Did you guys see this about Fisher being president of the Players' Association?

http://www.sltrib.com/ci_4642996?source=rss

E

what do you guys think about this lineup?
PG- Lamar-Farmar-Smush
SG- Kobe-Evans
SF- Vlad-Walton
PF- Turiaf-Cook
C - Bynum-Kwame

PG: Lamar is a better decision maker than Smush and since Farmar is a rookie so Lamr is good. Smush is a disappointment

SG: Nothing bad to say about Kobe except that he needs to know how to balance passing and scoring.

Sf: We promised Vlad that he'd start and we have to get him open shots. Walton needs to come off the bench to give balance.

Pf: Ronny Turiaf is a good defender and he can hit a basket in the 15 foot range. as for Cook we probably wont get good defense but we can still score with him.

C: Kwame is in my mind one of the best defending centers out there, if he was healthy we wouldn't have lost against detroit nor Portland. Bynum should start against teams that are weak in the middle.

Lamar and Bynum for KG? You all think Timberwolves will make such stupid trade? Try Jermaine O`neal =)

No comment for Odom and Bynum. Try bring Nick Van Exel to Lakers, maybe can replace those PG that Lakers currently have.

Luke Walton, he improve alot, but still, Radmanovic is better than him.

The one thing that most disappointed me about Friday's game against Detroit was the lack of defensive effort. Not once did I see a hard foul while the Pistons were waltzing to the basket. The Lakers also gave up way too many offensive rebounds (15)and were outrebounded overall by 17 (49 to 32). To me that speaks to a lack of effort that has to be remedied. Too many times the Lakers did not finish off a defensive possession with a rebound, instead allowing the likes of McDeyss and Nazr Mohammed to finish the plays with spectacular offensive rebounds. Simple fundamentals like boxing out cannot be ignored.

Also, after watching the team for the opening stretch of the season, certain inconsistencies begin to concern me. Am I the only one that thinks Lamar Odom is playing out of position at PF? Against the likes of KG, Zach Randolph and Rasheed Wallace, LO just seems overmatched. LO enjoys the mismatch against most players that he faces as a small forward. While he may have an advantage in quickness at PF against players, it only works to his benefit on offense. On defense he can't handle the heavy lifting.

Luke Walton's defense on the better small forwards is also a concern. TPrince just ran roughshod over Luke. I also have a problem in any game that Luke has more FGA than Kobe and the Lakers lose. I hope that the Lakers don't lose sight of the fact that #24 is the MAN on this team and not just some complimentary piece. I'm not knocking Luke's offense which has obviously greatly improved this season. But he and the other Lakers have to play with the idea that Kobe is their best option on offense and fit their games around him.

Which brings me to Mr. Bryant. I really hope that he and Phil are trying to enhance the players confidence and accelerate their growth by toning down Kobe's dominance of the ball and shot attempts. While I understand that this is a necessary step in the maturation process of a young team, what Kobe does best is score. He has got to find the proper balance on the court. Kobe is a 2 guard, plain and simple. His main job is to score points on offense. He is the only two who gets abused by the media when he does his job. Other prolific scorers like Ray Allen, Michael Redd and Reggie Miller who never met a shot that they didn't like are never regarded as ballhogs. I hope Kobe doesn't buy into the media BS about his game and try to change too much. For this team to be successful, he has to be the scoring leader. I realize that he is not 100% but he needs to be more aggressive with his offensive game. The team looks confused when he is not.

Ti Zeb,
No, you have a short memory on SASHA! Go ahead and take a 3-game playoff sample (he only played good 3 out of 7 games) and ignore the other 82 games where he absolutely sucked while averaging 18 mins. a game.

Yea, go ahead, put THAT guy in... The guy that cant average more than 4 pts in 18 mins a game...

Yo, Sasha is not good. He already has been passed up by 2 guys on the depth chart when he has been with the Lakers organization longer.

*** FINALLY, SOME ANSWERS ON SMUSH ***
Sunday's LATIMES ARTICLES SAYS TWO THINGS:
(1) Nobody is pulling the plug on Smush just yet. Phil said so (quoted). Why? well, he proved last year over a sustained period of time that he could be a productive player. So when he has 8 bad games that doesnt take away from 82 where he proved to be a serviceable PG. Maybe it's a reason why Coaches are coaches and fans are fans...hmmmm

(2) SMUSH IS JUST RUSTY! He didnt get to play ball as much as he would like this summer. The LATIMES said so as well. Now, I do blame him for just plain not finding competiton whether it be summer league or wherever. But, given that he is just getting his game in rhythm, then I have to give Smush an additional pass.

At first I said 10 games. Now, I say 20 games. That will let us know if Smush is truly "Rusty" or if he just reverting back to pre-NBA form. From what it seems, he is just rusty, making hesistant decisions and either swishing or missing badly. If you are a basketball player then you know the feeling.

WHEW, I FEEL MUCH BETTER about my dawg Smush. aND THE ONE thing this year is that he hasnt been afraid of the big moment...

Still, Let's go Farmar...and LETS GO SMUSH.

Can you believe it? In college football, the number 3, 4, and 5 teams lost. Number 6 escaped with a 1 point win because they blocked a last second field goal, while USC won it's game pretty soundly. With USC's schedule, all they have to do is win out and they should be playing for the Championship, again.

mike

rdlee,

In Vegas, the line changes when injuries materialize for a team, or a trade, or a rookie plays above himself. Why are Vegas odds makers allowed to modify their predictions based on circumstance, but you don't allow Bloggers the same curtesy? That's hypocrasy.

--FearlessWhackJob

Laker Larry,

O yeah, you did miss something. That coversation was based on JJ accusing me of being part of a group of people who didn't believe in the Lakers. I pointed out my May 6 posting to say otherwise. Then it got into a conversation of what 60 wins means.

But, again, my prediction is based on Kobe and Kwame being healthy. As anyone one who reads this blog knows...that is what my prediction is based on. At the time of the conversation Kwame was expected to be out until at least the Detroit game. I thought because of the soft schedule we might be able to get away with coming out ahead. We still might! But, realistically, without Kobe being all the way healthy and Kwame Brown in the starting line-up...60 wins isn't my prediction. Again, I preached Kwame all summer long. Do you think I did that just to see Bynum in the middle? I also preached that we should cut Smush Parker. But I thought we could hide his shortcomings with Kwame's defense. Without Kwame...Smush Parker's game is magnified. Did I figure all that and still say 60 wins? Get real! My preaching is and has always been that DEFENSE is the key. And the key to our defense is Kwame Brown. So don't tell me I said something when I know what my thinking is.

But just to help you understand. Here a something for you.

http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2006/09/talking_with_an_1.html#comments

Under: Talking with: Andrew Bynum

"Last season the Lakers were young. They didn’t get a glimpse of their potential until 2/3 of the season was gone. They came together at the end and gave the Suns a push that should have equated to a trip to the next round of the playoffs, minimum. With basically the same personal, and the addition of Vlad Rad, Williams, Evans, and Farmar, the Lakers, it seems logical, can take it to another level. If Odom and Vlad Rad can take some of the scoring pressure off of Bryant, and the defense improves from the building blocks it created at the end of last season…well, if that happens, I think we’re going to see just how good Kobe Bryant really is. Unless there’s a complete breakdown, I suspect that is exactly what we’re going to see.

Andrew Bynum is gravy. If Bynum comes along earlier rather than later…just smile and watch our 2006-2007 Los Angeles Lakers enrich our already glorious traditions.

May God Bless the Los Angeles Lakers with a clarity of mind in which they envision that they must play as a unit. May God Bless them with an injury free season.

mike

Posted by: Michael Teniente | September 22, 2006 at 09:53 PM"

You see that part that says: May God Bless them with an injury free season.?

That means I'm counting on a injury free season to see my predictions through.

I rest my case!

mike

I think what Tracy McGrady said recently should be taken seriously. GMs are looking at redfining player longevity vis'a vis the high school NBAer vs college recruits of old. Our aging high schooler's dominating performance has been considered a given in most predictions.

Kobe is 28 goin' on 32. He's not number 8 anymore. He has the heart and mind of a champion but his body may not be on the same timetable as all those on the blog that are talkin' years of Laker dynasty with developing players. The fact that Jordan won his first championship at 28 is a formula doesn't apply here. If there's a trade [I'm not sayin' who] to gain proven experience and production, the time is now.

And as for PJ injury...I was just stating a fact. Whether I believe it means anything...doesn't take away from the idea that PJ's injury/health is a fact.

You seem so concerned with the idea of getting me to cross my words, that you ignore things where common sense should be used. And here I am explaining it. Again, foolish on my part.

mike

One thing to keep in mind about Bynum is that right now he has to rely mostly on what he's told and trained to do and very little on his own experience. What this means is that in real game-time, anything that takes place that deviates even slightly from his day-to-day training can potentially throw him for a loop.

That would probably include the zone defense the Pistons employed on Friday night. Each new thing like that is going to require some time and training for Bynum to adjust to. But everybody is beginng to agree that the time and training are eventually going to be well worth the trouble...

Laker Larry and the rest:

Does this sound like I planned on injuries? From this post I even said Walton was a concern. Note how I said that Smush Parker was the biggest liability of them all.

LAKERVILLE 2006-2007
By: Michael C. Teniente

With the basketball season just around the corner (Lakers camp opens Oct, 3), I guess it’s time to give my analysis of what I expect from the Los Angeles Lakers in this coming season. My expectation is, of course, an NBA World Champion. The beginning of the season always starts out with high hopes, especially if you’re a fan of the Los Angeles Lakers. That isn’t an expectation this is based in unrealistic wishful thinking. Why? Because our beloved Los Angeles Lakers have won 8 NBA Championships since 1980, that’s why.

We have grown accustom to our high expectations. We’ve been blessed to be able to watch some of greatest players to have ever put on an NBA uniform.

George Mikan
Elgin Baylor
Jerry West
Wilt Chamberlain
Gail Goodrich
Kareem Abdul-Jabbar
Magic Johnson
James Worthy
Jamal Wilks
Bobby MacAdoo and
Shaquille O’Neil.

Yes, you’ve got to admit it, we’re spoiled NBA fans. We have high expectations. Not being in contention for a basketball championship is not imaginable here in this great city of Los Angeles. Sure there are transition periods when one set of players are replaced by another set of players.

“All the rivers run into the sea; yet the sea is not full; unto the place from whence the rivers come, thither they return again.”

The rivers represent the great players who have passed through the Lakers organization, the sea. It’s a continual cycle…they keep coming. The place where the rivers come from is the rich tradition that has been marked with championship glory. Thither they return again.

The Lakers are now in the hands of one, Kobe Bean Bryant. Talk about expectations! We may be watching, potentially, the greatest player the NBA has ever seen. That is not an unreasonable statement. Who else can say, I scored 81 points in an NBA game? Only Wilt Chamberlain, of course. The only question, right now, is: How good is Kobe Bryant? Well, lets take a closer look.

I knew Kobe was special from the time the Lakers traded Vlade Divac for him. It was just a matter of time before we really got to see this guy in his true glory. That time was delayed because he was overshadowed by the presence of Shaquille O’Neil. Not his fault, but, really, O’Neil was holding Bryant back.

The Lakers of 2005-2006 told us a great deal about how special/good Bryant really is. For most of the season the Lakers were struggling to stay 2 maybe 3 games above 500. To the naked eye that was not a good thing. But when you take a closer look, it really is amazing to be able to comprehend just how good Kobe is. Let me put it this way, Smush Parker, Brain Cook, and Chris Mihm. That is 3 defensive liabilities in the starting line-up that took the court for big portions of the season. It was Kobe Bryant that kept us just above a 500 ballclub with them in the line-up. Eventually Mihm went down and Kwame Brown was inserted into the starting line-up at the 5 spot. The middle of the defensive lane was stabilized. Soon afterwards, Luke Walton replaced Brian Cook, in the starting line-up, and there was improvement there, too. Walton took over the 3 spot, while Lamar Odom moved to the 4 spot.

Let’s start with Kwame Brown. Kwame Brown was nowhere near a fundamentally sound defensive ballplayer last season. Kwame Brown just took up space with his size and muscle, which made teams not attack the middle at free will. Sure he would miss rotations. That was on occasion as opposed to allowing a constant free lane to the basket. There is a lot of room for improvement on the defensive end for Kwame Brown.

Moving on, lets talk about Luke Walton. If the truth is told, he’s not much of a defender, either. But compared to Brain Cook it was night and day. Brain Cook just can’t play any defense. While he was a starter, his man, it seemed, was always scoring big points. Players without scoring reputations were coming up big against the Lakers at the 4 spot with Brian Cook in there. Still, when Mihm went down, the Lakers were able to turn Bryant’s points into wins while Cook was still in the line-up at the 4 spot. But we were still struggling against the Blazers, Celtics, Sonics, and other non-contending teams. That seemed to change when Walton was inserted into the starting line-up. That’s how good Kobe Bryant is! He kept the Lakers just above 500 with 3 defensive liabilities. With JUST A LITTLE defensive help (Brown and Walton) we started beating team towards the end of the season on a regular bases. And that was with Smush Parker, the biggest liability of the 3, still in the starting line-up. We all saw what happened against Phoenix in the playoffs. No need to rehash unpleasant memories.

This coming season, it seems, that Kwame Brown is going to be manning the middle. If we see an improved Kwame Brown on the defensive end of the game, that could be scary! That could spell great things for the Los Angeles Lakers in the coming season. And we’re only talking about Kwame’s defense!

There’s no way we could go through a whole season with Luke Walton being the starting small forward. He is barely above Brain Cook in defense. The difference between Walton and Cook is that Walton plays with his head while Cook seems to concentrate on his shooting. Concerning Walton it’s a good thing that he plays with his head but it won’t get the job done against the better small forwards in the league. We’ll have to wait to see what Vlad Rad brings on the defensive end of the game. There’s no way we can expect Vlad Rad to outscore the other teams small forward and think we’ll be successful. What I mean by that is that we can’t rely on Vlad Rad to do that for us. That’s not realistic unless he becomes another Peja Stojakovic. That’s not out of the question. If that were to happen then…watch out! If he doesn’t become another Peja Stojakovic then there has to be a question concerning his defense and, of course, we just need a stable scorer from the 3 spot in Vlad Rad. What we need to keep track of is Vlad Rad impact against the better teams to see how effective the Lakers will be. We need to keep track of that as the season goes along.

Kobe Bryant, with a little help from the defensive end, will take the Lakers a very long way. The end of last season was “a little defense,” literally! If the Lakers take it up a notch and communicate from game 1 to the end of the season, there is no reason, whatsoever, why the Lakers couldn’t bring Los Angeles another Championship to it’s rich history.

With Shammond Williams and Mo Evans I think the Lakers have improved both the point guard and the back-up shooting guard. If Sasha Vujacic can bring a consistent outside shoot it only makes us a more flexible team. That, I understand, is a lot of hoping. The expectation is that Vujacic, entering his 3rd season, will find his shot and be effective. What I’m really talking about is emotional stability from Vujacic. It’s no secret he can shoot, but does he have the emotions/mind to bring it on a consistent base. I think that is a reasonable expectation because as we get older we mature. It’s the natural order of life. But the Lakers did well to protect against that not happening by bring in Williams and Evans. Those are excellent checks and balances for the coming season.

As for the big men, it all starts with Lamar Odom. All Lamar Odom has to do is continue from where the regular season ended. That was Lamar being aggressive. Lamar Odom must be the 2nd scoring option without hesitation.

In the regular season there is room to experiment. Smush Parker and Chris Mihm, in my opinion, are experiments. In other words: Sure, if Phil Jackson must, go ahead and play them in the regular rotations, but as the season progresses they must be played only limited amounts of minutes if their defense is not up to par. Rony Turiaf must be given the chance to see if he can deliver what Mihm doesn’t on the defensive end. Jordan Farmar must be given the opportunity to see if he can contribute to the Lakers offense, in terms of creating a more fasted pace brand of basketball, if Parker continues to see himself as a street-baller. There is no room for a street-baller in this coming Lakers season. We need professional basketball players.

Last season the Lakers were young. They didn’t get a glimpse of their potential until 2/3 of the season was gone. They came together at the end and gave the Suns a push that should have equated to a trip to the next round of the playoffs, minimum. With basically the same personal, and the addition of Vlad Rad, Williams, Evans, and Farmar, the Lakers, it seems logical, can take it to another level. If Odom and Vlad Rad can take some of the scoring pressure off of Bryant, and the defense improves from the building blocks it created at the end of last season…well, if that happens, I think we’re going to see just how good Kobe Bryant really is. Unless there’s a complete breakdown, I suspect that is exactly what we’re going to see.

Andrew Bynum is gravy. If Bynum comes along earlier rather than later…just smile and watch our 2006-2007 Los Angeles Lakers enrich our already glorious traditions.

May God Bless the Los Angeles Lakers with a clarity of mind in which they envision that they must play as a unit. May God Bless them with an injury free season.

mike

Posted by: Michael Teniente | September 22, 2006 at 09:53 PM

Lamar has to score 20 points a game to get Lakers to the next level, Kobe should only scores 25 points a game, and learn to pass the ball to his teammates like LeBron James. If Phil doesn't play Luke and Lamar correctly, Lakers will get out of the first round of the playoff soon. Right now the Lakers can't beat the good defensive team, because Lakers continue to play last't year style, wrong player to play wrong position. Ramanovich will make Lakers stronger if coach know how to use his strenght. Does Tony Kukoc a good defender ? or Robert Horry a good defender before he was a Laker ? but these players make their team better. Without Jordan, Kukoc and Pippen still took the Bulls to Eastern conference finals. I also like Lakers play Shammon Williams more, he can assist, shoot from outside,he is a veterant player, he will help Lakers in the playoffs, i am dissapointed with Smush, he still doesn't get how to play in the NBA. This year Lakers coach has no excuse to blame young players any more, coach has a full season to get Lakers player to the next level

Mike T,

Is that "smarta*s" thing your response to another one of those posts you took personal?

Or how about your response to exhelodrvr today; "Because the simple truth is this. Like, you don't like me...I simply don't like you. I usually make it a point to not engage with you."

Why do you feel the need to always come back at people with something personal? And you, of all people, to accuse someone else of being a "smarta*s". Please ......

You're right Mike, I do occasionally make a comment that is intended to be "smarta*s", as you put it, but most of the time I simply want to talk Lakers. When I do make a smarta*s statement pointed at you, it's because of you. You seem to bring that out in people as that is not my nature.

You see Mike, just like you, almost everyone posting on this site also love the Lakers. With me it's not JUST the Lakers, I love the NBA. I've been watching NBA hoops since the late 1950's, which will give you an idea of my age. I've seen teams, players, coaches, officials, rules, etc, etc, come and go, and I've discussed basketball strategy with far more people than I even care to remember. It is easy to see that you are a passionate Laker fan, knowledgeable about basketball and a very good writer. However, your team strategy and ideas are not "always" the best ideas, and certainly not the "only" ideas. We consider these Lakers to be our team, our players, and yes, even our coaches. It gets really old when you continually run PJ, Smush and Chris Mihm down. What’s the point? Most of the time when someone engages you with a post, it is done in an honest attempt to engage in friendly debate about an issue that you yourself have usually put on the board. At that time you have several choices. You can ignore the post, or respond in a civil manner and engage in debate, or you can make some silly personal attack type remark. Unfortunately you seem to use the latter choice a lot.

Mike, just look at this morning. How many posts have you made today attacking me and exhelodrvr? It's completely silly on your part that you feel the need to react in this manner.

I'll go ahead and apologize for this post in advance because I seriously doubt you will understand it the way it was intended. Instead I’m pretty sure you’ll be fuming and consider this as a personal attack against you.

FearlessWhackJob:
I can allow the bloggers to change their predictions due to injuries. I just haven't heard anyone doing it. Has anyone asked to be taken off the 55 win bandwagon? I just made that comment because there seemed to be such a desire to be able to say, "I was the first one to predict 60 wins, etc." If you want to be able to make a claim for being the first one to make a prediction when its right, also have the humility to say , "I was wrong" when it doesn't happen, instead of coming up with excuses. Injuries are part of the game.

rdlee,

Injuries are a part of the game. That is true. But, the fact remains that the healthiest of the top teams is usually the one who wins the championship, all other things being equal.

Injuries are a part of the game, but they do affect your win/loss ration and your title hopes. Ridiculing a 55-win-bandwagoner at this point of the season after the full effects of all the injuries has finally been realized.

That's like beating the horse after its down. The truth is, even with the injuries, if the Lakers still win 47-ish+ games, it will still indicate that 55 was always a realistic possibility.

Mihm, I feel for you, buddy. You are a good guy,a dn not deserving of this fate. Get well soon.

Kwame, learn from Kobe and take it slow on your comeback. We need you healthy at the end of the year, not so much in the begining.

Kobe, chill, you'll be alright. PJ doesn't hate just pre-season games, but he hardly respects the regular season. This team will be ready come playoff time, as PJ's teams always are.

--FearlessWhackJob

Live blog tonight?

ex, that's really funny. Damn, I had thought they might miss one or two shots, but not this many...