Walton's views

Luke Walton had a couple of interesting observations about the Lakers' play today after practice. He has had a good view of things while sitting out because of a back injury. He is getting closer to a return to the active roster, by the way. He could be back in the rotation late next week. Or perhaps by the time the team leaves for an eight-game trip at the end of the month. Anyway, here are a couple of his musings:

"It's so hard (to sit out because of an injury). It's always hard. When a team loses, it's even tougher. The way our system (the triangle offense) works, we've got to have everyone playing together. It's not like a pick-and-roll offense other teams use. If a guy gets hurt, they just stick another guy in there. It's about timing and passing.

"We've got to start playing better basketball.... It's not just one thing. We've got to figure it out because we want to hold onto the best record in the league. I need to keep the offense flowing (when he returns from his injury). When it flows, it's a beautiful thing."