The Lakers recently named Larry Lewis as their new Player Development Coach after two years on the Los Angeles D-Fenders staff. Two years ago those D-Fenders had eight players get called up to the NBA.
Now as a new member of the Lakers staff, it is his job to help the players play to the best of their ability. But to do that, he, like other new players on the roster, must learn a new system. And to do that, Lewis is tudying the game tapes, as he told Lakers reporter Mike Trudell:
Mike’s been running this system for a while now, and you can go back and look at how players got their shots, for example, in Phoenix or New York, or in certain actions last season in L.A.
The guys who may benefit the most from this could be young wings Wesley Johnson and Nick Young. When asked about looking at guys like Raja Bell and Joe Johnson operating in the system and how it could help him understand how to get Young and Johnson better looks, Lewis was positive that it would help:
Exactly. That type of preparation has to happen first so that when we get on the court with a player, we have a clear understanding of the system and the language of that system.
Hopefully Lewis’ presence can allow these improvements to come to fruition. Despite everyone believing Kobe will be back for opening night, the fact is we don’t know if that will be the case and these young guys will play a large role whether Kobe is on the court or not.
If the Lakers do indeed eclipse the 45 wins they got last season, these guys will be a big reason why and their development is in the hands of Lewis. Lets hope all of Lewis’ film study pays off.
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