2004-05 LAKERS AT A GLANCE.Byline: Ross Siler Staff Writer STARTING FIVE Kobe Bryant Kobe Bean Bryant (born July 23 1978) is an American All-Star shooting guard in the National Basketball Association (NBA) who plays for the Los Angeles Lakers. - Guard Looking back: With a sexual-assault case pending against him, Bryant endured his most trying season as a pro, spending days in court and flying in at night for games. Nevertheless, he averaged 24 points per game. He was taken out of his game in the NBA Finals The NBA Finals is the championship series of the National Basketball Association. The team winning the Eastern Conference Finals earns one of the two berths in the championship round, with the other going to the team that wins the Western Conference Finals. by Tayshaun Prince Tayshaun Durell Prince (born February 28, 1980, in Compton, California) is an American basketball player for the Detroit Pistons in the National Basketball Association. Prince is a small forward, listed at and 215 lb (0 kg). , who held Bryant to just 38 percent shooting. Looking ahead: After re-signing with the Lakers for seven years and $136.4 million, Bryant has the franchise to himself. Shaquille O'Neal Shaquille Rashaun O'Neal (pronounced "shak-KEEL") (born March 6, 1972 in Newark, New Jersey), frequently referred to simply as Shaq, is an American professional basketball player, generally regarded as one of the most dominant in the National Basketball Association (NBA). and Phil Jackson
Philip Douglas "Phil" Jackson (born September 17, 1945 in Deer Lodge, Montana) is the current coach of the Los Angeles Lakers, an American professional basketball team. both are gone, leaving Bryant free to average 37 points and 27 shots per game this season, a la Michael Jordan This article is about the former basketball player. For other uses, see Michael Jordan (disambiguation). Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17 1963) is a retired American professional basketball player. in 1986-87. He weighed in at 230 pounds, heaviest of his career. He also has the weight of championship expectations solely on his shoulders. Chucky Atkins Kenneth Lavon "Chucky" Atkins (born August 14 1974 in Orlando, Florida) is an American professional basketball player currently with the Denver Nuggets in the NBA. - Guard Looking back: Atkins had the misfortune of being traded from Detroit to Boston at the February deadline, so he missed out on winning a championship with the Pistons. He helped lead the Celtics to the playoffs, only to be left exposed in the expansion draft without explanation from Danny Ainge Daniel Ray Ainge (born March 17, 1959 in Eugene, Oregon, USA) is a former professional basketball and baseball player who played in the NBA for the Boston Celtics, Sacramento Kings, Portland Trail Blazers, and Phoenix Suns, and also in Major League Baseball for the Toronto Blue . Looking ahead: Once was cut by the CBA's Oklahoma City Oklahoma City (1990 pop. 444,719), state capital, and seat of Oklahoma co., central Okla., on the North Canadian River; inc. 1890. The state's largest city, it is an important livestock market, a wholesale, distribution, industrial, and financial center, and a farm Cavalry, Atkins now will succeed Gary Payton
terminus a quo commencement, get-go, offset, outset, showtime, starting time, beginning, start, kickoff, first - the time at which something is supposed to begin; "they got an early start"; "she knew from the guard. The Lakers are counting on Atkins to knock down open shots when defenders converge on Bryant, something he didn't do enough in the exhibition season. Caron Butler James Caron Butler, known as Caron Butler (pronounced Kuh-RONN) (born March 13 1980, in Racine, Wisconsin), is an American professional basketball player, currently starting at small forward for the NBA's Washington Wizards. - Forward Looking back: Butler underwent knee surgery during the exhibition season a year ago and never could recapture his rookie form. His scoring dipped from 15.4 points in his first year to 9.2 in his second, although he did play the second-most minutes of any Miami Heat The Miami Heat (known as the HEAT [in all capital letters] on official team publications) are a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. They play in the National Basketball Association (NBA). player in the playoffs. Looking ahead: The 24-year-old will be a fixture on the wing this season. Lakers coach Rudy Tomjanovich Rudolph Tomjanovich, Jr. (born November 24 1948, in Hamtramck, Michigan), nicknamed Rudy T., is an American former basketball player and coach. Early life Tomjanovich was born to an American family of Croatian descent. describes Butler as a slasher slash·er n. One that slashes. adj. Characterized by gory violence: slasher movies. slasher Noun Austral & NZ , but Butler has extended his shooting range out to the 3-point line. A finger injury last weekend could be troublesome early. Butler also could be the Lakers' best bait for potential trades, given the glut of small forwards. Lamar Odom - Forward Looking back: Odom left the Clippers last summer for a six-year, $64- million contract with the Miami Heat, only to return to Los Angeles as the centerpiece of the Shaquille O'Neal trade. Odom averaged 17.1 points and 9.7 rebounds in Miami, shifting to power forward in the Eastern Conference and revitalizing his career, thanks to Pat Riley. Looking ahead: The Lakers are counting on Odom to do everything from rebound the ball to run the middle of fast breaks to shoot 3-pointers. He is a nightmare matchup for opposing teams, given his 6-foot-10 size and skills. Odom could be an All-Star, but he could run out of gas in March considering the extra basketball he played this summer in Athens. Chris Mihm - Center Looking back: Mihm was part of a six-player trade in December that sent him from Cleveland to Boston. He started 17 games, averaged 6.3 points and 5.4 rebounds and played for coaches Paul Silas, Jim O'Brien and John Carroll. They were the fourth, fifth and sixth coaches in Mihm's five-year pro career. Looking ahead: With Vlade Divac sidelined by a herniated disc, Mihm will get the consistent minutes he has lacked throughout his career. He is an excellent rebounder and shot blocker and has known Tomjanovich for years. Mihm also will be the answer to the trivia question: Who replaced Shaquille O'Neal? KEY RESERVES Brian Cook - Forward Looking back: Cook played in only 35 games last season, averaging 4.4 points and 2.9 rebounds. He suffered a leg injury in July and was unable to play in the Summer Pro League The Summer Pro League, officially known as the The Southern California Summer Pro League (SPL) is a basketball league held every summer in Long Beach, California where first and second round draft picks in the NBA are able to improve their skills. , although he is healthy now. Looking ahead: The adjustment from rookie to second-year pro is going smoothly for Cook, who has extended his jump shot to the 3-point arc. With a lack of big men, Cook figures to play major minutes. Vlade Divac - Center Looking back: To show what a good-passing big man Divac is, consider that he averaged nearly as many assists (5.3 per game) last season as Payton. Divac still was frequently playing 30 minutes a night for Rick Adelman in his final season with Sacramento. Looking ahead: The Lakers gave Divac their midlevel mid·lev·el n. The middle stage or level, as in a series, course of action, or career. salary-cap exception and planned on him being in the starting lineup come opening night. A herniated disc in his back instead will likely land Divac on the injured list for the beginning of the season. Devean George - Forward Looking back: George was the starter at the beginning of last season, lost the job, then recaptured it during postseason. He showed flashes in Game 5 of the Western Conference semifinals against San Antonio, hitting four 3-pointers and scoring 16 points. He has yet to live up to the four-year, $20 million contract he signed in 2002. Looking ahead: Sidelined by ankle surgery until mid-November at the earliest, George has a long road back to being a starter. He will have to learn Tomjanovich's offense and fight for time with Butler, Jumaine Jones and Luke Walton. Brian Grant - Forward/Center Looking back: Even with a set of bad knees, Grant managed to play 76 games and average 8.7 points and 6.9 rebounds for the Miami Heat last season. Thanks to the seven-year, $86-million contract he signed in Miami, Grant will be the Lakers' second-highest-paid player this season, after Bryant. Looking ahead: There always will be questions about when Grant's body will break down, although the 32-year-old has missed only six games the past two seasons. Even with Divac out, Grant looks like he will be the first big man off the bench. Tomjanovich has praised Grant as the toughest defender he ever saw against Yao Ming. Jumaine Jones - Forward Looking back: Jones played only 42 games last year for the Celtics, but Lakers fans might remember him as a starter for the Philadelphia 76ers in the 2001 NBA Finals. Jones was substituted for Marcus Banks in the Aug. 6 amended trade for Gary Payton. Looking ahead: Although he has displayed a nice shooting touch and is only 25, Jones is caught in a small-forward logjam log·jam n. 1. An immovable mass of floating logs crowded together. 2. A deadlock, as in negotiations; an impasse. Noun 1. . He and George will compete to back up Butler at the position. His contract expires after the 2005-06 season. Slava Medvedenko - F/C F/C See first coupon (F/C). Looking back: With Karl Malone lost to a knee injury, Medvedenko started 38 games and posted career-highs in points and rebounds. Medvedenko re-signed as a free agent for three more years over the summer. Looking ahead: The Lakers will ask a lot from Medvedenko, given their lack of big men now that O'Neal and Malone are gone. But Medvedenko needs to be more than a feathery feath·er·y adj. 1. Covered with or consisting of feathers. 2. Resembling or suggestive of a feather, as in form or lightness. feath shooter. Kareem Rush - Guard Looking back: Rush showed he could be a contributor in his second pro season, hitting six 3-pointers in Game 6 of the Western Conference finals and scoring a career-high 30 points during a January game when Bryant was out. Looking ahead: Few players are in as tough a spot as Rush, searching for minutes behind Bryant. Rush also has been bothered by a foot injury he hopes will improve as the season wears on. Sasha Vujacic - Guard Looking back: Despite being only 20, Vujacic has spent the past three seasons playing for Snaidero Udine in Italy's professional league. The Lakers could have kept him overseas for another year but decided he was NBA-ready. Looking ahead: Vujacic is a deadly 3-point shooter and will back up Atkins this season. At 6-foot-7, he is tall for a point guard, but at 193 pounds, he must get bigger, especially to be an effective defender. Luke Walton - Forward Looking back: Walton endeared himself to Jackson and O'Neal with his pass-first style, best evident by his eight assists in Game 2 of the NBA Finals, most by a rookie since Magic Johnson in 1980. Looking ahead: Tomjanovich hopes to find Walton some minutes by using him occasionally at power forward. Walton suffered an ankle injury in the exhibition season that kept him from playing in the first five games. CAPTION(S): 14 photos, box Photo: (1) KOBE BRYANT (2) LAMAR ODOM (3) CHUCKY ATKINS (4) Chris Mihm (5) CARON BUTLER (6) BRIAN COOK (7) VLADE DIVAC (8) DEVEAN GEORGE (9) JUMAINE JONES (10) SLAVA MEDVEDENKO (11) KAREEM RUSH (12) Brian Grant (13) SASHA VUJACIC (14) LUKE WALTON Box: 2004-05 LAKERS SCHEDULE |
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