LAKERS NOTEBOOK: PAYING ATTENTION TO PEJA SHARPSHOOTING STOJAKOVIC COULD BE THE BEST OF KINGS' MEN.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 - Chris Webber For the Canadian-born former BBL basketball player, see . Mayce Edward Christopher Webber III, better known as Chris Webber or C-Webb (born March 1, 1973, in Detroit, Michigan), is an American professional basketball player for the Detroit Pistons of the NBA.. was the NBA's sixth-leading scorer this season and its seventh-best rebounder, can score from anywhere, is a gifted passer and a legitimate MVP (Multimedia Video Processor) A high-speed DSP chip from Texas Instruments, introduced in 1994. Officially introduced as the TMS320C80, it combines RISC technology with the functionality of four DSPs on one chip. candidate. But he's not the Sacramento King who worries the Lakers most. That would be Peja Stojakovic. The sharpshooting sharp·shoot·ing n. 1. High proficiency in shooting firearms. 2. Accurate, often unexpected verbal or written attack. Stojakovic had a breakout season, averaging 20.4 points a game as the Kings' new second option. ``I'm more attentive to dealing with Stojakovic,'' said 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. , ``because Chris Webber is going to get his points, because he can get them in so many different ways. He can get them on the offensive boards, he can get them on runouts, and he's going to hurt you with his passing. So the ball's going to go through his hands more often than it is through Stojakovic. ``Stojakovic is going to have limited touches, because you're going to try and eliminate the ball from being in his hands, and because he's such a good shooter, you want that to happen as few times as possible. If he's not making his shots, they're a different ballclub, and that's the thing that we have to prevent against.'' When Webber slumped early in the Kings' playoff clincher clinch·er n. 1. One that clinches, as: a. A nail, screw, or bolt for clinching. b. A tool for clinching nails, screws, or bolts. 2. at Phoenix on Wednesday, it was Stojakovic's hot hand that saved them and carried Sacramento to the victory. But the Lakers have handled Stojakovic well this season. They held him to single-digit scoring twice, and although he scored 22 and 29 points in the other two meetings, he shot poorly - 37.1 percent in the four-game series. Rick Fox will get the primary assignment, but he'll have help from 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. , Devean George and possibly even Ron Harper. --Call to duty: After Webber (and every other power forward in the West) scorched scorch v. scorched, scorch·ing, scorch·es v.tr. 1. To burn superficially so as to discolor or damage the texture of. See Synonyms at burn1. 2. the Lakers in last year's playoffs, they ran out and grabbed Horace Grant. He's been worth the $8 million. In three games against the Lakers this season, Webber averaged just 21.7 points and shot 37 percent. --Bring it on: The Kings' 3-1 series victory over Phoenix put them in the second round for the first time in 20 years, and the firsttime since they moved to Sacramento in 1985. So they're a little punch-drunk, which accounts for owner Joe Maloof's first comment on facing the Lakers. ``I told coach (Rick) Adelman, just go ahead and sweep 'em,'' Maloof told the Sacramento Bee, before quickly adding, ``Kidding. Kidding.'' ``Basically, we wanted the Lakers,'' Kings reserve Lawrence Funderburke said. LAKERS vs. SACRAMENTO Best of seven series Game 1 Sunday noon at Staples Center Game 2 Tuesday, 7:30 p.m. at Staples Center Game 3 Friday May 11, 7:30 p.m., at Arco Arena Game 4 Sunday May 13, 2:30 p.m., at Arco Arena Game 5 Tuesday May 15, TBA TBA See: To be announced , at Staples (if necassary) Game 6 Thursday May 17, TBA, at Arco Arena (if necassary) Game 7 Saturday May 19, TBA at Staples (if necassary) CAPTION(S): box Photo: Sacramento's Peja Stojakovic could emerge as the key to the Kings' success against the Lakers in the playoffs. Rich Pedroncelli/Associated Press Box: LAKERS vs. SACRAMENTO (see text) |
|
||||||||||||||||
Printer friendly
Cite/link
Email
Feedback
Reader Opinion