SUNS -at- LAKERS - 12/25 - Thoughts and :-)) Ratings

CorkyTomjanovich · Star Player Joined: 13 Dec 2004 Posts: 3486

A concern for me is Space Cadet.

If he isn't getting looks and knocking them down, he is just killing the team. Turnovers, terrible defense, giving up the offensive board off a free throw miss, you name it.

He has the best contract in the NBA. He only has to play 2-3 times a month.

targetman · Star Player Joined: 04 Sep 2004 Posts: 5503

Kwame's ain't too bad either
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winstonemby · Starting Rotation Joined: 21 Nov 2007 Posts: 877

Great analysis as always

10scott10 · Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 10:20 am Post subject:

hoopschick29 · Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 10:33 am Post subject:

Aside from those outside shots we don't want Ariza taking, he just fits in the starting lineup.

Luke had to feel like he was watching his own funeral.
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So glad we gave you your flowers while you were here, Kobe.

golakersgo121 · Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 11:42 am Post subject:

Mr. EiGhTy-OnE · Posted: Thu Dec 27, 2007 5:08 pm Post subject:

PHX is in real trouble. its basically ALL or NOTHING. by selling their draft picks the last 2 years, they have no future to look forward to. not to mention an unhappy Marion and Amare's nagging knee.
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"When (Kobe) gets you on life support, he won't give you mouth to mouth. HE PULLS THE PLUG." -stu

All_Star_Laker · Star Player Joined: 30 Jul 2005 Posts: 2672 Location: NYC

limchrc · Franchise Player Joined: 29 Jun 2005 Posts: 11477

Yup... agree on Kwame's defense on Duncan/Amare/etc. He has proven he can guard them quite well.

RCS926 · Franchise Player Joined: 05 Nov 2003 Posts: 16824

I watched the game again last night and a few things stood out to me:

Fish - I think we can all agree that Fish goes under the screen too often, which is a no-no especially against Nash. However, when he's not going under screens, he does a great job of being very physical with Nash. Nash can handle that kind of physical defense early in the game, but you can tell it takes a toll on him. He really wasn't much of a factor in the 4th quarter. Also, it's great to have a 1 who makes Nash work on the defensive end.

Ariza - His basketball IQ on both ends of the court is surprising as well as his overall poise and skill level. He really is a solid midrange jumpshot away from being Kobe's Pippen-lite. We haven't had a 3 with his combination of athleticism, skill and intelligence since James Worthy. On the defensive end, you can see him reading plays before they happen, and once he gets a little more comfortable with the team's defensive schemes, I have no doubt that Phil is going to start using him as a rover more and more. He has the potential to be much more effective in that defensive role than Kobe, Lamar and Luke.

LO - I don't care what the stats say. He thoroughly outplayed Marion. Marion was invisible for most of the game. All of his baskets came off garbage plays, and he had at least 3 baskets at the end of the game when the outcome was pretty much decided. He did a great job of controlling the boards, but he has to do a better job of covering for Drew when his man beats him down the court.

Bynum - What can you say about the kid? Just like LO, he not only negated his man (Amare), but he also practically made him invisible in the game. Amare scored a very quiet 19 and grabbed a measly 6 boards. It's funny that we can now say that we have a player who physically overmatches Amare, but that's what we have in Drew. The funny thing is that Amare can't really take advantage of his quickness advantage over Drew (unless he's in the open court) because he doesn't have the requisite ball handling skills to do so. Drew has learned to cut off penetration from speedy guards. He's not going to have much trouble cutting off Amare's penetration especially since he's a straight-line player.

Farmar - He really solidifies the PG position in tandem with Fish. That's no secret. However, he also did a great job of hounding Barbosa.

Vlad - He didn't score much but appreciated his effort. He played Diaw tough even though Diaw got away with at least 4 offensive fouls (he uses his off arm A LOT).

Texas_Pete · Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 9:32 am Post subject:

Thanks DB! Ariza all the time baby!!

My only question is when Luke is healthy again, does he remain retain his starting spot or does he goes where he belongs --> to the 2nd unit? Ariza had like 14/7 and provided ENERGY to that 1st unit. Luke makes some good passes, and maybe his shot is more reliable than Ariza's -- but that's it.

If that was Luke out there and Ariza was not, do we win that game? His added athleticism to this team allows us to match up with a Dallas, SA, or a PHX team that have athletic players that give us trouble. This is without having to put Kobe on their best perimeter player.

How soon can we trade Luke?

dawglaker · Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 2:08 pm Post subject:

i'd rather have Ariza roam around on help defense than Kobe n have Kobe stick his man. Kobe has a tendancy to gamble to much whereas Ariza choose when and not too more efficiently

RCS926 · Franchise Player Joined: 05 Nov 2003 Posts: 16824

golakersgo121 · Posted: Fri Dec 28, 2007 3:04 pm Post subject: