7 games for the lakers this summer: July 8th, Friday @ 7:30pm - Memphis July 9th, Saturday @ 3:00pm - Dallas July 11th, Monday @ 12:45pm - Toronto July 13th, Wednesday @ 5:15 - Miami July 15th, Friday @ 7:30 - Dallas July 16th, Saturday @ 3:00pm - Memphis July 18th, Monday @ 5:15pm - Memphis July 19th, Tuesday @ 3:00pm - Miami Full schedule
Andrew Bynum better be <font color="darkred">*******</font> good- my impression so far is a kid so normal it's abnormal. He averaged good #'s his senior season because of his size, but think about it; A kid that is the size of shaq averaging 22 points per game playing against HIGHSCHOOLERS? 22 is good, but he should have been averaging more for anyone to think he had any real potential in the L. I checked out his myspace profile...if it wasn't for the numerous pics that had to be authentic (like him checking himself out in the mirror) I would have never beleived it was him reading some of the things he said. I know this has nothing to do with bball per se, but his personality is soft comic relief. Kobe's gonna make him his biatch. Why couldn't we have traded up and drafted Deron.... <font color="DarkRed">Please watch the language on the boards. Moo2K4</font>
can you post his myspace profile. for some reason i cant go to his profile. do i need to be a member for my space to be able to see his profile?
maybe so many people wanted to check it out it shut down due to bandwidth. WOuldnt that be funny........lol
Watch the language people, read the guidelines...you don't need to curse to get your point across... Bynum will be playing, but you can't expect him to come in right away and make an impact, if you're expecting that...you'll be let down. 3-4 years this kid will take, he is only 17. Youngest player ever drafted, give him some time.
I'm going to try and make it to a couple of these games, probably the Heat and Raptors. I'll bring my digi-cam and post some pics.
Good God, the ticket line was ridonkulously long. I got there an hour before the game and the line was easily a 45 minutes.
Lakers lost 93-85, however all 3 rookies played well. Bynum 10/9 Von Wafer 12/4/3 Turiaf 10/2 Hakim Warrick had a nice game with 16/12 for the Grizzlies along with Dahntay Jones (18points) and Anthony Roberson (13points) Smush Parker also played well for the Lakers, Sasha however was terrible ONLY 2 points for him. I'll post the official boxscore when I find it.
If anybody is selling copies of these games especially the miami game, i'll buy a copy or trade for a copy of Kobe's first SPL game.
<div class="quote_poster">Quote:</div><div class="quote_post">The first thing you noticed when Andrew Bynum emerged (other than the PA announcer butchering the pronunciation of his name) was that he has slimmed down considerably since that McDonald?s All American game. He looked a lot closer to 260 than 300. The crowd cheered for him during warm-ups as if he was Shaq. Bynum definitely showed some flashes during the game, blocking a few shots, and at one point, lunging for a steal, then beating everyone down the court for a lay-up. He ended the game with 12 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks and a steal. Not bad, on paper, right? Unfortunately, he also had trouble getting position down low throughout the game, easily being pushed around by shorter players. Also troubling was how easily the ball was stripped out of his hands. At least three times during the game, sure dunks became turnovers when his defender poked the ball loose as he was going up. All in all, Bynum showed some promise, but he also showed the Laker fans will need to show patience with him. You could argue the Lakers? other two draft picks looked more NBA ready during the game. Ronny Turiaf from Gonzaga was immediately loved by the crowd, getting cheered loudly every time he scored. He played with tremendous energy throughout, as expected. At one point, he even jumped over the dancers, who were sitting courtside, diving for a loose ball. Based on what I saw, Turiaf could probably start at power forward for the Lakers right now, despite the fact he has absolutely no shot, whatsoever. The bigger surprise, though, was from the Lakers? other second round draft pick, Von Wafer of Florida State. Wafer was aggressive on offense and defense the entire game, clearly playing like a guy with something to prove. Questions about his desire appeared to be incorrect as he played tight, pressure defense the entire game (ending up with two steals). Is there a roster spot for Wafer with such a full Laker lineup? We?ll have to wait and see.</div> Source
The Lakers won today against the Raptors (w/o Villanueva) 82-72 and lead from start to finish. There were a lot of coaches at the game including PJ Carlesimo and Stan Van Gundy. Also Dwayne Wade made a surprise appearance on the Heat sideline. (The Mavs & Heat played in Game 2). Here's a summary of what I saw from the Laker rookies, second year players, and hopefuls. - Andrew Bynum - Realistically he has a long ways to go before he's ready to contribute and get on an NBA court. He really lacks the strength to be effective in the post at this point and his defense is terrible. I'll have a detailed write up later, but just wanted to point out to not expect much from Bynum this upcoming season. - Ronny Turiaf - I love everything about Turiaf, from the way he plays to the little things he does on the court and sidelines. He's already a fan favorite and is great for the team chemistry. Best player on the floor for the Lakers today, despite coming off the bench. - Von Wafer - Didn't even notice he played. - Smush Parker - He was a badass in the warmups, throwing down some highlight dunks. He did the JR Rider between the legs, and a few other sick jams. I like Smush, he plays with a chip on his shoulder and is very vocal on the court. He is not shy about mixing it up, he got into it with Pape Sow and Braswell in the game, and he gave his teammates a hard look if they were out of position or half assed it on a defensive rotation. - Sasha Vujacic - He did put on some muscle, but he needs to add another 20lbs. He was getting heckled all game long by the fans and had a terrible first half. In the second half he shot better, but his defense has not improved and he was getting beat soundly off the dribble by mediocre players. He has a very low BBall IQ from what I saw today. Out of position, not knowing the time left on the shot clock, not knowing a team just called a timeout and standing there by himself while everyone else is walking and huddling up. - Devin Green - Very athletic player and plays above the rim. I don't think he's ready to make a team, but I wouldn't mind the Lakers developing him in the NBDL, he is loaded with 'potential.' He had a highlight dunk over two Raptor players and worked to get open on offense. On defense he didn't have to do much, so I didn't get a good feel of how good or bad he is. - Marcus Douthit - The announcer must have said his last name 20 different ways. He had a reason to though, because Douthit was scoring quite often on the Raptors. He kept beating Uros Slokar, emphasis on SLOW, down the court for layups and dunks. Douthit had a nice game, but just like Devin Green, I think he's better suited for the NBDL to continue to hone his skills. He has a very awkward shot and is clumsy on the court. - Will Conroy - Watching him reminded me of Derrick Fisher. You can tell he has no problem being the floor general and had flawless game in a very ugly game. He didn't light up the statbox, but I was impressed with his intangibles and his savvy on the court. He knows when to pass the ball and when to take his shot. He did a nice job guarding Omar Cook, Joe Shipp, and Barswell. No one else really stood out in the game. There was a player named Sandrin on the team. He was one of the more athletic Lakers on the court, but he shot nothing but airballs. Carlos Powell was decent, but a bit of a ball hog and was always out of position in the Tri.
