Posted: Tue Oct 02, 2012 7:12 am Post subject: Lakers In The News 10/1/12 & 10/2/12
Quote:
Magic Johnson says Miami Heat is the favorite to win NBA title
Magic Johnson has forever oozed optimism. From his smile, uber competitiveness and on-court playmaking, Johnson never saw a challenge be believed he couldn't overcome. But even Johnson has some doubts on whether the Lakers' revamped roster, headlined by Steve Nash and Dwight Howard, will be enough to win the NBA championship.
"You still have to consider Miami the favorite because they're the defending world champions," Johnson said Monday evening at Time Warner Cable Sportsnet's launch party. "But I think the Lakers are right there with them, no question about it. It's going to take them a couple of months to get to know each other, probably about three months to become a real team. You have Steve Nash, Dwight Howard, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol. So they have to learn how to mesh together. Once they do that, they're going to be awesome."
Three months?
Most Laker fans will hardly want to wait even one regular season game before expecting the team to unveil its absolute dominance. Still, there's so many personnel issues to consider.
Although the Lakers don't expect a long-term injury, how long will Dwight Howard sit out because of his surgically repaired back? How will Nash direct the offense? How will Bryant defer more to teammates while also maintaining scoring efficiency? How will Gasol strike the balance between embracing team play and playing more aggressively? Will Metta World Peace feel lost in the offense? Will the Lakers' revamped bench, headlined by Antawn Jamison and Jodie Meeks, improve as planned?
Meanwhile, Miami returns its core roster in LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh. The Heat also added sharpshooters Ray Allen and Rashard Lewis to complement its bench.
"They got talent," Johnson said. "When you have talent like LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh, that's some talent just like we have on our team. Before we get to Miami, we have to concentrate on Oklahoma City and really look to take them down first. But the Lakers are awesome. Mitch Kupchak and Jim Buss have done an amazing job and we're all going to benefit from that."
But will the Lakers even have enough to stop the Thunder's speed?
"I think the Lakers to me, if they can put it all together, are the better team," Johnson said.
Even if Johnson doesn't believe the same holds true should the Lakers and Heat match up, that doesn't mean the purple & gold's chances are suddenly doomed. It just means to Johnson that the Lakers will have some learning curves.
"We have to play great defense," Johnson said. "It's going to depend on that. We're going to get easier baskets because Steve Nash will run more. A lot will happen that's different than we ever had before. Steve Nash can score and also assist. That's something different that we never had before in a long time at the point guard position."
LINK _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
Last edited by 32 on Tue Oct 02, 2012 7:15 am; edited 1 time in total
Lakers' Pau Gasol: 'New season. New adventure. New journey.'
For those who were wondering about the zoo-like setting at Lakers’ media day …
Was this merely setting the stage for an "insane season"?
Pau Gasol, probably the most-sensible, well-grounded star, might have been the best Lakers player to answer the question.
“Well, we’ll see,” Gasol said on Monday. “We can make it insane and it can be insane in different ways. We just have to keep it to the direction we want it to be.”
Having a semblance of control would be a nice change for Gasol after a chaotic and wildly uncertain year. This had more of a first-day-of-school-type feel for Gasol, not the rumble-of-moving-vans vibe.
There was a lockout last year, the trade and then rejected trade to New Orleans. This was followed by an endless stream of trade rumors, trailing him to the Olympics in London.
Here’s how happy he was to be in L.A. Gasol had been tweeting about looking forward to media day, and actually thanked reporters for showing up in a tweet later on Monday afternoon.
“It feels really good to be in the situation and not have to deal with and go through with what we dealt with last season,” he said.
“Last year is behind us. We learned. We grew and now we move on and we’re here. It makes it a lot easier. Once you have less distractions to worry about, you can do your job better.”
And so, Gasol was back to answering questions about his team, rather than where he might be headed. One of the lines of questioning was about Dwight Howard’s timetable and the possibility of Gasol starting the season at center, if Howard is still out.
“We’ll adjust,” Gasol said. “I think we have enough weapons. We obviously want Dwight to be healthy. We don’t want him to rush. Obviously, we need him for the entire season, not for the first few games.
“He wants to be back, be ready from Day 1 and so we’ll see. He has to test his back.”
Gasol, talking about the overall approach, sounded almost like a TV network executive announcing the fall lineup, saying: “New season. New adventure. New journey.”
LINK _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
lol I think the Heat will get swept by the Lakers if met in the Finals If Dwight Howard could go 3-1 in the 11-12 season match ups I don't think it will be any different now that he has 3 all stars with him. _________________
Old comparisons don't work with Kobe Bryant's Lakers
Everyone was looking for comparisons.
This was, after all, Media Day at Lakers’ HQ in El Segundo.
The Heat, 2.0?
“I don’t think so. It’s different,” said Kobe Bryant, who was hemmed in by a sweaty media swarm on Monday as the talked about the pairing a couple years ago of LeBron James and Dwyane Wade. “The Heat had two players that were really similar. Different in size but similar in style than what they do and how they handle the ball.
“With us, it’s a little different. Steve (Nash) is the primary facilitator, ball handler. I can go back to … scoring the ball and attacking the rim. We all know what Dwight (Howard) does. We all know what Pau (Gasol) does.
“So we all do something different.”
Someone else ventured back a bit more into hoop history, flipping to a certain Lakers team in 2003-04. Karl Malone/Gary Payton, the sequel?
Again … not really.
“We got those guys pretty much at the end of their careers,” Bryant said. “If you look at Gary’s game and my game, we were kind of similar in how we played and how we liked to post up and where we like to catch the ball and operate.
“And Karl liked his area on the mid-post as did Shaq. There was a lot of similarities between that group. Although it fit pretty well, we didn’t finish the year out the way we wanted to." (The Lakers lost in the 2004 Finals to Detroit.)
"But with this group it’s different in the sense we all truly do something different,” Bryant said.
If you sense a theme developing, you would be correct. Bryant kept using the word "different." This latest version of the Lakers has the potential to reset the standard and resist old comparisons.
There is the short-term goal, as in this specific season, and Bryant offered a longer-range view when he was asked about Howard.
It is Bryant’s team now…
“But I want to make sure with Dwight, when I retire this is going to be yours,” Bryant said. “I want to teach him everything I possibly know so when I step away this organization from right on it’s (like) I never left.
“I mean, listen, this organization has done so much for me. I’m so thankful. That’s one of the things, the conversations that Jimmy (Buss) and I had over the summer. We have an opportunity to get it right here.”
LINK _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
At 38, Steve Nash is starting all over again with Lakers
The oldest Laker might have the most adjusting to do in the coming weeks.
Steve Nash is learning a new offense alongside new teammates, all while playing for the team the 38-year-old had grown to hate over his first 16 seasons in the NBA.
“The players, the roster, the colors — everything is going to be different,” Nash said Monday during the Lakers' media day, “so I’m going to have to adjust and I just try to put myself in the best position to be healthy and to be able to play at a high level so the adjustment isn’t that difficult.”
Is there enough time for the former Phoenix Suns point guard to help build the chemistry the Lakers need to contend for a title?
“I’m getting up there,” Nash said, “but I’m not going to be in the geriatric ward before the All-Star break, so I think we have time.”
Nash, who hasn’t missed many games because of injuries in recent seasons, said he was feeling “as good as I’ve ever felt. So we’ll see if that’s the truth or Father Time is catching up with me.”
Envisioning himself in purple and gold has been less difficult as the weeks have passed since he signed with his longtime Pacific Division rival in July, Nash said.
How so? Nash literally counted the ways.
“Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard,” Nash said, extending the fingers on one hand. “I mean, it’s Southern California. It kind of ticks all the boxes. It’s not an awful situation.”
Nash said his pick-and-roll game should be well suited to the Lakers’ new Princeton offense.
“The Princeton offense is about making all five guys a threat, all five guys reading and reacting and making it difficult for the defense,” Nash said. “Pick and rolls will be part of that, but we’ll also have pick-and-roll sets outside of that.
“It’s not going to be like Phoenix where four out of the five times down the court we’re running a pick and roll. We have a lot of options and a lot of players here to do a lot of different things. We’re all going to have to adjust and find a way to make each other better.”
LINK _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
Dwight Howard wore a Lakers uniform for the first time as the team held media day Monday at its practice facility in El Segundo.
When Howard will wear that uniform in an actual game is another question. The center maintained he doesn't have any updated timetable on when his surgically repaired back will be sufficiently rehabilitated for him to return to the court.
"I don't," Howard said. "I just want to be 100% for the season. I don't want to have any setbacks where I play a couple of games and then I have to sit down."
Howard's penciled out for the exhibition opener Oct. 7 against Golden State in Fresno. Though a Yahoo! Sports report indicated Howard's hoping he can return for the season opener Oct. 30 against Dallas, Howard stayed noncommittal.
"I don't have a percentage meter for my back," Howard said. "They didn't make them yet. I think that's the new technology in the iPhone 6. ... We got to wait until that comes out."
Still, the Lakers haven't shown much concern about Howard's injury. Howard missed only seven games in his eight-year career before his back injury last March. The Lakers have plenty of offensive depth in Kobe Bryant, Steve Nash and Pau Gasol to absorb his absence. Also, Howard worked out last week with assistant coaches Darvin Ham and Chuck Person on post moves with contact. There were no setbacks.
In other words, Howard's scenario seems more favorable than Andrew Bynum's, whom the Sixers expect to be sidelined for three weeks because of a bone bruise in his right knee.
"I'm getting better every day. I'm getting stronger every day," Howard said. "I'm looking forward to the day where I'm 100%. Until then, I'm going to keep training. From the last time you guys saw me to now, I look a lot different. I've been working extremely hard to get back on the court."
LINK _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
Lakers' Steve Nash says he can adjust for 'incredible opportunity'
Steve Nash hopes he isn't too old for this.
At 38, the most aged Laker knows the clock is already ticking on his title chances with his new team.
"I'm getting up there," Nash said Monday during the Lakers' media day, "but I'm not going to be in the geriatric ward before the All-Star break, so I think we have time."
Nash could use every spare moment with so many adjustments to make.
There's the new Princeton offense, the unfamiliar teammates and a purple and gold jersey that could make the former Phoenix Suns point guard do a double take every time he looks down.
"The players, the roster, the colors — everything is going to be different," Nash said, "so I'm going to have to adjust and just try to put myself in the best position to be healthy and to be able to play at a high level so the adjustment isn't that difficult."
Having avoided significant injuries in recent seasons, Nash said he was feeling "as good as I've ever felt. So we'll see if that's the truth or Father Time is catching up with me."
Envisioning himself as a Laker has been less difficult as the weeks have passed since he signed with his longtime Pacific Division rival in July, Nash said.
How so? Nash literally counted the ways.
"Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Dwight Howard," Nash said, extending the fingers on one hand. "I mean, it's Southern California. It kind of ticks all the boxes. It's not an awful situation."
You can't bounce a ball at the Lakers' training facility these days without hitting a superstar, part of the reason Nash was willing to switch teams 16 seasons and 9,916 assists into his career. Having so many prolific scoring options at his fingertips has given Nash what he called "the best chance I've ever had" to win a championship.
"This is an incredible opportunity, a great roster," Nash said. "It's all there for us. We just have to find a way to make it work."
It should help that Nash is widely considered one of the most heady players in the game. Lakers Coach Mike Brown said the two-time most valuable player's decision-making will be featured every time Nash brings the ball down the court.
"It will be up to him to determine whether he wants to play pick and roll or if he wants to transition us into some Princeton looks or some looks that we had last year by a simple pass, by a simple cut, by a simple hand signal," Brown said. "So he has the keys to drive the engine."
Not that there won't be adjustments.
"It's not going to be like Phoenix where four out of the five times down the court we're running a pick and roll," Nash said. "We have a lot of options and a lot of players here to do a lot of different things. We're all going to have to adjust and find a way to make each other better."
How long might that take?
"I plan on this team being a terrific team and a contender by the end of this season, but I'm not putting any deadlines on anything," Nash said. "I would have stopped playing a long time ago if I did that."
LINK _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
A Lakers title? Kobe Bryant, Dwight Howard can get it, together
The Lakers' media-day buzz was a chaotic roar Monday, a sweaty mosh pit filled with clacking cameras and bumping reporters shouting at superstars who were lucky to avoid injury or asphyxiation.
But, somehow, every player heard my question.
Pau Gasol smiled at it. Steve Nash pursed his lips at it. Kobe Bryant completely turned his head to answer it. Dwight Howard even repeated it.
Yes, exactly, on a team guaranteed to be filled with wonder, this is someone everyone still wonders about. How will two of the game's biggest stars learn to share one ball, one locker room, one spotlight? Even before the Lakers' first practice Tuesday, the dividing lines have already been drawn, with folks curious as to how two giants delicately navigate them.
The court belongs to Kobe, but the city is crazy about Dwight. The present belongs in the heart of Kobe, but the future is in the hands of Dwight. The last time Bryant played with another superstar, they feuded. The last time Howard played with another superstar was never. And, oh yeah, Howard publicly does a deep-voiced Bryant impression that I've never heard before and, well, hmmm.
Don't get me wrong, I think this can work. I wouldn't have spent two years pushing for the Howard trade if I didn't think this can work. This can work, this eventually will work, but this is going to take some work.
The players perked up at this question because they are likely asking themselves the same thing. For every memory of Bryant calling the final play for Andrew Bynum — remember him? — there are countless more memories of Bryant snarling at those who would steal his ball or his thunder. For every photo of Howard's telegenic smile, there are flashbacks to last spring when his coach, Orlando's Stan Van Gundy, publicly claimed that Howard had attempted to have him fired.
Shaquille O'Neal was traded. Van Gundy was canned. Both Bryant and Howard are used to getting their way. How soon can these two strong wills become one?
"From the outside it appears this is going to be a cinch . . . but it's going to be a big challenge for us," Nash said. "So many personalities, dominant players, trying to find that cohesion, accepting roles, sacrificing."
This challenge has been validated by most Lakers, but not all of them. Metta World Peace showed up on media day without his goatee, without last winter's extra pounds, and without any hesitation in comparing his teammates to stuffed animals.
"There will be no problems because we're like the Care Bears," World Peace said. "We love each other, we care for each other, we're here on this Earth as one, to love each other and . . ."
So where was I again? Oh yeah, Grumpy Bear and Cheer Bear.
Their bonding process will be delayed because of Howard's recovery from back surgery. Nor will it help that the Lakers are installing a new Princeton-style offense that must be learned before the players learn each other. But by April, they can make it work if three things happen.
First, Nash has to happen.
Nash has to stay healthy and be assertive and control the floor as the middleman between Bryant and Howard. With Nash in charge of distributing the ball, Bryant won't carry the extra playmaking burden that helped lead to his fussing with O'Neal.
"Having Steve helps tremendously," Bryant acknowledged. "It's a different dynamic than when I was here with Shaq, when I had to do something I naturally don't do, be a quarterback and make plays for other people as well as score."
Bryant said Nash would ease the pressure that could lead to tension, noting, "The responsibility for getting Shaq the ball fell on me and I'm like, 'That's not what I do, guys.' . . . Here, that's Steve, he's the quarterback, he has that great sense of the offense to play around with and manipulate."
Second, Howard getting serious has to happen.
Make no mistake, Howard works harder than O'Neal ever worked, but he also has this Shaq-like tendency to be more playful than persistent. At media day Monday, Howard was laughing and joking and singing a Christmas song. Bryant wasn't doing any of those things. Bryant was already tightening his jaw. Bryant hates playful and embodies persistence and if Howard isn't living up to Bryant's work ethic, he will hear about it.
Link to full article _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
Wish list is apparent as present-day Lakers gather together
Christmas arrived in October, or so it seemed in a corner of the Lakers' practice facility where Dwight Howard sang "Silent Night" in a falsetto voice.
Sure, why not?
The Lakers reconvened Monday for their annual media day, during which they looked into TV cameras of high-paying sponsors and said how much they enjoyed being part of a historic franchise before being asked to wish everyone a Merry Christmas, Happy New Year and other holiday felicitations for use in coming months.
The more gritty stuff begins Tuesday with the first day of training camp, followed by the season opener Oct. 30 against Dallas and then possibly an eight-month trip to the NBA Finals.
Regardless of where they end, the players arrived from entirely different directions.
Howard showed up after a busy weekend, checking out of the luxury hotel he called home for several weeks and moving into an upscale rental in the hills north of UCLA.
Steve Nash got here after a six-hour car ride Sunday from Phoenix, leaving behind his three kids in the city he called home the last eight years.
Pau Gasol came from a charitable appearance in Africa, and though he hadn't done much on-court work since the London Olympics, he looked bigger and, undoubtedly, relieved to still be with the Lakers.
Kobe Bryant was also there in El Segundo, make no mistake, saying this was the best team he'd ever been part of "on paper," the catchphrase for managing expectations uttered by almost everybody of significance Monday.
"On its face, it's the best talent I've been around," said Bryant, entering his 17th NBA season. "Whether that translates into winning a championship, that remains to be seen. But just on paper, you're obviously talking about defensive players of the years, MVPs, All-Stars. You're talking about a myriad of things where guys are on top of their position and have been at the top of their position."
Metta World Peace managed to be in town as well, leaving behind the nightclubs and the city of Vancouver, where he spent most of his off-season and somehow looked leaner than last season amid whispers of an improved outside shot.
He had some ideas, as usual, including how to maximize the assembled talent.
"Playing together, loving each other, caring for each other. Kind of like the Care Bears," he said.
For what it's worth, Antawn Jamison was the friendliest of the group, the Lakers' new sixth man staying for every … last … interview … with …far … too … many … reporters. He won't match the 17.2 points he averaged last season in Cleveland but will improve one of the NBA's worst benches last season.
The Lakers have an NBA-high $100-million payroll, part of their goodwill toward fans after finishing a troublesome 41-25 last season, tied for third in the Western Conference with Memphis. They needed all seven games to get past Denver in the first round and then lost to Oklahoma City in five, the first and final games in the series telltale losses of 29 and 16 points.
The Lakers were tirelessly boring on offense, something that will change with Nash, who somehow finished second in the league in assists last season while distributing the ball to Markieff Morris, Hakim Warrick and Robin Lopez.
"I believe in this group," Nash said. "I haven't even set foot on the court as a team yet but I believe we have some great pieces and we can find a way to build a championship-caliber team."
With Howard bringing a burst to the middle that Andrew Bynum simply couldn't match, the Lakers couldn't possibly have another stretch of sub-100 point games as they did last season, 13 in a row setting a team record in the shot-clock era as fans groaned and Slowtime replaced Showtime.
Howard had back surgery in April to repair a herniated disk but will return in a handful of weeks, perhaps for the final exhibition game but more likely when the regular season starts, maybe even missing the first game or two.
The Lakers aren't worried. They traded the short-term issue of Howard's back for the long-term uncertainty of Bynum's knees.
Link to full article _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
Dwight Howard ready to learn from Kobe with Lakers
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. — Dwight Howard flattened the creases across the chest of his brand-new gold jersey and joined his teammates for a group photo, joking around and laughing even while saying cheese.
The superstar center might be an eight-year NBA veteran, but Monday still felt like the first day of school.
And it was, in a way: Howard is just getting started on his real NBA education from the Los Angeles Lakers and Kobe Bryant, who is just as eager to teach as Howard is to learn.
"I know he’s going to be tough on me, but I expect that, and I want him to be that," Howard said. "I want to be that guy. I’ll take all the heat he’s going to give me, because I know at the end of the day, it’s going to make me a better player and a better person. ... I’m willing to go through that process, learn from one of the greatest ever to play the game, and I think it’ll be great."
Howard and Bryant wore their gold uniforms together for the first time Monday as the Lakers opened training camp with a revamped roster and sky-high expectations. After two straight seasons ending in the second round of the playoffs, a remarkable offseason shuffle by Los Angeles general manager Mitch Kupchak and owner Jim Buss has put the Lakers in prime position to contend for their 17th NBA championship.
Even while Metta World Peace crowed about the Lakers’ depth and Pau Gasol expressed his gratitude for staying with the Lakers after popping up in innumerable trade rumors, everybody’s eyes were on Bryant and Howard, the Lakers’ unquestioned leader and the supremely gifted big man he has already appointed as his heir.
"This is my team, but I want to make sure that Dwight, when I retire, this is going to be his," Bryant said. "I want to teach him everything I possibly know, so that when I step away, this organization can ride on as if I never left."
Even while both men say the situation is ideal, the entire NBA is eager to see how this teacher-student partnership will work.
The 34-year-old Bryant is a ferocious perfectionist with famously little patience for teammates who aren’t serious about winning — including Andrew Bynum, the sometimes-immature All-Star center dispatched in the deal for Howard.
The 26-year-old Howard raised league-wide doubts about his maturity during his strange, protracted departure from Orlando over the past two years — and don’t forget, Howard has just one season left on his contract.
What could possibly go wrong? Nothing, according to Howard.
"Me and Kobe have talked many times about it, and I think it’ll be great," Howard said. "Learning from Kobe, I think, is something that I need for myself, so I can grow as a player and as a person. He’s been through almost every situation possible, on the court and off the court."
Two-time NBA MVP Steve Nash, Gasol and World Peace joined Howard and Bryant at the Lakers’ training complex Monday, the new starting five posing for seemingly every camera in Hollywood. Antawn Jamison, Chris Duhon, Steve Blake, Jordan Hill and Jodie Meeks were just offstage, all thrilled to be supporting players in this superstar-driven production.
"I’m sure we’ll draw a little bit of attention from time to time this year," said Nash, who will chase his first ring after the Lakers acquired him from Phoenix. "I think probably from the outside, it appears this is going to be a cinch. We’ve got a bunch of great players, we’ll come together and win 60-something games and go (into the playoffs) as a contender, but it’s going to be a big challenge for us. With so many personalities and dominant players, to try to find a cohesion and understanding is going to be a big challenge."
After carrying the entire Magic franchise on his broad shoulders for most of the past eight years, Howard has more help than he ever imagined on the West Coast. The Lakers also appear remarkably balanced, from Nash’s peerless playmaking and World Peace’s defensive prowess to the selfless supporting play of Gasol and Jamison, who is absolutely thrilled to be on a good team after 15 years with the NBA’s also-rans.
Link to full article _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
Mike Brown, Lakers excited about Princeton offense
As expected, Lakers Media Day in El Segundo was a morning filled with wall-to-wall excitement. Excitement at the additions of Dwight Howard, Steve Nash and Antawn Jamison. Excitement at the team's legitimate depth. Excitement at the prospects of being among a handful of teams considered serious contenders for the 2013 championship.
But there was also excitement about the implementation of elements from the Princeton offense, a blueprint largely designed by new assistant coach Eddie Jordan. At the risk of stating the painfully obvious, the Lakers' offense left something to be desired last season. Obviously, extenuating circumstances -- the lockout, practices rarer than the sighting of a bald eagle, a lack of perimeter players beyond Kobe Bryant and, for a bit, Ramon Sessions -- accounted for some issues. But the Lakers weren't the only team negotiating those hurdles, so a trip to the drawing board was clearly in order. The Princeton should simultaneously add elements of structure and freedom, and as Mike Brown explained, it's a system he's always envisioned using under the right circumstances:
"I've always been fascinated with that offense ever since the days I was in Cleveland and it seemed like every year I was there we faced the Washington Wizards and Eddie Jordan in the first round. If you take away everybody's different abilities that they have in the NBA and how good or bad they are in those different aspects of the game offensively, and you turned everybody into robots or equated to being the same player, then I always felt that offense was the hardest to defend. The spacing is tremendous. The ball movement is tremendous. The ability to play a stress-free game was off the charts. So those things have always attracted me to it. I just never really had an understanding or the opportunity to implement it. Not only that, I never felt that Cleveland and I had the teams for it. You know, when you have a guy like LeBron (James), he's a pick and roll player. The same thing that Miami does for him down there, we did for him up in Cleveland. You try to play to your player's strengths.
"Here, after being with this team for a year, this is a very intelligent team, and they play very well when it comes to using a motion offense and using their intelligence."
Link to full article _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- As a 34-year-old veteran about to embark on his 17th NBA season, Kobe Bryant knows that he's much closer to the end of his career than he is to the beginning.
That doesn't mean, however, that he's going to quietly fade into the background, even on a team that he described as "on its face, the best talent I've been around."
The Lakers might have added a three-time Defensive Player of the Year in Dwight Howard and a two-time MVP in Steve Nash since last season, but the No. 1 guy is still going to be No. 24 if he has anything to say about it.
"I got a question earlier about whose team this is," Bryant told reporters at the Lakers media day Monday. "I don't want to get into the, 'Well, we share ...' No, it's my team. But I want to make sure that Dwight, when I retire, this is going to be his. I want to teach him everything I possibly know so that when I step away this organization can ride on as if I never left."
Howard, a former teammate of Bryant's at the 2008 Olympics, with his happy-go-lucky personality and fun-loving ways, said he is at the point of his career that he is looking forward to falling in line behind the no-nonsense Bryant.
"I'm willing to go through that process, learn from one of the greatest to ever play the game and I think it will be great," Howard said. "I think learning from a guy like Kobe, I know he's going to be tough on me but I expect that and I want him to do that. So, I'll take all the heat that he's going to give me because I know at the end of the day that's going to make me a better player and a better person and it's going to make this team better."
According to Bryant, part of his plan to nurture Howard is to prepare the All-Star center to become the face of the Lakers franchise when he retires. Bryant has two years remaining on his contract with the team. Howard only has one year, but it is widely assumed that Howard will re-sign a max extension with the Lakers this upcoming offseason.
"This organization has done so much for me. I'm so thankful to them," Bryant said. "That's one of the conversations that (Lakers vice president of player personnel) Jimmy (Buss) and I had over the summer. It was like, 'If you have the opportunity to get Dwight, get him because I want to see this organization continue to flourish and continue to be successful long after I'm gone.' "
Nash, who has experience playing alongside All-Stars like Dirk Nowitzki in Dallas and Amare Stoudemire in Phoenix while sharing the spotlight, said that Bryant is the rightful choice as the person who controls the team.
"I think this is Kobe's team," Nash said. "For the media's perspective, this is Kobe's team. But anyone who's ever played on a basketball team, it's also our team. The team needs to share in that responsibility. Kobe can't do everything. He's going to be great at what he's great at, and the rest of us got to pick up the pieces that get to us. This is undoubtedly Kobe's team. He's been here his whole career. He's won championships. And he's the best player on the team. We got to be there for him every day, so it's essentially our team as well."
While unwilling to concede his spot in the pecking order, Bryant believes that he, Howard, and Nash as well as the team's other key pieces in Pau Gasol, Metta World Peace and Antawn Jamison can coexist because of the variety to their skill sets.
"I don't see it as being an issue at all," Bryant said. "We do different things. I think having Steve helps tremendously. It's a different dynamic than it was with (Shaquille O'Neal). I had to do something that I naturally don't do, which is be a quarterback, make plays for other people and score. The responsibility of him getting the ball fell on me and it was like, this is not what I do. But I figured it out.
"Here, that's Steve. Steve's the quarterback. He has a great system in the Princeton offense to kind of play around with and manipulate. I just slide to my natural spots."
Bryant, while still holding on to his role as the team spokesman, is certainly receptive to being a receiver and leaving the QB duties to someone else this season.
LINK _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
LOS ANGELES – Kobe Bryant won three NBA championships on Los Angeles Lakers teams with Shaquille O’Neal. The 2003-04 Lakers also had a talent-heavy roster that included Bryant, O’Neal, Karl Malone and Gary Payton, even though they lost in the NBA Finals. And Bryant’s last two titles came with Pau Gasol and Andrew Bynum by his side.
Yet, Bryant now looks around at his current teammates – a star-filled group that includes Gasol, Dwight Howard and Steve Nash – and calls this season's Lakers his most talented supporting cast ever.
Kobe Bryant's fingers have remained ring-less since the Lakers won their 2009 title. (AP)"On its face, it’s the best talent I’ve been around," Bryant said. "Whether that translates into winning a championship remains to be seen. But just on paper you’re talking Defensive Player of the Years, MVPs, All-Stars. You’re talking about a myriad of things. Guys who are at the top of their position at one point or another. It’s pretty dope."
One thing is for certain: After acquiring Howard and Nash in the offseason, these Lakers won't lack for attention. More than 300 media members attended the opening of the Lakers' camp, overwhelming the air conditioning at the team's practice facility. Excited Lakers fans peered over a fence in the morning prior to the start of media day hoping to get a glimpse of anyone in gold and purple.
"For me, my expectations are to prepare to play, to improve, perform and build a team," Nash said. "When you’re concentrating on that, you don’t focus on what other people’s expectations are. You set your own standard. You set your own expectations. You try to live up to those every day."
Howard's only NBA Finals trip was a loss to the Lakers in 2009, and his recovery from back surgery could determine with L.A. is able to make a title run with him. Lakers coach Mike Brown said Howard is in great shape and has been playing one-on-one with assistant coaches Darvin Ham and Chuck Person. Brown, however, was uncertain as to when Howard would be cleared to scrimmage. The Lakers begin practice Tuesday with Howard expected to participate in a fashion dictated by how his body feels, Brown said.
"I want him to take his time. But at the same time, I’m not a doctor. It’s up to the training staff," Brown said.
Gasol said he will start at center in Howard’s absence while Jordan Hill is expected to start at power forward. Antawn Jamison will likely come off the bench. Howard, however, didn't rule out playing opening night.
"It’s a goal, but I’m not rushing it," Howard said. "Everybody wants me to play on opening night. But we are not going to rush it."
Another big question hanging over Howard: Can he play well with Bryant?
Bryant and Howard say they are on the same page and will do what is needed to succeed. Bryant is still the Lakers' top option offensively, but Howard will certainly want his touches in the post.
"It’s my team," Bryant said. "But I want to make sure that Dwight knows that when I retire this is going to be his. I want to teach him everything I possibly know so this organization can ride as if I never left."
Nash will be tasked with trying to keep both players happy.
"They both feel very blessed to play with each other," Nash said. "Kobe, especially at this stage of his career, has an unlimited amount of appreciation to have a center of Dwight's ability that can control and run the floor. For Dwight, it's a pleasure to play with someone who can take the pressure off of him, who can create his own shot, take the shot at the end of the game. Dwight can concentrate on being a center that just racks up big numbers and makes it difficult for the other team and rely on Kobe to do all the finishing."
There's no denying the hype surrounding the Lakers. Time will tell if the Lakers can live up to it.
"Everybody here expects us to get it done or to be one of the teams that is playing into June," Bryant said.
LINK _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
LAKERS NOTEBOOK: Dwight Howard looking forward to 100 percent back recovery, Princeton offense trumps triangle
EL SEGUNDO -- Dwight Howard couldn't say with any degree of certainty Monday when his surgically repaired back would be sound enough to allow him to make his Lakers debut. He joked that he couldn't offer a "percentage meter" for his back.
"I think that's the new technology on the iPhone 6," he said, chuckling.
Later, adopting a more serious tone, he refuted a report on the Yahoo! Sports website that suggested last week he was aiming for a return in time for the Lakers' season opener Oct. 30 against the Dallas Mavericks at Staples Center.
"What?" the 6-foot-11 center said when asked about the story. "Who wrote that?"
Given the reporter's name, Howard said, "Never talked to him."
The article, citing an unnamed source, reported Howard's back was 85 percent.
Howard, 26, underwent season-ending surgery to repair a herniated disc in April. There was no timetable for his return to fitness then, while he was still a member of the Orlando Magic, and there isn't one now that he's a member of the Lakers.
His debut in purple and gold has inspired much discussion and speculation.
Howard hasn't been cleared for full-contact activities by a doctor and won't scrimmage with Kobe Bryant, Pau Gasol, Steve Nash and the rest of his new teammates when they open training camp Tuesday in El Segundo.
Last week, the Lakers ruled Howard out of their exhibition opener Sunday against the Golden State Warriors
"I just want to be 100 percent for the season," said Howard, who has been undergoing rehabilitation exercises with the Lakers' athletic training staff and participating in light one-on-one workouts with several assistant coaches.
"I don't want to have any setbacks. I don't want to play a couple of games and then have to sit down. I want to be able to play the whole season. I owe that to myself. I owe that to the fans and to my team. We all have one mission, one goal.
"And I want to be 100 percent for that."
Howard said his back has improved markedly since his introductory news conference after the Lakers acquired him from the Magic in a blockbuster four-team trade that sent 7-foot center Andrew Bynum to the Philadelphia 76ers on Aug. 10.
"I'm getting better every day," Howard said during the Lakers' annual media day Monday. "I'm getting stronger every day and I'm just looking forward to that day when I'm 100 percent. Until then, I'm going to keep training.
"I think from the last time you guys saw me (during his Aug. 10 news conference) to now, I look a lot different. I've been working extremely hard to get back on the court and I think we're going to have an awesome year."
New season, new offense
The Lakers will try their third offense in as many seasons when they begin training camp today. Most famously, they ran the triangle offense under Phil Jackson, winning five NBA championships in his 11 seasons as their coach.
Sometimes it wasn't clear what they were running in Mike Brown's first season as Jackson's replacement in 2011-12. But that's about to change in Brown's second season, with the introduction of the free-flowing Princeton offense.
Steve Blake, a backup point guard, said he thinks it will be a good fit for the 2012-13 team, having spent two seasons directing it while playing for new Lakers assistant coach Eddie Jordan when both were with the Washington Wizards for two seasons.
"In some ways it resembles the triangle," Blake said. "You have the two guard front bringing the ball up the court. It keeps everybody involved in every single play. There are a lot of options for everybody. I think it will be a good thing for this team."
LINK _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
EL SEGUNDO – The guy really does love to make people smile. So in that sense, this is definitely Dwight Howard's time.
His arrival here – especially with news from Philadelphia that Andrew Bynum's knee already hurts, a bone bruise contributing to him being sidelined three weeks – has people all around Howard in Southern California smiling simply upon seeing him.
It's not yet about meeting the expectations. It's still about the giddy excitement from the Lakers having Howard.
And after the mass flooding he escaped in Orlando, Howard needs these hopeful, sunny smiles to savor before anyone gets into the down-and-dirty business of actually winning an NBA title. Mere calm before the storm wouldn't have cut it.
"This," he said Monday, "is one of the happiest moments of my life."
Reads like ridiculous hyperbole. The funny thing was that it sounded like nothing but his reality when the words came out of Howard's mouth.
The emotion comes from that deep and is that radiant. After he finished the Lakers' media day event Monday, Howard pulled his bright red socks up to meet the bottom of his shorts, hugged some more people along his path to his car and brought that smile toward the gaggle of Lakers fans calling and cheering from behind a nearby fence.
This is who Howard is; this is all he wants to be. While everyone is giving a reason why this will or won't work with Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash, Howard has an interesting analysis on why it should.
The key, he said, is that everyone realizes "all we have to do is be ourselves. We don't have to do anything extra, anything out of the ordinary."
Howard knows he stumbled in Orlando as he tried to assume the weight of Disney World. The idea he is now free to be me – and meeting Ellen DeGeneres on her talk show after she voiced a character in Howard's favorite movie "Finding Nemo" – makes this the undisputed happiest place on earth for him.
He still has his crew of buddies to share this new adventure, manager Kev Samples and trainer Bryan Meyer anchoring the group, but Howard is settling in on his own. He just moved into his own place after months living out of L'Ermitage, a Beverly Hills hotel. He's getting healthy and increasingly can be expected to play on Oct. 30 opening night (though "I hope so" is as far as he'll go in evaluating his back rehab).
"He's just very thankful to be here, just feels very blessed to be here," said Bryant, who reported "great communication over the summer" with Howard. "Having gone through that whole ordeal and to finally be in a position where he's finally excited and ready to go, it just feels like a blessing."
The truth is that having Bryant here is one epic reason why no sense of pressure has engulfed Howard – and none will anytime soon, either.
Bryant is not prepared to hand over anything to Howard.
Bryant is full-on, Boy-Scout-ready as far as preparing to be prepared, though.
"I got a question earlier about whose team this is," Bryant said. "I don't want to get into the 'Well, we share' (response). No, it's my team, all right?
"But I want to make sure that Dwight, when I retire, this is going to be his. I want to teach him everything I possibly know, so that when I step away, this organization can ride on like I never left.
"This organization has done so much for me; I'm so thankful to them. That's one of the conversations that Jimmy (Buss) and I had over the summer: 'If you have the opportunity to get Dwight, get him, because I want to see this organization continue to flourish and continue to win championships and be successful long after I'm gone. So I'm very happy for the opportunity."
Howard has had numerous conversations along those lines with Bryant.
"Learning from Kobe, this is something I think I need for myself so I can grow as a player and a person," Howard said. "He's been through almost every situation possible, on the court and off the court. And I think he can really help me out a lot."
Howard also said: "I know he's going to be tough on me. I expect that. I want him to do that. I want to be that guy. So I'll take all the heat that he's going to give me, because I know that at the end of the day it's going to make me a better player, a better person, and it's going to make this team better."
No, this isn't about to be some Shaq-vs.-Kobe star wars sequel. Shaquille O'Neal was always more dark clown than happy camper, and Bryant was never cut out to be another dude's baby bro anyway.
Bryant wants to teach. Howard is ready to learn.
If it stays that way, everyone will still be smiling when the season's over.
LINK _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
The pain from losing still felt raw. The Lakers had just absorbed their second consecutive defeat in the Western Conference semifinals.
That's when Lakers forward Metta World Peace entered the locker room and addressed his teammates. It had nothing to do with the Lakers just falling to the Oklahoma City Thunder in five games. It had everything to do with how the Lakers should address next season.
"Everybody get in shape now," Kobe Bryant recalled World Peace saying. "Get prepared now. I came out of shape last year. That won't happen next season."
Sure enough, World Peace, after reporting to last year's training camp at 268 pounds, showed up this season at 255.
Known for his colorful statements, World Peace at the Lakers' media day on Monday touted this year's team as both the "Care Bears" and "rock stars," proclaimed Steve Nash the team's smartest player because "he's white," and bragged about the talent on the Lakers' roster that includes Dwight Howard, Nash, Bryant and Pau Gasol: "We look good on paper, and paper cuts hurt."
However worded, World Peace hopes his message has gotten through to his teammates.
"When I said that, it was mainly to get guys focused on this season," World Peace. "This is the most important season."
At media day, every player repeated some sort of variation on the importance of understanding the process that a title pursuit entails. Even though Bryant proclaimed this is his team, he openly talked about passing the torch to Howard as the Lakers' next franchise player. Howard repeatedly emphasized that team chemistry would determine whether they fully maximize their potential. Nash acknowledged that figuring out the dynamic would take time.
"From the outside, it appears this is going to be a cinch," Nash said. "We have a bunch of big players and come together and win 60 something games and go in as a contender. But it's going to be a big challenge for us. So many personalities and so many dominant players to try to find a cohesion. It's going to be a big challenge for the players in accepting roles and sacrificing. It's going to be a challenge for coaches in having us find a way to play. And it's going to be a challenge for me."
In that respect, the Lakers may be more prepared than other so-called super teams. No one at media day boasted about "winning multiple championships" the same way Miami's LeBron James, Dwyane Wade and Chris Bosh did two years ago at a pep rally. The comparisons between this year's Lakers team and the 2003-04 squad that fell to Detroit in the NBA Finals seems a stretch considering Gary Payton and Karl Malone were at the tail end of their careers while Kobe Bryant and Shaquille O'Neal kept fighting. This year's team has complementary stars in Bryant's scoring, Nash's passing, an inside presence (Howard, Pau Gasol) and defense (World Peace). It's also telling that Lakers Coach Mike Brown held himself accountable by revamping his coaching staff, adding veteran voices in Bernie Bickerstaff and Eddie Jordan as key assistants.
But how will this year's Lakers back up their words with their play? To what degree will Nash strike a good balance between running the Princeton offense and pick-and-roll sets? How much will Bryant truly relish playing without the ball and possibly scoring less? How will Howard handle the endless scrutiny?
Gasol may be relieved he's no longer a trading chip, but will he play aggressively enough so he's not lost among a sea of other All-Stars? Will World Peace's strong conditioning also correlate with stronger focus? Will Antawn Jamison's scoring, Jodie Meeks' three-point shooting and Steve Blake's playmaking happen consistently enough so that the bench no longer remains a liability?
Amid all those questions, the Lakers are giddy over their ability to secure Howard, Nash, Jamison and Meeks, while re-signing Devin Ebanks and Jordan Hill.
Mike Brown's preseason message centered on a humble theme.
"We talk about respecting your teammate and the grind and the process," Brown said. "We talked about respecting the journey overall. These guys have taken that to heart."
Still, nothing said on media day compares with the answers that will begin to emerge once this team begins to actually dribble, shoot and pass.
"On its face, it's the best talent I've been around," said Bryant, entering his 17th NBA season. "Whether that translates into winning a championship, that remains to be seen. But just on paper, you're obviously talking about defensive players of the years, MVPs, All-Stars. You're talking about a myriad of things where guys are on top of their position and have been at the top of their position."
LINK _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
With new Lakers and battle for NYC, NBA has big stories for 2012-13
Things I'm looking forward to
Seeing the Lakers: No team comes into the 2012-13 season with bigger star power or higher expectations. This has a very real chance to be the best team Kobe Bryant has been a part of; he said it himself.
By the time I get to stroll onto the Lakers' practice court in El Segundo, Calif., on Tuesday and Wednesday, it'll probably be the usual end-of-practice free-throw shooting and standing around, and Dwight Howard won't be on the floor for this team's preseason debut Sunday.
But even without Howard in full go mode as he recovers from back surgery, the Lakers will be a study in psychology, with Bryant's determined chase for a sixth championship colliding with Howard's chronic happy-go-lucky-ism. I know what Steve Nash eats -- no sugar -- and so I'm thinking his 38 is like most men's 28. And Metta World Peace is always worth the price of admission, especially when he's down 18 pounds and talking about getting up and down the floor so fast that he'll have time to play bodyguard for Howard and get to the rim on offense. LeBron James and the Heat have reloaded for a chance at a repeat, but it's simple, really: There will be no show in the NBA this season like the Lake Show.
LINK _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
MT: What brought you to the Lakers, coach?
Jordan: No. 1 is that Mike (Brown) is a terrific coach, a top notch coach in the league. No. 1 A was that it was the Lakers, and this was before Steve Nash and Dwight Howard (were acquired). I was here talking about things for two or three days, and Mike and I both got excited, and then on the third or fourth day the Nash trade came about. We started to tweak the offense to Steve’s strengths, and Mike had a terrific way of blending the principles of the Princeton offense to what he’s done in the past. Mike has an excellent mind offensively and defensively, and the way he’s putting it together are some things I haven’t seen. With a starting five on paper like we have, (the system) is very beneficial for everybody. I’d like to say to them as a coaching staff (that) we’re all responsible for each other’s success, and our success equals a championship. That’s the principle of it: help your teammate first.
MT: It’s no secret that you’re one of the foremost experts on the Princeton offense. As you just stated and as Coach Brown has alluded to, it’s only going to be part of what you do. With that understood, how would you describe the offense?
Jordan: It’s a system that’s been used through the time when the Celtics won their championships decades ago, then the Knicks as well as part of what Chicago and Utah did in the 1990′s. It’s old school basketball in a sense, a series of two-man games and three-man games with constant movement and spacing that offers all the traditional sets of the NBA: pick and rolls; pinch post; multiple screening actions; isolations. Everything that traditional NBA teams use, it’s within that system, it’s just that you don’t call plays as much. It’s more read and react, and Mike recognizes that it’s stress free. You don’t fight the defense, you go away from it. Everyone has to see where the next pass, where the next cut is, where the next screen is.
MT: What’s the most critical principle to a successful offense?
Jordan: Most of it is just being a willing passer. It’s how you think. If you think to help your teammate first, you’ll get great results. If you understand movements and the options, you’ll get a lot out of it. If you know how to use your individual strengths, you’ll get a lot out of it.
MT: Whether it’s the Princeton or the triangle or what have you, it sounds like many of these principles are the same?
Jordan: That’s right. We categorize our positions as two guards, two forwards and a center, and you can play on either side of the floor. A three man can run to either side of the floor, and the two guard can initiate the offense just as easily as the point guard can. It started with Butch van Breda Kolff with the Lakers, and that’s where (Princeton coaching legend) Pete Carill realy learned most of it. It’s just basketball. If you cut hard and want to help your teammate, then it’s going to work, and now it’s even better because there is more spacing with three-point shooters.
MT: You alluded to tweaking the offense for Nash, and I’m sure you will for Howard as well. That has to be sorta fun…
Jordan: No question. Getting more good players, guys with high IQ’s will just help us execute everything better. This offense is tailor made for five terrific players. We used it when we went to the Finals with the Nets, two years in a row, and people didn’t think Jason Kidd could share the ball because he pushed tempo so much – but yet he did. The offense tilted towards his pick and rolls and post ups because that’s what he did well. Kerry Kittles was a great cutter so he got a lot of layups. And even a guy like Kenyon Martin, who isn’t a typical forward who can make shots on the perimeter, utilized the offense to get to the post, to run pick and rolls and get slashes to the basket. It works for good players.
MT: I know you and Coach Brown have met with Kobe Bryant to discuss things. How did that go?
Jordan: He was way ahead of the game. He knew, when we started to go through how the offense works, what was going on. He said, ‘We could do this, this option is available.’ I said, ‘Sure, that works Kobe.’ He already knows the movements, where to get his shots from, where dribble hand offs occur, pin downs and so on. He understood that there has been more stress on him getting his shots off in the last few years, but this offense should make it easier.
MT: How does Pau Gasol’s skill set fit in with what you want to do?
Jordan: It’s awesome. He’s a terrific player, a great passer who sees the game, a very unselfish and flexible player in the offense who will learn both the forward and center spots. He’s going to get his post ups, his assists, his pick and rolls, his pick and pops and his two-man games with everybody. It’s going to be tough for defenses to prepare schemes to handle all of those varieties. It puts a lot of stress on opponent’s preparation.
MT: And that center position is particularly important in this offense…
Jordan: The offense revolves around the center, and if he’s a good scorer, it’s going to be great. When basketball was invented by James Naismith and Bernie Bickerstaff, the center was named as such because everything revolved around him, and that’s what this offense is about. Players would give the center the ball and then cut off him, feed off him. If he can catch down there and be a passer, it helps everybody. The more you pass, the easier it is to score in the post.
MT: What can you do with Howard and Gasol interchanging positions and spots on the floor?
Jordan: You can tweak it however you want. You can go to a triple post strong side, a two-man game attacking from the front and move the center from the low post to the elbow to the top of the key on both sides of the floor. The flexibility of the center is enhanced. I was just watching the 1985 Finals (Lakers vs. Celtics), and how Kareem (Abdul-Jabbar) would catch it in the post and first look around for James Worthy, then Magic (Johnson’s) cut, then check if Michael Cooper was open from three before he went to work. He looked to pass and that opened everything else up, while also setting himself up for easier looks. The most prolific scorer in NBA history was looking to pass first.
MT: Getting back to tweaking the offense around Nash, what does he enable you to do with his combination of elite ball handling, passing and shooting?
Nash: Mike’s the first to say: we want Steve to initiate the fast break, run our early offense and manipulate the possession with the ball in his hands. This is where Mike’s offense is integrating with the Princeton. We don’t want to be in the offense at first, we want to get a stop, a rebound, an outlet and get an easy shot in early offense. We want the ball to be pushed at high tempo at Steve’s discretion. If we can’t get anything from there, that’s where you can flow into the Princeton. Read the defense and deliver the play. Steve will be the catalyst. And Steve will get perimeter shots not just off pick and rolls, but off flares, dribble hand offs and coming off screens.
MT: There have been questions about Kobe and Nash since both have had the ball in their hands a lot in the past, but it would seem to me that Kobe in particular would prefer to have the rock less, allowing Nash to set him up for easier looks.
Jordan: It’s something we’re going to look forward to, and learn about as coaches. There’s a basic shell that we will play out of, but the players will show us how it works. I believe that both Kobe and Steve are looking to do more by doing less, and if that’s what they’re looking for, this is perfect.
MT: Does it help your transition to L.A. to have a former player you trust in Antawn Jamison on the roster?
Jordan: Yes it really helps. Antawn is, first of all, an awesome pro. He’ll come every day and work. He’s terrific in the locker room and is easy going off the court. He’s easy to smile and laugh with. Just a great pro. But he has a different game with terrific, uncanny post up game and he can make threes. He’s a terrific rebounder and has a knack for put backs. However you match up with him opponent wise, he’s going to find a way to take an advantage even going into his 16th year.
MT: Orlando spaced the floor with three-point shooters around Howard, but were there elements they ran you noticed could work well in L.A.?
Jordan: Believe it or not, Orlando ran a generic part of the Princeton. Their high pick and roll was our play out of the Princeton, and Dwight is going to be familiar with it. I told Mike, there could be 100 things to do in the Princeton, but we may just do 10. I believe in milking something that’s going to be good for you that’s very high percentage, because the object of any offense is to get a quality, high percentage shot. And even through my years as a head coach, we always said, let’s have some basic direct NBA plays. A simple side pick and roll, simple screen downs and so on that just work.
MT: Coach Brown is among the many coaches that says that good offense leads to good defense.
Jordan: Absolutely. If you take high quality shots out of the offense, our floor is moving the defense from side to side and is balanced. Then we’re built for transition defense. Of course, you still have to run back and stop the ball and defend the ball and match up, you still have to build a wall against a player like Russell Westbrook. But it can be done. The fact that Dwight is a great athlete really helps there, as well, having your (biggest player be so mobile).
MT: With so much focus on L.A.’s top four players, some might forget that Metta World Peace is coming into camp in fantastic shape, and can pose a lot of problems for opponents…
Jordan: Metta World Peace is the prototypical forward in this offense. He can make perimeter shots, he’s a slasher, he’s a willing passer and he can post up. And when he’s doing that action, maybe Kobe or Steve is getting a flare. Maybe Dwight’s rolling in on the other box. All the misdirection in the offense is supposed to benefit there. He’s tailor made more than anybody there is on the team. Kobe’s tailor made for any offense and Nash can run any offense, but it’s made for a guy like Metta. He’s the guy that can play with everybody. His physicality on cutting and slashing should get him a lot of easy chances. That’s why you don’t want to only run pick and rolls, because you want a more balanced offense, and you get better chemistry when everyone is a part of the success. And that makes them play harder on D.
MT: Again – that all sounds fun for a coaching staff. Last thing, coach: why are you so specifically optimistic about this team?
Jordan: What makes a champion in the NBA is talent, and that’s always No. 1. Then it’s toughness, experience and character. That’s what we have.
LINK _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
EL SEGUNDO, Calif. -- Kobe Bryant raved about how improved his right knee felt last season after visiting Germany to undergo Regenokine surgery. As effective as the treatment might have been, the Los Angeles Lakers star decided a repeat procedure was not necessary heading into 2012-13.
"No," Bryant said when asked if he visited Dr. Peter Wehling, the doctor responsible for the innovative blood manipulation technique, this past offseason. "I was a little busy."
Bryant had a full schedule this summer, winning the gold medal with USA Basketball at the Olympics in London before touring China for several weeks fulfilling sponsor obligations.
When asked if Bryant planned to have the treatment done in the future, he responded, "What, like I'll fly to Germany during the season? ... No, I think I'll be fine."
The news comes as a bit of a surprise, as Lakers trainer Gary Vitti told the Lakers official team website in June that Bryant would indeed visit Dr. Wehling when his schedule allowed for it surrounding the Olympics.
While Bryant, 34, enters his 17th season having logged close to 60,000 career minutes in the regular season and playoffs combined, the Lakers star claims that a full Olympic workload over the summer actually has him more prepared to start the season.
Bryant endured a similar summer in 2008, winning the gold in Beijing before playing well into June the following season and winning the championship against the Orlando Magic.
"I think what that summer did was put me in game shape right from the beginning," Bryant said. "That's really what it did. Sometimes it's harder if you have the summer off and you get out of shape and it takes more toll on your body to actually get back into shape, as opposed to never really being out of shape and you just kind of pick right up and you're already at that level. So, it's already a little less strenuous."
Despite Bryant's dedication to his conditioning, Lakers coach Mike Brown still wants to save the veteran's body during the regular season to have him fresh for what the team hopes to be an extended playoff run.
Last season, Bryant averaged 38.5 minutes per game, significantly more than the 33.9 minutes per game Bryant played in 2010-11 under Phil Jackson.
"If I can, I'd definitely love to keep his minutes down and not have him up to 38 (minutes per game)," Brown said, without offering a specific minutes range. "But, I'm sure he'll tell you he can play 48 (minutes), which is probably true if he needed to. But we feel like we have a deep team this year and hopefully at the end of the day, it leads to reduced minutes for him."
Brown also said he will try to reduce the workload of Bryant, along with the Lakers' other thirty-something vets in Steve Nash, Pau Gasol, Metta World Peace and Antawn Jamison, during L.A.'s slate of eight preseason games.
"If a guy is tired, we won't play him as much," Brown said. "If he's not tired and feels like he can go, we'll play him what we're normally going to play him."
LINK _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
Last edited by 32 on Wed Oct 03, 2012 6:59 am; edited 1 time in total
Thanks Cha*n. I will do it when I can. Anybody here can start this thread if they want. It's a great idea because it reduces individual threads in the Lakers Lounge. _________________ Nobody in the NBA can touch the Laker brand, which, like the uniform color, is pure gold.
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