October 9, 2007 Lakers vs. Golden State Recap

Nice to see Derek Fisher back in a Lakers jersey, and good to see Kobe Bryant on the floor. The Lakers trailed just about all of the game, trailing by 27 points at one point, but the bench got them back in the game, and the Lakers took the lead with less than 10 seconds left. But Troy Hudson hit the game winner for the Golden State Warriors, winning 111-110 over the Lakers.

Who I was impressed with in the first preseason game:

- Sasha Vujacic. Sasha really seemed to improve his game over the summer. He drove to the basket on a few occasions instead of just shooting stand-still jumpshots like he had been known for. His shot looked good in this game too, helping him to 15 points.

- Vladimir Radmanovic. I was really impressed by Vlad. I expected him to do a lot better this season, but he did even better than I expected. He was hitting his three pointers like they were layups, and he led the Lakers with 20 points.

- Javaris Crittenton. He really started to get hot in the second quarter, making all of his shots including a nice three pointer. Later, he threw a nice alley-oop to Andrew Bynum. He had 18 points in his debut. If he keeps up the good play, he will see some minutes in the regular season.

Lakers Preseason Begins

Lakers preseason begins tonight! For all those that have been waiting to see an idea of what this team is capable of, we will see the Lakers competing starting tonight against the Golden State Warriors in Hawaii. The pregame report for tonight suggests the Lakers will have a starting lineup of Derek Fisher, Kobe Bryant, Vlad Radmanovic, Ronny Turiaf, and Chris Mihm. The Lakers will also play the Warriors again on Thursday. Let's hope for a nice showing by all of the Lakers!

More On Position Battles And A Possible New Starter

As I recently posted about, the starting center and first point guard off the bench are still being battled for. Andrew Bynum is reportedly looking good with his rebounding and blocking, and Chris Mihm is able to play after missing all of last season. Kwame Brown is being held out of contact drills, but will have a chance to fight for the starting center position before the season opener on October 30.

All of the backup point guards, namely Jordan Farmar, Javaris Crittenton, and even Sasha Vujacic, who was used last season mostly as a shooting guard, went through shooting/rebounding drills in which one point guard would shoot, and the next in line would rebound the ball. The point guards have been pushing each other to get the best out of everyone, and trying to earn their spot to be the first point guard off the bench after Derek Fisher sits down for a rest.

News about a possible new starter has been reported. Phil Jackson has been reported saying that Ronny Turiaf may get the start at power forward. "I plan on starting him," Jackson said. "I really am seriously considering starting him. Those positions are so wide open. He's a guy that can bring energy to the game, the kind of start we need to have with a physical front. He's a guy that can block some shots." Turiaf starting would mean that Lamar Odom would shift to small forward, and Luke Walton would come off the bench, bolstering the second unit.

With Fisher Returning, Different Role Awaits

Derek Fisher returns to the Lakers this season after a three season hiatus. But things will be different from his last appearance with the Lakers. Fisher will no longer see the familiar faces of such players as Robert Horry, Rick Fox, and Shaquille O'Neal. Horry and O'Neal are now with the San Antonio Spurs and Miami Heat respectively, and Fox is retired. Instead, he'll see a team that hasn't made it out of the first round of the playoffs the last two seasons.

Fisher probably won't be as big of a scorer as he was last time with the Lakers, but he still has the ability to knock down the big shots which he has done many times. Laker fans will never forget the huge, game-winning buzzer beater that Fisher hit in the 2004 NBA Playoffs against the Spurs. This will give the Lakers another option besides Kobe Bryant to hit big shots when needed. And Fisher is a big upgrade over Smush Parker, who was very inconsistent. The Lakers will have a more stable force at point guard, which will help the team in the long run.

Lakers Banking On Bynum

The Lakers are hoping for Andrew Bynum, who was picked in the 2005 draft with the tenth overall pick, that he will turn out to be the franchise center that they expected him to be. The Lakers are expected to pick up the option for one more season soon. They must pick up the option before October 31, or Bynum will became an unrestricted free agent after the end of this season. Bynum will need to step up his game to help the Lakers get as far as they can this season.

In other quick updates, Kwame Brown offered an apology to his teammates for his arrest this past weekend. Phil Jackson and the Lakers are waiting for a full report of the investigation of the incident.

After Chris Mihm's first practice, he said his ankle felt a little stiff, but that he was okay. Also, the Lakers are planning on running a faster paced, more uptempo version of the triangle to maximize scoring opportunities.