Everyone had to have been surprised when Luke Walton joined the Lakers' starting lineup for Wednesday night's nationally televised affair against the shorthanded Suns. With all the forward depth L.A. boasts, Walton is hardly mentioned and rarely played.Vladimir Radmanovic has started all year, Lamar Odom and Trevor Ariza come off the bench to fill the forward slots, and Walton ... hangs at the outskirts of the huddle and watches the dancers. (At least that's what he did Tuesday in Sacramento.) Walton getting the coveted starting spot came out of nowhere.
Apparently, Radmanovic was shocked by the move, too. He tells Art Thompson III of the Orange County Register Phil Jackson didn't talk to him about the decision, or give any sort of explanation.
"The biggest shock to me is that nobody said anything," the Lakers' forward said. "That's one thing that's disappointing. At this level, we should talk with each other and let each other know, regardless of what the situation is."After the game, Jackson told reporters the move was meant to facilitate more ball movement -- Walton is noted for his "point-forward" capabilities, whereas Radmanovic is more a spot-up shooter. L.A. ended up with 30 assists on 40 FGs, which is rather good. Whether that came from Walton or the Phoenix defense is another question entirely. There's also the matter of missing Vlad's shooting. Sasha Vujacic shot 3-of-4 from deep. The rest of the Lakers went 5-of-20.
The Lakers were in danger of dropping a second straight game to an inferior opponent. (Phoenix was shorthanded and forced to play Louis Amundson and Goran Dragic substantial minutes. Also, Matt Barnes took 20 shots. ! ) If Vujacic hadn't broken out of his slump and L.A. managed to lose, it would've been interesting to see how readily the locals would have soaked up Jackson's strategy. Clearly Walton didn't help the damning flaw of the Lakers (defense).
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
12-11-2008 @ 11:25AM
giff said...
clearly Lakers aren't ready for a crown as yet...the inconsistency of stellar defense to lame o defense against short handed teams will keep them from winning it all this year if it keeps up...and equally obvious is both celtics and cavs on a mission....either one could be a tough opponenet IF the Lake show doesn't shape up and start to play great ball, each and EVERY night....as for Rado's comments...yes it's great to be spoken to about changes but really, if you're looking at what the team needed iinstead of through the lens of your ego, you can see the team needed more ball movement not just a three point shooter....
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12-11-2008 @ 1:07PM
steve said...
Might it have been the double dribble against the Kings that sealed his fate. Id never seen anything like it at the professional level, I believe he drove baseline, stopped underneath the hoop, pump faked, then dribbled again. DUMB player.
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12-12-2008 @ 12:47AM
Garri said...
See how the Lakers deteriorate in just two weeks? They have good defense during the first ten games but because of this grumpy coach they are starting to slide. With consecutive games against mediocre teams they struggle and lost two through an idiotic defense. How can Phil Jackson allow this to happen when he's the highest paid coach? Shame on you Phil for pocketting a ton of money which could be used for better players. If you have decency left within you why don't you just resign and let younger coaches have their time to prosper. All you're doing now is keep on experimenting your line-up. It also make players be demoralized. Your pattern of substitution is like a cemented stone wherein even if a player is not playing well you have to wait for your designated time before removing him. Dr. Buss we don't have any patience left for this wash-up. The sooner you remove him the better for the team. You don't need to pay him as a super coach because he's done nothing lately. There's no more left for him to improve.
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12-14-2008 @ 2:49PM
Tom said...
This person is a complete idiot.
12-14-2008 @ 5:37PM
Tom V said...
Garri,
Are you on drugs?
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12-14-2008 @ 11:10PM
Garri said...
Tom, you're also one of those morons. Your not worthy of talking. Speak to my ass. Okey?
12-17-2008 @ 4:34PM
eric said...
Radmanovic is clearly a better player than walton.. and furthermore: Its not the job of a forward to distribute the ball its the point gard and the center when double teamed. a small forward needs to be able to put the ball in hole.(james w. and the likes of him, all time great small forward) frankly, I get nervess when walton has the ball.. Dont get me wrong he makes some great passes but he also trys to make the spectacular pass and turnes the ball over and his shot is not even a NBA shot, Its a jr. high set shot..
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