Fandom aside, its damn impressive what LA did.
Armed with nothing but the MLE and a couple of 2nd round picks they brought in:
Blake
Barnes
Ratliff
Caracter
Ebanks
And solidified their bench at every position with guys who fit and all can play D.
Mitch with the pimphand, had a foodstamp, came back with a cart of Lobster and Ribeyes.
I think T-bone and shrimp would be more accurate ...but I agree strong off-season. My guess is Phil asked for this to return especially if he takes a pay-cut AND Kobe sees the writing on the wall he needs to ring as much as he can now before the Heat put it ALL together ...or he declines SHARPLY
People arent seeing this. Almost every move was with a defensive mindset. 2008 taught the Lakers a lot. They have all the scoring they need. Shutting down the few contenders is what will win #17, 18, 19...
they def added some character to the team
Prediction is Caracter and Ebanks will turn into scrubs. Ratliff is solid along with Barnes but I think Blake will be garbage. I don't see him fitting well into the triangle.
blake >>>>> farmar
Blake skills are perfect for the triangle.
Caracter was one of the most talented players in his HS class and showed that this summer. Ebanks is a year or 2 away.
LA actually has a bench now.
Blake, Barnes, Ebanks, Odom, Caracter, Ratliff. Sasha and Walton - once starters on the Finals team in 08 - now at the end of the bench.
The Lakers had to improve to keep their gap against the other teams, and they did, so they deserve some credit..however, this wasn't really an "impressive" off-season, it was a good one..
I doubt Ebanks or Caracter see any meaningful minutes this year..
Ratliff will probably play because Bynum will most likely be injured(not trolling here, it's a educated prediction), but he doesn't have much left..
The Blake and Barnes signings are solid though, adds some needed and quality depth to the Lakers bench..
Blakes a huge upgrade over farmar.. laker fans will be quite happy with him imho.
Considering all they had was the MLE and a couple 2nd round picks - impressive because its far more than anyone could have predicted. That gained 4 legit rotation guys in Blake, Barnes, Ratliff and Caracter.
Yes sir.. number 22 hangs from the rafters
I don't understand why people think Matt Barnes is a good player. I really don't.
Scratch that. They still remember him feeding Captain Jack for a three point barrage in 07 and dropping a tomahawk on Dirk's head during a 30 point blowout. I'm convinced this is what people think of when they think of Matt Barnes.
What they don't understand is that this was against the Mavs. Against real teams, with real defenses, he is a bum. He can't shoot, he can't pass, he can't defend against anyone worth defending. The only thing he's good for is grabbing a board and picking up a tech shoving someone out of bounds. But we acquired the good Mr. Artest last year for just that purpose.
I don't see how Caracter will be part of the regular rotation if all 3 of Gasol, Bynum and Odom stays healthy.
Heard Odom is out of shape though.
I bet he feels like . Had he kept his yap shut we would have brought him in to back up Bynum instead of Rat (who I like by the way). Matter of fact, Rat is probably better than anyone Miami can afford to sign this year.
It's good to be the champs.#17 coming this year...
.
Your team's chances at number 12 have improved greatly.
Be interesting to see how it all materializes.
He's playing with USA team right now though. He will be in shape at seasons start.
Defense. Defense. and more Defense. We just shut down 3 HOFers in the Finals - holding them to 79 points to cut down the nets. Now we've upgraded our bench tremendously. Here are the defenders we can throw at the Miami Hype:
Wade: Kobe, Barnes, Artest
LeHype: Artest, LO, Kobe
Bosh: Pau, LO, Rat
Mike Miller: Kobe, Barnes, Artest
Big Z: Bynum, Rat, Pau, LO
Chalmers: Blake, Kobe, Fisher
I mean... wtf they gonna do against us? If Wade or LeHype get by their initial defenders we have quality swatters backing them up in Bynum, Pau, and now Rat (who could give us 15 mpg). It's good to be the champs.
I am lmao now at the rest of the West. Lakers are running laps around them right now.
have to wait and see how this materializes on the court...damn I wish the season would start already.
Whats absolutely hilarious is that all those guys absolutely suck, but Laker fans are too stupid to realize that their team DID, in fact, have a great off-season with one single move:
The kept Derek Fisher.
The Lakers need two guys who can make BIG plays and bail out Kobe's ridiculously stupid decision making:
1) Odom
2) Fisher
You can have Kobe. You can have Gasol. Fishers big shooting and Odoms rebounding is what puts the Lakers over the top. Im not saying any team with those two makes a champion, Im saying if the Lakers lost either of those two they dont win a championship.
No one gives a about any of those scrubs. You can have em.
Way to prematurely ejaculate over a couple of second round draft picks.
It's the bench! Nothing more. They improved their bench. Simple as that. They consistently gave up leads last year and they went with a more defensive minded upgrade. Nothing huge but an improvement none the less.
Dusting off a spot for #17...
Paul Pierce this year:
vs. Miami: 20/6/3 on 46%
vs. Cleveland: 14/5/4 on 35%
vs. LA: 18/3/5 on 44%
vs. Orlando: 24/4/8 on 51%
Matt Barnes - defensive ace.
So you are Phil... its scrub time and you look down your bench and Morrison has dissappeared and sitting in his seat is Barnes. Ohhhh bummer...
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