's postgame comments have also been added. Interesting stuff on Hill, Bynum, Kobe on Russell Westbrook, and more.)

(Read full post)

By now, you've seen the play, probably multiple times. A vicious elbow thrown near the end of the first half from Metta World Peace to the neck and head of Oklahoma City's James Harden. MWP will be getting a call from the league, no doubt. The only question is the severity of his punishment.

After the game, World Peace didn't take questions, but did express regret in a short statement to the media:

It's difficult to decipher from one game what a team might do in the postseason, or how good it might be against different competition. What is a little easier to see, though, is the moments when a team has to decide its character. The Lakers, faced with just that Sunday against Oklahoma City, proved they would fight.

With a massive fourth-quarter comeback and gritty work in two overtimes, the Lakers scored their most impressive victory of the season in arguably their most satisfying win since Game 7 against Boston in the '10 Finals, beating the visiting Thunder 114-106.

Here are four takeaways:

1. The Lakers don't quit on games.

Even as they were being dusted by San Antonio on Tuesday night, the Lakers never really packed it in. That night, it didn't help.

Sunday provided a different story. Down 18, the Lakers absolutely shut the door on the Thunder during a tremendous fourth quarter in which the defensive intensity was cranked to a level rarely seen in the past few weeks. Kobe Bryant's work on Russell Westbrook was critical (see below). Devin Ebanks was asked to guard Kevin Durant thanks to the ejection of Metta World Peace and an injury to Matt Barnes, and did excellent work. Jordan Hill and Pau Gasol played OKC's pick-and-roll aggressively. Overall, the Thunder were 4-of-19 from the field, just a tick over 21 percent. They missed James Harden for sure, but credit the Lakers for not quitting on a game that looked like it was over. (I sure thought it was.)

The Lakers needed every bit of that dominance to push the game to extra frames, where the defense was equally strong. They got their hands on the ball and contested shots, stuck on OKC's stars and earned critical stops with the game on the line.

2. The bench was huge.

Hill, who had played about six seconds of meaningful basketball since joining the Lakers, was a force. Not necessarily because he knew exactly what to do on each play (pretty clear he didn't), but with his energy. Mike Brown, who said after he had a gut feeling following Friday's loss to the Spurs he'd give Hill some burn Sunday, rewarded his little used forward with critical minutes, and why not? They're probably not close in the first half without Hill's six points and four boards, and certainly don't do what they did in the second half without his work on the glass and aggressive play against Oklahoma City's pick and roll game. In all, Hill finished with 14 points, 16 rebounds and 3 blocks in 35 minutes played -- obviously all highs since coming to L.A.

Ebanks was critical for his work on Durant and a steal with 24.5 seconds left in the second OT (a play created in part by a good rotation from Hill on Westbrook), helping seal the win for L.A. No surprise he got a kiss on the forehead from Brown as the clock wound down.

Perhaps lost in Hill's performance, the Metta Incident (again, see below) and the comeback was Steve Blake, who also played huge minutes in relief of Ramon Sessions in the second half and hit two huge triples in the fourth, and another in OT.

All season, the Lakers have needed the bench to play well against elite competition, and on Sunday it happened.

(Read full post)

Aside from Sunday's Lakers-Thunder game having major implications on playoff seeding as the Lakers are trying to hold off the Clippers for the No. 3 spot while the Thunder are trying to catch the Spurs for first place in the West, there is another race at stake: the scoring title.

Kobe Bryant leads the league in scoring with a 27.89 points per game average. Kevin Durant is hot on his heels, averaging 27.79 points. Bryant has held the lead for the majority of the season after reeling off four straight 40-point games in January, but Durant could be in position for a come-from-behind victory as Bryant assimilates himself back into the Lakers' offense in the final two regular season games after missing seven games with a left shin injury.

Bryant scored 18 points on 7-for-12 shooting Friday in his first game back from injury, a 121-97 loss to the San Antonio Spurs. Durant comes into Sunday averaging 31.3 points on his last four games on 53.9 percent shooting. He scored 29 points on 9-for-15 shooting in a 103-92 win over the Sacramento Kings on Friday.

Bryant downplayed the significance what adding another scoring title to his laundry list of career accolades would mean.

"(It's) not very important," Bryant said. "San Antonio was playing me single coverage yesterday, if it was important I would have gone for 50 yesterday.

Durant, 23, has captured the last two scoring titles, giving him two scoring titles in his first four years in the league. Bryant, 33, has just two scoring titles in his first 15 seasons, winning it back-to-back titles when he averaged 35.4 points per game in 2006, and 31.6 points per game in 2007.

It would seem like some sort of victory against Father Time if Bryant ends up being able to stave off Durant for the scoring title. His season is already historically great as his 27.9 points per game average will supplant Karl Malone's 23.4 points per game in 2000-01 fro the highest scoring average for a player in his 16th season in NBA history.

However, Bryant maintained that a third scoring title is not something he is particularly motivated to attain.

"You guys now know I can get it," Bryant said. "I’m not really tripping about it."

Dave McMenamin covers the Lakers for ESPNLosAngeles.com. Follow him on Twitter.

Following Friday's thumping in San Antonio at the hands of the Spurs, Sunday's tilt with Oklahoma City takes on a little extra significance. First, mentally it would certainly benefit the Lakers to play a strong game against an elite Western Conference team. Losing would run their record against San Antonio and OKC to an uninspiring 1-5, not exactly a top shelf omen looking ahead to the postseason.

Then there are the practical implications. Should the Lakers lose, they would no longer control their own destiny in the Pacific Division. Instead, the Clippers could win out over their final three games and take the crown, pushing the Lakers to a four seed and a first round date with an extremely dangerous Memphis squad.

Not good. To preview Sunday's action, we hit up the always insightful Royce Young, host of TrueHoop's Daily Thunder Blog with a few questions...

1. The Thunder put up points more efficiently than just about anyone in the league (2nd in efficiency), but the D has been good-but-not-great (9th). How good are the Thunder, really, on their own end? Where are the strengths and weaknesses?

Royce Young: The Thunder are extremely vulnerable against a good pick-and-roll team. Kendrick Perkins, while a wonderful post defender, struggles hedging, showing and helping. Scott Brooks tries to combat this by going small with Durant at the 4, but that leaves the Thunder weaker on the glass. It's been an issue for OKC this season and a reason the Thunder have had problems with San Antonio and the Clippers, both good pick-and-roll teams.

Two other things the Thunder struggle with defensively are 1) defending the perimeter and 2) defensive rebounding. Teams have been known to get hot from the outside against OKC because the Thunder are a bit slow in rotating the shell to the wings and corner when a guard penetrates against them, which opens up looks in bulk. And any time you give teams extra shots off the offensive glass, you're asking for trouble.


2. How has Derek Fisher fit in with the Thunder, on and off the floor?

RY: It's been a really strange thing with Fisher, honestly. His signing was billed as him being a new backup point guard to Russell Westbrook, but I'd contend he's barely played any point. James Harden runs much more point guard with the second unit as Fisher often just finds his way to the corner and waits for a kickout. He's been a steadier presence off the bench than rookie Reggie Jackson, but if his role is to essentially be a shooting guard, the Thunder might be better off using Daequan Cook -- a much better 3-point shooter -- more in that role.

Brooks seems to have fallen in love with sticking with Fisher for extended stretches, which has led to curious minutes for Fisher at times. Again, he's an upgrade from Jackson, but his role has been a tad confusing.

(Read full post)