Author Archive for Mike Trudell

Lakers Set For Northern Cali Trip

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on March 14, 2010
in Practice News
. Closed

59027592After stopping a four-game road losing streak with a Friday night victory in Phoenix, the Lakers will look to build a streak in the other column when they head to Northern California for Monday-Tuesday road clashes with Golden State and Sacramento.

On paper, the Warriors (18-47) and Kings (22-44) are among the league’s worst teams, the Lakers having already beaten the Kings twice and Warriors thrice.

But both wins against Sacramento came down to the wire, first a 112-103 double overtime victory in the state capital on Dec. 26 and second a 109-108 buzzer-beating win courtesy of Kobe Bryant’s three-pointer in front of the Kings’ bench. The victories came easier against Golden State (a total of 49 points, in fact), but the Warriors have played better at home of late, taking Portland down to the wire before a late loss on Thursday and defeating Toronto on Saturday.

While the Kings will surely bang with and bruise the Lakers, the Warriors will try and entice them into the kind of wide-open, free-wheeling game that helped them beat the Raptors.

“(It’s about) the pace of the game,” said Phil Jackson. “Players get used to playing the game with a five- to eight-second pace where shots are going up, and that gets contagious. That happened to us in Phoenix on (Friday) in the third quarter where we got shooting three-pointers at their level.”

Jackson explained that falling into the Suns’ style helped their opponent cut into their lead, as such, L.A.’s coaching staff will stress the inside game of Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol … even if that’s not even a little bit out of the ordinary.

“It’s always part of the game plan to give it to Bynum and Gasol,” said Ron Artest. Fair enough.

59196894Bynum has been particularly solid of late. In consecutive wins over Toronto and Phoenix, the youngest Laker has gone 8-of-12 from the field for 22 and 18 points, respectively, bullying his way to the basket for an array of dunks and layups. Add 15 total rebounds, three blocks and no turnovers, not to mention an improvement on defense notable enough to garner Phil Jackson’s explicit approval.

“I like what he’s done defensively,” Jackson said after the win in Phoenix. “I thought he’s played pretty good defense.”

Since Golden State is missing nearly all of its big men - center Andris Biedrins is done for the season, backup Ronny Turiaf is out with a sore knee and forward Anthony Randolph has been out for most of the season - Bynum certainly won’t face a lot of opposition in terms of raw size.

The Kings, however, can throw some bigger bodies at L.A., such as Spencer Hawes, Jason Thompson and newly-acquired Carl Landry, who gave the Lakers problems while playing for the Houston Rockets.

Aside from getting the ball inside, Jackson offered some keys to winning both games.

“The big thing is loose balls, turnovers, rebounds,” he said. “You (want to) give teams one attempt so that you’re getting the majority of the shots and you’re limiting them by not giving them open floor opportunities.”

The importance of securing wins is evident to the Lakers, well aware that Denver trails by 3.0 games and Dallas by 3.5 in the West.

Lakers 102, Suns 96: Running Diary

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on March 12, 2010
in Running Diary
. Closed

59893993Lakers - Suns Gameday Page
We took a look at the Lakers - Suns contest in Phoenix while it was happening, entering a thought or three each quarter as the Lakers looked to break a streak of four consecutive road losses.

Inactives
Lakers: Luke Walton
Suns: Leandro Barbosa

Starters
Lakers: Fisher, Bryant, Artest, Gasol and Bynum
Suns: Steve Nash, Jason Richardson, Grant Hill, Amare Stoudemire and Robin Lopez

Pregame Notes
The Lakers blew Phoenix out in both games in L.A. (total of 39 points) but lost by 15 here in the Valley of the Sun earlier this year. For a full preview, plus Phil Jackson’s pregame thoughts, CLICK HERE.

59893987First Quarter
8:15 The early game plan for both teams: feed the post. Andrew Bynum and Pau Gasol took four of L.A.’s first 6 shots, while Amare Stoudemire - thanks in part to two of his own offensive boards - took seven shots in the first four minutes, making three to keep Phoenix within three points.

5:27 A good beginning for Bynum continued as the 7-footer first sprinted up the floor and jammed home Derek Fisher’s trailing pass, then tipped in Bryant’s miss on the following possession to score eight of L.A.’s 18 points. However, the Suns switched into a zone defense that gave the Lakers problems, helping inspire an 8-0 run that put Phoenix up 24-18 with 2:54 to play as Phil Jackson was forced to call his third time out.

15.2 Put-back layups from Lamar Odom and Gasol cut what had been a nine-point lead to five, but Gasol missed his third straight free throw on the and-1 opportunity. Nash then pulled up for a jumper to make it a 31-24 margin at the quarter break. Stoudemire was terrific, going off for 17 points and seven rebounds, while the Lakers couldn’t have been happy with their execution at either end.

59893998Second Quarter
10:53 That execution, however, improved almost immediately as Bryant returned to start the second (he’d played only seven first quarter minutes due to picking up two fouls). First was an open Josh Powell jumper (swish), then an open corner three for Shannon Brown (swish) that cut Phoenix’s lead to two.

8:37 Phoenix answered right back with a 6-0 run that again pushed the lead to eight, leaving L.A. searching for a spark yet again. They got a quick one from Sasha Vujacic, who caused two turnovers in a row with his uber-aggressive defense, and nailed a pull-up three in between. Minutes later, Artest nailed a three and Bynum a short jumper to again cut the lead to two.

0:22.4 Remember how L.A. was struggling on offense? Yeah … that stopped happening. A fantastic stretch featured Lakers points on eight consecutive possessions, resulting in an 18-6 run that turned an 8-point deficit into a 7-point lead (53-46) at the half. Ron Artest was key, nailing two three-pointers and sticking back his own offensive rebound for eight of his 10 points in a solid individual stretch.

59893937Third Quarter
8:54 L.A. turned back to Bynum to open the third, and ‘Drew responded with three buckets, the first two dunks, to help L.A. reach its biggest lead of the day at 10. Fisher added a three, and Phoenix looked helpless to stop the multi-faceted Lakers attack that hasn’t been consistently available of late, particularly on the road.

6:26 Much like a shark, when it smells a bit of blood, Kobe goes right for the jugular, often on a pull-up three in transition that I call his “momentum three.” He nailed one to put the Lakers up 15 points, almost completely quieting the crowd. After another stop on defense, Bryant pulled up yet again to try and push it to 18, but missed.

0:22.2 Quite a difference a few minutes makes, as suddenly L.A. went back to its offensive struggles of the first quarter to concede an 11-0 run that cut that 15-point lead to just two, though Odom did manage to end the quarter with a layup that made it 77-73 into the fourth quarter. Nash, Richardson, Stoudemire and Hill all played a role in the Suns’ burst, though Phoenix’s second unit would enter to start the fourth.

59893992Fourth Quarter
9:10 Quite a thorn in L.A.’s side was Suns’ sub and resident “energy guy” Louis Amundson, who dunked on consecutive possessions to put Phoenix back in front for the first time since halfway through the second quarter, getting to 10 points with 10 rebounds in 23 minutes.

5:06 And there went the coach. Alvin Gentry, furious that Gasol wasn’t hit with a flagrant after a hard foul of Amundson, got ejected, allowing Fisher to sink two free throws that put L.A. back up 10. Artest had just hit his third triple of the game, and Fisher would nail his third two minutes later as L.A. clung to its lead.

1:26 Stoudemire’s two-handed dunk through traffic followed Richardson’s three to cut L.A.’s lead back to just four at 100-96, but Nash missed a three and then turned the ball over on the next possession to get the Lakers the ball back, resulting in 1-of-2 Kobe free throws (he oddly missed the first, which almost never happens late) to give L.A. a 5-point cushion with 16.5 seconds left for the Suns. That would prove to be enough, as the Suns would miss a few desperation attempts before Fisher sealed the win by intercepting Richardson’s pass.

With that, L.A. had snapped its 4-game road losing streak, and improved to 48-18 on the season.

Up next, a Monday-Tuesday back-to-back in Golden State and Sacramento. Until then, your numbers:

POSTGAME NUMBERS
2 Assists away from a triple-double for Kobe Bryant, who scored 21 points with 10 boards and eight dimes.

5 Starters with at least 15 points, led by 21 from Bryant, 18 from Andrew Bynum and 15 each from Derek Fisher, Ron Artest and Pau Gasol.

6 Three-pointers made by Fisher and Artest, both of whom nailed three. The Lakers made 9-of-25 triples, while Phoenix connected on 6-of-21 from distance.

9 Missed free throws by the Lakers, which nearly came back to bite ‘em. Phoenix hit 22-of-27, L.A. 13-of-22.

49.4 L.A.’s terrific shooting percentage, including 8-of-12 from Bynum and 7-of-11 from Gasol.

Lakers In Valley of the Sun

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on March 11, 2010
in Preview
. Closed

D070428014.jpgOn Friday evening in Phoenix, the Lakers and Suns are set to face off for the fourth and final time of the 2009-10 regular season, with L.A. holding a 2-1 lead thus far after two home wins and a road loss.

The details: back on November 12 in Los Angeles, the Lakers demolished the Suns 121-102. Less than a month later, the result wasn’t too different, the Purple and Gold running away with a 108-88 victory for a cumulative + 39 on Phoenix.

But on Dec. 28, Phoenix turned the tables in their own building to the tune of a 118-103 victory. So we’re at +24.

Heading into that matchup, the Suns had struggled, losing 9-of-13 games during their worst stretch of the season (L.A. tends to bring out the best in its opponents, after all).

Yet with Friday’s game at US Airways Center on the horizon, the Suns are hot, winning 8-of-10 games to settle into sixth place in the Western Conference with a 40-25 record, 2.5 games back of Utah (who accounted for one of the two recent Suns losses).

D069980033.jpgWith 17 games left on the schedule, climbing into the top four seems a reasonable, if difficult, goal for Phoenix. The Suns have nine games at home and eight on the road, highlighted by home-and-away contests against current No. 4 Utah (included a season finale at Utah on April 14) that could well decide each team’s playoff slot.

The Lakers, meanwhile, have gone just 9-11 in their last 20 road games, a stretch that began with that Dec. 28 road loss to Phoenix, and have seen their lead over Dallas diminish to 2.5 games. L.A. will be looking to go 3-1 against Phoenix for the third straight season, coming after three straight seasons (2004-07) that saw the Suns win the regular season matchup. Phil Jackson’ squad is 3-7 in its last 10 games in Arizona, though Jackson has a 25-14 record against the Suns overall while coaching the Lakers.

A few other Lakers – Suns connections: Phoenix forward Jared Dudley was a teammate of Adam Morrison and Shannon Brown in Charlotte; Suns assistant coach Bill Cartwright won three championships as a center for Jackson’s Bulls (1990-92); and Luke Walton and Suns center Channing Frye were college teammates at Arizona for two seasons (2001-02, 2002-03).

Frye, who has made a team-high 139 triples (43.4 percent) and effectively spaced the floor for Phoenix, will not play against L.A. due to a one-game suspension for getting into a skirmish with Indiana’s Danny Granger on March 6 (Phoenix’s last game, an improbably long break in the schedule). That hurts, as Frye’s shooting helps pull one of L.A.’s bigs out of the paint, but Phoenix does get Leandro Barbosa back from a 21-game absence during which the Suns went 15-6.

The game tips off at 6 p.m. and can be seen on KCAL or listened to on 710 ESPN radio, and as always.

Phil Jackson Pregame Notes
A summary of Lakers Coach Phil Jackson’s responses to pregame questions from assembled media:
- Jackson said he was not surprised that Amare Stoudemire wasn’t dealt prior to the NBA’s trade deadline in February, noting that on one hand he’s a very difficult player to replace from a talent standpoint, and that deals involving such high level players are very complicated.

- The Suns, to Jackson, are a different team with Robin Lopez playing at center as opposed to Channing Frye, who started 41 games (including all three against L.A.) before giving way to Lopez 24 games ago. “He can get down there and wrestle with big guys,” said Phil, something Phoenix hasn’t had since Shaquille O’Neal left.

- Jackson cited Jordan Farmar’s injured finger as a reason for his recent shooting struggles (Farmar is 2-for-11 in his last two games). He added that Sasha Vujacic continues to deal with his shoulder, but is hoping he’s able to resume running around screens and hitting shots.

Gasol Partners with Children’s Hospital L.A.

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on March 11, 2010
in Community and Pau Gasol
. Closed

blog_1003paugasol_hospitalPress Release Attached Below
Los Angeles Lakers’ All-Star Pau Gasol announced his partnership with Childrens Hospital Los Angeles at a private event on March 10th with Jack Pettker, chairman of the Board of Trustees at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, and Robert Kay, MD, vice chair of the Division of Orthopaedic Surgery at Childrens Hospital.

Gasol will initially be involved in community outreach initiatives on behalf of the hospital, and will participate in hospital radiothons, as well as interact with Orthopaedic patients. Some patients will have an opportunity to attend Lakers’ games as Gasol’s guest.

“It is extremely rewarding for me to help draw public awareness to the amazing work being done at the Orthopaedic Surgery Center at CHLA,” said Gasol. “The doctors and staff work tirelessly to give young kids the ability to lead normal active lives.”

“Pau has a vision for creating more opportunities for the children of Los Angeles and around the globe to realize their dreams of being able to walk, to run, and stand taller,” said Pettker. “We are thrilled to call him a partner.”

Derek Fisher Weighs In

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on March 11, 2010
in Derek Fisher and Practice News
. Closed

D071725007.jpgWhat’s the best way to figure out the general mood of the Lakers locker room?

That’s easy.

Have a chat with Derek Fisher.

What follows is a conversation we had after Monday’s practice, and below that selected postgame comments from Fish after L.A.’s Tuesday evening win against Toronto:

MT: The three-game losing streak was, of course, not exactly what you had in mind. But it doesn’t seem to have affected the team’s confidence in the larger picture…
Fisher: No, (that’s right), but right now I don’t think it’s about confidence. It’s about doing things out on the floor. In some respects, because we still carry so much confidence, we’re still maybe not pressing (the pedal) to the mat in terms of the sense of urgency that we’ve shown in some games. We haven’t been able to stretch that out over two, three weeks, and that’s tough to do in the NBA season. That’s tough to do after experiencing what we have. We lost in the Finals in 2008, won in 2009 and we’re on a quest to win another title. That’s a lot of basketball, it’s a long three-year process, so you’re going to have some ups and downs. But if we can stay healthy and continue to get healthier, we feel OK in terms of where we’ll to be. We still want to have home court advantage in the West, and having (it) overall would be the best of both worlds.

59783005MT: It seems that in many games - especially of late - you’ve been getting the respective best shots other teams have to offer. How would you describe it?
Fisher: I think that’s true in some cases, and I think some teams have gotten better from last season. But also in particular on the road, where it has impacted us to be honest is the fact that some teams have been hit by lower attendance numbers, but when we show up the building is sold out, everybody in the city is talking about the game the whole week. So the pride, the competitive nature and intensity of the team we’re playing that night is also going to go up. So then they go from being a good and competitive team to maybe playing great that night. And since we’re not playing the best that we can play at this point - not that we won’t be playing our best basketball - we haven’t been able to really counter act that. We still like where we are considering everything that we’ve been through, but we just want to get things going back in a more positive direction.

MT: How do you put the rigors of the regular season in perspective, and balance internal and external expectations?
Fisher: It’s a combination of two things. We aren’t necessarily satisfied or OK with how we’re playing or with the results in particular with the last month and a half, close to two months. We just haven’t played good, consistent basketball. I think that’s one piece of it, in terms of our own expectations. And the other piece is, when you are the champions there is a certain level of expectation externally that comes with it. So when you’re going good, everybody’s rolling with you. When you’re not, everybody has things to say. It’s a part of the process, and when you’re here long enough, you figure it out.

Fisher’s postgame comments from Tuesday night’s win over Toronto:

When the giant appears vulnerable or there’s a chink in the armor or there is an open wound, people have a tendency to go at that. Thus far we haven’t come across as invincible or unbeatable, so of course teams are going to believe that they can win … How we play, with efficiency, focus, concentration, that’s what teams need to feel … We’re not playing at the level that we’re capable of playing. I don’t know exactly why - I think you could point to a number of different things - but I think we’re all confident and optimistic that we can figure it out, and we’re going to stay the course.

Podcast: ESPN’s Matthew Berry

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on March 10, 2010
in Podcast
. Closed

berryA friend of ours who also happens to be a Lakers season ticket holder and ESPN’s main fantasy sports expert, Matthew Berry, joined us via telephone to discuss the current state of the Lakers, his worries about the team’s recent play and what to expect going forward.

And, of course, we mixed in some unrelated chatter comparing fantasy football and baseball players to the Lakers, exchanged opinions on the new “Melrose Place” with “90210″ and just generally tried to make Berry feel better about his favorite squad.

Click below to listen:

 
icon for podpress  ESPN'S Matthew Berry [28:14m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Happy Couple: Kobe and Game Winners

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on March 10, 2010
in Kobe Bryant
. Closed

If you missed Tuesday night’s game-winning fadeaway jumper from Kobe Bryant, you can head over to our Gameday page as always, or just watch below:

As for the other six game winners he’s nailed*, against Miami, Milwaukee, Sacramento, Dallas, Boston and Memphis? Head HERE, or just watch below:
*ESPN’s Ryen Rusillo reported on his NBA Today podcast that Bryant’s six field goal makes in the final 10 seconds of a game are the most in the NBA in the last 10 seasons (Carmelo Anthony had five in 2005-06).

Bryant Hits 7th Winning Shot, L.A. Beats Toronto

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on March 9, 2010
in Post-Game
. Closed

blog_100309kobegamewinnerLosing three straight games just wasn’t something L.A. had done in a while. Not once, in fact, since acquiring Pau Gasol from Memphis in February of 2008, at least until a three-game road trip through Miami, Charlotte and Orlando ended that streak.

“We don’t like losing” was Gasol’s impression of Captain Obvious after Monday’s practice.

But losing four straight? Unheard of, especially with Phil Jackson on the bench. In his 19 seasons as an NBA head coach, Jackson’s teams had lost four straight only 10 times total, and never during any one of his 10 championship seasons.

As such, there was no way the defending champs were letting that happen on Tuesday at STAPLES Center against Toronto, a near-average (32-29) team battling for 5th place in the Eastern Conference. Right?

Right … but just barely.

Kobe Bryant, of course, had the answer himself, nailing a game-winning baseline jumper with 1.9 seconds on the clock, leaving the Raptors only a full court desperation heave that fell 30 feet short.

59866155Toronto did hang tough throughout the game, even tying things up at 107 on a Chris Bosh three-pointer with nine seconds remaining. But then Bryant rose for his seventh game-winning shot* of the season (no typo).
*Click there to watch the first six.

The play developed as Ron Artest inbounded the ball to Pau Gasol, who waited until Bryant freed himself of primary defender Antoine Wright, then evaded the double-team of Andrea Bargnani.

“I was surveying the floor, figured they were going to double me early so I went into a position where I could see my cutters,” Bryant explained. “(The double) didn’t come early, (and) that gave me an opportunity to skate baseline once they did come, and I knocked down the shot.”

“That’s one of his shots,” said Lamar Odom while smiling his own comment, realizing Bryant has seemingly hundreds of shots in his repertoire. “He could see the double-team coming, so he can just go baseline until the space runs out and fade away. It looked good … it went straight through.”

The Raptors had managed to make things pretty interesting down the stretch first by opening a 58-50 lead at the half behind 7-of-10 shooting from three. The Purple and Gold cut that lead down to three points after the third quarter (84-81), reclaimed the lead with 9:50 to play in the fourth on Odom’s left-handed layup and ultimately needed Bryant’s jumper to end the losing streak.

“I’ve worked long hours at that shot,” he added. “It’s my job to kind of bail us out (at times). That’s why baseball has closers.”

This season in particular, Kobe has certainly been Mariano Rivera.

59866197To give Kobe a chance to shut the door, L.A. used a solid low post game keyed by Andrew Bynum that kept him in the game throughout most of the fourth quarter. The big center had little problem scoring around smallish bigs Andrea Bargnani and Chris Bosh, making 5-of-7 field goals for 11 points in the third and finishing with 22 points, six boards and two blocks.

“He was playing well,” said Phil Jackson. “If you’re a coach and he’s playing well, you better have him in the game. Andrew played well.”

Meanwhile, Gasol pitched in 17 points and nine boards, while Odom added 10 points, six boards and four assists in the second half alone as each Laker big did some work.

“It doesn’t really matter (which big man) you guard,” said Raptors forward Reggie Evans. “With L.A., pick your poison. All of them are good.”

The Raptors quickly responded to Odom’s lead-changing layup with a 6-0 run to reclaim the lead briefly, but Bryant would rattle off 14 points in the final 8:19 and finish with a game-high 32 points, plus six dimes and six rebounds.

So, the three-game losing streak was over, and it didn’t reach four (which again, never happened during any of Jackson’s 10 championship seasons). But the Lakers know they need to play better to win it again.

Derek Fisher, whom Bynum recognized publicly for motivating the team at halftime, explained that everybody wants a shot at the champs, particularly if the champs aren’t playing exactly like champs (still with us?).

“When the giant appears vulnerable or there’s a chink in the armor or an open wound, people have a tendency to go at that,” said Bryant’s co-captain. “Thus far we haven’t come across as invincible or unbeatable, so of course teams are going to believe that they can win. How we play, with efficiency, concentration, focus, that’s what teams need to feel.”

Fisher went on to reiterate, as Jackson had said after the game and Bryant earlier in the week at practice, the Lakers feel that they have ample time to build things up.

“We’re not playing at the level that we’re capable of playing,” Fisher concluded. “I don’t know exactly why - I think you could point to a number of different things - but I think we’re all confident and optimistic that we can figure it out, and we’re going to stay the course.”

L.A. will next head on the road, to Phoenix and Golden State, to continue the quest. Until then, your numbers:

59866124POSTGAME NUMBERS
4 Raptors who hit at least two three-pointers, including Chris Bosh, whose triple tied the game with nine seconds to play. L.A. hit only 3-of-15 from downtown, one each from Ron Artest, Derek Fisher and Shannon Brown.

7 First half three nailed by Toronto on 10 attempts. That helped the Raptors throw 16 assists on 23 field goals, compared to just seven dimes for L.A. on 16 makes.

28 Points in the paint for the Lakers in the second half, a 12-point edge over Toronto, who won that battle 22-16 in the first half.

32 Points for Kobe Bryant on 11-of-20 shooting and 10-of-11 free throws, none bigger than his dagger jumper with 1.9 seconds to play. It was his seventh game winner, tying the total number of wins for the New Jersey Nets.

44 Free throws attempted by the Lakers, a season high that showed the home team’s aggression.

Video: Lakers - Raptors Preview

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on March 9, 2010
in Pre-Game, Preview and Video
. Closed


The Raptors head into Los Angeles for a Tuesday evening tilt having lost 4-of-5 and 6-of-10 games due largely to the respective ankles of Chris Bosh and Hedo Turkoglu.

Bosh missed seven straight games before returning on Sunday when Toronto lost to Philadelphia, and Turkoglu’s minutes had been limited before he was held out of the Sixers game entirely. However, both are expected to start for the Raptors on Tuesday alongside Jarrett Jack, DeMar DeRozan and Andrea Bargnani.

In late January, the Raptors stole away a 1-point victory over the Lakers when Turkoglu drew a questionable foul with one second left and sank both free throws. Toronto thus got the win despite L.A.’s relative dominance of the game featuring a near triple-double from Kobe Bryant (27-16-9) and nice games from both Pau Gasol (22 & 9) and Andrew Bynum (21 & 9).

The Raptors did get hard-working forward Reggie Evans back from injury in recent days, and are looking to get back into the fifth spot in the Eastern Conference ahead of Milwaukee, as the Bucks have won 9-of-10 to earn a half-game lead on the Raptors.

The Lakers, of course, have lost three straight games for the first time since Pau Gasol was acquired from Memphis in February of 2008, providing just a bit more motivation for the Purple and Gold.

Vujacic “Probable” For Raptors Game

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on March 9, 2010
in Injury News and Sasha Vujacic
. Closed


Lakers guard Sasha Vujacic is available to play for the first time since spraining his right shoulder on Feb. 18 against Boston.

The 6-7 Slovenian told us after Tuesday’s shootaround - during which he lofted shot after shot at the basket - that he was feeling much better and expected to go against the Raptors. While wearing a shoulder brace, Vujacic added that he’s been painfully eager to return to the team, which went 4-4 in his 8-game absence.

Vujacic went through practice with the team on Monday, staying late to put up some additional shots with Ron Artest.

Previously, Vujacic had been unable to shoot with his right hand, instead likely setting an NBA record for most off-hand free throw attempts.

Unofficially, that is.