Archive for the 'Practice News' Category

Morrison Aiming to Stay Sharp

Adam Morrison - CDRIsn’t it hard to stay sharp with one’s jump shot when field goal attempts in games are generally less common than December game winners for Kobe Bryant?

Take Adam Morrison.

He hasn’t played in five games, since being afforded 5:35 of late action against the Phoenix Suns on Dec. 6. And through 24 contests, 20 of them Lakers wins, Morrison has been on the court long enough to hoist only 32 total shots, hitting 11 (34.4 percent).

Yet as the Lakers attempt to build on back-to-back wins over the Bulls and Bucks with Saturday-Sunday contests in New Jersey and Detroit, minute allocation wouldn’t appear to be changing for a guy playing behind likely the NBA’s best and deepest roster.

After all, Morrison knows that he is much better than a 34.4 percent shooter, and the difficulty of trying to knock down shots after often sitting down for three quarters before entering (or just keeping his warm ups on altogether) hasn’t been lost on him.

That doesn’t mean he’s full of excuses.

“If you’re a short-minute guy or a specialist, like they call it now, you have to come in and have the attitude that you have to pull the trigger and let it go no matter what happens,” he said. “Your teammates and coaches are expecting you to knock it down, and that’s what I have to do.”

Adam MorrisonThe question is, how does a former college star who played nearly 30 minutes a game as a rookie before tearing his ACL prior to the 2007-08 season stay sharp with tempered expectations for game action?

“It’s repetition and practice, making sure you’re getting up enough shots every day, combined with the mindset of staying ready and confident in yourself to knock it down,” explained Morrison.

The Gonzaga product went on to say that if one is more or less assured of playing good minutes (take Kobe Bryant, as the easiest example), that player can pick and choose when it’s a good time to get his own shot or to pass the ball to a teammate within the flow of the offense.

On the other side of the coin, if you’re a player like Morrison or even Sasha Vujacic, each of whose primary threat to an opponent is his ability to score quickly, there’s a good chance that the focus of the defense is elsewhere. The shooters are expected to step up.

“You don’t really have time to let the game flow for you,” summarized Morrison. “You just gotta let it go.”

From a technical standpoint, Morrison has one trick that he uses to keep himself focused.

“I always just try and hold the follow through until it goes in,” he said. “That helps me because I usually short-arm shots if I don’t hold it.”

Other than that?

Like he said, there’s not much to think about.

Work Never Stops for Lakers Coaches

Lakers CoachesWith two days without games in one of the world’s greatest cities, you’d think that L.A.’s coaches would have a moment or two to relax, right?

Perhaps walk up and down one of New York’s famed avenues, check out the giant tree at Rockefeller Center or even see a show on Broadway.

But on Thursday, assistant coach Jim Cleamons was busy watching film and finalizing a scouting report for the New Jersey Nets, L.A.’s opponent on Saturday, and getting set to look ahead at the Oklahoma City Thunder, whom the Lakers host next Tuesday.

Fellow assistant Frank Hamblen is busy preparing for L.A.’s Sunday opponent, the Detroit Pistons.

In fact, on the plane ride from Milwaukee to New York City last night, each coach (Brian Shaw and Phil Jackson included) was breaking down film, discussing tactics and figuring out how the team will spend its next few days.

In short, “off days” don’t really exist for NBA coaches.

Farmar’s Improved Play Sparks Bench

Jordan Farmar on NetsL.A.’s nine-game winning streak - beginning on Nov. 17 against Detroit and lasting through the team’s most recent victory over Phoenix on Dec. 6 - has featured more than one common thread, but among the more significant has been a consistent bench contribution from Jordan Farmar.

Take away a poor shooting game against New York (1-of-7 for two points), and the backup point guard has scored at least eight points in every win, reaching double figures five times to average 9.1 points per game, plus 15 assists, 14 rebounds and nine steals. He had averaged just 4.5 points in L.A.’s first 10 games, three of them losses.

Farmar’s even done his best LeBron James defensive impression by adding three impressive chase-from-behind blocks, erasing guaranteed hoops from respective opponents.

“I’m trying to come along and be aggressive, just play the game I know how,” Farmar summarized. “When I see stuff, try to make it happen … just play free and have a good time.”

That’s not to say it’s all been perfect; Farmar’s been particularly frustrated with his sub par performance at the free throw line. He’s made just half of his 12 attempts during the streak and 13-of-20 (65 percent) on the season. Small sample size, sure, but still…

Jordan Farmar dunk“It’s really bothering me,” he said. “The only way for me to stop thinking about it is to get it down so (it’s just) repetition (in games).”

At least he’s nailing them in practice, hitting 95-of-100 shots before addressing reporters after Monday’s session.

His head coach, meanwhile, is pleased with how the L.A. native has been able to find a balance between his aggressive nature and his mandate to stay within the offense.

“I think Jordan got kind of a second wind and realized that he has to be aggressive out there and exhibit his skills,” said Phil Jackson. “We took a part of our game away. We put the second unit back in more confinement and organizational things that they have to do, and so I think it took him a little time to adjust to that.”

That “part of our game” to which Jackson referred is a fast-breaking, up-tempo situation for L.A.’s guards to run (or what he called a “push situation”) that was formerly in place for the second unit. This season, Jackson has taken that aspect out of the playbook, instead leaving at least one (and often two) of the Andrew Bynum-Pau Gasol-Lamar Odom combination in with Farmar, Shannon Brown and either Kobe Bryant or Ron Artest.

It’s no coincidence that Farmar’s play has improved in connection with Odom’s return to the bench in correlation with Gasol’s return from his hamstring injury eight games ago.

Odom may well be the NBA’s best all-around bench player, and is certainly the most valuable big man coming off the pine. While Jackson’s been pleased with his defensive effort, he could use a bit more L.O. on offense.

“We’re still concerned about that he gets into and active into games offensively,” said Jackson. “He’s doing good things defensively but he has to have a presence out there offensively to help that second unit and get some scoring on his own.”

Sure enough, since Gasol came back, Odom has scored only 47 points, just under six per game, focusing instead on his passing, rebounding and defense.

Yet if Odom’s selflessness and Farmar’s limited free throw shooting are two of L.A.’s main “concerns” right now, things are clearly going quite well.

Bench Play = OK

Bench Play New Orleans Josh Powell Shannon BrownWhen Sasha Vujacic replaced starter Andrew Bynum in L.A.’s lineup last night, 4:16 remained on the game clock as the Lakers held a 102-84 lead.

When the final whistle blew, L.A. was up 110-99.

Selected postgame questions and respective answers from Lakers players suggested that the bench suffered a minor meltdown of sorts, but was that really the case?

Sure, the Hornets threatened to halt L.A.’s streak of beating teams by double-digit points when a Darius Songaila layup made it 108-99 with just 6.3 seconds remaining, but Shannon Brown’s free throws preserved the 11-point win (crisis averted).

One thing to consider regarding the Hornets’ “comeback:” L.A. was playing an extremely small lineup. Adam Morrison was essentially at power forward and Josh Powell at center, leaving Jordan Farmar, Shannon Brown and Sasha Vujacic around the perimeter. Not big (in related news, seven-footers D.J. Mbenga, Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, and 6-10 Lamar Odom were on the bench). Meanwhile, New Orleans had a legit center (Hilton Armstrong, 6-11), a legit power forward (Songaila, 6-9) and a lengthy three in Julian Wright (6-8).

Not too shocking, then, that the Hornets scored 12 of their final 15 points in the paint, the other three coming on free throws*.
*In fairness, some of those paint points were a result of transition opportunities out of missed Lakers shots and turnovers.

Furthermore, it was L.A.’s bench trio of Odom, Brown and Farmar that helped put the game out of reach in the first place. Here’s a quote from last night’s postgame story:

The starters were their usual long, almost-too-skilled selves, and the bench trio of Lamar Odom, Jordan Farmar and Shannon Brown gave New Orleans fits particularly during a 31-15 second quarter that was the difference in the game.

Bottom line?

The bench seems to be just fine.

Podcast: Mbenga, Vujacic talk “Turkey Trot”

If you hadn’t heard, Phil Jackson-coached teams go through a Thanksgiving tradition affectionately known as the “Turkey Trot,” in which players bigger than 6-8 go against the “small” guys.

Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant were given the day off to watch, while the injured Luke Walton took control of the whistle.

Bigs: Mbenga, Andrew Bynum, Pau Gasol, Lamar Odom, Josh Powell
Smalls: Jordan Farmar, Sasha Vujacic, Shannon Brown, Adam Morrison, Ron Artest

I’ll let D.J. tell you how the game went, but here’s a hint.

“When I saw that Luke was the referee, I already knew we lost,” said Mbenga. “I know how it is.”

That, and the smalls apparently went nuts from three-point land, led by Vujacic, who stepped in towards the end of the podcast to clear things up (”What was the final score, D.J.? … Next year again, huh?):

 
icon for podpress  D.J. Mbenga, Sasha Vujacic Turkey Trot [6:04m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Artest Adds to Team Defense

Ron ArtestDuring L.A.s’ 2008-09 regular season, the to-be champs gave up an average of 99.3 points per game.

Fourteen games into the 2009-10 campaign, that number has dropped to 96.5 points per game. From Head Coach Phil Jackson to Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol, several Lakers have credited the addition of Ron Artest’s defensive skills with the early improvement of a team still learning how best to play together.

It’s no wonder than Artest ranks 5th in the NBA in plus-minus (+135), meaning the Lakers have outscored opponents by 135 points when he’s been on the floor. The only players above him are Dirk Nowitzki (+157), Al Horford (+155), Mike Bibby (+145) and L.A.’s own Kobe Bryant (+137).

Artest Thrilled With Gasol, Team

Artest - PauAfter Tuesday’s shootaround in preparation for the New York Knicks, Ron Artest shared his feelings about Pau Gasol, after two games playing alongside the Spaniard in L.A.’s front court.

“It feels great to play with him,” said Artest. “He’s so tough, he’s very versatile, and he can pass the ball. He just makes us better. We’re not even playing great yet.”

Artest explained that with Gasol’s inclusion, he thinks the Lakers are “the best team on the basketball court in a long time,” and that he couldn’t be happier with his situation.

Video: Monday After Practice

Phil Jackson, Kobe Bryant and Pau Gasol talked to reporters after Monday’s practice, leading into Tuesday’s contest against New York, when the Lakers look to win their fourth straight game at home. Here’s what we posted on TwitVid:

PHIL JACKSON
Jackson got in and out of the post-practice interview in just over a minute (a new record for this season), explaining the importance of taking the season one game at a time, Kobe’s “interesting plays” and addressing his level of encouragement about the team.

KOBE BRYANT
Here’s Kobe talking about his slew of crazy shots and his ongoing left-handed shooting contest with Pau Gasol:

PAU GASOL
In two parts, Gasol told us that he’s feeling more comfortable “little by little,” his thoughts on Kobe’s trick shots, how the Knicks have been playing better than advertised (”they can get hot and be tricky”), playing with Andrew Bynum and his level of conditioning:

Gasol Out On Sunday

Phil Jackson said after Saturday’s practice that Pau Gasol would not play on Sunday against the Atlanta Hawks.

It’s the third straight regular season game missed by the Spaniard, who strained his hamstring in the preseason.

Sunday Practice Report

Andrew BynumAfter a long practice on Sunday morning, assembled reporters learned that Andrew Bynum is absolutely ready to play on Tuesday, that Pau Gasol may not be and that Ron Artest is very happy to be in L.A.

Before the round up, here’s the audio from Head Coach Phil Jackson:

 
icon for podpress  Phil Jackson Audio [2:00m]: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

BYNUM READY TO GO
Jackson said that Bynum “did well” and “had no problems out there” in practice, after the young center had missed consecutive preseason games while recovering from minor shoulder and leg issues.

Bynum concurred.

“I felt good,” he said. “I came in early yesterday and got a lot done … I’m excited for (Tuesday’s game). I want to get the ring, go through the ceremony, then take care of business at night time and really go at (the Clippers).”

GASOL STILL WORKING ON SORE HAMSTRING
Gasol, on the other hand, spent the day doing only cardio, though he was in good spirits when speaking to reporters. He reiterated what had been reported on Friday in San Diego: while his hamstring injury isn’t something that he’d call serious, he wants to make sure he’s not pushing it too hard, too fast.

“It’s most important that I get myself healthy at this point in the year so I can go through the whole year,” said the Spaniard. “If I put myself in a risky situation then I won’t be helping my team in the long run.”

Jackson seemed to share Gasol’s sentiments.

“We have three days in between our first game and our second one,” said Jackson. so if worse comes to worse, we have a really great replacement for (Gasol) with Lamar Odom.”

RON ARTEST: TEAM PLAYER
Skeptics that had expected Ron Artest to be doing his own thing on the court for L.A. saw a collective counterexample from the forward throughout eight preseason games.

The evidence is in the statistics, which showed Artest taking fewer shots per game than five other Lakers, and found him placed second on the team only to point guard Jordan Farmar in assists.

In 25 minutes per game, Artest averaged 7.9 points, 3.8 assists, 4.3 rebounds and 1.38 steals.

After Sunday’s practice, he had this to say about preseason play: