Lakers Wednesday Scrimmage Footage

The @Lakers twitter feed was buzzing all day long with updates and footage.

Included with the 6 seconds of footage is Kobe Bryant hitting a turnaround jumpshot on Jordan Clarkson, Ed Davis swatting a Robert Sacre layup, and Steve Nash hitting a fadeaway in the corner.  It’s been a long time since we’ve seen the Lakers play, but it’s been even longer since we’ve seen Kobe Bryant and Steve Nash in any competitive play.

Lakers Nation also included over 4:30 of additional 5-on-5 scrimmage footage.

Interestingly enough, it’s Jordan Clarkson being matched up against Wayne Ellington and Kobe Bryant. Kobe Bryant is taking him to school and class is in session.  No one else on the Laker team is closer to Kobe Bryant in terms of height, length, and athletic ability outside of Jordan Clarkson.  He has a steep learning curve defending the Black Mamba.

Early in the video, at the 22 second mark,  we see how Wayne Ellington’s jumpshot has plenty of arc.  He shows great potential as a 3-point shooter, since that is his natural shot release.

At the 35 second mark, we can see some early on-floor chemistry issues.  The team is breaking the ice in terms of how they’re playing together, but the two-three dribbles leading to a stop, completely halts an offense.

At the 1:03 mark, we see Nick Young hit a tough baseline shot for an And-1.

At the 1:22 mark, Wayne Ellington gets burned by Kobe for a quick layup underneath the basket.

Kobe Bryant starts looking like himself at the 1:27 mark.  He comes off a curl, takes one dribble into the paint, reverses his spin, and takes a 10′ jumpshot in the paint.  He showed good elevation on the shot.

At the 1:50 mark, Kobe comes around a soft double-screen for a 20′ jumpshot.  He nails it.

Wesley Johnson hits a pull up jumpshot off-the-dribble at the 2:27 mark.  That is a big deal, considering he isn’t as comfortable taking a shot off-the-dribble.  He is mainly a catch-and-shoot player, but any kind of midrange game coming out of Wesley Johnson is a big improvement.

Wayne Ellington takes the ball to the cup at the 2:40 mark for a nice layup.

Nick Young and Kobe Bryant get into a match up at the 2:52 mark.  Nick Young dribbles wide and tries to attack the paint.  He uses a crossover and drives, but Kobe Bryant draws in a jump ball once Nick Young exposes it.  On the ensuing jumpball, Nick Young wins the tip, but both players jump the same height.  Nick Young has a 7′ wingspan and the advantage showed there.

One of the more interesting plays happened at the 3:30 mark.  Kobe draws in the defense by attacking the basket.  He stopped at the free throw line.  In the past, he may have pump-faked his way to a jumpshot.  Instead, he found Steve Nash open on the baseline, who later found a bigman in the paint to draw the foul on the cut.

The practice ended with a layup drill.  Over 80 layups were completed within a two-minute span.

Overall, it’s simply pleasant to see the Laker team on the floor and the guys running up and down.  Unfortunately, Ryan Kelly and Xavier Henry are out with injury, but the team is getting off to a solid start.