Read More: Matt Barnes (F – LAL), Devin Ebanks (F – LAL), Los Angeles Lakers

The Los Angeles Lakers have had a tumultuous last few weeks, but the team gained some sense of stability on Friday as head coach Mike Brown named Devin Ebanks the starter at small forward. Ebanks, a second year wing out of West Virginia, was in a close battle with Matt Barnes for the starting spot in practice and eventually won out with the season opener less than two days away. Here is the story from Andy Kamenetzky:

Brown opted to go with Ebanks, despite the forward’s lack of NBA experience. As a rookie in the 2010-11 season, Ebanks averaged just 5.9 minutes and 3.1 points per game and appeared in only 20 contests before suffering a season-ending stress fracture on his left tibia in March.

However, Ebanks’ improvement was immediately evident during a strong training camp, and he scored eight points in less than 13 minutes on Wednesday during the Lakers’ second preseason game against the Los Angeles Clippers.

“I learned about it today after practice,” said Ebanks. “I’m just ready to go out there and play now.” Brown thought Ebanks “did a nice job.”

There are players around the league the Lakers would rather have than Ebanks, but it may do the team some good to get some fresh legs on the court. LA has aged in recent seasons and Ebanks may be able to provide a nice spark, especially on the defensive end of the floor.

For more on the Lakers, head on over to Silver Screen and Roll.

Last season, the Los Angeles Lakers added veteran point guard Steve Blake to the roster in hopes of bolstering their three-point shooting.

To the Lakers’ dismay, their plan didn’t yield the expected results.

After playing in all but three of the Lakers’ 82 games during the 2010-2011 season, Blake only managed a three-point percentage of 37.8 (73 of 193). Although it was one of the better percentages from a Laker that season, it wasn’t what they were hoping to get from the seasoned triggerman. When all was said and done, the Lakers had finished the regular season with a disappointing 34.6 shooting percentage from beyond the arch (17^th in the NBA), and with little help from Blake.

Before signing with the Lakers, Blake turned in season percentages of over 40 in two of the previous three years (the third season was 39.5 percent). Once the 2010-2011 season was over and only 37.8 percent of his long shots had found the bottom of the net, it’s safe to say that there was some displeasure with his performance.

Through the Lakers’ first two preseason games of the 2011-2012 season, Blake has looked much better from long range. Not only has he connected on six of his ten shots from deep, but his 20-point performance against the Los Angeles Clippers on Wednesday proved that he still has the ability to be a scorer.

It’s a bit irrational to think that Blake would maintain anything near the 60 percent three-point shooting that he’s had this preseason. However, there’s a definite possibility that he can rebound from last year’s unimpressive showing and provide a spark for the Lakers’ offense.

Especially with the aging Derek Fisher expected to see less playing time as the Lakers’ starting point guard, Blake has a terrific opportunity to prove that he can be the signal-caller on offense. In order to do that, he will need to show some consistency from beyond the arch as well as the ability to stick with younger, quicker point guards on defense.

Once the NBA Lockout ended, the Lakers went out in search of a three-point ace who could help elevate the less-than-impressive outside shooting numbers from their previous campaign.

This preseason, the Lakers went out and signed veteran shooting guard Jason Kapono in hopes of alleviating some of pain that the team felt from beyond the arch last season. Although it’s hard to deny that Kapono is a threat from three-point land, he doesn’t offer much else beyond that which makes him nothing more than a situational shooter.

During the 2011 NBA Draft, the Lakers drafted sharpshooter Andrew Goudelock out of the College of Charleston. Although many teams considered him a huge project, the rookie shooting guard has exceeded expectations this preseason and as of right now still has a spot on the roster. If he can continue to grow as an NBA player while maintaining his excellent stroke and range (3-5 from deep during the preseason) he could definitely be an option for the Lakers as a three-point threat.

The Lakers need an answer to their three-pointer woes and they need it fast. Whether it comes from Blake, Kapono or Goudelock, it will be an essential step in finding their way back to the playoffs this season.

The one promising sign: the Lakers finished the preseason with the third-best three-point percentage in the league with 47.5. Keep in mind, though; the rehearsal means nothing if you can’t perform when the final score actually matters.

If Blake can continue playing and shooting with the same confidence that he displayed on Wednesday night, there’s a real chance that he could be a difference-maker for the Lakers on offense this season.

Gil Alcaraz IV is a Los Angeles native who was born into a family of diehard Lakers fans. For more Lakers coverage, follow him on Twitter..

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There were five Los Angeles Lakers hopefuls who got an early Christmas present today in the form of a severance check.

In a release via Lakers general manager Mitch Kupchak, the team announced Thursday that they have waived training camp bodies Zach Andrews, Chris Daniels, Gerald Green, Elijah Millsap and Malcolm Thomas.

Although you probably haven’t heard most of those names and only saw one of them in action during the Lakers’ two preseason games, all five have been working hard throughout training camp in hopes of earning a spot on the roster. Unfortunately for this group of youngsters, there time is up as members of the Lakers’ squad.

Andrews, a 6-8 power forward, spent the last year with the Lakers’ D-League affiliate, the Los Angeles D-Fenders, before joining the purple and gold this preseason. After playing abroad in Spain, Bosnia, Turkey and Japan, he averaged 11.1 points and 8.9 rebounds per game during his short stint with the D-Fenders.

Daniels, the ninth overall pick in the 2011 NBA Developmental League Draft, spent the last few years playing abroad in Korea. During his short stay with the D-League Erie BayHawks, Daniels averaged 16.2 points, 11.4 rebounds and 2.2 blocks per game.

Green, a four-year NBA veteran and the 2008 NBA Slam Dunk Contest Champion, was originally drafted by the Boston Celtics in the second round of the 2005 NBA Draft. Although he was expected to come in as the replacement for Shannon Brown, his short appearance in the Lakers’ second preseason game against the Los Angeles Clippers wasn’t enough to impress the coaches into giving him a job.

Millsap, the younger brother of Utah Jazz power forward Paul Millsap, was originally drafted by the Oklahoma City Thunder after entering the 2010 NBA Draft as an early-entry candidate. He started his D-League career with the Tulsa 66ers before he was traded to the D-Fenders, where he averaged 23.2 points, 7.7 rebounds, 2.2 assists and 3.5 steals as a do-it-all guard.

Thomas, a rookie out of San Diego State, ended his time as an Aztec as the school’s second leading shot blocker. During his collegiate career, he averaged 11.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.02 blocks. He was sent down to the D-Fenders for one game during training camp, but was immediately pulled back up prior to the Lakers’ first preseason game.

With the Lakers showing these five players the door, the team’s roster has been whittled down to the maximum 15 players, including rookies Darius Morris and Andrew Goudelock. Considering that opening day for the regular season is only three days away, don’t expect to see much more roster movement over the next week or so.

Gil Alcaraz IV is a Los Angeles native who was born into a family of diehard Lakers fans. For more Lakers coverage, follow him on Twitter @GilAlcarazIV.

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While everyone talks about Chris Paul and Kobe Bryant, Blake Griffin has gone into the shadows but even though it is preseason, he called attention to himself as the Los Angeles Clippers beat the Los Angeles Lakers for the second consecutive game.

Blake Griffin is involved in the community. Here he plays with Marines on the Camp Pendleton marine Base.
photo by:Sgt. Vitaliy Rusavskiy Wikimedia Commons

Blake Griffin lit up the outgunned Lakers for 30 points and put on a clinic as the Clippers won 108-103 in the second consecutive matchup between the Staples Center roommates. Griffin’s highlight play of the night was an emphatic slam as he drove the lane unchallenged off a Chris Paul bounce pass.

Griffin and Paul played like they have been together for years on offense but the key to this game was defense and turnovers and this could be a theme for both teams all season. The Lakers turned the ball over 22 times under pressure and they must work on their ball protection moving forward.

Griffin and Chris Paul showed how they will be unstoppable this season with several ESPN highlight moments against a Lakers team without their superstar Kobe Bryant. Bryant sat out the game with a wrist injury that could lead to missed regular season games.

Derek Fisher played in his first game since dealing with months of negotiations to settle the NBA lockout and the rust showed but he did make some impressive plays. When Fisher and Kobe get on the floor together the Lakers will be a different team but the question all season will be a simple one: Can Derek Fisher hold up with the back-to-back games.

Were there any positives arising from the Lakers second consecutive loss in their own arena? One positive was watching Derek Fisher play well at times after a long layoff with limited practice. Aside from Fisher producing in his 24 minutes on the floor, the Lakers and head coach Mike Brown will have a tough time finding many positives in this game.

Metta World Peace (Ron Artest) is looking like a deer in the headlights in his first two games but he never plays well in meaningless games. Once Artest plays ten game in the regular season, Mike Brown and the Lakers coaching staff will know where they stand. Don’t figure in Artest as a strong sixth man off the bench, he can’t handle the pressure.

Christmas Day will provide answers to the Lakers season. Their patchwork lineup, without Chris Paul and Lamar Odom, must prove the critics wrong. If Kobe Bryant misses the first ten games of the season it could be the end of the Lakers hopes for 2012. A ten game stretch without the Lakers top producer in a shortened 66-game season will crush the Lakers.

*Todd Jacobs is a Southern California native and a longtime Los Angeles Lakers fan dating back to the days of Wilt Chamberlain and “The Logo” Jerry West.

Sources:

ESPN Clubhouse: Los Angeles Lakers and Los Angeles Clippers news and notes.

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