IT'S NOT THE PICTURE OF GOOD HEALTH LAKERS HOPED FOR CONTINUITY -- UNTIL INJURIES POPPED UP.Byline: ROSS SILER Staff Writer They finished last season by winning 11 of their final 14 games to return to the playoffs and leave no doubt about their place among the Western Conference's top eight teams. They had the game plan to beat the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the playoffs until youth caught up with them and they couldn't close out the series after taking a 3-1 lead. They watched as 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. put up points like nobody since 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. , and Lamar Odom Lamar Joseph Odom (born November 6 1979, in South Jamaica, Queens, New York) is an American professional basketball player who currently plays power forward (also plays both forward spots and is a "point-forward") for the National Basketball Association's Los Angeles Lakers. started to deliver on his potential the second half of the season. All the Lakers looked forward to doing this season was picking up where they left off in May. That was, until they started playing preseason games with almost as many healthy players in uniform as injured players in suits while their coach recovered from hip-replacement surgery at home. ``We haven't been able to pick up where we left off because of the injuries,'' coach 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. said. ``But we still have a lot of confidence. We have a lot of players that are playing at a higher level than they did last year.'' The Lakers will have 11 players back from last season's 45-37 team as they open the regular season tonight against Phoenix at Staples Center This article has multiple issues: * Its neutrality is disputed. * It may contain original research or unverifiable claims. * It does not cite any references or sources. . Whether they have come together as a team is an entirely different question. They opened training camp with Bryant on the sidelines On the sidelines An investor who decides not to invest due to market uncertainty. on the sidelines Of or relating to investors who, having assessed the market, have decided to avoid committing their funds. , recovering from July 15 surgery on his right knee. Bryant did not play in any of the Lakers' eight preseason games but is expected to return tonight. The Lakers also have yet to play a game with Jackson on the bench. Jackson was back at practice a week after undergoing hip-replacement surgery Oct. 3 but did not coach in an exhibition game. Jackson also is expected to return tonight but the injury woes have extended from him and Bryant to the rest of the team. The Lakers will be without Kwame Brown and Chris Mihm Christopher (Chris) Steven Mihm (born July 16, 1979 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers in the NBA. He stands 7 feet tall (213 cm) and weighs 265 pounds (120 kg). , last season's starting centers, for the next two weeks. That leaves 19-year-old center Andrew Bynum Andrew Bynum (born October 27 1987, in Plainsboro, New Jersey) is an American professional basketball player for the Los Angeles Lakers of the National Basketball Association. Bynum is listed as 7'0" and 285 lbs and plays center. in the starting lineup For the line of action figures, see . A starting lineup in sports refers to the set of players actively participating in the event when the game begins. The players in the starting lineup are commonly referred to as starters, whereas the others are substitutes and learning on the job. ``When he first got to the NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= , the game was too fast for him,'' Odom said of Bynum. ``He's caught up with it, which shows you that he's getting better.'' Another concern is the hand injury suffered by forward Vladimir Radmanovic, who signed a five-year, $30 million contract as the Lakers' top free-agent acquisition this summer. Radmanovic is a career 38.1 percent 3-point shooter but has a torn ligament in his shooting hand that likely will require surgery after the season. He will have to change his entire game as a result. Jackson said he hoped to regroup re·group v. re·grouped, re·group·ing, re·groups v.tr. To arrange in a new grouping. v.intr. 1. To come back together in a tactical formation, as after a dispersal in a retreat. with a healthy team eight games or so into the season. The problem is that the Lakers must take advantage of a schedule in which 15 of their first 20 games are at home. ``We really do have a good schedule,'' Jackson said. ``But we have to make it good for us, we have to make it work for us.'' The hope is that after spending last season learning the triangle offense  This article or section may be confusing or unclear for some readers.Please [improve the article] or discuss this issue on the talk page. , the Lakers are better prepared to play through injuries and absences. They were able to average 98.1 points in the preseason without Bryant. ``We really just want to get better,'' Bryant said. ``It's exciting because we've been together for three years now. We understand one another, we communicate very well with one another, we move the ball extremely well. It's just going to be exciting to see how we develop.'' The key this season will not be Bryant but the play of Odom, Brown and Radmanovic around him. The Lakers have more than $88 million invested in those three players as the building blocks of a championship team. The Lakers also added guards Maurice Evans There are several people named Maurice Evans:
Jackson sees a team that goes 12 players deep instead of the usual eight or nine. There are three shooters (Radmanovic, Williams and Brian Cook) who can play alongside Bryant and make opposing coaches think twice about double-teaming him. The Lakers also plan to play a variety of lineups, some big and some small, and stressed defense from the very first day of training camp. With so many injuries, the Lakers for the most part have left their expectations undefined heading into the season. Success likely starts with advancing to the second round after what happened last season. ``We just want to not have a letdown,'' Brown said. ``Now that we've got to the playoffs, I think it would be a letdown if we didn't get to the second round.'' ross.siler@dailynews.com (818) 713-3610 CAPTION(S): 15 photos, 3 boxes Photo: (1) KOBE BRYANT/ GUARD (2) LAMAR ODOM/ FORWARD (3) SMUSH Smush was an American game show which aired on the USA Network in 2001.[1] Smush was hosted by Ken Ober and co-hosted by Lisa Dergan[1]. The show, set in a basement party atmosphere, featured four contestants trying to "smush" the answers to clues PARKER/ GUARD (4) VLADIMIR RADMANOVIC/ FORWARD (5) KWAME BROWN/ CENTER Photos by Getty Images (6) MAURICE EVANS GUARD (7) JORDAN FARMAR GUARD (8) SASHA VUJACIC GUARD (9) SHAMMOND WILLIAMS GUARD (10) AARON MCKIE GUARD (11) BRIAN COOK FORWARD (12) RONNY TURIAF FORWARD (13) LUKE WALTON FORWARD (14) ANDREW BYNUM CENTER (15) CHRIS MIHM CENTER Box: (1) STARTING FIVE (2) OFF THE BENCH (3) LAKERS CALENDAR |
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