LAKERS NOTEBOOK: KOBE `OUT OF LINE,' MAY SIT OUT TONIGHT.Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer EL SEGUNDO El Segundo (ĕl sēgŭn`dō), industrial city (1990 pop. 15,223), Los Angeles co., S Calif., on Santa Monica Bay; inc. 1917. Its products include navigation and computer systems, aircraft parts, office machines, telephone apparatus, and - Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant (born July 23 1978) is an American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. , ``out of line'' on Friday according to according to prep. 1. As stated or indicated by; on the authority of: according to historians. 2. In keeping with: according to instructions. 3. his coach, may be out of action entirely tonight. Lakers coach Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson (born September 17, 1945 in Deer Lodge, Montana) is the current coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, an American professional basketball team. wasn't entirely pleased with Bryant's 38- point, 33-shot performance in the overtime loss to San Antonio San Antonio (săn ăntō`nēō, əntōn`), city (1990 pop. 935,933), seat of Bexar co., S central Tex., at the source of the San Antonio River; inc. 1837. . But he's far more concerned with Bryant's health now. The stomach ailment ail·ment n. A physical or mental disorder, especially a mild illness. that forced him to skip Friday morning's shootaround was weighing on Bryant on Saturday, and he was unable to make it to practice. ``If he doesn't practice (at today's shootaround), I'm considering having him not play (tonight),'' Jackson said. That would put the Lakers in a major deficit against the Seattle SuperSonics The Seattle SuperSonics (or simply Sonics) are an American professional basketball team based in Seattle, Washington. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). Their mascot's name is Squatch. . The Lakers are winless in three games against the Sonics, who boast superior athleticism and speed. Bryant and the suspended Isaiah Rider Isaiah Rider, Jr., sometimes known as J.R. Rider (born March 12, 1971 in Oakland, California) is an American former NBA basketball player, who played from 1993–2001. The 6'5" (1. are the Lakers' two most athletic guards. The Lakers were still stinging over Friday's loss (which snapped an eight-game home winning streak Noun 1. winning streak - a streak of wins streak, run - an unbroken series of events; "had a streak of bad luck"; "Nicklaus had a run of birdies" ), and particularly the overtime period Noun 1. overtime period - a period of overtime play to resolve a tie; e.g. basketball extra time, overtime - playing time beyond regulation, to break a tie , when Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (pronounced "shak-KEEL") (born March 6, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey), frequently referred to simply as Shaq, is an American professional basketball player, generally regarded as one of the most dominant in the National Basketball Association (NBA). hardly touched the ball and Bryant fell apart - perhaps drained by the stomach ailment and his 33-shot effort. ``Kobe was out of line last night,'' Jackson said. ``He was out of line. He didn't practice with us obviously, has not been in position to practice with us. And we were hopeful that he would come out and find a little rhythm to play the game with, and again had a bad half. And then when he did get going in the second half, extended it a little beyond the range. ``And it just takes other people out of the offense. The ball doesn't move and as a consequence, guys lose faith in their execution skills and their own value on the team. And they get out of whack a little bit and defer. And then we think, well we better go in to Shaq now because we've had a couple of these inconsistencies and now we've got to go in to Shaq and he ended up being 1 for 4 in the fourth quarter, with not enough touches.'' --Get defensive: The Lakers have not surrendered 100 points in five consecutive games. Opponents are averaging 89.2 points and shooting 38.6 percent (171 for 443) during that span. ``We're a better defensive team,'' Jackson said. ``We're more patient in our offense, we're still turning the ball over more than our opponent, which is not good, is not a healthy sign. But we're better offensively - our offensive rebounding was very good (Friday), and our second-chance ability to get the ball back, those type of things were good and that really holds a team in, that keeps them from scoring easy baskets.'' --Welcome back: Derek Fisher played in a four-on-four scrimmage Saturday and although his timing is off, he could be activated from the injured list as soon as Tuesday, when the Lakers play Boston at Staples Center. ``He's not quite in a rhythm, it's going to take him awhile,'' Jackson said. ``I'm hoping after Monday's practice I'll feel comfortable (activating him) on Tuesday.'' LAKERS vs. SEATTLE Tipoff: 6:30 p.m., at Staples Center TV/Radio: Fox Sports Net; 570-AM, 1330-AM (Spanish) Lakers (41-20) update: They're winless in three games against the Sonics this season - ``our nemesis,'' Brian Shaw said. Seattle could become the first team to sweep the Lakers in a regular-season series (of four games or more) since 1993-94. That season, the Lakers were swept by Seattle (0-5), San Antonio (0-4), Portland (0-5) and Golden State (0-5) on the way to a 33-49 record. Sonics (31-33) update: They've lost four in a row and 10 of their last 13 games. They haven't beaten a team with a winning record since a Jan. 23 victory over the Lakers. Ex-Laker Ruben Patterson has been the Sonics' best weapon against L.A. ``Patterson has been the guy that's taken us out of the game, takes Kobe (Bryant) out of the games with his aggressive defense,'' Lakers coach Phil Jackson said. -Howard Beck CAPTION(S): box Box: LAKERS vs. SEATTLE (see text) |
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