Chat Alert!

At face value the team regressed somewhat given the subtraction of Turiaf, whose value will be not matched by the recent addition of Powell. What's more disconcerting is the team's lack of emphasis on getting physical role players to paly tought D. Guys like Q-Ross and Zo or even a Ratliff type who can change the complexion of the game with their level of energy and intensities. In his post-Finals elimination speech PJ prescribed getting for next season a defensive-minded veteran to reinforce the roster. I've yet to see that happening given the crop of flops in Mihm, Radmanovich, and Walton.

dean from the Bay Area: Will Josh Powell be as good as Turiaf? He played in the ACC, so I figure he has the resume.

John Hollinger: (3:24 PM ET ) Not even close. He's a nice fifth big man but he shouldn't be a regular rotation player. The hope in LA is that returns to health by Bynum and Mihm more than offset losing Turiaf.

I have a burning question about Von Wafer is that allowed haha, jk.

yay chat!!

in advance, does josh powell feel any pressure about replacing turiaf on the bench?

The team didn't regress because we'll be adding Andrew Bynum and a fully healthy Ariza. Before Bynum went down we were one of the two or three best rebounding teams in the league and playing very good defense. We'll be much better with Bynum protecting the basket, Pau using his length to bother opposing power forwards and LO or Ariza doing whatever dirty work is required on the front line.

And I haven't even mentioned Kobe Bryant yet.

Hello Laker Peoples

Just dropping by, will be back when training camp starts up.

But I read some posts in the past couple of days about the current team, just some of my takes:

Sun Yue looks like he's going to be more than bench fodder, the dude looks like he has skills. From the Olympics, he's looking like the 2nd best Chinese player...better than Yi for sure. Looks like the Lakers might have stolen one.

Stop hatin' on Lamar, he had a poor Finals but he's out of position playing the 4. Put him at the 3 this year and I guarantee you he's gonna be in All Star consideration this year.

Bynum, bring back the beast, 'nuff said.

Pau's been soft but this will be a non-issue this year. Bynum will be the beast and Josh Powell is a rugged forward who will bring some fight to the table.

Bynum, Pau, Lamar, Kobe...'tis the new Dominating Dynasty, book it.

joninjapan(incanada),

Dude, Josh Powell just got an upgrade. He's going to be happy to be playing and I'm sure he'll continue to play hard. I don't think he's one of those players (**cough** Kwame Brown! **cough**) who wilts under pressure.

He was able to start for the Clippers some games last year and did rather well.

GO LAKERS!

Just did a quick Bio-Chrono reading on Josh Powell. Pretty interesting. He should get along well with Andrew Bynum and Lamar Odom.

It's important that the game be made fun for him and that he clearly understands his role on the team.

More later.

GO LAKERS!

Jon K is right Jonin Japan. Josh Powell, I think has actually more upside than Ronny did. Powell may not be as cheerful as Ronny is and Ronny was a fun and lovable team mate to be around and I loved him being part of Kobe's commercial. However, Ronny's game hasn't really been the to level that it could have been (it's still way much better than Kwa-may Brown's both defensive and offensively). He settled for way too much jumpers when I feel he could have posted up and use more post moves. He didn't also get that much rebounds even when he played center (though he did block tons of shots). Powell actually has done well during times he actually played extensive times with the Clippers even getting two 20 /10 point games. Plus he done it at center which is even more better should Mihm not be capable of even being a back up center. This signing actually may have been another solid move made by MItch.

Will he have pressure getting more production than Ronny did? My guess is no, he has proven he can do some things that Ronny couldn't do that would have helped the Lakers even more. Will he be pressured to be dancing off the bench? Well I think we Laker fans can maybe try to get him to dance when we are going to win by a large amount (evil grin).

thekobebyrantblitz,

If Josh Powell wants to be a crowd favorite, he'll be taking dance lessons as we speak.

Mark Madsen? Dancing machine.

Ronny Turiaf? Dancing machine.

Josh Powell? James Brown's got nothin' on him!

GO LAKERS!

Clippers just signed Paul Davis.

They now have NINE signed players who are 6' 9" and above and FIVE players who are 6' 11" and above.

Nine players 6' 9" and above.

Wow.

Well, it looks like Shaun Livingston and Quinton Ross are going to be available.

Go Clippers!

GO LAKERS!

Xodus,

>>>>>And I haven't even mentioned Kobe Bryant yet.

Which is exactly why I believe the Lakers should ask Kobe to focus first on defense. He will still get his points but with Drew and Pau in the box, the Lakers could well have three 20-ppg scorers next year. The Lakers will be able to afford Kobe leading an aggressive trapping defense with Drew patrolling the lane and protecting the rim. Defend like MJ. Run like Showtime. Score 120 Points Per Game. Hold opponents to 100. Dominate by 20.

Some bloggers can’t seem to get it through their head that basketball championships are won by a combination of great offense and defense. This is not football where you can actually shut out the other team. This is basketball where there are no time outs as teams switch back and forth from offense to defense. The wining formula is great defense AND great offense, which we can best accomplish by making Drew the focus of our half-court defense and having Kobe focus first on playing shut-down defense and maybe winning DPOY. LOL.

The history of the NBA is littered with as many teams who lost a championship because their offense was not good enough as those without enough defense. What the Redeem Team is doing to Olympic competition is exactly what the Lakers can do to the rest of the league, It is all about desire. We have seen how inspirational Kobe’s efforts on defense have been to Team USA. Now it’s time to see how that same strategy would work on the Lakers.

When you look at this Lakers team, they are tall and long, young and athletic, fast and quick, and deep and versatile. A pressing defense with Drew as free safety and a running offense, with Drew as our ace in the hole in half-court is the winning strategy for the Lakers to exploit and the perfect solution to Dr. Buss’ publicly stated desire to play fast break basketball. Let’s hope that Phil and his brain trust come to the same conclusion.

Tough to be separated, Karl. Keep your hearts in touch and be good. Go, Lakers.

Tom