10/13: Training Camp Coverage

LakersReporter: Just watched The Rifleman Chuck Person drop 18-of-20 threes prior to Lakers Open Practice. Without jumping. Set shots.
about 1 hour ago from Echofon

LakersReporter: The first 15-20 odd minutes of practice center on muscle warm up and stretching, about which LA's trainers are particularily adament.
7 minutes ago from Echofon

LakersReporter: DJ Mbenga's dropping J's in a warm up drill. In related news, his nickname "Congo Cash" refers to his underreported wet J.
1 minute ago from Echofon

LakersReporter: Phil Jackson said yesterday that Mbenga looked much better, and his bevy of explosive practice dunks agrees.
38 minutes ago from Echofon

LakersReporter: Two teams at both ends shooting competition for cash. Kobe, Fish & Bynum advance to face Sasha, Artest & DJ. http://twitvid.com/4C073
12 minutes ago from API

LakersReporter: The Shannon Brown has-at-least-one-huge-dunk in practice rumor can be confirmed. Two so far, crowd loving it.
4 minutes ago from TweetDeck

LakersReporter: Scrimmage note: Andrew Bynum has been dominant on both ends, & definitely has his burst.
9 minutes ago from TweetDeck

Mike Trudell of Lakers.com wrote:All-Star Pau Gasol and reserve Luke Walton sat out Tuesday’s practice witih respective minor injuries.

Lakers spokesman John Black said that Walton was experiencing minor back pain, while Gasol had a slight hamstring strain.

Both players are listed as day-to-day.

LakersReporter: Lakers pxp man Spero Dedes asked Shannon Brown what his vertical is: "I don't know but I think it's pretty high."
17 minutes ago from Echofon

LakersReporter: Gasol said he is simply feeling a little tight in the hammy but could probably go if it were the regular season.
16 minutes ago from Echofon

LakersReporter: Phil Jackson on difficulty of winning 72: "It takes so much out of you to push that all the time."
4 minutes ago from Echofon

Janis Carr of the Orange County Register Blog wrote:It happened, just like Phil Jackson said it would.

On Monday, the Lakers coach said that “We always know that Luke hurts himself in training camp, so we’re watching him closely. He doesn’t have one (right now), so don’t talk about it.”

Jackson talked and Walton sat out Tuesday’s scrimmage because of pain and discomfort in his back.

“It’s kind of fortuitous that we talked about it before it happened,” Jackson said. “He felt discomfort after practice was over, not during (Monday’s) practice. So we held him out today and he’ll see a doctor tomorrow.

“We’ll watch that situation closely because he’s had that kind of incident before.”

Pau Gasol also sat out practice after experiencing tightness in his hamstring muscle the previous day but said he didn’t think it was serious. In other words, if this was the regular season, he would have been on the court.

Janis Carr of the Orange County Register Blog wrote:The Lakers held their annual scrimmage for the season-ticket holders Tuesday, also known as Phil Jackson’s annual headache.



Jackson isn’t a fan of the public viewing, perferring to run his drills behind locked doors and closed blinds, away from distractions and peering eyes, even this early in the season. Still, he said they were able to get “some things accomplished” during the league-mandated open practice.

“Adam Morrison shot the ball well and ‘Drew (Andew Bynum) obvious played hard and had some success,” Jackson said. “Shannon had a few moments, delighting the crowd.”

“The crowd. (I mean) the fans,” he said, corrected himself when he recalled the couple hundred fans who were able to ditch work and watch the Lakers.

“There’s a different energy (during this kind of practice). It changes what you can do,” Jackson said. “You can’t do as many skill-specific things because people want to enjoy it.”

Mike Trudell of Lakers.com wrote:Tuesday morning saw the Lakers welcome many of the team’s season ticket holders into the practice facility for a look at an NBA practice, which featured the usual warm up drills, some triangle work, a shooting game and a five-on-five scrimmage.

As Phil Jackson mentioned afterwards regarding the full court run, Adam Morrison continued to shoot the ball well, Andrew Bynum was at times dominant and Shannon Brown offered his usual assortment of ridiculous dunks.

Jackson also addressed minor injuries suffered by Luke Walton (back) and Pau Gasol (hamstring).

Afterwards, we spent a few minutes catching up with guard Sasha Vujacic, who went through his usual post-practice shooting routine before going through a Core-X workout with the team’s Athletic Performance Coordinator Alex McKechnie. Vujacic discussed balancing workout time with rest, the development of his shot through training camp, the other areas upon which he’s trying to focus and his new hair cut.

Andrew Kamentzky of the LA Times Blog wrote:Unless, of course, you happened to be a Lakers season ticket holder, since an estimated 200-250 Staples faithful were able to kick it in a specially added set of bleachers and enjoy today's practice. Quite the treat, enthusiastically received by those folks shelling out bookoo bucks. While Phil Jackson specifically Shannon Brown, Kobe Bryant, Andrew Bynum and Adam Morrison as the standout performers- roster hopeful Thomas Kelati also enjoyed a few nice moments during the late section the media was allowed to watch- the ex-Bobcats teamed up to deliver the consensus Big Kahuna highlight. Ammo emerged from a scrum with a steal, then hit a streaking Brown with a home run toss. SB put the ball on the floor for a dribble or two, then threw down a semi-windmill dunk off an explosively quick hop. Predictably, a plethora of "ooh's" and "ahh's" commenced.

Mr. YouTube has quite the knack for crowd pleasing, which ironically reflects PJ's displeasure for these open practices. Not that he disapproved of Shannon's jam, but these league-requested peeks behind the curtain, because of the entertainment value sought, tend to result in practices centering less around drills and fundamentals and more around putting on a show. That understandable desire to give STH's their "money's worth," so to speak, changes the roster's collective energy in a way that doesn't float Jackson's boat. I asked PJ if he saw any positive aspects whatsoever to the shift in vibe.

"Absolutely not."

Seriously, Phil, we're never going to communicate if you keep beating around the bush.
But beyond the gift to the fans, for practical purposes (i.e., mine), similar to BK's report from El Segundo just 24 hours removed, not much doing, whether in the way of players chatting after practice or scoops with a capital "S."

Even the closest thing to real "news," respective hamstring and back injuries to Pau Gasol and Luke Walton, barely seemed to register on the FEAR-O-Meter. In the video below, PJ expresses little concern about either player's condition and while talking briefly with us media types, Gasol was in good spirits and smiling. Pau told me that were the season in full swing, he could probably play through the discomfort, and when another writer joked that the injury prompted Phil to take El Spaniard out of the starting lineup for next year's theoretical exhibition game in Barcelona, dude just grinned. "More rest for me. Always gotta look at the positives."

Really, the biggest damage from these injuries may have come when the egg landed on Jackson's face, as he'd just praised Walton for thus far defying his history and staying healthy throughout training camp. The Zen Master, however, insists he's not to blame for any "jinx," since the ailment actually happened during yesterday's practice and was already in play by the time he mentioned what had been up to that point good health on Luke's part. Therefore, the timing was merely "fortuitous," not a jinx.

Assuming I understand the rules correctly, PJ also doesn't owe anybody a Coke.



Phil also talked about the 1996 Bulls team, they of the 72 wins, in reference to recent showings of confidence from Celts Kevin Garnett and Rasheed Wallace. Phil raises an interesting point about how much pure geography can help a team's quest to win.

JSM wrote:

LakersReporter: Lakers pxp man Spero Dedes asked Shannon Brown what his vertical is: "I don't know but I think it's pretty high."
17 minutes ago from Echofon