the Lakers have the sorriest bench out of the top 5 teams

[nkdlunch]

http://www.haaretz.co.il/hasite/images/iht_daily/D050808/JordanFarmar.jpg
http://www.nba.com/media/act_shannon_brown.jpg
http://www.delmarscene.com/data/photos/1213218483.jpg
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/c4/Adam_Morrison.jpg
http://lakersbrasil.files.wordpress.com/2008/09/mbenga.jpg
http://dailyfortune.files.wordpress.com/2009/06/sasha_vujacic_and_fabricio_oberto_51.png

[Strike]

Still the frontrunners in the west, shitty bench or not.

[Muser]

Hell no, that belongs to the Cavs with there pathetic pre-game bullshit.

[DPG21920]

But, but, but Farmar is on the upswing and is a player to watch next year. His PER should be unreal!

You are forgetting Lamar Odom though.

[DPG21920]

Lakers also won with that same exact shitty bench.

[rayray2k8]

You might want to change that Walton pic. :lol
Kinda dragging your own player in the mud there too.
"Dick" Jefferson reference in 3. 2. 1....

[rayray2k8]

Lamar Odom IS the bench!!

[DPG21920]

http://www.usaexpressmoving.org/wp-content/uploads/2008/10/walton.jpg

[KSeal]

I love how the OP conveniently leaves out the Lakers best bench player, Lamar Odom.

[resistanze]

You might want to change that Walton pic. :lol
Kinda dragging your own player in the mud there too.
"Dick" Jefferson reference in 3. 2. 1....

Dick Jefferson's dick is technically on the Lakers' bench!

Dick!

[nkdlunch]

I love how the OP conveniently leaves out the Lakers best bench player, Lamar Odom.

apologies, couldn't find a pic :)

[KSeal]

apologies, couldn't find a pic :)

:lol Yeah, I'm sure that was the reason why.

[TheMACHINE]

You guys act as if 1 or 2 starters wont be playing with the bench players. =P

[rjv]

lamar is solid. rest is average but they at least fit into their roles. except for sasha who now thinks he has a green light to just shoot the ball and think about passing last.

[Ghazi]

Benches are overrated Lakers bench was underachieving last year and they still won. It goes to show it comes down to your core , not your bench. Odom/Gasol/Bryant... Bynum/Artest... from that point on all you need is fillers.

[ginobili's bald spot]

Nice job "forgetting" to mention Odom to make it seem worse. Did you really think no one would notice? :rolleyes

[DPG21920]

Nice job "forgetting" to mention Odom to make it seem worse. Did you really think no one would notice? :rolleyes

Did you notice he had already been called out? Did you really think that you doing it again would make him care?

[ginobili's bald spot]

Did you notice he had already been called out? Did you really think that you doing it again would make him care?

:lol Awww that's cute that you came to protect him. Do you really think I care? I'll say what I want when I want insecure Spur fan. It obviously bothered you enough so mission accomplished.

[Culburn369]

Odom soldiered splendidly.

Walton abided Rule Number 1 of being Walton: first do no harm. He also abided Rule Number 2 of being Walton: obey all rules.

Against the vastly inferior competition (the playoffs) the Lakers faced start to finish...it was more than enough.

They were never pressed. Not for a moment.

[DPG21920]

:lol Awww that's cute that you came to protect him. Do you really think I care? I'll say what I want when I want insecure Spur fan. It obviously bothered you enough so mission accomplished.

You are an idiot. Playing the 5th grade "I don't care, I do what I want.." Shut the f up. So you are saying you wrote that dumb ass comment to bait me in and bother me? GTFO. You had no such intentions.

How does me backing the Lakers and saying they won a title with a shitty bench make me an "insecure Spur fan"?

If you are going to use throw away lines, at least have them make sense you douche.

[ginobili's bald spot]

Did you really think that you doing it again would make him care?




You are an idiot. Playing the 5th grade "I don't care.

:rollin

[DPG21920]

:rollin

Once again you fail. I said you regurgitating what has already been said won't make anyone notice it or make him change anything.

You on the other hand took the stance of "I will say what I want, when I want" , which is like rule number 1 in the douche handbook.

If you can't see the difference, you are a stupid douche.

If you want an example of getting owned, and using things in the right context:

You say random, senseless, throw away line: "Insecure Spur fan" and I say "coming from a Laker fan with "ginobili's bald spot" as his name posting on a rival board looking for acceptance". See how that works douche?

STFU.

[VivaPopovich]

Shannon Brown is good.

Adam Morrison is not.

[ginobili's bald spot]

lol forgetting to mention Odom

[kwamay_brown54]

Laff at walton jr. all you want, but this guy has one of the highest +/- ratings in the league per 48 minutes.

[sribb43]

Damn that is a shitty ass bench. Luckily their top 5 players are as solid as it gets

[Culburn369]

Damn that is a shitty ass bench. Luckily their top 5 players are as solid as it gets

You got some f'in nerve:::your Terry scrambles out the same side door...into the same hole...same time...every year. Like f'in clock work.

[JamStone]

The problem is that it's the same bench as last year...

And, um, they won the title last year...

[hater]

The problem is that it's the same bench as last year...

And, um, they won the title last year...

did you also notice that the rest of the elite teams got reloaded??

[DPG21920]

Yes the other teams did reload, but they were also pretty far behind the Lakers. So they might have just caught up, who knows. But the Lakers upgraded as well with Artest.

[hater]

But the Lakers upgraded as well with Artest.

the jury is still out on that one

[DPG21920]

Well, by that logic you can say the jury is out on all the other teams upgrades as well.

[My Fault]

Same bench won it all last year.

Lakers bench > Cavs bench

[Ghazi]

Yes the other teams did reload, but they were also pretty far behind the Lakers. So they might have just caught up, who knows. But the Lakers upgraded as well with Artest.

Celtics and Magic and Cavs were not that far behind the Lakers IMO. Not that they're better now, but the gap wasn't that large. Still think Lakers are the best team in the NBA, but even though I said this last year I'll say it again: they will need more outta Bynum to repeat and I think he's capable..

[DPG21920]

The same can be said about Dick. Besides Manu, what other proven players are coming off the Spurs bench. Seems like there's nothing but hope coming out of San An. Bonner? Old Finley? Hill? Haislip? Mahini? Blair? Who are these guys? I'm assuming CIA Pop is going to use Theo for Obama's Cash For Clunkers Program.

I'm just saying...

Finley and Bonner are better than pretty much everyone on the Lakers bench outside of Odom. Hill is just as good as Farmar or Brown.

[DPG21920]

Celtics and Magic and Cavs were not that far behind the Lakers IMO. Not that they're better now, but the gap wasn't that large. Still think Lakers are the best team in the NBA, but even though I said this last year I'll say it again: they will need more outta Bynum to repeat and I think he's capable..

I agree about Bynum on both accounts, but I think the Lakers were far superior to any other team last year. A healthy Celtics would have been close, but they were not.

[DPG21920]

Please. Hill is easily just as good, if not better than Farmar (the one that showed up last year) and Brown.

Finley>>>>>>>any of your shooters coming off the bench and so is Bonner.

[DPG21920]

:lol

You are a staunch supporter of that garbage on that bench, even after the Mavs made those fools look like high school kids. Like I said, Bonner would get no minutes, and neither would Hill. In fact, Bonner is the Spurs version of Sasha.

Uhhhhhhhhh, no. Bonner actually has good shooting percentages and started. He was at the top of the league in 3PT shooting, where was Sasha?

I am not a supporter of those players, but they are better than the trash on the Lakers bench.

The Mavs would have made Farmar/Brown/Sasha/Luke/Josh all look like 1st graders.

We will see who has a better year next year, Hill or Farmar.

[DPG21920]

I know you guys only played a couple games in the playoffs, but Fin did not shoot better than Brown.

I am talking about sustainable success, not fluke runs.

[BUMP]

Uhhhhhhhhh, no. Bonner actually has good shooting percentages and started. He was at the top of the league in 3PT shooting, where was Sasha?

I am not a supporter of those players, but they are better than the trash on the Lakers bench.

The Mavs would have made Farmar/Brown/Sasha/Luke/Josh all look like 1st graders.

We will see who has a better year next year, Hill or Farmar.

I disagree DPG.

All of them contributed somewhat in the playoffs, and I don't see any way the Mavs would be able to throw a defensive gameplan at them to completely shut them down. We never have. No matter who dawns that uniform, they seem to play just fine against Dallas.

[DPG21920]

Do you mean with those players with the Lakers team? Then no. But those players on the Spurs last year, would not have done any better than Bonner, Finley, Mason....

[Def Rowe]

I think a lot of people are sleeping on Shannon Brown. If he gets PT he'll have a solid year. If he has a solid year then the Lakers are 7 deep. That should be enough to contend for a title in 09/10.

[WildcardManu]

Let me get this straight, you think Bonner would get minutes on the Lakers?


The Machine got minutes.

[IronMexican]

The Machine got minutes.

Not when it mattered. I think(I may be wrong on this) Sasha only got 18 minutes the entire NBA Finals.

[Ghazi]

Not when it mattered. I think(I may be wrong on this) Sasha only got 18 minutes the entire NBA Finals.

22 minutes actually. God you're so ignorant!!

[DPG21920]

Let me get this straight, you think Bonner would get minutes on the Lakers? Seriously, who would sit? Who would sit for Hill to get minutes. There is no denying Finley was once a very good player in this league, but he's worthless now, and most of your fan base agrees.

I am not saying Bonner is the best player in the world. But he was on a Spurs team devoid of bigs.

He is certainly better than Powell and has proved this. Played a starters role and helped the team get to 54 wins.

If he was on a team, deep with bigs, he would not play. But he is better than the guys on the Lakers bench.

Hill would definitely compete with Farmar and Brown for minutes. He is a better defender than both and a freak athlete as well.

[KSeal]

Yeah, he barely played, he'd spell Kobe like three minutes in the second quarter but that was it.

[WildcardManu]

Bonner is a power puff forward, and he would get no time on our championship team.

But Sasha did.

[Culburn369]

.

[Culburn369]

"Bonner is a power puff forward, and he would get no time on our championship team."

---

"But Sasha did."

Ipso facto, twixt the two rests "our championship team."

[21_Blessings]

did you also notice that the rest of the elite teams got reloaded??

did you also notice that the Lakers upgraded with Artest?

[21_Blessings]

Ron will be playing more minutes per game than Ariza did. Which means less Luke Walton and overall a big improvement in the team. Brown and Farmar should get better based on their age. Morrison might show something in his contract year being healthy.

Lakers have a better team than they did last season. Enjoy the three peat ladies and gentlemen.

[Chieflion]

Ron will be playing more minutes per game than Ariza did. Which means less Luke Walton and overall a big improvement in the team. Brown and Farmar should get better based on their age. Morrison might show something in his contract year being healthy.

Lakers have a better team than they did last season. Enjoy the three peat ladies and gentlemen.
Highly doubt Walton's decrease in minutes. Phil Jackson loves him for his high basketball I.Q and passing ability. He has the skills obviously, just isn't a ball dominant player and does not have the personality to go out and get points.

[nkdlunch]

Ron will be playing more minutes per game than Ariza did. Which means less Luke Walton and overall a big improvement in the team. Brown and Farmar should get better based on their age. Morrison might show something in his contract year being healthy.

Lakers have a better team than they did last season. Enjoy the three peat ladies and gentlemen.

you do realize Lakers are one injury away from being a pretender?

and before you bring up the spurs answer this. What's more likely, an injury to 5 players that are playing 35+ minutes

or an injury to 3 players that are playing 20+ minutes?

[2Cleva]

you do realize Lakers are one injury away from being a pretender?

and before you bring up the spurs answer this. What's more likely, an injury to 5 players that are playing 35+ minutes

or an injury to 3 players that are playing 20+ minutes?

Not one injury away unless its Kobe, but then again he's inarguably one of the top 2 players in the game.

And you're ignoring the age factor - the reason 2 of those players won't play 35+ minutes per.

[2Cleva]

Sasha played whereas Bonner wouldn't because LA has higher quality depth up front than in the backcourt.

[Culburn369]

you do realize Lakers are one injury away from being a pretender?

Hell, yeah, you struck the template last season with Duncan.

[nkdlunch]

Sasha played whereas Bonner wouldn't because LA has higher quality depth up front than in the backcourt.

that's not saying much. That's like saying Bonner is better than Kwame Brown

[2Cleva]

that's not saying much. That's like saying Bonner is better than Kwame Brown

No Lamar Odom picture up there must be hurting your memory.

Maybe this will help.

http://www.nancarrow-webdesk.com/warehouse/storage2/2008-w15/img.188304_t.jpg

[Muser]

Seriously, this thread has turned into people arguing who sucks more out of Bonner and Sasha :lmao

[TimDunkem]

Seriously, this thread has turned into people arguing who sucks more out of Bonner and Sasha :lmao

It's really pathetic.

[21_Blessings]

Highly doubt Walton's decrease in minutes. Phil Jackson loves him for his high basketball I.Q and passing ability. He has the skills obviously, just isn't a ball dominant player and does not have the personality to go out and get points.

It's simple math. Ariza played 24 mpg last year. Artest averages 35 min a game for his career. That's around what he'll be playing as a Laker. Which means less minutes for Luke no matter how you look at it.

Phil's undying love for Luke is meaningless in this instance. He's been wanting Artest in a Lakers uni for years now.

[2Cleva]

Oh, its not about Sasha vs Bonner. That's just some people wishing they could sweep the subject under a rub.

Out of the champ and top contenders (Cle, SA, Bos, Orl) no one has a player as good as LO coming off the bench. And that includes the Ginobili seen the past 2 years.

[hater]

no one has a player as good as LO coming off the bench. And that includes the Ginobili seen the past 2 years.

talking out of your ass again huh?

last 2 years
manu 18/4/5
odom 13/3/9

[Culburn369]

Stats are everything to the Spurs Fandom.

[2Cleva]

talking out of your ass again huh?

last 2 years
manu 18/4/5
odom 13/3/9

Lies, damn lies, and statistics.

Even with Ginobili scoring more, Odom has had a bigger league-wide impact over the past 2 years. And unless Ginobili magically finds the fountain of youth - he's done.

LO being the ace off LA's bench (and LA's depth up front that allows him to play there) is the reason anyone who wants a ring was chasing big men this summer.

[kwamay_brown54]

It's simple math. Ariza played 24 mpg last year. Artest averages 35 min a game for his career. That's around what he'll be playing as a Laker. Which means less minutes for Luke no matter how you look at it.

Phil's undying love for Luke is meaningless in this instance. He's been wanting Artest in a Lakers uni for years now.

There is a reason why Phil has an appreciation for walton jr. and having rewatched every game twice during the 08-09 season on tape, I can understand why. This guy has a tremendous ability to facilitate the lakers offense and make the correct pass leading to high quality shots. Walton jr. has one of the best +/- ratings on the Lakers, and he also has one of the best assist/turnover ratios for SF in the league. Phil will still play him a solid 20 minutes avg and what he will do is simply reduce sasha's minutes, and play artest at the 2 and walton at the 3. They can switch the matchups on defense then, and have artest cover the better wing player. What now spurs fans?

[Culburn369]

And unless Ginobili magically finds the fountain of youth - he's done.

I get giddy thinkin' about it.

[cheguevara]

What now spurs fans?

what now? Blair, Hill, Mason, Mahinmi motherfucker, that's what

want more?
Finley, Bonner, Haislip, Hairston, Rattliff


we r deep motherfucker!

we can just keep throwing bodies. Any of our bodies is gonna be at least as good or better than 90% of your bench

[in2deep]

:lol

[SonOfAGun]

Blair is going to eat those benches up!


LOL @ thinking Manu is done. You fools need to buy the box set of Rocky and educate yourselves on what happens when you underestimate the eye of the tiger!

[Culburn369]

LOL @ thinking Manu is done.

Oh, but, if he is,,,this will all seem like Sunday school compared to what yer goin' to endure.

[SonOfAGun]

I know :depressed

Manu can't go out like that.

[Culburn369]

I know :depressed

Manu can't go out like that.

He was indeed something to behold at his prime. Nobody was more without conscience than Manu.

[Culburn369]

:lol

Yes indeed. I just hope we get a shot at em instead of the Mavs.

Yep, lay a whoopin' on 'em...then come in here and party our asses off.

[TheMACHINE]

Stats are everything to the Spurs Fandom.

is that why 4/4 (100%) Finals wining ratio is so Godly to them? lol

[21_Blessings]

Phil will still play him a solid 20 minutes avg and what he will do is simply reduce sasha's minutes, and play artest at the 2 and walton at the 3.

No chance in hell Walton plays a good 20 min. He averaged 17 last year behind Ariza. His minutes won't be increasing behind Ron and Morrison being healthy in his contract year. And Morrison will play minutes at least in the first half of the season. If only for the Lakers to showcase him and his expiring contract before the trade deadline.

[2Cleva]

No chance in hell Walton plays a good 20 min. He averaged 17 last year behind Ariza. His minutes won't be increasing behind Ron and Morrison being healthy in his contract year. And Morrison will play minutes at least in the first half of the season. If only for the Lakers to showcase him and his expiring contract before the trade deadline.

Agreed Walton won't get 20+ but not because of Morrison. The expring K sells itself. Morrison only gets PT if Sasha continues to brick.

[turiaf for president]

lol at bonner references. hes a nice player but who would sit for him if he was on the lakers. pau bynum and odom have pretty much taken up the 96 minutes at the 4 and the 5. if need be, artest would get some minutes at the 4.

sasha had a shitty year last year. im sure he will rebound to shoot better this year. but the beauty of this laker roster is they dont need to depend on him. if he struggles again, you can slide shannon brown at the 2, or play artest at the 2 and put odom at the 3 to go big.

it doesnt have to be kobe 24/7 anymore as last year proved. he can let others get in a groove and conserve energy until the last 6 minutes and turn it up. even at 31, hes the best closer in the game.

[21_Blessings]

Agreed Walton won't get 20+ but not because of Morrison. The expring K sells itself. Morrison only gets PT if Sasha continues to brick.

Mitch was hinting at Morrison seeing minutes during the season around the time Summer league was going on.

If Vlad and Brian Cook saw decent minutes under Phil so will Morrison if he can hit the 3 ball. Luke will have his annual minor injury anyway. Either way Morrison will be getting court time.

[bostonguy]

Without Odom/Shannon Brown, I agree it would be a sorry bench. Yes I did say Shannon Brown. I am not saying he is a star or anything like that, but he fits with LA nicely, and I don't see how he won't be a contributing role player for LA for this upcoming season. IMO this is LA's future starting pg.

[DPG21920]

Without Odom/Shannon Brown, I agree it would be a sorry bench. Yes I did say Shannon Brown. I am not saying he is a star or anything like that, but he fits with LA nicely, and I don't see how he won't be a contributing role player for LA for this upcoming season. IMO this is LA's future starting pg.

A nice little run in the playoffs will work wonders for your image. He played well, but clearly Farmar has more talent.

[bostonguy]

A nice little run in the playoffs will work wonders for your image. He played well, but clearly Farmar has more talent.

Brown provides more than Farmar does. He is the big pg Phil likes. He is athletic and strong. He can hit the 3 and slash to the basket. Farmar may have more talent, but he doesn't fit in with LA while Brown does.

[DPG21920]

Disagree, but we will see. If Farmar does not show, then sure. But when Farmar plays his best and Brown does as well, Farmar is better imo.

[ginobili's bald spot]

Boston guy is right. Brown also played well longer than just the playoffs. That's just when people began to notice him because they were watching more. He played well since we traded for him and laker fans were calling for him to play over Farmar for a long time before the playoffs. His defense is soooo much better than Farmars and Farmars decision making and shot selection is always suspect.

[DPG21920]

Farmar had a very off year. His highest PER of 15.29 was better than Brown's career high last year of 12.95. It is amazing how fast 1 bad year will turn people against a player.

I think Brown is a nice player, but as far as being a legit PG, I think Farmar has more upside. We will see who was more fluky, Farmar or Brown.

Before last year Brown was posting very pedestrian PER of 7.62 and 6.57 and Farmar was posting 10.79 and 9.93 was his worst and that was last year. Even his worst year, Farmar was higher than Brown by quite a bit in Brown's standard years.

I think Farmar will bounce back and not just because Hollinger said it. He just has more of a history that proves it.

[bostonguy]

I think Farmar will bounce back and not just because Hollinger said it. He just has more of a history that proves it.


It being a contract year for Farmar will also play a vital role into this season.

[DPG21920]

You are way out of the loop on this one buddy. Shannon had a rough few seasons playing with the Cavs and Bobcats, and he's not your typical PG, but Shannon will definitely be the one the one that replaces Fish after this season. Shannon just might be our third best defender. His leaping is through the roof. He takes high quality shots, and understands how to make plays without the ball. Farmar is still drunk off of his UCLA success, and he literally gets on the nerves of Kobe and PJ. Hes not a team player, he's a horrible passer, he has bad shot selection, and those handles are very suspect. He's what PJ calls, one of our stat padders. Shannon is pushing Farmar out the door just like Ariza pushed Luke out the door.

Kobe, Lamar and Artest are all better defenders for sure, so how can you say he is the 3rd best? Bynum (when trying), Pau and Sasha are all arguable as well.

What does his struggles with the Bobcats and Cavs have to do with anything? It was him playing.

If you compare Farmar's best year with Brown's, Farmar exceeds Brown.

[DPG21920]

I think Brown played very well last year and brought good energy. I just think that Farmar is a better player overall.

Even Farmar's worst year was better than Brown's normal years before he got to the Lakers and Farmar's best year was much better than Brown's best year with the Lakers.

When a player has an off year, most people dismiss him too quickly. Could Brown take over? Sure. But I do not think he is better than Farmar and it would be all Farmar's fault if Brown pushes him out of the rotation.

[2Cleva]

Perfect summary of SB


In the right system, Shannon Brown can look like a fine big point guard. Brown is ideally a shooting guard, but he's nearer to a point guard's height, and his jumpshot is pretty broken. He is an awfully long way from being a 'true' point guard, and his ball handling ability can be shaky. His scoring ability is based around his drives to the hoop, which, while sometimes effective, can get a bit wild at times. Brown is a very good athlete, which helps both his finishing and his perimeter defense (where he can stay in front of most players), but he is not exactly refined in his skills. Nevertheless, in the right situation, he can do a lot of good for your team, and you can love him like a newborn puppy.

Unfortunately, such a system is damn hard to find. You need to find a system that means the point guard doesn't have to shoot too many jumpshots, or run a huge amount of set offense. You need to find a system whereby the point guard's job is to cut without the ball, bring it over halfcourt sometimes, get out in transition, finish near the hoop, hit open shots and play good systematic defense. You need a system where the point guard's major offensive responsibilties (ball handling, passing, shooting) are usurped in favour of deference to superstars, where he can hide his flaws and play solely to his strengths, buoyed by the chance to play with superstars can that mask his deficiencies.

Long story short, you need a Kobe Bryant-led triangle offense to make Shannon Brown look good.

- 14th June, 2009.

http://www.shamsports.com/content/pages/playerProfiles/profileDisplay.jsp?id=739

[DPG21920]

Very nice summary and was kind of what I was getting at. Brown was a product of the system (given the system seems to suit him well). Thing is, even in one of the few systems Brown can play in, Farmar's best in that system was much better than Brown's.

Brown can be effective, but Farmar is a better player.

[rayray2k8]

So staying on the bench topic, which 6th man player, is more important to their team?
Odom for the Lakers or Ginobili for the spurs?

I get that there are a lot of laker fans who prefer Odom on the floor than Bynum, but look at
how much it affected the spurs when they lost Ginobili this past season.
It was basically the same roster from 2007-2008 team and back then they got to the WCF with him, But without him
they got ousted in the first round.

Remember, this isn't about who is the more talented player, it's a matter of who is more vital to their respected team.

[DPG21920]

Ginobili. Without him the Spurs have no shot. Without LO, the Lakers would still be the favorites although the gap would be closed.

[TheMACHINE]

Alot of people agree that the Shannon Brown dunk on Anderson was the turn around point for the Lakers in the playoffs.

6WTlcqB0EIE

[KSeal]

Alot of people agree that the Shannon Brown dunk on Anderson was the turn around point for the Lakers in the playoffs.

6WTlcqB0EIE

That seriously was, the Lakers were looking screwed at that point then after that they went on to dominate that fourth quarter, then game six, then game one of the finals.