On the crushing of dreams and conspiracy theories

Wow, Laker tickets are not easy to come by this year. Just got done with the presale and most of the games were sold out. was lucky to get a couple of seats to a Clipper game and a Miami game, hope Dwane Wade is good this year.

Lamar = Laker for Life

GO LAKERS

I don't know about boules or biscuits, but each time Kobe passed Bynum the ball I thought I heard him yell the following:

"It puts the lotion in the basket... or else it gets the hose again. PUT THE LOTION IN THE @#$% BASKET!!"

There will be always bad calls in NBA games or any ball games for that matter. From the Steve Bartman incident (should have been called for Fan Interference) to the Jay Cutler Fumble in the Chargers-Broncos Game (That should have been ruled a fumble and that whistle shouldn't have been blown).

Game 6 of the 2002 WCF is no different. Sure the refs made bad calls and one could make the point about 40 free throws by the Lakers to 25 for the Kings. But then again 6 of those free throws came from intentional fouls at the end so it's more 34 to 25 a little bit more reasonable. Personal Fouls it ended up 31 for Sacramento and 24 for LA. Minus 3 intentional fouls and that is already 28 Fouls for Sac and 24 for LA, which at that doesn't seem to be really bad considering Shaq had more touches and only had 2 dunks (most of his shots were very close 6-10 ft) and he was getting doubled quite frequently. And others resulted of simply bad angles for referees. They are human after all and do make mistakes. There are much bad calls for contact/no contact as much as there are no calls for holding in football.

Did the Refs make some bad calls in that game? Yes, it happens. But it wasn't as bad as it is believed and after all, Home Court advantage does help beyond the energy of the home fans (it happens). In my opinion, the bad calls in Game 6 were just as bad as the bad calls in Game 5 of the 2002 WCF.

Did the Refs fixed the game and this new NBA report is mere cover up from Stern? It's up to you to decide but looking back at the Game 6 on tape (thank goodness for TiVo nowadays otherwise the storage would have been full), I really don't think that it was a *fixed game*.

For additional reporting here's a couple of articles:

http://tinyurl.com/5yxw3g

Here's one that allows to review ALL the calls in Game 6:

http://tinyurl.com/4cnykt

These sites are no way sponsored by the NBA so don't worry about the NBA "interfering" with it.

-blitz

It is wonderful to know we still won thes series.

it's a wonderful life. I'm glad this mess is getting cleared up before the season. It was bad enough when Tim Donaghy was throwing the lakers under the Conspiracy Talk Express before the Playoffs, to have that cloud hanging over the team going into a new season is literally one less distraction that the team needs to contend with. Better to focus all our energy on preparing for the future, not getting bogged down in the past.

Except when it comes to politics. Then a comprehensive view is best in order to formulate decisions based on history and plans of the future.

Back to B-Ball, sounds like Vlad the Implaer is willing to accept his lot in life based on his performance. How refreshing, I wish that Lamar could do the same. I think Vlad, coming from a war torn country, has a slightly different perspective on the money issue. Getting any kind of millions is good for him. He knows he won't be a top tier player and will get about the same money, probably for less years than he was originally signed, from any number of teams that need a shooter (see Atlanta). Lamar, having been the man on every team up until he arrived here, is having a slightly more difficult time wrapping his head around his situation. He should take a page from the AB 17 quote book, whether he believes it or not, he's leaving that up to his agent. Done. I think it's also being blown a wee bit out of proportion, but we'll see. Phil's said that he was giong to give it a chance, so if Lamar is looking for some kind of guarantee, he should get his head re-examined for the bump he got.

I love lamar and have wanted him to be a Laker since he came into the league, but he has to give the coaches the respect that he feels that he deserves. End of story. the rest will work itself out on the court, because he will dominate. So sayeth the Sweet.

GO LAMAR!!!!!

I agree with PJ on this one. With Gasol, Kobe, and Odom the Lakers are already have enough scoring options. We didn't lose to the Celtics last year because we couldn't put the ball into the basket, we lost because we couldn't defend and get crucial stops and rebounds when it counted most. Bynum can shore up that weak spot for the Lakers. It's good for the young guy to dream but also good for PJ to keep the young guy humble and focused.

Mambo24 please make me a member of any roll calls this year. I am particularly interested in any for Bonus in Iraq. He has my thoughts,wishes and prayers.

Jack

Charles,

Simon (in spanish), some of it is.

Have a good one bro.

And the 49ers had two crappy pass interference calls in the 4th quarter go against them in the NFC finals vs the Redskins in 1983. Cost them a Super Bowl.

Just for all the fans article regarding LO and Phil'd mind games by Roland Lazenby

http://blogs.hoopshype.com/blogs/lazenby/2008/10/03/the-lakers-and-lamar-a-basketball-lament/

I know how Andrew can get his 20 points in this offense, just take some from Lamar. Esp. if LO will be point forward. LO use to scored a lot of points at low post playing with Pau, not anymore, just it's not enough space there with 2 7-footers on the floor. Anyway I take Drew's dunk/layup any day against Lamar's, remember his not finished layups? And I'm not even talking about Lamar's jump shot including 3pt.

the presale was crappy, my password was case sensitive, so when I typed in a small "z" it didn't work and I lost all kinds of time getting back to the page and typing everything in. Didn't get the games I wanted so dropped the search. Waiting for the depression to kick in so I can pick up somebody's tix on the cheap... bleh...

Bynum should average around 14 points or so, if he can average around 12-14 rebounds, depending on how many minutes he plays, with close to 3 blocks, that should give him a good shot at the allstar game. It will be interesting to see if Bynum can put up 4-5 assists per game as well AND if he continues to shoot his free throws well, that could increase his point totals up to around 15-16/game.

Drew doesn't need a lot of plays called for him. Just cleaning up misses and putbacks alone should get him 14-16 pts a game.
Wouldn't it be cool to have different guys take off at different points of the game? Start off with a bunch of screen/rolls to get Pau started, then suddenly cut over to a steady stream of Drew dunks, use FIsh and the Machine with Ariza to transition to backdoor cuts and layups and then when it's Q4, you know who'll be chomping at the bit :) The possibilities are endless!!!

The Kobe Bryant Blitz,

In a light hearted manner and appreciation of your reply and existence as a poster; here is a joke to show gratitude.

http://tinyurl.com/4xhync

Best,

Does anyone have Insider? I'd really appreciate someone posting Adande's article on the Lakers:

http://tinyurl.com/Adande-camp

Jon K,

I'm actually kind of okay with Livingston going down to Miami and trying for the Heat since it gives him a chance to see how his knee would do and at the same time keep him out the Western Conference. How he will do with D-Wade remains to be seen. I still don't think this makes Miami into a Title contender even with the way D-Wade's performance in the Olympics.

-blitz

What's up Lakerville!
PJ is not really shooting down the dreams of Bynum as much as he wants him to focus on defense and rebounding, our big holes last season. It's also a way to tone down expectations and not put a lot of pressure on the young man. After all, he's just coming back from an injury and hasn't had a lot of games under his belt. Based on Bynum's statements regarding those areas, I feel that he and PJ are on the same page. At least, he has a goal to shoot for. When do the games start?

Go Lakers!

blitz,

thanks for clarifying.

you wrote: Lamar was playing the point forward position then. "Officially" he was playing Small Forward. However because "Point Forward" isn't really a true position in the depth chart, they would usually assign Odom to Small Forward since Kwa-may Brown then Cook played Power Forward. He was labelled as a Small Forward on the "official" five positions on the depth chart and Kobe as Shooting Guard And to explain it more, Ron Artest guarded Kobe Bryant even though Artest was listed as Small Forward back in 05-06 and when they had to guard someone, Kobe would guard Bonzi Wells/Kevin Martin or whoever was the King's Shooting Guard and Lamar would then guard Ron Artest since Artest was the Small Forward. Understand?

my response:
1. What position did Smush Parker play?
2. Earlier, when you used Lamar's stats for 2005-2006,
how did you average the stats b/n the 3 positions of
PG, SF, & PF?
3. My statement about blown defensive assignments was
specifically about Lamar, not all-nba defensive players
like Bowen & Artest. Thanks for clarifying that point.

re: you're being a lamar fan. I understand what you've
said. *I* think you're a Lamar fan and a Laker's fan. :)

Finally Phil has grown some basket"balls" by telling Andrew to focus on defense and rebounding. Maybe he has learned something from the Shaq fiasco, because this is the message that should have been given to Shaq and we would have won a couple of more rings.

Way to go Phil you're finally taking the advice from the Don........and acting like a man!

http://tinyurl.com/4lsquc

PJ is wrong on this one, it will take a nation of millions to hold back the young beast this season. If Drew can set-up early in the post beating his man down court that alone will give him a quick 8 to 10, the few plays they run for him will add 6 more. A few tip in's an lobs you got a dub a game easy... This is the same mentality that caused Kobe and Shaq not to jell together. Shaq's give me the ball ,(PJ enforcing it) and Kobe knowing all along he could score at will. This team will be fine, better than PJ can imagine at this point.

Jamie Sweet,

I'm sure Odom will not dominate. He has never done such a thing in his entire career, why would you expect him to now that he has Kobe, Bynum, Pau to dominate before him?

I just hope he plays some tough D (another thing he has never done) and hits a consistent mid-range J when they leave him open for it. If he actually ends up playing the guard role he should be pushing the ball every single time and passing it into the post when Drew seals his man.

GO LAKERs

What I find interesting about PJs comments is that he's tempering the exuberance of what seems to be a pretty level-headed kid. This isn't Kwame Brown who he's constantly having to give tasks to so he doesn't disrupt practice with his antics. A confident Drew is a good thing. A powerful force on BOTH ends of the court. I think Drew is far away from being what anyone would consider "cocky". From listening to him analyze gameplay, the kid is definitely paying attention and understands what he's supposed to do out there far beyond the playground (I'm bigger than you) level. He's not saying he's going to be an all-star, he's saying he wants to be one. To have PJ dismiss that by discussing what tier Fantasy Basketball leagues put him in is puzzling. I watched the video. There was disdain there which is clearly the one, really unsavory aspect of PJs personality - that he's above being interested in such pedestrian pursuits as being an all-star calibre center. I said it before. I get it. He wants Drew to rebound and block shots. He doesn't want Drew to be looking forcing his own shot to the detriment of the offense. But, he's a good kid (even if he does love going to the same strip club LO does - seen it with my own eyes).

first game in 4 days!

Video from today's practice is up:

http://www.nba.com/lakers/multimedia/0708video.html

Interviews with PJ, Pau and Sun Yue (who practiced for the first time). Tone seemed a little different than yesterday as the team starts to get in rhythm with each other again. Good stuff from Pau talking about how many threats they have on the team. Reminds you of the fact that they have more than enough different players that can step up and carry the scoring load each night. Hopefully, that'll mean the team becomes very hard to defend. Being predictable is only acceptable if the opposition can't stop you. I'll take being predictable on defense though - predictably good.

Okay, what is with this Love Lamar Fest!! Did ANYBODY read the latimes article regarding Lamar promising the LA Staff about working out this summer because he has NOT worked on his game for 4 SEASONS IN A ROW and how he didn't again!!! Has anyone read that??? This is his contract year, and instead of working on his game, maybe some jumpers, maybe something...he laid around with Coronas.

Is it Tuesday yet?

Oh, and please dont say that he did not work out because of his injuries. In the latimes article it stated exactly what Management, Coaches, etc; and Lamar agreed to. And they all knew about his injuries previous to the summer as well. Its not like he was injured during the summer either. YUCK. And to believe that he use to be my favorite player too.

Drew's going to have to learn the game is not just numbers...it's also the little things.

Rebounds are the big little things lol.

Robert Horry built a career and 6 rings averaging about 7 points a game, yet he made a difference everywhere else. He was the one that guarded the forwards on our championship teams. He was the body up, get you out of your groove player (with Fox of course), and when there was a rebound in critical time (horry for the win! lol) he usually got it.

Oh yeah, one more thing. It really is disapointing to see Mrbarneydangles type

LAMAR = Laker For Life

A Real Laker works on his game to win a championship. Not underachiever.

>>>We didn't lose to the Celtics last year because we
>>>couldn't put the ball into the basket,

Uhhh. Yes they did. The dropoff in the Lakers offense was
MUCH more significant than the dropoff in their defense.

If the Lakers had shot and scored at their regular season pace,
they would have swept the Celtics.

Sun Yue shouldn't be practicing. He should be resting. He still has mononucleosis. Unless he as some crazy master Chinese herbalist on his side, the only "cure" for mononucleosis is rest.

GO LAKERS!

BK,

I have to chime in on Phil’s curmudgeon-like attitude toward Drew’s goal setting for the season. While I would not go as far as some of Phil’s more vigilant critics, I definitely see the comments as being unnecessary and somewhat patronizing by Phil.

Drew has his head screwed on straight and his priorities correct and I wish Phil would just give the kid his due. Drew has already stated that he is going to focus on defense and rebounding and providing the Lakers with the “toughness” that so many thought the Lakers lacked. There was no reason to rain on Drew’s parade.

I also think there is a very good chance that Drew will average over 20 points, 12 boards, and 3 blocks per game. It will soon become very clear to everybody that Drew will be the number two scorer on this team, with Kobe’s and Pau’s averages declining as their time on the court is limited to keep them fresh and take advantage of our great team depth.

I was hoping with Kwame gone that Phil wouldn’t keep trying to hold Drew back but if he keeps making inane comments like he did about Drew averaging 20 points per game, you may find me joining Pfunk and Jon K and resurrecting Mike T’s Jackson Journal. LOL.

Tom

BLOG CRUE
Can't wait for next week's Lakers basketball but for now, how about them Dodgers?

Colorado loves the Lakers and Dodgers!

Jon K,

To answer your question from the other thread, I would trade Vlad or Walton (once healthy) for a veteran, serviceable guard. Camp is overflowing with unproven or bottom of the bin wannabe's who can't be counted on if Phil had to put them on the floor.

This is dreadful.

http://tinyurl.com/4q3r4p

Bullcrap!

Kamenetsky Brothers better fricken do something about this.

THERE CAN ONLY BE ONE!!!!!

GO LAKERS!

LAKERS NEED TO SHARE THE WEALTH
By Kevin Ding for the OCRegister

http://tinyurl.com/4kqkkv

The esteemed Ding chimes in on AB17’s declaration that he will average 20/10 this year.

More comments about Lamar not being in shape, which could easily result in his moving to 6th man, which is obviously what Phil really wants him to be.

And another curmudgeon quote from Phil, this time about Sasha:

“Sasha likes to celebrate," Jackson suggested, "but usually just for himself."

Come on, Phil. Have a heart. LOL.

Tom

Can we have an update here?

Wes

BK you gave me a small yet painful heart attack by having "crushing of dreams" and "Andrew Bynum" within the first line.

I'm sorry, but if Lamar Odom not only did not work on his basketball skills but didn't even bother to stay in shape, then he should come off the bench for sure.

I was a big advocate of trading Lamar for Ron Artest, but thought it was reasonable to wait and see if Lamar could play small forward with the twin towers. Now, however, I see that my original instinct was sound. This guy is a jerk. Two games away from a championship, coming into a contract year and slated to play a new position requiring new skills (ball handling, quick feet and outside shooting) and this guy spends the summer lying on the beach getting out of shape? Good riddance to this guy.

LT-

I don't see it as peeing on anyone's proverbial Cheerios, in this situation. Despite all his talent and the great path he was on last year, we're still talking about a very young, relatively inexperienced player, in terms of being a core piece of a highly competitive team. If Jackson was to come out and say "Yeah, he can go 20/10/3," which by the way, is a HUGE stat line- of the 10 players last year who averaged 10+ rpg, only four averaged 20+ ppg, and none were on a team with even close to as much offensive depth as the Lakers, and talk about Drew going to the All Star Game, and whatever, suddenly the expectations for Bynum, not just for the team but in the media, how he's seen, etc. are totally altered.

The beauty of where the Lakers are is that with Gasol, Kobe, Odom, Fish, etc, coming off a Finals run WITHOUT Bynum, is that they can afford to take pressure off of him, rather than put him in a spot where he MUST be an All Star every night for them to win. They can protect him, bring him along, and let him exceed expectations rather than struggle to live up to them.

Nothing PJ says should have any effect on how Bynum approaches the season. He can still set his goals wherever he'd like. But it does help to calibrate roles on the team, media perceptions, etc.

I really don't see harm in it.

BK

blitz,

I see your point about Livingston and the Heat. He should be tested.

GO LAKERS!

Any news on Greg Oden? He sprained his ankle a couple of days ago...

Can anyone tell me if Tuesday night's game is televised... and what channel???

Thanks!!

GO LAKE SHOW!!

LIGHTS OUT!!!

First post for while now,

Based on what I've been reading, I'm really for trading Odom now...
THis guy is a complete looser, how can you chill all summer long drinking the six pack when you just came off a really lackluster finals performance and knowing it's a contract year...

This is typical of Odumb, I've been saying this all along... Odumb is one of those guys that thinks his a natural basketball player and that he really does not have the need to improve.... what a waste..

Possible trade's that I really like is Vrad and Odumb for Haslem and Marion....

BK,

Thanks for your response. I understand where you are coming from and generally agree with you. Bottom line, Phil just pissed me off and I am just higher on Drew at this point.

>>>>>I don't see it as peeing on anyone's proverbial Cheerios, in this situation.
>>>>>Despite all his talent and the great path he was on last year, we're still talking
>>>>>about a very young, relatively inexperienced player, in terms of being a core
>>>>>piece of a highly competitive team.

Don’t get me wrong. Overall, I am a big Phil Jackson fan but it really rubs me the wrong way to have him put a damper on Drew’s enthusiasm. There is really nothing that Drew has done other than to be have the greatest possible offseason and come in really primed to have a great season. With Phil, it’s the attitude that bothers me, not the fact that he might be right. He could have said the same thing in a positive way, like if Drew also averaged 12 boards and 3 blocks, then he would earn the right to have more touches and a shot at 20 points per game. Kwame deserved his ridicule. Drew has not. Phil’s entire tone was disrespectful in my opinion.

>>>>>If Jackson was to come out and say "Yeah, he can go 20/10/3," which by the
>>>>>way, is a HUGE stat line- of the 10 players last year who averaged 10+ rpg,
>>>>>only four averaged 20+ ppg, and none were on a team with even close to as
>>>>>much offensive depth as the Lakers, and talk about Drew going to the All Star
>>>>>Game, and whatever, suddenly the expectations for Bynum, not just for the team
>>>>>but in the media, how he's seen, etc. are totally altered.

I know what a terrific accomplishment 20/10/3 would be but I also believe that Drew is going to become one of the greatest centers in the history of the game and I am not afraid to say that he will start to show that this year. So we will all have to just wait and see but this kid has the same type of heart of a champion that Kobe has and I don’t think he’ll be denied. Considering how Drew has emerged as a dominant force overnight, maybe the A-Train is a better nickname than the Beast because the A-Train is going to steamroll through the NBA this year.

>>>>>The beauty of where the Lakers are is that with Gasol, Kobe, Odom, Fish, etc,
>>>>>coming off a Finals run WITHOUT Bynum, is that they can afford to take pressure
>>>>>off of him, rather than put him in a spot where he MUST be an All Star every night
>>>>>for them to win. They can protect him, bring him along, and let him exceed
>>>>>expectations rather than struggle to live up to them.

The beauty of running the offense through Drew is the same as it was running it through Shaq, except that Drew will make opponents pay for fouling him. It is power basketball. Inside out basketball. It is going to your strength and playing tough. It is folly not to give Drew the ball considering he is going to shoot in the 60 to 70%. And when other teams double, then Pau will kill them with put backs. I mean, what the hell is the use of Triple Towers unless you are going to use them. By the end of the year, Drew will be entrenched as the focus of our offense.

And Kobe will not average 30 points or Pau 20 points this year. They will each play fewer minutes and give up points to Drew. I see Kobe at 27 and focusing on defense, Drew at 20, and Pau at 17. We have one of the toughest covers in the paint in the league in Drew, we would be fools not to utilize it. Drew’s job this year is provide the Lakers with the toughness that they lacked last year. And it is incorrect to say that they did not have any problems scoring against Boston, or did you forget all of the times we failed to finish at the rim. Domination on offense can give teams the toughness to dominate on defense. Intimidation works both ways.

>>>>>Nothing PJ says should have any effect on how Bynum approaches the season.
>>>>>He can still set his goals wherever he'd like. But it does help to calibrate roles
>>>>>on the team, media perceptions, etc.

>>>>>I really don't see harm in it.

I agree but let’s be honest. Phil basically screwed up with his unjustified faith in Kwame, which most likely did hinder Andrew’s development. No harm will come because Drew is not the kind of guy to take umbrage as he showed with respect to Kobe’s parking lot comments. What makes Drew unique is that he is the one who took a hold of his own destiny, even before Kobe made his comments. Drew is self-motivated and self-confident. Kareem said it best when he said all that Drew needed was confidence. Once he got that, there was no stopping him. Well, take a look at a very, very confident young man in Andrew Bynum. He knows how good he is and has the will and game and smarts to prove it, which is what he will do this year.

The A-Train will make them obey.

Tom

hehe thanks Charles,

Hobbit in answering your questions:

1. What position did Smush Parker play?
On the "official" depth chart, Smush Parker is/was listed as a point guard. However because Lamar played Point Forward, Smush actually played a role more like SG and Kobe was shifted to Small Forward just like he is going to in Pre-season (Heck it could change in regular season). On defense it was the same with Lamar covering the SF, Kobe guarding the SG and Smush guarding the opposing Point Guard.

2. Earlier, when you used Lamar's stats for 2005-2006,
how did you average the stats b/n the 3 positions of
PG, SF, & PF?

For the offensive stats I used either basketball reference or simply yahoo sports. Those are much easier to see for those kind of things.

Defensive wise go to 82games or here is the link for the 2005-2006 season.

http://tinyurl.com/3fq2zp

3. My statement about blown defensive assignments was
specifically about Lamar, not all-nba defensive players
like Bowen & Artest. Thanks for clarifying that point.

err no problem, do I need to re-explain that King's example perhaps or do you understand it really?

If not, might as well:

On offense:
Lamar is guarded by either the PF or a tall SG to counter the mis match. (Shareef or Bonzi Wells)

On defense:
Lamar guards Ron Artest since Artest is the opposing SF.

Lamar will most likely guard the opposing SF whoever is listed as SF. Even if it is Lebron bringing the ball up as a point forward, Lamar will be assigned to guard him. To stop Lebron? Definite No! To make him work hard, that is hopefully. When Lamar is back to PF he will guard either PF or Centers, depending on who Pau/Bynum takes.

Re: I'm not a Lamar fan hehe whatever you may think hehe. Just like Long Time Laker Fan agreed with me, if we can get an even better Small Forward like Prince or even Shawn Marion (if Powell develops into a rebounder then we don't even need another PF), then heck I would pull the gun at that trade. Though if Jordan does develop and Sasha continues to, we won't need another Small Forward since Kobe might actually switch to SF and let Trevor back him up there for defensive purposes.

Rick,

we don't need anymore guards, if any anything get more quality big men as depth (draft sounds very good for cheap backups (money wise, heck we could get another gem power forward wise!) that could grow LOL!)

Jon K,

don't be jealous of Sun's determination or Forum Blue and Gold! :P

Faith,

During the first championship years, it was AC Green who was the starting Power Forward not Horry. The next year we had Horace Grant and while he wasn't the Horace Grant of the Bulls, he did an outstanding job at defense and was a good part of the reason we went 15-1 during the playoffs. In fact, Horace Grant limited Chris Webber (When Webber was just phenomenal) to 42.3% shooting. Horry only really started during 2002 Playoffs and while he did solid defensively his weakness was exposed both against Chris Webber(who had a FG% of 51.4 against Horry) in the 2002 WCF and in 2003 when Robinson was able to stay on the floor to guard Shaq (since Pop rested him more in the regular season) and Horry had to guard Duncan. Make no mistake I will always remember Horry for his heroics such as Game 3 of the 2001 Finals, Game 3 of the 2002 First Round against Portland, and will always thank him for Game 4 against the Kings.

Laker Tom,

as much as I agree with you in some ways I don't think too much pressure should be put on Bynum. He should be filling our needs on defense that we lacked in the finals. Kobe/Pau already will score some good points and our bench especially Sasha will want to score as well. I would say Drew has a double double averaged but it's more important for him to secure our defense and rebounding (which we lacked in the playoffs totally beyond Lamar (10 rpg), Pau (8 rpg) and even Kobe(6rpg)). Drew will find his offense as well but there are already plenty of offense as well from not just Kobe and Pau like Fish and Sasha especially. I'd rather have us have the same production offensively as we did last year (along with Drew's added scoring) and have the added defense/rebounding we sorely missed (we were 11th ranked rebounding team in the playoffs out of 16 teams!) with Drew and Trevor out (and for some reason Ronny couldn't fill either one).

-blitz

Bigger question is can Pau play with Bynum? We know LO can.

Anybody else having glitchy problems on this blog lately? My computer's startingh to freeze and have weird problems again when I'm on here... like the situation a few months back.

Just a few random thoughts about this and some other recent threads...

I think the minutes situation for Vlad is not necessarily a bad thing... I figure he'll play more of a pure shooter's role, probably at the 4. We'll need that.

I was sorry to see Shaun go to Miami... I don't think Riley's system is a great place for somebody coming off a bad injury. I had read the article where Phil and Derek talked about Shaun... and I got a little hopeful for a few minutes.

I don't much care one way or another about Phil's comments... it's just who he is and the players are used to it. Every coach out there has their trips..

Glad to see the way things are going, even at this early stage, with Bynum and Pau. I get the feeling that these guys are going to get tight, really tuned in to each other. Should be a monster combo.

dave m
i had problems using IE and the blog taking forever to load. with safari and chrome it loads right away.

did a cursory glance at the comments reacting to adande's article. it's a war between lakers and celtics fans. what's interesting is how you find the same mix of personalities as you'll find here or any message board or other internet space. homers, contrarians, trolls, enforcers, peacemakers, statisticians, etc. pretty funny.

Hi BlackMamba please put me in the Championship Bandwagon for NBA 2009 Season.

It's in the bag baby...

GO LAKERS!!!

blitz,

I have to admit I’m almost afraid to debate with you since you inundated hobbitmage with those daunting series of stat-filled posts. You are a force not to reckoned with, blitz. Kudos.

At any rate, this is a more visceral issue on which I am not likely to be swayed by anything anybody says, to be honest. So here’s my take on what you said, my friend:

>>>>>As much as I agree with you in some ways I don't think too much pressure should be
>>>>>put on Bynum. He should be filling our needs on defense that we lacked in the finals.
>>>>>Kobe/Pau already will score some good points and our bench especially Sasha will
>>>>>want to score as well.

Pressure is what other people put on you. Drew’s comments were made because of confidence. Drew doesn’t feel any pressure to score 20 points. He is just confident that he can do it. That is just the goal he set for himself. Like earning an All-Star berth. It’s seriously laughable that Phil took what should have been a shining moment of pleasure for Laker fans who have been dying for a real #2 stud to go with Kobe, a guy just like Drew who is mature and already a renowned student of the game just like Kobe. I was thrilled to hear Drew say he was going to shoot to average 20 points per game. Do you really not think this kid can back that up? He will!

>>>>>I would say Drew has a double-double averaged but it's more important for him to
>>>>>secure our defense and rebounding (which we lacked in the playoffs totally beyond
>>>>>Lamar (10 rpg), Pau (8 rpg) and even Kobe(6rpg)). Drew will find his offense as well
>>>>>but there are already plenty of offense as well from not just Kobe and Pau like Fish
>>>>>and Sasha especially.

Of course, defense and rebounding are Drew’s top priorities. Where did you hear or see me say any differently? Or more importantly, where did you hear or see Drew say anything other than his primary focus will be defense and rebounds? But domination is a game played at both ends of the court, which you as a big fan of Wilt’s should realize. There is no player in the league right now other than possible Yao or Howard who can stop Drew in the paint. Make no mistake, Drew will find his offense and he will average 20 points per game. We are going to see a bigger and better Drew when the season starts.

>>>>>I'd rather have us have the same production offensively as we did last year (along
>>>>>with Drew's added scoring) and have the added defense/rebounding we sorely
>>>>>missed (we were 11th ranked rebounding team in the playoffs out of 16 teams!)
>>>>>with Drew and Trevor out (and for some reason Ronny couldn't fill either one).

Again, toughness is playing that way at both ends of the court. In the Finals, the Lakers played soft at times on both offense and defense. Finishing like Drew does is a major intimidator. He shoots 65% and can hit 75% of his free throws. He is the most vicious dunker in the NBA. And he is just starting out. By the middle of the season, Drew will be entrenched as our #2 scorer and the focus of our half-court offense. The clutch play run in the 4th quarters will be a left side pick and roll with Kobe and Drew, with Pau following the shot. That’s what I would rather have and predict we will get. There is no other player on the team that Kobe would trust more when the game was on the line than Drew. That is really going to be the Lakers Big Duo. Kobe and Drew. Not Kobe and Pau. Pau will benefit by sliding to #3, just like Lamar did.

Tom

The Bynum situation is weird. His first three years in the league, I thought it would be a bad idea to typecast him in any way, that we should just let him see what he could be. Now that we are so close to the title, it seems to make more sense to make his focus defense & rebounding

With the addition of Gasol, we just don't need as much scoring as we thought we were going to from Bynum.

Does this mean that we are developing a Tyson Chandler clone? Would we win the title with Chandler? Maybe.

It seems a shame to waste a lot of what Jabbar spent years polishing on offense, a big body with a lot of touch around the rim. Plus, the Lakers have the next ten years to think of, too. Bynum may wind up the focal point of their offense in the near future. If we typecast him as a banger, do we change him for the rest of his career?

I don't have any answers, but we have a little dilemma here.

Lakers are deep therefore if LO and Luke are not fit, then they belong to the bench for a long time. Well, LO being a veteran I think he could catch up when the season begins, he is not really injured just rusty and heavy. A guy who earns 14M at the beginning of the season and recently exposed by PJ as not NBA fit, no team will invest on him and let their attractive players let go. Perhaps, that scenario will happen by February and I hope LO will click as a Laker and stay w/ reduced contract.

Well, what Drew, Kobe and Pau can do, what is the report on other Lakers during their first three day practices, any report? I think most of the people in this blog visit to be informed on what's going on with those practices? Instead, we read historical perspectives and projections, the history of the Bulls, the Pistons, why not just google and spare us? LOL! Are we not tired on polls? Political polls, NBA polls, Laker player polls, we want facts and real news about the Laker preseason. For the sage and prophets, I think this is the wrong site to be, get to Wall Street that's where they need great prophets and guaranteed u make big money. LMAO!

Here are some news I gathered about the famous writers who are better than blitz and lakertom (j/k only), Broderick Turner who has been covering the Lakers since Magic era, very credible writer will join Mike Bresnahan w/ Laker Times. At last, there is a real Laker beat writer not a Laker hater.

http://tinyurl.com/4hkzff

His place at Riverside Enterprise has been taken by Jeff Eisenberg, here is what he said about Pau and Socks:

http://tinyurl.com/3v8re6

I wish the K-Bros could invite Broderick Turner to the blog, this guy is much better than kobebryantblitz. LOL!

Jman 449

I dont think the lakers are trying to develop bynum to be striclty a banger, or striclty for defensive purposes. I think the lakers see that at this point bynums strongest asset is his defense. His offensive game still needs some work, and on this team, even if his offensive game was flourishing, he can't be the go to scorer (afterall we still got a guy named kobe, arguably the best scorer in the league) Bynum has a lot of time to develop into a good scorer, and the lakers realize that, and so does he. However, he already is a strong defensive presence, and thats where his focus should be. For now.

Go Lakers

Jman 449

I dont think the lakers are trying to develop bynum to be striclty a banger, or striclty for defensive purposes. I think the lakers see that at this point bynums strongest asset is his defense. His offensive game still needs some work, and on this team, even if his offensive game was flourishing, he can't be the go to scorer (afterall we still got a guy named kobe, arguably the best scorer in the league) Bynum has a lot of time to develop into a good scorer, and the lakers realize that, and so does he. However, he already is a strong defensive presence, and thats where his focus should be. For now.

Go Lakers

Posted by: TrueLakerFan | October 03, 2008 at 09:49 PM

TLF -
I hope you're right, that we can have the best of both worlds, a banger this year and more of a polished offensive player in a couple of years. Because, I think we will need something more than a Tyson Chandler or a Marcus Camby, we will need a 20 & 10 type performer.

The Lakers have the luxury right now, with Bynum, of being title contenders without having to get a lot offensively out of him. He will get still get opportunities to score, and his presence in the middle will open things up for the rest of the players. So, with a lineup of (for instance) Bryant, Bynum, Gasol, Fisher, and Vujacic, who is going to double on Kobe now when he is just starting to get past his defender? Bynum's defender, which results in a little alley-oop for a dunk? Fisher or Vujacic's defender, which results in a wide-open three? Gasol's man, which results in an open 12 footer or a quick drive for an "and one"?

Bynum is still very inexperienced, relatively speaking. Let Bynum ease into a more sophisticated game; with Kareem mentoring him, in the long run it will result in a better player.

Jman449,

>>>>>Because, I think we will need something more than a Tyson Chandler or a
>>>>>Marcus Camby, we will need a 20 & 10 type performer.

Well said. The Lakers came up short on the toughness meter both on offense as well as defense against the Celtics in the Finals. We could NOT stop the Celtics from driving the lane for easy layups and we could NOT finish at the rim. We need the 20/12/3 version of Drew in order to take the championship back from the Celtics – not the 10/12/3 version. Our need to be tougher is not just limited to the defensive end. It includes our offense.

I think Pau Gasol is one of the top 10 power forwards in the league but anybody who thinks that he is a better option than Andrew Bynum, who is the #3 center in the NBA today, has forgotten the great footwork, moves, and blend of finesse and power that Drew demonstrated on offense last year. Drew is our second best offensive option right now. His game devastates and demoralizes opponents. Ask Chris Kaman or Amare Stoudemire.

What sets Drew apart from all of the centers in the league today is his strength and ability to dominate at both ends of the court. The way for the Lakers to be a dominant team is for them to control the paint and boards at both ends of the court. Drew shoots the best percentage on the entire team. Inside out power basketball is how the Lakers are going to win the NBA championship. Kobe and Drew are the Lakers Batman and Robin. Not Kobe and Pau.

The A-Train will make them obey. 20/12/3 and the All-Star and All-NBA Defensive Team!

Tom

Andrew is huge!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

When do they review game 5? If game 6 was 55%-45% towards the Lakers, I'd love to see what % of missed calls was game 5. This is like an intervention for Sacramento fans to come to terms that they have been failure.