mikeaz,

Thanks for the post!

Hobbit, these are the proof Lamar played Small Forward

http://tinyurl.com/6s3foa

"Odom started at small forward and had 18 points in 37 minutes after missing the first four games while recovering from off-season shoulder surgery.

For a change, he didn’t have to bang against the opposing team’s power forward. Instead of guarding Al Jefferson (6 feet 10, 265 pounds), he was matched up against Ryan Gomes (6 feet 7, 250)."

http://tinyurl.com/59yk6d

"When Odom first joined the Lakers he played power forward under Rudy Tomjanovich and Frank Hamblen. The next summer LA traded for Kwame Brown with the notion Odom would play small forward, Brown the four and Chris Mihm starting at center.

Brown proved to be far less skilled than the team had hoped which relegated him to the less complicated center position in the triangle offense. With little alternative, Odom was shifted back to power forward.

It's the emergence of Ronny Turiaf as an everyday player that gives Jackson the opportunity to start Odom at the three. "

Thanks for those two links Xodus

Those are the 7 games Lamar Odom played Small Forward. Ronny Turiaf is NOT a Small forward. Brian Cook is NOT a Small Forward. And don't think Bynum is a Small Forward either. This proves it and if you cannot see that I wonder what will.

"Why do you see a difference b/n " Mo evans getting more playing time just means that he was better than sasha at the time." && "Mo Evans was better than Sasha until he got traded." ? Both sentences have the phrase "better than
Sasha" in them."

Let me say this once and for all: Until Evans got traded and Ariza got injured, Sasha didn't get as much playing time as he did after Ariza got injured! He averaged less than 12 min per game in Nov and 13 min per game in December. January he averaged 17 min per game! If Sasha was better why was Mo Evans playing more minutes them him? Plus Sasha didn't average major minutes until Ariza got hurt!

Until Evans got traded Sasha was averaging less than 4 Min per Game! In fact He got 4 "DNP-CD" compared to only 2 for Evans!

Also check this out:
http://tinyurl.com/67lunv

November: 12:24 Minutes Played, 12 games played
December: 13:18 Minutes Played 14 games played
January: 17:48 Minutes Played. 8 games played (6 DNP-Coaches Decison)

Only after Evans got hurt did he begin to play in more games and only after Ariza got hurt did he average more than 15 minutes a game!

"my response: If Bynum had not been injured would the
Lakers have made the same deal? Is it your belief that
all of the forwards the Lakers signed were for the PF
position so that Lamar could play SF? I ask this because
if letting Turiaf go lessons our depth at PF. I would argue
that Turiaf was our 3rd best PF behind Pau and Lamar.
However you say that Lamar is the SF. That would mean
that we just got rid of our backup PF. If Lamar is the
starting SF who is the backup for Pau?"

It's hard to say about whether they would have gotten Pau had Bynum's injury hadn't happen. Would they be less desperate if Drew wasn't injured? I would think so. If Memphis still offered Pau in return for Brown/Javaris/ 2 1st Round Picks plus the rights to Marc Gasol, I would still think the Lakers would have made the deal. As for who is backup at the 4? Powell and Radman. With Odom back at the 3 and having a good power forward in Pau, Radman can play the back up 4 and hit 3 pointers from there. The same type of Role that Cook did back in 05-06 and 06-07. Why didn't we have Odom at the 3 and Radman at the 4 last year? Because Lamar is far superior to Radman at the 4 starting wise. Radman was shifted to the 3 since he had better 3 point shooting than Luke did and Ariza was injured. Ronny we let go because his contract was out of the question!. 4 Million per year for just a role player is too much, we made that mistake with Luke and Vlad and we didn't want to make that mistake again otherwise we would become the New York Knicks. Therefore to replace the loss of Ronny we got Josh Powell. Jon K. and I agree that Powell might have better upside than Ronny and in a separate post I can explain why.

And let me put the positions of those players who you say we signed and make such a fuss over them.

Maurice Evans SG/SF: Played backup to Kobe early on in the 06-07 season and forced to start due to injury to Walton and Radman and no desire to start Brian Cook. He is a solid role player and BACKUP, while starting on Magic, Magic let him go because they drafted someone better than him at shooting guard.

Luke Walton: Signed as ROLE PLAYER. (not Starter). Overpaid? Yes. But they felt Luke was beginning to show up so Mitch overpaid him. And let me again show this line. "That probably means Luke Walton will probably be pushed to the bench, anchoring the second unit." Luke Walton is a role player and they resigned Luke for that not to start over Odom!

Vlad Rad: Signed as a 3 point specialist who can play BOTH Forward positions. Because of the lack of quality power forwards available (Phil didn't trust Ronny yet to start at the 4) back in offseason 2006 Vald Rad was put at Small Forward because Lamar was going to get the 4 (Cook backing him up). (Ironically Luke beat out Vlad Rad for the starting 3).

Trevor Ariza: Signed as a Defensive specialist. Upgrade defensively over Evans (and is better than Sasha). PLUS gets rid of Cook's contract. When Lamar was starting at Small Forward against Boston and Utah, Lamar was starting OVER Ariza.

Ira Newble: Signed as a DEFENSIVE Specialist due to Ariza's injury far more serious (thus take more time to heal). Not a starter and even a role player, just someone who can maybe defend until Ariza got better (And they haven't signed Newble back!)

Brian Cook: POWER FORWARD NOT SMALL FORWARD. Cook played Power Forward for mostly his career with the Lakers (a few times center). Cook couldn't rebound nor was a post player (just a shooter) and was horrible on defense so Lamar Odom had to replace him in the starting lineup and start Walton instead at Small Forward.

"If Bynum is the starting C who is the backup C?"

Easy, Chris Mihm. If Mihm can't handle even the backup role then Pau can play the position while Bynum is resting on the bench and either Powell or Lamar can shift to Power Forward at that time. The Lakers hasn't signed a 3rd backup center which is interesting, who shall it be?

I already posted the statistics of how Lamar defended well against Small Forwards (both in 05-06 and in the 7 games of 07-08), while Ariza got torched.

Here's another link that says Lamar can defend.

http://tinyurl.com/64kw3l

"Defense: A very talented defender who can matchup with a few different positions. Can guard both forward spots effectively, but is also able to defend most guards when he gets switched onto them. Will block some shots around the rim, play passing lanes, and make an effort to collect loose balls. Length helps him stay in front of his man and create turnovers. Will box out and grab a lot of rebounds—which is one of his strong points. Very capable on the defensive end. Plays more aggressive defense than offense. Commits quite a few fouls. "

I say while Lamar being on the bench helps the bench, it weakens the starting unit since Ariza isn't yet a capable defender that Lamar is. (I didn't say Ariza sucked, he is not yet at Lamar's level).

thekobebryantblitz,

No problem. I remembered LO starting at the 3 last season so I figured I'd help out.

"I think he's the best player in the world" - Larry Bird, when asked about his opinion of Kobe Bryant.

I love the Celtics!

Great interview.

And I agree. The 2004 team might have fared better if they would have had a coach that didn't berate them in public.

I hate to hold grudges, but I will NEVER forgive Larry Brown for the job he did in Athens. Every time I see the guy on television, I cringe.

I'll never understand how he justified benching LeBron James in favor of Richard Jefferson, Stephon Marbury, and Allen Iverson.

Did we answer ya question paulie? or do we still needs to beat it like a cop?
pls sign the waver form if ya want da rhodney king treatment ... and trust me
no la judge will find fault with this sherif ... cuz laker fans are with me in saying ya
asking 4 it shawty Posted by: Taliq | August 21, 2008 at 04:12 PM

I'm sorry Sheriff I forgot to tell you about Paulie. Did you ever watch the Andy Griffith
show when you was a tyke? Well remeber the character OTIS the Town drunk?
That's Paulie. He says these thingsd and then 3 minutes later forgets he ever said
them. But he's harmless. But it's good to see you didn't need a training period on
the job butr went right to work keeping Blog Order. LOL!

GOOD MORNING CHARLES
GOOD MORNING MORNING CREW.
GOOOOOOOD MOOOORNNNING TEAM USA BASKET BALL TEAM!!!
THE FINALS ON SUNDAY
YEAHHHH USA SOCCER TEAM!!!!!!

thekobebryantblitz & xodus,

thanks for the links supporting lamar at SF.

I wrote: "Why do you see a difference b/n " Mo evans getting more playing time just means that he was better than sasha at the time." && "Mo Evans was better than Sasha until he got traded." ? Both sentences have the phrase "better than
Sasha" in them."

and you wrote:

Let me say this once and for all: Until Evans got traded and Ariza got injured, Sasha didn't get as much playing time as he did after Ariza got injured! He averaged less than 12 min per game in Nov and 13 min per game in December. January he averaged 17 min per game! If Sasha was better why was Mo Evans playing more minutes them him? Plus Sasha didn't average major minutes until Ariza got hurt!

I ask you again: what part of "Mo Evans was better than
Sasha" don't you get such that you need to repeat "Mo Evans
was better than Sasha"?

Where can we watch the game on line?

AK,

I dont think it comes across as you selling the '08 team short in any way.I read you as saying that that particular roster could have enjoyed similar success if handled differently.To me they had the ability to win if things had fallen their way but they didn't enjoy the same kind of control over their destiny.The kind of control a USA basketball team should always enjoy.

It goes without saying that with the right approach and personel the USA should win these tournaments every time - sure as you've said they are not unbeatable but had the Sydney Olympics scared them into this kind of preperation for Athens then certainly they would have won.(so we agree)

Not being from the USA and therefore being more of an outside observer... to me it is just sad to see America lose at a game that should be their pride and joy...remove all the professionalism and youve effectively got countries competing at sport to see who is the best.There should eb apride in ALWAYS winning by as much as possible not just proving you can when necessary.

Nobody can fault anyone who is involved with this team.Theyve done tremendously well from the foundations up ....but my concern that this could be a cyclical thing - while I'd love to give Kobe all the credit for transforming the mindset of the team - in reality it has as much to do with the embarassment that Wade Lebron and Anthony suffered and the rallying of US basketball in general...sure the spotlight was on them this time as the 'redeem team' but by the next Olympics or the one after will the top players still want to play or will it be back to some second tier players who are just better prepared after a few more gold medals breeds nochalance?

Thats why I hope the right reasons for this success are isolated and its not overlooked that its basically the best team possible.(something which journalists seem to want to overlook possibly not to draw attention to the fact you HAVE to send your best?)

The work needs to continue to have an ongoing national program that functions more along the lines of other countries.For instance will all these players return for the London Olympics or is it going to be a case of 'well Ive done my bit and its time to give someone else a go'.(would Ginobli say that?)..even in the case of coach K - keep him in charge.Have this as the start of a stable ongoing programme - not an isolated campaign..someone posted an article about why Doug Collins should be the next US coach? - were people thinking about the next lakers coach while they were in the middle of their three titles?

The best thing they have done is make the olympics attractive again to the top players and it needs to stay that way bringing individual players into the national programme as required and keeping selection as a huge accolade rather than just starting again in preparation for the next olympics

I really hope the james's etc feel some kind of ownership over their positions on the team and the US can send their best and prepare properly and develop players as they go.The challenge is not just redeeming the gold but maintaining that standard and approaching every tournament the same way and not just falling back into thinking they dont need to send their best players (becasue for example the 3 year programme will take care of it).

For that to happen it needs to be a continuing culture of privilage of representing the US and make it something that all players aspire to do - like an All star team or All NBA selection(ie guys continuously go to all star games you never see them just say 'well ive been there and done that) - The Olympics shouldnt just a fashionable thing when you are underdogs.

If that can happen,as you say, they should be in this position every time.It will be interesting to see how many of these players want to continue their involvement with USA basketball and how many see their 'commitments' as being fulfilled.Theres no real reason why all of these players with the exception of Kidd and Kobe aren't there next time round (unless somebody better kicks them to the curb) but will that be the mindset???

Of course I meant training CAMP - can't even spell right anymore....

thekobebryantblitz,

re: Odom & SF. below you'll find a link to hoopshype.com and
Mark Heisler's blog. He doesn't think as highly of Odom as
you do at the SF.

http://tinyurl.com/6zzgz2

That would move Lamar Odom to small forward… if he ever gets there.

At the moment, there’s speculation the 6-10 Odom will be shopped for a more small forward who’s a better outside shooter.
In what could be viewed as a preview of next season, Boston’s Kevin Garnett roamed off Odom in the Finals, just as the Lakers did with Rajon Rondo, giving Lamar any outside shot he wanted.
Odom faded, Garnett helped jam up the high-powered Laker offense inside and that was that.

Jackson wanted a small forward who could shoot and space the floor badly enough to start the inconsistent Vlade Radmanovic while labeling him “my favorite Martian.”

However, Odom was originally in the package going to Memphis for Gasol, until Grizzlies owner Michael Heisley took him out, opting to lesser players and more savings.

And the Lakers will be holding those talks soon, with only one problem position, small forward.

http://tinyurl.com/5pnefs
The Lakers haven't improved by bringing in new personnel but should be better than they were a year ago with health.

The big question will be Odom's transition to small forward. While Vladimir Radmanovic was hardly the perfect starter at the three, he did shoot 40.6% from three-point range last season.

Can Odom adjust to playing further from the basket? Can he find a way to punish teams for backing off of him defensively (since he lacks a consistent jump shot) as the Celtics did in the NBA Finals?

Working in Odom's favor is his versatility. The Lakers lengthy front court may be prove to be wholly unique and powerful this coming season.

If Odom struggles in his role, his talent and expiring contract make him an attractive trade piece. At this point it appears unlikely he's moved before given the opportunity to succeed.

http://tinyurl.com/5axwdz
has him listed at PF not SF. Yes, I did look at the other links
which speak of him at SF.

It's been very interesting reading about Odom. It turns out that
I'm not the only one who doesn't think he will work at the 3.
It turns out that there are a fair number of fans, like yourself,
who think he's best at the 3.

I look forward to seeing how it works out.

Kobe kind of slipped into ball stopper mode during the first half of the game. He had an absolutely dismal night from the floor. Taking 9 threes doesn't help that fact. He took 14 shots, of which 9 were from outside the arc. Just a bad night overall. I think the pinkie is really a problem by now. He needs to hurry up and have that surgery right away when he gets home, so we can have the good Kobe shooting for the Lakers.

I turned on USA Network to watch the game, this morning, and what did I get? Table tennis. Am I the only one hating on NBC sports?

Mamba24 and Jon K,

Thank you for the shout out. Came back from Maui early this week and needless to say I am shaking of the Island Fever.

Family,
Can you guys give your personal scouting report on Powell?

I don't recall seeing him much. (I've read GREAT REBOUNDER and SHOOTS THE MIDRANGE) If that's the case, don't we have 14 guaranteed contracts already? Please advise.

Best and Respect,

BLOG CRUE
One more win and we get GOLD. Kobe returns to the Golden State and gets his pinky fixed and prepares for our World Championship in 2009! I'm off today, drank some coffee, am getting my house painted as we speak, and will have lunch at my daughters school in one hour. What a great day.

Colorado loves the Lakers!

N.B.C. does not do a good job of covering the Olympics is all i can say.

that's saying it mildly.

puddle,

Finger point at cha'!

I was up, but was taping USA and had a feeling NBC might pull something like that so I checked and yep, they were showing table tennis so I gambled that they would show the game on NBC at 10 and set my recorder for 10 AM to 1 PM. If it's not on then, then they might actually delay it until tonight though, that would be crazy even for NBC so I'm thinking I've got it at 10... though... that's what they're expecting me to do so...

I don't understand why they can't clearly state, this event will be on channel such and such at this time. NBC sucks.

>>>Powell gives a legit inside precense backup who can also
>>>play center well

That is definitely a misconception. Powell is only 6'9" and he's not
THAT muscular, so there's absolutely no way he can be effective
at center. Pretty much any starting center in the league and most
of the backup centers would absolutely own him.

He's strong enough to deal with most of the PFs (not all), but
he's just too small to deal with C's.

NY TIMES article yesterday that lays out a pretty blunt picture. Lebron is dominating the Olympics for the US basketball team, and Kobe looks a bit "lost."...

"With his persistent vocal leadership, his rugged rebounding and his ability to drive to the hoop at will, James has outplayed Bryant. James has better statistics, has played multiple positions, and has emerged as the team’s leader..."

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/21/
sports/olympics/21hoops.html

Among the Stars, James Seems to Shine a Bit Brighter

by PETE THAMEL
Published: August 20, 2008

BEIJING — Heading into these Olympic Games, as American men’s basketball began its great image overhaul, two questions lingered over the group that has become known as the Redeem Team.

The first was whether the United States could win the gold medal. And while that will not be answered until Sunday, one does not have to be an oracle to figure it out.

The second was how the alpha-dog dynamic between the planet’s two brightest stars, Kobe Bryant and LeBron James, would play out. That answer, too, has been as clear as the Americans’ dominance in this tournament.

With his persistent vocal leadership, his rugged rebounding and his ability to drive to the hoop at will, James has outplayed Bryant. James has better statistics, has played multiple positions, and has emerged as the team’s leader.

While Bryant has not played poorly, he has continued to play as if he were on his N.B.A. team instead of adapting and adjusting to his Olympic teammates. James has stood out precisely because he has blended in so well.

“I knew it had to come from someone,” James said of his leadership role. “It doesn’t matter how good individuals are, if you don’t have a leader, it’s not going to be right. I took that responsibility from Day 1, saying I’m going to be the vocal leader and I’m going to be the leader of this team.”

Bryant, meanwhile, has looked a bit lost. Although taking 16-foot fadeaways or pull-up 3-pointers in transition instead of passing to Luke Walton or Trevor Ariza may be a smart play in the N.B.A., taking those shots rather than passing to Dwyane Wade or Carmelo Anthony with Team USA is not always wise.

Bryant had his best game of the Olympics on Wednesday, scoring 25 points as the United States beat Australia, 116-85. He had his best half of the Games, too, scoring 9 points during the Americans’ 14-0 run to start the second half. In Friday’s semifinal round, the United States will play Manu Ginóbili and Argentina, which beat Greece, 80-78, in their quarterfinal on Wednesday.

Even with his hot second-half shooting, Bryant still has not quite bought into Coach Mike Krzyzewski’s team mantra of taking “USA shots.” It has been a subtle way for Krzyzewski to tell his players that the shots they take in the N.B.A. may not be the best ones for this team.

It is hard to criticize the play of the national team. It has won its six games here by an average of 32 points. But when the offense has stagnated — as it did in the first quarter Wednesday, when Australia trailed by just 25-24 — it has typically been with Bryant forcing shots. Is that trying to find pimples on the Mona Lisa? Perhaps. But the numbers will show just how much better and more consistent James has played.

James has better statistics in every relevant category. He has averaged more points (15.8 to 14.7) by taking 13 fewer shots and nearly half as many 3-point shots as Bryant (36 to 19). James has grabbed more rebounds (31 to 17), dished more assists (25 to 10) and turned the ball over less often (10 to 12). And he has been to the free-throw line more than twice as often (20 to 9), reflective of James’s greatest strength here and Bryant’s greatest weakness.

James has shown that no defender in international play can keep him from driving to the basket, so he has barreled down anyone in his path. Bryant has played with too much finesse, flipping up turnaround shots and 3-pointers instead of attacking the basket or looking to pass to his teammates.

“For me, I’m a complete team player,” James said. “I’m probably the ultimate team player. I’ll sacrifice whatever for the success of the team. Kobe is a great, great, great player. It’s not hard for me and Kobe to get along because of my game and his game.”

If the great N.B.A. bar debate over who is the best player in the world was based on Olympic play, it would not be much of a debate.

Perhaps what has been most impressive about James is his selflessness. He did a full body dive to save a loose ball in the third quarter against Australia. He has played out of position, at power forward, for much of the time and has given the United States the defense and rebounding production it has needed.

“I’m proud of him,” Krzyzewski said. “I’m really pleased with where he’s at.”

Thanks largely to James’s contributions, the Americans are very likely to be pleased at where they end up in this tournament. No one more than James. Not counting last summer’s FIBA Americas Championship, he has not won a title since he was a high school senior in Ohio.

“This means a lot more to me than anything,” James said. “Representing my country and being out here playing against some of the best athletes in the world, this is big.”

And he has played as if winning the gold is bigger than he is.

>>>N.B.C. does not do a good job of covering the Olympics is all
>>>i can say.
>>>
>>>that's saying it mildly.

Are you nuts? They've done a GREAT job. I've seen every US
Men's Basketball game in it's entirety without EVER breaking
away to watch rowing (or whatever) during the third quarter,
even if they're blowing the other team out. I've seen every
match May&Walsh played in its entirety, a couple of them without
commercial interruptions, and most of the other U.S. matches
in beach volleyball.

I've seen a couple of the U.S. Women's basketball games. And
I've watched a few of the other Men's Basketball games, mostly
to see how Pau Gasol and Sun Yue do.

I've seen a ton of swimming (thrill of victory for U.S. athletes),
and a ton of track and field (agony of defeat for same).

I've seen as much of the gymnastics competition as you can hope
to cover -- even if you're at the event, you can't see everything
because there are usually four people competing on four
different events at once.

I've also watched a little bit here and there of Tennis, Ping-Pong,
Team Volleyball, Team Handball, Water Polo, Fencing, Archery,
Baseball, Softball, Cycling, Boxing, Diving, Equestrian, Field
Hockey, Rowing, Shooting, Soccer, Synchronized Swimming,
Trampoline, and Weightlifting.

They've had constant broadcast 24 hours a day, sometimes on
3 or 4 channels at once. When it goes to commercial on NBC,
I've gone to USA or MSNBC or CNBC or whatever. They've
shown an unbelievable amount of stuff.

My favorite thing is the dedicated channels for live broadcast
of all the Basketball and Soccer games. Every game, complete,
no commercial interruptions. And re-plays of some of the best
games. All in high def. Freakin' sweeeeeet.

I can see if you didn't have either cable or satellite how you
might be sad that you've only gotten to see one game of the
Men's Basketball team so far, but with Dish Network, I've been a total Olympic Junkie for the last two weeks and I
couldn't be happier.

Have any of you seen this (from hoopsworld):

>>> Center D.J. Mbenga has a workout slated for Monday, his
>>> agent, Bouna Ndiaye, said Thursday.
>>>
>>> Ndiaye said that if all goes well, Mbenga will choose
>>> between signing with the Heat and Lakers.

kambros, do you know if the Lakers have made an offer to Congolian
Beef? I haven't seen any news about one.

Rocky,

"How about that choke job by Tyson Gay?"

Yep. Totally sucked.

GO USA!

GO LAKERS!

Rocky,

Even if you have a healthy Ginobli and Nacioni, I don't think the Argentines have chance against Team USA in this Olympics. Now that the two are half lame, they might not even get the bronze medal against the physical Lithuanians. Well, any team playing against Team USA in this Olympics can compete only up to first half, the second half, all the pains, aches from bumping, jumping and running takes away the competitiveness against the well prepared USA team. There is just too much fire power, too strong from James, Howard, Wade, Kobe's swarming defense plus the athleticism of the other 8 players vs. Argentines 6 at most, who could keep up with the NBA's best.

All,

I wrote this to Sheridan over at ESPN. I thought I'd share it.

"You've written several articles during these Olympics Chris, yet you haven't seemed to find many positive things to say about out Team USA. Why? The articles simply seem to play devil's advocate on an every-game basis. What have you liked about the play of the USA? How many "if's" and "could have's" and "should have's" and other conjecture can you include in any single article? Perhaps taking a different angle might refresh things a bit? Calling this game unfairly refereed is also quite the bold take, considering the terribly sloppy, floppy, and generally awful methods that Argentines seem to have taken from soccer and brought into basketball. In the end, I'm sure you just report on the angle the editors at ESPN ask you to, and that's fine and I understand it. Maybe you can get them to let you write an article about the good things this team is doing, maybe? How about after the gold medal game? Win or Lose? I'll try not to count on it."

Oink Oink