Category: Los Angeles Lakers Blog

Lakers guard Kobe Bryant missed his second consecutive practice because of a bruised and sore right foot.

The Lakers are listing Bryant as day-to-day, making it unclear whether he will play in the team’s preseason game Wednesday against the Clippers. Bryant originally injured his foot during a collision in the third quarter of the Lakers’ 99-92 preseason loss Sunday to the Sacramento Kings.

— Reported by Mark Medina of the Los Angeles Daily News (Blog)

Deconstructing Dwight, Part 1 of dozens of chapters to come, undoubtedly.

The Lakers center took the court Sunday for the first time with his new team and showed exactly why he was different from Andrew Bynum. Markedly.

Dwight Howard has instincts that his predecessor has rarely shown, scoring five times off alley-oop passes and teammates’ missed shots in an exhibition game against Sacramento. Unlike Bynum, Howard’s not a guy who needs the ball in the post, though he showed a left-handed hook shot against the Kings.

Howard is ambidextrous, the result of a childhood accident in which he broke the wrist of his dominant (left) hand and learned to shoot with his right. He passes with his right hand, shoots free throws right-handed and shoots from the post slightly more with his left hand. But only slightly.

“Dwight’s body is far more genetically gifted than Andrew. Andrew has had some issues obviously in his lower extremities in both knees,” said Lakers assistant coach Chuck Person, who worked with Bynum last season and now Howard.

— Reported by Mike Bresnahan of the Los Angeles Times

Kobe Bryant has skipped the Los Angeles Lakers’ practice to rest his aching right foot.

The Lakers announced Monday that Bryant’s foot is sore and bruised.

Bryant was injured during the third quarter of the Lakers’ 99-92 preseason loss to Sacramento on Sunday night. He stayed in the game and scored 21 points.

Bryant has fought a handful of nagging injuries in training camp this month.

— Reported by the Associated Press

The Los Angeles Lakers have waived Chris Douglas-Roberts and Greg Somogyi, it was announced today.

Douglas-Roberts, a three-year NBA veteran out of the University of Memphis, was originally selected by the then-New Jersey Nets in the second  round (40th overall) of the 2008 NBA Draft. Douglas-Roberts has appeared in 155 NBA games (53 starts) for the Nets and the Milwaukee Bucks, recording career averages of 7.7 points and 2.2 rebounds in 20.6 minutes.  The 6-7 forward spent the 2011-12 season playing for Virtus Bologna of the Italian League, where he averaged 12.3 points and 3.0 rebounds in 27.0 minutes. Douglas-Roberts played in four preseason games for Los Angeles where he averaged 4.0 points and 0.8 rebounds in 8.3 minutes.

Somogyi, a 7-3 center out of UC Santa Barbara, played all four years for the Gauchos where he posted career averages of 3.5 points, 2.9 rebounds and 1.5 blocks in 12.2 minutes. In three preseason games with the Lakers, Somogyi averaged 1.7 points and 2.7 rebounds in 7.7 minutes.

The Lakers training camp roster now stands at 16 players.

The Los Angeles Lakers have waived Ronnie Aguilar and Reeves Nelson, it was announced today.

Aguilar, a 7-1, 250 pound center, played two seasons at Colorado State University before transferring to California State University, Dominguez Hills, where he also played two seasons.  Aguilar played in six games for the Bakersfield Jam of the NBA Development League during the 2011-12 season, averaging 2.2 points and 4.2 rebounds in 11.5 minutes.  In four preseason games with the Lakers, Aguilar averaged 0.8 points, 0.5 rebounds and 0.50 blocks in 7.8 minutes.

Nelson, a 6-8 forward out of UCLA, was also a member of the 2012 Lakers Summer League team, where he averaged 4.0 points and 5.3 rebounds in 16.3 minutes. Named to the All-PAC 10 First Team following his sophomore year, Nelson played in 68 games for the Bruins averaging 12.1 points, 7.3 rebounds and 1.1 assists in 27.0 minutes.  In three preseason games with the Lakers, Nelson averaged 1.3 points, 4.0 rebounds and 0.7 assists in 11.0 minutes.

The Lakers training camp roster now stands at 18 players.

The Lakers’ reserves have been a disappointment so far in training camp, but the club got an encouraging boost when power forward Jordan Hill returned to practice.

Hill has a herniated disc in his back, though he said with core-strengthening work his situation shouldn’t prevent him from playing regular-season games. Hill took part in all but the contact portions of practice Thursday, and Brown was impressed by how Hill was able to run nearly full speed in one drill.

Brown said Hill will do more work today and be re-evaluated then. Hill projects to be the backup power forward, playing with either Howard or Gasol in the paint. Power forward is one of the more important positions in Brown’s new offense, so he said Hill needs practice work “to learn specific routes and reads.”

— Reported by Kevin Ding of the Orange County Register

Exactly when Dwight Howard will debut with the Los Angeles Lakers is still a matter of debate within the organization, but Howard is eyeing Sunday evening’s game at Staples Center, according to a Lakers source.

The source explained to ESPNLosAngeles.com late Thursday night that Howard has told teammates and friends that he’s hoping to take the court in the Lakers’ exhibition game against the Sacramento Kings on Sunday.

Yahoo! Sports reported late Thursday night that the Lakers have targeted Sunday for Howard’s debut and are hoping he’ll play in two of their final three exhibition games after Friday, barring any setbacks.

— Reported by Ramona Shelburne of ESPN Los Angeles