Friday Forum

So preseason’s over, oh and eight. We got ’em right where we want ’em, man. I only have two slight concerns. One, that Kobe Bryant’s foot is in severe pain and two, that Pau Gasol put in 30 mpg during the oh and eight. I mean, I’ve heard Coach Brown’s explanations and I’m not saying he’s wrong. He’s the coach. I just don’t personally understand the logic… that because Pau plays so much year-round he’s out of shape and so he now has to play his way into shape even though he’s tired and it’s fatiguing him – because the very fact that it’s making him uncomfortable now will make it not seem so uncomfortable later. I mean, I think that’s what Brown’s been saying. And I’m sure this is designed to make Pau less fatigued when it comes time for the playoffs. So I’m not worried. At all.

Ramona Shelburne for ESPN is also not worried at all. Because for the Lakers, trying to learn their third offensive scheme in three years is really no problem. Plus there’s the seven new players and three new assistant coaches.

Janis Carr of the OC Register notes that even though this preseason was the worst in Lakers franchise history, they did manage to turn the ball over 21 times last night against the Kings.

Ramneet Singh at Lakers Nation take a closer look at the last ten of the Lakers preseasons. Just to put things in perspective.

On the bright side of things, C.A. Clark at Silver Screen and Roll says the chances of Lakers fans getting TWC Sportsnet looks bleak. Actually, that’s only if you live in SoCal and other nearby parts of the “Lakers footprint”. If you’re halfway across the country like I am, you can get the channel just fine if you want to pay extra. You can’t get the actual games though. Those are blacked out. Regional reasons.

Sheridan Hoops scribe Mark Heisler offers up his 2012/13 power rankings. Should I spoil the surprise and say where he ranks the Lakers? Nah. (Hint: I said it’s written by Heisler)

Melissa Rohlin of the LA Times writes about one of the true bright spots of this preseason – Robert Sacre, the last pick of the draft.

In non-Laker news, Adrian Wojnarowski at Yahoo Sports waxes poetic about the gift to humanity that is our NBA emperor. As Woj succinctly sums up, “The fear and loathing of David Stern will never end, and perhaps that’s what he’s always wanted.

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Well okay now! This is the part of the post called the summation or the lead-out and it’s where everything comes together in a cogent explanation of why none of the above matters and the real season is at hand and things are about to get really excellent. Except that I haven’t eaten since a couple of frozen waffles at five AM and so I’m going to go make my lunch. Y’all have a good weekend now.

– Dave Murphy