Should the Lakers Throw in the Towel?

[DPG21920]

Also, lol Kool stealing other posters takes and bringing them here as his own

[baseline bum]

That has been a problem BEFORE kobe or when as many here have pointed out back when shaq was the the main man on the Lakers.

shooters/scorers who lost their stroke in Los Angeles:

1. Mitch Richmond
2. Terry Teagle
3. Glen Rice
4. Lindsey Hunter
5. J.R. Rider
6. Artest
7. Rick fox


And Kapono and the rookie Godlock are still shooting fine. Like i said their issue is they give up whatever they score on the other end. Bynum though a fine paint defender doesnt cover ground like Dwight where he can make up for slowfooted white guys getting beat on the perimeter.

They asked Rice to be a spot-up shooter when his game was to come off lots of screens like Reggie Miller, Ray Allen, or Rip Hamilton. Then Richmond never looked healthy that season. And Rider was just a cancer.

[Killakobe81]

This is just flat out not true and it's a case of spoiled Laker fan (no offense, you should be spoiled when your team is always stacked) distorting reality. The fact is it's their averages. The bigs have constantly put up eye popping production in nearly every game combined, many times with it being evenly distributed. They also bail LA out constantly on Kobe misses with put backs. How many game winners or last second shots, just this year, has Kobe missed and Bynum put back in at a critical moment?

They aren't just beating up weak front lines, they are playing very well against pretty much everyone.

You are reaching I didnt say it was ALL against weak frontlines, I said MOSTLY ...
Pau and Drew played great against Celts. But what great center do they have? KG is still a great defender but too light for Drew ... and O'neal has shot knees. What were the numbers against Dwight? Probably the best frontlines the Lakers have dominated have been Memphis and Denver but Zbo is mising from the Grizz and Denver has no real PF next to Nene .. they should.

Knicks, Bulls, Mavs, have all mitigated our size and it's not just because Kobe shoots a lot. Bynum is ineffective when he cant back his man down and physical defense bothers Pau, that is no breaking news.

Just admit my worthy adversary you are wrong about the Lakers.

[DeadlyDynasty]

Nice try, I'm talking basketball today.

link?

[DPG21920]

The Lakers are not a sub 500 team. It's not like they're the Knicks pre-Lin era. They have struggled, most notably on the road. But they still have a winning record, and they haven't played that horribly. That's with THE LEAGUE'S WORST BENCH. I think that's more of an issue than the coaching and new system. Good to great teams need production off the bench to have success. The Lakers aren't getting it. And beyond those top 3 guys, Kobe, Pau, and Bynum, they are getting little to no production at two positions (PG and SF). Their depth of talent is the biggest problem they have. And I'm not arguing Mike Brown is doing a good job. But there are more serious issues than him.

I agree with you. I'm not bashing LA, I've agreed with what you've said and I really said all this first even when they started off slow. LA is still a very dangerous team despite their flaws, especially in a West where no one is dominant.

, I've been one of the most critical posters about the Spurs and their chances and even I now think the Spurs have a decent shot at making it out of the West.

[JamStone]

I normally would agree with you, but many around here seem to think these owners knew there would be a lockout. That's obviously hard to prove, but after reading up on the issue, it seems that way.

Perhaps, but there was also a notion that many owners believed there wouldn't be a season at all. And if that was the thought, you might as well go with the guy you're committing to longterm, not a lame duck coach in the chance that there's a shortened season.

[pass1st]

LAL has time to get their together, so they are still question marks. Theoretically, they can field a brilliant team because of their front court being solid and the addition of people like McRoberts equates to having a decent bench.

Truth be told, the only hard weakness the team has is the PG spot. At its current state, the team is simply in shambles. Although, it's harder to see the Spurs making finals that LAL. Spurs would fall apart if Duncan couldn't produce. Lakers do better if Kobe restricts his possession of the ball and takes less shots.

That being said, all the teams except Nugs, Clips and OkC should throw in the towel with OP logic

[Koolaid_Man]

Of course you don't buy it. Your agenda's been pretty clear for years, so it's hard to take you seriously. You said the same when the Lakers were winning les, so you're just steadfastly sticking to your guns now that the team is older/downgraded.

If you think McRoberts, Murphy, Blake, Fisher, Artest, and Barnes cons ute adequate perimeter talent, then perhaps you should follow a sport that's a little more simple--like soccer.

I hope that helps.

go ahead Deads and ing eat his ass out...he deserves it

[Killakobe81]

My bad, I meant mostly ...didnt write that, my apologies ...DPG. But no need to take that so literal .... You know I am not a stat guy like you are, but look up the numbers aginst the better defensive teams, and I bet that I am not far off.

[DPG21920]

You are reaching I didnt say it was ALL against weak frontlines, I said MOSTLY ...
Pau and Drew played great against Celts. But what great center do they have? KG is still a great defender but too light for Drew ... and O'neal has shot knees. What were the numbers against Dwight? Probably the best frontlines the Lakers have dominated have been Memphis and Denver but Zbo is mising from the Grizz and Denver has no real PF next to Nene .. they should.

Knicks, Bulls, Mavs, have all mitigated our size and it's not just because Kobe shoots a lot. Bynum is ineffective when he cant back his man down and physical defense bothers Pau, that is no breaking news.

Just admit my worthy adversary you are wrong about the Lakers.

It's not reaching to call someone out on the semantic differences between saying "all" vs "mostly". Either way you slice it, that is wrong in my very humble opinion. Laker fans bashing their front line is ludicrous to me. Like a Spur fan bashing TP's overall contributions to the Spurs.

[Koolaid_Man]

Also, lol Kool stealing other posters takes and bringing them here as his own

I've always done that I don't work are you kidding me

[DPG21920]

I'm truly sorry you are pink, Kool. I really mean that. I tried to save you from yourself but you wouldn't listen to me nearly a year ago. I didn't want you to be punished, I wanted you to make the decision on your own to do the right things.

- DPG

[Killakobe81]

I love how folks are saying the Lakers are contenders based on how mediocre the West maybe ...that doesnt matter. Spurs may not have a better big 3 but I would punch an infant to have Green, Neal Splitter and even Bonner. Those guys dont get a ton of FGA's but they make them when they do.

The excuse that Kobe is breaking the rhythmn sounds good for the haters but the laker shooters get plenty of looks as most teams are at LEAST doubling Kobe, and Knicks and Celts have doubled Drew as well. We have the WORST 3pft FG% in the NBA ...many on open shots. You can't blame Brown or kobe for that.

And I don't like Brown never wanted him. And agree should of went with shaw in a shortened season, but that is making the assumption team knew lockout would last that long.

[DPG21920]

Laker fans saying they wish they had Bonner is a new low when they are trying to look for reasons to hate on their team because they aren't clear cut favorites.

[Koolaid_Man]

I'm truly sorry you are pink, Kool. I really mean that. I tried to save you from yourself but you wouldn't listen to me nearly a year ago. I didn't want you to be punished, I wanted you to make the decision on your own to do the right things.

- DPG

[DPG21920]

As an aside: lol

NBPA @TheNBPA

Jeremy Lin Destroys Notion That Asians Can't Drive - Forbes

[DPG21920]

Kool is lashing out at me for catching him stealing other posters takes and for making him pink. Let's just stick to basketball. Go to LG and get some more takes.

[Dunc n Dave]

That has been a problem BEFORE kobe or when as many here have pointed out back when shaq was the the main man on the Lakers.

shooters/scorers who lost their stroke in Los Angeles:

1. Mitch Richmond
2. Terry Teagle
3. Glen Rice
4. Lindsey Hunter
5. J.R. Rider
6. Artest
7. Rick fox


And Kapono and the rookie Godlock are still shooting fine. Like i said their issue is they give up whatever they score on the other end. Bynum though a fine paint defender doesnt cover ground like Dwight where he can make up for slowfooted white guys getting beat on the perimeter.

This is the pressure of the big city making good players look mediocre. Same thing happened to guys like Roger Mason Jr when he went to the Knicks. Some guys can't handle their games being under the daily microscope of the New York and L.A. media and wilt under pressure.

It takes balls of steel to excel in L.A and NY... Guys like Horry and John Starks come to mind. Those guys didn't care about the media (or shot selection, in Starks' case), they just went balls to the wall.

[Killakobe81]

It's not reaching to call someone out on the semantic differences between saying "all" vs "mostly". Either way you slice it, that is wrong in my very humble opinion. Laker fans bashing their front line is ludicrous to me. Like a Spur fan bashing TP's overall contributions to the Spurs.

I never said all you implied it because I did not define it. I said againt weak frontlines, obviously since those are averages SOME has to come against better teams.

Who is bashing? The post Kool displayed says that Pau holds the ball too long on offense. ANYONE who has watched Laker games going back to last year's playoffs, would agree with this. Bynum struggles with double teams (though he has gotten better) and with scoring over guys who he does not have a clear advantage on in height or weight ...do you disagree with any of this?

I get you would love for Kobe to facilitate or have some issue with kobe ...but the bottom line is how can a team with a bench this ty with a schedule this hectic is supposed to win? In the Bigs defense, I think they were tired against the Knicks. They played great aginst the Celts. OT killed their legs. But that is also why we have to rely on Kobe because he has the stamina to bring it night in and night out. where I blame Brown, why not use McRoberst for energy and hustle to limit the bigs minutes a bit, especially on back to backs? Mcroberst should get a few mins at backup center ...

Browns rotations have been horrible. But again the roster is flawed, So I have to give him some slack.

[DAF86]

LAL has time to get their together, so they are still question marks. Theoretically, they can field a brilliant team because of their front court being solid and the addition of people like McRoberts equates to having a decent bench.

Truth be told, the only hard weakness the team has is the PG spot. At its current state, the team is simply in shambles. Although, it's harder to see the Spurs making finals that LAL. Spurs would fall apart if Duncan couldn't produce. Lakers do better if Kobe restricts his possession of the ball and takes less shots.

That being said, all the teams except Nugs, Clips and OkC should throw in the towel with OP logic

Spurs were doing pretty well while Duncan was averaging something like 9pts and 6/7 rbds per game, tbh.

[Killakobe81]

Laker fans saying they wish they had Bonner is a new low when they are trying to look for reasons to hate on their team because they aren't clear cut favorites.

I said heck, even Bonner because he can shoot.

Related:
Raptors announcers just said: Bynum has 2 points and no rebounds since Magloire switched on him. Jamal Magloire.

[DPG21920]

Dude, you are looking at one game. Look at game, by game. Bynum and Pau do very well most of the time.

[DPG21920]

I can point to numerous times where the announcers kill Kobe for his fg% and ball hogging at times and you don't agree with that. Even in this game, Kobe passed to Bynum and the announcers both said "see, that is something that needs to happen more. Kobe goes away from them...."

[Killakobe81]

The thing DPG doesnt get is I don't want to "bash" my bigs. I don't give two s about Kobe's legacy or defending Brown. No I dont want us to be clear favorites I dont think we were clear favorites when we went to 3 of the last 4 Finals. But we were CONTENDERS no we are not. I ACCEPT that, but you for some reason want to elevate us there based on some ulterior motives ...

[Koolaid_Man]

Dude, you are looking at one game. Look at game, by game. Bynum and Pau do very well most of the time.