Tuesday, October 23, 2012

Kobe skips Lakers practice to rest ailing foot

  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.

Kobe Bryant


  Bryant has fought a handful of nagging injuries in training camp this month. A sore right foot kept him out of an early practice, and he missed a preseason game in Ontario, Calif., to rest a strained right shoulder.

  Forward Metta World Peace practiced on Monday with a splint on his right middle finger. World Peace dislocated his finger Sunday night, but popped it back in and kept playing.

Thursday, October 11, 2012

Dwyane Wade unveils new Li-Ning signature shoes


Dwyane Wade

  When Dwyane Wade ended his association with Jordan Brand only a few weeks ago, the assumption and reports of everyone indicated that he would sign a new deal with emerging Chinese brand Li-Ning. It was a big change for Wade, but also an opportunity for him to help establish a new market force rather than help a preexisting power player. The only question was if his new products would entice basketball fans to buy them.

  On Tuesday, Wade revealed his Li-Ning deal and "Way of Wade" shoes at an event in Beijing (the Heat are in town for a few preseason games). While it may seem that Li-Ning got these shoes together awfully quickly following the end of Wade's deal with Jordan Brand, Jonathan Sawyer of Complex reports that Li-Ning had done prep work for a superstar's sneaker and brought those preexisting designs to Wade. They also claim that Wade is and will continue to be heavily involved in the design process, so we should see some changes and new colorways for the "Way of Wade" shoes soon.



  Wade's Li-Ning look is quite different from the more familiar designs he wore for Jordan Brand, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. The key will be for the designs to reflect his sensibilities, and for the nation's consumers to care.

  That last bit is where things get tricky. Li-Ning has worked with a superstar before — Shaquille O'Neal represented the brand from 2006 to 2010. However, as most basketball fans know, Shaq was nowhere near his peak during that period, which helped ensure that Li-Ning didn't get quite the sort of brand awareness they likely hoped for when they signed him. While Wade is not especially old at 30 years old, there have been signs that he's entering a new period in his career, one where he might not be quite the league-altering player he once was. He's an All-Star, certainly, but also clearly a level below his teammate LeBron James. It's an open question as to whether he can still command the attention (and dollars) of the sneaker-buying public.

  However, those questions haven't been answered yet, and Li-Ning has many reasons to be positive. In a few years, we could identify Wade's launch as the moment when a new power emerged in the world of basketball shoes and apparel.

Friday, October 5, 2012

Dwight Howard fires back at Shaq: 'Your time is up'

  Three-and-a-half years ago, Dwight Howard slumped his shoulders inside Staples Center and responded sheepishly on the issue of Shaquille O'Neal trashing him over and over.

  "I can't tell you why he's said a lot of discouraging things," Howard said to me. "I wish he wouldn't say it because he's one of the few guys that we all look up to."

  As a 23-year-old reaching the NBA Finals against the Los Angeles Lakers, Howard was still an earnest young star searching out the blessing that never came from Shaq.

  For all the preaching Shaq had done about paying respect to your elders, Howard never understood why his relentless praise of Shaq was reciprocated with ridicule and scorn. Howard never understood why Shaq didn't see it as flattering that an engaging, dynamic young center had grown up idolizing, even emulating, him.

Dwight Howard


  "Shaq played the game and he is done," Howard told reporters on Thursday. "It's time to move on. He hated the fact when he played that older guys were talking about him and how he played. Now he's doing the exact same thing. Just let it go. There's no sense for him to be talking trash to me. He did his thing in the league. Sit back and relax.

  "Your time is up."

  Howard doesn't need to respond to Shaq to win over Kobe Bryant, because Bryant's already a believer in him. Bryant knows that Howard will come to work every day, that he'll keep himself physically fit. Those are things that Bryant could never count upon with O'Neal. Howard doesn't need to stand up to Shaq for Kobe's sake, but his own.

  Howard has come to the Lakers to win championships, the way that Shaq did all those years ago. He's an iconic talent, and Shaq's kidding himself to try to minimize Howard's dominance. The greatest Lakers center before Shaq believed that, too – long before Howard made his way to Los Angeles.

  Outside the interview room that day during the June '09 NBA Finals, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar shook his head, and told me of Shaq, "Sometimes I wonder about his maturity. He doesn't need to do that. He's achieved so much. I don't know why he stoops to that."

  Shaq is a forever star in the NBA, and gets paid to deliver his opinions on television now. Howard has earned criticism, absorbed it, and yet his talent is too immense for Shaq to believe for a moment that Lakers fans will be longing for him over Howard this season.

Wednesday, October 3, 2012

Dwight Howard says he could play in preseason

  Dwight Howard might not make his Los Angeles Lakers debut in the team's Oct. 30 season-opener against the Dallas Mavericks after all. Howard is now hopeful he can return from back surgery earlier than expected and possibly play in the preseason.

  "Hopefully, I will be back for some preseason games," Howard said following the Lakers' first practice on Monday. "I think we are going to need it for chemistry and all that stuff."
Dwight Howard   When asked if his optimism was reason to think he would definitely play on opening night, Howard was more cautious with his words.

  "All I know is we had a great practice today," he said. "I don't know the date when I will return. But I'm looking forward to tomorrow's practice to see how my body feels when I wake up. We can only go by time right now and how I feel after practice. We are not in a rush. These guys need me for the whole season."

  Howard had been playing one-on-one games against assistant coaches Darvin Ham and Chuck Person prior to the start of training camp. Lakers coach Mike Brown said Howard took part in the majority of Tuesday's lengthy practice that lasted about four hours, but Howard was given a break during a drill to give his feet a rest. The Lakers engaged in light work on the Princeton offense with Howard taking part in each first-team exercise. Howard said he had no setbacks.

  The Lakers play their first preseason game Sunday against the Golden State Warriors in Fresno, Calif. Howard isn't expected to be in uniform. But even if Howard doesn't play in the preseason, the Lakers still have 23 practices scheduled before the start of the season, giving him and Steve Nash time to build chemistry with their new teammates.

  "As long as he's in practice and able to go through things offensively, go through our system and stuff like that, I don't think it will be an issue," Bryant said.

  Lakers assistant coach Eddie Jordan spent time at the end of practice working with the players on implementing the Princeton offense. The Lakers averaged 97.3 points per game last season, a drop of more than four points per game from what they averaged in the 2010-11 season while running Phil Jackson's triangle offense.

  Bryant, who has met with Brown and Jordan about the offense, is excited about the change.

  "The more talent you have, the more imperative it is to have an equal opportunity system where you let the flow of the game determine which shots come for me," Bryant said. "You just work to get the best shot possible and really just read the defense."