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Count Jerry West among those who are tired of hearing about the Lakers’ porous defense.
The Lakers legend told a group of automobile dealers in Irvine the reason the team can’t seem to hang onto leads because they are “getting long in the tooth.”
“If there’s a loose ball now, how often do they get it?” West said.
The Lakers have 10 players 30 years old or older — Theo Ratliff (37), Derek Fisher (36), Joe Smith (35), Kobe Bryant (32), Ron Artest (31, Lamar Odom (31), Matt Barnes (30), Steve Blake (30), Pau Gasol (30) and Luke Walton (30).
He added that “the reason you ‘can’t play defense’ is because you can’t!”
West said Thursday that he doesn’t expect the current lineup to be “good for much longer. … You can keep a car running for a long time by changing the tires, etc. You can’t change a player’s tires.”
Does West think the Lakers will pick up their third consecutive NBA le this season?
“I think Boston is a very dangerous team,” he said. “I would not want to play them every other night.”
http://lakers.ocregister.com/2011/01...se-well/47296/
Gotta agree with Jerry. The Lakers look older than their age out there and it should be no surprise: they have been in the Finals for the past three years and many of their stars played and/or had surgery in the summers as well.
Looking at the Lakers beyond this season: Phil's going to retire. It'll be interesting to see how the next Lakers coach is able to handle Kobe and Co's decline and personalities. The CBA will probably make it that much harder to stack stars as well so I don't see any quick fixes for major roster problems in the future.
Last edited by Cane; 01-21-2011 at 07:29 PM.
Watch a major trade happen now
kobe for blake?
I don't think AGE is their real problem. the Celtics have a lot of older players. The thing is the Lakers have been in 3 straight NBA finals, that in it is a remarkable success but I imagine it can be pretty draining for any team to go through.
I think the Lakers will benefit if Kobe accepts the role of a second option and make plays for Bynum & Gasol. Its not going to guarantee them another les, but it will tremendously change the outlook of the Lakers and they will be a lot harder to deal with. The days of Kobe taking over is over, sure he'll have the occassional Mamba performance against the Warriors, but if they want to go deeper this year, Kobe needs to drop his FGA and allow the team as a whole to operate.
So why is it that people always refer to the Spurs as a veteran team but yet there is supposedly a youth movement on the Lakers squad? lol. They will compete for the next 4 to 6 years for a championship easily with Kobe and this season they have a good shot but I just think it's amusing how no one ever talks about the Lakers as a veteran ballclub, they certainly are, it's not just the Spurs. Boston is also a veteran team and I have to agree with West that if they are healthy with that size they could be a nightmare for Miami, Orlando, Chicago, Lakers, Spurs, Mavs. It's still the Lakers championship to lose this season, they are still the defending NBA champs but they are definitely now a veteran ballclub and Kobe has plenty of miles in the NBA on those legs/knees but he keeps himself in excellent condition to compete for a championship, very athletic player but I wonder when his decline will start for the Lakers, it will happen.
Breaking News: NBA Players get old.
All good things come to an "end"...but not so much for the Lakers. I was sad when Showtime was over back after the '88 season. After 5 rings I was sad to see that era end... Then came Shaq and Kobe just 8 years later in '96...Then their era was over in win '05 after 3 more rings...Then the Kobe/Pau era began...then we won 2 more rings after 3 straight Finals appearances - with a strong chance for another this year.
Bottom line, the Lakers are the glamor franchise of the NBA. Everybody wants to be a Laker. Since everybody can't, they get up to play us. People wonder how a scrub team beats the Lakers. It's simple. The Lakers don't get up for everybody, but we get everybody's "A" game. Sometimes that bites us in the ass, sometimes it doesn't.When the Lakers play, ratings go up, and attendance at that game is sold out - even on the road you will see 1,000s of Laker fans. There is a buzz in opposing arenas when the Lakers are in town. I mean, everybody gets up to play the Lakers. If the Lakers are less than interested, they could be ripe for a loss. We've witnessed that to much for my taste this year, tbh.
All that being said, after the Kobe/Pau era is over - and trust me, with a few tweaks to the roster, the championship window is open for another 3 years - there will be another star in LA to start the championship cycle all over again. Take your pick: D12, KD, or some other superstar will be in LA. Book it.
But back to Logo. He's partially correct. We still have a championship roster. I trust this roster in a 7 game series against any team in the league. When the Laker's coaching staff has time to watch game film and dissect another team's weaknesses, I trust that they will have the boys in P&G ready to exploit them. In the end we will be there. Make no mistake about it. Nobody will want to play the Lakers in a 7 game series. Nobody.
Time for him to pull another Luke Walton for Rudy Gay type of deal.
again only a real playa can decipher this coded language...my demotic script the Rosetta Stone insight I posses says it's nothing but a direct shot / motivational tool for his favorite team to respond to...He did it last year with the whole Lebron better than Kobe spiel and he's doing it again now...
Move along guys nothing to see here...
It's good to be an LA fan, you're pretty much guaranteed to have a Superstar move there.
You ers have it made............
Of course WEst is right ... w are getting older but i bet after the lockout ...we make a move win or lose
No team will be good for long, depending on your idea of "long" (Kool AIDS, don't tell us). If the Lakers are good until about July, that's long enough for them.
you really fixated on a huh?
like I said you're just trying to:
All good things come to an "end"...but not so much for the Lakers. I was sad when Showtime was over back after the '88 season. After 5 rings I was sad to see that era end... Then came Shaq and Kobe just 8 years later in '96...Then their era was over in win '05 after 3 more rings...Then the Kobe/Pau era began...then we won 2 more rings after 3 straight Finals appearances - with a strong chance for another this year.
Bottom line, the Lakers are the glamor franchise of the NBA. Everybody wants to be a Laker. Since everybody can't, they get up to play us. People wonder how a scrub team beats the Lakers. It's simple. The Lakers don't get up for everybody, but we get everybody's "A" game. Sometimes that bites us in the ass, sometimes it doesn't.
All that being said, after the Kobe/Pau era is over - and trust me, with a few tweaks to the roster, the championship window is open for another 3 years - there will be another star in LA to start the championship cycle all over again. Take your pick: D12, KD, or some other superstar will be in LA. Book it.
But back to Logo. He's partially correct. We still have a championship roster. I trust this roster in a 7 game series against any team in the league. When the Laker's coaching staff has time to watch game film and dissect another team's weaknesses, I trust that they will have the boys in P&G ready to exploit them. In the end we will be there. Make no mistake about it. Nobody will want to play the Lakers in a 7 game series. Nobody.
There is a new star in LA but he plays for the Clippers and it will be a sweet day in the NBA when the NBA championship goes through Blake and the Clippers who are building a potential powerhouse over there with a few more pieces - a smart FA would go to the LAC over the LAL right now to play alongside Blake! By the way, the SAS, Mavs, Thunder and Jazz among others will have no fear facing LAL in the playoffs this year and that is only in the West.
One team is owned by Dr. Jerry Buss. The other is owned by Sterling.
What were you saying again?
LOL they may not fear us, but they damn sure will respect us ...
Even a former Laker admitted what ESPN does not want to...
West just imspiring the only franchise he ever loved ...settiing up our next Jerry west influenced trade ...
I just find it funny, every ing day, how BSPN and casual/bandwagon fans talk about the Spurs team as "old" still when you look at the teams like Boston and L.A.
Thunder and Jazz are overrated. Neither team plays any defense, OKC has the worst frontline in the West, and the Jazz have no perimeter game except D-Will. Both teams could easily lose in the first round. OKC is just biding time until Tyson Chandler signs with them in the offseason.
Probably with the NBA Hornets: CP3, David West and Okafor for Walton, Fisher, 2 1sts, and one night with Jeanie Buss for David Stern...
The Logo doin work
Lakers have no fear Jerry West and David Stern are coming to your rescue to save you
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