Lakers’ Kobe Bryant participates in team practice at the Toyota Sports Center Tuesday, November 19, 2013, in El Segundo, CA. After practice, Bryant discusses with the media his return from injury.
Photo by Steve McCrank/DailyBreeze

As he makes the long journey toward fully healing his left Achilles tendon, Kobe Bryant’s remaining pragmatic in measuring his progress. He’s offered no timetable on his return. Bryant’s provided no assurances on how he might look in a game. He remains hesitant in anticipating his upcoming practice schedule because of both the seriousness surrounding his injury and how unpredictable his ankle will respond to each benchmark.

That’s why it should be hardly surprising that Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni revealed a somewhat subdued progress report after seeing Bryant practice Wednesday in what marked his second consecutive day playing in full-court, five-on-five drills.

“Kobe looks good. He hasn’t played since April. He looks rusty,” D’Anton said Wednesday at the Lakers’ All-Access event at Staples Center, hosted by the LA Sports & Entertainment Commission. “I thought the first day he looked better than the second day. But that’s normal to have a little dip. But he’s not too sore and he’s playing.”

Whether Bryant’s ankle becomes sore on Thursday morning marks one of the many unanswered questions surrounding him. When he will return? How will he play? Will Bryant stay a scorer or become a facilitator? To what degree can Bryant replicate last year’s output when he averaged 27.3 points on 46.3 percent shooting, six assists and 5.6 rebounds?

That’s why former Lakers teammate and current D-Fenders player development coach Luke Walton decided to playfully rib Bryant following his first practice.

“I was busting his chops a little bit. I was like, ‘Are you still able to score the ball out there on the basketball court?'” Walton recalled, drawing laughter. “It went from a friendly, laughing conversation to him having a stern face and looking at me like it was the craziest question he ever heard. He was so disrespected by the fact I asked him if he could still score the basketball.”
Continue reading “Mike D’Antoni said Kobe Bryant’s first practice went better than his second” »

The Lakers remain unsure on whether Steve Nash will return at the end of this week after persisting nerve pain in his beck has kept him sidelined for the past eight days.

But they’re adamant that the 39-year-old hasn’t considered retiring despite having two years left on his contract with the Lakers.

“He’s looking at, ‘What am I going to do when I’m 50?’ But no, he’s going to try and do everything he can to come back,” Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said. “Whether he can get over this, we’ll see. We think he can. We hope he can. But there’s no talk of him sitting over there eating bon bons the rest of the way.”

A source close to Nash familiar with his thought process said talk about Nash retiring remains “premature.” Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak told this newspaper last week that Nash offered no indication he’d retire and that they had no plans to make any roster moves because of his absence. But speculation surrounding Nash’s sentiments increased after NBA veteran writer Peter Vecsey tweeted, I’m hearing Nash’s pain is forcing him 2 seriously consider calling it a career.”

Instead, D’Antoni said Nash has spent recent days working out with his personal trainer, Rick Celebrini. Nash has also spent his rehab with Kobe Bryant.

“Steve and I have been extremely close through this process,” Bryant said. “We’re just talking, and particularly the last few games, we’ve been talking and watching the game and talking about the game and other things. I understand the frustration that comes along with that.”

Does Bryant believe Nash will overcome these injuries?

“Sure. That’s part of our job to pick each other up and to put him in positions where he can be extremely efficient and extremely successful,” Bryant said. “It’s about us covering for each other in that sense.”

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Lakers’ Kobe Bryant participates in team practice at the Toyota Sports Center Tuesday, November 19, 2013, in El Segundo, CA. After practice, Bryant discusses with the media his return from injury.
Photo by Steve McCrank/DailyBreeze

In what marked his first full practice since tearing his left Achilles tendon seven months ago, Kobe Bryant provided an encouraging sign on his pending return in an actual game.

Can Bryant see himself returning sometime this month?

“Yeah I can,” Bryant said.

The Lakers play home games Friday against the Golden State Warriors and Sunday against the Sacramento Kings. They then embark on a week-long trip to Washington (Nov. 26), Brooklyn (Nov. 27) and Detroit (Nov. 29). But Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni urged caution

Would it surprise D’Antoni for Bryant to return Friday against Golden State?

“That would surprise me,” D’Antoni said.

Would that be impossible?

“Yes….that would be…well…nothing is impossible,” D’Antoni said. “But that would surprise me.”

Would it surprise D’Antoni for Bryant to play Sunday against Sacramento?

“Oh god. I don’t know when the surprise goes,” D’Antoni said. “We have to urge caution. It’s going to be a little bit.”

Either way, D’Antoni made it clear who’s deciding when Bryant will come back

“Do you know Kobe?” D’Antoni said. “You can guess whose decision that will be.”

Bryant wants to return as quickly as he can, obviously.

But after participating Monday in both half and full-court five-on-five drills, Bryant stressed how he will remain patient with his recovery. Even with the Lakers nursing a 5-7 record and a 11th place standing in the Western Conference, Bryant sounded more concerned about returning fully healthy than coming back earlier for the sake of minimizing potential losses.

“I have to detach myself somewhat in making sure when I come back, I’m ready to give the team the proper lift,” Bryant said. “It’s very tough to do. But it’s something that has to be done.”

Continue reading “Kobe Bryant sees himself playing sometime this month” »

HBO Real Sports will profile former Lakers assistant and current Denver Nuggets coach Brian Shaw tonight at 10 p.m. PT, and the subject matter will go beyond the hardwood.

The segment, reported by Bernard Goldberg, will heavily focus on how Shaw has dealt with the painful loss of both of his parents at an early age. Shaw’s father, Charles, and his mother, Barbar died on June 25, 1993 on their way to Las Vegas to meet up with him after Charles unexpectedly fell asleep at the wheel.

That’s why Shaw encountered conflicting emotions after winning the 2000 NBA championship with the Lakers.

“After the first championship in 2000– I looked around the locker room and I saw Shaq’s parents and Kobe’s parents. And it was a bittersweet feeling for me,” Shaw said, according to interview excerpts. “I was happy, you know, because we won the championship. But at the same time I was, like, their parents are here. My parents deserve to be here, too.”
Continue reading “Former Lakers’ assistant Brian Shaw featured on HBO Real Sports” »

As the Lakers monitor Kobe Bryant’s progress from rehabbing his left Achilles tendon, the issue has never been whether they would medically clear him to participate in any basketball activities.

To what degree Bryant participates in practice beginning Tuesday hinges on how comfortable he feels ramping up his activity. That’s why the Lakers can’t say for sure whether Bryant will fully practice Tuesday after spending Saturday’s session competing in a series of five on zero, shooting and strategy drills.

“If he’s feeling up to it,” Lakers spokesman John Black said. “The ball is in his court so to speak. If he wants to, he can.”

The Lakers have medically cleared Bryant for all basketball activities dating back to last month when he began running and shooting drills during the team’s preseason trip to China. As a form of tapering, Bryant then scaled back his workouts both to build more flexibility in his Achilles tendon and avoid additional strain on his ankle. Last week, Bryant then ramped up his running without making any lateral cuts.

The Lakers haven’t offered any timeline on when Bryant could play in a game. But after the Lakers played a league-high 12 games in the first four weeks of the regular season, Bryant could benefit from the team’s quirk in their schedule. The Lakers took off Monday following their win the previous night against the Detroit Pistons. The Lakers don’t play until Friday against the Golden State Warriors at Staples Center, leaving Bryant with three days to ramp up his practice workouts. Still, Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni sounded skeptical on Sunday as to whether Bryant could return Friday against the Warriors.

“You’re dealing with if he’s sore today or if there’s a setback tomorrow,” D’Antoni said. “We need to be cautious. We just better be cool and chill out a bit.”

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DetroitÕs Kentavious Caldwell-Pope drives around LakersÕ Nick Young during second half action at Staples Center Sunday, November 17, 2013. The Lakers defeated the Detroit Pistons 114-99. ( Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News )

If his smile hasn’t already given it away, it’s clear Nick Young’s having fun.

He’s having fun wearing a Lakers uniform after growing up here admiring the purple and gold. The former Cleveland High standout’s having fun reuniting with his high school rivald, Jordan Farmar, a former Woodland Hills Taft star. Young’s also having fun scoring in bunches, even if it’s in a role he never had envisioned.

After shuffling back and forth in the starting lineup, Young has thrived in the backup small forward spot by posting double-digit efforts in the past four games.  He has averaged 16.5 points on 53.5 percent shooting in six games off the bench, a vast improvement from the 9.5 points he posted on a 33.3 percent clip through six games as a starter.

“I’m coming off and playing with the mindset to go hard,” Young said. “I know my team needs me to get buckets. That’s what I’m trying to do.”
Continue reading “Nick Young adding a spark off the bench” »

Former Lakers center Kareem Abdul-Jabbar recently partnered wtih Los Angeles Unified School Distrcit to fund “Camp Skyhook” Photo credit: Skyhook Foundation

In an effort to teach kids far more important lessons than mastering his famed skyhook, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has collaborated with Los Angeles Unified School District to fund “Camp Skyhook,” a five-day overnight camp in Arcadia at the Clear Creek Outdoor Education Center in Angeles National Forest.

Abdul-Jabbar also donated $100,000 from his Skyhook Foundation to LAUSD Sunday at the California STEM Symposium in Sacramento. The STEM acronym stands for science, technology, engineering and math, four tenets that Abdul-Jabbar’s camp plan to teach to underprivileged children throughout LAUSD.

“Science, technology, engineering, math – that’s where today’s jobs are,” Abdul-Jabbar said in a statement. “That’s where the real
super stars of the future are. We need to help these kids get there.”

Each week, fourth and fifth grade students from two geographically diverse community within LAUSD’s 715-mille attendance area will be selected for the camp. With the partnership, there is hope that as many as 22,000 students will attend the camp throughout the year.

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Follow L.A. Daily News Lakers beat writer Mark Medina on Twitter. E-mail him at mark.medina@dailynews.com

LakersÕ Nick Young celebrates a basket as the Lakers take a 10 point lead during second half action at Staples Center Sunday, November 17, 2013. The Lakers defeated the Detroit Pistons 114-99. ( Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News )

You read about the five things to take away from the Lakers’ 114-89 win Sunday over the Detroit Pistons at Staples Center. You read about the teamwork the Lakers displayed during the game. You read about Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni stressing caution about Kobe Bryant’s recovery.

But pictures always tell a 1,000 words. And in the case of LANG’s photo gallery of the Lakers’ win over Detroit, plenty of his images tell various stories.

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The Lakers can’t win games right now with Kobe Bryant. Even if he’s started practicing, Bryant’s still finishing up his rehab on his left Achilles tendon. The Lakers can’t win games right now with Steve Nash. Nerve issues in his back will keep him out for at least another week, and he hasn’t yet proved this season he can play at the same elite level that will earn him a future Hall of Fame nod. The Lakers can’t win games right now with Dwight Howard. He has bolted to Houston, and the Lakers never showed the necessary chemistry when he was here to maximize such talent.

But as the Lakers showed in their 114-99 victory Sunday over the Detroit Pistons at Staples Center, they can compensate for such key injuries and a drop-off in talent by representing a sum greater than their parts.

“Our identity is we’ll have to play full out for 48 minutes,” Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said. “When Kobe comes back, things change. We’re okay. But we need to play as good as we can and get as many wins as we can.”

The Lakers obviously have struggled in that department, still fielding a 5-7 record and a 12th place standing in the Western Conference. But the Lakers provided a pretty clear blueprint on how they can overachieve this season.

Jordan Hill reached career-highs in points (24) and rebounds (17) simply through his never-ending pursuit to provide energy. He showed more confidence using his footwork and hook shots in the post. Hill even canned a few mid-range jumpers.

“I’m getting more confidence as I step out on the floor,” Hill said. “When I go out there, I just go after it.”

That’s why D’Antoni has often described Hill as the best example of how a player with an undefined role can suddenly have one. After all, Hill started his career with the New York Knicks under D’Antoni in a somewhat precarious position. After averaging only four points in 25 minutes through 24 games in New York at the beginning of the 2008-09 season, Hill was then traded to the Houston Rockets with Jared Jefferies before the trade deadline as part of a three-team deal that resulted in the Rockets’ Tracy McGrady going to the Knicks.

Four years later, Hill has forced D’Antoni to soften his preference for a small lineup over a bigger lineup, providing endless energy and showing some promise with an enhanced post game.

“He’s playing as hard as he can play,” D’Antoni said. “He’s got talent. He keeps getting better.”

The same can be said for plenty of others.

Steve Blake’s 16 assists marked the fourth consecutive game he reached double digits in that category by displaying plenty of qualities that show why D’Antoni always considered him such a great fit for his system.

Blake threw alley-oop lobs to Wesley Johnson. Blake found Jodie Meeks open both behind the perimeter and off backdoor cuts. Blake fed the hot hands of Nick Young at the top of the key and the hot hands of Hill inside. On top of that, Blake scrapped for every loose ball.

There’s a reason why Blake seems to play as if his playing time depended on it. He toiled away his first two seasons with the Lakers uncomfortable running the triangle offense. His time with D’Antoni blossomed last year, but the shelf life diminished because of various groin and hamstring ailments that sidelined him for 37 games and two postseason appearances.

“For me personally, that’s how I’ve stuck around. I have to play that way,” Blake said. “I’m not overly athletic compared to the other guys on the floor. I just have to compete as hard or harder than anybody to try to be out there. It’s the way I play, Jordan plays, everyone played today. It has to be in your DNA.”

For at least one night, the Lakers showed that.

They closed out the third quarter on a 10-0 run, thanks to Nick Young scoring off an open drive, three-pointer and jumper. Jordan Farmar topped that off with his own jumper. The Lakers continued feeding off that momentum by hustling.

“I’m coming off and playing with the mindset to go hard,” said Young, whose 19 points on 7 of 13 shooting marked his fourth consecutive game he posted double-digit efforts off the bench. “I know my team needs me know to get buckets. That’s what I’m trying to do.”

Young has still done that despite losing his starting position. He’s maintained his smile. Young openly talks about becoming the NBA’s Sixth Man of the Year candidate. D’Antoni has noted Young has actually tried in offsetting his deeply-rooted defensive deficiencies.

“We have great individual talent, but it’s going to take all of us in working in unision together to be successful,” Blake said. “If we don’t do that, we’re going to lose. You’ve seen that happen on certain nights. When you see us clicking as a group, you can see how good we can really be. It’s fun.”

Yes, the Lakers showed plenty of inconsistency in losses to Golden State, San Antonio, Dallas, New Orleans, Minnesota and Denver for various reasons. They don’t play consistent defense on hot three-point shooters (Golden State’s Klay Thompson, Minnesota’s Kevin Martin). They can’t handle other team’s frontlines (New Orlean’s Anthony Davis, Minnesota’s Kevin Love, Denver’s Timofey Mozgov, Memphis’ Zach Randolph). They can’t close out close games (San Antonio, Memphis). They don’t show up to ones period (Dallas, New Orleans). Yes, the Lakers also have inconsistency with three-point shooting and shuffling rotations.

But with an ironed out rotation, the Lakers absorbed Detroit’s frontline in Josh Smith, Greg Monroe and Andre Drummond combining for 49 points by compensating everywhere else.

“It’s been a great group to work with – they want this and want it bad,” D’Antoni said. “They want to play hard. They have been. When you have guys get comfortable and in the right spots and they start feeling good about themselves and the team, the energy goes up.”

And so does the Lakers’ win total.

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Below are five things to take away from the Lakers’ 114-99 victory Sunday over the Detroit Pistons at Staples Center:

1. The Lakers broke the game open with a third-quarter run. In a game that featured nine ties and five lead changes, the Lakers finally broke the game open by pouring out loads of energy in a 10-0 third-quarter run. Nick Young hit drove to the basket and followed up with an open three-pointer and jumper. Jordan Farmar then capped the run with a baseline jumper. The Lakers’ run went beyond hitting some clutch shots. They showed plenty of hustle in staying disciplined on defense.

Detroit tried to close the gap late in the game, thanks to a flurry of baskets by Brandon Jennings (23 points. But the Lakers had already built a deep enough cushion by because of their third-quarter run.

2. Jordan Hill continues to impress. As he walked up the floor in the middle of the fourth quarter, the Staples Center crowd stood up and gave him a rousing ovation. Understandable considering Hill had provided his usual staple of hustle, rebounding and post points. But Hill wasn’t done. He entered the lineup a few minutes later, dropping a mid-range jumper and providing more of the energy that’s made him a fan favorite. Hill’s 24 points and 17 rebounds both matched career-highs, and shows that he’s taking a larger and larger role on the rotation.

In addition to his usually strong work ethic, Hill has shown vast improvement with his post moves and spacing. It’d be a stretch to say Hill can become a stretch-forward. But with Hill showing an eagerness to improve, it appears he still has plenty of upside.
Continue reading “Five things to take from Lakers’ 114-99 victory over Detroit Pistons” »