LAKERS -at- TWOLVES - 2/22 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

JJ81 · Star Player Joined: 08 Nov 2008 Posts: 2668

Farmar got his career high in steals, which is cool

Addicus · Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 9:52 am Post subject:

A win is a win is a win. A lot of people are complaining about the defense, but this team always struggles with small/fast teams. Telfair was always a good player but never coached right in the NBA. Scary to say Lurch is actually a good coach. The Wolves are playing to their strengths and look like they enjoy playing ball now.
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Now to the real team. The problem with Kobe on the post and not having a real knock down shooter on the weak side is Lamar is often at the top of the key eliminating his offensive rebounding. His rebounding is key to this team getting second chance shots, especially since he converts most of those boards into points. New Orleans ans Minnesota basically packed the paint, owned the defensive boards and gave their guards an opportunity to run or at least see where the early offense could be taken.
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Ariza needs to just square up and shoot. He is trying to incorporate things he's learned from Kobe but needs more practice.
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Farmar has too learn change of pace.
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Powell will be fine. He is missing some rebounds he usually gets. I'm not worried.
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I know a lot of people disagree, but I feel the trades have really weakened our depth and changed how the team operates on the offensive, which we all know is the engine that makes this train go.
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Legacy · Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 10:42 am Post subject:

Great stuff DB.

Awesome read.

Qsmiff · Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 11:00 am Post subject:

Addicus wrote:

Moses · Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 11:20 am Post subject:

LakerSanity · Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 11:27 am Post subject:

Addicus · Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 11:40 am Post subject:

Mihm was effective on the boards grabbing 6 or 7 per game in limited minutes. Don't fool yourself into thinking not having a dead eye shooter on the weakside is not having an effect on how teams play defense. It doesn't have to be Vlad, it could be Sasha but the Machine is mascalibrated right now so trading the dead eye shooter is hurting. Understand?
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Kobe's on the block, Lamar's at top of the key and Pau is on the weakside so the double on Pau now comes from the wing with very little retribution. That's why he looks so unaggressive, because he is crowded now. Luckily he can shoot. Utah started it, Atlanta had foul trouble and couldn't, but N.O. and Minnesota followed suit. Expect to see it a lot. That's why we don't see the over the top passes from Pau to Lamar. Lamar isn't in the paint.
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The counter is Luke on top, Fish on the wing but that causes cross matches and takes Luke out of his comfort zone which is 17ft and in and away from the boards.
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So once again the trade has hurt our offense because we don't have someone to stretch the defense on the weakside. The guy who was a threat to come off the bench at anytime isn't available at all and teams have adjusted. It doesn't matter if so and so was buried on the bench if he was a threat to play. Teams had to make sure they didn't get caught up trapping from the wings because it could hurt them. Now they don't unless Sasha returns to last year's form.
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LakerSanity · Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 11:46 am Post subject:

The "dead eye" shooter wasn't playing... he wasn't taking away minutes from Luke or Ariza. It's not like you would plug in Vlad instead of Sasha as they play two different positions.

Your argument for Vlad only works if Phil would have played him... Phil wasn't playing him which is the reason he was traded in the first place. He wasn't playing before, he isn't playing now. He might as well still be on the team because the effect is the exact same. That's the point.
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*Purple&Gold* · Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 11:54 am Post subject:

Addicus · Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 12:18 pm Post subject:

Addicus · Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 12:40 pm Post subject:

In fact I'm rewatching the Atlanta game and Kobe is rarely on the post. Pau and LO have so much more room to operate (face ups for Pau, slashing/driving for LO). That's the counter I prefer because Kobe can get his shot from nearly anywhere at anytime and he does well cutting when Pau has the ball.
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Laker7 · Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 12:49 pm Post subject:

I hope MBenga gets some more playing time. I am worried about Pau getting worn out too early in the season and with Powell having some so-so night, it may be time to play DJ some more.
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ecksor · Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 8:30 pm Post subject:

As usual, a joy to read. Thanks, DB
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TooMuchMajicBuss · Posted: Mon Feb 23, 2009 9:15 pm Post subject:

Thanks again DB! Let's see... Minnesota minus Jefferson. Perfect game for a letdown. I'm glad we're outta there. Let's hope they execute better against OKC tomorrow.