Archive for September, 2008
Inside The Lakers: Luke Walton said that he needs another “couple of weeks” before his surgically repaired right ankle is ready for full, 5-on-5 games, but that he’ll be working on his conditioning and agility in the meantime.
Sun Yue (mononucleosis) did not attend media day. His fever was still too high, and he did not see the doctor today. An update on his condition will be given Tuesday after he sees Dr. John Moe.
Kobe Bryant addressed the issue of whether he intends to play in Europe, an issue that was sparked by an off-hand comment he made to a reporter at the Olympics in Beijing. Bryant laughed about the situation, saying he was cracking a joke, and downplayed the story.
The Lakers begin training camp Tuesday morning at 10 a.m.
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Forum Blue & Gold: This is the latest in a series here at FB&G that will run through the start of the season, focusing on some of the top teams in the West and maybe a couple from the East. Today we talk about the Houston Rockets.
Last Season Record: 55-27 (fifth seed, but had the fourth-best record, just two games back of the Lakers)
Last Playoffs: Lost to the Utah Jazz in the first round in six games
Offensive Rating: 106.8 (17th in the league)
Defensive Rating: 101.6 (2nd in the league)
It would be a clash of organizational philosophies if the Lakers and Rockets met deep in the playoffs this year. On one hand you have the Rockets, who have had Yao and McGrady in their fold for years, but it has been GM Daryl Morey who put many of the pieces around those two anchors to make a contender. Morey comes from a statistical analysis background, and the Rockets are the most stat-driven team in the league.
Earlier this summer I called Lakers spokesman John Black and said since basically every team how had an advanced stats guy, I was hoping to interview the Lakers one. Black’s answer: “Phil Jackson doesn’t believe in that.” And in the Laker front office right now, if Phil doesn’t believe in it, nobody does.
The philosophies may be different, but these franchises may have assembled the two best and deepest rosters in the NBA.
The Rockets were a 55-win team last year despite a serious amount of injuries, and in the off-season made maybe the biggest trade among the contenders, picking up Ron Artest from Sacramento. (What, you thought I was going to say Brent Barry?)
Continue reading ‘FB&G: Know Your Enemy – The Houston Rockets’
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From the creators of the Kobe/Gasol 08 bumper sticker.
TheLakersNation.com is proud to exclusively present the “Vittiz”.
When the fans found out about Kobe Bryant deciding to sacrifice pinky surgery to repair his hand for a shot at the NBA championship, we wanted to reciprocate the dedication right back to the reigning league MVP.
For the fans, from the fans, we have created the Vittiz. Exclusively made by Gamer’s Gear LLC and available only at TheLakersNation.com, the Vittiz is a way for you to show the love, honor and support of his decision to play this upcoming season.
Sport the Vittiz in appreciation for the man who helped lead and give respect back to USA Basketball!
Note: This is a pre-sale, Vittiz will be shipped out before the season begins.
You can purchase the “Vittiz” and get more details at the new TLN Store!
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This is the second of two parts.
L.A. Times: If the Lakers’ decision to draft 17-year-old Andrew Bynum had been either a heartwarming Cinderella story or Looney Tunes, the best and worst was yet to come.
How many teens molder on an NBA bench, are called out by the team’s unhappy superstar and wind up winning the big guy over and saving the day?
That’s what happened to Bynum, whom Kobe Bryant railed about trading . . . before Bryant decided he wanted to be the one to go . . . after which Bynum became a monster and Bryant did what he so rarely does: reconsider.
Even with Bynum’s season ending Jan. 13, his giant leap had already turned Bryant around. If Bynum was unable to return last spring as the Lakers advanced to the Finals, Bryant now knew what he had in the young center.
“He’s a legitimate, 7-1, long-wing-span, natural shot blocker,” Bryant said, “so add Andrew, it takes us to another level defensively.”
When they found themselves being outrebounded in their second-round series with Utah, Bryant was asked if that was the first time they had missed Bynum.
“We’ve missed Andrew the whole time,” he said.
The secret is out. CBS Sportsline just ranked Bynum No. 3 among NBA centers in potential impact this season, behind Dwight Howard and Yao Ming . . . ahead of No. 4 Shaquille O’Neal.
All it took were three of the wildest seasons the Lakers had ever seen.
Continue reading ‘Andrew Bynum’s giant leap for Lakers’
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This is the first of two parts.
L.A. Times: The best of times were a memory and the worst of times had just begun in the spring of 2005 when the Lakers drafted 17-year-old Andrew Bynum out of high school in what seemed the maraschino cherry on the sundae of their dysfunction.
Dysfunction was a popular word around them after eight years of Shaquille O’Neal and Kobe Bryant, but those now seemed like the good old days.
O’Neal was gone. Jerry West was gone. Chick Hearn was gone.
Rudy Tomjanovich, hired to replace Phil Jackson, had come and gone, fleeing within months to be replaced by . . . Jackson, who had been gone but was back.
Owner Jerry Buss, who had let Jackson go and was obliged to rehire him, seemed out of touch, musing that his 34-48 team could be in the Western Conference finals in “a couple of years.”
In fact, Buss was more detached than ever, involving his son Jim in decisions, which, as far as Lakers fans were concerned, was like Jed Clampett turning the Beverly Hillbillies over to nephew Jethro.
The real heat was on General Manager Mitch Kupchak, whose challenge — build a dynasty from the ashes of the old one — was the NBA equivalent of “Mission: Impossible.”
Continue reading ‘Andrew Bynum wasn’t a natural selection for Lakers’
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Forum Blue & Gold: Phil Jackson met with the media on Friday in advance of Lakers camp opening next Tuesday, and as you expect from Phil he said a few interesting things. If you want to watch the entire press conference, the always on it guys at Lakers.com have the video up.
What follows are some highlights, followed by a few comments.
Question: “Have seen enough of Trevor to envision a role for him?”
Jackson: “I don’t hesitate to say that if this team doesn’t work out the way I want it to, Trevor may be a starting player. I may just insert him and convince Lamar to come off the bench if I feel it’s better for the team and we don’t feel as comfortable on the floor as I’d like us to feel. That’s a role I see Trevor playing for us. I think he’s going to be a person who does things defensively and offensively for us that are going to be big pluses for us.”
Question: “Would that be Plan B?”
Jackson: “I have to give that an opportunity. They deserve an opportunity.”
….Lamar is going to have to make an adjustment. He’s had an advantage at power forward the last couple of season, especially playing power forward in a guard slot offensively. So he’s going to have to make some adjustments and we’re going to have to see how he does with that.
+Continue Reading
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L.A. Times: Phil Jackson looked loose and relaxed, having let the sting of last season’s championship failure roll off his back and disappear into the waters of the Flathead River during an off-season spent at his Montana home.
The Lakers coach, who turned 63 last week, met with reporters for almost half an hour Friday, touching on Andrew Bynum’s physical condition, possible reductions in Kobe Bryant’s playing time and a front court that might or might not include Lamar Odom as a starter.
Bryant also spoke briefly with a handful of reporters in the players’ parking lot at the team training facility. He smiled a lot and seemed upbeat while detailing why he skipped surgery that would have required a 12-week recovery period for a torn ligament in his right pinkie.
“That was too long,” he said, splaying out his fingers and saying that enough scar tissue had built up in the pinkie to make it less dicey to play with this season. “It was riskier last season than it is now.”
Between Bryant’s pinkie and Bynum’s left knee, the Lakers weren’t fully healthy when last season ended with a 131-92 loss to Boston in Game 6 of the NBA Finals.
Jackson, however, hopes for a fresh beginning when training camp opens Tuesday in El Segundo. Of greatest interest, the Lakers’ 20-year-old 7-footer appeared to be in good physical shape, Jackson said, though Bynum’s absence in the team’s last 57 games might have stalled his development.
Continue reading ‘Change in store for Kobe Bryant & Lamar Odom’
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NBA.com: Hey, Luke Walton here. I’ll be blogging for NBA.com this season and I’m very excited to share some thoughts and insights with you. I’ll be the first to admit, though, that I’m in unchartered waters here. I’ve never blogged before. So, why am I doing it? I like interacting with you, the fans. I welcome your comments and questions. If we can have conversation going back and forth and you’re interested, then that’s cool. It’s awesome that I get to play basketball and at the same time have people that are that interested in what I’m doing in my everyday life. I figured I would give it a shot and see how it worked out.
The Pain of Losing to the Celtics
Losing to the Celtics in the Finals was one of the hardest things that I’ve had to deal with in my basketball career. There are actually three other painful disappointments that instantly come to mind in addition to that Game 6 loss: Game 7 of the Phoenix series in 2006 when we were up 3-1 and then they won three straight on us; my rookie year when we lost to Detroit in the Finals; and my sophomore year of college when we got cheated by the Duke Blue Devils in the National Championship game.
It’s one of those things that you try to let the emotions pass and go out and enjoy your summer, but it’s such a painful process getting that close and ultimately falling short, especially when you work that hard with a group of guys that you feel is talented enough and that you enjoy spending that much time with.
Continue reading ‘Letter of Introduction: Luke Walton’
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A lot of cool Phil Jackson news just hit including him wanting to limit Kobe’s minutes to keep him healthy for the post-season. A fellow fan and friend once told me, “I love Kobe so much I don’t want to watch him play (to keep him healthy).” I think I might have that going on right now!
Yahoo: Don’t be fooled by Phil Jackson’s tan and relaxed demeanor. He’s still upset about missing out on another NBA title last summer.
“There’s still a little angst and anger there,” the Los Angeles Lakers’ coach told reporters Friday at the team’s practice facility.
The Lakers lost the NBA Finals to the Boston Celtics in six games in June, costing the Hall of Fame coach a chance at his league-record 10th coaching title.
Jackson appeared tanned, rested and relaxed as he spoke with reporters about his summer of boating, swimming and spending time with his grandchildren. He also spoke of possible changes that could help Los Angeles win another title.
Although the Lakers have the core of their rotation back from last season, Jackson said he’s not content with the status quo. Above all, he’s eager to see how well Andrew Bynum mixes with fellow 7-footer Pau Gasol.
Continue reading ‘Phil Jackson returns relaxed, ready, and will limit Kobe’s minutes’
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