Road To Redemption: Los Angeles Lakers MyLeague

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Nick Young to make season debut

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By Baxter Holmes | ESPNLosAngeles.com




LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles Lakers guard Nick Young will make his season debut Tuesday night against the Hawks after missing nearly six weeks with a torn ligament in his right thumb, coach Byron Scott said during the team's shootaround.

Young's return will be a huge boost for the Lakers 2nd unit.

Young will come off the bench for the 5-5 Lakers, Scott said. He will provide a much-needed scoring boost in the backcourt for a team that has relied heavily and almost solely on Kobe Bryant to provide any sort of offense.

Bryant is leading the league in scoring with 26.6 points per game through the first 10 games of the season.

Young averaged 17.9 points over 28.3 minutes in 64 appearances for the Lakers last season.

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[Game Links: Lakers Boxscore | Hawks Boxscore | Team Comparison]
Lakers Blast Hawks In Young's Return
By: ESPN.com
Posted November 18, 2014

Tue, Nov 18, 2014 | Recap

	112	STAT LEADERS
		Bryant 26	PTS	Teague 16
	89	Hill 15	REB	Payne 9
		Bryant 6	AST	Teague 7

Top Performers

Los Angeles (6-5)	Atlanta (5-5)
K. Bryant Pts: 26 Reb: 2 Ast: 6 Stl: 1 Blk: 1	J. Teague Pts: 16 Reb: 1 Ast: 7 Stl: 2 Blk: 1
SEASON SERIES 1-0 LAL

Hot: Kobe Bryant. Bryant only played 27 minutes in the blowout win, but that didn;t stop him from getting his points. The Black Mamba finished with a game high 26 points on a very efficient 11-of-17 shooting from the field. bryant also chipped in 2 rebounds, a team high 6 assist, a and a steal and a block.

Not: Jeff Teague. The young point guard couldn't get anything going as the Hawks played their worse game of the season. Teague shot 4-of-16 from the field just to score 16 points. Instead of using his attacking abilities, Teague settled for long jumper after long jumper after long jumper on his way to a terrible night shooting the rock.

X-Factor: Nick Young. The man called Swaggy P made his season debut and he didn't disappoint. In just 13 minutes of action, Young dropped 23 points and grabbed 3 rebounds. Coach Scott gave him the green light and he took advantage of it by hoisting up 17 shots in his limited time on the court.

Quotable: "I brought that extra swag the team was missing you know. My saw just rubs off on everybody else." Lakers SF Nick Young

By The Numbers:22. The Lakers got out on the fast break all night long putting up 22 fast break points to the Hawks 2.

Rookie Watch: Adreian Payne. The 15th overall pick was the best rookie out on the court tonight. Payne scored 11 points and pulled down 9 rebounds im 18 minutes off the bench.

On Tap: The Lakers head to Houston to take on the Rockets tomorrow night on the back end of their back to back.

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[Game Links: Lakers Boxscore | Rockets Boxscore | Team Comparison]
Rockets Out-gun Lakers In Shootout
By: ESPN.com
Posted November 19, 2014

Wed, Nov 19, 2014 | Recap

	116	STAT LEADERS
		Bryant 35	PTS	Harden 32
	119	2 w/ 10	REB	Howard 18
		Lin 6	AST	Beverly 6

Top Performers

Los Angeles (6-6)	Houston (6-6)
K. Bryant Pts: 35 Reb: 5 Ast: 4 Stl: 3 Blk: 0	D. Howard Pts: 24 Reb: 18 Ast: 0 Stl: 1 Blk: 1
SEASON SERIES 1-1 TIE

Hot: Dwight Howard. Howard showed off why he's still considered the best center in the NBA. D-12 finished with a monster double double of 24 points and a game high 18 rebounds in the high scoring game. But the most impressive stat from Howard was his free throw shooting. The career 57% free throw shooter knocked down 10-of-12 free throws in the three point win for Houston.

Not: Jeremy Lin. Seems likes every time Lin has a horrible game, that Lakers take a loss. In 32 minutes, Lin scored 7 points on 1-of-5 shooting from the field. he also had 3 rebounds and 6 assist. Lin has struggled all season long shooting just 37% from the field and 35% from three. Many expected him to have a breakout year in LA, looks like they'll be waiting a while.

X-Factor: Troy Daniels. The sharp shooting came off the bench and put up 13 points and 4 assist in 26 minutes. Daniels has taken over the 6th man role from veteran Jason Terry and it looks like he doesn't want to give it back any time soon.

Quotable: "Hakeem and I have been working a lot with Dwight and his has shown great improvement in all facets of his game this season From post moves down to the free throw shooting." Rockets coach Kevin McHale

By The Numbers: 17. Houston turned 12 LA turnovers in 17 points in their favor in the win.

Rookie Watch: Kostas Papanikolaou. In 15 minutes, Papanikolaou scored 9 points on 3-of-6 shooting from the field.

On Tap: The Lakers will end their three game road trip with a match up with the Dallas mavericks on Friday night.

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[Game Links: Lakers Boxscore | Mavericks Boxscore | Team Comparison]
Kobe Shines In Win Over Mavericks
By: ESPN.com
Posted November 21, 2014

Fri, Nov 21, 2014 | Recap

	103	STAT LEADERS
		Bryant 31	PTS	Nowitzki 21
	95	Davis 14	REB	Chandler 12
		2 w/ 6	AST	Nelson 9

Top Performers

Los Angeles	Dallas
K. Bryant Pts: 31 Reb: 5 Ast: 6 Stl: 0 Blk: 0	D. Nowitzki Pts: 21 Reb: 10 Ast: 1 Stl: 3 Blk: 0
SEASON SERIES 1-0 LAL

Hot: Kobe Bryant. The Lakers are back over .500 record wise with a vintage Kobe Bryant performance. The Mamba notched his 4th 30-point game of the season with a 31 point, 5 rebounds, and 6 assist game against the Mavericks. Bryant scored 10 of his 31 in the last 5 minutes to hold off the Mavs comeback attempts. Overall, Bryant knocked down 13-of-19 shots in the win.

Not: Monta Elles. Tonight was one of the game where Ellis needed to be reign in by coaches. With Dirk Nowitzki and Chanlder Parson having the hot hand, Ellis decided to play me ball and go head to head with Kobe. And he failed doing so. Ellis went 9-of-21 from the field to score his 19 points. He also dogged on the defensive end letting Bryant light him up all game long.

X-Factor: Nick Young. Young's only job on the Lakers is to get buckets, and that he did. In just 17 minutes, Swaggy P scored 22 points on 9-of-18 shooting from the field. With Kobe resting to end the 1st quarter, Young came in and started hoisting up shot after shot after shot. These were one of the times that tactic worked for the Lakers.

Quotable: "They had Monta on me a majority of the game, so I just used my height advantage and took him down into the post and shot over him." Lakers SG Kobe Bryant

By The Numbers: 40. The Lakers got 40 points from their bench unit while the Mavericks got 27 from their 2nd unit.

Rookie Watch: Jordan Clarkson. Clarkson finished with 4 points, 1 assist, and 1 steal in only 9 minutes of action.

On Tap: The Lakers will have a day off before hosting the Denver Nuggets on Sunday night.

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[Game Links: Nuggets Boxscore | Lakers Boxscore | Team Comparison]
Kobe's Nails Game Winner As Lakers Defeat Nuggets
By: ESPN.com
Posted November 23, 2014

Sun, Nov 23, 2014 | Recap

	113	STAT LEADERS
		Gallinari 22	PTS	Bryant 44
	114	2 w/ 9	REB	Boozer 10
		Lawson 10	AST	Lin 8

Top Performers

Denver (4-9)	Los Angeles (8-6)
T. Lawson Pts: 21 Reb: 2 Ast: 10 Stl: 2 Blk: 1	K. Bryant Pts: 44 Reb: 4 Ast: 5 Stl: 1 Blk: 0
SEASON SERIES 1-0 LAL

Hot: Kobe Bryant. The Black Mamba has been playing like a man possessed over the past few games. Bryant scored a season high 44 points on 13-of-26 shooting from the field including the game winning shot. Down one with three seconds left, the 19th year vet was able to get Aaron Afflalo to bite on his pump fake that allowed kobe to nail is famous fade-away jumper to give the Lakers their 8th win on the season.

Not: Aaron Afflalo. Afflalo struggled shooting the ball (3-of-10) for 10 points and also got torched on the defensive end by Bryant. Coming back to Denver hasn't been easy for Afflalo has all of his numbers have dropped from his career season last year with Orlando. Afflalo's calling card has always been his defense, looks like he's lost a step there too.

Quotable: "Nothing was going to stop Kobe from having a game like that tonight. Nothing." Nuggets coach Brian Shaw

X-Factor: Nick Young. Young had his 3rd 20 point game off the bench since coming backi finishing with 21 points in 23 minutes off the bench. The shocker is it only took Young 8 shot attempts to get his 20 points. Very impressive for a high volume shooter like Swaggy P. Young also chipped in with a season high 4 assist in the win.

Rookie Watch: Gary Harris. The Nuggets 1st overall pick finished with 10 points and 3 rebounds in 13 minutes off the bench. harris went 4-of-5 from the field and a perfect 2-of-2 from the charity stripe in the losing effort.

By The Numbers: 10. The Lakers controlled the paint finishing with 10 blocked shots.

On Tap: After two days off, the lakers will host the Memphis Grizzlies on Wednesday night.

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[Game Links: Grizzlies Boxscore | Lakers Boxscore | Team Comparison]
Grizzlies Thwart Lakers Late Comeback Attempt
By: ESPN.com
Posted November 26, 2014

Wed, Nov 26, 2014 | Recap

	103	STAT LEADERS
		Conley 20	PTS	Bryant 20
	98	Randolph 10	REB	Hill 10
		Conley 6	AST	Bryant 6

Top Performers

Memphis (7-8)	Los Angeles (8-7)
M. Conley Pts: 20 Reb: 3 Ast: 6 Stl: 5 Blk: 0	K. Bryant Pts: 20 Reb: 0 Ast: 6 Stl: 2 Blk: 0
SEASON SERIES 2-0 MEM

Hot: Mike Conley. Conley led the way for the Grizzlies with a team high 20 points on 6-of-14 shooting from the floor. The 8th year point guard also finished with 3 rebounds, 6 assist, and a season high steals in the win over the Lakers.

Not: Kobe Bryant. After stringing along an impressive scoring streak, Bryant finished with just 20 points against a very tough Memphis defense. Being hounded all night by Tony Allen, the Mamba only shot 8-of-20 from the field and had 3 turnovers in the process. Is Tony Allen the Kobe Stopper?

Quotable: "Greta team win tonight. Everybody had a hand in this win." Grizzlies coach David Joerger

X-Factor: Vince Carter. Half man, half amazing showed why even at his age, he's still one of the best 6th men in the NBA. Carter chipped in 15 points and 8 rebounds in 25 minutes off the bench for Memphis. Even though he had a rough night shooting the ball (4-of-11), he came through late in the game with some clutch free throws to keep the Grizz ahead.

Rookie Watch: Jordan Adams. Adams got the start in place of the injured Courtney Lee, and the rookie played well. Adams scored 14 points while pulling down 5 assist in 29 minutes. The rookie also had 2 assist and a steal.

By The Numbers: 50. Even in a losing effort, the Lakers got 50 points from their bench, a season high.

On Tap: The Lakers will head to Atlanta to face the Hawks in Tuesday night.

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[Game Links: Timberwolves Boxscore | Lakers Boxscore | Team Comparison]
Lakers Make Easy Work Of Timberwolves In Blowout Win
By: ESPN.com
Posted November 28, 2014

Fri, Nov 28, 2014 | Recap

	87	STAT LEADERS
		Brewer 13	PTS	Bryant 33
	108	Pekovic 13	REB	Hill 11
		2 w/ 6	AST	Lin 8

Top Performers

Minnesota (4-10)	Los Angeles (9-7)
K. Martin Pts: 13 Reb: 5 Ast: 6 Stl: 1 Blk: 0	K. Bryant Pts: 33 Reb: 10 Ast: 1 Stl: 1 Blk: 1
SEASON SERIES 1-0 LAL

Hot: Kobe Bryant. After struggling against the Grizzlies in the previous game, Bryant bounced back with a 33 point performance against the young Ti,berwolves on Friday night. The mamba shot 11-of-19 from the field including 2-of-2 from three and 9-of-9 from the free throw line. Bryant also pulled down a season high 10 rebounds in the win.

Not: Nikola Pekovic. The $12M dollar center struggled going up against a small Jordan Hill. Pekovic went 2-of-7 from the field to score his 9 points in the loss. He did have a team best 13 rebounds, but was outplayed and ou-thustled badly by the Lakers big men rotation all game long. With his price tag, Pek can't have games like this.

Quotable: "We played like trash all game long. They just wanted it more. A 36 year old Kobe was going up for rebounds while our young guys are just sitting back." Timberwolves coach Flip Saunders

X-Factor: Carlos Boozer. Boozer didn't have any eye popping numbers (11 pts, 6 rebs), but he had a hand at containing the Timberwolves front court. In his matchup with Thad Young, Boozer held Young to 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field.

Rookie Watch: Andrew Wiggins. The number one overall pick scored 12 points and grabbed 3 rebounds in 28 minutes of action. Wiggins went 6-of-13 from the field. His percentage could have been better if he didn't go 0-of-5 from behind the arc.

By The Numbers: 38. The Lakers brought it on the defensive end holding the Timberwolves to just 38% shooting from the field.

On Tap: The Lakers will host the Toronto Raptors on Sunday night.

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[Game Links: Raptors Boxscore | Lakers Boxscore | Team Comparison]
DeRozan Drops 31 In Win Over Lakers
By: ESPN.com
Posted November 30, 2014

Sun, Nov 30, 2014 | Recap

	108	STAT LEADERS
		DeRozan 31	PTS	Bryant 27
	97	Valanciunas 18	REB	Boozer 10
		Vasquez 11	AST	Lin 12

Top Performers

Toronto (12-5)	Los Angeles (9-8)
D. DeRozan Pts: 31 Reb: 4 Ast: 6 Stl: 1 Blk: 2	K. Bryant Pts: 27 Reb: 2 Ast: 3 Stl: 1 Blk: 0
SEASON SERIES 1-0 TOR

Hot: DeMar DeRpzan. DeRozan got the best of his childhood mentor Kobe Bryant in their matchup Sunday night. DeRozan scored a a game high 31 points on 11-of-19 shooting from the field. he also pulled down 4 rebounds and handed out 6 assist in the victory for Toronto.

Not: Kobe Bryant. Yes Kobe led the Lakers with 27 points but he played zero defense against Demar DeRozan. Bryant played off on DeRozan all game long and the 6th year guard made him pay for it by having his best game of the season so far. Kobe said pre-game that he was "dog tired". Has Bryant's ago finally caught up to him or is Byron Scott running him into the ground with his high usage rate?

Quotable: "DeMar showed tonight why he's the best 2-guard in the NBA, hands down." Raptors PG Kyle Lowry

X-Factor: Patrick Patterson. The former Kentucky Wildcat got the starting nod over Amir Johnson and he didn't disappoint. Patterson scored a season high 22 points to go along with 7 rebounds in 29 minutes of action. Even though he went 0-of-3 from three, Patterson knocked down 11-of-19 from the field and went perfect at the free throw line.

Rookie Watch: Jordan Clarkson. Clarkson played 16 minutes off the bench for the Lakers and finished with 7 points and 2 assist on 2-of-5 shooting from the floor. The rookie guard has moved passed Ronnie Price for 2nd string point guard duties.

By The Numbers: 12. The Raptors were +12 on the boards as they out-rebounded the Lakers 53-41.

On Tap: The Lakers will hit the road for game one of their 3 game road trip starting off against the Pistons