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Wednesday Practice

Ty Nowell — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:46:58 +0000

Before the Lakers headed to the team plane bound for Phoenix, Phil Jackson stopped to talk to the media about last night’s win over the Bulls and Thursday night’s showdown with the Suns.

Phoenix isn’t the run-and-gun team that they were under Mike D’Antoni but that doesn’t mean they can’t score. They still like to get out and push the ball and light up the scoreboard.

Vladimir Radmanovic has been struggling with his shot, the numbers show it. Much of that can be attributed to how his teammates are setting him up. Vladi only took four shots over the course of 26-minutes last night (making one) and Jackson commented that only one other was a good look. “He’s a great shooter, we all know it, he’s got great range. How we set him up is important.”

In commenting on the trade that sent Shaquille O’Neal to Phoenix from Miami last season Phil said it was more about the Suns reaching a high point with their current group. That point wasn’t a championship so they made a move to give themselves a shot at reaching a higher point. “To go any farther towards the goal that is the championship they thought that maybe they should make the change. It was a philosophical change of a basketball philosophy that I think makes sense. They had knocked at the door a little bit and hadn’t got past the finals in the West. This is probably the time for them to try and get it while the window is still open, so to speak, with the group they have.”

The Lakers don’t have anyone seriously injured at the moment but a lot of guys are nicked up. “That’s what the season’s about. Working through injuries and getting back to as close to 100% as you can be,” said Jackson. Andrew Bynum walked out of practice with his knee wrapped but it doesn’t appear to be serious. “He’s alright. This is something he’s going to go through a little bit now and then. He got a little bang in the knee. We’re always conscious about that part of it,” Phil mentioned. Sasha Vujacic and Radmanovic are also less than 100% but will play through their ailments.

Click below to listen to Phil or check out our video page here to watch it.

Radmanovic, Vujacic Feeling Fine

Mike Trudell — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 23:03:11 +0000

Both Vladimir Radmanovic (thigh) and Sasha Vujacic (ankle) said that they’re feeling fine after Monday’s practice.

After Kobe Bryant told collected media that Radmanovic looked “great” in practice and didn’t show any signs of the bruise, Vladi said it “feels good and I’m ready to go.”

Moments later, Vujacic told me that he’s fine, and is thinking more about Chicago than his ankle. He won’t even be listed on the injury report.

Point guard Derek Fisher, whose ribs are a little sore, said he will play on Tuesday.

Practice Roundup - Monday

Mike Trudell — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 22:45:44 +0000

The message from Kobe and Phil at practice Monday was pretty simple: The Lakers are looking forward to finally having four games in one week that count.

For whatever reason, only the Washington Wizards (seven) have played fewer games than the Lakers (eight), and there’s a palpable hunger to get playing regularly and find a rhythm, particularly offensively, in Laker Land.

Here are a few other notes from comments by Jackson and Bryant; you can watch their respective post-practice videos on our video page.

When collected media members are looking for comments from players and coaches, often times the interviewees can simply be prompted with a statement, as they recognize the media song and dance enough to offer a quote that can be used for a story. Phil Jackson might give you anywhere from one to 1,000 words on the same question, depending on his mood and the setting. After a pretty good question about Chicago’s Derrick Rose that emphasized his early-season numbers, Jackson’s response, with a grin, was simply: “He’s going to be a good player.” Right. So the reporter followed up, and Jackson offered: “Do you want me to be expansive? I’m trying not to be.” He did expand, however, talking about Rose’s playmaking ability above all else.

Someone asked Jackson about interesting matchups against point guards Rose and Steve Nash this week, implying that the Lakers had trouble with Allen Iverson last Friday. Always careful to clarify, Jackson explained that Iverson really didn’t play much point guard, instead operating primarily out of the screen and roll. Phil did acknowledge that the Lakers “Have to have a little better defense on some of those quicker guards.” Yup.

The Lakers do plan on Andrew Bynum being more of an offensive force as the season goes on, though Jackson explained that the big guy simply isn’t getting many touches down low due to how games have played out.

Then came a few questions about comments made by Shaquille O’Neal publicized over the weekend regarding Jackson’s role in the Kobe-Shaq interaction, not to mention Shaq’s “not ruling out” a possible return to L.A. when his contract expires after next season. Someone in particular seemed to be under strict orders from his news organization to ask everyone about Shaq’s comments, and it was funny to watch both Bryant and Derek Fisher literally laugh the question off.

Phil, however, said he was “glad to have motivated Shaq,” and asked if Shaq thought he was responsible for the Diesel’s poor free throw shooting. Furthermore, Jackson explained that those teams had a lot of fun (”a laugh and a goof”) with the circus surrounding Kobe and Shaq until 2004, when it “was a little bit tense … a tighter time for us.”

Back to hoops, Jackson said the key to stopping teams from using small lineups to spread the Lakers out was containing penetration on the perimeter. Sure enough, the Lakers worked on that throughout practice on Monday, and will be tested in that area by both Chicago and Phoenix. An interesting metaphor Jackson offered was how in most sports, opponents are trying to get to a goal, and the closer they get to that goal, the worse off the defensive team is. Hmmm. Soccer? Check. Hockey? Check. Baseball? Check. Football? Check. It of course applies in this case, though in Friday’s case that penetration led to open jumpers after the ball got kicked back out.

More from Kobe:

The loss to Detroit didn’t expose anything the Lakers didn’t know, and didn’t have any ultimate significance to Kobe: “We try to learn from all types of scenarios.”

One point he did return to twice was that L.A. needs to do better against teams like Boston and Detroit that have a shooting big man that stretches the floor from the center position when those teams go small (e.g. Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett).

Finally, as mentioned in a separate post, Vladimir Radmanovic (thigh) and Sasha Vujacic (ankle) fully participated in practice and are both fine.

Thursday Practice Report

Mike Trudell — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 23:09:46 +0000

Here’s a summary of Phil Jackson’s post-practice chat with the press, which we captured on video for your viewing pleasure:

When prompted about Wednesday’s victory over the Hornets, Jackson explained that the box score looked fine the next day, but that he was concerned that his team got itself in jeopardy by not executing offensively and by letting down defensively.

As a visiting scout told me last night, one thing the Hornets started doing was running David West along the baseline, which was pretty effective.

When asked about having 7-of-8 games at home, Jackson gave the old “one game at a time” answer. He doesn’t worry at all about his team’s motivation to play against some of the poorer teams record wise, like New Jersey, Chicago and Sacramento, in the least.

Most of the starters except for Vladimir Radmanovic and Lamar Odom sat out of a late scrimmage in practice to rest.

Jackson expects the Pistons to have some good and bad times after acquiring Iverson, but explained that Iverson’s activity level is going to increase what Detroit’s able to do.

In Other News

I spent a few minutes talked to Sun Yue about Yao Ming, with whom he spent a little time when the Rockets were in town. Sun said that while Yao is certainly the great guy that we often hear about from anyone who knows him, his celebrity is so insane in China and other places around the world that Yao can seldom go places with the rest of the team. Sun also admitted that he’s occasionally been called “Yao!” by random people in America.

Luke Walton, after going through a tough practice, was still running sprints and going through shooting drills with Jordan Farmar 45 minutes after practice ended. I was going to catch up with Luke, but decided to wait until later since he didn’t seem interested in stopping any time soon. It’s of course good to see the guys who aren’t getting many minutes at a certain stage of the season to be working extra hard in practice … and after practice.

Stay tuned for a full interview with Pistons.com as I tried to learn what I could about the Detroit team heading into STAPLES on Friday night, Allen Iverson and all.

Monday Practice Notes

Ty Nowell — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:32:14 +0000

The 5-0 Purple & Gold got back on the floor Monday morning in preparation for their first road back-to-back of the season. Here are a couple of bullet points from Phil Jackson’s post-practice media session.

As good as the Lakers have been over the first five games of the 08-09 season there are things that can be improved. Jackson mentioned spacing and turnovers as the big things they worked on today at practice. The season is still young and the team is adjusting to their new lineup combos and the new looks of the teams they’re playing.

The team as a whole didn’t talk much about the Mavericks or the Hornets at today’s practice. They’ll save that for tomorrow when they coven for shootaround in Dallas. Just staying in the moment.

The Dallas Mavericks sport a 2-4 record and have struggled with some bad losses (a 19-point blowout at home by Cleveland and losing to the Clippers Sunday) as they adjust to the post-Avery Johnson era. After yesterday’s game Dirk Nowitzki came out and questioned the team’s effort, basically saying that it’s not about the x’s and o’s but the effort the team gives on a nightly basis. Phil pointed to three things that could be effecting them. A) Disappointing finish to last season, B) Change in leadership, C) Adjustment to a new style of play. He also mentioned that a fast start might not be as important to a veteran laden team. “Nobody likes to lose once the season’s there, but the pressure of getting off and getting to a great start is something they went through a few years ago when Avery whipped them into a 67 or 66-win season. They know the value of doing that and the drawbacks.”

Click here to watch the video… or click below the jump for the embedded version.

Friday Practice Update

Mike Trudell — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 21:11:44 +0000

Before we get to Phil Jackson bullet points, know that Sasha Vujacic was the opposite of happy to see me wearing a green polo shirt. Oops.

Jackson Practice Bullets:

“Any time you have a day off in this business you lose something,” said Jackson to open the interview. L.A.’s thirsty for opponents.

Jackson called his team “just average” until the fourth quarter on Wednesday against the Clippers, which he said does not worry him at all heading into a tough stretch with Houston, Dallas, New Orleans and Detroit coming up.

The 3-2 Rockets (who lost on a crazy buzzer-beater last night) are really missing Shane Battier, who ties their entire defense together, as I talked about with Rockets.com writer Jason Friedman for our Gameday preview. That extended conversation, by the way, will be available shortly.

Predictably, Jackson was pretty happy with Bynum’s 17 rebounds against the Clippers.

Shooting for Sunday

Mike Trudell — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 19:37:16 +0000

I figured out the real reason that Sasha Vujacic has started the season making just 7-of-22 from the field and 3-of-10 from three: Me.

Seriously, it’s my fault.

Click here for a full explanation.

Jackson Practice Video: Tuesday

Mike Trudell — Tue, 04 Nov 2008 22:32:13 +0000

If there was news from Tuesday’s practice at L.A.’s facility, it was that Andrew Bynum completed the entire practice, confirming speculation yesterday that his strained shoulder was a non-issue.

“He had some discomfort but he played all right, he played right through it,” said Phil Jackson. “He went to work and did his job.”

You can check Lakers.com for the video, but here are a few summary thoughts:

Jackson neglected to dismiss the 0-4 Clippers, mostly because of the on-paper talent they have when they’re fully healthy. Last night against Utah, Marcus Camby and Baron Davis both played for the first time this season, but clearly the Clips need some time on the floor to figure everything out. My guess is that the Lakers aren’t the team against whom they’re hoping to get into a flow.

Phil said that he’s hoping to use a deep bench throughout the season, even though the rotation might shorten a little in the playoffs. Key phrase: a little. Pretty standard, except for the fact that L.A. can probably play its entire second unit comfortably in the playoffs. Maybe you leave Bynum or Gasol in, but other than that Jackson knows he has quite the luxury of talent.

Having this light week (just one game) is ideal not in November, but in March, says Phil.

Sasha Vujacic just needs some more time on the floor to get in rhythm, according to Jackson. Sasha agrees, but told me he’s feeling better and better each day.

In unrelated news, I spent several minutes talking nonsense with Lamar Odom on camera, and we’ll have that video up in the next few days. Some funny stuff from LO, as usual.

UPDATE: Click below the jump for the video of Phil after today’s practice

Practice Videos

Mike Trudell — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:42:34 +0000

After Tuesday’s practice, Ty Nowell had the camera going as usual to capture video of Phil Jackson and Kobe Bryant.

Here’s what I found most interesting: Two weeks ago, Jackson made a comment about how odd it is for a team to play three games in the season’s first week, then have only one in the next seven days. His contention was that having those days to practice would be a good way to regroup and see how the team could improve upon what it had done in the first three.

However, when I asked him about that today, Jackson said that everyone really would prefer to be playing right now, implying that the team doesn’t want to lose any rhythm. Makes sense. As such, Phil said he aims to keep the practices very competitive and intense … Which is easier with Kobe in the stable.

Jackson also reacted to the Billups-A.I. trade and offered some political commentary before closing with a Phil-esque joke after he wondered why Americans weren’t given the day off to vote.

Here’s Phil

Kobe kept it pretty simple today … But when he’s talking, we’re usually listening:

Kobe Video

Random thought: Sometimes I want to say “Objection! Leading the witness!” when statements are made to players and coaches in favor of actual questions. But I’m guilty of it as well, so I lock it up.

That’s all. Thanks.

(click here for the YouTube versions of the video)

Political Prompting…

Mike Trudell — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 23:28:47 +0000

It goes without saying that Tuesday, November 4 is a huge day not just in America but around the world. That includes each Los Angeles Laker - from Slovenia to Arkansas - even if some players (Derek Fisher) are well-known to have deep interest and informed thoughts about the political process, and others have never offered a political word.

Monday at Lakers practice, many questions from the collected media directed not just at Fisher but several other players involved Election Day. As you might expect, some of the questioning seemed eager to produce quotable line-in-the-sand rhetoric, but none of the players were really biting*. Instead, the Lakers collectively suggested that, sure, the election is a topic of conversation in the locker room, but “heated debate” would be a huge stretch. “Calm discussion” seemed to be more of the implied mood, even as Fisher encouraged his younger teammates to vote.
*To be fair, Fish did spend about 15 minutes with certain media members while we were grabbing other interviews, and that conversation will surely produce some interesting talking points.

Indeed, voting tomorrow in his first presidential election will be the newly-turned 21-year-old Bynum, whose eyes sparkled a bit when he was asked about extending his suffrage.

“I’m definitely (excited),” he said. “I’m going to vote at one of my local elementary schools … It’s my first opportunity and I can’t wait. But I hope the line isn’t too long.”

Fair enough.

Moments before Bynum came out of the locker room, Kobe Bryant spent a few minutes with the press, and one particular reporter seemed intent on getting him to share a political opinion, even using the old “Republicans wear sneakers too” line made famous by MJ. Kobe wasn’t interested in that line of questioning, and was content to suggest that players today seem more intrigued by the political process than in the past.

Finally, it’s not shocking that Odom and Bynum selected Fish as the most likely president from the team. I think it’s fair to say that there wouldn’t be much locker room dissension on that.