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The T-shirts that the fans received read: A New Journey, Same Goal. The ceremony celebrating last yearÆs journey went off without a hitch. The game against the Clippers got the new journey off on the right foot, with a 99-92 win. But if there is one kink the LakersÆ armor, a pitfall on the journey to another NBA Championship, look no further than the LakersÆ bench. The danger sign that lurks ahead has ...

Fans who attended last nightÆs opener with the Clippers received Lakers t-shirts with those words. It was ring night for the Lakers, a night when the team raised their 15th NBA Championship banner above the floor at Staples Center. The 20-minute ceremony officially put last seasonÆs incredible performance to rest and marked the beginning of a new journey with the same goal in mind. Usually, it can be difficult for a ...

Tuesday night, a little after 7:00 p.m. at Staples Center, all of the Los Angeles Lakers will receive their 2009 NBA Championship rings. áThat is, all of the Lakers except for one starter. Ron Artest just joined the team as a free agent this past summer. áHe will be looking on from the bench with eyes that have seen twelve NBA seasons go by without a ring for himself. Those eyes will ...

The Lakers’ Bench Mob helped extend the Lakers preseason record to 6-1 with a 106-89 win over their 2009 Western Conference Finals opponents, the Denver Nuggets. I said in my report yesterday that the two back-to-back games against the Nuggets would go a long way in telling just how sound the Lakers’ bench is. Before last night, the Lakers opponents consisted of non-playoff teams, Golden State, Sacramento and Charlotte.  So, the two ...

So far so good. áThe LakersÆ bench, which had problems all last season including the playoffs, seems to be returning to their 2007-2008 form. Two years ago, it was the clutch play of the ôBench Mob,ö as they called themselves, which drove the Lakers to a spot in the NBA Title Series against the Boston Celtics. Last season, however, their output really fizzled, and the regulars had to carry the brunt of ...

Although the Lakers staff didnÆt make a big deal about it, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar was one to voice his disappointment over the way the LakersÆ young $57 million-dollar man, Andrew Bynum, spent his summer. "I think there are things that have to do with basketball that he could learn but he's getting on in years,'' Abdul-Jabbar said. The Lakers had expected Bynum to spend time honing his basketball moves with his mentor Abdul-Jabbar ...