Lakers to start Smush Parker?

**Kori Ellis** · 10-10-2005

If Smush Parker is your starter, there's a problem.

http://www.sltrib.com/sports/ci_3102744

RIGHT PLACE, RIGHT TIME

By process of elimination, journeyman Smush Parker appears as if he will have the chance to start for the Lakers.

Last week, coach Phil Jackson said he had four starters penciled in - Kobe Bryant, Lamar Odom, Kwame Brown and Chris Mihm. He said he would like 33-year-old veteran Aaron McKie to play a 28-minute role and be on the floor at the end of games, and he all but ruled out starting Devean George in the backcourt.

Parker came into training camp without even a fully guaranteed contract, but he might be Jackson's best option, especially with the Lakers working so much on a high-pressure defense.

''I came into the situation knowing that there's a starting spot open,'' Parker said. ''That's what I'm working toward. But they haven't given me any indication.''

Parker averaged 10.8 points and 3.4 assists for the Lakers' summer-league team and shot better than 50 percent.

**freemeat** · 10-10-2005

hey, I now live in LA....I get to hear this on a nightly basis via the local sporting news. In the Spurs off-season, I got to hear them whine about the dodgers, while I get to cheer the 'stros. Then, we sign Finley, Van Exel, and Oberto while the Laker fans get to hear that they've traded for Kwame Brown and that Smush Parker is gonna start.

Those s are providing for some great SoCal entertainment.

Here's an idea: add Scottie Pippen, with no coaching experience, to your coaching staff to teach a triangle offense to Lamar Odom who will later get pissed that Kobe is playing an isolation strategy run by....Smush Parker. GO SOAP OPERA!

**Horry For 3!** · 10-10-2005

Smush Parker the starting PG?

**Spurminator** · 10-10-2005

Even more scary for Laker fans is that Parker will start AT CENTER...

**Pistons < Spurs** · 10-10-2005

I think you all may be pretty damn suprised at how well Smush can play. This may be a very good fit for him and for L.A.

**Kori Ellis** · 10-10-2005

Originally Posted by Pistons < Spurs

I think you all may be pretty damn suprised at how well Smush can play. This may be a very good fit for him and for L.A.

He's a scrub.
I've seen him play. I'm not even sure that he belongs in the league.

**Sportcamper** · 10-10-2005

Have fun *purs Fans...It won’t last....

**Sportcamper** · 10-10-2005

I know this...With Pippen...Magic...Worthy...Kareem...and Rambis....Our coaches could kick your coaches collective azz’s...

**Sense** · 10-10-2005

Originally Posted by Sportcamper

I know this...With Pippen...Magic...Worthy...Kareem...and Rambis....Our coaches could kick your coaches collective azz’s...

Magic is a coach?

**freemeat** · 10-10-2005

There was a hilarious moment on the sporting news here in LA the other day when the reporters actually asked, "Could the Lakers coaching staff actually beat the players in a pick-up game?" The response from the players, out of respect, was that the coaches would win. And then, the coaches agreed. HAHAHA!

So, yeah...the Lakers coaching staff has more playing experience, but the team can still lick Phil Jackson's nut sac. And you can't EVER deny that.

**freemeat** · 10-10-2005

And Kurt Rambis? You're actually on the bandwagon of a guy who now does accident injury commercials that air on daytime TV?

**Aggie Hoopsfan** · 10-10-2005

* lol

Smush Parker?

TPark could take Smush Parker.

**CavsSuperFan** · 10-12-2005

Andrew Bynum follows in Shaqs footsteps...Sits out pre season with strained abdominal muscle....

**cecil collins** · 10-12-2005

Originally Posted by Sportcamper

Have fun *purs Fans...It won’t last....

It's already lasted pretty long, and doesn't look to end soon so...do you mean in like 10 years or something? I'd be okay with that.

**baseline bum** · 10-12-2005

Wow. Looks like LA will once again have the worst PG play in the league. On a related note, did anyone see that nasty ass block Adonal Foyle put on Medvedenko last night? Medvedenko went up for a 17-footer and Foyle went back and shoved that back in his face before he even let go of the shot.

**JamStone** · 10-12-2005

Smush Parker is by no means the Laker's desired point guard, but they could do much worse in my opinion. When you are on a team with Kobe Bryant who dominates the ball and often brings up the ball on offense, a player like Lamar Odom with great point guard instincts and skills for his position, and the triangle offense, you don't need a great ball-handling point guard or one who needs to know how to direct an offense. Derek Fisher wasn't a great point guard, but gave the Lakers what they needed, a good spot up shooter who played gritty defense. The Lakers' systen requires a point guard who can hit an open jumpshot, defend the point guard position well. Now, Smush hasn't shown that he's the greatest jump-shooter, but perhaps he has improved in that area, and he is a natural scorer, if not a pure shooter. But, what he does offer is great size, athleticism, and length a the point guard position. He's very quick and athletic and should be a good defender on both small, quick point guards, and bigger, stronger point guards.

I would be willing to bet that he will prove to be better than Luke Ridnour, Damon Jones, Mike James, Damon Stoudamire, Brevin Knight, and Dan au.

**Pistons < Spurs** · 10-12-2005

Originally Posted by JamStone

Smush Parker is by no means the Laker's desired point guard, but they could do much worse in my opinion. When you are on a team with Kobe Bryant who dominates the ball and often brings up the ball on offense, a player like Lamar Odom with great point guard instincts and skills for his position, and the triangle offense, you don't need a great ball-handling point guard or one who needs to know how to direct an offense. Derek Fisher wasn't a great point guard, but gave the Lakers what they needed, a good spot up shooter who played gritty defense. The Lakers' systen requires a point guard who can hit an open jumpshot, defend the point guard position well. Now, Smush hasn't shown that he's the greatest jump-shooter, but perhaps he has improved in that area, and he is a natural scorer, if not a pure shooter. But, what he does offer is great size, athleticism, and length a the point guard position. He's very quick and athletic and should be a good defender on both small, quick point guards, and bigger, stronger point guards.

I would be willing to bet that he will prove to be better than Luke Ridnour, Damon Jones, Mike James, Damon Stoudamire, Brevin Knight, and Dan au.

Good analysis.

I think he'll fit in nicely.

**Kori Ellis** · 10-12-2005

I think he'll suck. Odom will play point forward, so they don't need a real PG, but Smush Parker is horrible. It's like a waste of a starting spot to me.

We'll see.

**Obstructed_View** · 10-12-2005

The guy has started 19 games in the NBA and has a 1.1 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. His natural scoring talent has amassed him a whopping 5.6 points per game, most of that playing for the 17-65 Cavs.

Seriously, Laker fans, how much worse could they do? It's sad, bordering on pathetic, the way people are projecting greatness from Smush and Kwame.

**AI-square** · 10-13-2005

Originally Posted by JamStone

Smush Parker is by no means the Laker's desired point guard, but they could do much worse in my opinion. When you are on a team with Kobe Bryant who dominates the ball and often brings up the ball on offense, a player like Lamar Odom with great point guard instincts and skills for his position, and the triangle offense, you don't need a great ball-handling point guard or one who needs to know how to direct an offense. Derek Fisher wasn't a great point guard, but gave the Lakers what they needed, a good spot up shooter who played gritty defense. The Lakers' systen requires a point guard who can hit an open jumpshot, defend the point guard position well. Now, Smush hasn't shown that he's the greatest jump-shooter, but perhaps he has improved in that area, and he is a natural scorer, if not a pure shooter. But, what he does offer is great size, athleticism, and length a the point guard position. He's very quick and athletic and should be a good defender on both small, quick point guards, and bigger, stronger point guards.

I would be willing to bet that he will prove to be better than Luke Ridnour, Damon Jones, Mike James, Damon Stoudamire, Brevin Knight, and Dan au.

I'd agree apart from the Damon Jones bit.

**baseline bum** · 10-13-2005

I've heard Jackson would rather use Kobe in a more SF role and use him as a scorer and not the distributor he was asked to be when Shaq was there. Scrubs are never good fits in starting lineups.

**baseline bum** · 10-13-2005

Originally Posted by JamStone

Smush Parker is by no means the Laker's desired point guard, but they could do much worse in my opinion.

How much worse? By starting Vujacic? The only thing Smush has going for him is a cool first name.

**JamStone** · 10-13-2005

Originally Posted by Kori Ellis

I think he'll suck. Odom will play point forward, so they don't need a real PG, but Smush Parker is horrible. It's like a waste of a starting spot to me.

Kori, I'm not trying to change your mind about Smush Parker. But, when exactly did you see Smush play? For one or two games, for a few minutes? We had Smush here last year for Pistons training camp and for the beginning of the season. And, we saw that he's extremely athletic and can score. Not a great shooter, but he does have a knack for scoring. I'm not saying he'll be great or even good, but it's just my opinion that he won't be a scrub, or the worst point guard in the league.

Originally Posted by Obstructed_View

The guy has started 19 games in the NBA and has a 1.1 to 1 assist to turnover ratio. His natural scoring talent has amassed him a whopping 5.6 points per game, most of that playing for the 17-65 Cavs.

First, when you play very few minutes, statistics are not as accurate a barometer of how good or bad a player actually is if given regular minutes. Secondly, when Smush played for Cleveland, where he ac ulated most of the stats in his NBA career, he played off the ball a lot, not true point. Milt Palacio and either the Dajuan Wagner or Darius Miles point guard experiments ran the offense. Plus that team was horrible. Considering those two factors, it's hard to gauge his asssists-to-turnover ratio.

As to his point production, 5.6 ppg is not that bad considering he did it in 15.2 minutes per game. In other words, his ppg stats per 48 minutes would be 17.7 ppg/48m or if you wanted to gauge it better in starters minutes, say 35 minutes per game, Smush would average 12.9 ppg/35m. For Smush as the fifth option on that Lakers' starting unit, 13 points per game and (if you do the same to his assists per game/35 minutes per game) 5.0 assists doesn't sound too bad at all. It's better than say Bruce Bowen's statistics as the fourth or fifth option on offense for his team's starting unit.

Seriously, Laker fans, how much worse could they do? It's sad, bordering on pathetic, the way people are projecting greatness from Smush and Kwame

Let's see ... how worse could they have done? Start Von Wafer. Start Sasha Vujacic. Start Will Conroy. Start no point guard and let Odom run the point. Acquire guys like Howard Eisley, Troy Bell, Anthony Carter, or Darryl Armstrong and ask them to run the point. Ask Brian Shaw to come out of retirement to take another stab at it. Acquire Latrell Sprewell and wait for the implosion. I think they could have done a lot worse.

Now, I'm not saying Smush is the best option at point guard for the Lakers. Not even close. They should have gone after Antonio Daniels or Earl Watson, or at least a guy like Steve Blake. But, Smush is not the worst they could have done. He's a very athletic player who will score some points but will be mostly asked to hound the opposing point guards. If he's given steady minutes, he might even put up 8-10 points and 3 assists a game. And, with Kobe, Lamar, and Kwame on his team, those stats would probably be just fine for the team.

**JamStone** · 10-13-2005

Originally Posted by baseline bum

Scrubs are never good fits in starting lineups.

Spurs fans can argue to the death with what I'm about to write, but before his 2000-01 season in Miami, BRUCE BOWEN was a "SCRUB" his first four seasons in the league.

Sometimes, it's about a player given an opportunity or finding the right fit with a certain team. Players who even get a whiff at the NBA are most certainly not scrubs, especially ones who aren't 7-feet, 250+. Now, a player may not make it in the league, but sometimes a "scrub" can find the right situation and prosper. Bruce Bowen, Ben Wallace, John Starks, Brad Miller, Marquis Daniels, Troy Hudson among others know all about it.

So, "scrubs" can turn into fine starters if given the chance.

**Kori Ellis** · 10-13-2005

Kori, I'm not trying to change your mind about Smush Parker. But, when exactly did you see Smush play? For one or two games, for a few minutes? We had Smush here last year for Pistons training camp and for the beginning of the season. And, we saw that he's extremely athletic and can score. Not a great shooter, but he does have a knack for scoring. I'm not saying he'll be great or even good, but it's just my opinion that he won't be a scrub, or the worst point guard in the league.

When he played for Cleveland I saw him a lot .. maybe 20 - 30 games of his games. I also saw him in a handful of the 16 games he played last year between Detroit and Phoenix. I just think that he's one of the guys that are barely NBA talent. He could do really well overseas or just teeter on barely being an NBA player IMO -- that's scrub to me. A lot of people freak out over the word "scrub" - to me it's a term for guys who are 10th man on up .. and that's what I think he is.

Thread Tools

Thread Information

Users Browsing this Thread

Posting Permissions