I was WONDERING when someone would start this thread! There's just too much to be optimistic about. Sure we won't see Nick Young tonight, but that's okay! We'll see plenty of Clarkson instead. Maybe a bit of Price too who the coaching staff and players have loved. By the way another name that could sneak on to our roster is Jeremy Tyler. The players like him a lot and by all accounts he's a hard worker. If Ellington and Price aren't careful, Tyler could make the squad instead of one of them. Even though he's another big and we seem stacked on them, it's a possibility just because of how well liked he is.
I actually feel good going into the season. Sure we probably won't be winning a bunch of games but it feels good. No more Pringles, our new additions have potential, kobe is coming back, oh and no more Pringles.
Excited for tonight. I want to see these young guys...Clarkson, Randle, Lin, Davis, and I would have liked to have seen Kelly, but he's hurt. I'm waiting to see what kind of offensive system Scott is putting in place and the kind of defense they play when they get out there.
of course i'm excited for the obvious additions (Randle, Clarkson, Lin, Davis), but after watching the Real Training Camp i'm a lot more interested in seeing if Wesley can find a niche. I know he trained with Kobe a lot this offseason but I still had no expectations. His shot in some of those drills they were running looked really smooth and consistent. There's so much to be excited about, but watching that special last night definitely piqued my interest.
I too have really liked him thus far in training camp. kind of sucks because as of right now I would like it if we could keep all three: Price, Ellington, and Tyler. But I doubt that happens.
I just don't think there's a way that happens. Not unless we cut one or more of: Kelly, Sacre, and Henry.
Steve Nash/Jeremy Lin/Jordan Clarkson Kobe Bryant/Xavier Henry Wesley Johnson/Nick Young Carlos Boozer/Julius Randle/ Ryan Kelly Jordan Hill/Ed Davis/Robert Sacre With Ronnie Price, Wayne Ellington, and Jeremy Tyler fighting over the last two spots. The other guys seem like toss-ins to me. Very little talk about them.
yeah Mitch historically likes to leave a spot open in case of a trade and the Lakers having the ability to take on an addition player
Well after lurking on CL daily for like 10 years and never posting I saw there was a new site and thought I should be active this time. Thanks for putting it together! On topic though I had a lot of fun watching the new group, and even though I was bummed that Swaggy got hurt I gotta say the rooks are giving me hope. Its easy to forget sometimes that Randal is only 19. He has a lot to learn but man I like his confidence. I also believe Clarkson is going to be something special. I don't know how far we are going to go this year, but I am still excited for the season. I just cant help but feel like that old school Lakers mentality is going to return this year. I feel that toughness is returning and we are going to see it. I know we have suffered so many injuries in the last couple seasons but it was more than just injuries we suffered. It seemed we lost the Lakers way, but this pre-season feels like the start of it coming back!
Intrigued by how this crew will fare as the season unfolds. 24 and Scott's respective steely resolve will trickle down to the last man. The good cop will be played by Nash like Fisher did.
Our bench mob is going to be real good this year. Ellington looked real good. Clarkson looks like he's tryna score 12 ppg for us. Lin will get it rolling, if he's not starting. X is there, and of course Young. As for our bigs, whichever of Boozer/Randle doesn't start can come in and score. Kelly can fill it in if we need him. Davis is going to be great for us. Sacre is the garbage man but he's chill too.
Wow was there a lot of good to take from that game... 1. Nash looked great. If he can give us just that for half the games this season we've got a solid asset. 2. Kobe looked fantastic. Not a ton of lift. Not a lot of high flying. But everything else was there. The passing, the craftiness, the rebounding. He looked great. 3. The Nuggets might have come close to 100 points, but they were held to under 40% from the field. Very good defense from Byron's team. 4. Randle looked GREAT. I think he got tired a bit, but he was extremely active and effective on the floor. Far from perfect, but he certainly didn't look like a 19 year old kid. 5. Wesley Johnson looked great as our hound dog and his jump shot looks MUCH better. 6. Jordan Hill and Ed Davis are going to be a solid front line and even Rob Sacre looks improved. Our big-man-by-committee is going to be better than expected. 7. Clarkson looked CONFIDENT. No he wasn't efficient and yes he forced shots, but he definitely worked hard and I liked his energy. Shots will fall, he'll find a better rhythm. Looks like a legit NBA player. 8. Ellington looked solid as well. He's making a good case to make the squad.
I hope so too!! I always started an Optimistic/Positive thread at LG every season. Great 1st game....much better than I expected. A rare pre season game win....going for #2 Thursday against the Warriors!!
