Orange County Register

Luke Walton got a sneak preview Tuesday of what the Lakers missed for half the season last year — Andrew Bynum’s dominance — and gave the center a thumbs-up.

Walton said getting Bynum back will be key to the Lakers returning to the NBA Finals, something he believes they can do this season, barring injuries.

“He looked amazing,” said Walton, who is coming back from ankle surgery. “Obviously it was sloppy pick-up basketball, but as far as his hook shots and blocking the ball and making dunks and cuts, it was good. I was watching knowng that he’s back in the middle, clogging it up, which made it even harder for me not to be out there. Because before he got hurt, I was getting two or three assists a game, throwing alley-oops up to him. So, he looked really good, I was pretty excited.”

Walton said signing Josh Powell to replace Ronny Turiaf was a smart move, giving the Lakers another big body inside. Turiaf, he said, will be missed.

“He made every day kind of fun — the bus rides and playing wise,” Walton said. “And we’re going to miss him on the court as well. Everyone knows what he’s capable of doing.”

You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.