Preseason is over...

The preseason for the Lakers is officially over. They played both their preseason games against their across the hall opponents, the LA Clippers. Lakers lost both games to the newly revamped Clippers, but even new Lakers Head Coach Mike Brown said before the two games that preseason games aren't about winning for him, they are about tinkering with line-ups and getting a chance to look at some of the new additions to the team and see how the younger talent play in bigger roles.

In the first game of the first half, the Lakers played great team basketball. Passing well, making shots, but they weren't there 100% on the defensive end. But they kept the game close, even going into the half time tied. The second half of the game was a different story. The Lakers fell apart, not hitting their shots, dribbling too much and even got worse on defense. To cap the game off, Kobe Bryant wound up spraining his shooting wrist after driving to the basket, getting hit hard by DeAndre Jordan, and crashing to the floor. The Clippers led by Chris Paul and Chauncey Billups, crushed the Lakers 114-95.

In game two of two against the Clippers, the Lakers started out strong. They were hitting their shots, doing everything Coach Brown wanted them to do. They also played the game without Bryant, who is listed day-to-day with that wrist sprain. The Lakers three point shot kept them in the game. They even fought back in the third and fourth quarter down by 10 to pull within three in the final minute of the game. They lost the game 108-103, but it showed the Lakers can still fight, that was with minutes going to a couple of players Brown wanted to look at in a game situation. If this was a regualr season game, Kobe would of been playing and had the Lakers played like they did last night, they would of won, even against CP3 and the new look Clippers.

It seems a lot of people in the NBA circle are counting the Lakers out of the Conference Finals, even the NBA Finals, just because the Clippers landed CP3 and the Lakers lost Lamar Odom and Shannon Brown. They still Pau Gasol, Andrew Bynum, Derek Fisher and Kobe Bryant, all members of the championship team and all players who can lead the Lakers to the Finals. The team also has some good looking talent that will be able to help this team this season more than ever.

Devin Ebanks. photo from
Zimbio.com

The first player on the list of Laker players that will see a more important role and deserves it is Devin Ebanks. He is the second year player the team drafted from the second round last year out of West Virginia. He stands in at 6'9" and has been known for his defensive talents, but the two preseason games showed he can produced, even in limited minutes. Both games he played 13 minutes, coming off the bench the first game and starting in the second. Brown said the starting position is between Ebanks and Barnes. In the second game, Ebanks started off hot, hitting his jump shots, if he were to of played the entire game, he probably would of been in the double digits, maybe even close to 20 points. He will see a larger role, filling the void left by Odom and playing a Trevor Ariza role, but with what seems a little better offensive weapon than Ariza. Brown said to the LA Times after the game, that neither Barnes or Ebanks "has separated themselves yet, so we're still kind of searching and looking." It might take some time to find the every game started, but Brown might have to work in each player to see who plays better with the starting line.

Darius Morris. photo from
draftexpress.com

Darius Morris, the point guard out of Michigan, showed in the first preseason game he can play and deserves a spot on the Lakers roster. In the first game, he backed up Steve Blake, scoring 11 points going 5-9 in 24 minutes. He also added three rebound and three assists. He could be a nice addition to the Lakers, playing their third point guard and maybe even some two guard at certain times. If he keeps working on his game, improving his NBA skills, then he definitely earn more minutes and could even take time away from Steve Blake, who is a point guard who is hot and cold throughout a game. Also Morris is stronger than Blake, which would make him a better defender, where Blake is more like a poor man version of Sasha Vujacic, who would bump the player he was defending and just get under his skin. Blake does that, but he also plays a lot of "olay" defense, where he just steps to the side and lets his guy goes by, expecting someone else to defend his man. If Morris can improve throughout the season, he can make Blake expendable and maybe even used as trade bait to land another player that could help this Lakers team out.

Another player that the Lakers used the preseason to look at was recent signee Troy Murphy. Last season Murphy was too banged up and injured to play like he did when he was in the Pacer uniform. When the Lakers signed him, they brought him in to help back up the center position. His second outing with the Lakers went well, grabbing five rebounds and scoring five points in 18 minutes of play. That will be the type of production the Lakers will hope to get out of Murphy. A solid 15 minutes will be well worth the money spent on him and Murphy will be able to use this time to show other NBA teams he can still play in some sort of position and be a guy that contenders can bring in to help them spread the floor and rebound, a sort of a hired gun.

Two guards that got some playing time in game two of the preseason were Gerald Green, the former Celtic and dunking machine, and Andrew Goudelock, the other 2011 second round draft pick for the Lakers. Green  hasn't improved since his Celtic's days, playing only eight minutes, picking up two fouls and missing his only shot attempt. His game did not live up to the hype that he had in his rookie season. With his time away from the league, he has played overseas and one would think he would try to improve his game so he can make it back into the league full time. There is a hard chance for Green to make the team. If the Lakers do decide to keep him, he will probably wind up in the D-Leauge, to work on his game. Goudelock showed a mixture of things in the 2nd game last night. He scored nine points, all on three pointers, but went 3-8 from the field goal. He also added four rebound and three assists. Goudelock might have a hard chance to make the team, but he is a better choice for a fourth string guard than Green. He would also probably be more willing to spend time with the D-Fenders, the Lakers development team. He showed he can shoot the ball well when he gets his shot going. On one of the nights where the Lakers are playing their third game in three days, he could help spark the offense with some of his speed and shooting ability.

The Lakers have a lot to do over the course of the season, but they still have a chance to make it to the Conference finals and even the NBA Finals. A team with Gasol, Bynum, Fisher and Kobe should never be counted out. It will just take a lot of stepping up from the players that fill in the rest of the roster, whether it is Metta World Peace, Matt Barnes, Ebanks, Morris, Josh McRoberts, Murphy or Blake.

This Christmas, look for the Lakers playing their first game against the Chicago Bulls, in what will be an exciting game.