The Lakers' woes appear to be in the rear-view mirror.
I say appear, because we all know how crazy this season has been thus far and there's always the propensity for it to get crazier.
If things go as planned, the Lakers will have both of their big men on the floor in a matter of games. Not weeks, not months. GAMES.
First order of business--Jonathan Abrams at The LA Times is reporting:
"The Lakers received their most upbeat medical report in weeks after
practice on Tuesday: Pau Gasol is expected to play tonight when the
Lakers play host to the Portland Trail Blazers, after missing nine
games because of a sprained left ankle.
Gasol underwent a full practice Tuesday, afterward labeling his ankle a little sore but showing progress.
His ankle is not fully healed but good enough to give it a go tonight.
"That's
the main question, right?" Gasol said. "If nothing crazy happens and
the ankle responds well to the work today, I think it's a pretty good
guess that I'll be out there."
Gasol is averaging 18.9 points
and 8.5 rebounds. He has played 19 games at center for the Lakers,
filling in for injured Andrew Bynum, since being acquired in a Feb. 1
trade. The Lakers are 15-4 with Gasol in the lineup, and were 5-4 in
his absence as Ronny Turiaf and DJ Mbenga played center and the team
slipped a bit in a tight Western Conference race."
So, one piece to the puzzle is back. To boot, the news on the second piece to the LONG AWAITED twin-tower front line is good as well.
We know Andrew Bynum will be traveling on the Lakers upcoming two-gamer through Sacramento and Portland on Sunday and Tuesday. "It's not really connected to his injury per se. It was just the amount
of work that he's started to be able to do, which is impressive,"
Jackson said. "I told him to expect to go on the trip to Sacramento and Portland. Whether he can play or not, it
may not be that time, but he's going to go through the workouts and
practices and the pregame and whatever we have."
I wouldn't expect either Pau or Andrew to be 100%, but their returns are definitely going to be instrumental to the team's performance coming down the stretch.
Also, some rather niche things for the Lakers fans:
-If you didn't catch the news yesterday, the Lakers signed Ira Newble for the rest of the season. Newble only saw action in his first game in a Lakers uniform, scoring two points and pulling down two rebounds in 3:46 on March 21.
-Derek Fisher is listed in the Lakers' injury report as day-to-day with that partial tear of a tendon in his right foot. Fisher, who is expected to play, played through the pain on Sunday, scoring 17 points in 32:53.
Finally, for those of you as interested as I am about the $75,000 Alter-G Treadmill that has been making headlines, Lakers.com put out a video explaining the machine.
So at first Gasol was doubtful for Wed.'s game and now he is probably playing?
Amazing how that type of stuff changes on a 12 or so hour basis. Just wondering where you gpt the info, an article at the Lakers website?
I'm not sure what Ariza is a poor man's version of, but Ira Newbie is a poor man's version of Trevor Ariza.
I expect very little from Bynum this season. Little to no point production, and nowhere near as many boards as pre-injury. My hope is that he can help clog the middle and ease up rebounding for Gasol and Lamar. You have to figure that what with being outta game shape and all his quickness will be shot, so he'll prolly pick up fouls REALLY fast.
Solid write up as always.
Last edited by Lakersfan19II on April 2nd at 8:34 AM.
The lane should be pretty clogged with all the redwoods back. Great news for Lakers fans!
Those pesky little guards that seem to be our Achilles heel, will now have second thoughts about venturing into the paint with all the branches lingering around this forest.
WELCOME TO THE JUNGLE.
OBEY
Last edited by BleedPRPL&GLD on April 2nd at 9:58 AM.
Good piece. The stars seem to be aligning for the team at a very opportune time. With Bynum, Gasol & Mihm back in the lineup, they can help soak up each other's minutes while easing Ronny and DJ back to their respective roles providing the bench mob with a spark.
Our frontline will be solid with all these 7-plus footers back in the paint, so even if 'Drew and Pau take a handful of games to get some stamina back, the transition for Odom will be one of the bright spots. Good point about the gung-#### guards having to play amongst the trees once again. Maybe this will also help us avoid settling for jumpers as a first choice and improve our perimiter game by relieving pressure for Vujacic, Farmar and the rest of the squad. This being a contract year for Sasha, expect him to continue trying to shoot the other teams' defenses out of the building. As long as they go in...
Last edited by dustygods1313 on April 2nd at 10:00 AM.
Sasha reminds me of when Fisher was coming into his own during the 1998 & 1999 seasons. His heart and hustle were always there, but most fans will remember that his shot wasn't always with him. He's always had that beautiful high teardrop shot, but he'd make me so nervous when the games were on the line and he'd go off shooting his heart out!
Though had he not done that, he wouldn't have honed his skills and given us that .4 lifesaver. So if that's any indication of the results you get from determination and dedication to your role, the future looks bright for Sasha afterall!
The news on our big men is great and I sure am looking forward to a comletely healthy Lakers team. With a healthy Pau Gasol they were among the top two teams in the league if not the best but with a healthy Bynum as well not to mention adding Ariza and Mihm to an already strong bench they should really be dominant. Hopefully they can hit the ground running and get their rhythm quickly like they did when Gasol first showed up. With the NBA's real season (the playoffs) almost here and the West being as strong as it is and the Lakers faultering a bit recently they are going to need every bit of what they have waiting to return, especially in the big men. Beyond this year, I hope the Lakers can keep this core of guys together. They will be young enough and good enough to compete for a championship for many more years.
Just to comment on Lakerfan19, Bynum will score 12-14 coming back as his buckets will be on put backs and two or three easy baskets on switches. Easiest points in the world. He will never have to create his own shot just be a recepient of defenders not accounting for him.
I would like to challenge Sasha into becoming more like Manu Ginobli. Sasha you have to drive to the hoop and get to the free throw line. Then every once in awhile sit back and launch a three. But man that game against Memphis or the Grizz you looked to hard to early to shoot that three and clanked most of them.
This Lakers team is wild and exciting, and I find them more captivating than the '00-'02 Championship squads for one reason: Most of our guys were drafted and developed by the Lakers. The championship squad was MADE to win, as it was composed of various veterans that played their role to maximum efficiency (Shaw, Rice, Harper, Horry, Fox, Shaq, etc.) and were brought in to fill gaps that Van Exel, Jones, etc. left behind. Not unlike what the Celts are doing this season with their trio of stars. The scary thing for the league is that, while we're enjoying tremendous success so far, almost no one gave the Lakers any hope of being anything better than a 6th-7th seed to start the year. So all pleasant surprises aside, next year stands to be even more promising.
I still like our chances this year. It's gonna be a battle out West and we wouldn't have it any other way.
Any scoring provided by Drew is a bonus...his lane clogging abilities are what we need most. He doesn't require the ball on offense, he's a garbage man, like Ceballos was for us. An alley oop here, putback bucket there and a lot of altered shot attempts by opponents. Gasol is the post offense regular.
Bleed, you're right about Drew's role as our garbage man. And what a garbage man he is!! At only 20 years of age, he's only going to grown stronger and more confident in his abilities and role within the Triangle. And unlike Shaq, who was an unbelievable physical talent when he came into the league (and relied on that WAY too much), he is crafting his game and adjusting it to his strengths because of the leeway he receives by defenses not crashing down on him everytime he touches the ball, plus the fact that he's not the main offensive option like Shaquille was. Add to that the fact that Shaq stopped developing as a baskeball player early on and therefore stunted his potential to play deep into the twighlight of his career a la Jabbar, who's mental approach to the game was as important as his physical regimen. In the next year or so, defenses will HAVE to respect Drew's game... but by then he will have solidified his repertoire of toys and go-to moves.
I remember when Drew was first drafted, and was asked about walking into Shaq's long shadow at the C spot and how he felt he'd carry that load. He replied by saying he'd at least make his free throws... to which Shaq quipped that he didn't stoop to the level of Juvenile delinquents, a jab at the fact that he bypassed college for the pros. My my my, how the mighty have fallen.
I feel the best by product with the return of Pau and Andrew will be the emotional lift that will come. And as of late, the Lakers have been playing some uninspired ball. When was the last time you looked down the bench and saw guys laughing, cutting it up, and generally having fun. With these two coming back, in whatever capacity, will provide the team the emotional lift they need to win out the rest of the season and lock the 1 seed in the West. I have a feeling Phil will limit their playing time. With Mihm, Gasol, Bynum, Turiaf, and Mbenga, he will have the luxury of rotating frequently, especially against the Hornets, Spurs, and Kings.
Tim, thanks for posting that clip of Bynum dunking on shaq. How can you not like Bynum after the way he responded to getting dunked on himself. That is an awesome sequence.
Thats great news if iTs accurate with Gasol and Bynum back in the next week , it should give us the time to be in sync for the playoff run. We will crush all ..if healthy... GO LAKERS.......
Ariza's a great utility player and a better defender, and is quicker to the basket than Walton. He can cut and slash with greater ease, I think. Walton is the better passer, can create for others and is a decent enough rebounder to make his mark in the game. His low-post game is superior as he can actually bump and bruise with some of the bigger 3's and a few 4's.
I realize I didn't really answer who's better than who lol. I'm just glad we don't have to pick one over the other.
Last edited by dustygods1313 on April 2nd at 3:09 PM.
Extremely excited at the idea of both 7 footers on the floor before the play offs. If Ariza can make it back during the playoffs that gives the Lakers a ton of depth and a great shot at going deep into the playoffs if not the Finals.
Thanks for posting that video...I about creamed myself....again. I remember when that game happened, i rewound my Tivo like 10 times.
Can't WAIT to see the Suns in the playoffs to see Shaq get abused....again!
That would be epic.
PARADE DOWN FIGUEROA!.....AGAIN.
Last edited by BleedPRPL&GLD on April 2nd at 3:40 PM.
Bynum was pushing Shaqs fat #### off of him there, Shaq was clearly grabbing his shoulder and aiming for the collar bone with his elbow. Cheap shot'n mutha ####ka he is.
Great job, Tim. This is the first time I've read a blog from you and it was very well written, plus the video of Bynum sticking the Big Cactus is always good to see.
Props to you Tim, keep it up.
Let's see how Pau does tonight. I dont think Phil is going to give him a ton of minutes, but Phil has also been known to do that.
It's great news that "Young Drew" is almost ready. I'm really looking forward to seeing Gasol and Bynum play together. I agree that it is going to take time for them to not only adapt to playing while vulnerable, but to play together and to play while the intensity is at its highest in the playoffs.
It is going to be quite a learning experience as well as a healing experience. But I think "Young Drew" is resilient enough to overcome. Gasol is a veteran and is used to coming off of an injury so I dont see a problem there.
LAKERSFAN19: "I'm not sure what Ariza is a poor man's version of"
Michael Cooper without the outside shot. You may be a little too young to recall Cooper's best years, but the way Cooper filled the lanes, anticipated passes, and threw down Coop-a-loops reminds me of Trevor.
Ariza, the way he moves without the ball and the way he always seems to be around the ball, also has a little Scottie Pippen and James Worthy in him but without the offensive repertoire.
I'm a realistic observer of the vast world that surrounds the Los Angeles Lakers. You can thank Nick Van Exel, Eddie Jones, Elden Campbell, Cedric Ceballos, and Vlade Divac for making that possible. The greatest person of all time is Francis Dayle "Chick" Hearn. There's no getting around that. Me? I'm eighteen years old and working my way to a journalism degree.
First order of business--Jonathan Abrams at The 
