The Official Los Angeles Lakers thread

[Teddy Roosevelt]

Mihm Back In 2 Weeks Minimum

By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
October 4, 2006

Center Chris Mihm ran for the first time since undergoing ankle surgery in July. Mihm, who logged about 10 minutes on a treadmill Tuesday, will be sidelined at least two more weeks.

At least it means more minutes for Bynum.

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It's Time to Crunch Lakers' Numbers

J.A. Adande:
October 4, 2006

In honor of Kobe Bryant's new number — and one of my favorite TV shows — here are 24 thoughts on the Lakers.

24 Those digits sure look strange beneath Bryant's name on that gold jersey and it will never feel quite natural, like Joe Montana wearing a Chiefs uniform. Bryant says he wore No. 24 in his first year of high school ball, and that it also represents maximizing every hour of every day.

23 Luke Walton was signing an item Bryant had already autographed, saw a 24 next to Bryant's name, and did a double-take. "It'll be a little strange at first," Walton said of his teammate's new number. "But you kind of always know where Kobe is, no matter what his number is."

22 Andrew Bynum looks like a different person, as if someone replaced the skinny kid with a veteran power forward. He says he weighs 285 pounds. That's what they listed him at last year. Trust me, he's bigger. "He's not a boy anymore," Phil Jackson said. "He's got that man-type body."

21 The coaches think the returning players have enough of a grasp on the triangle offense that it won't be emphasized at the start of training camp.
"We feel we need as a ballclub to pick it up on the defensive end to do the things we need to do to have a shot at postseason play," said Kurt Rambis, who will handle the main coaching duties while Phil Jackson recovers from hip replacement surgery.

20 It was painful just to watch Jackson walk around Monday during Lakers media day. He also sounded weaker, his voice raspier and less authoritative than usual. It's hard to imagine him coaching after this season, let alone after his contract expires in 2008.

19 Two counter-arguments: 1). Rambis said he knows five people who had hip replacement surgery and felt much better afterward. 2) Last time I thought Jackson was gone, after he had angioplasty to clear an artery in 2003, he came back feeling strong the next season. (Then the Lakers let him go.)

18 Speaking of being let go: Mitch Kupchak should really hope the Lakers make the playoffs this season and Bynum shows signs he can be an impact player.

17 Lamar Odom remembers what went right at the end of last season, when all of his numbers went up. "Just finding my places in the post," Odom said. "Knowing how to manipulate a little bit. Knowing how to break it and still be within the offense."

16 With Odom playing that way, and with Kwame Brown giving them an inside presence, well, here's how Walton put it: "When we did what we were supposed to last year...we were one of the better teams in the NBA."

15 They won't be one of the better teams until Bryant fully recovers from surgery on his right knee. I teased Bryant — who avoided jumping this summer — that I could outleap him right now, and he didn't dispute it. When 6-foot sportswriters have more hops than Bryant, the Lakers are in trouble.

14 When Bryant had surgery on his knee three years ago he didn't return to his old attacking style of play until December. Of course, he didn't do any rehabbing that summer because he was preoccupied with the pending sexual assault charge. Bryant spent this summer working out with the Lakers training staff and says he'll be ready to go come opening night.

13 Bryant got to the gym at 5 a.m. some mornings. He said the next one in was Bynum. Jordan Farmar also logged a lot of hours at the Toyota Center, Bryant said. It sure looks like it; Farmar is much thicker than the guy I saw at UCLA.

12 Bryant is also convinced Kwame Brown is bigger.

11 Bryant is very relaxed. This is the first training camp in four years that he hasn't had some negative issue hanging over his head. The controversy over his second-half disappearance in Game 7 against Phoenix appears to have dissipated, and Bryant can just talk about what's next, for a change.

10 When Lakers public relations director John Black tried to wrap up Bryant's interview sessions on media day, Bryant took time to do a couple of TV interviews in Spanish, took questions in English from a Japanese reporter, then chatted informally with reporters.

9 For the Lakers' sake, it might be better if Bryant were angry at the world. Didn't it seem as if some of his best games came when he was under duress?

8 Vladimir Radmanovic will do well with the Lakers. Dead-eye shooters such as Jim Paxson and Craig Hodges have flourished in the triangle.

7 After the Lakers blew that 3-1 lead to Phoenix and lost in the first round, it left a bad enough taste to keep the team motivated. "I think everybody feels like they've got a lot to prove," Odom said. "The spotlight is on us, being Lakers."

6 The TV lights are on them, that's for sure. They'll make 24 appearances on ABC, TNT and ESPN. (That's as many as the Miami Heat.)

5 One reason Bryant better be ready by December: the Lakers have eight road games that month.

4 I have Dallas, San Antonio, Phoenix, the Clippers, Houston and Denver (somebody has to win the Northwest Division) as locks to make the playoffs.

3 That leaves the Lakers fighting with Utah, Minnesota, Sacramento, Memphis and the Hornets for the final two spots.

2 Can't wait for the new season of "24" in January.

1 In another dramatic story line, the Lakers, after a sluggish start, will ride another strong second half to grab the eighth playoff spot.

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Smush Parker Interview

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Chris Mihm/Kwame Brown Blog

[Stone Cold is Bout It, Bout It]

Tue-Oct 10th, 7:00pm vs Jazz (in Fresno) - No TV listing

                           L'UP

I'll Listen to it on the Radio if it's not on TV

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Kobe Video Interview

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Kobe Workin' With Some Kids In New Orleans-

[Stone Cold is Bout It, Bout It]

Smush Parker hurt his shoulder during practice..He's Day-To-Day..FUCK!!!! 

Lakers have so many injuries...

1. Phil had his Hip surjury during company time 

2. Kobe stil recovering from his Knee surjury

3. B.Cook recovoring from finger surjury

4. Mihm recovering from Ankle surjury

5. Smush got hurt today

6. Lamar lost his baby, so he's mentaly fuck'd up

7. Turiaf probably stil recovering from heart surjury

Hopefully eveyone recorvers in the next 27 days.

[Stone Cold is Bout It, Bout It]

Ronny Turiaf = 

Los Angeles Lakers NBA basketball forward Ronny Turiaf of France laughs with a reporter after he sang the song 'Sweet Home Alabama' while answering questions following a workout at the Lakers training facility in El Segundo, California October 3, 2006.

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Hopefully eveyone recorvers in the next 27 days.

I have faith...

[Now_Im_Not_Banned]

Radmanovic Takes 'D' Seriously

11:52 PM PDT on Wednesday, October 4, 2006
By BRODERICK TURNER
The Press-Enterprise
 
EL SEGUNDO - Oh, it was an insult, all right, one that Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis threw out at Vladimir Radmanovic and one the 6-foot-10 forward took in stride.

Defense has been the big theme during the first two days of Lakers training camp, and Radmanovic took the bait.

Radmanovic is not known for his defensive prowess, but he has been getting down in his defensive stance, talking on defense, helping on defense, trying to be a better defender than he ever has been.

After Tuesday's practice, Rambis told Radmanovic he "showed me a lot more on the defensive end than I expected out of him."

Rambis, who is running Lakers practices while head coach Phil Jackson recovers from right hip replacement surgery, gathered his thoughts for a moment, looked at Radmanovic and said, "I guess that's kind of an insult, huh?"

"It was a positive insult," Radmanovic said.

"You can tell that his mind-set is to play offense," Rambis said, "but he also understands that he's got a responsibility on the defensive end."

The reality is that the Lakers signed Radmanovic to a five-year, $31 million contract in July because he can stretch the defense with his ability to consistently knock down three-point shots.

Radmanovic made 39 percent of his three-pointers last season. He was acquired by the Clippers in February for his outside shooting, and he didn't disappoint, making 46.3 percent of his three-pointers during the playoffs. He has shot 38.1 percent from three-point range over his five-year career.

Radmanovic did say he understands the Lakers' defensive principles because they are similar to the ones he learned during his first four-plus seasons in Seattle.

"I'm pretty much familiar with that kind of defense," Radmanovic said. "I think I can help a lot."

He's still learning the triangle offense, but he rebuffed the notion that it takes a player an entire season to learn it.

"I'll try to pick it up earlier," Radmanovic said. "It's going to be too late at the end of the season. It doesn't seem too complicated to me. Maybe it is. I just don't realize it yet. So far, it's been pretty good for me. There are some adjustments I have to do. Just get rid of old habits and put all this new stuff into my brain and start working it that way."




 

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Offense to make up for D

BY ROSS SILER, Staff Writer
EL SEGUNDO - The rule was drilled into his head so many times last season - "Don't leave Vladimir Radmanovic open, no matter what" - that Lakers forward Lamar Odom had no trouble recalling it in talking about his newest teammate Wednesday.
It also was easier said than done, as Odom learned during a Feb. 24 game in which Radmanovic connected on five 3-pointers and scored 19 points against the Lakers.

The next time the Lakers played the Clippers, coach Phil Jackson abandoned the idea of having Odom cover Radmanovic altogether.

Jackson started Luke Walton on Radmanovic and took his chances by matching up Odom against Elton Brand.

If Odom had trouble chasing Radmanovic all over the floor, Jackson reasoned, maybe he at least could make things a little difficult for Brand on the offensive end.

Six months later, the Lakers' new problem is how best to integrate Odom and Radmanovic in the lineup. They have one of the league's most dynamic players in Odom and one of the league's most unstoppable shooters in Radmanovic.

The Lakers hope the mismatches Odom and Radmanovic create on offense - with Odom capable of posting triple-doubles and Radmanovic capable of hitting any shot on the floor - will compensate for the mismatches they will face on defense.
"Wherever he is, that's where I'm going to drive the basketball," Odom said. "Hopefully, his man stays. If he doesn't, then I'll average two or three more assists with that guy on my team."

The problem with playing a lineup with Odom and Radmanovic comes on the defensive end, where one of the two would have to match up against a bigger power forward and the other against a faster small forward.

Radmanovic gained a reputation as a one-dimensional shooter at his previous NBA stops. But Radmanovic acquitted himself on defense during the Lakers' first training camp practice Tuesday, according to assistant Kurt Rambis.

He moved his feet well, used his size and was aggressive. Rambis added that he smiled after telling Radmanovic he gave him more than he expected as a defender. The coach worried Radmanovic might consider it an insult.

"He wants to be good," Rambis said. "You can tell that his mind-set is to play offense, but he also understands that he's got a responsibility at the defensive end."

Radmanovic said: "That's our focus right now. I think we all should concentrate on that. I know our offense is going to come with the triangle offense the coach wants us to run. But defense we have to get better in order to be a better team."

Odom, meanwhile, thrives by creating mismatches on offense. If he has a smaller player on him, Odom can use his size and go to work inside.

If he has a bigger player on him, Odom can draw him out to the perimeter.

"We're going to apply a lot of pressure offensively," Odom said.

"In this league, what you've seen with the Phoenix Suns, their offense is their defense."

The Lakers envision taking advantage of their versatility by playing lineups big and small, finding the mismatch on offense and switching regularly on defense. Odom talked Wednesday about a lineup with both Radmanovic and Brian Cook on the floor.

That would give the Lakers two shooting forwards that opposing teams would have to cover, leaving them less likely to commit a second defender to stopping Kobe Bryant.

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Farmar's Development

By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
October 5, 2006

Jordan Farmar was enmeshed in the fall quarter at UCLA a year ago, taking in Bruins football games and preparing for a basketball season that eventually ended in the NCAA championship game.

He's now starting over, in a big way, leaving the comforts of Westwood after his sophomore season and becoming the 26th player taken in the NBA draft, property of the Lakers.

UCLA still tugs at him — he stopped by campus recently — but his present-day status almost leaves him in awe.

"I still have friends that are there," Farmar said. "I do miss it at times, but I wouldn't trade this for anything in the world. I can't even put into words how good it feels to be here. It's good to have someone like Kobe [Bryant] watching, and when you do something right and wrong, give you advice on how to improve. It makes it a great situation."

Farmar, 19, has demonstrated decent knowledge of the triangle offense and has shown some fire defensively, but he joins a crowded backcourt and could be a candidate for the Development League. He is the least experienced of the Lakers guards, falling in line behind Bryant, Smush Parker, Maurice Evans, Sasha Vujacic, Aaron McKie and Shammond Williams.

"It's certainly possible," General Manager Mitch Kupchak said. "Training camp will give us a gauge. He had a good summer. He did work on his body so he's stronger. It looks like he's held his own [so far], but the D-League is there for a reason. It's going to depend on training camp, the health of our players and coach's decision."

Players in their first two seasons can be assigned to the Development League up to three times a season. If Farmar were assigned to the Los Angeles D-Fenders — the Lakers' Development League team — he would continue to be paid his NBA salary and would still be considered part of the Lakers' 15-man roster.

He'd rather not talk about it, understandably.

"I haven't thought of it," Farmar said. "I'm sure they're going to want to do what's best for their organization and for me as well. If they feel that I can get experience down there … it's not the end of the world. I would love to be on the court with these guys, that's definitely what my goal is, but I'm professional now and I have to act like one."

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Bynum Coming Along

By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
October 5, 2006

The Lakers' other teenager, Andrew Bynum, packed on some muscle during the off-season and said he is now 7 feet 1. Now he needs to work on court awareness and expanding his moves in the post.

"You can just look at Andrew and see that he's improved his body," assistant coach Kurt Rambis said. "He still has a long way to go in terms of the knowledge he has to have in order to have success out there on the floor. He has made strides, he has made improvements. It's nice to see that he's getting more control over his body. He was puppy-like last year. He's starting to tighten things up a little bit."

Bynum, who will be 19 this month, averaged 1.6 points and 1.7 rebounds in only 7.3 minutes last season.

"I'm going to go out there and prove I should get some more minutes," he said. "That's what training camp is for."

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Lakers Begin Training Camp

By Eric Pincus
for HOOPSWORLD.com
Oct 2, 2006, 17:38 
 
After a long summer (they always seem long by the beginning of October), the Los Angeles Lakers finally convene for training camp this week.  Unfortunately for Coach Phil Jackson, the pre-season begins not with him courtside but with hip replacement surgery.  The Lakers are estimating that he'll return by opening night, but he'll be notably absent or limited throughout most if not all of training camp.

The following are questions submitted to HOOPSWORLD.com from Laker fans throughout the summer:

Why did Phil Jackson wait until the END of the summer to have surgery?
Harkening back to the Shaquille "I'll heal on company time" O'Neal foot surgery of a few years back, the timing is certainly unfortunate.  It would appear that in this case, Jackson's situation has more in common with what Kobe Bryant experienced right before the opening of camp for Team USA.  In general, surgery is the last option, as both Bryant and Jackson were undergoing rehab prior to their decisions.  It was only when pain management was no longer a consideration that surgery became inevitable.

Jackson also apparently had the weddings of two his daughters to celebrate.  Though fans want basketball to come first above all, players/coaches are entitled to some private family time as well during the off-season.

In his absence, the assistants will handle his duties (Kurt Rambis, Brian Shaw, Frank Hamblen and the returning Jim Cleamons).

How long will Jackson really be sidelined?
Hip replacement surgery is not nearly as invasive as it once was.  Though opening night is certainly a possibility for Jackson, the Lakers may be a bit optimistic in that target.

Having consulted a physician with no ties to Jackson, although the long term prognosis is very positive . . . short term he may not have an easy time recovering.  Best case he can return to work in two to three weeks, but too quick a return could actual make the long-term recovery even dicer.

In a normal situation, 6-8 weeks would be the proper recovery time.  Taking into account Jackson's age, injury history, NBA travel schedule, etc, it may not be until 10-15 weeks until he full recovers.

He'll be able to coach throughout that period, but in all likelihood he will be fighting through some levels of pain and discomfort to do so.

How will this impact Jackson's coaching style?  He may end up standing more on the sidelines during games as sitting for long periods of time may be more taxing on the hip.

There are still some free agents out there, notably Melvin Ely and Mo Taylor.  Why aren't the Lakers signing these guys?
First of all, the Lakers already have a full roster.  Assuming the team decides to guarantee the contracts of Smush Parker and Ronny Turiaf as expected, the team will have 15 guaranteed players.  As it is, players like Devin Green, Von Wafer and J.R. Pinnock have an uphill battle to even make the squad considering the lack of roster space.

Secondly, Ely is more than likely a center in the triangle.  Considering the team already has Kwame Brown, Chris Mihm and Andrew Bynum at the position, Ely would probably be redundant.

Unless the Lakers truly believed he was versatile enough to play power forward (doubtful), the only argument to be made for attaining Ely would be if the Lakers planned on trading Mihm.  They would also have to have reservations that Bynum is not capable of manning major minutes in his sophomore season.  In that case, Ely would be a short term stopgap until Bynum is fully developed.

That said, it does not appear that the Lakers are even in the running for Ely (in fact it was just announced that he is returning to the Charlotte Bobcats for another season).

As far as Mo Taylor, does he bring anything to the table that Brian Cook or Vladimir Radmanovic do not?  Taylor certainly hasn't built up his reputation as a rebounder or defender.  Considering the Laker roster glut, it wouldn't appear that Taylor is in the plans . . .

Will Jordan Farmar get any minutes this season?
The Lakers have a lot of guards this year.  For as many small forwards as GM Mitch Kupchak used to carry on the roster, the Lakers are even more overloaded this year at guard.

Along with Farmar, the Lakers have Kobe Bryant, Mo Evans, Smush Parker, Sasha Vujacic, Shammond Williams, Aaron McKie, Von Wafer, Devin Green and J.R. Pinnock.  That's ten guards!  Though three are unlikely to make it past training camp, Farmar will be competing with six others for playing time.

Considering Phil Jackson's history of sitting rookies for a season while they learn the system and develop their bodies for the NBA grind, Farmar is probably not going to make a major impact in his first year.

On the other hand, if he outplays the other guards in practice and makes the best of his game-time opportunities, there's always the chance he finds a role in the rotation.

Why did the Lakers sign Green and Pinnock if they're more than likely to be cut?
The Lakers had restricted free agent rights on Green and the draft rights to Pinnock over the summer.  Though LA wanted both to play overseas for a season, maintaining the team's rights, neither was willing to do so.

Every year, the Lakers bring 17-20 players to camp.  This time around they happen to have a couple of players they would like to keep given the opportunity.  Instead of the usual fodder who are signed simply to give the Lakers three or four teams of five to compete against each other through camp, LA will be taking long hard looks at Pinnock, Green and (in theory) Wafer.

Should one of the young players have a great camp, they could inspire the Lakers to open a spot for them.

Who else is coming to camp?
Word is Mamadou N'Diaye, formerly of the Los Angeles Clippers, and Marcus Douthit will round out the training camp roster.  Considering the glut, neither has a great shot to make the team.  As as with the other Lakers trying to make the squad, a strong training camp could change things.

Is Chris Mihm Ready to play yet?
After missing a major portion of last season, including the playoffs, Mihm is still not 100% healthy.  After off-season surgery and extensive rehab, it appeared that he had regained full strength, but unfortunately he has experienced setbacks that are expected to limit him throughout camp.  His slow recovery probably lowered his trade value this summer.

Considering the home heavy schedule in November, will the Lakers come out to a fast start?
The fact that the core of the Laker squad has a full year together in the triangle should give the team a boost in the early going.  Last year the squad was starting at square one in a system that is not necessarily easy to master.

Health concerns could temper the start, as Bryant is not fully recovered from knee surgery.  Neither is Brian Cook (hand).  Mihm isn't ready, Coach Jackson will be going under the knife, and Lamar Odom is still trying to mentally recover from the devastating loss of his son.

After November the rest of the season is more road heavy, the Lakers will need a fast start to have a successful season.  Unfortunately it's not a given that they'll have one with everything considered.  If things do start slowly, the Lakers will need to have a very good season on the road to make up for it.

After the long wait, the Lakers finally begin play on October 10th against the Utah Jazz.  On paper the Lakers are a deeper team, more experienced team.  It should prove to be an exciting pre-season as the Lakers prepare for what they hope to be a very successful year.

(Note: It appears that former Laker Laron Profit has signed with the Memphis Grizzlies.)