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

Wednesday Storylines

by


The preseason continues with game 2 of the Lakers’ schedule, this time mixing it up against the Portland Trailblazers. Darius has the FB&G preview, pointing out that the coaches are still in search mode with the bottom half of the roster. Dave from Blazer’s Edge has the Portland-centric preview and no, not me Dave – another Dave. Speaking of me which I’m often prone to do, I ponied up the extra seven bucks per month for TWC and the Lakers channel, only to have the TV decide that it’s time to change its hues to sickly purple and green tones with the other major color being gray. This will probably necessitate an outing to a nearby mall at some point soon. Tonight however, I’ll kick back and enjoy in glorious purple and gray. On to the links:

There’s been much speculation about Kobe Bryant’s end date. Brian Kamenetzky at the Land O’Lakers balances the physical preparation and the mental drive that goes into Bryant’s decision making.

Brother Andy at the LOL offers detailed practice notes and video, including Jordan Hill’s back, Kobe’s life plan, Coach Brown’s reaction to the Warriors game and the 2-guard backup scenarios.

Kevin Ding for the OC Register, surmising that Kobe’s flame can’t burn forever.

Zach Lowe for Grantland looks at the top tier teams, including the Lakers who he puts at #3, as a true contender.

Darius drops by to chat with Matt Moore on his CBS Sports podkast, about the Lakers and the circus life. Other guests include Ken Berger and Mark Medina.

Here’s another really interesting piece about Kobe’s retirement saga, written by Basketball Reasons for Silver Screen and Roll, and entitled The Pyramid Song: The Finale Begins.

Mike Bresnahan at the L.A. Times writes about a happier Pau Gasol, ready to celebrate the season with his team.

While Dwight Howard has been cleared for full-contact practice, he won’t be playing tonight against the Trailblazers. Mark Medina at the L.A. Times reports the story.

Arielle Moyal at Lakers Nation interviews Robert Sacre, the last pick in the draft and a guy who has a decent shot of making the roster.

The afternoon has somehow slipped away, game time is a few hours away. The next exhibition offering after tonight will be on Saturday versus Utah. And at the end of the month on a Wednesday night, the official season opener against the Mavs. By that time the rotation may be a bit more sorted out, although there doesn’t seem to be any real urgency. The sense I get from the various reports and articles is that this is a team that’s comfortable with the process, and methodically getting its house in order. I’m not in a hurry either. Just perfectly content to relax and enjoy a full slate of preseason basketball, just me and my deteriorating Sony picture tube. – Dave Murphy


Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Aaron says

    To me… Preseason basketball is more enjoyable than regular season basketball. It’s been a half a year since I’ve gotten to see the best sport in the world (a smidge ahead of soccer), I get to evaluate the players that improved (or got worse), I usualy get to grab my first glimpses of the Lakers new toys and I don’t have to worry about the outcome of the games.

  2. billbill says

    To me… regular season basketball is more enjoyable than post-season basketball. It’s been a half a year since I’ve gotten to see the best sport in the world (a smidge ahead of soccer), I get to evaluate the players that improved (or got worse), I usualy get to grab my first glimpses of the Lakers new toys and I don’t really have to worry about the outcome of the games.

  6. Aaron says

    Ken,
    Ha. Yes… But he hasn’t played poorly tonight. You will have plenty of time this year to call him out Unfortunatley. How do you feel about CDR vs Ebanks for the back up SF spot? Ebanks just doesn’t look coordinated enough to me. CDR I think would be the better option. But I’ll save my final judgement till after a couple more games of watching CDR play.

  7. Ko says

    To early to tell. Lots of wide open shots 2nd game in a row for other team. Can’t blame it on no Kobe because he hasen’t played D in 3 years.
    Metta and Nash look good. Not much else.

    They looked confused. Why?

  8. Aaron says

    The only one who looks confused is Pau. He just doesn’t look mentally there. He has gone into baby giraffe mode tonight. Precious.

  9. Shaun says

    Yeah so far my take on the game

    – Sacre sucks, he was the last pick in the draft and it can be understood but I would rather have Mbenga than him on the team.

    – Jamison does look old and his shot is off.

    – CDR has some shanwow in him except much less athletic

    – really disappointed that we do not see more of darius morris or Earl Clark to see what they can do at least so far

    -Gasol and Nash are playing too much

    Side note, I think lillard is the real deal and a steal in this draft, dumb more Nets for trading the pick and dumb move Cavs for picking Dion Waters ahead of him

  10. Shaun says

    Blake actually looks pretty good in this offense, it seems to be better suited to him, like a nash lite

  11. Ko says

    Blake is terrible. Why no Duhon or Morris? Wonder what excuses Brown will use this year! two games in a row getting embarrished in 2nd half.

    These guys are clueless out there. Nice job Brown!

  12. vhanz says

    #9

    If Cavs picked Lilard then there will be a competetion for PG spot because K.Irving is there already.

  13. Ko says

    2nd game in a row the reserves look like a bad D league team. Funny Blazers subs look good.

    Either we have bad players or a bad coaching.

  14. Anonymous says

    How long until rumors of MWP coming off the bench? Only the 2nd preseason game but only Ebanks is jumping off the screen so far.

  15. Kevin_ says

    Sorry, last post was me. Sacre continues to impress so does Ebanks. Nash makes things look so easy and Pau missed a bunch of opportunities he usually converts on. No Dwight and Kobe tied 44 at half is good.

    Meeks has to find a rhythm he looks in philly playoff form. Jamisons a vet who will find his groove eventually. Other than Ebanks our bench looks right now preseason or not.

  16. don ford says

    Kobe is so smart and purposeful that I wonder how much of this retirement talk is aimed only at an audience of one: a ceertain center who will be a free agent next summer … Convince dwight to stay, then shut that “R” talk off and play for years…conspiratorial – but possible !!

  18. Ko says

    17?

    Turnovers per game?
    Opposing offensive rebounds?
    Number of times down court with no shot?
    Wide open 3 pointers for other team?
    Number of excuses per game from Mike Brown?

    Ok I give.

  19. LBc says

    This bench has speed and the athleticism we NEED.

    Morris
    Ebanks
    Chris Douglas Roberts
    Jamison
    Hill

    Duhon and Meeks has shown nothing yet so far,And I see Blake still looking like his old self 14 min, 0 points, 2 assists and 3 turnovers.

  20. kehntangibles says

    Yes, because we should use preseason games as any kind of meaningful harbinger as to how the season will go.

    /eyeroll

  21. Ko says

    I was kidding. Being silly. We will be fine as long as health. Reserves do look confused but will be on the bench or D league so it’s all good.

    Lakers 68 to 70 wins.

  22. Edwin Gueco says

    17,

    I think you’re right, the Big 5 will carry this team for the season. They need a bench and so far we’re disappointed on what we’re witnessing. It will be again 3-2 in the 2nd unit, that is, mixed by 2 starters. I don’t see any effective PG so far. Perhaps, buyout Duhon and Clark’s contracts to fill it with promising D’Leaguers. Jamison is still rusty but he would improve. They’re all feeling each other as new teammates, new offense and new Coaching, They need to communicate more as ball players.

  24. dice8up says

    Been looking around the web… I caught this over at foxsport… Kobe on what D12 needs to get to the next level.

    “If you want to get to the next level, you’re going to have to go out there and a guy’s guarding you in practice, you’re going to have to punish him and send him a message. Make the guy who’s guarding him think about if he wants to play in the NBA anymore.”

    Arash Merkazi tweeted… ?@ArashMarkazi

    Kobe Bryant: “Smush Parker was the worst. He shouldn’t have been in the NBA but we were too cheap to pay for a point guard.”

  25. kareem says

    Did Kobe really say that? That’s pretty funny, especially since Smush Parker has gone on record as saying that he’s better than Kobe. They’ve had a long rivalry which is pretty ironic considering their diverging career trajectories.

  26. Shaun says

    Depth will definitely be an issue int he West

    The clippers, nuggets, and spurs can all go 10 deep

  27. Robert says

    MB: I am hoping that the Laker pre-season is being handled no differently than an NFL team handles pre-season, in that the results are meaningless, and the games are being used to work out rotations and final roster spots. With that said, I am giving MB a free ride until the regular season. I have been somewhat neutral on MB all through last year. That is about to change and I hope for the better. However, he must perform. I do not want to hear about the new offense, the new players, the new rotations, and time to gel. We have the best team, and we must put “W’s” on the board with regularity. I am not even hoping for the huge win totals that some are predicting, but anything less than 60 wins and momentum heading into the playoffs would be a travesty with our star studded roster.

  28. Kareem says

    My feelings exactly, Robert. Mike Brown has not impressed anyone yet, though he hasn’t had much opportunity to. Now is his time to put up or shut up.

  29. Ed says

    We still have very little quality depth compared to other top teams,which means that injuries,even minor ones, really affect overall performance. the idea of limiting minutes for Kobe,Nash, Howard, seems a long shot for now.

  30. Dave M. says

    I’m not particularly concerned with anything I’ve seen. My own personal preference would have been to see Pau play less minutes, simply because it will be a long season. We’ve got plenty of talent and sufficient depth. Time and health management will be key – MB sat Kobe even though he wanted to play and I think that in of itself is a good sign.

  31. lil pau says

    DirecTV update: I spoke with them this morning. The supervisor I spoke with said said they are actively logging, counting, and ‘closely monitoring’ the # of complaints from Laker fans about the lack of preseason coverage and will make a decision about when to start showing the channel based on customer feedback. The sense I got is that the deal is done, but they don’t want to start paying TWC until the regular season… unless a fan revolt forces them to reconsider.

    If anyone here wants to call and lodge a complaint/threaten to leave if they don’t get this done, their # is
    1 (877) 491 1061

    I told them that if they don’t have coverage by next week, I would leave. It’s probably a bluff, but we’ll see…

    I got the sense that a few phone calls from disgruntled subscribers might go a long way to getting the Lakers on the air asap….

  32. Aaron says

    Ken,
    Yea… It doesn’t make sense. We already know Duhon/Blake were the two worst back up PGs last year. It’s strange that Morris/Odom aren’t getting any meangful minutes with the 1st/2nd team to see what we have in meaningless early preseason games. Just strange.