The Week That Was, The Week That Will Be
Aloha!
The Lakers opened training camp this week in Honolulu with guarded optimism and a hole at the 2 large enough to swallow the Big Island. After a pair of games we think took place against Golden State (Note to Comcast: We need Fox Sports Pacific Ocean), they’ve still got the guarded optimism, but that hole in the backcourt grew a lot bigger.
THE WEEK THAT WAS:
Wednesday: Before we had a chance to digest news that Luke Walton might open the season at as the starting shooting guard, a balky hammy put him out of commission for 2-6 weeks, giving everyone plenty of time to decide whether or not it was a good idea to begin with. A Walton/Odom backcourt could generate serious ball movement, but since Luke's quickness (or lack thereof) at small forward was a problem, he could struggle to survive on both ends as a 2, even with a good hammy. And consistently putting Kobe on opposing guards could frequently land #8 in early foul trouble and force him to use up valuable offensive energy. Meanwhile, Smush Parker’s Lakers staged a furious comeback and took the season’s most meaningless game, 101-93. Unfortunately for our man Smush (anyone named Smush, by definition, is our man), the Zen Master isn’t ready to even pencil him in as the fifth starter.
Thursday: Sign that some Lakers are already in midseason form: Slava Medvedenko racked up four personals in only twelve minutes. To be fair, a couple could have come guarding Adonal Foyle. Hopefully, it’s just early rust for everyone else. Veteran Aaron McKie didn’t hit a bucket, Lamar Odom went 2-8 from the floor (expect some bad shooting games while he concentrates on handling the ball and moving the offense), and the team shot 39%, including 14% from beyond the arc. Yikes. We’re not jumping to conclusions, but the Lakers still haven’t won a game since Walton got hurt.
THE WEEK THAT WILL BE:
Tuesday vs. Washington (in Bakersfield): Chucky and Caron return, with a vengeance! Or as much as they can muster for their 4th preseason game. The Wiz are counting on Butler and guard Antonio Daniels to fill the void left by the departed Larry Hughes and compliment Gilbert Arenas and Antawn Jamison, so last year’s playoff appearance becomes a more regular thing. In the meantime, preseason or not, if Kwame Brown isn't motivated to show his old team what they lost by giving up on him, even Tony Robbins couldn't light a fire under the kid.
Odds on Brown and Arenas bumping fists before the tip: Even. Odds on that fist bump being any more than a formality: 10-1. Odds that Brown and Wiz Coach Eddie Jordan will speak: 250-1.
Thursday and Friday (Staples Center): The L.A. Shootout, with Charlotte, Denver, and Washington: In the NBA’s answer to the Preseason NIT, four teams will kick around Staples over two evenings. Thursday, L.A. plays the Nuggets, who, if memory serves, finished last year on a nine billion game winning streak (until the playoffs, that is). Using the theory that a full season with George Karl is all they need to rise in the West, they left their roster essentially unchanged. Aside from getting three point guards (Andre Miller, Earl Boykins, Earl Watson) quality minutes and hoping K-Mart's completely healthy, ‘Melo and Co. don’t have many issues... except wondering how long Nene will wear powder blue before getting dealt or extended.
Friday, it’s either Washington again or Charlotte, where the expansion honeymoon is over! Just kidding. As long as UNC Southwest continues to display patience and a plan, Bobcats fans can hold onto hope. Emeka Okafor, Sean May, Raymond Felton and Primoz Brezec form a young, promising core, while Gerald Wallace provides scary athleticism (just don’t let impressionable kids watch him shoot). Will SG Kareem Rush try to stick it to the team that dealt him by jacking up as many jumpers as possible? The Lakers hope so, since he shot only 38.7% last season.
