Laker Linkage – 11/13/09
November 13th, 2009 | by Garrett Wilson |- The Story: DJ Mbenga is playing with an abdominal injury and sore knees. The Fire Says: Mbenga is toughing it out for the sake of team, hopefully Bynum and Gasol will get healthy soon enough so that Mbenga can heal up himself.
- The Story: The Lamar Odom-Khloe Kardashian episode of Keeping Up With the Kardashians did well in the ratings earlier this week. The Fire Says: I can’t say that I actually care much about this but it is a slow Laker news day.
- The Story: Why do advanced basketball stats hate Kobe Bryant? The Fire Says: I don’t know that they hate him, but they don’t always do him the justice he probably deserves. Frankly the only stat that anyone should worry about is championship rings and I would say that Kobe does pretty well in that metric.
- The Story: Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has decided to stay on with the Lakers as a special assistant. The Fire Says: Cap had been considering taking an assistant job with the Grizzlies but then he probably remembered that they are the Grizzlies and thought better of it.
- The Story: Pau Gasol could be out for a while longer. The Fire Says: Pau’s hamstring just isn’t improving and has even prompted Phil Jackson to half-joke about Gasol being out until Christmas. Or at least I was hoping he was joking.
- The Story: Pau Gasol has already decided not to play for the Spanish National Team this off-season. The Fire Says: It seems that Pau’s injury woes has finally shown him the light about playing almost year round.
- The Story: Phil Jackson is wearing a new brace that has allowed him to be much more comfortable sitting on the bench this year. The Fire Says: This sounds like a throw away story, but the fact that Phil is feeling good could very well lead him to coach beyond this season.
- The Story: Denver rookie Ty Lawson is already talking about how much he wants to beat the Lakers. The Fire Says: It is cute the way the Nuggets think they are really the Lakers’ rival. It takes two to tango, Denver, sorry.
Tags: Daily Links, DJ Mbenga, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Pau Gasol injury update, Phil Jackson, smack talk, Ty Lawson
