Lakers Rumors & News Recap: Steves, Spurs and a Scrimmage

Steve Nash has been bringing the buzz this off-season, and after last week’s Leno show, he remains a hot Lakers topic.

Remember the ESPN rank Lakers Nation has been mentioning the past few weeks? The results are coming out little by little and today Nash’s rank was revealed; 19th. Not bad. ESPN’s #NBARank is down to the top 20 players in the NBA with four players on the Los Angeles Lakers making the cut.

Nash was the first player to show up in the final 20. Kobe, Pau and Dwight have yet to be listed. Last year, Kobe was ranked seventh, to the displeasure of many fans. Let’s see where a season average of 27.9 points a game this year gets him.

Mr. Blake, the other Steve on the Lakers, wasn’t having such a good weekend. He has suffered a foot injury after stepping on a spike strip in a parking lot. Blake will be sidelined for approximately three weeks, and is prohibited from participating in any impact exercises. Hopefully the injury will not extend past a three week recovery period; Steve Blake serves as the team’s backup point guard, behind Nash. If he is unable to play the start of the season, another potential option the Lakers have to backup Nash is Chris Duhon. Duhon, along with reserve forward Earl Clark, joined Dwight Howard in making the move from Orlando to Los Angeles. Other than those two, the Lakers do not have many solid point guard options. Get well soon Blake.

Remember Elizabeth Benson’s post on OKC and how she foresees them being the Lakers biggest rivalry this season? Well, to follow up, Ms. Benson of Lakers Nation included a dialogue on the Spurs, who are equally capable as the Thunder to beat the Lakers to the Western title.

To see where the Spurs pose the biggest threat to LA, and to catch some convincing video footage, make sure to check out Benson’s post today. She does a great job of summing up where to look for potential difficulties with Western teams down the road.

If you want to get into some more competition news, check out LN’s Locker Room Talk where the Clippers are discussed as a possible rival with the Lakers for an NBA title.

Lakers Nation News

Photo Gallery: Time Warner Cable Basketball Clinic

Steve Nash Ranks 19th in ESPN’s #NBARank

Lakers News: Steve Blake Suffers Foot Injury

Lakers Coach Mike Brown Under Pressure in 2012-13

Jordan Hill, Antawn Jamison Impress in Lakers Full-Court Scrimmage

James Worthy on Lakers: ‘Steve Nash is the Most Important Key to this Team’

Lakers Top 2012 Competition Part II: San Antonio Spurs

NBA News: Udonis Haslem Says Heat Ready to Defend Title

Taking A Look At The Lakers’ Backup Point Guard Options

Lakers Locker Room Talk: Are the Clippers Truly a Rival Team?

Lakers News

Clippers Officially Sign Matt Barnes [SB Nation]

Player Capsules (Plus): The Flickering Candle of Stephen John Nash [Hardwood Paroxysm]

Steve Blake Out 3 Weeks After Stepping On Spike Strip [Silver Screen and Roll]

Andrew Bogut Dismisses the Lakers’ Big Ticket Deals as ‘Kind of the Way It Is’ in the NBA [Ball Don’t Lie]

LAL Scrimmage Notes: 9/21/12 [Basketblog]

Kobe Bryant No Longer Among Game’s Elite [Saving the Skyhook]

20 Signs You’re Ready for the Lakers’ 2012-13 Season [LA Times]

Hill’s Seated Half Court Shot [Lakers]

Bogut Shakes Head at Lakers Riches [ProBasketballTalk]

Is Los Angeles Lakers G Darius Johnson-Odom Shannon Brown 2.0 [Yahoo Sports]

Mike Brown, and Other Coaches, Are Under Pressure [SI.com]

Chris Paul Says He Wanted the Clippers Over the Lakers [Eye on Basketball]

Lakers’ Blake Punctures Foot [SB Nation]

Heat Assistant and NBA Legend Bob McAdoo Thinks OKC’s Still Better Than L.A. [ProBasketballTalk]

NBA News

Boston Celtics 2012-13 Preview [Celtics Blog]

Washington, D.C., News Anchor Calls Dwyane Wade Overrated During Innocuous Book Segment [Ball Don’t Lie]

Isiah Thomas Brings Peace To Chicago [SB Nation]

NBA Offseason Report: Los Angeles Clippers [Eye on Basketball]

2012-13 NBA Player Movement Tracker [CBS Sports]

Stephon Marbury Questions Knicks [ESPN]

Chicago-Born Basketball Stars Hold Tournament to Stop Gang Violence (VIDEO) [Ball Don’t Lie]

Five Teams On The Rise [Hang Time Blog]

Revenge Of The Celtics, The Sequel [SB Nation]

Report: Knicks Are ‘Considering’ Signing Rasheed Wallace [Eye on Basketball]

Iman Shumpert Destroys An iPhone 5 For SCIENCE [SB Nation]

Channing Frye Out For Year: Next Starts Now [Bright Side of the Sun]

Best All-Star Snubs [NBA]

Can Jason Terry And Courtney Lee Replace Ray Allen In Boston? [SB Nation]

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