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Chron: Bryant's availability for Game 5 up in the air

Discussion in 'Houston Rockets: Game Action & Roster Moves' started by GRENDEL, Apr 28, 2004.

  1. GRENDEL

    GRENDEL Member

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    Chron: Bryant's availability for Game 5 up in the air
    <P>By FRAN BLINEBURY
    Copyright 2004 Houston Chronicle
    <P>EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Perhaps the only thing that could bring more drama to tonight's proceedings would be Kobe Bryant's arrival at midcourt in a white Bronco.
    <P>The fighter jet escorts are on alert. The TV chopper-cams are standing by. The Hollywood glitterati are holding their collective privileged breath.
    <P>Will he or won't he? Arrive on time, that is.
    <P>The talk about offensive and defensive adjustments has taken a back seat to speculation about if and when Bryant will be able to join his Los Angeles Lakers teammates for tonight's Game 5 against the the Rockets after making a hurried trip in from Eagle, Colo., where he has spent the past two days attending pre-trial hearings in his sexual assault case. Another session is scheduled for today.
    <P>"We have to go ahead and assume that he won't be here," said Lakers coach Phil Jackson after Tuesday's practice session. "Whatever he adds we'll consider a blessing."
    <P>That was a significant change from Monday, when Jackson said it was his understanding that a half-day session in today's hearings would allow Bryant plenty of time to make the 2 1/2-hour plane trip from Colorado to Los Angeles. It seems there will be a half-day session. Just the later half, which is causing the red carpet buzz of an Oscar night.
    <P>In a city where they know a thing or two about making an entrance, the question is whether Bryant's will be the low-key kind where he is able to join his teammates for the pre-game layup lines or if he'll heroically swing down from the rafters on a rope like some sort of slam-dunking Indiana Jones.
    <P>"I know he's going to be focused on getting the job done," Shaquille O'Neal said. "I can't imagine what he's going through."
    <P>What the Lakers know is they've been through this scenario twice before this season and won on both occasions.
    <P>On Dec. 19, Bryant flew in from a hearing and arrived at the arena just as a game against the Denver Nuggets was beginning. He hurriedly dressed, received a hero's welcome from the home crowd as he joined the team between the first and second quarters and promptly went into the game.
    <P>Bryant wasted no time on offense, quickly firing up shots, frequently to the displeasure of the other Lakers. He played 31 minutes and finished with 13 points, including a driving shot at the final buzzer that gave the Lakers a 101-99 victory. But as Bryant sat on the floor, smiling while the crowd cheered after the winning hoop, his teammates filed past him on their way to the locker room.
    <P>On March 24, Bryant arrived in plenty of time and was in the starting lineup against Sacramento. He hit 11 of 23 field-goal attempts, 12 of 12 free throws and wound up with 36 points in a 115-91 win.
    <P>Now the stakes are higher, because these are the playoffs and the Lakers have a chance to close out the Rockets and eliminate a return trip to Houston.
    <P>"Of course, this is a whole different routine," Jackson said. "Like anything else, you take the routine away and you're not quite in sync with the team. Kobe is different now from last year. His game has to be affected by what's going on."
    <P>Bryant is coming off Game 4 on Sunday when he struggled to find an offensive rhythm, missing 14 of 21 shots -- and seven in a row at one point -- yet scoring the five consecutive points to beat the Rockets in overtime 92-88.
    <P>There is private concern in the Lakers' camp about their level of play in this series and about O'Neal's sore right knee that sidelined him from Tuesday's practice. The injury could lessen his impact in a series in which Yao Ming is playing him closer than anyone thought possible in the duel of big men.
    <P>Jackson twice has said during the series that O'Neal has shown signs of fatigue that have limited his contributions on the defensive end. Twice in Sunday's overtime, Rockets guard Cuttino Mobley was able to slash down the middle of the lane for unchallenged baskets.
    <P>If O'Neal's minutes must be carefully watched, it will be incumbent on the Lakers to get big production from Bryant. If he's in the house.
    <P>"Honestly, I can say that we'll go about our business as usual," said Lakers guard Derek Fisher. "Even if we don't know anything about him until halftime, we still have to do the things that we do as a team. We still have Shaq. And we still have Gary (Payton) and Karl (Malone). He definitely wants to be here. I know that.
    <P>"I can remember one of those other times in particular when he came in late and had a much higher level of energy than I anticipated. I don't know if any of us can know how it feels. You get the proceedings over, get on a plane, try to relax, try to get your mind into the game.
    <P>"Maybe it's stress relief when he gets here. You know, how a great workout always makes you feel better. Maybe he gets out there on the floor and works all of his stuff out.
    <P>"Team-wise, of course, we're always happy to see him. But it's not because we don't think we can win without him. We have other great players. A lot of teams don't have that luxury."
    <P>In a season full of drama -- real and contrived -- the Lakers and everyone else must keep one eye on the door and wait to see what happens.


    http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/sports/bk/bkn/2535337
     
  2. ChenZhen

    ChenZhen Member

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    these crappy pro Lakers articals from the Houston Chronicle makes me sick.
     
  3. nyquil82

    nyquil82 Member

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    whatever, my question is, "Will Karl Malone be able to play in Game 6 after being kicked in the balls by Bostjan Nachbar?"
     
  4. ChenZhen

    ChenZhen Member

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    Problem is that he doesn't have any balls. Might need to find something else to kick.
     
  5. GladiatoRowdy

    GladiatoRowdy Member

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    Perhaps he's a Ballchinian.

    :D
     
  6. GRENDEL

    GRENDEL Member

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    Didn’t he give his testicle, cause he only had one, to Stockton as a retirement gift?:D
     
  7. JuanValdez

    JuanValdez Member

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    Mobley got past Shaq on those two baskets because Shaq had 5 fouls and didn't want to get tossed, not because he was tired. Not a big deal in general, but Fran already has no credibility as a journalist and twisting facts to make his points isn't helping any. Such misrepresentations are like cockroaches: if you see one, you know there are a thousand others you don't see.

    I apologize for breaking my boycott of Blinebury. I could have spared you my needless complaining if I has stayed strong.
     
  8. thehkmint

    thehkmint Member

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    he may have installed two metal balls as replacement. Boki will break his toe if he really hick him. :D
     
  9. ChenZhen

    ChenZhen Member

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    Exactly what I was thinking. Shaq is also quite slow and lazy when it comes to helping out in the first place. The artical just get the feel from an idiot Laker fan's prospective instead of a journalist.

    Andymoon, maybe we should elbow him in the throat area instead? ;)
     
  10. rocksolid

    rocksolid Member

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    One thing working against Ko-baby is that he doesn't get an hour by going west. Mountain Time doesn't have daylight savings, so right now, Mountain Time = Pacific Time.

    The flight is 2.5 hours - which surprised me, but I verified it on travelocity.

    Best case for Ko-baby:
    1:00 pm - Ko-baby gets out of hearing.
    1:30 pm - Boards private jet headed for LA.
    4:00 pm - Arrives at LAX's private jet terminal.
    4:30 pm - Arrives at Staples via Police escort.
    4:40 pm - Ready to play.

    Worst case for Ko-baby:
    5:00 pm - Ko-baby gets out of hearing.
    5:30 pm - Boards private jet headed for LA.
    8:00 pm - Arrives at LAX's private jet terminal.
    8:30 pm - Arrives at Staples via Police escort.
    8:40 pm - Ready to play.
     
  11. rocksolid

    rocksolid Member

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    http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-lakers28apr28,1,3551594.story?coll=la-headlines-sports

    On the Fly
    Lakers aren't sure when Bryant will arrive tonight, but they'll take what they get from him

    By Tim Brown, Times Staff Writer

    The Lakers could eliminate the Houston Rockets tonight at Staples Center and move on to their presumed destiny, a best-of-seven series with the San Antonio Spurs, the team that made them cry a year ago.

    In the hours before they play to advance, however, Kobe Bryant will board a jet in Eagle, Colo., loosen his tie and fly toward the opening tip of Game 5, scheduled somewhere around 7 p.m.

    "Life," Phil Jackson mused. "Life happens."

    Bryant tried the same routine twice in the regular season, was late once and on time once, and the Lakers won both games.

    Free on $25,000 bail after he was charged last summer with felony sexual assault, Bryant will be returning from his third consecutive day of pretrial hearings. He missed practices and meetings Monday and Tuesday but, according to team officials, returned to Southern California each night.

    "Without practices, we don't know what we can count on," Jackson said Tuesday. "We just know he's going to give us an effort and he's competitive. I told the players today we're going to have to go ahead, assuming he's not going to be here, and whatever he does give us, we're going to take … as a blessing."

    Monday, Jackson told of a conversation with Bryant, in which Bryant apparently told him today's hearings might conclude near midday, giving him ample opportunity to clear out of Eagle and prepare for tonight's playoff game.

    That was an optimistic view. Judge Terry Ruckriegle has scheduled court to open to the media at 1:30 p.m., Mountain time, but it could be earlier if a suppression hearing ends ahead of schedule.

    Typically, Bryant has needed 2 1/2 hours to travel from court to court, gaining an hour while flying.

    Asked whether Bryant's basketball schedule is being considered, Karen Salaz, a court spokeswoman, said, "In this courthouse, there is the largest group of non-basketball fans ever assembled."


    So stand the Lakers, the most important game to date for their Big Four here, Bryant en route, Shaquille O'Neal feeling the tendinitis in his right knee, nobody sure who's driving the offense or manning the defense. And yet they hold a 3-1 advantage over the Rockets, who've twice pushed the Lakers to the final seconds and twice done just enough to lose.

    A few inches to the left or right, Jackson said, and this could be the Lakers' elimination game, the Rockets playing to move on. "Easily," he said.

    Instead, their motto will be, "Win and stay home," at least until probably Sunday, when, if they've won, they'll fly to San Antonio. The Spurs have finished their first-round walkover, and the Lakers could get on with their rest, as well. If not, Game 6 will be Saturday in Houston, and Game 7, if there is one, Monday in Los Angeles.

    "Let's get this over," Gary Payton said. "We're here in our own place and we … should take [them] out…. Go back to Houston, you don't know what can happen, man. We could have one of those games where they get hot and all of a sudden we have to come back here for Game 7. We don't want that to happen. We want to take them out right now if we can."

    The Lakers have not yet played a dynamic game in the series. O'Neal has been surrounded and neutralized. Payton is less involved than he was during the regular season. Karl Malone just concluded his most influential week as a Laker, and still they can't shake the Rockets.

    Then there is Bryant. In four playoff games, he has shot 33.8%, 20% from beyond the three-point arc. In four fourth quarters, he has shot seven for 27. Jackson supposed that Bryant's injury accumulation — shoulder, finger, wrist — had at least as much to do with the misses as, say, poor shot selection or the emotional weight of the pending hearings.

    The fact is, the Lakers rarely are sure what Bryant will bring to a game. He often practices one way, then plays another, teammates say.

    But Bryant still does things the rest of them can't. So, they'll prepare to play, hope to move on, and maybe keep one eye on the door.

    "Honestly, I can say we definitely tried to go about our business as usual and not harp on the fact he's not here or he may not be there," Derek Fisher said. "I think we've tried to do the things we do as a team and still be competitive.

    "Fortunately, before the arrival of Gary and Karl, we still had Shaq. And now we have all three of those guys, even when Kobe's not there. So, I think we're still confident … we can still get things done. There's no question we're a better team when he's here."
     
  12. across110thstreet

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    does this mean the case begins around 1:30 or is this like the postgame conference after the session is wrapped up?
     
  13. rocksolid

    rocksolid Member

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    post game.
     
  14. SwoLy-D

    SwoLy-D Member

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    From 740 this morning, I heard that Eagle Colorado court officials could give a flying peanut about what game is going on anywhere in the world, and wouldn't try to "hurry" to finish the session just to let Rape Bryant out.

    The reporter in Eagle said that there wasn't a more ANTI-NBA or ANTI-SPORTS group in Colorado than the guys wanting to hold Kobe for all his marbles.

    Of course, with David $tern at the NBA helm, the court officials will get a phone call to let Rapy Bryant get out early enough so that he can be on TV once again, whether the Fakers win or lose, so that there is a higher TV rating.

    Stop me when I lie.
     
  15. Rocketman95

    Rocketman95 Hangout Boy

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    Not true. Only two of the lower 48 states don't participate in daylight savings...Arizona and Indiana.

    http://www.timechange.com/dls/dls1.html

    Well, parts of Indiana don't.
     
    #15 Rocketman95, Apr 28, 2004
    Last edited: Apr 28, 2004
  16. rocksolid

    rocksolid Member

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    To your point...

    Asked whether Bryant's basketball schedule is being considered, Karen Salaz, a court spokeswoman, said, "In this courthouse, there is the largest group of non-basketball fans ever assembled."
     
  17. GRENDEL

    GRENDEL Member

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    They should just detain him, I don’t know just for the hell of it, give him a taste of prison love… ;)
     
  18. Gummi Clutch

    Gummi Clutch Member

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    I doubt those times are correct on the flights.
    A 2.5 hour flight?
    Maybe for a commercial flight, not a PRIVATE JET!
    Please correct me if I'm worng.

    I as much as anyone hope Kobe doesnt show up, shows up unprepared, or shows up only to get the snot beat out of him.
     
  19. buddry

    buddry Member

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    Throw him in jail for contempt!
     
  20. rocksolid

    rocksolid Member

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    you're right, he makes up an hour with the private jet...here's the info from the LA Times article above...

    Typically, Bryant has needed 2 1/2 hours to travel from court to court, gaining an hour while flying.
     

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