Possible playoff matchup: Lakers vs Spurs

[Giuseppe]

If PJ was still the coach I would give the Lakers 99% chance of winning against the Spurs.

I'll just bet you would.

tee, hee.

[midnightpulp]

I know huh? Wade couldn't do it, but some rook can?

"Kobe stoppers" aren't needed. He stops himself on most occasions.

Our main concern is Bynum and Gasol.

[Giuseppe]

Our main concern is Bynum and Gasol.

I'll just bet they are.

tee, hee.

[midnightpulp]

I don't want to spoil your semi-coherent thought, but did you see Sessions blow by JJ last night for a layup? He'll do the same to TP. The difference is Session is a way better perimeter defender than Fisher ever was and Sessions is having two all star caliber 7-footers anchoring the paint. We are a top 3 FG% defensive team with Fisher. Now we have someone younger, that can make layups, score fastbreaksbon his own, and is not a turn style.

I also watched him drop CP3 off this year to the tune of 24 points and 13 assists. This with D Jordan (bpg leader) anchoring the paint. This is for all of y'all that says he can't shoot.

Bottom line: our backcourt defense will improve exponentially now that we have a 25 year old PG that is faster and quicker than 37 year old Fisher ever was. Teammed with Kobe and Artest, you will be unpleasantly surprised.

You're the same dumb who proclaimed McRoberts and Murphy would be more than enough to replace Odom.

And lol at Sessions "not being a turntile" and "being a way perimeter defender than Fisher." He's an absolutely defender not all that much better than the corpse of Derek Fisher, who at least found a way to pull his dead body in front of an opposing player and draw charges. Read the reports on him sometime.

"Sessions’ defense was largely non-existent last season..."

"6. Ramon Sessions — awful defender in Minnesota."

"I've always been a fan of Ramon's game -- sure, he's not a shooter, and he penetrates too often. Certainly wouldn't make a good guard on a team with, say, LeBron and Wade. But he's the kind of guard that at his best can make one or two truly crafty passes per game, rebound better than virtually any non-Kidd point in the league, and get you buckets when you're in a crunch. He's fearless, and that's a big plus at the NBA level. It's true that his defense is among the worst of anyone at the guard position in the league, though. "

Don't get me wrong, it was a good pickup for the Lakers, and the biggest advantage he'll bring is that he can go at other PGs on the offensive end and drop 20 on any given night, but if you think he's not gonna get torched by the better PGs in the league, you're seriously deluded.

Nice, smart pickup, but not the savior that is going to bring you number 12*, or even guarantees you a trip to the Finals.



* les won in Minnesota before the invention of indoor plumbing don't count.

[wanggi]

.

[Giuseppe]

You're the same dumb who proclaimed McRoberts and Murphy would be more than enough to replace Odom.

And lol at Sessions "not being a turntile" and "being a way perimeter defender than Fisher." He's an absolutely defender not all that much better than the corpse of Derek Fisher, who at least found a way to pull his dead body in front of an opposing player and draw charges. Read the reports on him sometime.

"Sessions’ defense was largely non-existent last season..."

"6. Ramon Sessions — awful defender in Minnesota."

"I've always been a fan of Ramon's game -- sure, he's not a shooter, and he penetrates too often. Certainly wouldn't make a good guard on a team with, say, LeBron and Wade. But he's the kind of guard that at his best can make one or two truly crafty passes per game, rebound better than virtually any non-Kidd point in the league, and get you buckets when you're in a crunch. He's fearless, and that's a big plus at the NBA level. It's true that his defense is among the worst of anyone at the guard position in the league, though. "

Don't get me wrong, it was a good pickup for the Lakers, and the biggest advantage he'll bring is that he can go at other PGs on the offensive end and drop 20 on any given night, but if you think he's not gonna get torched by the better PGs in the league, you're seriously deluded.

Nice, smart pickup, but not the savior that is going to bring you number 12*, or even guarantees you a trip to the Finals.



* les won in Minnesota before the invention of indoor plumbing don't count.

Kobe: 5

the tired old bag Duncan: 4

[midnightpulp]

Kobe: 5

the tired old bag Duncan: 4

Here I am indicting Sessions, a player you're not too happy to have, and you throw a non-sequitur my way.

"An idiot guard,"

- Culburn on Ramon Sessions.

And if this boy winds up delivering for you, you can bet I'm holding you accountable for forsaking him.

[LkrFan]

I see mid is trolling again. Nothing to see here.

[midnightpulp]

I see mid is trolling again. Nothing to see here.

at saying Ramon Sessions is a capable defender.

[midnightpulp]

And how am I trolling when I've spoken nothing but truth about Sessions's game?

He's a good scorer, capable of a big game now and then, and where Fisher would often score 0 to 5 points while giving up 20+, Sessions will give the Lakers a consistent 10-12 points a game, but he'll still give up big games to other guards.

[LkrFan]

at saying Ramon Sessions is a capable defender.

We are 3rd in FG% defense. In other words it takes a lot of effort to score on us. That is despite 37 year old Fisher getting raped every night.

I expect the speed of our perimeter defense to improve with 25 year old Session.

[midnightpulp]

We are 3rd in FG% defense. In other words it takes a lot of effort to score on us. That is despite 37 year old Fisher getting raped every night.

I expect the speed of our perimeter defense to improve with 25 year old Session.

Youth and speed =/= good defensive player. Parker is still the fastest and quickest guard in the league and he is a below average defender.

Yeah, a 26 year old 6' 3" guard known for his terrible defense is going to improve your perimeter defense across the board. He may hold his man to 25 points where Fisher would've given up 26. That's how much Sessions will "improve" the perimeter defense.

He'll drastically improve the scoring troubles from the PG position, however.

Quit being a stupid in' homer. Sessions is a "turnstile."

[midnightpulp]

Sessions is 26/63 this year, 41% ain't bad, and that's what the Lakers need moving forward.

Don't expect Sessions to average that number on any significant sample size. He's a penetrate first guard, which is something you also really needed. The Lakers can get away with ty 3 point shooting since they have a dominant frontline and a good mid-range shooter in Kobe. Adding a penetrator is the perfect complement to their offense.

[ElNono]

Plus the Lakers have Murphy to provide floor spacing with the 3s...

[ElNono]

Him and Bonner have a close 3P%.

Murphy 43%
Bonner 45%

...tho Bonner attempts more because he sees more burn time

Which is offset by Kobe taking as many 3s but making less than 30% of them...

[midnightpulp]

I don't expect him to shoot a lot of threes but I am confident that he can and will knock down shots. His defense can also still be corrected. LA has been a great defensive team with Fisher AND Blake. I leave it to Mike Brown to make defensive adjustments. He might be a ty offensive coach but he will find a way defensively.

Easier said than done to turn a historically bad defender into a good or even average one. Popovich has been trying to drill that concept into Parker's head for the last decade and it's never worked out. No amount of speed and youth can hide fundamentally unsound defense.

I also think Laker fans are somewhat overly concerned with the defensive sieve at that spot. I know it's frustrating to watch "scrub" PGs drop career highs on you (Spurs have that issue as well), but traditionally, PG defense has never been an important component to a great team. And because PGs are tasked with so much to do on the offensive end, you typically don't get good defense from the position. I can't think of one team aside from the Mavericks (because they have Kidd) who shut down opposing PGs on the regular.

The Lakers biggest issue is still their weak overall perimeter defense. Artest, Kobe, and Barnes have reached the point where they can no longer guard athletic wings.

That said, Lakers are still a very good team with a good chance to reach the Finals.

[ElNono]

I still think Lakerfan is still in for a big surprise in the coaching department. During the playoffs, in-game adjustments to counter deficient matchups is huge. I still remember Mike Brown puzzled after 4 games trying to figure out why he couldn't stop Parker.

tbh, Phil was great at producing game plans exploiting that and he wouldn't even flinch if the other team made a run. I think Lakerfan will miss that the most. I fully expect panic timeouts and puzzled potato-heads when the playoffs roll around.

[ElNono]

I cringe everytime Kobe holds the ball, jab steps 46423156 times and then ends up taking a three-pointer with a hand in his face.

Oh sometimes he takes a dribble. But he still shoots with a hand in his face. And I still cringe.

tbh, I've never seen Kobe take as many of those 3 pointer-six-feet-away-from-the-three-point-line as this season. I think he missed each one of those I've seen him take too.

[pass1st]

I still think Lakerfan is still in for a big surprise in the coaching department. During the playoffs, in-game adjustments to counter deficient matchups is huge. I still remember Mike Brown puzzled after 4 games trying to figure out why he couldn't stop Parker.

tbh, Phil was great at producing game plans exploiting that and he wouldn't even flinch if the other team made a run. I think Lakerfan will miss that the most. I fully expect panic timeouts and puzzled potato-heads when the playoffs roll around.

His assistants always did most of the work, tbh

[LkrFan]

Easier said than done to turn a historically bad defender into a good or even average one. Popovich has been trying to drill that concept into Parker's head for the last decade and it's never worked out. No amount of speed and youth can hide fundamentally unsound defense.

I also think Laker fans are somewhat overly concerned with the defensive sieve at that spot. I know it's frustrating to watch "scrub" PGs drop career highs on you (Spurs have that issue as well), but traditionally, PG defense has never been an important component to a great team. And because PGs are tasked with so much to do on the offensive end, you typically don't get good defense from the position. I can't think of one team aside from the Mavericks (because they have Kidd) who shut down opposing PGs on the regular.

The Lakers biggest issue is still their weak overall perimeter defense. Artest, Kobe, and Barnes have reached the point where they can no longer guard athletic wings.

That said, Lakers are still a very good team with a good chance to reach the Finals.

Thibbs turned RA and PP into good team defenders. Why can't MB do the same for Sessions?

[Giuseppe]

tbh, I've never seen Kobe take as many of those 3 pointer-six-feet-away-from-the-three-point-line as this season. I think he missed each one of those I've seen him take too.

I'll just bet he has.

tee, hee.

[Giuseppe]

tbh, Phil was great at producing game plans exploiting that and he wouldn't even flinch if the other team made a run.

Now, now this (h)mother er praises Phil.

tee, hee.

[ChrisRichards]

Oh, one thing I forgot to mention is HCA. assuming for a minute Spurs ended up with this advantage, would this matter at all in the playoffs? Currently, the Lakers are not so impressive on the road 9-15? But they do have plenty of games to prove they can win on the road. How are the Spurs away from home?

[Koolaid_Man]

Here I am indicting Sessions, a player you're not too happy to have, and you throw a non-sequitur my way.

"An idiot guard,"

- Culburn on Ramon Sessions.

And if this boy winds up delivering for you, you can bet I'm holding you accountable for forsaking him.

and if that boy delivers for us you can not only hold me accountable you can also gladly hold my ....

[ChrisRichards]

Btw, to add more fuel to the fire.

We play them three times this April and I want the Lakers to beat the morale out of them. Hopefully they can shred what little hope they have at winning the entire WC.


the rivalry will not be the same without Fish.. I wish he was part of us in some way but looking at San Antonio's standings in western conference just makes my blood boil.

some of you guys may be past this rivalry but not me. I have no respect for them or their fans.. I just Hope they lose to us all three times!!!

I hate Ginobili, I hate San Antonio, and most of all I hate their so classy fans, who go out of their way to call Kobe a rapist every chance they get, yeah they're classy alright. I always enjoy beating those guys, and knocking them back down to earth this year will be much more sweeter than 08-09 season

Yeah the 3 games ahead will be important for playoff seeding, but they don't scare me come playoff time.

When was the last time San Antonio beat us in the playoffs? 2002-2003
When was the last time San Antonio won anything? 2007

Not afraid at all. Sorry.

Spurs are a push over, they're a punching bag for Western Conference teams. Not a concern. They lost to the Grizzles without Gay last season for cryin out loud lmao

So Kawhi Leonard is their Kobe stopper? LMAO

just don't see SA matching up very well against us. The 1 was always the advantage for them, but mitigated with Sessions - the gap between TP and Fish is not nearly as great as the gap between TP and RS. The 2 and 5 go to LA, with the 3 a battle of dimwits between RA's D and Captain Jack's O. On the other end, Pau is outplaying Duncan by a bit and they have no way to guard our two best offensive threats in Bynum and Kobe. I mean are they really going to start Duncan at C against Drew and put Blair on Pau?