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A Lakers Blog. Thoughts, reflections, and the odd rant on the Los Angeles Lakers and the NBA (even the Clippers).

The First Day Is Finally Here…

by


There may not be any games being played, but the Lakers’ season is finally here.

Today, countless scribes — including our own dynamic duo of Phillip and Rey — will descend upon the Lakers’ facilities for media day. There will be variations of the same questions asked and answered, pictures snapped, and video recorded. Players and coaches will be there to talk about everything that’s new (of which there’s plenty), things that aren’t (cue up Mike Brown, Kobe, Pau, etc), and how they think it will all mesh together.

It will be fun, insightful, and, in reality, just the beginning.

The journey may begin today but the road ahead will be long. There will be hundreds of practices, film sessions, and games to play. There will be many more sessions just like today (well, maybe not just like today) where the media masses will look for answers from the players and coaches about what’s going right and wrong; what’s working and what’s not.

During it all, we’ll be right here to discuss it with all of you. All the ups and downs, wins and losses, praise and second guesses. We’ll be here to talk X’s and O’s, strategy, what we expect, and what actually happened. We’ll be here to celebrate…and to complain.

Most of all, today is a day of excitement. Like an eight year old on the night before school, I had trouble sleeping last night. The NBA, for all intents and purposes, is back. The Lakers are back. They’re restocked with better players than they’ve had in some time and have a renewed sense of urgency and purpose as the ballast behind the pursuit of their goals.

So, as a new season begins, I thank all of you again for being here to enjoy it with us. We hope to continue to provide our best to you just as we hope to get the best from the team we root for. The ride ahead promises to be one to remember. Buckle up because like the Lakers and the NBA season, we’re just getting started. More to come later today.


Reader Interactions

Comments

  2. any_one_mouse says

    Thanks in advance, Darius and team, for all the insightful posts, breakdowns and recaps 🙂

  3. Dom says

    Finally, Anyway my only concern is the bench. The bench, The Bench, The Bench. When we have had championship benches we have won. Unless hill and ebanks can really impact games for long stretches the starters will be tired come playoffs

  4. Vegas says

    Can’t wait!

    Here’s a look at how some recent “superteams” started:

    2003-04 Lakers: 17-3
    2007-08 Celtics: 18-2
    2010-11 Heat: 12-8

    All 3 of these teams made the finals and one won the championship. (We won’t say which one.)

    So based on 3 meaningless data points, we’ve got a good chance to get off to roaring start, a great chance to get to the Finals, and a 1 in 3 shot of winning it all. The last is right in line with the 35% number I’ve seen on this site.

    So expectations are high and deservedly so!

    Can’t wait, can’t wait…

  5. Jim C. says

    (Morpheus Voiceover) At last!

    The wait for the new NBA season has been excruciating.

    Having said that, here’s some information of interest being tweeted by Marc Stein.

    “Sixers announce they’ll take “precautionary measures” w/new C Andrew Bynum and hold him out three weeks to recover from recent knee surgery”

    and

    “Sixers also sign veteran C Mikki Moore for frontcourt depth. Team says Bynum diagnosed w/bone bruise in right knee but can do conditioning”

  10. Tra says

    “Like an eight year old on the night before school, I had trouble sleeping last night.”

    Lol .. Happy to hear/read that it wasn’t only myself.
    ————-

    “I thank all of you again for being here to enjoy it with us.”

    As Kobe would say, ‘You’re Welcome.’

  12. Aaron says

    I won’t be happy until Bynum is hurt and out for the year and Dwight is dunking on the entire beach of the south again…

  14. J says

    What the.. I’m a die hard laker fan and I want to see Bynum succeed. I would love to see him play great this year for the 76ers. Especially since he is on the east there is nothing to worry about. I hope Bynum stays healthy and dominates the east. But I also wish Dwight gets back from his injuries and plays as the best big man in the league. Dwight looks healthy so I’m not worried about that. I just don’t understand why you would wish injury on Bynum

  16. david h says

    darius: what aaron is using is called irony. which is really intended for dwight howard….let’s hope this is not the case for dh.

    let’s concentrate on what we do know: it’s media day today, it’s one day from the official kick off of laker practice, one week from first preseason game, one month from start of the 2012-2013 nba season; one heck of a season for laker nation.

    let’s focus on the positive; coach brown looks like a smart guy; laker assistant coaches look like a smart guy; laker players look like a smart guy, laker front office looks like a smart guy. that’s a lot of smart guys to go around.

    everyone stay focused and maintain a healthy body and mind together and we’ll look like a smart guy come playoff time.

    Go Lakers !

  17. P. Ami says

    Jesus Aaron. Dude contributed to 2 rings, has worked hard, and netted us Howard. How about a little class.

  18. Chearn says

    I too, hope that Bynum has an awesome career going forward. He is a Laker and may one day return to Los Angeles…you never know.

  19. Luiz André says

    Thinking about Bynum now and I’m kinda meh… don’t really care anymore.
    Looking at center depth at the East he’ll probably start at the All-Star game even with a mediocre season anyways.

    Looking forward to some games that should be very entertaining, not counting the contenders or Boston (got ya, ugly leps): Nuggest (scary), Blazers (finally have a PG), Warriors (Bogut+Curry), Bucks (Monta is fun to watch), Rockets (young guns), Bobcats (not really lol) and the Clippers, because I’d love for Odom to have a huge game (but lose anyway) and watching CP3 play is always a pleasure.

  21. Edwin Gueco says

    I like the new haircut of Steve Nash, clean and crisp, the new LA look.

    Rambis got a job as Clark Kent of ESPN. I don’t think he would ever get fired in reporting.

    It is nice to see Pau Gasol smiling again, who survived another season but can Lakers afford him before the playoffs start? Well, that will be a good barometer for Lakers, if Gasol is still here at the end of the season, then they’re on the way to Championship. If it’s a 50% winning %, don’t expect him to be here nor Mike Brown.

    When Drew, Farmar, Shannon UPS or LO were here, nobody expected Lakers to win the Championship, yet they did. Today, they have not played a single game, every fan expect them to win it all or else heads would roll. That’s what an imported beef and the premier ginger breads can do. Everyone has to be in the new pressure cooker tho’ they still have the same chef.

  22. matt says

    This squad’s bench actually seems to compare rather favorably to those “championship benches” we had in the 2008, 2009, and 2010 playoff runs. Realistically, three players were responsible for this production: Odom, Farmar, and Brown (with occasional boosts from Vujacic and Walton, but not reliably). Odom served mostly as the starting PF, since Bynum was so limited during those playoff runs.

    Do Antawn Jamison, Jodie Meeks, Jordan Hill, and Steve Blake REALLY compare that poorly to that group? Sure, the replacement back court for those finals runs was great for a change of pace and all that, but they weren’t exactly flawless. Farmar, Brown, and Vujacic had all of us pulling out our hair many games. They brought energy, but weren’t exactly lock-down defenders either. Am I just forgetting about someone here?

    I don’t think I have to emphasize how much better our starting line-up is now compared to those years. Fisher v. Steve Nash??? Hobbled Bynum v. Howard??? The only weaknesses our team has at this point is lack of depth at the 3 and possible fragility from Nash. Pretty much everyone has something to prove this year. It’s hard to not be excited for the games to start. Go Lakers!

  23. DieTryin' says

    Now Aaron wishes injury upon Bynum. This is either selective memory or coordinated misdirection. Regardless it’s uncalled for. The biggest Drew apologist will find this positioning and attempt at revisionist history an uphill climb. There are players I don’t like but none that I want to see felled by injury.

  24. dice8up says

    @Aaron, that is just plain wrong man… we are the LA Lakers, there is class in this organization, and the fans should reflect it.

    I am not entirely sure why you said those words.

    But that was just plain wrong reading the line.

    Go Lakers!!!

  25. Hale says

    Not that I care too much but the statement by “Aaron” would lead me to believe that it is not Aaron. Either way, it won’t change the state any player’s health.

    I’m a bit numb to this coming season at the moment. It really was an overload with the frustration of the lockout, Olympics, roster turnover. First time I see a game I imagine I’ll fire back up. Plus, I’m waiting to see how the Time/Warner thing shakes out since I’m presently on the hurry & wait list.