LOS ANGELES -- It had the feeling of a letdown game when you saw it on the schedule. What was going to wake up the Lakers for a game on New Year's Day against a sub-.500, Andrew Bynum-less Philadelphia 76ers team that L.
Mike D'Antoni has arrived, but Pau Gasol's game still remains largely absent. Can the Lakers' new coach meld his system with El Spaniard's skills? If not, what is Gasol's trade value? We discuss.
To say the least, the last seven days have been a whirlwind, even by the Lakers' high standards. With the dust now settled, does the franchise still appear on the right track?
ANAHEIM -- Andrew Bynum is the Philadelphia 76ers' to worry about now. The Los Angeles Lakers have quite enough to keep them up at night as Dwight Howard continues to work his way back from offseason back surgery.
Not that friction between the two big men is a government secret, of course. Shaquille O'Neal was the first big man drafted No. 1 overall by the Orlando Magic and the first to adopt a Superman persona.
With Lakers Media Day approaching Monday, it dawned on me how Oct. 1, 2012, doesn't just mark the official launch of training camp and the 2012-2013 season. It also marks the five-year anniversary of the Media Day following Kobe Bryant's "radio tour.
In related news, Dorell Wright and Andrew Bynum are new teammates on the Sixers. That said, here's what he told John Mitchell of the Philly Inquirer: “He’s going to need two defenders to stop him; I would say he’s the best big man in the NBA right now, hands down,” said Wright, speaking at Philadelphia College of Osteopathic Medicine.
Aug. 23, otherwise known as "the day Kobe Bryant turned 34," recently came and went with NBA TV airing a slew of games featuring #24. Among those chosen was Lakers-Thunder, Game 4 of the 2012 Western Conference semifinals, the second of two games in that series marred by epic Lakers collapses down the stretch.
Hey Dwight: How's it going? We haven't formally met, yet, but I'm Andy Kamenetzky. You'll be seeing a lot of me, as I cover the Lakers for ESPN LA and 710 ESPN. And I'm looking forward to you being part of the Lakers.
For the past several seasons, the San Antonio Spurs have served as basketball's version of Jason Voorhees: They cannot be killed. Since about 2008, fans and media (I've been as guilty as anybody) have cited their long teeth, declining athleticism and rising competition as reasons to declare the end of an era.
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