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    Laker Lover 2Cleva's Avatar
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    Ron Artest

    2008-09 season: Artest turned 29 last year, and he clearly
    lost a step at the offensive end. He shot a career high on
    3s (39.9 percent) and still managed a career worst from the
    field overall (40.1 percent), which means he really
    struggled inside the arc. Artest's mark wasn't the worst in
    the league (see Daequan Cook comment), but it was the worst
    among players who shot often. Among players with at least
    500 2-point attempts, only Baron Davis' 40.6 percent mark
    came close to Artest's 40.1 percent.

    The story within the story is Artest's declining ability to
    get to the rim and finish. His shot attempts in the
    immediate basket area declined by nearly a third, and he
    converted only 45.1 percent of the ones he took -- an
    appallingly poor number for a strong, 6-7 forward. Artest
    had been in the mid-50s each of the previous four seasons,
    so it's possible this was all a huge fluke. A decline in his
    speed and leaping ability, however, appeared to be the more
    proximate cause. The concomitant dip in his free throw
    attempts supports that line of thinking.

    Despite all the bricks, Artest offered value. He finished
    eighth among shooting guards in rebound rate, 13th in steals
    and helped as a shot creator on a team that desperately
    needed one. Of course, his defense was a huge plus.

    Scouting report: Artest is a fantastic defensive player,
    with superhuman strength that allows him to check bigger
    players and a blazing fast left hand that strips balls in
    the wink of an eye. He has quick feet too and can bottle up
    opponents at any position from 2 to 4. Artest struggles when
    he has to chase opponents through screens, as his size
    gives him trouble stopping, starting and changing directions
    on the move. Nonetheless, he is one of the game's elite
    wing defenders and did commendable work against Brandon Roy
    and Kobe Bryant in last season's playoffs.

    Offensively, Artest tends to get tunnel vision. He'll break
    plays and go on his own or force up horrendous shots in
    traffic. He's a good spot-up shooter and handles the ball
    well for his size, and he destroys small defenders on
    post-ups when paired in physical mismatches. However, he
    seems to have lost some leaping ability and has trouble both
    getting to the rim and finishing once he's there.

    Of course, any discussion of Artest must include some
    diagnosis of his mental state. He's had numerous meltdowns
    and run-ins over the years, and while he comported himself
    well on the court last season, stories have already leaked
    out about his bizarre behavior off the floor.

    2009-10 outlook: Artest signed a five-year deal with the
    Lakers for the full midlevel exception. OK, everyone now: "A
    five-year commitment to this guy? Are they even more insane
    than Ron?"

    Look back at the history of players in their late 20s and
    early 30s signing for the full midlevel -- it's uglier than
    Keith Richards after an all-night bender. Most nonstars
    begin declining rapidly at Artest's age, so there's a huge
    danger of the last two or three years of the deal becoming
    total dead weight.

    For most teams, such a contract makes no sense. But for the
    Lakers, a different logic applies. First, their championship
    window is right now so winning the bidding was more
    important than paying for a couple of ugly years at the end
    (which they almost certainly will). Second, the main
    compe ion for Artest's services was Cleveland, whom they
    may end up facing in the Finals, so L.A. killed two birds
    with this one stone. Third, Artest is the one player in the
    league who can match up physically with LeBron James, again
    the Lakers' likely Finals opponent. And fourth, Artest is
    good value in the short term at the midlevel.

    Artest will start at small forward and serve as the Lakers'
    primary wing defender. His offensive numbers are likely to
    shift radically since he's now the fourth option, provided
    he's aware of this fact. Reducing his role should help him,
    however, because. Artest can make spot-up 3s and take
    advantage of matchups. He won't be asked to make decisions
    in pick-and-rolls as was the case in Houston, which is
    better for everyone.

    Additionally, he'll return to playing a pure 3 role so his
    declining quickness will be less of an issue than it was as
    a Rocket, where he mostly played shooting guard. For those
    reasons, he'll be a valuable acquisition for as long as he
    keeps his head on straight. There's the rub, of course -- it
    might be a week, or it might be a decade. We just don't
    know. L.A. can afford to take the risk, though.


    Shannon Brown

    2008-09 season: The unsung hero of the Lakers' championship,
    Brown turned around the most important game of their season
    (Game 5 against Denver) with an electrifying third-quarter
    dunk. His arrival at midseason solidified the backup point
    guard situation before it spiraled into a major problem.

    Brown played far better in a Lakers uniform than at any
    other point in his career, partly because he finally stopped
    trying to create a shot every time he got the ball.
    Relaxing enough to let the game come to him, he shot 52.2
    percent with the Lakers and 47.3 percent overall. The
    results are apparent looking at his stat line -- his usage
    rate is way down but his assist ratio and TS percent are way
    up. It took three years and four teams, but the light bulb
    finally went on.

    Scouting report: Brown is a good athlete but a tweener at
    6-4. He doesn't handle the ball well enough to be a
    full-time point guard, but he's a bit short for a shooting
    guard. He also hadn't shot the ball well from outside until
    the end of last season with the Lakers. Since he came into
    the league with a rep as a shooter and played so
    sporadically the previous two seasons, I'd bet on him
    continuing to shoot in the mid-to-high 30s on 3s.

    L.A.'s system caters to oversized point guards like Brown,
    largely masking his weaknesses because Kobe Bryant does a
    lot of the ballhandling and the guards don't have to do much
    pick-and-roll. Instead, Brown spots up for jumpers and runs
    out for transition finishes, two areas where he's proved
    quite capable.

    Defensively, Brown's size and quickness make him solid, if
    unspectacular. His in-between size is something of an
    impediment -- quick guards can give him problems and so can
    bigger wings -- but the league is now littered with players
    of Brown's size posing as "combo" guards and he matches up
    well against them.

    2009-10 outlook: Brown re-signed with the Lakers on a
    two-year, $4.2 million deal and will be one part of the
    Lakers' three-headed point guard solution. How much he plays
    depends less on him and more on Derek Fisher and Jordan
    Farmar; it was Fisher's late-season decline and Farmar's
    baffling ineffectiveness that gave Brown the opening last
    season. The most likely scenario puts him in a 15-minute
    role off the bench, with the playing time varying wildly
    depending on the matchup situations in any particular game.



    Kobe Bryant

    2008-09 season: He did it. Bryant had lots of help, of
    course, but ultimately history will regard him much more
    kindly because he was the best player on a championship
    team, which couldn't be said about his first three rings.
    For a player who absorbs criticism for being a
    less-than-ideal teammate at times, it was particularly
    important for his legacy.

    His skill level didn't require such validation, of course.
    Bryant ranked anywhere between second and fourth on any
    fan's list of the all-time great shooting guards, depending
    on which position you confer on Oscar Robertson and your
    thoughts on Jerry West.

    Interestingly, Bryant played more aggressively than he had
    the previous season despite the strong supporting cast. He
    didn't clock as many minutes because of the stacked roster,
    but he averaged more points per minute and sharply cut his
    turnover rate despite the league's second-highest usage
    rate.

    He didn't score more efficiently, however, and that was part
    of the one negative story of the season. Bryant's free
    throw rate turned sharply south, dropping to 6.9 per game
    last season. While this is a ton for most players and still
    ranked 11th among shooting guards on a per-attempt basis,
    it's a sizable drop from the nine a game he earned the
    previous season or the 10+ he had in the three campaigns
    prior.

    Bryant reduced the 3-pointer's importance to his shot mix, a
    good decision since he's never been terribly potent from
    distance (34.1 percent career, 35.1 percent last season).
    Instead, half his attempts were inside shots -- his most in
    five years -- and he made 53.8 percent of them. That data
    contradicts the declining free throw numbers, but it appears
    more of his shots were short-range jumpers rather than hard
    drives to the cup. He logged nearly 50 percent more shots
    from the "in-between" distance than he had a season earlier.


    Scouting report: Bryant was an All-Defense first-team pick
    for the fourth straight season, and while that may have been
    generous, he's certainly among the better defenders at his
    spot. This is particularly true late in games, when he tends
    to buckle down, but he picks his spots and doesn't defend
    at full bore for much of the game. His smarts and physical
    skills get him by in the first three quarters, but he'll
    lose track of players off the ball.

    Offensively, he owns an amazingly diverse arsenal, but the
    go-to move is the pull-up midrange jumper off the dribble.
    He doesn't go to the basket as hard or as often as he used
    to, but the threat of his drive remains potent enough to
    clear space for his jumper, especially since his ball skills
    rank among the best for a player his size. Bryant can
    easily play point guard and ranked 18th among shooting
    guards in pure point rating. Even his weakness, 3-point
    shooting, isn't a weakness so much as an area where he's
    merely average instead of among the league's best.

    2009-10 outlook: First, the bad news: Declines in free throw
    rate are a fairly ominous canary in the coal mine, and
    Bryant is 31 with a lot of mileage on his legs. For that
    reason, I don't think he'll match last season's numbers.

    Having said that, I wouldn't expect a precipitous decline
    either. Bryant keeps himself in fantastic shape, has had few
    knee problems, and has already shown he has the smarts to
    adjust his game to whatever new realities his body deals
    him. Additionally, the Lakers should be able to manage his
    minutes very carefully and reduce the regular-season wear
    and tear. That, in fact, may be a bigger drain on his
    numbers than age -- if he plays only 34 minutes a game, his
    averages will drop no matter how well he plays.

    Bryant is eligible to sign an extension with the Lakers that
    would keep him in uniform for at least three more years.
    The alternative is that he could opt out of his deal and
    choose unrestricted free agency next summer. Nobody expects
    the latter outcome, especially after he led L.A. to the
    le.



    Andrew Bynum

    2008-09 season: It was déjà vu for Bynum. Once again he
    looked great in the first half of the season before a knee
    injury slowed him down, and while the Lakers rolled through
    the postseason, he struggled to regain his early season
    form.

    But those who watched him only in the playoffs left with too
    pessimistic a viewpoint, because his overall body of work
    was very impressive for a 21-year-old center. Bynum
    demonstrated that his prior season's performance was no
    fluke, averaging nearly a point every two minutes while
    shooting 56 percent from the floor. He also rebounded
    solidly, ranked in the top quarter of centers in blocks per
    minute, and for a young big man, he impressed with his
    ability to defend without fouling.

    Scouting report: Opponents have a tough time matching up
    against Bynum because he's huge at 7-1 but has soft hands
    and a nice touch around the basket. Plus, he's a good passer
    out of double-teams. Additionally, teaming him with Pau
    Gasol provides another advantage since Bynum often finds
    himself covered by the lesser of the opponent's two post
    defenders. The Lakers made a concerted effort to feed Bynum
    the ball in the middle when he was in the game, as his usage
    rate nearly equaled Gasol's.

    Bynum emerged as a massive defensive force early in the
    season, using his size and shot-blocking ability to protect
    the paint, but he didn't move nearly as well in the playoffs
    and struggled as a result. He has trouble maintaining his
    intensity, but his sheer size makes him a tremendous
    defender in the basket area. Like most big centers, he finds
    pick-and-roll defense troublesome away from the bucket, but
    the trade-off is more than worth it.

    2009-10 outlook: Despite his struggles in the postseason, my
    projection system likes Bynum this season. Actually, it
    REALLY likes him, projecting him to lead the Lakers in PER,
    several percentage points ahead of that guy in jersey No.
    24. Young centers with offensive skills often make
    tremendous strides in their early 20s, and no one would be
    shocked if Bynum became the next one to do so.

    For Bynum, however, the operative question is not "how well"
    but "how often." He's a 285-pound center whose knees broke
    down midway through two straight seasons. If he's this
    brittle in his early 20s, what's he going to be like when
    he's older?

    That's why the Lakers have to make a concerted effort to
    manage the pounding on Bynum's knees, both by keeping him at
    the lighter end of his weight range and by carefully
    monitoring the time -- both in games and in practices --
    that his knees absorb the strain of carrying such a huge
    frame. He's clearly an All-Star-caliber talent from the
    quads up, so the only question is whether the knees will
    allow him to put 82 games of such quality into one calendar
    year.



    Jordan Farmar

    2008-09 season: One of the biggest disappointments in the
    Lakers' championship season was Farmar's unexpected
    regression. Thought by many to be the heir apparent to Derek
    Fisher at the point, he struggled on both sides of the ball
    and by the playoffs had lost most of his playing time to
    Shannon Brown. While Farmar's athleticism remained a factor
    -- he finished in the top dozen point guards in both blocks
    and steals per minute -- he was an empty trip waiting to
    happen with the ball.

    Farmar finished 59th in pure point rating, which was an
    inexcusable performance for a small, quick guard on a team
    with this many weapons around him, but he struggled even as
    a scoring guard. He made only 39.1 percent from the floor,
    and his foul shooting (58.4 percent) has become absolutely
    indefensible.

    Overall he ranked 62nd out of the league's 69 point guards
    in TS percent and finished with a PER in single digits. For
    a healthy 22-year-old who posted a 15.29 PER a season
    earlier, it was an epic crash -- narrowly missing out on the
    league's largest decline (see chart).

    Scouting report: Farmar is one of the league's more athletic
    point guards, as he possesses an explosive vertical leap
    and a speedy first step. He's a good outside shooter too,
    especially off the catch, but his judgment as a point guard
    needs a lot of work. Too often he forces shots early in the
    clock, and when he puts the ball on the floor, he struggles
    to find the open man. He scores at a steady clip when the
    shots are falling, but last season they weren't.

    Defensively, Farmar performed admirably and was much
    improved from a season earlier, becoming the Lakers' go-to
    guy against the quick point guards who bedeviled Fisher and
    Brown. Farmar is a good athlete who is quick to the ball and
    his leaping ability helps him contest shots even against
    taller players. He has to get stronger and dial up his
    intensity and consistency, but he's good already and could
    get quite a bit better.

    2009-10 outlook: On paper, Farmar enters the season as a
    quasi-backup who will split minutes with Brown behind
    Fisher. In reality, much depends on which Farmar shows up.
    The guy from 2008-09 is unlikely to play much, but he has
    the talent to perform much, much better, and had shown it in
    the 2007-08 campaign. If he plays like that again, he'll
    blow past Brown and Fisher into the starting job by
    midseason, because he's clearly the most gifted of the
    three. He just hasn't determined how to translate his gifts
    into consistent offensive success yet.



    Derek Fisher

    2008-09 season: Fisher hit arguably the biggest shot of the
    year for L.A., nailing the game-tying 3 at the end of
    regulation in Game 4 of the Finals that drove a stake
    through the Magic. It was a nice recovery from a horrid
    first three rounds of the playoffs, where he shot 35.6
    percent and had Lakers fans wondering aloud why he wasn't
    replaced.

    That said, Fisher definitely started showing his age at 34.
    He lost nearly four points off his 40-minute scoring average
    and prevailed in his annual compe ion with Luke Ridnour
    to see who could be the league's worst shooter in the basket
    area. Fisher made only 37 percent of his tries at the rim,
    the lowest mark of any player with at least 100 attempts.

    Mostly though, he stayed out of the way and tried not to
    screw up. Fisher had the fourth-lowest usage rate among
    point guards but the second-best turnover rate. And despite
    the poor finishing, he had a decent TS percent because he
    was so good from midrange. Fisher made 49.7 percent of his
    long 2s, the third-best mark in the league (see Jameer
    Nelson comment) and hit another 44.1 percent on in-between
    shots.

    Scouting report: Fisher is one of the strongest guards in
    the league, and that enables him to cover bigger players
    without any trouble. He can also switch onto wing players
    and push them away from the rim with his power, and he uses
    his might to shrug off defenders on the dribble and go up
    for his jumper. Fisher's D has slipped on the perimeter,
    however, and against quick guards he rarely stays close
    enough to make his muscle a factor.

    Offensively, Fisher's biggest limitation is that he can't
    jump at all anymore. This hinders him greatly finishing at
    the basket, and it's also why he posted one of the worst
    rebound rates in basketball last season. A left-hander, he
    loves to pull up off the dribble in transition for long
    jumpers -- that's the shot he made in Orlando, for instance.
    Otherwise, he rarely seeks to penetrate, instead moving the
    ball and spotting up on the weak side.

    2009-10 outlook: Fisher will begin the season as the Lakers'
    starting point guard, but whether he ends in that position
    is open to speculation. He's 34 but doesn't rely on speed or
    athleticism. All he does is shoot jumpers and rely on his
    muscle on defense, so those shouldn't be affected much by
    age.

    The big worry is whether he can defend the position
    adequately enough, especially as opponents tend to employ
    more small, quick guards. He'll have a role regardless, but
    with three point guards on hand of roughly equal capability,
    it may end up being a smaller one than a season ago.


    Pau Gasol

    2008-09 season: This generation's gold standard for rip-off
    trades, Gasol arrived from Memphis in exchange for a sack of
    potatoes and provided the final piece of L.A.'s
    championship puzzle. He shook off the maddening efforts of
    his teammates to play keepaway from him by going to the
    boards for the ball, snaring a career-high 3.1 offensive
    rebounds per game, and shooting a career-high 56.7 percent
    from the floor thanks to all the putbacks.

    Combined with his passing and ballhandling skills, Gasol's
    improvement on the boards helped him deliver one of the most
    efficient offensive seasons in basketball. Gasol jumped to
    seventh among centers in TS percent with an outstanding 61.7
    mark and ranked third at the position in pure point rating.
    This made it all the more baffling why he didn't get more
    touches -- unbelievably, his usage rate was scarcely better
    than that of Jordan Farmar, Andrew Bynum or Josh Powell. Had
    Gasol not grabbed so many second shots for himself, his
    usage rate would have been lower.

    He was particularly good on "in-between" shots -- not at the
    basket, but inside 10-12 feet. This is the most difficult
    spot on the floor, with most players shooting in the
    mid-to-high 30s from this range, but Gasol is so long and
    skilled that he hit 48.8 percent, placing him third in the
    league (see chart).

    Again, one can only wonder how much more damage he could
    have done from that distance with more touches.

    Gasol has never been known as a physical force, but he did
    manage to keep himself on the court. He committed only 2.29
    fouls per 40 minutes, the league's lowest rate among
    centers.

    Scouting report: Gasol possesses rare skill for his size.
    Although he's 7 feet with long arms, he's quick and converts
    shots around the basket with either hand. He's also able to
    get post position by making quick cuts despite his lack of
    strength and operates effectively as either a scorer or
    passer once he's there.

    Gasol shoots decently from midrange too, making over 40
    percent on long 2s for the fourth straight season which,
    combined with his passing ability, makes him very adept
    operating from the high post. Additionally, he runs the
    floor well and frequently beats opposing big men down the
    court for dunks.

    Defensively, Gasol contests shots well thanks to his length
    and comfortably checks perimeter 4s away from the basket.
    He's also quick enough to defend pick-and-rolls, but his
    lack of strength makes him a liability closer to the basket
    area. Therefore, he's better defending as a 4 than as a 5,
    which is another of the several hundred ways the trade from
    Memphis to L.A. helped him: Andrew Bynum's presence limits
    Gasol's minutes at center.

    2009-10 outlook: Gasol's rock-solid, year-to-year
    consistency translates into a predictably narrow range for
    his numbers this season. He'll average 20 points and 10
    boards per 40 minutes while shooting in the mid-50s, with
    his minutes being the biggest variable. L.A.'s strength
    could prove to be his statistical detriment, because if
    Bynum stays healthy, Gasol is highly unlikely to match last
    season's average of 37 minutes per game. If so, that will
    drag his scoring and rebounding averages down to the 18 and
    8 range, but it won't prevent him from making another
    All-Star team.



    Lamar Odom

    2008-09 season: Odom's willingness to come off the bench and
    move permanently to the frontcourt became an underrated key
    to the Lakers' le run. Those moves didn't exactly play
    into his best interests as a rising free agent, but they
    turned the Lakers' frontcourt into a much more potent force.
    The Lakers fed him more touches as a reserve (note the rise
    in usage rate) and had he not shot bricks from the free
    throw line (a career-worst 62.3 percent), he would have
    significantly improved his PER from a season earlier.

    Odom continues to be a strong playmaker, ranking fifth among
    power forwards in assist ratio and 13th in pure point
    rating. But he's also underrated pulling off the "big guy"
    stuff -- he landed 12th among power forwards in defensive
    rebound rate and ninth in blocks per minute. He's continues
    to be a middling outside shooter (37.8 percent on 2s outside
    the immediate basket area, 32 percent on 3s) but
    contributes so much in other ways that he retains tremendous
    value.

    Scouting report: The left-handed Odom is a tough matchup for
    opposing big men because of his ability to handle the ball
    and play away from the basket. Opponents lay off him because
    he's not a great shooter, and smart ones overplay his left
    hand since that's where he goes 90 percent of the time.
    Nonetheless, he has a big quickness edge against most
    frontcourt players and frequently creates help situations
    that lead to buckets for others.

    Odom doesn't have the thickest build, but he has become an
    impressive rebounder and at 6-10 can use his size to post up
    smaller opponents when the opportunity arises. Defensively
    he's done a solid job as well, though his intensity has
    peaks and valleys and physical frontcourt players can give
    him problems around the basket.

    2009-10 outlook: After much drama and hand-wringing, Odom
    returned to the Lakers on a four-year, $32 million deal with
    the fourth year only partially guaranteed. This provides
    outstanding value for L.A., as Odom has been extremely
    consistent at a minor-star level over the past half decade
    and likely would have reaped bigger rewards in free agency
    had he been more willing to relocate.

    Instead he'll fill the same role he did a season ago,
    playing 25-30 minutes a night as the Lakers' primary
    frontcourt reserve and moving into a starting role should
    Andrew Bynum's knee give way again. He should shoot better
    from the line than he did last season and seems to have
    conceded little to age even though he turns 30 this year. If
    Bynum stays healthy, then Odom will barely scratch double
    figures, but that's hardly an indication of how much value
    he adds to this team.



    Sasha Vujacic

    2008-09 season: Those of you who read this space a year ago
    knew not to take Vujacic's career year at face value, so the
    rebound in his numbers last season didn't come as a huge
    shock. While he certainly can shoot it -- the guy made seven
    straight free throws with his eyes closed in front of
    reporters during the Finals -- he fell back to a more mortal
    36.3 percent from 3-point range last season. Since Vujacic
    rarely got to the rim -- even most of his 2s were jumpers --
    it pulled his shooting percentage down to 38.7 percent.
    Only six shooting guards fared worse.

    Despite his uncharacteristically shoddy shooting, Vujacic
    yielded value. Because 3s comprised so many of his shots,
    his TS percent was solid, and he had no other negatives.
    Vujacic ranked third among shooting guards in turnover rate
    and a surprising 15th in assist ratio, nearly doubling the
    latter mark from a season earlier. He also ranked second at
    his position in steals per minute, with the only drawback
    the rampant fouling that accompanied it (4.76 personals per
    40 minutes, third among shooting guards). During his rare
    free throw attempts, he succeeded, making 92.1 percent from
    the stripe. I have it on good authority that he kept his
    eyes open during the games.

    Scouting report: Vujacic doesn't move well laterally, but
    he's a feisty defender who competes and does a good job
    overall. It helps that at 6-7 he's long for a guard and can
    challenge shots or play an extra half-step off most ball
    handlers. He lacks muscle and physical mismatches down low
    bedevil him, but L.A. rarely assigns him to cover players
    who can expose that weakness.

    Offensively, he's strictly a catch-and-shoot guy with a
    line-drive release, though he's been too willing to pull the
    trigger at times. He'll occasionally shoot off one dribble
    in a pick-and-roll, but he rarely penetrates into the paint.
    For the most part, as soon as he puts the ball on the
    floor, he looks to pass rather than to score. The exception
    is during transition when he's all but guaranteed to fling a
    pull-up J from 20 feet. He handles the ball well enough to
    be an emergency point guard, and for a guy with a rep as a
    gunner, he posts solid assist rates.

    2009-10 outlook: Though he's played fairly well the past two
    seasons Vujacic has averaged only 17 minutes a game over
    the two campaigns. His playing time should be scarce again
    this season, as the Lakers already have a shooting guard who
    seems to be working out pretty well. As a result, don't
    expect much to change for Vujacic. He'll shoot in the high
    30s on 3s and he won't turn the ball over, both of which
    make him a valuable reserve. But on this roster, he has no
    shot at moving up to a more prominent role.



    Luke Walton

    2008-09 season: It was another tough season for Walton, as
    Trevor Ariza usurped his starting gig at small forward, and
    Walton's scoring and shooting rates plummeted. He retains
    one phenomenal skill, however: Among forwards, he's one of
    the best passers in history. Walton once again led all
    forwards in assist ratio with an astounding 30.6 (meaning
    nearly a third of the possessions he used ended with an
    assist). A lot of point guards don't earn marks this high,
    including all three of the ones on his own team.

    Walton forced some passes and had a high turnover rate, so
    he had to settle for second at his position in pure point
    rating, but his passing ability is even more amazing when
    you consider he's not a gifted penetrator. He just has
    superior court vision.

    It's vitally important to his survival because of his
    limitations as a scorer. Even on the few shots he created,
    Walton wasn't very accurate. He shot 29.2 percent on 3s and
    made less than half his inside shots, and his TS percent
    ranked 53rd out of 63 small forwards.

    Scouting report: Walton is a combo forward who can post up
    when matched against small wing players but moves out to the
    perimeter against bigger matchups. From either spot his
    advanced passing ability makes him a good set-up man, but he
    has trouble scoring on his own. His favorite ploy is to
    post up against 3s on the left block, and opponents almost
    never double him there out of respect for his passing
    ability. He's not as effective spotting up on the perimeter,
    and on drives to the rim he lacks the explosion to finish
    at the rim.

    Walton is an underrated defensive player who has the size to
    bang with power forwards and the dexterity to check most
    3s. He's an enthusiastic help-side defender who scaled back
    his gambling quite a bit last season -- that's why his rate
    of steals went down. He fouls too often and doesn't rebound
    much, but his overall effort is commendable.

    2009-10 outlook: Walton again should see 15-20 minutes a
    night off the bench in a combo forward role off the bench.
    He's the de facto fourth big man for the Lakers when they
    have foul trouble or injuries up front, so that adds value,
    but the bulk of his playing time will likely come behind Ron
    Artest at the 3.

    Don't expect huge offensive numbers from him, except in the
    assist department. He doesn't contribute enough to be a
    solution as a starter but his defense and passing ability
    make him a quality reserve, and he should have a better year
    shooting than he did a season ago.

  2. #2
    Silence surpasses speech. duncan228's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Post Count
    27,693
    Bynum takes some of Lamar's minutes
    Lakers' newest married man doesn't mind.
    By Janis Carr
    The Orange County Register

    Last year at this time, Lamar Odom wasn’t happy coming off the bench. He complained somewhat bitterly about his role as the Lakers’ sixth man, something he saw as a demotion.

    Funny how winning an NBA championship can change things. Or, in this case, keep them the same.

    Odom now is happy with his place on the team, which is patiently waiting for his turn on the court.

    “We won a championship, didn’t we?” Odom said. “I’ll keep it the same ... We won a championship.”

    Odom started last season on the bench but moved into the starting line-up when Andrew Bynum went down with a knee injury in January. He started 32 games last season, but returned to the bench when Bynum came back. By then, Odom was content to play his back-up role, putting aside any hurt feelings to help the Lakers win their 15th NBA championship.

    Is Odom willing to come off the bench this season? He wouldn’t have it any other way.

    “Playing, getting those minutes where I can get them, I have no problem with that,” said Odom, who entered Wednesday’s preseason opener against Golden State with 3:22 left in the first quarter. “I found my niche, my lane with my game and what the team needs me to do. It’s stupid of me to fool with that.”

    He’s not the only Lakers player hesitant to alter the way the team did things last season. For instance, the players all sat in the same bus seats when they traveled to the Honda Center as they did all last season.

    “We sat on the same seats on the way coming here, so why change the lineup?” Odom said before the Lakers defeated the Warriors, 118-101, at the Honda Center.

    Why indeed?

    HIGH-FLYING ACT

    From the “how-did-he-do-that?” file:

    Late in the second quarter, Lakers guard Shannon Brown got the ball just outside the paint and drove three-quarters of the court before going airborne over two Warriors, including 7-foot Mikki Moore, and threw down a dunk to put the Lakers ahead, 52-42.

    Brown is 6-foot-4.

    WARM WELCOME

    Ron Artest wasn’t sure what to expect from the fans in his Lakers debut. These weren’t his Twitter friends, those anonymous Tweeoples, who follow his every word and video.

    These were real fans, ones that would either cheer or jeer the mercurial forward, who replaced the popular Trevor Ariza in a free-agent swap with Houston. The reception turned out to be favorable, with the crowd of 13,156 loudly cheering him during player introductions and again when he re-entered the game in the first half.

    “I just want to have fun,” said Artest, who finished with 12 points and nine rebounds in his first 23 minutes in a Lakers uniform.

    MBENGA SITS OUT

    DJ Mbenga sat out the preseason opener because he said his tender hip flexor is not quit 100 percent healthy. He injured his groin area while practicing with the Belgium national team during the summer.

  3. #3
    #FreeGiuseppe BlackSwordsMan's Avatar
    My Team
    San Antonio Spurs
    Post Count
    14,648
    holy that's long

  4. #4
    Banned
    My Team
    Los Angeles Lakers
    Post Count
    3,977
    per = WAR in baseball

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