Last season was Steve Blake’s finest season as a Laker. With both Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash out down the stretch of the season Blake took over the scoring and playmaking duties for the Lakers including a monster 24-point, seven rebound, seven assist night in the 99-95 OT victory against the Houston Rockets to clinch the seventh seed on the final night of the NBA season.
Blake has been working out recently with some of his new teammates at the Lakers practice facility as training camp nears, and in an interview with Mike Trudell, had some great praise for new center Chris Kaman:
Chris Kaman is great in the pick and roll. He can shoot the mid range shot; he understands the game and where to be […] He has a willingness to be ok with running into the pick and roll every single time. He can roll; he can pop, it gives us a little bit more of a dynamic option than just Dwight rolling to the rim every single time.
Kaman is definitely more multi-faceted as an offensive player than Dwight Howard, there is no disputing that. His ability to shoot from mid-range and work from the high post gives the Lakers more options, and his willingness to run it consistently is important, especially coming in with the second unit.
Blake will be in an interesting battle with Jordan Farmar and Jodie Meeks to get backup point guard and some shooting guard minutes behind Steve Nash and Kobe Bryant. Blake impressed many last year with how he raised his game when necessary and could be one of those players to flourish if Kobe takes a step back when he returns.
If he is able to develop chemistry with a big man as talented as Kaman it could go a long way towards strengthening a bench for the Lakers that was almost non-existent last season.
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