lakers net news: jazz game 4

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_9252697
Jazz look to steal pivotal game tonight on Lakers' homecourt

"I don't think we've necessarily proved anything to ourselves," Kyle Korver said. "I think we were confident enough the whole time,
but we kind of showed some other people that we're here to play."

The Lakers haven't lost three straight games since Pau Gasol's arrival in a Feb. 1 trade. Their last such losing streak came Jan.
23-27, when the Lakers lost on the road to San Antonio and Dallas and at home to Cleveland.


http://www.sltrib.com/jazz/ci_9252698
Utah Jazz: Millsap brings solid numbers

"People have to remember this is only his second year, which is scary for him to be able to handle the pressure like he has," Boozer
said. "He was going up against Pau Gasol, who has been an All-Star, and Lamar Odom, a guy who could be an All-Star, like he is an
All-Star too. For him to show that confidence is great for us."

"He is a great backup for Booz," teammate Andrei Kirilenko said. "In the East, he could probably start, but here we have an All-Star
power forward so he does a great job, doing like the dirty work. He is playing great defense, getting deflections, charge, blocks.
They are not just hustle plays, but key plays."


http://deseretnews.com/article/1,5143,700225711,00.html
Utah Jazz: Team learns to counter Laker 'D'
"They push the pick-and-roll. Sometimes they push it toward the baseline," Boozer said. "What they always do is they bring a
weak-side guy, or sometimes two weak-side men from the other side over, to try to eliminate me and D-Will's pick-and-roll, to make
somebody else have to score the ball on that particular play."

"We run pick-and-rolls, they got everybody inside the lane," Williams added. "It's like they're trying to take that away from
(Boozer) and make us do something else."


http://www.latimes.com/sports/basketball/nba/lakers/la-sp-lakers14-2008may14,0,621019.story
Bryant skips practice again but says he's ready to play

He said he was still in "quite a bit" of pain but felt better than Monday and, obviously, Sunday, when he was floored twice in the
Lakers' Game 4 loss to the Utah Jazz because of the spasms. Less than a week after he hoisted the MVP trophy in front of an amped
home crowd, Bryant wasn't sure he could do it again -- "I would just leave it on the table and look at it," he said -- but he
remained committed to playing Game 5 tonight at Staples Center.

"There's the possibility he may not shoot the ball well, but that doesn't really concern us that much because he'll find a way to do
what is necessary in the ballgame at some level," Jackson said. "As long as he can play, we're satisfied. We'll be OK."

Forward Trevor Ariza was cleared to practice but is still probably at least a week from being able to play in a game. Ariza has
been out since Jan. 20 because of a broken bone in his right foot. He consulted with doctors this week and was told that the bone
was not completely healed, but the chances of fracturing it again were remote.

Farmar has made one of 16 shots against Utah and has had trouble stopping point guard Deron Williams. "I think that it started in
the Denver series," Jackson said. "He started feeling like he was being attacked [defensively] every time he came out on the floor.
I think that's something [where] he's got to get back the aggressive nature of his game." Farmar averaged 9.1 points and 2.7
assists a game as a steady backup during the regular season.


http://www.presstelegram.com/sports/ci_9251144
Lakers ponder what they'll get out of Bryant

"I think the key is to know what you can and can't do," Bryant said. "The last game was kind of an indicator for me that if it is
that bad - I don't think it'll be that bad again - but if it is, I kind of know what I can and can't do already."

Before he was traded to the Lakers, Gasol had been out for 10 days with back spasms. "It's tough. It's not easy to play with. It
takes away your explosiveness, your athleticism and speed," Gasol said. "You just have to work on your core, make sure you stretch
well, get some rest, let the muscles relax because they're probably spasmed.


--
"*** will make you slap somebody. *** will make you shoot somebody in the face."

Alexyss K. Tylor

http://vids.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=vids.individual&videoid=27457988


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