Brown’s footwork needs work
January 12th, 2008, 3:34 pm · Post a Comment · posted by Curtis Zupke, Staff writer
By CURTIS ZUPKE
The Orange County Register
EL SEGUNDO - Kwame Brown’s pretty spin move would have made the highlight reel on Friday only if Brown didn’t miss the layup. Brown is seven games into his return from sprained ankle and knee injuries and is trying to regain his footwork.
“I’ve got to get my rhythm back, and my pop is not there,” Brown said. “When I turn out of my moves and my spins, I’m a little bit off balance.”
Brown will probably be somewhat limited the rest of the season, but the Lakers don’t rely on him as much since the emergence of Andrew Bynum.
Brown, who averaged more than 24 minutes in his first six games of the season, has played more than 19 minutes once since his return. He played 10:40 on Friday, his fewest minutes this season except for the Nov.18 game against Chicago when he got hurt.
“I’m going to have to get a bike out there or something to get warmed up before the game,” Brown said. “It’s just for 12 minutes. It’s kind of hard to adjust to.”
Brown has also been working on his free throw woes by trying a slower technique that was suggested by assistant coach Craig Hodges.
“Usually the misses I have now are so much softer and so much different than the hard little clinks off the backboard I was having before,” Brown said. “At least I’m giving it a chance to go in.”
Brown is shooting 40.4 percent (11 for 27) from the free throw line. His percentage has gone progressively down in each of the past four seasons. Brown’s best season was his rookie year when he shot 70.7 percent.
