As the injuries continue to pile up for the Lakers–Trevor Ariza the latest casualty–Coach Jackson said that certain players’ roles are bound to change. “It’s going to be one of those things,” said Jackson. “We’re just going to have to work our way through this. Unfortunately for Trevor, he was playing really well.” In Ariza’s absence, Jackson said the team will likely have to rely on Lamar Odom more at small forward.
However, Jackson did supply some rare positive news on the injury front, revealing that Vladimir Radmanovic has been able to participate in more exercises on the floor in recent days. While he has not begun running yet, Jackson said he is making solid progress. Injured center Chris Mihm has also begun more strenuous exercises and may be ready to return when the Lakers embark on their nine game road trip starting in Detroit.
In looking ahead to tonight’s game, Jackson said, “This is a game that is absolutely needed because this is a small team.” With the undersized Najera playing behind Marcus Camby, the coach said that tonight would likely present a “situation in which Ronny can play some center and probably well.”
Jackson also said he expects Kwame Brown to recover from being booed throughout the Lakers’ loss to Phoenix last Thursday. According to Jackson, there will no doubt be a certain amount of anxiety for Kwame, but the team’s willingness to look for him inside will not change.
I’m sure TNT was hoping that tonight’s game would be between the first and second place teams in the west, but after the Sam Cassell take over on Tuesday night, we’re looking at a matchup between the first and sixth place teams. Welcome to the Western Conference.
Still, plenty is at stake tonight. A win could put the public-at-large on notice that the loss of Andrew Bynum isn’t the end of the season. A loss puts the Suns back on top of the Pacific Division, the Western Conference, and gives them a shot to tie up the season series. It’s a big game (and aren’t they all) with a lot at stake, but we’ve got a long way to go in the season.
Phil Jackson indicated after practice yesterday that Chris Mihm is still at least a week away from returning to practice and even when/if he returns the Lakers could use some help on the front line. Losing Andrew essentially takes the Lakers back to the starting lineup from early last season (with an upgrade at point guard & deeper bench) that was pretty successful. Lamar Odom is looking even farther back, hearkening to the 2006 Playoffs where the Lakers.
Lakers trainer Gary Vitti spent detailed exactly what happened to Andrew’s knee and the recovery process.
It could be quite some time before Bynum can begin rehabilitation exercises to strengthen the muscles around his knee. The plan is to increase Bynum’s leg strength in order to prevent another kneecap injury.
“Right now, he can’t do a whole lot,” Vitti said. “He has a big, swollen knee joint. It’s probably full of blood, which is not good. Blood is not good in a place that it doesn’t belong. It belongs in your vessels. When it leaks out of there it has (bad) effects to other tissues. So we’ve got to get that out of there.”
Vladimir Radmanovic is expected to miss more time. The hope is that he’ll be available for the Lakers 9-game road trip that starts at the end of the month.
While the Lakers survived in Seattle, Coach Jackson wasn’t particularly pleased with Kobe Bryant’s 44 shot attempts and the repeated deferrals by Lamar Odom and Luke Walton.
“Try to get Lamar and Luke in a rhythm,” Jackson said. “Lamar just had an awful night and kept passing the ball. Fortunately for us, we found a way to win.”
Despite a double-double (10 points, 10 rebounds) in his first start since Andrew Bynum’s injury, Kwame Brown looked out of place on offense and appeared to tire as the game went on.
“I think he got tired and Ronny [Turiaf] had [too many] fouls, so he had to play through it…There was no one else to take his position,” Jackson said.
Continue reading ‘Lakers Today: 01/16/08′
Injury Update: Injured forward Vladimir Radmanovic is still shelved for time being, but the Lakers are hoping he’ll be ready to practice sometime this week.
Good news for the Lakers tonight as Coach Jackson said that Kobe Bryant will play tonight even though he is still experiencing symptoms from his upper respiratory infection. Jackson said that Bryant actually felt better before tonight’s game, even though he did not participate in the team shoot-around.
Jackson also said that he thinks Kwame Brown might be trying to do much on the court, particularly when it comes to scoring. The Lakers coach said he tried to use him with the starters in the Lakers’ victory over the Bucks on Friday, but Kwame did not perform especially well.
Jackson said that current starting center Andrew Bynum’s minutes begin to increase, the responsibility to monitor his fatigue level belongs to both him and Andrew. Jackson said that one way he can help reduce wear and tear as the season goes along is to reduce practice time from the usual hour and a half to an hour and fifteen minutes instead.
INJURY UPDATE:
Coach Jackson addressed the status of injured forward Vladimir Radmanovic before tonight’s game, noting that “the possibility of him playing next week is good.” Sasha Vujacic, out with an ankle sprain, is struggling according to Jackson. However, the coach did say that Sasha’s physical therapist reminded him that it has only been eight days and bad sprains typically take at least two weeks to heal.
Jackson also spoke about Kobe’s decrease in scoring for the second season in a row in addition to a reduction in his minutes. Jackson said Bryant’s role as a scorer changes depending on the team’s needs on a given night. “I think that it’s game-by-game. It’s how well we’re playing as a group and how well we’re shooting the basketball,” said Jackson. The coach also said that Kobe’s decrease in minutes should bode well for the team later in the season and in grind-it-out type games.
Lastly, Jackson said he was pleased with the team’s current two-man combo at small forward with both Luke Walton and Trevor Ariza splitting minutes at the position. By not playing 30-35 minutes a night anymore, Jackson said that Walton is able to conserve his energy and significantly reduce his injury risk.
Injury Update: Before tonight’s game, Coach Jackson said that injured forward Vladimir Radmanovic will not suit up tonight and will not fly out with the team for their two-game road-trip to Memphis and New Orleans.
After reflecting on Lamar Odom’s recent suspension, Jackson said that despite Odom’s sometimes overly emotional play, he still likes his approach to the game. “I like that he plays with such an air of creed, he’s loose,” said Jackson. “There are times he can’t let things go…For the most part, I like his attitude about the game.”
Jackson added that, “If you can’t let a play go and you carry it to the next sequence, you’re in trouble. Some players have the ability to use it as motivation…but it usually doesn’t work. It’s not a good incentive or motivational device.” Jackson also noted that he was very pleased with the decrease in technicals fouls this year called on Kobe, noting that he has done a good job maintaining his composure. In fact, according to Jackson, Kobe’s most recent technical foul was simply a case of him standing up for his teammates.
Continue reading ‘Lakers vs. Pacers Pre-Game’
Before tonight’s game, Coach Jackson said that Vladimir Radmanovic will not dress against Philadelphia due to a sprained ankle that still has not healed enough to the point where he can perform in live game action. Jackson said that Radmanovic is likely to miss Sunday night’s game against the Pacers as well.
Lakers Forward Vladimir Radmanovic twisted his ankle towards the end of practice today at the Toyota Sports Center.
The severity of the injury isn’t yet known, but Radmanovic is being listed as questionable for the game against the 76ers.
Phil Jackson didn’t seem overly worried about the injury. “He twisted it. I don’t know if it’s a sprain, we’ll see what that is… he walked off the court on his own, I think he’s going to be okay.”
Radmanovic’s injury leaves the Lakers front court even thinner than it already was after finding out that Center Chris Mihm is likely to miss 3-4 weeks due to inflammation in his surgically repaired ankle.
Lamar Odom is not available for Friday’s tilt against the Philadelphia 76ers due to an NBA imposed suspension stemming from his flagrant foul on Ray Allen Sunday night.
After hurting both wrists following a hard fall in the fourth quarter of tonight’s victory over the Clippers, Vladimir Radmanovic underwent X-rays on both hands. The results were negative and Radmanovic will fly out with the team for the Lakers upcoming four game road trip.
With back-to-back games looming this week and next week, Phil Jackson emphasized the need for the Lakers to perform well if they hope to secure one of the top four seeds in the Western Conference.
Cognizant that his team will play back-to-back games this week and next week, the Lakers coach took aim at two sad efforts in the second night of back-to-backs — a 110-103 loss in Milwaukee on Nov. 21 and a 120-96 drubbing by Utah on Nov. 30 when the Jazz played without Carlos Boozer and Mehmet Okur.
“We have to be able to play back-to-backs, and play well,” Jackson said. “A team that can do that is a valuable team…”
One of the main themes of the season so far has been Kobe’s unwavering praise of center Andrew Bynum after the third-year center has posted a double-double average in the team’s first 20 games.
Continue reading ‘Lakers Today: 12/12/07′
