Los Angeles Lakers Rosters, Statistics, Records, News, and More!
LAKER ROSTER: Theo Ratliff
09.18.10
Theo Ratliff, a 6’10” center, replaces DJ Mbenga as the back-up to the back-up. Some of my friends didn’t particularly like Mbenga, who played on average 7 minutes per game, scoring 2 points, grabbing 2 rebounds while shooting 47% from the field in 49 games. Last season, Ratliff averaged 16 minutes per game, scoring 3.5 points, grabbing 3 rebounds while shooting 46% in the same number of games. Had the Lakers kept Mbenga, the advantage would have been that he is only 30 and knows the triangle offense, his teammates and the coaches. Ratliff is 37 and playing for his 9th team in his 16th year as a pro, after 4 years of college ball in Wyoming. The guy has been traded for Jerry Stackhouse, Dikembe Mutombo, Rasheed Wallace and Kevin Garnett as part of multiple-player packages over his career. The Laker bench was weak last season, either due to injuries or personnel (Hello, Adam Morrison!), and did a poor job of maintaining leads, let alone increasing them. Ratliff is renowned as being a shot blocker, which may stop opposing players from driving to the rim as frequently and easily as they did last season while the bench was on the floor. With 1,963 blocks, Ratliff ranks 18th in NBA history for career blocks. He needs to realize it’s not important for him to be taking a lot of shots when he comes in. It’s defense and rebounding that wins championships, so focus on those two areas. An improved bench will allow the Laker starters to have more rest over the grind that is the NBA regular season. Given their veteran status, this is an important component in the Laker’s bid to three-peat. Because Magic Johnson was Ratliff’s boyhood idol, that makes him A-OK in my book.
LAKER ROSTER: Sasha Vujacic
09.17.10
This 26 year old, 6’7″ shooting guard from Slovenia may actually be the luckiest man on earth. He will have a salary of almost $5.5 million this season, has 2 championships on his resume, and lives in sunny Southern California. I wonder if his super-hot athlete girlfriend enjoys St. Tropez as much as he does and calls him “The Machine”. Right now, life must seem pretty rosy for Sasha. And to give him proper credit, he did hit two clutch free throws in Game 7 of the finals. Because he is in the final year of his contract, you have to believe this could and probably will change. My perception is he’s fallen out of favor with the coach. His minutes played went down from 1293 to 575. His games played went down from 80 to 67. His minutes per game went down from 16.2 to 8.6. With a shooting percentage of 40% from the field, including 31% behind the 3-point line last season, you could understand the dissatisfaction with his production. His average of 3 points per game does not seem irreplaceable. It would really help the Lakers in their quest for a three-peat for Sasha to regain his shooting form from a few years back. No matter how well he plays as the back-up to the back-ups in the guard position, I can’t see him getting a similar contract after this season. In fact, much like Carmelo Anthony in Denver, if Sasha is still with the Lakers when the playoffs roll around, I will be much surprised. I think if the opportunity presents itself, the Lakers will trade him to some team looking to reduce salary for the following season. And if that doesn’t happen, he will either return at a reduced rate, or look to sign on with some other team. Europe is another possibility.
Laker Day on NBA TV
09.17.10
If you’re anywhere near a television today and have NBA TV, the station will be playing games and programs associated with the Lakers all throughout the day, in honor of Phil Jackson’s 65th birthday.
Shows rotated include a replay of Game 7 of the 2000 Western Conference Finals between the Lakers and the Portland Trail Blazers. Of course everyone remembers that game. Watch the Lakers’ furious fourth quarter rally highlighted by the “Bryant…to Shaq” alley-oop in the final minute to seal the Lakers first trip to the NBA Finals since 1991.
You can also watch Game 1 of the 2001 Western Conference Semi-Finals, a tough game the Lakers won 108-105 on their way to sweeping the Kings, and putting together the NBA’s best-ever postseason at 15-1. It of course culminated with a second straight title after a 5-game win over the Philadelphia 76ers in the NBA Finals.
Game 3 of the 2002 NBA Finals will be on. That was the tightest of the games against New Jersey, as the Lakers went on to “threepeat” and sweep the Nets 4-0.
They’re also showing Game 7 of the 2010 NBA Finals against the Boston Celtics. We all remember how that one ended, so please enjoy watching the Leprechauns go down again.
There’s also two shows on both the 2009 title team and the back-to-back champs of 2010.
So enjoy a full day of Lakers on the tube. You can check your local TV listings or the guide on your cable box for exact times of these programs today.
LAKER ROSTER: Luke Walton
09.16.10
Let me start off by saying that a healthy Luke Walton is a productive Luke Walton. He has good fundamentals, whether from his time at Arizona or being schooled by his father and brothers. He is the type of player that works well in the designs of the triangle offense because he has a pass the ball, team first mentality that is really the basis of the triangle. Move the ball continuously until you have a high percentage shot. I hadn’t realized, until starting to work on this, that he had the fewest games played and lowest point total for the Lakers last season. He was also next to last in minutes played (Hello, Adam Morrison!) The Lakers have many options at the small forward position. Ron Artest will be the starter, and Matt Barnes (hopefully), Lamar Odom, Devin Ebanks and Kobe could all play minutes as needed. Given that Luke is 30 and has averaged approximately 60 games a season over his 7 year career, it’s probably a good thing for the Lakers to have choices. Luke stated that his focus during the off-season was to get his back stronger and healthier, and he work with a strengthening coach, a back specialist, a yoga teacher and a pilates instructor. So ideally he will be in top form at the beginning of the season. I don’t think he was too happy about being limited to 29 games last year due to his back problems. I expect that should he have health or injury issues this season and miss half a season again, he will decide he’s played enough, made enough money, and has as many rings as Pops (1 of 3 father/son combos). Rumor has it that he was considering retirement already, and like Yao Ming, if he can’t stay healthy, then he’ll be gone. For more on Luke’s summer, visit Lakers.com
http://my.lakers.com/blogs/2010/09/03/luke-walton-summer-update/
Kobe 5th Most-Disliked Pro Athlete
09.15.10
Frankly I don’t know why I’m posting about this, because as a Laker fan, I could really care less how Kobe is viewed by people who aren’t Laker fans, let alone basketball fans. But in the interest of reporting news regarding the Lakers, I’ve decided to put it up.
The Q Scores Company, which conducts popularity polls, placed Kobe Bryant as the 5th most-disliked American pro athlete behind Philadelphia Eagles’ quarterback Michael Vick, golfer Tiger Woods, and Cincinnati Bengals’ wide receivers Terrell Owens and Chad Ochocinco.
I guess the most-interesting part of the story is that LeBron James’ popularity has plummeted, he’s now 6th right behind Kobe.
According to the report, James is viewed in what the company considers a negative light by 39 percent of the general population. In January, while still a Cleveland Cavalier, he was viewed positively by 24 percent of the population, negatively by 22 percent, according to the figures from the Q Scores Company.
In fact, his popularity figures were the highest the company had ever seen in January, so he took quite a hit after he made his decision to play Miami. And frankly, that’s not a big shock.
ESPN has the entire article if you’re interested.
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