There's more than one way to skin a (bob)cat
Although really, who are these nut bags going around skinning cats, "bob" species or otherwise? Bunch of sickos if you ask me.
And with the public service portion of the blog now concluded, we take you back to your Los Angeles Lakers, victorious last night in Charlotte. A 106-97 victory, to be more precise. And as mentioned, there were a lot of methods employed to secure such spoils. There was the "Kobe and Pau combine for 57" method, a tact that featured the Spaniard Laker newbie going nearly perfect from the field (9-11) and Bryant going error-free at the line (9-9) while passing by The Iceman. There's also the "Collect 13 steals on the evening" approach, four alone ending up in el mitts de Mamba. Then again, you could go the "Display enough carelessness to turn the ball over 10 times in the first half or let the Cats back in during fourth" route, a technique that prompted Phil Jackson to run with the ol' "Wholesale reshuffle of a unit trick". But in the end, Kobe and co. restored order, racked another happy box score and lifted their road record to 6-2, one win away from a somewhat quirky NBA roadie record. Of course, back in my day, we used to travel by covered wagon through the snow for road trips and play seven games in four days!
A happy game for the Lakers was also a happy day for DJ Mbenga. The Congo's Favorite Son will be part of the Laker crew for the rest of the season. The reasoning behind the contract, however, is where the good vibes end. The need for Mbenga comes in large part not because Shaq and Kobe are together again for the first time (sort of), but because Chris Mihm will undergo yet another surgery. This time on his heel, with a projected absence of 4-6 weeks. Good times for the Longhorn.
Lamar Odom's looking to improve his effectiveness without the ball, since the addition of Gasol and Bynum's eventual return (reportedly on schedule) will likely mean the rock in his hands less often. Thus far, he's acquitting himself more than nicely.
An update on player-coach/Gasol trade throw-in Aaron McKie down in Memphis.
Isaiah Thomas acquisitions that haven't turned out for the best? Shocking! That simply never happens.
As it turns out, if you have a family in need of feeding, it actually does behoove you to accept a $21,000,000 contract. Who knew?
Might be late but Good Morning anyways!!!!!
Posted by: Charles | February 12, 2008 at 09:25 AM
With Mihm out now even longer lets hope Ronny's ankle is ok and that rest over the All-Star break gets him healthy ! I wouldn't be shocked to see Kwame back next year at a Mihm-like contract. This all depending on the Shaq-experiment in Phoenix. His size and another 6 fouls may be needed !
Posted by: LALAKERLOVER | February 12, 2008 at 09:25 AM
lAKERS NEED TO CUT THIER LOSSES AND RELEASE CHRIS. He will never, I repeat never run the floor for them again. I dont know why the resigned him. No other team was crazy enough. He worked out for several teams over the summer and none of them bit. How smart they were.
Posted by: Lakergirl1980 | February 12, 2008 at 09:32 AM
The mark of a great team is they can not play their best and still win. That's exactly what we've done the last couple of games. The danger comes from taking it for granted that you can do that, and you start to loose to lesser teams.
I think we're really going to have to push through the wall tonight to get a win. We can do it, but we may have to dig deep. We're looking tired and it's showing up in various ways: outside shooting, rebounding, and transition defense.
And speaking of outside shooting, I have to say I'm still not sold on Sasha. It's great to see him have some good games, but right now he's kind of an "all or none" type player. He either comes out and shoots 80%, or he shoots 10%...way too flashy and inconsistent. 1-6 against NJ, but then 4-7 and 3-4 against Atl and Orl respectively. Then 5-10 against Miami, but all his makes in the first half (and couldn't throw it in the ocean in the second). Then 1-4 last night.
Come on Sasha! You're doing better than in years past, but if you need to be a lot more consistent!
Posted by: Jason F. | February 12, 2008 at 09:32 AM
http://sports.espn.go.com/nba/news/story?id=3241444
Sprewell has made over $50 million in his career. And he's foreclosing on a $1.5 million yacht and $400,000 home??
What an idiot!
Posted by: Rocky | February 12, 2008 at 09:35 AM
lakers have had the 2nd hardest schedule in the league so far, and that's including the heat and the bobcats, so watch out for the lakers to have a good 2nd half of the season and momentum going towards the playoffs.
Posted by: greek dude | February 12, 2008 at 09:35 AM
LALAKERLOVER,
God I hope your wrong.
Posted by: Frank Rizzo | February 12, 2008 at 09:39 AM
You know how we thought Shaq would laugh off Bill Walton's comments from Sunday? When Bill said that Shaq's tired act was an insult to those who think?
Here's Shaq's reax (at the end):
http://tinyurl.com/ywx58d
Posted by: mel | February 12, 2008 at 09:45 AM
This stretch of Gasol at the 5, Mihm's injury and Ronny hurting his ankle illustrate the Lakers' next priority - another big body who can defend, rebound, and toss ppl around. No, DJ is not the long-term solution.
You don't want Gasol guarding the Duncans and Boozers of the NBA. You want him to focus on what he does best - score, pass, and play help paint defense. Drew may develop into our go-to post defender, but I haven't seen enough of that from him yet. And Odom is simply too undersized to guard the likes of Amare. So this off season we need to bring in a cheap bruiser. Someone like Boston's Glen Davis would be great
Posted by: Vonislav Waferdenko | February 12, 2008 at 09:48 AM
I never thought I'd say this, but PHEW I'm glad Mbenga didn't get away! I like the guy but never thought I would be relieved to have him locked up. Good move.
Also, I am officially refraining from critiquing x's and o's for last night or Wednesday's game. The Lake Show is tired and severely road weary, and I cannot blame them. Let downs are inevitable, what's important is the W. We can get back to specifics after the All-Star break.
I'm hoping for a win tomorrow, and I think it will happen. A victory depends on the Lakers waking up tomorrow and feeling good about going home (finally) so that they are energized. Watch out for Al Jefferson though, he's going to try to punish Pau on the block...could be a preview of how Pau handles guys like Shaq...he did alright (with help) against Dwight Howard.
Go Lakers!!!
Posted by: DrewPauKobe | February 12, 2008 at 09:49 AM
Good morning Charles!
Does anyone know anything about Drew? I watched the Miami game and Magic had a brief interview and he said something that's been bothering me. He said that the Lakers got Pau in case they did not get Drew back and that got me to thinking about how serious his injury really is. Is it getting any better or was it worse than what we were told?
Posted by: Elle | February 12, 2008 at 09:49 AM
The Knicks are falling apart (still in freefall) and the Lakers have nowhere to go but up.
Happy, happy, days!
Oh yeah, Shaq's a Sun! And he's going to run with them! Oh yeah, I forgot about that.
This is so great. I can't wait to see the Big Ole Creaky Hip in a disgusting orange uniform lumbering down the court with heart attack-like panic in his eyes.
Maybe Kareem is right. Best season in 20 years for the NBA.
GO LAKERS!
Posted by: Jon K. | February 12, 2008 at 09:49 AM
Gasol is off to quite the start. In five games, he's shooting over 61% from the floor and they're not all in the paint either.
Not bad for a tired guy with a sore back.
40yearfan
Posted by: 40yearfan | February 12, 2008 at 09:49 AM
Best road trip in NBA history? Well, it's a good thing we got rid of Kwame as our starting center.
Posted by: zen | February 12, 2008 at 09:50 AM
Ooooooooh I also forgot to thank aK/BK for the link to Arena's blog, it made my day.
Posted by: Elle | February 12, 2008 at 09:52 AM
Gasol is off to quite the start. In five games, he's shooting over 61% from the floor and they're not all in the paint either.
Not bad for a tired guy with a sore back.
40yearfan
Posted by: 40yearfan | February 12, 2008 at 09:55 AM
Starts with a B, ends with a B ...
Posted by: exhelodrvr | February 12, 2008 at 09:56 AM
Elle,
Did you catch that clothesline comment in Arenas' blog? Terribly unsportsmanlike.
Posted by: mel | February 12, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Lets not get too excited, the lakers are 15-13 against teams over .500 this year.
http://www.nba.com/standings/team_record_comparison/conferenceNew_Mrg_Div.html
Thats not a recipe for a championship.
By comparison other title contenders
Detroit 20-6
Boston 21-8
San Antonio 11-14
Phoenix 15-8
Dallas 15-10
Cleveland 16-11
The Lakers have the second worse record against .500 teams only San Antonio has a worse record and they have not played well this year.
The good news is the Lakers are beating the sub .500 teams this year, something they did not do the last 2 years.
In the playoffs its all about matchups so who the lakers get in the 1st round and if they have home court will determine how far they go in the playoffs.
Posted by: Laker Lover | February 12, 2008 at 10:00 AM
honestly, the real problem last night was defense - and that's in part attributable to fatigue too.
I thought the offense was fine - there were plenty of good shots. Look at it this way - if Fisher and Sasha, who got open shots most of the time, hit more than 2 shots out of 12, it would've been a straight blowout. They will not go 2-12 very often.
Posted by: Vonislav Waferdenko | February 12, 2008 at 10:01 AM
LAKERLOVER has a point about Kwame. In fact I don't think the guy will have many other options and I think he felt comfortable in L.A. He'll still be an adequate back up at the 5 but he'll be at a drastically reduced salary. He's got great strength to keep guys like Shaq (if he's still a force) and Duncan off the blocks. Obviously he's not near the complete player that Bynum is but Bynum can't stay on the floor for 48 minutes so Kwame would help when we need to throw some meat on the floor.
We need to buy out Mihm.
Posted by: B$ | February 12, 2008 at 10:03 AM
LAGUNERRO havent a clue what they are talking about. Oh and btw its ETC, not ECT.
My cat know more about basketball than either of you two!
: BrandonC
Im not saying that I want that to happen, I'm just saying judging from what I seen since PAU came into the team, it distrupted the team
Like I said I know once Pau gets more comfortable with the offence we'll be rollin over teams heading into the playoffs, but BYNUM and ARIZA coming back so late in the season may distrup our flow
killin some of our momentum which can cause the team to struggle again, and we cant have that headin inti the playoffs. The west is just too strong
Posted by: LAGUNERRO | February 12, 2008 at 10:03 AM
40yearfan,
I think even Gasol might be surprised by how easily the points have come. I mean, he's shooting 60%!! Last night the bobcats guarded him in the 1st half like they thought it was still Kwame Brown with some skin whitening. Their scouts didn't tell them that open midrange J's are like layups to Pau
Posted by: Vonislav Waferdenko | February 12, 2008 at 10:04 AM
What if
Mike T was right but had the wrong guy?
What if the Lakers, as Mike predicted, will struggle in the playoffs because of lack of an interior defender and a more difficult time scoring in the half court offense , when typically games slow down to in the post-season?
Kwame was not the answer to the question, but I think he was on the right track in some respect. Laker fans are already seeing signs of Gasols lack of physical presense on defense without Bynum in the lineup. Big men are having a field day inside. That shouldnt surprise anyone Gasol is a finesse player.
"This stretch of Gasol at the 5, Mihm's injury and Ronny hurting his ankle illustrate the Lakers' next priority - another big body who can defend, rebound, and toss ppl around"
You mean like Kwame Brown?
Posted by: Laker Lover | February 12, 2008 at 10:08 AM
Good morning Elle! How about rounding up some people to check out a game at a sports bar Elle?
Posted by: Charles | February 12, 2008 at 10:13 AM
Lakers #3 in Foxsports nba power rankings.
Posted by: Laker Kev | February 12, 2008 at 10:15 AM
Lakergirl,
I agree it is likely time for Mihm to hang it up and doubt he will ever be well enough to play in the NBA again. However, Mihm is not a player that appeared to be tanking it - just milking the team for money. I think both Chris and the Lakers thought he could come back well enough to be a solid backup for certain match-ups. True he couldn't bang with the big boys, but in the smaller lineups, with his acceptable offensive game he would have been fine. I feel bad for the guy - he worked hard and seemed a decent guy. I think Kobe appreciated his work ethic and Kobe isn't exactly an easy guy to please. We can knock him for his liabilities on D, but I don't think he was ever a poison like Smush etc. - a good team guy unfortunately done in by injury. The Lakers gambled and lost but it is not as if they signed him to a contract that is an albatross for years and years to come. I wish him the best - he seems like a good guy that even if you don't like his game you can respect him for always putting forth a good effort.
Peace,
Eagleboy
Posted by: Eagleboy | February 12, 2008 at 10:16 AM
Vonislav Waferdenko -since Memphis and Charlotte both play in the East Im sure the cats knew Gasol It just shows you why they suck, all the scouting in the world cant make up for stupid players not understanding their opponent. Its like going for Kobes head fakes, like its something new. Me and Mike T could defend Kobe better than some of these clowns and we are white and slow.
Rule # 1 - dont go for the head fake
Rule # 2- if Kobe is hot, stay on him and make him drive to help.
Rule # 3- double team double team hard not this soft doubles other teams try.
Rule # 4- make him give up the ball
Id think coaches and players are smart enough to figure this out but its good for the lakers they usually arent.
Posted by: Laker Lover | February 12, 2008 at 10:17 AM
You guys are not serious about Mihm taking the Lakers for a ride are you?
His ankle was seriously mangled and was misdiagnosed by team doctors. Please correct me if I'm wrong, but that's how I saw it.
Posted by: mel | February 12, 2008 at 10:23 AM
Mel, no I did not read all of the blog posts he made just the "Lakers stole Gasol" and umm the thing about the baby powder. If I get all my work done I'll go back and read them.
Charles any suggestions about what game we could set up? I'm thinking a Spurs or Mavs game might be nice.
Also I would like to nominate "behoove" as the word of the day, I love that word.
Posted by: Elle | February 12, 2008 at 10:23 AM
LakerLover,
great point about the over/sub .500 teams and thanks for the link to back it up. i think that the moral of that story is that we can't close games against good teams that are decided by less than three.
houston on 10/30
denver on 12/4
GS on 12/14
Cavs on 12/20
cavs again on 1/27
detroit on 1/31
so that means that about half all of our losses to above .500 teams were w/in 4 points...most just a one possession game.
blame playcalling...blame execution...blame decision making. regardless, we are not getting it done to close games. (a few exceptions of course).
this all goes to a complaint i reiterate to anyone who'll listen in close games. I have also noticed this complaint made in this blog.
with all the great penetrators we have on our squad, why not take it to the rack with some serious agression to close out the final seconds of games, let alone quarters 1-3. with a collapse, we kick and get a good look at a jumper, as opposed to a fall away with a hand in your face. one point however, is DO NOT EXPECT A CALL...the ref's not making calls at the ends of games is reaching EPIDEMIC proportions. but the defense will respond, and the open jumper will be there.
we're gonna need this skill come summer.
ok...diatribe over.
cheers
Posted by: Chick Penberthy | February 12, 2008 at 10:26 AM
Why are we discussing wins and losses of a Laker team that didn't have Trevor, Vlad, Pau, Kwame and subsequently, Andrew?
It's hard to resist the urge to post, but, if you can't enjoy this, try politics. They love meaningless projections in that arena.
Posted by: Vman | February 12, 2008 at 10:27 AM
Laker Lover,
I understand your point on the Lakers record vs. +500 teams. But I wouldn't read too much into it. For one thing most of those teams have not had the turnover on the roster that the Lakers have had nor have they all had a player of Bynums magnitude go down with injury for extended periods of time.
The first shot to the Lakers "bench mob" was the trade of Cook and Evans for Ariza. The bench that had been key to the Lakers roll to that point was disrupted and they sputtered but recovered and were on a roll until Bynum got hurt. Then they kind of sputtered a bit then got back on track. Then the Kwame deal for Gasol. They haven't sputtered but they certainly are not playing at the highest level possible. I expect once Bynum comes back there will be an adjustment period once again. The key obviously is how well the Bynum and Gasol work together - I don't suspect there will be too much trouble once the kinks get worked out. Then the Lakers also get Trevor back and the D shores up a bit. And the Lakers are legit contenders to take the crown.
I know some experts are saying yeah it looks good on paper but so did the Lakers with Malone and Payton and look what happened there. To that I say - different teams, different personalities. Gasol and Lamar don't need to be the man, I think Bynum wants to be the man but realizes it is still Kobe's team and is comfortable with that set up for now. I hope Kobe will do what Kareem did in letting Magic become the man as his skills decline in the coming years. With the talent the Lakers have and more importantly apparently a good chemistry I think the Lakers are in a great position but I am not going to bet the house on the Lakers winning it all. They still need to play the games and the journey is only about half over.
Eagleboy
Go Lakers.
Posted by: Eagleboy | February 12, 2008 at 10:30 AM
Elle,
It was in the Shaq-Fu trade part. Here's the line:
"Now Raja Bell has that big fella behind him so he might break out the clothesline once again, haha. "
I can't believe I'm the only one outraged by this. That an NBA supposed super star would advocate a flagrant foul.
I'm also outraged that Gilbert didn't use a comma in that compound sentence.
End of rant.
Posted by: mel | February 12, 2008 at 10:32 AM
Elle,
Any of those two would be great. I am going to the Atlanta Game after the all star break.... Weekend gatherings would be awesome.
Best
Charles
Posted by: Charles | February 12, 2008 at 10:34 AM
we don't win at charlotte if this was last year
road fatigue and poor end-game execution would have doomed us...but oh, what a new day!
i'm very pleased with our Lakers. there are certainly causes for concern but we're taking care of the Ws like "good" teams should
minny is a better team than nine wins, i just hope we jump on 'em early and MAINTAIN that execution the rest of the way. no let ups
let's bring it home, boys! and...LET'S GO LAKE SHOW!
Posted by: CBuck | February 12, 2008 at 10:37 AM
Can anyone tell me what's going on with Luke Walton? His game has tumbled downhill throughout the season, his shot is off, his defense is in question, he is missing layups, turning the ball over...why does jackson stick with this guy? And what will happen when Ariza gets back? I say let him ride the bench.
Posted by: Laker Motivation | February 12, 2008 at 10:39 AM
Aren't the past stats and records less meaningful now that we've added Pau, making the team substanially different than the team that made those stats?
And can we start the Kobe-MJ comparisons again, I like how people get mad when you even mention Kobe's name in the same breath as MJ because of their MJ man crush.
Posted by: Amazing_Happens | February 12, 2008 at 10:44 AM
@ Eagleboy - the Malone and Payton team got to the Finals before Malone went down with a knee injury, so I would say that was a pretty good team that did pretty well.
Posted by: Amazing_Happens | February 12, 2008 at 10:48 AM
Come on road fatigue? Really. These players are flying first class and sometimes chartered flights, staying in 5 star hotels and getting waited on hand and foot.
For the rest of us mere mortals, thats called a VACATION.
Even Michael Thompson, who played, said its easy to play the games on the road, its the practices that take their toll.
Now if if the point is the guys are missing being at home, thats a totally different story. Otherwise fatigue is just an excuse and good teams dont use excuses.
Posted by: Laker Lover | February 12, 2008 at 10:53 AM
Laker Motivation,
I agree with your post. I do believe he is playing injured. Wouldn't that be more reason to have him take care of the injury in the training room?
Another blogger posted that Luke was playing good with Smush and Kwame on the lineup. That may have been reason to think he was valuable.
At this point (I must warn you I am being nit picky here) I would rather have an Eduardo Najera or Trenton Hassell type player over Luke. I feel Luke is an ok player, but I would label him player # 13-14 for now. (Barring a healthy squad)
Have a good one.
Posted by: Charles | February 12, 2008 at 10:55 AM
i'm incredibly jazzed about this team right now. remember back to when they started this trip? we were hoping (no, praying) for .500 ball. and they wind up 3 points away from 7-0. i get just as frustrated as anyone at the blown opportunities. I would love to see a game where the lakers outscored their opponents every quarter... where, as stu says, they stand on their necks. BUT, think about the good things. they do go through cold spells shooting, but i haven't seen them run the offense this smoothly since ... well, i can't remember when. defense could be tightened up, particularly on the inside, but that part seems to come around when they need it (thanks kobe). they have gone on turnover sprees like last night, but the turnovers tend to come from over-passing or day-dreaming (thanks kobe), not from mis-playing the offense. I'm amazed at how quickly gasol fit in and that makes me optimistic about how things will go when drew returns. gasol seems like a very smart player who adapts well. and if you're looking for a good sign that he can play the 4, notice the way his first move on getting the ball in the post is so often to turn and face the basket. the only downside to all of this is that when drew and ariza return, there are going to have to be some hard decisions made. rony "rasta-bear" and luke will see drastically shorter minutes. less painful, radmonovich will likely become a role-player, a designated 3-point punch.
but if those are the worst of our problems ...
Posted by: FED | February 12, 2008 at 10:56 AM
The Knicks are having a fire SALE per HOOPSHYPE and looking for takers regarding Zach and Eddy Curry...Either one of them would be serviceable
Posted by: lakersrydeordie | February 12, 2008 at 10:58 AM
"I can't believe I'm the only one outraged by this. That an NBA supposed super star would advocate a flagrant foul.
I'm also outraged that Gilbert didn't use a comma in that compound sentence."
I can't believe he would actually write that but then again this is baby powder man so maybe it's not that surprising.
Charles, I wanted to get tickets for the Atlanta game (ticket master still had some great seats left) but I'm going to the Lakers/Clippers on the 23rd instead. I'll look at upcoming games and I'll post the games and dates that work best and then we can have a vote as to what game to see.
Posted by: Elle | February 12, 2008 at 10:58 AM
Lets not get too excited, the lakers are 15-13 against teams over .500 this year.
http://www.nba.com/standings/team_record_comparison/conferenceNew_Mrg_Div.html
Thats not a recipe for a championship.
By comparison other title contenders
Detroit 20-6
Boston 21-8
San Antonio 11-14
Phoenix 15-8
Dallas 15-10
Cleveland 16-11
The Lakers have the second worse record against .500 teams only San Antonio has a worse record and they have not played well this year.
The good news is the Lakers are beating the sub .500 teams this year, something they did not do the last 2 years.
In the playoffs its all about matchups so who the lakers get in the 1st round and if they have home court will determine how far they go in the playoffs.
Posted by: Laker Lover | February 12, 2008 at 10:00 AM
Laker Lover,
Not to concerned about that at all. Some of those losses came early in the season to Houston, Utah, Boston twice, Orlando(in LA), GS, PHX, SA twice, Mavs and the most recent was a 1 point loss at Detroit(we should've won). We lost to Houston on opening night, got blown out in Utah and twice by Boston, lost late against the Magic, ditto against the Warriors in Oakland, loss against PHX was without Bynum(no Pau yet), faded late against both Spurs and Mavs without Bynum or Pau and should've beaten the Pistons in Detroit. Oh yeah, we also lost two close games against the Cavs(easily could've gone our way). We also lost an early game against the Hornets, but blew them out in NO. With the exception of blowouts to Boston and the one game in Utah, the Lakers have proven that they can beat or hang with any team in the league.
Posted by: Nemaia Faletogo | February 12, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Thanks Elle!!!
Posted by: Charles | February 12, 2008 at 11:02 AM
Laker Lover, pretty good points about guarding Kobe. I don't know either why they go for the head fakes. And as a Laker fan, they really need to stop, because it just gives Kobe reinforcement to keep doing those quintuple head fake shots, which are terrible
Posted by: Vonislav Waferdenko | February 12, 2008 at 11:03 AM
Hey get off Chris Mihms back the guy is working hard to get back to the team. A real fan never gives up on their players and team. Dont you think he's extremely frustrated that this has happened to him like this. Before the injury he was a good center.
Posted by: Paul Lee | February 12, 2008 at 11:05 AM
Laker Lover,
You should look at the Lakers' record versus the Best of the West, and you'll see it's one of the best. Also, PHX's record against those sameWest teams is below .500, with 2 of those wins coming against LAkers immediately after losing Bynum, and SA with Duncan out. You constantly look for a ngle to discredit this team. Why? I wrote a while ago, a few weeks before this road trip, that if the Lakers were for real, they had to go at least 6-3 on this road trip. Well, so far they're 6-2, all the while, losing Bynum, and fitting in Gasol, and very well could've been 8-0. Give them credit already. They're good.
Posted by: wondahbap | February 12, 2008 at 11:05 AM
Wow I saw that video. Shaq went big on Bill Walton LMAO
Posted by: Paul Lee | February 12, 2008 at 11:07 AM