Sorted by date Results 51 - 75 of 119
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor A sports columnist usually takes a stand on issues. The hope is the column will be read and whether or not the readers agree with the point they’ll have something to think about. As sports editor of the Observer I encourage my columnists to present their opinions too. We try to give readers an opinion they probably won’t get in our rival papers. But today it’s different. In doing research for this column in the last few days I realized I don’t feel strong...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor When I realized the deadline for this week’s paper was Wednesday and the NBA draft was Thursday I was quite disappointed. I wouldn’t be able to comment on the Lakers’ selection until the following week. Then I had an idea. There had been so much interest, so many conflicting rumors in what the Lakers were going to do that there would be considerable reader interest in a description of this process. So. Hopefully, I was right and you’ll read on, At the beginni...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor When the Lakers moved up from their original No. 4 slot in the NBA draft lottery Tuesday to No. 2 Kobe Bryant made an observation. 'We played like crap this season so it's fitting that we moved up," he said. There's no assurance the Lakers' good fortune will trigger a major rise in the standings but it's the best news they've heard in awhile. Unless they decide otherwise the Lakers will get either Jahlil Okafor of Duke or Karl-Anthony Towns of Kentucky, the...
(Editor’s Note: Three seasons ago, after the Lakers were swept out of the NBA playoffs in the first round a summary of their troubles was analyzed in part 1 of this series. I didn’t plan on a part 2 but readers asked for one. Now part 3 is required because the Lakers have just completed their worst season in franchise history, 21 wins, 61 losses) By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor I understand the reasoning. The Lakers were going to sacrifice this season in order to retain money to sign free age...
(Editor's Note: Three seasons ago, after the Lakers were swept out of the NBA playoffs in the first round a summary of their troubles was analyzed in part 1 of this series. I didn't plan on a part 2 but readers asked for one. Now part 3 is required because the Lakers have just completed their worst season in franchise history, 21 wins, 61 losses) By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor I understand the reasoning. The Lakers were going to sacrifice this season in order to retain money to sign free...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The Lakers and New York Knicks are the richest franchises in the NBA, but this season they’re two of the worst teams. The Knicks arrived at Staples Center last Thursday with the least wins, only 12. The Lakers were the fourth worst with 17. The game was originally scheduled to be shown on national television but, as expected, was taken off the list. What happened was the Knicks won, 101-94 and Lakers coach Byron Scott called his team selfish. He also said the L...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Kobe Bryant was outraged. Byron Scott was outraged. Mitch Chortkoff was outraged. How can a mere sportswriter include himself on a list of competitors outraged by the antics of three Lakers – Nick Young, Jordan Hill and Carlos Boozer who thought they were being clever in clowning while a teammate was being interviewed on television after the Lakers defeated the Boston Celtics in overtime last week? Well, you see, this sportswriter traveled with Laker teams for 2...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Before Kobe Bryant can play his 20th season with the Lakers he’ll have to rehabilitate from his current torn rotator cuff. Doctors regard it as a nine-month process, with an excellent chance he’ll be healed. Even though an injury has cut short Kobe’s season for a third straight year he has a reason to be optimistic about being able to play in the 2015-’16 NBA season. It’s a painful injury that requires a long rehabilitation but the recovery rate is high. The...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor All right, you win, we surrender. Those words often come from battlefields. Today, they appear to be coming from the Lakers. When Kobe Bryant underwent surgery Wednesday to repair a torn rotator cuff the Lakers adopted a plan for the upcoming months and most likely the rest of the season. Instead of fielding a lineup they’d likely put on the court in a bid for a playoff berth they’re featuring a group of inexperienced players they’re hoping to develop for the f...
(mith on NBA) Kobe Doesn’t Play As Lakers Lose By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor On Christmas day folks annually gather for a festive occasion. But the National Basketball Association has another idea for this holiday. Marketing. The league puts on an extravaganza, Five nationally televised games on several networks, attractive matchups of the most popular teams, and a gimmick to sell merchsndise. The players always have their last name on their jerseys. But on this day the first names were on i...
By Fred Altieri Sports Reporter "... We sittin' in here, I'm supposed to be the franchise player and we in here talkin' about practice. I mean listen, we talkin' bout practice. Not a game, not a game, not a game. "We talkin' bout practice. Not a game, not a, not a, not the game that I go out there and die for and play every game like its my last. Not the game. We talkin' bout practice, man. I mean how silly is that? We talkin' bout practice..." Allen Iverson's universally misunderstood but...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor When the National Basketball Association revealed its list of the 50 greatest players of all time I was on the selection committee. When the list was made public, unfortunately so was the balloting of every committee member. For years afterward several players who weren't chosen confronted me to ask me why I didn't vote for them. Really, it was an impossible task. There were 70 or 80 deserving players. No amount of research allowed me to feel comfortable about...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Kobe Bryant has an answer for those who think he should request a trade from the Lakers. “I’ve heard the chatter that I should ask out and go to a contender for the last years of my career. But that’s not what I do. I’m extremely loyal to the Lakers.” The chatter began when the Lakers lost their first four games this season, the first time they’ve done that since the franchise moved to Los Angeles from Minneapolis more than 50 years ago....
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor He’s 19 years old, one of the most talented players the Lakers have and on the NBA season’s opening night Julius Randle broke his right leg. The Lakers figured to have a difficult season. Now it looks more difficult. Randle drove to the basket in the fourth quarter of a 108-90 loss to the Houston Rockets, his leg buckled and he grabbed it. Team doctors on the scene at Staples Center said Randle suffered a broken tibia and a six-month recovery would likely be req...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor On the day Byron Scott became the new coach of the Lakers this summer three surprise guests attended the press conference. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Magic Johnson and Jamaal Wilkes were there to support their former teammate. "I was very surprised and deeply touched," Scott told me last Thursday night prior to the Lakers' exhibition game against the Golden State Warriors. "I didn't know they were coming to the press conference. It meant so much to me." Granted a solo...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Byron Scott said Tuesday the Lakers' organization is all about winning championships. The former backcourt partner of Magic Johnson has become the Lakers' head coach But don't expect a championship in the upcoming season. There are too many better teams in the NBA right now. What fans should expect is a far better Laker team than last season and, at best, a chance of making the playoffs. There was very little defense last season when Mike D'Antoni was the coach....
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The Lakers have indicated they plan a long search for a coach to replace Mike D’Antoni, who resigned last week following two unsuccessful seasons. The Lakers are in the difficult position of being without a coach or many players. Only three players, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Robert Sacre have a Laker contract for next season and Nick Young has a player option. It is believed the Lakers may interview as many as 20 coaching candidates. Two college coaches, John C...
The Lakers have indicated they plan a long search for a coach to replace Mike D’Antoni, who resigned last week following two unsuccessful seasons. The Lakers are in the difficult position of being without a coach or many players. Only three players, Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Robert Sacre have a Laker contract for next season and Nick Young has a player option. It is believed the Lakers may interview as many as 20 coaching candidates. Two college coaches, John Calipari of Kentucky and former L...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor A year ago, when the Lakers completed one of the most disappointing seasons in franchise history, I wrote Anatomy of a Disaster and had no intention of following with another similar article. But throughout this season, the worst since the Lakers moved here in 1960 from Minneapolis, readers have frequently requested Part 2 of this story. So here it is. It was bad enough last season when Kobe Bryant averaged 45 minutes a game down the stretch trying to get the Lak...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Just a few more weeks and the Lakers' season will be over. No playoffs this time. Of all the negatives that have occurred the one that bothers me the most is the way Pau Gasol hasn't been appreciated. This is one of the top 100 big men ever to play in the NBA, a professional who has had championship seasons here but now is struggling against age and injuries, plus a coach who doesn't want the center to have the ball in the post. Instead of Gasol being celebrated...
After Phil Jackson was introduced Tuesday as president of New York Knicks basketball operations no player immediately changed teams. But the initial impact is that it was a grand day for the Knicks and a dreadful one for the Lakers. Both teams began the day in horrible shape, both out of playoff contention, both needing a change in leadership. Both with a dominating owner. But James Dolan of the knicks said he is gladly yielding authority to Jackson in building a more cohesive Knicks roster....
Lakers guard Kobe Bryant, who is recovering from a fractured lateral tibial plateau of his left knee, was examined Wednesday by team physician Dr. Steve Lombardo, who determined that Bryant's injury has still not healed. With this diagnosis, Bryant will not return to play this season, it was announced by the team. "With Kobe's injury still not healed, the amount of time he'd need to rehab and be ready to play, and the amount of time remaining in the season, we've simply run out of time for him...
An injury-depleted Lakers team was dominated by the Clippers, their intra-Staples Center rivals, being blown-out, 123-87, on Friday. The 36-point victory margin was the Clippers' largest ever against the Lakers, besting a 125-94 victory in 1992 at the Sports Arena, then the Clippers' home. Some might say that an asterisk needs to be printed next to this game in the record book since both teams were playing without their injured superstar guards, Kobe Bryant and Chris Paul. The Lakers were also...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor Any player on the roster of a National Basketball Association team on January 8 has his contract guaranteed for the rest of the season. In view of that, the day of decision arrived for franchises this week. Teams out of playoff contention, especially, sought to reduce their financial obligation. The Lakers and Clippers both made a salary-cutting move. The Lakers released forward Shawne Williams, who had started several games at forward. The Clippers released...
By Mitch Chortkoff Sports Editor The Lakers announced that Kobe Bryant will be out for six weeks with a broken bone in his left leg. Doctor Robert Klapper, ESPN radio’s medical expert with a distinguished reputation in his field, told listeners that because the injury is on a lower extremity Kobe won’t be able to train during the six weeks to get back into playing shape. Most likely, then, the Lakers can expect to be without the Kobe they’ve come to rely on for probably two months. Well, two mon...
