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I think the problem there might be Rondo is good enough now that he'll find ways to get in the paint without the help of screens and such, last year he was a lot worse and less confident.
Yes they have, the basketball site I use for stats says Gasol grabs the defensive rebound 18.7% of the time when there is an opportunity to do so, which is pathetic because Amare Stoudemire is a horrible rebounder and he grabs it 20% of the time. Bynum is at 21.2%, which means when they are on the floor together and the other team misses a shot, one of those two will grab the board 39.9% of the time, which should probably be closer to 45-50% like Perkins and KG. I think VladRad and Ariza might leak out too much because they really don't contribute to defensive rebounds as much as they should percentage wise, given one's height and the other's athleticism.
I think the problem there might be Rondo is good enough now that he'll find ways to get in the paint without the help of screens and such, last year he was a lot worse and less confident.
Phil Jackson from what i hear, never preaches team defense or teaches defensive schemes.
He has always had the privelage of having great defensive players who dont need to be taught how to defend. Thats the case right now as well. The only reason they are even a decent defensive team is due to thier size. They have some of the biggest lineups in the league.
I think Phil Jackson is a better coach than people give him credit for. He always manages to make adjustments in a series that work out well. Round by round he tends to coach better, it seems, as he scrutinizes what the team he's facing did successfully in the previous round(s) and then attempts to take those things away. While I realize that every coaching staff does this, Phil's teams tend to do it a little better than the other guys, hence all the hardware. He's a pretty darn good playoff coach, regardless of the fact he's always been able to follow the league's best players around.
That being said, I hate the LA Lakers.
I knew they were bad but I didn't suspect them to be THAT bad (given their size).
You've put up a good analysis of the Laker weaknesses and I'm not being sarcastic.
Great playoff coach no doubt, but his preaching of regular season defense is non existent according to Robert Horry.
I've heard that as well, I think he even broke down and admitted it I think that's why he's always gone out of his way to get "big" players.
Who said size doesn't matter
I don't put as much stock in the regular season as others do as it just seeds the playoffd, but....
Last season, before Lakers got Gasol, our record against teams that played in the 2008 postseason was 15-13. After the trade, it was 13-3, and Gasol went down early in one loss and missed another. This year against teams from the 2008 playoffs we are 10-1.
When the Laker record against contenders drops back to the 15-13 level, I will be worried. We were missing two guys out of our rotation last season and still breezed through the western playoffs. Barring a big trade or more injuries, it will happen again. You know it, and everyone knows it.
The Spurs WILL defeat LA in the playoffs.
The Spurs will have their hands full with the Lakers however, the Lakers will have just as much trouble with the Spurs. The difference in this series I believe will be the Spurs total trust in each other to hit the shot.
Lakers a tough team and very deep but in the end the best three in the game plus the new talent of the Spurs will prevail in a classic 6-7 game series!
The way the Lakers are playing now, they would lose to the 8th seed.
LOL we heard the smack talk last year about how the Spurs were going to dismantle the Lakers. It didn't happen.
Your team really hasn't changed all that much. It's Parker, Manu, and Duncan who need to score around 20ppg for you to even have a chance. If you think Hill, Mason, Bonner and what ever other scrubs you have out there are going to be difference makers then so be it.
This Lakers have just added Bynum, Ariza, and who knows who else will come by playoff time in the way of trades or pickups. You simply don't have the depth or personnel to match the Lakers and it will show in a 7 game series.
hes got a point
Yes. I remember that, when Sasha was considered a defensive stopper on ManuRight, a healthy Manu and getting a younger bench won't make a difference at all.
I'm not claiming that Lakers weren't better last year, but the Spurs were no where near full strength and that won't be what you're facing again if Lakers meet the Spurs in the playoff.
Things that went right for the Lakers...
One day off of a 7-game series for the Spurs- had to sleep in a plane overnight.
Kicked the Lakers asses for 3 quarters and ran out of gas in game 1.
Generous no call on Barry's 3 point attempt.
Old ass bench.
Fisher 1 year younger.
Nah, unless someone wins game 1 on the other's floor.
Yes. I remember that, when Sasha was considered a defensive stopper on Manu
I'm not claiming that Lakers weren't better last year, but the Spurs were no where near full strength and that won't be what you're facing again if Lakers meet the Spurs in the playoff.
Things that went right for the Lakers...
One day off of a 7-game series for the Spurs- had to sleep in a plane overnight.
Kicked the Lakers asses for 3 quarters and ran out of gas in game 1.
Generous no call on Barry's 3 point attempt.
Old ass bench.
Fisher 1 year younger.
+1
It's not really that bad, if you wanna talk about bad rebounding for his size Robin Lopez is the king. They need to box their man out but if the other players boxed out the wings wouldn't be able to fly in and grab rebounds over them. As mentioned earlier Phil needs to hold more players accountable on D, he no longer has a team full of veterans and leaders. Their D sucks now but before they had Fisher's leadership it was downright disgusting, in other words they need more leadership from either their players or their coach. Kareem needs to work less with Bynum on offense and more on boxing out.I knew they were bad but I didn't suspect them to be THAT bad (given their size).
You've put up a good analysis of the Laker weaknesses and I'm not being sarcastic.
The Lakers steam rolled the west but then the only one doing the steam rolling was the big green pecker known as Paul Pierce.
who did they steamroll over? the nuggets and the jazz? Scrubs
The hornets and the suns are much bigger compe ors.
Let's refrain from saying the Lakers need to pass a real test until OUR TEAM ACTUALLY DOES IT
god spurs fans are morons sometimes
we heard the same crap last year...the spurs will be lucky to get more than 1 game off the lakers
the lakers are on cruise control right now..they will win the west and should win the le either them or the cavs will
this laker team is so much better than everybody else.
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