Post by Los Angeles Lakers on Feb 16, 2007 12:53:06 GMT -5
Lakers Advance For First Time After Nearly 10 Years
The Lakers have finally done it. It's been a long time coming but it has finally happened. Los Angeles played a tough series against the four seed, Denver Nuggets in the first round and came out on top winning game seven in Denver - 98 to 84. This series victory marks the first time the Lakers have won a playoff series under Hibachi management - who took over the team almost 10 seasons ago.
"This is great for the city of L.A. and the franchise," said GM Hibachi. "It's been a long time since I've experienced success as a general manager. There's been a lot of ups and downs during my tenure here but it's great to finally see that we've finally taken some steps forward in building this franchise up."
Los Angeles has seen much of its success in basketball come from the Clippers rather than the Lakers in recent years which had many questioning if the Clippers had now become the premier team in L.A. Now with the Clippers now in rebuild mode, it looks as though the Lakers are on their way to regaining the prestige it had recently lost.
"I've been here for three years now and can say this team is on the right track. My first year was tough when we had one of the worst records in the league but management made the right moves in getting CB and picking up some key free agents to get us to the playoffs the next year. Then this year, getting Antonio, Andrei, AI, and especially Steph has really gotten us to another level," said Ron Artest.
The next round will be a challenge for the Lakers who will be facing the team with the league's best record this year as well as the defending champs in the Portland Trailblazers. This will also mark the first time in which the Lakers will face former franchise player, Jason Kidd, in a playoff matchup.
"They've obviously done a solid job retooling after dismantling the team three years ago," said Kidd. "They've got a former MVP in Steph and a young star on the rise with Chris Bosh. It should be a great series."
The Lakers are hoping for Antonio McDyess to play in this series after tearing his hamstring earlier in the season. Los Angeles will need some solid contributions from Allen Iverson and Joel Przybilla in order to assure that Antonio play a game for the Lakers in this playoff season. It should be a competitive and interesting series.
The Lakers have finally done it. It's been a long time coming but it has finally happened. Los Angeles played a tough series against the four seed, Denver Nuggets in the first round and came out on top winning game seven in Denver - 98 to 84. This series victory marks the first time the Lakers have won a playoff series under Hibachi management - who took over the team almost 10 seasons ago.
"This is great for the city of L.A. and the franchise," said GM Hibachi. "It's been a long time since I've experienced success as a general manager. There's been a lot of ups and downs during my tenure here but it's great to finally see that we've finally taken some steps forward in building this franchise up."
Los Angeles has seen much of its success in basketball come from the Clippers rather than the Lakers in recent years which had many questioning if the Clippers had now become the premier team in L.A. Now with the Clippers now in rebuild mode, it looks as though the Lakers are on their way to regaining the prestige it had recently lost.
"I've been here for three years now and can say this team is on the right track. My first year was tough when we had one of the worst records in the league but management made the right moves in getting CB and picking up some key free agents to get us to the playoffs the next year. Then this year, getting Antonio, Andrei, AI, and especially Steph has really gotten us to another level," said Ron Artest.
The next round will be a challenge for the Lakers who will be facing the team with the league's best record this year as well as the defending champs in the Portland Trailblazers. This will also mark the first time in which the Lakers will face former franchise player, Jason Kidd, in a playoff matchup.
"They've obviously done a solid job retooling after dismantling the team three years ago," said Kidd. "They've got a former MVP in Steph and a young star on the rise with Chris Bosh. It should be a great series."
The Lakers are hoping for Antonio McDyess to play in this series after tearing his hamstring earlier in the season. Los Angeles will need some solid contributions from Allen Iverson and Joel Przybilla in order to assure that Antonio play a game for the Lakers in this playoff season. It should be a competitive and interesting series.
