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Now_Im_Not_Banned:
Mihm & Mckie Still Injured?
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
October 7, 2006
Center Chris Mihm felt pain in his surgically repaired right ankle after beginning his running regimen a few days ago. Mihm sat out 24 of the team's last 25 games last season because of the ankle.
"The more activity that's done on it, the more it gets to be a sharp pain," he said Friday. "It's a matter of working it as intensely as we can in a certain range, and when the pain spikes, icing it down."
Mihm, who averaged a career-best 10.2 points and 6.3 rebounds last season, is at least two to three weeks from returning.
Guard Aaron McKie sat out the second half of Friday's practice because of a sore back. McKie, who played only 14 games last season primarily because of a quadriceps tendon injury, practiced Saturday.
Now_Im_Not_Banned:
Mihm, slow to recover, targets late exhibitions
By KEVIN DING
The Orange County Register
EL SEGUNDO - The one Laker who faces the most realistic threat of not being ready for opening night Oct.31 is center Chris Mihm, whose surgically repaired right ankle continues to give him pain.
Mihm had arthroscopic surgery July 26 and was expected to be ready for the start of training camp, but his recovery has been slow. He is increasing his running on a daily basis, yet can't do much without the ankle bothering him.
"If it feels good enough, maybe I can get in one of the last preseason games, and that'd be great," Mihm said.
Mihm averaged a career-high 10.2 points last season, but missed 17 games with a severe sprain of that ankle before struggling through the regular-season finale and missing the playoffs.
It was a major loss given the Lakers' plan to pound the ball inside against Phoenix. But Mihm's injury, as Kwame Brown still says to this day, changed the scope of Brown's first Lakers season - and what Mihm called "by far my best season."
Brown stepped up to replace Mihm at center and started to show the skills that made him the No.1 overall pick in 2001. It altered the Lakers' vision to the point that as the summer began Coach Phil Jackson asked Mihm, who has a better jumper than Brown, to think about playing more power forward.
Even though the Lakers would like Brown to be flexible enough to play power forward, too, he has been slow to learn the wing aspects of the triangle offense despite playing that position much of last season. Brown has said repeatedly that he prefers the post, the easiest position in the triangle.
Brown has been impressive in early training-camp scrimmages, being properly patient and aggressive with his offensive attacks. He has improved his leg strength, which was lacking last season because of his 2004 broken right foot.
"My legs faded on me late in the season," Brown said.
But while Brown has been active, Mihm has been inactive. Jackson said Monday that Mihm's recovery "is a lot slower than we anticipated" and noted how important a healthy Mihm will be for the Lakers' interior depth, as Andrew Bynum remains in the developmental stage.
Now_Im_Not_Banned:
McKie Trying to Find Role
BY ROSS SILER, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:10/06/2006 10:48:43 PM PDT
EL SEGUNDO - While the Lakers scrimmaged at the end of practice Friday, Aaron McKie sat on a giant inflatable ball on the sidelines, a sore back leaving him watching instead of playing once again.
There is no doubt that the Lakers benefit from the presence and professionalism of McKie, who is entering his 13th season and turned 34 on Monday. The issue is whether McKie is healthy enough to make a contribution on the court.
He played in only 14 games in his first season with the Lakers, suffering a torn left quadriceps tendon that wasn't fully healed until this summer. McKie has a guaranteed contract for this season paying him $2.5 million.
Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis was asked whether McKie - the oldest player on the roster - was a known commodity to the coaching staff, given how many games he missed last season.
"We have a lot of faith in his leadership capabilities," Rambis said. "He did a great job when he wasn't playing or when he was dealing with injuries last year in working with the younger guys and showing them how to be professional and how to train and how to keep working hard. He was fantastic in those areas.
"In terms of playing out there on the court, he shows all those good instincts that good defensive players have. He understands this offense. Now it's just physically whether or not he'll be able to keep up with everything that's going on and compete for a spot."
McKie was signed to a two-year, $5million contract in August 2005 after he was waived in a luxury-tax saving move by Philadelphia, which still owes him more than $12.5 million through the 2007-08 season.
The Lakers originally hoped that McKie would be their finisher, on the court for crucial late-game situations. But he averaged only 8.6 minutes in the games he played and had only threebaskets all season.
Now_Im_Not_Banned:
Turiaf- The Enforcer
BY ROSS SILER, Staff Writer
Article Last Updated:10/06/2006 10:48:43 PM PDT
After undergoing open heart surgery in July 2005, forward Ronny Turiaf attended the first part of training camp last October in Honolulu. He was around the team, but not quite on it, and returned to Spokane, Wash., to continue his comeback.
Turiaf made it back to the NBA only four months later and played in 23games for the Lakers. Now he is happily taking part in his first full camp - calling it a "dream for me" - and trying to win a spot in the rotation.
"I definitely feel part of this team, feel part of what we're trying to accomplish here," Turiaf said. "I'm trying to have some fun and play hard, play tough defense, and hopefully when I'm on the court, the offense runs smoothly."
The Lakers have put an emphasis on defense, which plays to Turiaf's strengths. He said he wanted to be a communicator on the floor as well as an "enforcer," setting screens, boxing out and doing the dirty work not in the box score.
"I know for a fact my teammates will appreciate the work that I do," Turiaf said.
He played this summer for the French national team, which finished fifth at the World Championships in Japan. It was another step in coming back from a surgery that once was feared could end his career.
"I regained my confidence in myself," Turiaf said. "Everybody was kind of doubting me as far as me making the team and all that stuff. They thought, `Ronny Turiaf hasn't played many games this year, we don't know what he can do.' So I went out there with a chip on my shoulder to show them that I could do it."
Now_Im_Not_Banned:
It's Better for Brown This Time
By Mike Bresnahan, Times Staff Writer
October 8, 2006
Kwame Brown smiles.
"Yes," he says after exhaling, he is definitely feeling more relaxed these days.
He was trying to do everything in a hurry a year ago, moving at a painfully blurry speed whenever the ball came his way in the post. If he actually managed to secure the ball instead of fumbling it — a 50-50 proposition at times — he would begin his post moves awkwardly and rapidly, often ending with an off-balance shot.
He has now been handed the title of the Lakers' starting center, one he hopes not to drop. He says he has changed, calling the difference from a year ago "like night and day."
"Just not thinking as much, not as anxious," he said. "You can't do nothing without the rock. I'm just basically trying to slow down. I'm not as wide-eyed as I was last year."
Brown would have been an important key to a successful season before it became apparent Chris Mihm would not be ready for the start of training camp. Now, many eyes will be on Brown, who delivered in Mihm's absence toward the end of last season and will be expected to do so even more this season.
Brown averaged 13.6 points and 9.2 rebounds in the team's final 13 regular-season games, following it up with a slightly less exemplary 12.9-point, 6.6-rebound average in the playoffs.
A day after last season ended, Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak challenged Brown by saying, "My understanding is that he has not put as much time into his game during the off-season as he should."
So Brown became a fairly frequent visitor to the team training facility, although he wished he could have done more.
"I understand that he wanted to see us in here, but there were no guys in there playing," Brown said. "That's the one thing I wish that we could change. If you want us to be here, try and get some games going because there's not a lot of games going here. You can work out, you can do all the shots and skill work, and you're still behind the eight-ball because there's no playing."
Now in his sixth season, Brown can't afford to fall behind if he is going to be a meaningful post presence for an entire season.
"You can tell that he's much more relaxed out there," Lakers assistant coach Kurt Rambis said. "He has a better understanding of what we want to do. We just need him to keep growing as a ball player. Part of his job is to make sure that he controls the lane for us — defends, rebounds — and starts expanding his offense."
As for his hands?
"He's doing a good job of catching the ball," Rambis said. "To be honest with you, I don't think that I've noticed him dropping the ball in training camp, which is good, considering that most of this is a hack-fest out there. You've got grabbing and holding and they're smacking and slapping."
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