Archive for the 'Off-Season' Category

Camp Lakers Fun For All

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on July 29, 2009
in Miscellaneous and Off-Season
. Closed

Jim CleamonsShort and sweet was the verbiage on the cover of the 2009 Camp Lakers program, which detailed what the organization had to offer for its 10th season on the campus of the University of California-Santa Barbara:

16 Hall of Famers
15 NBA Championships
1 Camp

With two early-July sessions, Camp Lakers featured appearances by five different Lakers players - Shannon Brown, Jordan Farmar, D.J. Mbenga, Josh Powell and Sasha Vujacic - as young hoopsters went through basketball activities for five days and four nights.

“Camp Lakers was started to provide a unique experience for aspiring basketball players between the ages of 10-18,” said Lakers General Manager Mitch Kupchak. “In addition to many of the Laker coaches, staff and players that appear at the camp many of the nation’s top high school coaches work the camp’s two sessions every year.”

TO READ THE FULL ARTICLE, CLICK HERE

Fisher Places Triples in Perspective

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on July 28, 2009
in Derek Fisher and Off-Season
. Closed

Derek FisherAs Derek Fisher explained to us the other day, he has already begun to put his historical three-point shots from Game 4 of the NBA Finals into perspective, and he is extremely appreciative for the fans to whom those bombs mean so much.

Yet in that appreciation, Fisher doesn’t want to let a solid basketball lesson fall by the wayside, which he explained after being asked how many of the youngsters attending his late-July basketball camp were jacking up threes in honor of the left-handed pain he inflicted upon the Magic. Fitting that such a student of the game doesn’t necessarily want kids putting up three after three until they’ve established a solid shooting form close to the basket, right?

In fact, Fish quipped that he’s probably heard about his shot over Jameer Nelson (sending Game 4 to overtime) too much (like that’s possible) from kids.

“It’s good and bad, but signifies how big our game is, that the kids truly try and emulate what we do,” explained the four-time NBA champion. “They see you hit a three-pointer, they want to come out behind the three-point line and throw shots up even though that’s probably not the best thing for them to be doing.”

Of course, there’s nothing wrong with catching the ball just in front of midcourt, taking a few quick dribbles, pretending to stare down Jameer Nelson and pulling up from 26-feet. Sure, it may take five … 10 … OK 50 attempts for most kids, but that’s fun. Just go ahead and shoot from the elbow afterwards, OK?

Fisher certainly practices what he preaches, since trying to count the amount of two-point shots he’s attempted while working on his game throughout his life would be like counting sales of Michael Jackson songs on iTunes in the last three weeks. It’s not that Fisher can’t remember one of the biggest shots in Lakers history as an isolated, great event; he just recognizes that 26 feet is a bit far out there.

See, Fisher can even take a question about kids putting up too many triples and turn it into a larger life lesson.

“We players have to continue to recognize that kids truly watch what we do, our movements, the decisions we make, the shoes we wear, the clothes we wear, the way we wear our hair,” L.A.’s point guard continued. “Even if we don’t necessarily actively choose to, involuntarily we still have a responsibility to do things a certain way or at least try to. I think these kids appreciate when we try to live in a way that they can look up to.”

Some well-developed perspective, right?

Lakers Add Preseason Game at Forum

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on July 27, 2009
in Off-Season
. Closed

The Los Angeles Lakers announced today that an additional game has been added to their preseason schedule. The Lakers will host the Golden State Warriors at 7:00pm on October 9 at the Forum in Inglewood, CA.

As part of the Lakers 50th Anniversary in Los Angeles, fans will get an opportunity to see the 2009 NBA Champions play in the arena which was home to the Lakers for over 30 years (1967-1999) and was the site of six NBA Championships (1972, 1980, 1982, 1985, 1987 and 1988).

Tickets for the game will go on sale at 10:00 am on Wednesday, August 12. Tickets will be sold at Ticketmaster outlets, online at ticketmaster.com, and available by phone at 1-800-4-NBA-TIXS. Tickets are priced at $13, $24, $34, $40, $58, $85.50, $103 and $133.

CLICK HERE FOR THE FULL 2009 PRE-SEASON SCHEDULE

Laker Girl Finals Photo Gallery

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on July 27, 2009
in Miscellaneous and Off-Season
. Closed

LG FinalsA week after the always-highly-attended Laker Girl Auditions, the Finalists returned to El Segundo to take their shot at cracking the final roster.

CLICK HERE to view the photo gallery from the finals.

Fisher Checks In

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on July 24, 2009
in Derek Fisher and Off-Season
. Closed

Derek FisherOn June 11, Derek Fisher’s three-point bomb over Jameer Nelson in Game 4 of the NBA Finals sent L.A. into overtime, where the Lakers’ point guard nailed another dagger to seal a 99-91 victory.

On July 16, during his exit interview, Fisher had yet to put the shots in perspective.

“No it really hasn’t (sunk in),” he said. “I had to pinch myself yesterday … Thinking about my life and what I’ve been through… It’s just hard to put into perspective for a guy from Little Rock, Arkansas.”

It’s now been 44 days since his fateful bombs, and Fisher’s finally had some time to process the moment. He shared a few thoughts with us while taking a break from conducting his basketball camp:

I have a growing appreciation for the experiences that I’ve had in my career overall, and for this year in particular, with what the 2009 championship means to us and to the city and our fans. It continues to mold my appreciation for the history of the NBA and the Lakers, and what all the moments mean. It motivates me to work even harder this summer to try and be in a position to do it again next year, because it’s just crazy to think about those moments and how they will live on forever. I think I’m just starting to realize that. A lot of these kids that are here and a lot of these parents that have been Lakers fans for 10, 15, 20 years, those moments signify a lot of great memories in their life. For my name and things that I’ve done to be a part of that is a little bit trippy, pretty humbling, but exciting and motivating as well.

Top Playoff Moments

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on July 23, 2009
in Off-Season and Playoffs
. Closed

TeamWe recently received this question from Lakers.com reader Chris:

Q: These are my top five moments of the Lakers 2009 postseason:
5. Kobe’s 40-point outburst in Game 1 vs. Orlando
4. Kobe’s dagger three-pointer in Game 3 vs. Denver
3. D-Fish’s three-pointer in overtime of Game 4 vs. Orlando
2. Ariza’s steal in Game 1 vs. Denver
1. D-Fish’s three-pointer in Game 4 vs. Orlando to force overtime.

What am I missing?
- Chris, Hermosa Beach, CA

Not a bad list, Chris. You’ve done your research.

While it’s tough to argue with the selections, it’s also pretty easy to throw in five more moments, all of which you can re-live by going through our Lakers Gameday Archive.

Here’s what we came up with to supplement the list:

1) Kobe’s ridiculous bounce-back Game 4 against Utah in Round 1. The eventual Finals MVP scored 38 points on 16-of-24 from the field a game after he had converted just 5-of-24 in L.A.’s Game 3 loss. That was L.A.’s first big test, and thanks to Kobe, they aced it like Will Hunting on MIT’s chalkboard.
2) Kobe’s end-of-third-quarter dagger triple in Game 3 against Houston, which built a 12-point lead and crushed Houston’s spirit in a must-win road game that would return home court advantage to the Lakers.
3) Lamar Odom’s back-to-back threes in the third quarter of Game 5 of the Finals that directly answered Orlando’s push to get within five points. They’d never get close again.
4) Shannon Brown’s ridiculous transition dunk over Chris Andersen in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals against Denver. Completely changed the game’s energy.
5) Pau Gasol’s heroics late in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, including the game-tying bucket of regulation and the game-sealing and-1 bucket in OT, indicative of his clutch performance throughout the postseason.

If you have more moments you think should have been included in our lil’ list, feel free to let us know via twitter: @LakersReporter.

Congresswoman Maxine Waters Honors Lakers

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on July 23, 2009
in Community, Miscellaneous, Off-Season and Playoffs
. Closed

Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-35) reacted on Wednesday to passage in the U.S. House of Representatives of her resolution honoring the Lakers on their 15th NBA Title, H. Res. 566.

As the NBA Finals Champions, the 2009 Los Angeles Lakers are quite deserving of this honor the House of Representatives has bestowed upon them. The Lakers kept us on the edge of our seats all season, never failing to amaze us with their teamwork, talent, and determination … The effective leadership and talent of Coach Phil Jackson and the athleticism and team spirit demonstrated by Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Derek Fisher, Paul Gasol, and Trevor Ariza – a graduate of Westchester High School in my District – made for an unstoppable combination,” said Congresswoman Waters. “Like previous Laker greats such as Jerry West, Wilt Chamberlain, Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Shaquille O’Neal, Pat Riley, and of course Coach Phil Jackson who now holds 10 NBA Finals Championships, the players on this year’s team have cemented their place in the history books. Congratulations once again to the 2009 Los Angeles Lakers.

Voice of the Lakers in Vegas

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on July 22, 2009
in Off-Season and Summer League
. Closed


Before L.A.’s final Summer League game, we ran into Lakers play-by-play voice Joel Meyers.

Meyers, in town to call games for NBA.com and NBATV, offered his observations about Adam Morrison and L.A.’s Vegas crew and threw in a few food “joints” to catch back in L.A. over the summer.

Josh Powell Podcast: A Road Less Traveled

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on July 21, 2009
in Josh Powell and Off-Season
. Closed

Josh PowellKobe Bryant knew he was going to star in the NBA from a young age, and fulfilled his destiny as a teenager after Jerry West and the Lakers traded for his rights.

Pau Gasol grew up thinking he’d be a doctor, but quickly grew to be so good at basketball that he realized he could play for as long as he wanted.

Lakers forward Josh Powell’s basketball story, however, was quite different.

He grew up outside of Atlanta, Georgia, as more of a football and baseball player, with just a touch of the orange ball on the side. A linebacker by trade, standing about 6-2, Powell had no visions of professional basketball. As in, zero. Not even on the radar.

Then, around the age of 15, Powell shot up four or five inches in height. With his spurt came a growth in his love for the hardcourt, and helped him make the Riverdale High School varsity team as a freshman. Long, year-round days at the gym ultimately pushed Powell to N.C. State, and though a modest freshman year didn’t necessarily put his name on an NBA scout’s watch list, Powell exploded towards the end of his sophomore year to earn a spot on the ACC All-Tournament First Team. Finally, the NBA didn’t seem so far away, and after hearing that he could be taken at the end of the first round, Powell decided to leave school after his sophomore year and make himself eligible for the 2003 NBA Draft…

… But he wasn’t drafted.

Thus continued a distant hoops road that found Powell all by his lonesome in foreign lands like Russia and Italy, and in domestic leagues about which you’ve never heard. To take us through his journey in more detailed fashion, Powell called into the Lakers.com Popcorn Machine from his home in North Carolina.

You can listen to the interview by CLICKING HERE.

Lakers Absent from USA Youth Mini-Camp

Published
by
Mike Trudell
on July 20, 2009
in Around the NBA and Off-Season
. Closed

Kobe BryantKobe Bryant was the lone Lakers player to compete for Team USA in 2008’s Olympic triumph.

Yet it’s no coincidence that not a single player from the Lakers, Celtics, Spurs, Cavaliers, Magic or Mavericks will participate in Team USA’s mini-camp set to take place from July 23-25 in Las Vegas, Nevada. After all, the NBA’s elite teams feature established names like Bryant, Garnett, Duncan, James, Howard and Nowitzki, each of whom lead contenders for the league championship and whose teams don’t often feature lottery picks.

However, Oklahoma City, Memphis, New Jersey and the Clippers all have at least two players on the 23-man mini-camp roster, which highlights their collective place among the league’s developing teams. In fact, only two players on the squad were taken after the first round, both by the Utah Jazz: Paul Millsap and Kyle Korver. Most are high lottery selections like O.J. Mayo, Russell Westbrook, Kevin Love, Jeff Green, Eric Gordon, Anthony Randolph and Josh Smith. Highlighting the group are 2007-08 Rookie of the Year Kevin Durant, 2008-09 winner Derrick Rose and 2009 No. 1 overall pick Blake Griffin.

Former Laker and now Houston Rocket Trevor Ariza had previously been among those names, but he - along with LaMarcus Aldridge, Glen Davis and Brandon Roy - will not attend the mini-camp.

USA Basketball Chairman Jerry Colangelo, responsible for the roster, had this to say about the process:

While we look to continue to build continuity within the USA National Team program and continue to improve, in 2009 we will get a look at some of the top young NBA players who haven’t been involved in USA Basketball at the top national program level previously. Although some of these players have represented USA Basketball in the past, this is their opportunity to be considered for the next generation of players who will help make up the USA Basketball National program. As was the case in 2005-08, the roster for the national team program will be fluid in 2010-2012 and we will make adjustments to the roster each year to help insure we have the strongest program and the strongest teams possible.

The Lakers do feature three international players that are set to compete for their National teams in the coming Eurobasket Tournament: Pau Gasol (Spain); Sasha Vujacic (Slovenia) and D.J. Mbenga (Belgium). As for the Americans? Team USA’s senior squad will next compete in the 2010 FIBA World Championships from Aug. 28-Sept. 12 in Turkey.