According to the L.A. Times, Kobe Bryant is expected to miss the entire preseason: “”He’s progressing well and has met all the targets and milestones of his rehab, and we expect him to make a full recovery,” Lakers spokesman John Black told The Times on Monday. “One of the key issues is to make sure he builds up strength and endurance not only in his Achilles but also in his legs, knees, back and core.” Bryant’s initial timetable called for at least six to nine months of recovery after he was injured April 12 against Golden State. The more optimistic part would put him in play for two Lakers exhibition games in China next month, though Bryant is expected to miss the Lakers’ entire eight-game preseason schedule that ends Oct. 25. The Lakers begin the regular season Oct. 29 against the Clippers. It is unknown if Bryant will be back in time. “We’re going to avoid giving a target return date until he’s doing full weight-bearing running and on-court basketball activities, at the earliest,” Black said.”
Continuing with the Lakers theme today, here are Five Things To Watch: “After a season in which they struggled to simply reach the playoffs, things might be even more frustrating for the Lakers in 2014. So before we dive into the upcoming season, a quick look at all the turmoil from a season ago should help make the picture a little clearer. In 2012-13 the Lakers had some issues. They fired a coach, had half their team miss serious time due to injuries, saw their longtime owner pass away and ultimately got swept in four blowout games against the eventual Western Conference champions in the first round. Then, to top it all off, they lost their future cornerstone, Dwight Howard, to the Houston Rockets. Needless to say, it wasn’t a very good season. Now things are even more uncertain. Will the Lakers even manage to reach the seventh or eighth seed this time around without Howard and with a recovering Kobe Bryant (torn Achilles)? Will Mike D’Antoni manage to stick around for the entire season? Will they actually be able to win a game against the Clippers? All of these things will be told in time, but for now let’s focus on the five main things to watch for this season.”
According to Terry Pluto of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, Andrew Bynum will likely miss the start of training camp for the Cleveland Cavaliers: “While Bynum continues to be diligent in working with the Cavs trainers, it’s still too early to know if he will be ready for the opening of camp — in terms of full basketball activity. Remember, he has two bad knees. He had surgery on both in March. He didn’t play a single game last season. The Cavs are in no rush for him to play early in camp. When he does come back, they want his knee strong enough so that he can remain healthy.”
What the Cavs do have, though, is Kyrie Irving. Today, FearTheSword.com takes a look at the Kyrie Irving/John Wall rivalry: “John Wall and Kyrie Irving are point guards taken first overall in back-to-back drafts by rebuilding teams that enjoyed several fun postseason battles in the years preceding their selection; that they have been compared ad nauseum should not be surprising. Both were big-time recruits with short college careers, and both have a talent level that can take your breath away. While Irving does it with touch and body control that seems unfair, Wall has an athleticism and speed that put him near the level of LeBron Jamesand Russell Westbrook. Irving is coming off an All-Star campaign in his second year, and Wall made a huge jump in production in an injury-shortened season, earning himself a 5 year maximum contract off of his rookie deal.”
If you missed it, Grantland’s Zach Lowe made the case for Chris Webber to be inducted into the Hall of Fame: “But it’s amazing what happens to fanboy enthusiasm once you start digging and talking to insiders all over the league. There is an angry, fundamental division about Webber, and a lot of it starts with the perception of his passing ability. For his supporters, those passes symbolize a team-first brilliance that helped redefine what big men could and should do; several people, including current and former GMs, used the word “revolutionize” in describing Webber’s impact on the power forward position. That might be a stretch, considering that two of Webber’s power forward contemporaries, Kevin Garnett and Dirk Nowitzki, probably had an equal or even larger impact in broadening the big man skill set.”
After signing Michael Beasley last week, the Miami Heat are still considering other free agent options: “Miami has recently expressed interest in a number of free agents including Von Wafer, Julyan Stone, Vander Blue, Yakhouba Diawara, Larry Drew II, Je’Kel Foster and Justin Holiday among others, according to sources close to the situation. All of these players recently worked out for the HEAT. Miami may bring in several other free agents for additional workouts in the coming days. Miami’s payroll currently exceeds $80 million so they’re getting creative and leaving no stone unturned to find talent that can fill out the roster. Miami enters the 2013-14 season with 13 players under guaranteed contracts.”
Alex Kennedy’s Tweet today sparked the question, will the Los Angeles Clippers invite Gilbert Arenas to training camp: “If Arenas did get that invite, he’d have a chance to make the active roster and resume an NBA career that spiraled out of control rather quickly. In the span of just a few seasons, the guard went from averaging 28.4 points per game to losing his spot in the Association thanks to some problems with guns. Arenas and former teammate Javaris Crittenton had brought firearms into theWashington Wizards locker room, violating both NBA rules and—even more seriously—Washington D.C. restrictions. The next month, he was suspended by the league after pretending to shoot his teammates during pregame warm-ups, and eventually legal troubles caught up to him. Since then, the former All-Star has played only 87 games, looking like just a shell of himself whenever he was out on the court. During the 2011-12 season—his final stint in the NBA—Arenas averaged only 4.2 points, 1.1 rebounds and 1.1 assists per game on 40.6 percent shooting.
I’m hearing that Gilbert Arenas has looked good in workouts this summer. The Clippers may invite him to training camp, according to sources.
— Alex Kennedy (@AlexKennedyNBA) September 17, 2013
Steve Kerr believes the Chicago Bulls or Indiana Pacers will knock off the Heat this season: “Oddsmakers at the Las Vegas Hotel & Casino make Miami 2-to-1 favorites to win the NBA championship in June, though it’s not going to be as easy as a stroll down Biscayne Boulevard. Nobody has won back-to-back-to-back titles since the Lakers in 2000-02 and nobody has been to four consecutive NBA Finals since the Boston Celtics in 1984-87. “There’s a reason these teams don’t do it,” TNT analyst Steve Kerr said. “Emotionally, it’s just exhausting to keep doing it year after year, particularly when you have to deal with everything Miami has to deal with on a daily basis, just the constant critiquing and scrutiny on the team, and then you factor in the injuries with Wade and Bosh and their health. I don’t think Miami will get out of the East this year.” Kerr is picking the Bulls to unseat the Heat.”
Steve Kerr predicts Bulls will knock off Heat this season. Scottie Pippen agrees. Now we just need to find a non-former Bull to ask.
— Sam Amico (@SamAmicoFSO) September 17, 2013
Ben Baroff is a basketball journalist who blogs for SheridanHoops.com. Follow him on Twitter here.
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Ben, as enjoyable as your article about Kobe’s outlook was to read, it contains one glaring omission. Kobe HAS gone through a summer where he didn’t concentrate on honing his basketball skills. That was the summer preceded by his knee surgery and his problems with the woman at the hotel in Colorado.
Yes, he didn’t have a wonderful season (by his standards) that fall, but he was distracted by his constant trips to Colorado for legal proceedings in addition to problems he encountered with his knee. He may well get off to a slow start this season, whenever he begins playing. But he’s been through this before, contrary to the point that you made in your otherwise well-presented article about Kobe’s legendary conditioning routine.
Robert,
I appreciate the revision. You know, it seems so long ago that Kobe was going through that. Even if we do think all the way back, it is hard to remember that Kobe even had a knee issue as that period was dominated by his scandal. Great memory and appreciate the read.