Over the last 35 years, the Los Angeles Lakers have been the gold standard for success, not just in the NBA, but across the Big Four sports in America. That’s the big picture. Little picture? The Lakers last season set a new standard for futility: 55 losses, more than any other team in franchise history. Nearly from start to finish, the 2013-14 campaign was a disaster of injuries and ire, much of it directed at owner and basketball operations head Jim
On Thursday, we gave you our All-Breakout Team for the upcoming season for the Eastern Conference. Today, we bring you our Western Conference All-Breakout Team. These are the players we believe are on the verge of breaking out or standing out. We used the same parameters – five players, one at each position, but no rookies. Let’s get right to it. [Read more…]
Lakers players make sure their feet hit the line while running suicide sprints. The Los Angeles Lakers have opened training camp and held their first practice under new head coach Byron Scott on Tuesday. Scott’s approach is markedly different from that of previous coach Mike D’Antoni. Scott is more disciplined and structured, and so, it seems, are his practices. Big difference in coaching style, D’Antoni kept it light, breezy & fun – Scott is establishing discipline, hard work &
HOUSTON — After being unexpectedly jilted by Chris Bosh, the Rockets found themselves in a precarious spot this summer. They are now hoping that Jason Terry, who just turned 37, can be a small part of the solution. General manager Daryl Morey has said since January that Houston needs to acquire the “third-best player on a championship team” to align with established stars James Harden and Dwight Howard, implying he did not believe that player would be found internally on the current
Every now and then, NBA players will have a little fun with fans from around the league in various ways. Sometimes, it happens in a clothing store or right in your playground. Other times, the players are out to get the best of you like here and here. Point guard Jeremy Lin of the Los Angeles Lakers decided to try his luck as a wax figure to see if spectators would fall for the prank at a wax museum. [Read more…]
When LeBron James decided to leave the Miami Heat this summer, some still questioned if the Cleveland Cavaliers would be good enough to make serious noise next season with the current roster. James himself hinted a cast of doubt in his official letter, saying “we’re not ready right now”. Do they have the necessary veterans and role players it takes to be contenders? Can the young players on the team put aside their pride and mature quickly enough? The latter remains to be seen, but
With so many talented point guards looking to make it into Team USA and only so much room on the roster, Jerry Colangelo and the coaching staff have some tough decisions to make. Colangelo did specify the number of point guards he wants on the team, though, and that somewhat narrows down the choices he’s going to have. Sam Amick of USA Today has details: As Colangelo detailed in an interview with USA TODAY Sports, the most likely plan would be to
Carlos Boozer is joining the Lakers after they made a waiver claim on him, and Jeremy Lin will be aboard, too. Kobe Bryant is returning from injury, and Jordan Hill and Nick Young have been re-signed. So what does this mean for the Lakers? Not much. They are still going to stink in 2014-15, but at least they will be players in free agency next summer after Steve Nash and his nearly $10 million salary comes off the books. The state of