Heading into his first practice since straining his right hamstring two weeks ago, Lakers forward Luke Walton on Monday took an evenhanded approach.
He participated in a full practice, and plans to increase the intensity in each ensuing day. Both Lakers Coach Phil Jackson and Walton are leaning toward his sitting out the Lakers' exhibition game Tuesday against Utah, and are hoping he could play Thursday against Golden State. And after going through an off-season in which he's rehabbed his back, Walton hopes to reach that fine line between continuing to strengthen it without causing negative effects.
"Probably," Walton said when asked if the back injury that limited him to 29 games last season related to his recently strained right hamstring. "Everything's related. The back feels great, but the hamstring went on me. So I don't know if it was too much doing back exercises that was putting too much pressure on my hamstring and what-not. The positive out of it is my back has felt great all training camp. Now the hamstring is starting to feel better again, so maybe it's about just finding that good balance between doing my back stuff, but not doing too much of it and doing hamstring work as well."
Walton's injury history shows he's met that approach with mixed success. But as far as taking that even-headed approach toward the triangle offense? Walton's nailed it. Before training camp began Jackson pointed toward Walton's absence as a significant factor in the bench's inconsistency last season, because the forward's team-first mentality and knowledge of the triangle would've helped keep the unit fluid and focused more on execution than individual production.
Although the Lakers surely face more pressing issues, such as how soon Kobe Bryant will fully rehabilitate his surgically repaired right knee or how soon Andrew Bynum will return to the court, Walton's return could help address another issue the Lakers face this training camp -- helping newcomers Steve Blake, Matt Barnes, Theo Ratliff, Devin Ebanks and Derrick Caracter fully understand the triangle.
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