Nba

This is the second post in a series focusing on five things each Lakers player must do to have a successful 2012-13 season. 1. Kobe Bryant needs to score off easier looks. With a much more talented  supporting cast, Bryant will no longer need to carry an overwhelmingly significant chunk of the offense. But that puts the onus on Bryant to ensure that his shot attempts become more efficient. It was never a good idea that Bryant scored 21.7% of his points last season in isolation sets.

How will the Lakers fill out the rest of their bench? It's possible the answer lies with Devin Ebanks, Jodie Meeks or both. Whoever it is, the Lakers hope they can find a backcourt player who could reduce Kobe Bryant's minutes and provide needed outside shooting. Meeks, a Philadelphia 76ers shooting guard, could fill that description since the 25-year-old shot in the high 30% range in the past two seasons. Meeks' agent, David Bauman, said Meeks is on the Lakers' radar and that of "four or five" other unspecified teams.

Manute Bol, who was one of the tallest players in NBA history and gained stature off the court for his efforts to save lives in his homeland of Sudan, has died. He was 47. Bol died Saturday at the University of Virginia Medical Center in Charlottesville, a spokeswoman said. She did not comment on a cause of death. Tom Prichard, executive director of the group Sudan Sunrise, told the Associated Press that Bol was being treated for severe kidney trouble and a painful skin condition.

LAS VEGAS — There's less of Reeves Nelson than before. He has shaved about 15 pounds off his 6-foot-8 hulk since December, shrunk his body fat percentage to 3% and chipped away at the arrogant pride that he says once derailed him. He sits at the end of the Lakers' bench as a member of their Summer League team here, not playing a single second in two games through Saturday, clapping for his teammates, clinging to the edges of his childhood dream....

Every year, Forbes magazine releases a list of the most valuable franchises in sports, but recently they have been branching out to do other sports-related money lists. The one they came out with on Tuesday is sure to get people talking. Forbes took a little-known stat, wins produced, and compared it to the salaries of each NBA player and came up with a list of the 10-most overpaid players in the NBA. Players who have been injured most of the season, such as Amare Stoudemire and Derrick Rose, weren't eligible.

INDIANA AT MIAMI 3 p.m. PDT Sunday. TV: None. Winners of 17 consecutive games, Miami is wiping away some of its smudges from earlier in the season while it cleans up on the rest of the NBA. Last week, the Heat posted a resounding comeback victory against New York after previously suffering a pair of 20-point defeats against the Knicks. Now the Heat looks to improve on its 0-2 record against Indiana, widely perceived as the only realistic challenger to the defending NBA champions in the Eastern Conference.

The meeting between Coach Mike Brown and All-Star guard Kobe Bryant would mark an important breakthrough in defining their relationship. Bryant had remained quiet about Brown's hire as Phil Jackson's replacement since the front office didn't alert him beforehand. Brown arrived in Los Angeles to a throng of skeptics, and he needed to make sure Bryant wasn't one of them. And the meeting, set at a golf course in Orange County, reconfirmed what drives Bryant in his 16th season as he stressed the desire to win a sixth NBA title.

LAKERS AT PHOENIX Monday, 6 p.m. PST, Ch. 9 With Lakerdom out of its home trot after the home team's marquee pratfall on Christmas, everyone will be waiting to see how the Lakers handle more challenges, and a schedule with 33 of their last 54 games on the road. The Suns, getting cricks in their neck from looking up at the taller Lakers, are 2-8 in their last 10 meetings, losing the first two this season by margins of 19 and 20 points. Nevertheless, the Suns, led by Steve Nash, have their own little resurgence and this marks the end of their brutal start, with 17 of their first 30 games on the road.

Time and again, the Lakers ran into a roadblock that nearly tripped them. Mike Brown entered his first season as the Lakers' head coach without a full training camp to fully teach his concepts. His players entered the 2011-12 season without enough time to learn them. The rest the Lakers enjoyed during a prolonged lockout suddenly evaporated as they navigated a grinding 66-game schedule. The disconnect between players and coaching staff led to constant rotation shuffling and underutilized roles.

MIAMI AT LAKERS: Saturday at 2 p.m. PST. TV: ABC. Good thing I mentioned it or you might have missed it, if you blasted into space or whatever it takes to get away from ESPN. There hasn't been such hype since Shaquille O'Neal's return as a member of the Heat on Christmas 2004, with the Lakers 14-11 ? en route to 34-48 ? so he and Kobe Bryant could hate on each other as a Yuletide treat. Showing how far the NBA has come, there's actual basketball to hype. This matchup is looking better with Andrew Bynum back and Miami stomping on 11 opponents in a row. The Heat still figures to have problems with big elite teams like Boston and the Lakers.