One down, three to go
It's rare when teams get a chance to go on the road and get fat and happy. Then again, it's rare for teams to get four straight roadies against bad and/or struggling teams, as the Lakers will get this week. Cleveland (struggling), Philly (bad), and New York (cataclysmic, and apparently not big on criticism) are still to come, but Tuesday night L.A. kicked things off on the right foot with a 103-91 win over the Bulls in Chicago. It was their sixth win in their last seven tries, and it happened despite a slow night (7-19, 18 points) from Kobe Bryant. Instead, it was the supporting cast who kicked in during a solid, controlled, 48 minute effort, capped by a 20-6, game capping fourth quarter run in which 24 didn't score a point. The box shows five other players in double figures, including 19 from Sasha Vujacic, who hit six of his ten shots from the floor. L.O.? 17/16. Andrew Bynum played a career high 40 minutes. Luke Walton had a second straight solid game, with 12 points, five dimes, and no TOs.
All in all, it was a pretty satisfying end for Lakers fans, if only because it perhaps drops the lid on the "Kobe-to-the-Bulls" coffin. Kobe admitted that before the season started, he really wanted to be a Bull (fair to say some fans wanted him, too). But for now, everything is hunky dory. Besides, it was apparently just the deep dish pie that attracted him to Chicago in the first place... right? However you slice it, the Bulls are still without that One. True. Star.
It's a shame the schedule makers didn't give Kobe's teammates a chance to pull what would have been a pretty sweet practical joke.
I saw Magic at the Hawks/Heat game tonight. I guess he'll be on the set tomorrow night with EJ, Kenny and Laker hater Charles Barkley for the Lakers/Cavs and Nuggets/Rockets. At first I thought he might be there to scope out some of the talent on the Hawks or Heat, but then I remembered that TNT studio is in Atlanta. Magic always seems to be diplomatic in his comments when it comes to the Lakers and doesn't really defend them when Barkley blasts them. Barkley has said over and over during this young season that the Lakers aren't a good team and would be lucky to finish 7th or 8th this year. He was really riding with Utah and New Orleans early on, but it will be interesting to hear what he has to say tomorrow night. Go Lakers and prove Charles wrong!!!
Posted by: Nemaia Faletogo | December 19, 2007 at 10:13 PM
And I fully expect Pat Riley to quit soon. He is known to quit when his team has no chance of winning the title.
Posted by: zen | December 19, 2007 at 10:16 PM
Xodus,
Remember Mike T clarified it with games that Bynum "Starts". Mihm started a ouple games. Stupid I know.
Posted by: zen | December 19, 2007 at 10:23 PM
zen,
So now he's playing with words to discredit Bynum and pump up Kwame? As if starting or not starting takes away from his contributions? LOL!
Posted by: Xodus | December 19, 2007 at 10:52 PM
I really don't feel good about tomorrow's game. The Cavs lost which means they definately don't want to loose tomorrow. I think this team can beat the Cavs though. Knock on wood.
Posted by: Johnny | December 19, 2007 at 10:55 PM
"Andrew Bynum for as well as he's done is only 7-6 as the starting center over the 15 games.
"
Love the math.
Posted by: akrasian | December 19, 2007 at 10:56 PM
Kwame, Crit and a pick to Miami for Haslem and any bad contract they want to give back.
MH
Posted by: michael h | December 19, 2007 at 11:24 PM
THE REASON
The obvious reason to me about Andrew's success this year is yes because Kwame is injured. You see in practice they go at each other. Mike T. speaks the truth about Kwame being top 5 best defensive center in the NBA.
Kwame stifles poor Drew in practice. Day in and day out he would deflate Bynum's confidence. I spoke about it last year. And when Kwame went down Bynum started to look like a star during the begining of las season as well. Bynum is human and grows in confidence with success. Now my problem with Phil Jackson is this.
"ARE YOU STILL GOING TO HAVE KWAME BROWN GUARD BYNUM DURING PRACTICE THIS YEAR THUS DEFLATING HIS CONFIDENCE AGAIN?"
The biggest mistake that this organization can do to deflate Drew's confidence is to play Kwame against Drew. I also remember saying last year that once Kwame came back and was healthy that Drew's numbers would diminish because his confidence would be broken. We all know that basketball is a game of CONFIDENCE. I'm afraid of what is going to become of Drew once Kwame is healthy. I hope we won't see his numbers decrease as we saw last year. If they are stupid enough to have Kwame deflate Bynum's confidence during practice then they deserve to loose in the first round again. THOSE TWO GUYS SHOULD NEVER GO AGAINST EACH OTHER IN PRACTICE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
THEY NEED TO TRADE KWAME OR SUFFER LATER. The only way I don't see Kwame being traded is if they can keep Kwame from Drew. Even though this sounds ridiculous if they can accomplish this then Kwame can be very good for this team. Those two guys should be kept apart at all times. This time my theory should be considered as FACT. Thank you for you time.
An example is Street Fighter II. My brother loves the game because he is good. I hate it because he always beats me. I hate playing against him. That is why I never TRIED to get better. If I was the guy kicking butt then I would have continued playing and getting better as a result eventually probably being ranked #1 in the world like he is on X-Box live. That is just a simple analogy. Thank you again.
Ps. AK/BK brothers please give this to Phil somehow.
Posted by: Johnny | December 19, 2007 at 11:39 PM
LakerTom,
Great post. I'd like to also add that the Shaq trade was incomplete because no one knew that the Heat's draft pick would turn out to be Farmar. The trade is not all that lopsided now. I also think that putting Wade and Kobe on the same team would have been a disaster because they are so similar in their approaches to the game and they play the same position.
I think its all on Kobe at this point. I have been surprised that iit took so long for the team to have much synergy the past few seasons, and I attribute it to Kobe's attitude. You just can't fake it, you either believe in the guys or you don't. If Kobe really believes in the guys on the court there is no telling how far this team can go this year.
Also, I'm just glad Mchale was blinded to Bynum's potential. :)
Posted by: Ken | December 19, 2007 at 11:53 PM
I think it i also very important to note that Kobe is the ultimate MOTIVATOR. He not only pressures his team mates to improve , he also pressures the front office to get better. And he manipulates media so damn well to announce his demands. In hindsight I think he is just brilliant.
Kobe BRYANT makes the entire Lakers organization better.
Posted by: Lakertown | December 20, 2007 at 12:12 AM
"If Kwame is pushing the game so far away from the rim, he doesn't need to get a lot of blocked shots. Bynum, because he allows so much penetration, better get a lot of blocked shots or the Lakers are toast."
Mike T, can you clarify this for me? Isn't it the responsibility of the player guarding the penetrator to deny him? And isn't it the center's responsibility to alter the shot of those who do get into the paint? While Kwame can keep guys from backing him down, I think Bynum does a better job of forcing his man to alter his shot.
Aside from Kwame's one on one defense and better fitness, I would argue that Bynum is superior at nearly every other aspect of the game. I think that its proven that if you look at the Laker's +/- numbers with each player in the lineup.
With Bynum in the lineup: +120 in 395 minutes = +14.58 per 48 minutes
With Kwame in the lineup: -11 in 95 minutes = -5.56 per 48 minutes.
The numbers also show that the Laker's are a worse defensive team without Kwame in the lineup, but they are far superior offensively.
With Bynum they allow 11.4 more points per 48 minutes, but they also score 31.6 more points per 48 minutes with him in the lineup.
Oh yeah, Kwame makes 9 mil, Bynum makes a little over 2 mil. I think that the huge disparities has an impact on what people expect out of both of them. Remember when Smush played his first year in LA and he would have a couple of good games, then a bunch of crappy ones? I bet a lot of people would be much more pissed if he was making 4 million instead of 800K. If a player makes 9 million, it should be ridiculous to even suggest benching him for a 20 year old.
I don't think you should try to mess up how he's doing by benching him. I'd argue that they give Bynum a chance to prove himself against the big pivot guys (Yao, Duncan, Boozer), and only bring Kwame in if he's being really outplayed.
Posted by: psp956 | December 20, 2007 at 12:19 AM
Looking at the standings right now....can we take the lead in Pacific by Christmas?! If that happens....Merry Christmas to all LAKERS FANS courtesy of the LAKERS!!!!
Posted by: Hansoulfood | December 20, 2007 at 02:06 AM
Mike T's aurgument about Bynum holds some water with me.
First, it is wait and see as to whether his current energy output will last all 82 games and into the playoffs. I hope it does, but I am worried.
Second, it is also wait and see as to whether he is able to have continued success as teams start to apply more and more aggressive double teams (we have begun to see them and Bynum's passing ability and tendancey noy to panic has been positive thus far). However, even if his numbers do go down because of added defensive attention from other teams, I would argue that is fine for the Lakers continued success. At least teams would be focussing on a "big" on the inside thereby opening up the game for perimeter players.
Third, although vastly improved, Bynum does lack lower body strength at this point. Not much can be done about this until the offseason. However, I am sure he will continue to improve his strength over time since it appears that Bynum truly wants to be a "great player" and will not be satisfied with the status quo (see Kwame).
Posted by: C.S. | December 20, 2007 at 06:02 AM
Hi all,
J Kidd would make us contenders if we gave away Kwame, Radmanovic, and J Crittenton. I would not give up Farmar because he is currently playing well. All three of these players are really not doing anything right now, and J Kidd would instantly have us in the mix with the Spurs. He would get the ball to Bynum and would be able to do what Farmar is doing only better. Fisher could also play some shooting guard as well with Kobe at the 3. This really is a no brainer if possible. Not to mention we could sign a veteran to backup Bynum for the minimum now that we would be contenders. It will be interesting to see what Magic says to night on TNT and if the Cannons where just blowing smoke.
Phantom
Posted by: Phantom | December 20, 2007 at 07:12 AM
Haven't posted in a long time, but Lakers Nation will forever be near and dear to my heart.
The view from up here is improving: the rain clouds have parted and the sun is beginning to shine once again on this storied franchise. The Royal Purple & Gold are on the right track. More championships are on the horizon.
Before you know it, everyone will be thrilling to another Lakers vs. Celtics finals series. All will be right in the NBA universe...especially when Title number 15 is hoisted over the vanquished bodies of this latest version of the Green Monster.
Yes, a former Celtic great (K. McHale) tried to help his former team by sending KG to Beantown, but even that will not be enough to derail the Lakers mojo. The Celtics may have their Big Three, but the Lakers just simple have MORE: more reinforcements via a better bench, size, quickness, length...and the older and wiser KB24. Boston may rule the regular season, but the race is not to the swiftest. At the end of this NBA marathon, the ONE team left standing (and holding the championship trophy) will be the Los Angeles Lakers.
Mark my words...
P.S. My heartfelt praise and compliments to those of you knowledgeable basketball fans who are the lifeblood of this blog. Forgive me for any inadvertent omissions, but some of the names which come to mind are:
zen, ken, Vman, SA, Tucker, Tim-4-Show, TaosHum, Tom T, Faith, Edwin Gueco, Nemaia Faletogo, frank1rizzo, sixonezero, bronxlakerfan, LakerTom, Jon Kavulic, SBPimp, BD, Laker for Life, and of course...even Mike T...who is like the crazy uncle who is every family's secret embarrassment. Humor him, but don't take him too seriously. All he wants is attention.
Posted by: Ghost of Chick Hearn | December 20, 2007 at 07:22 AM
im just happy our team is doing good ^^
Posted by: dxtah | December 20, 2007 at 07:23 AM
Amazing how Mike T misses the point on purpose just for the pleasure of being annoying.
Nobody here denies that great defense wins championships.
It's just that Kwame Brown DOESN'T PLAY GOOD DEFENSE, because he is alway injured so he DOESN'T PLAY AT ALL.
I don't care how good do you think he is (and I personally disagree with your evaluation). But if he is never on the court and not contributing to the team, he could be Kevin Garnett for that matter that it wouldn't make any difference.
Posted by: Allan | December 20, 2007 at 08:29 AM
"Andrew Bynum for as well as he's done is only 7-6 as the starting center over the 15 games."
Love the math.
Bynum didn't start 2 games. 13 + 2 = 15 doesn't it? Really, how ignorant can you be? He missed 2 games in the middle of those 15 games. I thought it would be easier to just word it the way I did instead of breaking the games apart, again.
mike
Posted by: Michael Teniente | December 20, 2007 at 08:36 AM
Hey Mike T, how 'bout that math:
The team is 10-6 AFTER Kwame Brown's injury (I mean, the last one - so many of them, you could be confused).
Not bad hum?
Maybe he is not that vital to the team as you say.
I remember you saying to people after Kwame left the team that we should wait at least 10 games because that would be a decent sample of games to evaluate the new line up.
Well, what can we say about our last 10 games?
8-2 and No Kwame. Pretty impressive, I would say.
Posted by: Allan | December 20, 2007 at 08:49 AM
Let's talk about color commentary:
Good:
Barkley, Kenny Smith, Reggie Miller
Terrible:
Hubie Brown, Doug Collins, Mike Fratello
I actually hadn't noticed until I typed it, but clearly my opinion of color guys is that the former player commentary is much better than the former coaches. The problem with the coaches is that they impose their own coaching opinions on the game rather than emphasizing what's happening on the court. Doug Collins is so bad that I have to turn the sound off to watch games.
Anyone else have a color commentary rant?
PS: Everyone on this blog thinks that Barkley doesn't give the Lakers any respect, but I have to admit that he generally hits the nail on the head when commenting on games/players. But he can be wrong, as he was with the Lakers.
Posted by: Tom T | December 20, 2007 at 08:57 AM
Kobe just wants to win and have his teammates show the same committment that he shows in his efforts to improve and work on his game. Last year Kobe saw Bynum start off good and disappear at the end of the season. The same thing happened with Shaq where Kobe would spend so much time in the gym and Shaq would laugh and make friends, but would not really like to practice to try and improve. When some jerks with a camera ask Kobe in the Summer what they should do with Bynum, Kobe is angry probably from Orange County traffic, and says ship Bynum out of town. Can't blame him for that.
Posted by: richard | December 20, 2007 at 08:59 AM
Mike T,
You're just playing with numbers to make Kwame look better, as usual. Kwame only played 3:37 of the Chicago so Kwame has essentially missed 16 games, unless Kwame's calves set such a strong defensive tone that they sparked the Lakers' blowout win that night.
And including that game the Lakers are 10-6 and 9-6 in games that Bynum has played in that's the most important stat. It's ridiculous how you're trying to say the Lakers are a .500 team by using games Bynum starts in as a qualifier. IT'S A TEAM GAME FOR GOODNESS SAKE. Do you think the Lakers would have lost the games to Minnesota or Denver which Bynum played in had he started?
The point is the Lakers are 10-6 WITHOUT Kwame, 15-9 overall and are currently one of the hottest teams in the NBA. The Lakers would win 51 games at that pace and are currently have the fourth highest point differential despite Kwame only playing in seven games this season.
Stop playing games.
Posted by: Xodus | December 20, 2007 at 09:01 AM
Not that they would but just for the sake of debate, what do you think the Lakers would have to throw in to get Caron Butler for Kwame Brown? A first round pick?
Posted by: newJtimes | December 20, 2007 at 09:04 AM
Can you believe we're fourth in the West and could be third in the West by the time this ROAD trip is over?
Fricken awesome. And, barring injuries, being a young team, it is reasonable to expect a hell of a lot of improvement from this team by the end of the regular season (as long as Phil Jackson is able to instill his trademark mental toughness in these young players).
I see a lot of bloogers are ripping into Kwame Brown. I think Kwame really needs a mentor on this team, much like Andrew Bynum has with Kareem. The guy's basically a kid inside and has a screwed up father from what I've heard. Given the right leadership with someone he feels he can trust, perhaps he'd be better in approaching his potential... which he really hasn't been doing effectively over the last couple years.
All that much said, Kwame does play good defense, which says something because I believe he originally wanted to be more of an offensive presence. So, he's willing to alter his game for the benefit of the team, maybe he's willing to change his perspective and attachment to maturity for the benefit of the team.
That much said, unless he steps/grows up, Kwame is gone next year.
Who would have thought that people would be more excited about Sasha's return over having a player like Kwame guarding the basket?
Things change, hopefully for the better.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: JonKavulic | December 20, 2007 at 09:05 AM
You know what? Kobe's off-season freakout may have been the best thing that could have happened to this team.
I don't think that without his freakout that several of the young players, but most importantly, ANDREW BYNUM, would have stepped up as they have this season and focused themselves.
Let's face it. Put Andrew Bynum and Sasha Vuljcic on another team or this team without Kobe and their NBA careers crash and burn.
I think everyone, with the possible exception of Lamar Odom, has greatly benefited from "The Freakout '07". Sure, it probably has given multiple members of Lakers management ulcers, but if these younger players are playing significantly better because of "The Freakout '07" (and probably the maturity of Derek Fisher's--Kobe's foil--leadership) all the better.
Regarding tonight's game and Lamar Odom. I've been tracking the stats and Lamar really makes other players better when he's in, but he does seem to have a psychological tendency towards self-sabotage during key moments of the game involving his personal play.
He had a great game against Chicago, all around great game. His issue whilst donning the Purple and Gold has been consistency. Let's see how he plays tonight. If it's a down or mediocre night tonight, we know the pattern is unbroken and they should be healthy cause for concern.
If he steps up and has a monster night tonight, it's a sign that there's reasonable evidence for hope and optimism regarding his development. I'm going to pay particular attention to his play and consistency during this road trip.
Kobe will always be Kobe. Derek Fisher is a tremendous blessing to this team. Andrew Bynum is our future and worth all the faith we've had in him. Farmar, Sasha, even Ariza, are all better than expected.
But, particularly this year, if the Lakers are to be come a "special team", an elite, it is all about Lamar Odom, if he can develop reasonable consistency and equanimity and fire in his personal game when it really matters.
Go Lamar Odom!
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: JonKavulic | December 20, 2007 at 09:19 AM
Tom T,
I actually like Jeff Van Gundy a lot. He's usually pretty funny and he rails against flopping, which is great.
Posted by: psp956 | December 20, 2007 at 09:21 AM
Bynum has been great surprise and playing really well all season. Something he can work on: establish position and figure out what he wants to do before he actually gets the ball. We had something like 3 shot clock violations against Chicago because Andrew got the ball and just stood there for several seconds before moving it or making a move to the hole. Second he can work in the off season on his lower body strength to help be able maintain position when Kaman and Yao etc. try to back him down 0on the block.
Posted by: richard | December 20, 2007 at 09:26 AM
psp, now that you mention it, Van Gundy is pretty funny. But I recall that I disagreed with him on a couple of his comments, though.
Posted by: Tom T | December 20, 2007 at 09:29 AM
I know it's pointless now, but when I see Caron Butler playing, I want to scream. Butler putting second ALL-Star season and getting paid less 9M per year. Can you imagine guy putting 22.4 ppg, 7 rebounds and shooting 50% and 43% from 3pt. And we're paying Kwame more than 9M? This should be one of the worst deals FO done. I don't want critisize Mitch, he is done very good job overall, but this deal suppose to go like one of the worst ones.
Posted by: LAL_Fan | December 20, 2007 at 09:33 AM
JonKavulic,
I think Phil had a lot to do with what happened with Kobe and the team this summer...I think he was the laker "insider" to get Kobe all fired up at the team. This started a chain reaction to the rest of the team (Bynum, Vlad Rad, Farmar, etc..) to work harder.
You can't underestimate that this is the work of Phil and his motivation techniques. From what I understand, he did the same thing in 1998 to Pippen. He uses the media to play mind games and get the players fired up.
Posted by: zen | December 20, 2007 at 09:46 AM
Jon K:
"The FreakOut 07." I love it and you are absolutely right, Jon. It is also the rallying cry for this team as they are out to prove Kobe and everybody was wrong about this team. Some nice posts, Jon. Glad to see you back fighting.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | December 20, 2007 at 11:07 AM
here's the thing, numbers per minute, average of wins with whoever in the lineup etc. none of this matters. mostly because the numbers are decieving because of rotation and which team mates play well with wich. also the quality of the opponent and wheather or not they are slumping, second nights of back to backs etc. the average fan realy doesnt know much about the game of basketbal, how to set picks, and why, post up strong side week side, movement etc. the fact of the matter is we all just want to see a winner. Hope fully this team will continue to focuss on defense, because the offense is fine. there are enough players who have developed enough where somone will step up for the streaky shooting of vlad and sasha and the loveable but infuriatingly inconsistent LO. a team that plays solid and consistent defense against these lakers will truly be their test, but on that note even a victory in a single regular season game means nothing. only a seven game series will test their true resolve. i have to believe that playing pheonix two years in a row will do more than having played different opponents each year. just like lakers and pistons, lakers and king, spurs and lakers, celtics and pistons and pistons bulls of years past, they need a certain amount of venom and hatred and learning to overcome that in your opponent to move on and become a champion. do not put kwame in the starting line up unless its as power forward next to bynum. otherwise we need a current full season of work / game experience to get bynum ready for play offs...even if its next years playoffs, because we only have a full year and a half of kobe to make an impression on him that will make him want to stay. I obviously dont know kobe but I have missed maybe 75 to 100 games in kobes 12 years and i will say he finallt actualy seems to be happy, or conten. he seems to actualy be having fun, maybe its just me but that theaura i seem to read in this laker team. maybe kobe is just gettin older and is more matuer i dont know, i dont care , i just want to see a winner, and i want to see it with kobe and this current laker team because they are all ours. this team is comprised of all our own picks and LO is like a stepson since he was on the clippers originaly, he just doesnt have red hair. i believed in the front office all along even though i didnt like what they were doing. with what Dr. buss and co. have givven us over the years they deserve the bennifit of the doubt. i mean tell the truth even those of you who wanted to get rid of kobe and keep shaq or said that mitch should be fired. would you want this laker team to not have kobe, bynum, farmar (who came from shaq trade) LO, ariz, walton etc all of wich came frome mitch or would you rather have todays shaq with 3 years remaining , overpriced, and overweight with probably little help around him...well basicaly would you rather have todays Lakers or todays Miami Heat
Posted by: CHRIS M | December 20, 2007 at 11:10 AM
I think the Nets are seriously thinking about getting Kidd out to LA. The deal would be for Mihm, Walton and Farmar. Dallas has a similar offer on the table but wouldn't include such a promising point guard as JF.
They worry more about him free agent'ing himself into the East.
Posted by: geo | December 20, 2007 at 12:39 PM
Ken:
Is this the Ken who was the big Andrew Bynum supporter? If so, I hope you saw the Clippers game. Drew really outplayed Kaman. Even Clipper lover AK agreed.
Looking at the Heat with $60M promised to Shaq over the next three years, you have to believe the Lakers did the right thing in moving him. Our only mistake may have been trading Caron Butler for Kwame Brown in retrospect. Otherwise, I think our front office has done a great job.
Tom
Posted by: LakerTom | December 20, 2007 at 01:52 PM
Hey does anyone know if this has any merit?
http://sports.hollyscoop.com/lakers/magic-says-%E2%80%9Ckidd-will-be-a-laker%E2%80%9D_180.aspx
Posted by: LB | December 20, 2007 at 03:52 PM