It was just the other day when I was talking about the Lakers' second unit when I ventured a guess that forward Luke Walton wouldn't return to form anytime soon.
Well, Son of Bill is trying to prove me wrong. In an interview with Mike Trudell on the Lakers' own Basketblog, Walton said, "I’ve put together a great team of people to work with, with our strength coach with the Lakers [Chip Schaefer], a back specialist for some exercises, a Pilates teacher and a yoga teacher. I’ve just been mixing and matching all of those people every single day for the past two months to get this as strong as I can." That's an impressive regimen.
Speaking of which, Walton says that Kobe Bryant is about to begin a new regimen, getting on the court and testing out his surgically repaired body.
"I’ve seen Kobe at the gym the last couple weeks rehabbing his knee," Walton told Trudell. "He’s itching to get back on the court. He shows up every morning at 7 a.m. at the team’s facility and is kind of wrapping up around the time I get there at around 9 a.m. Kobe looks great -- he says his knee feels great. He’s just about to start doing basketball workouts again and can’t wait for it."
I'm still skeptical that Walton will come back 100%. You get to a certain age, and for elite athletes it's a lot younger than for most, and your back is never the same once you injure it. For the Lakers' sake, I hope I'm wrong because Walton is a viable piece of the second unit.
-- Dan Loumena
Photo: Luke Walton and teammate Andrew Bynum, right, react to a turnover by the Boston Celtics during Game 3 of the 2010 NBA Finals. Credit: Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times