Vladimir Radmanovic

Here are some notes on the game.

-    Despite making only one shot, Vladimir Radmanovic is looking active. This here blogger mentioned last year that Vlad Rad looked like he was learning from the Trevor Ariza school of basketball hustle: diving and cutting and looking for offensive rebounds or tip-ins. Last season? He might have graded out as a C-. This year, he’s shooting for an A and is currently sitting at a B. It’s been a pleasant surprise so far, and if he continues to progress and continues to keep his head in the game even if he doesn't get shots, than he’ll be a valuable commodity as a starter. Speaking of taking his shots, Joel Meyers is an idiot. As the third quarter was winding down, Odom got off the bench to come in and Vlad Rad took what Meyers said was an ill-advised 3-pointer (the one that Pau rebounded and put back in). Here’s why that play wasn’t a bad play. It ended with a Lakers score. Here’s why that shot wasn’t a bad shot. Andrew Bynum had Andrea freaking Bargnani on him and Pau (who had initiated the break in the first place) was hustling back down the court with Jermaine O’Neal trailing him. That’s the two biggest players on the Lakers underneath or moving towards the rim with JO behind and Bargnani “on” Bynum. I’d take those match-ups every which way including loose. Which means Vlad Rad, who, I think is supposed to be known for his 3-point prowess (right Joel?) should take that shot every single time in that situation. You’ve got your two best rebounders on isos against weaker rebounders and a wide open look at your bread and butter shot. Vlad’s gotta take that shot. Period. Exclamation! 

Continue reading "Lakers Notes on Preseason game against Toronto"

Well, despite how it began and how it ended, it was a great season for the Los Angeles Lakers. It was long too, just not quite long enough. The next few weeks will be pretty hard to swallow. 39 points will haunt this squad, Kobe especially, for perhaps their entire careers. Nothing is guaranteed and despite the enormous potential and talent the Lakers possess, this very well could have been their last shot at a championship.

Continue reading "Don't hit the Panic Button"

Lakers fans will tell you that the Lakers haven’t hit their stride. That Kobe isn’t playing the same way that he was in the first three series. That he isn’t moving the ball. That he’s taking too many bad shots. They say that Lamar Odom is struggling through nerves and that Pau Gasol is playing soft.

Continue reading "Good or Not?"

And, if you check out that roster at the beginning of the season, you’ve got Vladimir Radmanovic, a guy Phil dubbed the “space cadet” who had wasted several weeks on the injured reserve (IR) because he went snowboarding; Brian Cook, a no arching, flat-trajectory-shot Vlad Rad clone who was upset because of lack of playing time; Chris Mihm, a perennial IRer; Andrew Bynum, called dough boy, who every media person in the world questioned both mentally and physically; Kwame Brown, no explanation needed; Ronny Turiaf, an energetic player who plays with the metaphorical heart, but who has real heart problems; Jordan Farmar, a sophomore point guard; Javaris Crittendon, a rookie point guard; Maurice Evans, an athletic, shoot-first backup shooting guard; Sasha Vujacic, a dude who Phil dubbed an 11 a.m. player because he could hit all his shots during practice, but none during the game; Lamar, a self-proclaimed number 3 trying to masquerade as a 2; and Fish who was the only saving grace for KB.   

Continue reading "Some Random Lakers Thoughts"

foul trouble, the other top performers were the Lakers small/power forward combo of Luke Walton and Vladimir Radmanovic.

Vlad Rad’s been cold this series (shooting under 40 percent), but like I mentioned earlier in this blog, he’s been getting more burn because he’s making other things happen. He has 8 assists in the two games to only a single turnover. Plus he’s still an outside threat, and once he finds his stroke (I’m predicting it will be tomorrow night in Denver), the Nuggets are going to have even more problems on their hands.

Continue reading "What’s Next? The Lakers "Others""

I don’t know if anyone has noticed besides 3-point starved fantasy basketball owners, but Vladimir Radmanovic is starting to become a very solid basketball player. And I’m not just talking about his outside shooting. There was never really a question, okay, he kind of made us question last year, but outside of that, his outside game was never in doubt. He could always stroke the long ball. That’s why Mitch signed him two summers ago to the tune of 31 million over five years. This deal was done in spite of having newly inked Brian Cook and soon-to-be long-contract Luke Walton.

Continue reading "The Space Cadet Blasting Off"

Andrew Bynum has reportedly been working out with Chris Mihm and could run through full practice as early as this week. This is great news. Also great news is the recent play of Lamar Odom. As discussed last week in this blog, Odom has finally started to play with a fire and confidence that has been sorely lacking from his all-around game. He’s shooting 86 percent in his last two games. He’s found a great rhythm playing with both Kobe and especially Gasol and has become deadly efficient.

Continue reading "Bringing Bynum Off the Bench"

his winning while missing Chris Mihm (a perennial visitor to the disabled list), Sasha Vujacic, and Vladimir Radmanovic (no, not a snowboarding accident).

All the injuries have given more time for Luke and Ariza and even Javaris Crittenton (dude’s got game). There’s even been a few, albeit brief, Coby Karl sightings.   

Continue reading "The Good with the Bad"