Season summary 2009–10 Los Angeles Lakers season

the los angeles lakers on october 23, 2009 @ bob wilson naval hospital gym in san diego

the los angeles lakers opened season @ home against intra-city rival los angeles clippers. before game, remaining lakers on team last year received 2009 nba championship rings. pau gasol missed first 11 games due hamstring injury, lamar odom moved power forward , placed in starting lineup. season opened starting lineup being:

pg – derek fisher
sg – kobe bryant
sf – ron artest
pf – lamar odom
c – andrew bynum

the lakers started off 7–1, lost 2 in row. luke walton player injured, suffering pinched nerve in on november 16. out approximately 6 weeks. however, gasol came after , lakers returned normal lineup (with odom coming off bench):

pg – derek fisher
sg – kobe bryant
sf – ron artest
pf – pau gasol
c – andrew bynum


brown , bynum being guarded anthony morrow , chris hunter

through first 14 games of season, lakers ranked second in league in defensive field-goal shooting (41.7%). had deal poor play reserve players. after gasol s return, lakers went 10–0, included game on december 4 when bryant made three-pointer time expired lift lakers past miami heat 108–107. 11-game winning streak ended on december 12 against utah jazz. on december 11, bryant suffered fracture in right index finger in game against minnesota timberwolves, didn t force him miss games. on december 16, bryant made game-winning shot, time against milwaukee bucks in overtime. lakers went on five-game winning streak heading christmas day game @ home against cleveland cavaliers. lost game third home defeat of season. later night, ron artest suffered concussion tripping on box , falling down flight of stairs. missed 5 games recover. lakers struggled absence, giving 100 or more points in 4 consecutive games. on january 1, bryant made three-pointer @ buzzer beat sacramento kings. third time season bryant made buzzer-beater win game. on january 3, gasol mildly strained left hamstring in first quarter against dallas mavericks , had leave game. artest returned play next game versus houston rockets, , odom recorded triple double 17 points, 19 rebounds, , 9 assists. after christmas, lakers struggled, going 6–5. since then, both walton (28 games) , gasol (six games) returned injuries , lakers played full roster first time season against clippers on january 15.

barack obama speaking los angeles lakers on january 25, 2010, @ white house

on january 21, lakers began second half of season playing 8 consecutive road games in 12 days. beginning rematch of christmas day game against cavaliers , concluding on february 1 against memphis grizzlies, defending champions visited white house meet president barack obama.

against memphis grizzlies, bryant surpassed jerry west become lakers all-time leading scorer. lakers finished road trip 5–3. in february, gasol named winner of 2 of 3 prestigious annual awards given european players, based on performances during 2009 calendar year both national , club teams. on december 27, gasol announced italian magazine superbasket winner of mr. europa award , on december 28, gasol announced italian sports newspaper la gazzetta dello sport winner of euroscar. on february 6 against portland trail blazers, injured bryant sat out game first time since 2007. odom matched career high 22 rebounds in lakers win, first time had won in portland since 2005. gasol produced 21 points, 19 rebounds, 8 assists , 5 blocks in win on february 8 against san antonio spurs, joining 5 other players accomplish feat. lakers headed all-star break on three-game winning streak. 3 victories came without bryant , final 2 without bynum.

bryant voted starter 2010 nba all-star game, sat out due injury. gasol selected reserve west , logged 13 points , 6 rebounds in 20 minutes. brown entered dunk contest defeated in second round.

although lakers held no. 1 spot in western conference since december, saw lead shrink on rest of season.

bryant returned injury on february 23 against memphis grizzlies. lakers went 4-1 without him. bryant made three-pointer 4.3 seconds left lift lakers 99-98 victory. however, lakers went 4-4 in 8 games after bryant s return. since all-star break, lakers have struggled, recording 5-5 record including first three-game losing streak since gasol joined team in trade 2 years earlier. team had deal injuries sasha vujacic , luke walton. lakers responded winning 5 games in row, bynum suffered injury , removed active roster. revealed bynum strained achilles tendon against minnesota timberwolves on march 19, , expected miss 2 weeks (six games) recover. after three-game losing streak, lakers responded winning 7 games in row, lost 2 of next seven. eighth best team in western conference between all-star break , april 5 record, still held top seed. bryant chose miss 3 of final 4 regular-season games recover injuries. bynum returned injury first game of playoffs.