Ramon Sessions remained on the practice court long after many of his teammates departed Saturday, hoping to accelerate his understanding of the way the Lakers like to do things.
He ran through plays with a bevy of second-stringers before shifting to the other side of the court to work on defensive pick-and-roll coverages with assistant coach Quin Snyder and coaching consultant Ettore Messina.
And his workday was just getting started. There was game film to watch and a playbook to absorb back at his hotel.
"I thought college was over with," Sessions joked, "but I guess it's back. But it's all fun, the learning to get everything down."
Sessions seems to be a quick study. He had seven points and five assists Friday against Minnesota in his first game since being acquired from Cleveland, appearing to shift into fast forward on several bursts toward the basket.
A day later, it was time to slow down and learn the tendencies of his teammates.
"Just being the point guard out there, I feel like I have to know all five spots, what are their jobs out there on the floor?" Sessions said. "But I'm trying not to overwhelm myself at the same time, still play my game and be ready to go."
The Lakers' schedule isn't conducive to helping Sessions get caught up. The team doesn't have two consecutive days without games until a three-day break April 23-25, immediately preceding the regular-season finale against Sacramento on April 26.
Sessions said he would do everything he could to get acclimated, including showing up before practices for extra work. Lakers fans have already helped ease his transition by welcoming him during a late-night dinner Friday and asking him to pose for pictures at his hotel.
"It's been crazy," he said. "I feel like I've played a whole season already."
He's actually played only 19 minutes with his new team, though that's enough for Coach Mike Brown to get a feel for how Sessions improves the Lakers.
"You can see his explosiveness, his quickness, his ability to get to the paint and make plays for himself and make plays for others," Brown said. "He gives us another dimension."
Captain Pau
Pau Gasol said he's perfectly willing to speak up more in his new role as a co-captain alongside Kobe Bryant following the departure of veteran guard Derek Fisher, who was traded to Houston on Thursday.
Bryant joked Friday that he had another task in mind for Gasol: making the requisite small talk with referees before games at midcourt.
"If he doesn't want to do it, I'll do it," Gasol said. "It takes 30 seconds, a couple of smiles and hopefully [you will] get a couple of good calls during the game. That would be nice."
