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Kobe+talent=4morerings
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Post subject: does anyone have espn insider????? good article
 Posted: Oct 03, 2008 - 06:38 PM PST
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Serious Laker Fan
Joined: Sep 12, 2007
Posts: 428
Location: mesa AZ
  
votes: 3
Status: Offline
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| there is an article about the Lakers i want to read, "Five observations: Lakers enjoying camp without drama" thats the name it about the lakers camp |
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ReliveThe3PEAT
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Post subject: RE: does anyone have espn insider????? good article
Posted: Oct 03, 2008 - 06:39 PM PST
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Die-Hard Laker Fan
Joined: Jul 19, 2008 Age: 17
Posts: 1473
votes: 11
Status: Offline
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Nah...sorry I dont.
I don't know why ESPN needs an insider.
They are already the biggest sports source today. |
_________________
To be successful you have to be selfish, or else you never achieve.
And once you get to your highest level, then you have to be unselfish.
-Michael Jordan
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gemfow
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Post subject: RE: does anyone have espn insider????? good article
Posted: Oct 03, 2008 - 07:49 PM PST
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Die-Hard Laker Fan
Joined: Jul 12, 2007
Posts: 1933
Location: Maryland
votes: 20
Status: Offline
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4morerings: Here is the article -
Not much was seen or heard from the Lakers this summer. Not in the transactions column, in blogs or on YouTube. The team returns essentially the same roster that worked for it last year, but it's a healthier one. So questions surrounding the Lakers are not really about who they have, they're about how they'll be used. With a nod to the late Paul Newman, here are five observations on the Lakers at the start of training camp.
Lakers Camp
The Lakers came close last season. Now, with Andrew Bynum healthy, expectations are higher. J.A. Adande
• Hollinger: Lakers have high ceiling
• Watch: Kobe's minutes a concern
1. The verdict
It's important to remember that Phil Jackson didn't say Lamar Odom's starting spot is up for grabs. He merely said he wouldn't have a problem going with Trevor Ariza if things don't work out. In other words, Odom has plenty of time to present his case before Jackson makes his decision.
Jackson will try using Odom at small forward and at point guard. Letting Odom run the point should keep him more involved in the offense. He isn't a player who needs to shoot all the time, but he does need the ball in his hands. Otherwise, he can get lost in the shuffle and tends to stand around watching Kobe Bryant do his thing. But playing Odom at point would keep him away from the basket, even though he was the team's leading rebounder last season. The Lakers expect Andrew Bynum to handle that department this season.
2. Absence of malice
Odom is miffed about the potential loss of his starting spot. But when Odom's unhappy, he's like a solitary rain cloud. When Kobe's unhappy, he's like a named tropical storm. He causes everyone to go into alert mode, turn to national news and wonder whether the storm will escalate into a hurricane. For the better part of five years, the Lakers have had training camp drama. That drama has usually centered on Bryant, starting with his offseason arrest in 2003 and running through his offseason trade demands last year. This year, there have been no such issues. No complaints from a happy Bryant. No worries about Jackson's contract status.
The bulk of the questions have been about basketball, about whether a team good enough to reach the Finals last season can be even better this season. The Lakers haven't created much noise at all.
"We're happy it's quiet," Jackson said. "We want it to be quiet."
What a difference a year makes: Kobe is actually fielding questions about basketball during camp.
3. Road to perdition?
"This team needs to make hay early," Jackson said. "We have a long travel schedule late in the year."
Eleven of the Lakers' first 15 games are at the Staples Center. (One is a designated Clippers home game.) But nine of their final 14 games are on the road. That's no time to be playing Lewis and Clark.
Down the stretch last season, the Lakers played 10 of their final 14 games at home. Of the four road games, only one (a contest at Portland) required them to leave California. No wonder they finished 10-4 to claim the No. 1 seed.
The road can be a place of self-discovery, where teams learn whether they're tough or timid. Last season, the make-or-break stretch of the schedule came in the middle of the season, when the Lakers embarked on an eight-game trip at the end of January. It helped that they acquired Pau Gasol after the first game. Signing Gasol was the equivalent of finding your upgrade request went through when you reach the departure gate at the airport. The Lakers went 7-2 on the trip and established themselves as the team to beat in the Western Conference. Gasol integrated easily into the offense, and the Lakers started walking with a strut. They carried their confidence all the way through the Western Conference playoffs. The trip they had been dreading became a bonding outing like a corporate retreat.
This season, the Lakers don't face such a lengthy test until late March, when they head east for seven games. If the Lakers falter, they will have only seven games to right themselves before the playoffs.
4. The hustler
Former Laker Ronny Turiaf has taken his dreadlocks, his energy and his random dancing to the Golden State Warriors. The Lakers actually started missing his presence during the latter part of the playoffs, when he seemed strangely docile.
His lack of passion and impact during the playoffs was obvious for a team that sometimes plays a little too calmly. Turiaf had made it cool to care.
Josh Powell, a fourth-year veteran the Lakers signed in August, is a candidate to fill this position.
"I can provide that energy and be an inspiration in my own way," the 6-foot-9 Powell said. "I don't know about the dancing, though.
"Defense, hustling, rebounding keeping balls alive …"
Powell has exactly 500 rebounds in 138 games with the Mavericks, Pacers, Warriors and Clippers. He has impressed Lakers coaches so far in training camp.
Jackson continues to be an advocate for Trevor Ariza.
"Trevor can do that," Jackson said. "He's kind of a silent player or stealth attacker more than a guy who does the celebrating that Ronny did.
"Sasha [Vujacic] likes to celebrate. But just for himself."
5. Cool Hand Luke
The 2006-07 season was Luke Walton's breakthrough year. His scoring average more than doubled to 11.4 points per game. He was the top 3-point shooter in the league for a while, and he made 39 percent of his 3s on the year. When he went down with an injury right before the All-Star break, several observers thought his absence was largely responsible for the team's slide from a top-of-the-conference team in January to a 42-40, first-round playoff-fodder squad by April.
Last season, he regressed. He played with nagging injuries, was back on the bench and reverted to a single-digit scoring average. At his best, he's an offensive facilitator who makes everyone better. He not only understands what he should be doing but also knows where everyone else should be. He gets his teammates the ball in spots where they can capitalize. At his worst, he forces turnovers and gets burned on defense.
But if Odom, Ariza, Vladimir Radmanovic and possibly a guy by the name of Kobe Bean Bryant will play small forward, how is Walton supposed to get minutes at that position?
Walton, who's recovering from ankle surgery this summer, won't get a chance to make his case right off the bat. Although he is practicing at full speed, he has yet to participate in five-on-five scrimmages. The last time he played full-court hoops was the notorious NBA Finals Game 6 -- "if you consider that playing," Walton said.
He doesn't blame the injuries for his inconsistency last season, saying, "It was a lot more ups and downs last year." Now? "I'm past that. I'm in a good place." Walton is confident that if he works hard and plays well, he'll earn quality time at some point. |
_________________
"It made me feel like I should throw mine away." - Larry Bird, upon hearing that Kobe hadn't earned the MVP trophy until this year.
Last edited by gemfow on Oct 03, 2008 - 08:03 PM PST; edited 1 time in total
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embuen1991
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Post subject:
Posted: Oct 03, 2008 - 07:55 PM PST
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Die-Hard Laker Fan
Joined: Dec 09, 2007
Posts: 1009
votes: 3
Status: Offline
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| thank you gem |
_________________
^Thanks for the sig opti.
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Kobe+talent=4morerings
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Post subject:
Posted: Oct 04, 2008 - 01:31 AM PST
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Serious Laker Fan
Joined: Sep 12, 2007
Posts: 428
Location: mesa AZ
votes: 3
Status: Offline
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LA_85
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Post subject:
Posted: Oct 04, 2008 - 03:27 AM PST
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Big-Time Laker Fan
Joined: Feb 05, 2008
Posts: 707
Location: Inglewood
votes: 1
Status: Offline
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Tempy
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Post subject:
Posted: Oct 04, 2008 - 05:36 PM PST
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Die-Hard Laker Fan
Joined: Jul 12, 2008
Posts: 1770
Location: El Pueblo de la Reina de Los Angeles
votes: 3
Status: Offline
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| if pj seems so high on ariza id figure that at least one of luke/rad are going to be on the trading block, maybe a back up center in return as mihm is in the last year of his deal and if he doesnt stay healthy surely wont get another deal |
_________________
Nay511 wrote:
Optimistic7292, with that name u are not optimistic.
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