# What's up with Luke Walton



## JerryWest (Jun 24, 2002)

I always felt he was a good pick for a role player.

However he can't possible keep playing at this level can he?

Or maybe he can offensively but will just be a potential defensive liability?

Bynum is finally getting minutes which is great. I was among the minority that thought he was way underplayed last year. The guy has soft hands so he can actually catch passes unlike Kwame.

But back to the your point, what do you think Walton can do for the rest of the year?

I'm thinking 10 points, 4 boards, 3.5 assists. You think over or under my estimate?


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## SoCalfan21 (Jul 19, 2004)

nice haircut for walton


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## Cap (Nov 5, 2003)

He got leaner and meaner in the offseason, nice surprise there. And his jumper seems to be more consistent, though still not noticably more so (he has had his stretches so far this season). 

Overall, no, he can't keep up this production. Wait until the end of the month to see. He'll be a nice role player for the rest of his career, 7th-8th man racking up maybe 15 mpg tops. Radman is a better player when he's healthy.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

i think luke can keep up 14ppg 6 rebs 5 assists per game... at least with this team.


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## NOODLESTYLE (Jan 20, 2005)

I think Luke Walton is tired of being known as the "SON OF A GREAT CENTER", he wants to make it known there is ANOTHER GREAT WALTON and he is playing for the Lakers,


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## ravor44 (Feb 26, 2005)

NOODLESTYLE said:


> I think Luke Walton is tired of being known as the "SON OF A GREAT CENTER", he wants to make it known there is *ANOTHER GREAT WALTON* and he is playing for the Lakers,


It will not happen...


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## ceejaynj (Oct 9, 2005)

I think Luke can keep up his current level of production. It started late last season and has continued. If he doesn't score, he can contribute in other ways...assists, boards...all except solid defense! Hopefully, that will come in time. 

Now, *I am not comparing Luke to Larry Bird*...but his skillset _(other than his shot) _ reminds me of LB a bit. Like LB, Luke can't jump, not many moves, not the greatest defender or rebounder. However, he has the basketball smarts and is the ultimate team player...who can get it done in many areas of the game...including making his teamates better. Who knows, maybe Luke's shot will continue to improve...as it has improved quite a bit since last season.


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

ceejaynj said:


> I think Luke can keep up his current level of production. It started late last season and has continued. If he doesn't score, he can contribute in other ways...assists, boards...all except solid defense! Hopefully, that will come in time.
> 
> Now, *I am not comparing Luke to Larry Bird*...but his skillset _(other than his shot) _ reminds me of LB a bit. Like LB, Luke can't jump, not many moves, not the greatest defender or rebounder. However, he has the basketball smarts and is the ultimate team player...who can get it done in many areas of the game...including making his teamates better. Who knows, maybe Luke's shot will continue to improve...as it has improved quite a bit since last season.


I agree with this. 

Luke has alot of junk in his game and we should have locked him up already. He has the Bird feel for the game. he see's the play before it happens , throws great passes, and knows how to use his body to wedge his way into buckets. 

I think he can maintain his level of play because I think he's a quality player. He is another steal we got in rd 2. he has his father feel for the game. 

His jumper and overall confidence is real high and he doesn't seem like the kinda player who's confidence will dip once he gets some . 

We have at least 4 players on the come and 2 on the way down but we're still plus 2 on the up side.


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## paperclip (Mar 24, 2006)

ceejaynj said:


> I think Luke can keep up his current level of production. It started late last season and has continued. If he doesn't score, he can contribute in other ways...assists, boards...all except solid defense! Hopefully, that will come in time.
> 
> Now, *I am not comparing Luke to Larry Bird*...but his skillset _(other than his shot) _ reminds me of LB a bit. *Like LB, Luke can't jump, not many moves, not the greatest defender or rebounder.* However, he has the basketball smarts and is the ultimate team player...who can get it done in many areas of the game...including making his teamates better. Who knows, maybe Luke's shot will continue to improve...as it has improved quite a bit since last season.


Bird was both a very good defender and rebounder. What Bird lacked in footspeed he made up for with excellent positioning and anticipation both in defending and rebounding. Check out his career rebound, steal and even block numbers and you'll see he couldn't have been anything less than plain good.


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## Silk D (Feb 6, 2006)

If luke continues to improve his jumper, it will open up what he can really do well; make plays for others. playing on a team with kobe, lamar, and even bynum (soon, very soon), it's an absolute must that you knock down open jumpers cause you'll get so many. as long as his teamates, namely kobe and lamar, keep their confidence in him and encourage him to shoot, I see no reason why he'd loose confidence in himself. his body looks great too, better than I remember, so I doubt he'll really wear down over the season in this his third year in the L

I'm gonna say 9 pts, 4 rebs, 3 ast


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## Darth Bryant (Feb 1, 2005)

EHL said:


> Overall, no, he can't keep up this production. Wait until the end of the month to see. He'll be a nice role player for the rest of his career, 7th-8th man racking up maybe 15 mpg tops. Radman is a better player when he's healthy.



I disagree. He has been keeping this level pretty high since he started last season. He might not have had this good of numbers towards the end of last season, but had he played like that last season for an entire season no question he would have been considered for MIP or sixth man. He runs the triangle better than most on the team. And worked on the main two problems of his game. Outside shooting and defense.

I think he can keep it up. But only time will tell.


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## Ghiman (May 19, 2003)

I like Luke's game, he's not to flashy and sticks with the fundamentals. He has a knack in finding an open teammate. I liked that behind the back pass to Bynum. 

I think he can be a 10pts 4rbs 4ast type player this season.


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## ElMarroAfamado (Nov 1, 2005)

yeah it seems as if Luke worked on his shot the off season and it shows....if he can keep knockin down the open Js and 3s...and keep his post game working...he should be able to maintain atleast a double digit ppg average the rest of the year..


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## jazzy1 (Jul 16, 2002)

paperclip said:


> Bird was both a very good defender and rebounder. What Bird lacked in footspeed he made up for with excellent positioning and anticipation both in defending and rebounding. Check out his career rebound, steal and even block numbers and you'll see he couldn't have been anything less than plain good.


Bird was not a good defender not even in the same viscinity of being a good defender. he was bad and borderline terrible at times. And you could handcheck back then.


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## elcap15 (Aug 8, 2006)

I see no reason why Luke cant keep this up. He is very basketball savy, he knows where to be and what to do on both offense and defense. The only thing that held him back last year was his shot, which he worked on all summer long, and it shows. With all the open looks he gets he should be able to knock down 10-15 pts a game. And because he is fundamental, he boxes out nicely to help with boards. He has always been an excelent passer, and if people have to cover him because he can shoot now, he will be passing to people like Kobe, Lamar, and Bynum who can fill up the rim and give him assists.


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## JerryWest (Jun 24, 2002)

Walton
12.7 ppg 4.5 rebounds 3.7 assists

My projection: 10 points, 4 boards, 3.5 assists

He's doing better than I thought, glad I was wrong, it seems like he is turning into a good player.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

i don't think he's a defensive liability. he's got pretty good upper body strength for a small forward while decently agile at the same time.

on the defensive end, he's more neutral than anything - you don't gain or lose anything with him on the defensive end. actually, overall i think he's sort of good on the defensive end, he's a good help defender.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

I don't know what's up with Luke, but whatever it is, I'm loving it! Haha.

Nah he's just playing with a ton of confidence right now. He's hitting his shots, playing good defense, and he executes the Triangle very well.


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## JerryWest (Jun 24, 2002)

If kobe plays jordan role and odom pippen, maybe Walton can be toni kukoc for us. Nah, that's asking too much, Kukoc was a borderline allstar in his best years.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

KennethTo said:


> If kobe plays jordan role and odom pippen, maybe Walton can be toni kukoc for us. Nah, that's asking too much, Kukoc was a borderline allstar in his best years.


Luke isn't even in his best years yet...that might be a couple of years away...you never know...


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## SoCalfan21 (Jul 19, 2004)

luke= Most Improved??


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

SoCalfan21 said:


> luke= Most Improved??


Very possible...I'd love to see it happen.

How cool would it be if at the end of the year Kobe won MVP, Lamar is an All-Star, and Luke wins MIP?


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## Cap (Nov 5, 2003)

Luke is surprising the hell out of me and making me look like a fool. I thought this dude was a good passer and nothing but hot garbage outside of that, but he's a legit NBA starter. Real impressive this year. Still a mediocre defender, but everything else, especially his jumper and his consistency, have improved 10-fold.


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## DANNY (Aug 9, 2005)

Everyone ready to jump on the bandwagon?


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## KDOS (Nov 29, 2005)

EHL said:


> Overall, no, he can't keep up this production. Wait until the end of the month to see. He'll be a nice role player for the rest of his career, 7th-8th man racking up maybe 15 mpg tops. Radman is a better player when he's healthy.


A bit harsh dont you think? Luke definitely deserves starter minutes with his overall production and efficiency. Lakers problem is its depth, and for this team once Vlad gets his groove back, Luke will be back on the bench not because of his play, but mainly because of needs.


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## KDOS (Nov 29, 2005)

Shoot, forget it EHL...didnt know this thread was just bumped. :biggrin:


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## DANNY (Aug 9, 2005)

Anyone know if Luke is wearing those horrible LA Gears shoe?


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## KDOS (Nov 29, 2005)

Thought they were PONY.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

sorry, but kevin martin is going to win this one. he's doubled his averages in points.. from 10.8 to 21 or so.

luke is great and he's been my favorite laker since training camp, but i don't know if you can win most improved player if you average only 12.7 points and don't have a big defense impact on the game. but man, that's going from 5ppg to 12.7ppg, pretty big jump i think.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

^^^ Boris Diaw won it last season with a 13.3 average...I don't see why 12.7 is out of the question.


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

true, i just think that when you go from averaging 11ppg to 21ppg, you get a lot more attention than going from 5ppg to 12.7ppg. once you break that 20 point threshold, people start paying more attention to you.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

afobisme said:


> true, i just think that when you go from averaging 11ppg to 21ppg, you get a lot more attention than going from 5ppg to 12.7ppg. once you break that 20 point threshold, people start paying more attention to you.


I agree it's more impressive but by the same token, it's not only about points.

Luke is also averaging more rebounds, more assists, more blocks, a better FG% and 3-point FG% in less minutes than K-Mart. 

Plus, Luke is helping lead a Lakers squad to a 15-6 record...Kevin Martin and the Kings are 9-11 (although I don't know how much records affect this award, if they do at all).


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## afobisme (Apr 29, 2006)

true, which is why i think it should go either way... but realistically, points per game will reign supreme over those other small factors. at least that's what i think. then again, GMs are the ones who vote right?

and oh yeah, zach randolph may even get a shot at it.. and he's the most bonafide superstar out of all candidates (which means people may possibly focus on him more).


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## KDOS (Nov 29, 2005)

Wins always affects the outcome, If the Lakers push for 50+ wins with Luke maintaining his position and role with the Lakers, winning the MIP is very likely. Also with Lamar out for possibly a whole month, he should be able to push those point productions a tad bit.


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## Basel (Mar 31, 2005)

afobisme said:


> true, which is why i think it should go either way... but realistically, points per game will reign supreme over those other small factors. at least that's what i think. then again, GMs are the ones who vote right?
> 
> and oh yeah, zach randolph may even get a shot at it.. and he's the most bonafide superstar out of all candidates (which means people may possibly focus on him more).


Zach Randolph has already won it before...he won't win it again.


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## Wilmatic2 (Oct 30, 2005)

Luke is playing some of the best basketball right now. Did you see him snatch that board from Deke last night?


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## elcap15 (Aug 8, 2006)

Yeah that was sweet. I love the way Luke is playing now. We are really going to need him to be a bigger factor in the offense now, I can see his totals going up even more.


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