I was personally in attendance at the Lakers-Clippers game this past Sunday evening. The game was obviously not as fun and exciting as a regular season game, but sitting just a few seats away from the wood gave me a great opportunity to understand what the Lakers were attempting to do out there.

I’m going to start off by ridding of the negative topics I’ve been hearing about recently and then move on to what I am truly excited about. One of the biggest topics of discussion is the play of Coby Karl. Many people have been complaining that he is not getting the opportunity to shoot enough and show what he’s truly got. FALSE. Coby has been given to many opportunities. This guy is simply overrated already. People have heard Phil Jackson say one time that he was potentially a great shooter, and suddenly everyone jumps on the bandwagon wanting to see more of this guy. THERE IS NOTHING SPECIAL. I watched him play for a good 3-4 minutes of game time, playing defense, shooting, and even moving without the ball. I can’t criticize his shot, it’s a great release. His defense is not even average and he rarely moves without the ball. His only movement during the game is standing around at the three point line waiting for someone to pass it out to him for a triple. Is it just me or does this sound a lot like he’s been watching and learning from Brian Cook a bit too much?

Since I’ve already got everyone thinking about Brian Cook, let me comment on him really quickly. This guy has not improved his game since the day he was drafted. Simply unbelievable that he continues to play in the NBA only being able to shoot, with a quick release being his primary selling point (primary = only). It may be a personal perspective but I have struggled to support him being a Laker for years now. I have a picture with him from the 2004 Western Conference Finals after they defeated Minnesota in Game 2, he’s a great guy, but he doesn’t play, he shoots.

In addition to Karl, and Cook, Kwame is still being heavily harassed. Even the home crowd at Staples can’t stand it when he’s on the floor. Let’s be realistic though, he’s the best option the Lakers have. Bynum is still growing in experience and Mihm clearly hasn’t recovered into game shape since two seasons ago. Ronny has stepped up but still has plenty of improvement left in him. The forward list goes on but one forward in particular has shown great growth.

Radmanovic has definitely not been a crowd favorite and has even been despised by many fans for his ridiculous contract amount. I was thrilled the day they signed him because I’ve followed his career and know what he is truly capable of. Defense aside, when he is on his game, he is the key that Kobe has been looking for. If Kobe drives to the basket, Radman must be open on the perimeter to bury the jumper. Let’s not forget that this is one of the most frequent Lakers plays based on the fact that they have been in the top five almost every year post Shaq-era in the three point attempts. Radman has buried plenty of threes throughout his career and we all know he has plenty of them left. The ligaments and tendons in his shooting hand have been dealt with, his shoulder is back to normal, and it is time to prove that he deserves the money he is being paid.

Aside from Radman, two guards have shown spectacular growth over this past off season. Jordan Farmar and Sasha Vujacic have been playing really well so far this pre-season. Jordan’s improvement was somewhat expected, although not to the extent that he has shown. He has gained great ball control, minimized his turnovers, and picked up a few moves from Steve Nash clearly. Notice that he keeps his dribble going as he cuts to the basket and in case he doesn’t find the pass, he dribbles out and resets. I love the energy he brings to the court and I think he would go great working with Ronny to bring some hype to the game. Vujacic has also played amazingly well. I’m quite surprised at his growth but I suppose that the fact he is in a contract year really inspired him to improve this off season. His hair grew and his game has really developed. His dribbling is consistent, he is clearly the Laker that moves most without the ball, plays lock down defense pretty well, and is extremely quick. He even got a bit buffer and gained some weight I think. Either way, the point guards look great and we have plenty of options at the position to go through.

Overall, the Lakers look a lot better than they did last year. It is insignificant that they are 2-3 in the preseason because they are experimenting with random lineups right now. Once the players know who will be on the court with them, they can start learning how to run plays together with specific squads. There is a lot of energy on this team and I truly feel that there is potential to be a 50 win team this season. It’s a long shot, but we’ve got the consistency in the players on our roster to make things happen!