Through the weekend I’ll be filling in over at True Hoop, following and commenting NBA news — except for when my Irish are defeating USC (a guy can dream, can’t he?). The Lakers have left Hawaii and news is a little slow, but here are some team and NBA thoughts:
• Aaron McKie started the second preseason game for the Lakers and went scoreless (and get used to that, McKie is a weak offensive player), but he may get the job when the season starts. Any plans for Luke Walton to begin the season as a starter went out the door with his severe hamstring injury that will keep him out of training camp for at least a couple weeks and possibly until the season is a couple weeks old. Smush got a shot in the opener and his performance will not earn him a second chance. There aren’t a lot of other options with this thin Laker bench.
• As a side note on Luke’s injury, these things can be nagging if not allowed to heal properly. Better to keep him out too long now rather than bring him back too early and have him struggle with the injury throughout the season.
• If you thought Steve Nash was the league MVP last season, or even the Suns’ MVP, look how he does without Stoudemire the first two thirds of the season. (I thought the Suns were taking a step back this year before the injury, but now it’s a big step — Brian Grant is going to get a chunk of Amare’s minutes. I saw that movie last season and didn’t like it then.)
• The much-anticipated John Hollinger’s Basketball Forecast is landing on the doorsteps of bloggers and NBA fans everywhere. Except mine (despite my preorder). I’d hoped to sink my teeth into it this weekend, but the US Postal Service has other ideas.
• If, as rumored, Duke Coach Mike Krzyzewski is named the USA Basketball coach that makes Kobe even more likely to be a member of the team. As I’ve written before, that is good, because we know Kobe can hit an 18-foot jumper consistently, which would set him apart from the last US Olympic team.
John R says
Basketball Forecast is excellent, but he seems to have provided most, if not all, of the content to ESPN insiders. I feel a little ripped off as I could have read it all, and all of the other insider content, by paying for that service for a month at a substantial reduction in cost. And the website accurately reflects the off-season moves placing the players with their current teams instead of last season’s.
Lame. I’ll be considering this when making my decision to purchase the next installment. I’m not mad, I’m just sayin…
DC says
Now that Luke’s out of the pix for awhile, why doesn’t Kupcake/Phil go after Spree, Charlie Ward or ??? It’s pretty exasperating with no true PG. Thanks, keep up the good work.
FirstMohican says
2 – Why do the Lakers need a “true” PG instead of a fast, solid defender to defend the opposing “true” PG?
Kurt says
I think the theory is they only need a “true PG” for defense, he could even come off the bench as a stopper. But without Walton we get mighty thin there, Smush looks like he’ll get his chance.
JamFan says
If you are looking for a Lakers Fan site with fresh articles posted everyday try
http://lakers.topbuzz.com
JamFan
Randall says
Sorry about the Irish. What an exciting game.
Kurt says
I’m not quite over the Irish loss yet. Trying to take solice in the fact the last time I felt this bad when we lost was when Lou Holtz was the coach and we were a national power year in and year out. Long term it’s a good sign, but today I’m still bitter.