LAKERS NOTEBOOK: LEARNING THE GEOMETRY LESSONS : TRIANGLE OFFENSE BEING TESTED AS LAKERS START SUMMER LEAGUE.Byline: Howard Beck Staff Writer The triangle met the Pyramid, and where the two intersected stood 12 young men wearing perplexed expressions, as if they'd just been told to dissect dissect /dis·sect/ (di-sekt´) (di-sekt´) 1. to cut apart, or separate. 2. to expose structures of a cadaver for anatomical study. dis·sect v. a Venn diagram A graphic technique for visualizing set theory concepts using overlapping circles and shading to indicate intersection, union and complement. It was introduced in the late 1800s by English logician, John Venn, although it is believed that the method originated earlier. . Welcome to geometry, Phil Jackson-style, or day two of the Lakers' summer-league training camp. Jackson is installing the mysterious 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. as the Lakers' new system, and the first initiates are a collection of rookies, semi-veterans and fresh-faced free agents who compose the Lakers' summer-league team. The study session at the Long Beach State gym, the Pyramid, has made for a somewhat humorous scene. ``It's just amazing to watch their expressions,'' Lakers assistant coach Larry Drew Larry Donnell Drew (born April 2 1958 in Kansas City, Missouri) is a retired American professional basketball player who was selected by the Detroit Pistons in the 1st round (17th overall) of the 1980 NBA Draft. said Thursday, ``but they're picking it up.'' There's little time for learning. Summer-league competition opens today and the Lakers play the Portland Trail Blazers' entry at 7:30 p.m. Come October, 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 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. will get indoctrinated into the triangle way of life. For now, the students are second-year Lakers Tyronn Lue Tyronn Jamar Lue (born on May 3, 1977 in Mexico, Missouri) is an American professional basketball player who last played with the Atlanta Hawks of the NBA in the 2006-07 season. He is currently an unrestricted free agent. and Sam Jacobson, veteran Travis Knight, rookies Devean George and John Celestand and a half-dozen free agents in search of NBA NBA abbr. 1. National Basketball Association 2. National Boxing Association NBA (US) n abbr (= National Basketball Association) → Basketball-Dachverband (= contracts. ``What they're getting right now is exactly what . . . the `varsity' will get when they report in the fall,'' Lakers assistant coach Jim Cleamons said. ``Everything's the same. That's why these guys will have a heads-up on the guys that report in the fall.'' Knight is enjoying the experience. ``It's been different,'' he said. ``It's an offense really unlike anything I've ever run. It's kind of one continuous, flowing offense. . . . There's no `stop, set this (play) up, run it.' It's all kind of moving, moving, moving.'' For George, a rookie from Division III Augsberg College, the transition to the triangle ``is wild.'' ``It's just a lot of memory,'' he said of the motion- and passing-oriented system. ``His terminology is totally different - he wants a `pinch-pop-curl,' then this series wants a `pick-pick-fly.' And we're like, what? '' Better order the protractors and compasses. Notes: Cleamons signed a three-year contract Thursday, becoming the first assistant named to Jackson's staff. A second assistant could be named as soon as today. . . . Jackson plans to return home to Montana on Saturday, turning over the summer-league team to Cleamons. Jackson's schedule is not certain, but he might not return until September. CAPTION(S): Photo Photo: Lakers coach Phil Jackson, left, will institute the triangle offense in summer-league play at the Pyramid. E.J. Flynn/Associated Press |
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