What We Learned from Week 1 of Los Angeles Lakers Training Camp
The Los Angeles Lakers plowed through their first week of training camp and are now well into their second. They also had their first preseason game Monday night, beating the Denver Nuggets 98-95.
This year’s edition has been tasked by Byron Scott with maintaining a defensive intensity. The Lakers' new head coach has also been putting his players through grueling workouts aimed at improving conditioning, including lengthy running drills.
During an interview with Reggie Miller and Rick Fox for NBA TV, Kobe Bryant spoke about running and the challenges of camp.
Positive takeaways from the first week of practice include how good veterans Bryant and Steve Nash have looked and the solid development of rookies Julius Randle and Jordan Clarkson.
There were also negatives, however, in the form of injuries. Nick Young tore his right thumb and will be out an estimated eight weeks, per Arash Markazi of ESPN Los Angeles. Also, Xavier Henry is still mending from back and knee issues, while last year’s Lakers draft pick, Ryan Kelly, sustained a hamstring pull during the first week of camp.
Overall, we learned that this team is showing a sense of commitment and appreciation for discipline and hard work from top to bottom.
Kobe Bryant Is Back
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Kobe Bryant is back—that’s the top story for the Los Angeles Lakers. It’s no longer about past injuries or the 76 games he missed last season.
It’s about the here and now.
Bryant came into training camp weighing less than usual—around 215 pounds—and in great physical shape after a summer of intensive workouts.
He has been a vocal leader and has also set the tone by running hard and fast during grueling drills. With 18 seasons and countless injuries under his belt, the team’s franchise player seems to be reveling in the physical challenges.
As Bryant himself tweeted at the end of the first week of camp, “In 18 years this has been the most challenging camp by far!!”
Still, Scott held Bryant and fellow veteran Steve Nash out of the second sessions of two-a-day scrimmages in order for them to recover properly and still have something left in the tank.
As Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News wrote, “Both Bryant and Nash will likely go through that ritual in the Lakers’ four scheduled two-a-day sessions on Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday and Sunday before the team’s preseason opener on Monday against Denver in San Diego.”
The real news however, was the opportunity for fans to finally see a five-time NBA champion back in action in Monday night’s game against the Denver Nuggets.
Bryant answered all questions early with an all-around game—facilitating, chasing down loose balls and scoring off signature spin moves and fadeaway jumpers. He finished with 13 points and five assists in 21 minutes, shooting an efficient 5-for-12.
It’s good to have Kobe back.
Steve Nash Looks Healthy
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The big question about Steve Nash this summer was whether his basketball career was over.
The two-time MVP played in only 15 games last season due to persistent pain from nerve root issues and a degenerative back condition, exacerbated by a fractured leg suffered in the fall of 2012.
It seemed as though Father Time had finally caught up.
Yet Nash is back after rehabbing all summer. And in fact, he looked remarkably fresh throughout the first week of practice, telling Medina, “I felt like a kid out there and didn’t feel any limitations on myself. But once you start adding days and miles, there’s going to be days it’s hard. It changes my approach on those days.”
On the fifth day, however, Nash stepped on teammate Julius Randle’s foot and rolled his ankle, according to Eric Pincus of the Los Angeles Times.
As it turned out, held breaths were for naught—Nash was back on Sunday, participating in drills and scrimmage.
And when the team’s preseason opener came along, the 40-year-old was the team’s starting point guard. Nash looked remarkably like the guy who used to play for the Phoenix Suns—tossing sweet behind-the-back passes and scoring in a variety of ways, from up-and-under layups to sinking his only attempt from beyond the arc.
Nash finished the night with 11 points and five assists in 20 minutes.
Nobody knows how much time Nash has left or how his final season will end. This is just the first week of training camp and one preseason game.
But for a guy who has struggled so mightily since coming to Los Angeles, it was a nice change of pace.
Who Steps Up for Nick Young?
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The Lakers’ first week wasn’t all about feel-good stories.
At the beginning of camp, Scott had plenty of praise for Nick “Swaggy P” Young when speaking to the media, saying “I really believe Nick has a chance to be Sixth Man of the Year."
But on the third day of practice, Young sustained a complete tear of the radial collateral ligament in his right thumb.
The injury happened when Swaggy tried stealing the ball from teammate Bryant in scrimmage.
Kevin Ding of Bleacher Report tweeted, “Young hurt thumb reaching in on defense, hitting Kobe’s elbow. Kobe to Nick: ‘My body is made of steel, that’s why.’”
Regardless of the injury, Scott still made Young practice, even after an MRI showed a tear that would require going under the knife.
Scott told reporters, “When you hurt your hand, your feet are still okay and your legs are okay. He can still do all the stuff we can do conditioning-wise. It doesn’t have anything to do with a basketball in his hand.”
That’s old-school!
Young had surgery Monday and is expected to be out eight weeks, per Lakers.com.
The team will have to adjust to losing their primary backup small forward. Exacerbating the situation, Xavier Henry, who has been dealing with back spasms, has yet to practice with the team.
One possible stopgap solution could be recently signed shooting guard Wayne Ellington, who played 24 minutes, primarily at the 3, during Monday’s preseason opener.
Wesley Johnson's Lockdown Defense
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The Lakers re-signed Wesley Johnson this summer, hoping the 27-year-old could finally develop into a dependable starter. Johnson worked out with Bryant all summer and from recent reports is embracing a role that is decidedly different from what he experienced under offensive-minded Mike D’Antoni last season.
According to Mike Trudell of Lakers.com:
"Wesley Johnson has settled into the starting small forward role, and his direct challenge from Scott and Bryant is to be the team’s lockdown defender, perhaps the most important player on that end of the floor. Said Bryant: ‘He looks phenomenal. He looks incredible. He can run all day, he's defending with a passion. He's covering lanes … he's shooting at gaps defensively. He's playing post defense, perimeter defense. He's doing it all.’
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Johnson has often been a chameleon in the past—showing flashes of brilliance in one game and disappearing in the next. With Young out for eight weeks following thumb surgery, the former No. 4 draft pick of the Minnesota Timberwolves needs to start living up to his long-discussed potential.
During Monday night’s preseason win against the Nuggets, Johnson played a solid game with nine points on 4-of-6 shooting, two steals, two boards and an assist in 24 minutes.
But in the fourth quarter he came up gimpy after banging knees with a Nuggets player.
Bill Oram of the Orange County Register tweeted, “Wesley Johnson out for the game with a strain of the left patella tendon. Will be reevaluated tomorrow.”
This did not sound like promising news. Later, however, Oram updated the situation, tweeting: “BScott seemed confident Wes Johnson's tweaked knee was a minor issue. Termed it tendinitis. ‘Nothing that can really stop him from playing.’”
“Minor” would be the operative word; the Lakers cannot afford to be hit with an injury epidemic to start the season.
Rookie Watch
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The Lakers’ two rookies have shown promise throughout camp and are getting plenty of development time as well as some tough love.
Many expect Randle, the team’s No. 7 draft pick, to be a future franchise cornerstone. But he has to earn his chance to get into the game.
Cory Hansford of Lakers Nation wrote at the start of camp, “Many expect Randle to come in and have a large role on the team immediately, but at Lakers Media Day, Byron Scott reiterated that Randle still has to earn his spot in the rotation: ‘He still has to come in and earn his minutes. He has to earn that respect from the veteran guys.’”
On Monday night against the Nuggets, Randle got plenty of burn with 27 minutes of court time, scoring 10 points with eight rebounds, a block and assist. He looked strong under the rim, throwing down two-handed thunder dunks.
According to Serena Winters of Lakers Nation, Scott was cautious yet positive while critiquing Randle’s progress afterward: “The one thing I told him at the end is you've got to learn to play harder, longer but I think in spurts he was really fantastic on both ends of the floor but he has to do it on a consistent basis all the time."
Meanwhile, second-rounder Clarkson has been assigned to guard none other than Bryant during scrimmages. Per Lakers.com video, the 6’5” combo guard was asked if he feels Bryant has taken him under his wing.
Clarkson responded, “Shoot, I hope so. Y’know, I’m learning a lot from him. He’s doing a good job talking to me. I’m just learning as much as I can. I’m being a sponge right now, soaking as much information as I can. Shoot, it just keeps getting better.”
The No. 46 pick saw 27 minutes of action off the bench in his preseason debut and was the team’s high scorer with 14 points along with five boards. He wasn’t exactly a model of efficiency, shooting 3-for-13, but he got to the charity stripe often.
Ed Davis, Human Pogo Stick
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Ed Davis was signed to a two-year, $2 million contract this summer in hopes that his rebounding and rim-protecting ability could help bolster the frontcourt.
During the first week of camp, the 25-year-old combo center/power forward showed lots of hustle and energy, with Lakers beat reporter Mike Trudell tweeting, “Kobe on Ed Davis: ‘Defensively, he has really active feet, and he’s a pogo stick out there. He’s all over the place.’”
Entering just his fifth year in the league, Davis is now with his third NBA team and has had five head coaches.
He played only 12 minutes in his preseason debut but was an eye-opening presence, scoring 12 points on highly efficient 6-for-7 shooting. It was on defense that he was especially effective—blocking four shots and generally being a disruptive force.
After a particularly impressive play, Darius Soriano of Forum Blue and Gold observed, “Ed Davis just showed & contained on the P&R then slid back to the rim to find his man & block a shot at the cup. Fantastic sequence on D.”
Just one week into training camp, the human pogo stick is showing why he could well be one of the true steals of this summer’s free-agency class.
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