Mike D’Antoni believes Nick Young needs to pay more attention to detail

Posted on October 2, 2013 by Mark Medina

#0 Nick Young and #1 Jordan Farmar are ready for media day. The Los Angeles Lakers held a media day at their El Segundo practice facility. Players were photographed for team materials, and interviewed by the press. El Segundo, CA. 9/27/2013. photo by (John McCoy/Los Angeles Daily News)

Lakers forward Nick Young rarely finds shots he doesn’t like, making his introduction to Mike D’Antoni’s high-scoring offense a perfect fit. Perhaps a little too much.

“He’s been on me when I was passing so much,” said Young, who’s averaged 11.3 points and one assist in his six seasons. “I didn’t have that in a while. I’m excited.”

Is that true?

“Yeah, that’s the case,” D’Antoni said, rolling his eyes. “That won’t happen a whole lot.”
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Mike D’Antoni views Steve Blake, Jordan Farmar as great guards for his system

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Mark Medina

Lakers #1 Jordan Farmar, #0 Nick Young and #5 Steve Blake enter the practice facility for media day. The Los Angeles Lakers held a media day at their El Segundo practice facility. Players were photographed for team materials, and interviewed by the press. El Segundo, CA. 9/27/2013. photo by (John McCoy/Los Angeles Daily News)

Overlapping injuries to Steve Nash and Steve Blake left the Lakers last season seriously exposed in the backcourt.

Not anymore.

Nash and Blake have fully recovered. Meanwhile, the Lakers added Jordan Farmar this offseason three years after playing as a critical reserve in the Lakers’ back-to-back championship seasons (2009-10).

“There will be room for all three of them,” D’Antoni said.
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Pau Gasol, Steve Nash sit out morning session of Tuesday’s practice

Posted on October 1, 2013 by Mark Medina

In the ongoing quest to keep their veteran star players healthy, both Pau Gasol and Steve Nash sat out of Lakers’ practice Tuesday morning that entailed watching film and going over drills without contact. Both Gasol and Nash plan to participate in the evening session, which will consist of a full-court scrimmage with contact.

“They could’ve gone easily,” Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said. “We didn’t want to bore them.”
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Will Jordan Hill expand his game?

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Mark Medina

The job description Mike D’Antoni provided for Jordan Hill represents a perfect case study on both a player’s evolution and a coach’s perception of him.

Four years ago, D’Antoni found so little use for Hill as the New York Knicks’ eighth overall draft pick that he hardly played his rookie season before getting shipped to the Houston Rockets. Nearly a year ago, D’Antoni sat Hill for three consecutive games because he saw no value in how he’d fit into a offense predicated on outside shooters until his endlessly valuable and defense convinced him otherwise. During this offseason, both D’Antoni and Kobe Bryant both instructed Hill to work on his mid-range game, an order the Lakers forward took to heart by taking between 600-700 shots per day at his Atlanta residence.

D’Antoni remains undecided whether Hill will start at power forward alongside Pau Gasol or if he will come off the bench. But D’Antoni remains adamant that Hill can become an effective mid-range shooter without diluting his effectiveness as an energy player in rebounding and on defense.

“One doesn’t mean he can’t do the other,” D’Antoni said. “If you’re shooting it, you’re not getting the rebound. When he’s not shooting it, he’ll get the rebound. It’ll just make him a better player.”
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Pau Gasol, Steve Nash increase workload in Monday’s practice

Posted on September 30, 2013 by Mark Medina

Pau Gasol is interviewed.The Los Angeles Lakers held a media day at their El Segundo practice facility. Players were photographed for team materials, and interviewed by the press. El Segundo, CA. 9/27/2013. photo by (John McCoy/Los Angeles Daily News)

After rehabbing all offseason on respective knee and hamstring injuries Pau Gasol and Steve Nash gradually progressed their activity level by participating in most of Monday’s practice.

Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said Gasol completed all of Tuesday’s practice, while Nash went through most of it until sitting out of an unspecified drill toward the end of the session. Both Nash and Gasol have reported positive results from their respective rehabs, but the Lakers have taken a conservative approach toward using them in training camp to ensure they stay healthy.

Nash’s 32-game absence last season consisted of a fractured left leg that sidelined him for seven weeks in November and December, followed by back and hamstring issues that kept him out for three weeks in April and the last two playoff games. Gasol’s 33 game absence entailed a variety of ailments, including plantar fascia in his right foot, concussion and knee tendinosis.

“The biggest thing was he didn’t get healthy until the end of the year and he’s still playing through a a lot of pain,” D’Antoni said of Gasol, who averaged a career-low 13.7 points on 46.6 percent shooting. “But now it’s better trying to keep him healthy as much as we can and pain free. When your knees are hurt, it’s not easy to play. When he feels good, he’s going to be great.”

Gasol went through a procedure in May to repair the pain in his knee tendons. But he passed on playing for his native Spain in the FIBA European Championships this summer and hadn’t completed many basketball drills until the Lakers’ began training camp on Saturday. After saying Saturday he planned to sit out some of the eariy sessions, Gasol’s improved health has allowed him to do so otherwise.

“Keep your fingers crossed but hopefully he has his best year ever,” D’Antoni said of Gasol, who will have an increased role stemmed from Dwight Howard’s departure to the Houston Rockets. “He’s still young enough. He’s only 33.”

D’Antoni was obviously joking, but how many more years can he see Gasol playing?

“That depends on whether he wants to or not. Physically, yeah, I think he has a lot,” Gasol said. “I don’t know hat a lot means. I think he has at least five more good years, real good years, in him.”

Lakers sense more positive vibe during training camp

Pau Gasol says contract talks haven’t started yet

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

Pau Gasol, Steve Nash limited during Lakers’ two-a-days

Posted on September 29, 2013 by Mark Medina

For a team oozing enthusiasm about finally having a full training camp under Mike D’Antoni, the Lakers are still missing key ingredients.

The most obvious absence involves Kobe Bryant, who has spent the first two days of training camp mixing in team film study while rehabbing his surgically repaired left tendon. The others involve Steve Nash and Pau Gasol, who will sit out in parts of the Lakers’ two-a-day sessions after spending the past offseasons rehabbing their respective hamstring and knee injuries.

“I just don’t want them to push it early,” Lakers coach Mike D’Antoni said.
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Mitch Kupchak reiterates support for Mike D’Antoni

Posted on September 26, 2013 by Mark Medina

Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak on coach Mike D’Antoni: “we back him 100 percent.” Photo credit: Scott Varley, Los Angeles Newspaper Group

There’s not enough fingers to count the sources aimed toward Mike D’Antoni ever since he patrolled the Lakers sideline.

The restless fan base booed him, cursed him and constantly shared their preference for Phil Jackson becoming the head coach after overlapping injuries as well competing player and coach agendas contributed to first-round exit to the San Antonio Spurs. Dwight Howard and Pau Gasol griped about not getting the ball enough in the post, while Antawn Jamison stewed about not playing. Even Lakers president Jeanie Buss updated her recent memoir to share how the Lakers passing on Jackson “practically destroyed” her both because they’e been longtime companions and Jackson won five of his 11 NBA championships with the purple and gold.

One party has remained incredibly consistent, however, in their support for D’Antoni. For better or worse, that involves the people determining D’Antoni’s future with the Lakers.

“He has to realize, and I’m sure he does, that we back him 100%,” Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak said Wednesday at the Lakers’ practice facility in El Segundo.
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Jeanie & Jim Buss downplay “Laker Girl” excerpts detailing frustration with relationship

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Mark Medina

Jeanie Buss and Phil Jackson talks to the media about the Lakers at a Time Warner event to honor the late Jerry Buss in Los Angeles. Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News

Do Jeanie and Jim Buss get along?

Excerpts from Jeanie’s updated memoir, Laker Girl, suggest they don’t. According to excerpts published by The Los Angeles Times, the Lakers president detailed how the front office passing on Phil Jackson in their coaching search last season and choosing Mike D’Antoni to replace the fired Mike Brown negatively affected her emotional well being.

Considering her allegiances to Jackson as a longtime companion, Jeanie also suggested in the memoir that the situation hurt her relationship with her brother Jim, the Lakers’ vice president of player personnel.

But in statements released by the Lakers, both Jeanie and Jim Buss downplayed what those excerpts suggest.

“The words and sentiments in Jeanie’s new book reflect her feelings and frustrations nearly a year ago, and how she felt at that time,” Jim Buss said in a statement. “I understand that Jeanie felt that way, and why she felt that way. Since that time, we have discussed the situation, the circumstances that led to it, and our feelings about it. Both of us feel this has been resolved and have put this behind us.”

“Jim has been great in terms of understanding my feelings about this and in fostering an atmosphere that has led to better communication,” Jeanie Buss said in a statement. “We have regular meetings and talks and are both committed to creating the best working environment possible, as are my sister and brothers as well. We are focused only on what is best for the franchise and in making the Lakers championship contenders.”

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NBA2K14 simulation predicts Lakers will miss playoffs

Posted on September 24, 2013 by Mark Medina

An NBA2K14 simulation has the Lakers missing the NBA playoffs. Photo Credit: NBA2K

Anxiousness awaits for the Lakers’ training camp, and for what?

Very few tab them as NBA championship favorites. Uncertainty lingers on how Kobe Bryant will look after he heals his left Achilles tendon. Skepticism persists over whether Mike D’Antoni can lead these Lakers through troubled times.

That’s perhaps why NBA2K14, a video game that prides itself on comprehensive player analysis and credible game simulations, tabs the Lakers this season failing to reach the playoffs and finishing with a 35-47 record. Granted, NBA2K13 rated last year’s Lakers as the NBA championship favorites, and we all know how that turned out. The NBA2K franchise also may do its own simulations before the Oct. 1 release. I received an advance copy and performed my own simulation.

But there’s plenty of reasons to feel skeptical about the Lakers. Dwight Howard bolted for the Houston Rockets. The Lakers lost their best defensive player in Metta World Peace for the sake of saving luxury taxes through the amnesty provision. The Lakers’ offseason additions in Nick Young, Wesley Johnson, Chris Kaman and Jordan Farmar bring some added speed and additional scoring. But on paper, it appears the Lakers don’t have enough defensively.

“This team just doesn’t have enough athleticism and speed to contend for a title,” said Clark Kellog, who offers analysis with Steve Kerr while Kevin Harlan serves as the play-by-play announcer for the NBA2K14 game.
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Jeanie Buss: Lakers passing over Phil Jackson “practically destroyed me”

Posted on September 23, 2013 by Mark Medina

Jeanie Buss answers talks to the media about the Lakers at a Time Warner event to honor the late Jerry Buss in Los Angeles. Photo by David Crane/Los Angeles Daily News

Almost 10 months have passed since the Lakers passed on Phil Jackson and chose Mike D’Antoni as instead to take over for Mike Brown as the team’s head coach.

There’s one significant person within the Lakers who remains unhappy about it.

Jeanie Buss.

The Lakers president revealed in her updated memoir, “Laker Girl,” co-written by former Los Angeles Times sportswriter Steve Springer, how the team’s front office handled the coaching search negatively affected her emotional well being.

“The sequence of events — Phil almost coming back and then being told someone else was better for the job — practically destroyed me,” Buss wrote, according to excerpts. “It almost took away my passion for this job and this game. It felt like I had been stabbed in the back. It was a betrayal. I was devastated.”
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