spurs will have plenty of bigs as well. and better bigs at that. i for one, think bynum is overrated. take away some decent spots of a couple of regular seasons and you really can not say he has ever done much. he is the tony romo of the NBA, only more injury prone.
pg- Bonner
sg- Haislip
sf- McDyess
pf- Duncan
c - Mahinmi
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Interesting hypothetical line up, but I think you still beat it (or at least match up) with good spacing and knocking down threes. That is the best weapon against a clog in the middle, where otherwise, it will be difficult to score. Not to mention, we finally have a big since DRob who can knock down the 15ft consistently which should draw either Gasol or Bynum out.
Assuming 3s are falling, I still put TP out there. I'm not convinced that Artest, as solid a defender as he may be, can stay with TP (at least not as effectively as Ariza did last year). The Lakers' alternative is to put Kobe on TP. On balance, I'm OK with that since it makes Kobe expend valuable energy on both ends.
On the flip side, this would be a tough match up for the Spurs to be sure. But the one good thing is that the Spurs' D may not have to worry about a consistent threat from the 3 point line. This is important for spacing. It should allow the Spurs' to help TP on D considering the D has less floor to cover.
As some of you have said, I'm not sure we'll see this much, but it's always fun to speculate! One thing is for sure, the mind games have begun.
Like it's been said before, it's a gimmick lineup, one that the Lakers can't afford to put on the floor for more than a few minutes at a time. They are not deep enough to pull it off consistently especially against the better teams with deep benches like the Spurs. I've said this many times before and I'll say it again, the Lakers should have kept Ariza. He knew his worth to Lakers (although you can say it backfired on him)
All this line up does for the Lakers is change the rhythm of the game should they need it. It won't work against the Spurs, Spurs team this year is bigger, younger and more talented. I think the Spurs will be aggressive on both ends of the floor this year, that's why Pops playbook is supposedly smaller and simpler this year. The past few seasons, you needed playbook wizardry to make up for the lack of overall talent and lack of athleticism.. not any more!
Spurs can potentially put a good defensive line-up out there that can disrupt that line-up if players develope the way they should.
I like:
Bogans on Kobe
Manu on Artest
Jefferson on Odom
Dyess/Ratliff/Duncan/Blair?Mahnimi taking on both the Gasol and Bynum
this might work as well:
George Hill on Kobe
Manu on Artest
Jefferson on Odom
(same as previously mentioned bigs)
i think the Spurs have the most versatility of anyone in league at guarding this line-up.
however, there's lots of stuff regarding players' defensive abilties on the Spurs that no one even knows about, esp Haislip, Blair, and Mahinmi.
it's going to be exciting to see how all the question mark stuff works out.
Just for my info how much younger
also, while Kobe would kill Parker in the post, Parker would run circles around Kobe and be able to create for himself and others.
I don't know numbers, but we lost Bowen, Fab, and Ime. We replaced them with Blair, RJ, Haislip, and ?? I'm not counting Dice or Theo because those guys are only going to help the Spurs and don't necessarily need to be young and athletic although it would be plus.
If we assume Blair will get more minutes than a typical Spurs rookie and GH will get some significant minutes this year, the average age on the floor just got a lot younger.
In a battle between Parker and Kobe we all know who would win every time. Don't be stupid.
Besides that, Kobe could just back off and dare TP to shoot jumpers. Like I said earler, he's not getting inside with Bynum, Gasol and Odom clogging the middle.
I have yet to see Kobe try to guard Parker in a game
spurs should not have a problem from the perimeter this season. i expect their 3 point shooting to be vastly improved this year.
Parker has one of the best mid-range jumpers in the game.
Artest makes good teams worse. He has poor shot selection and has never shown in the past that he can be an unselfish player. Bynum also has a bad at ude, and Odom and Bryant have had issues in the past with their mental makeup. My point is the Lakers have a lot of selfish players to keep happy.
I think this over simplifies. Spurs will counter by spreading the floor with dependable 3 point shooters, and a big man (finally!!) who can hit the open shot from the top of the key. Lakers will have to stay home on a lot of people, thereby giving TP some room to roam. Not to mention, TP's shot has improved dramatically over the past 3 seasons.
Last edited by CGD; 10-05-2009 at 07:43 PM.
no, we don't know who would win everytime. remember, it's not the Lakers' board.
9/10 times Parker would get by Kobe and either create for himself or others.
the Spurs can employ various strategies. one effective one is they can double Kobe and force him to give it up to either Odom. we'd welcome them to shoot.
Wow, 82-0 here you come. That lineup has no flaws!![]()
Wow a re ed strawman. Good job!
Honestly I don't get why people rate Kobe as great defender at best he's slightly above average. This is the same guy who got lit up by Gilbert Arenas for 61-63 points a few years ago. This is the same guy who couldn't check Mike Bibby back in the '02 WCF. I think Kobe's strength as a defender is his rep in which the refs allow him to hold and grab without blowing the whistle.
The only thing that's re ed is your overestimation of the abilities of that lineup, but hardly surprising given your consistant overestimation of all things Laker.
If Kobe and Artest don't have to worry about Parker getting past them or shooting midrange jumpers over them, and if Bynum, Gasol, and Odom can keep him completely out of the paint without leaving their man, then you've created the perfect lineup. Parker is one of the best players in the league at shooting midrange jumpers and scoring in the paint, and he's also one of the quickest. If you've solved him with one lineup change then the rest of the league doesn't have a shot.
Bryant has never been able to guard Parker and Bryant can't guard Manu well either when Manu is at full speed. I'd enjoy watching Parker running Bryant off screens, maybe a few well set shoulders by Blair.
Me too. But you had to admit that Shawn and Boris did a better job defending Tony than Steve. Kobe will do a better job than Derek as well.
the only thing you laker fans have is that kobe will torch parker on defense and offense well then how about ginobili running point!
Parker will kill the Lakers in transition
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