So Marbury would be available cheap for the Lakers!!

Whoever pick AB as a first pick draft at our fantasy game will be in really pissed....lol

exhelodrvr,

Please don't start on Marbury. He's cancer. He's not only cancer, he's pancreatic cancer with multiple metastases.

Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.

GO LAKERS!

Kambros,

I loved the link for visual learners. Very nice addition to the blog today. More of the same, por favor.

Wes

Black Friday of a different kind.

The season was going way too well. There's obviously no traction in Pau vs Kobe, so Andrew health issues are just the thing to kick up some bulk blogging over the next 15 wins.

Helo,

"So Marbury would be available cheap for the Lakers!!"

Surely you jest? Yes?

Sigh here we go again ... I hope Bynum's gonna be ok soon ... I hope d laker docs will have their act together this time around ...

Anywho every cloud has a silver lining ... the bone spurs suck but maybe Mihm gets a little more run tonight ... and maybe he reminds us why he didn't look too shabby as a laker starter back in the day

And oh love that we've got our own defensive coach ... if our defense holds up for the season then Rambis will have an edge over Byron Scott as the PJ successor ...

Hmm Phonenix is having a much better season than I expected, yet inspite of the success they seem intent on exploding ... bringing in Terry Porter to coach these guys was just a bad move ... they needed an extablished name like a van gundy to sell them on Kerr's vision ... Terry Porter coaching Shaq? ... it'd be a shame if this move costs them Amare

[ "They did look really good out there," Stoudemire said, deadpan. "They were fluid, flowing. Just doing what they do. I remember when we looked like that." ]

ANd stop calling me shirly!

Is there a chance Lamar is somehow involved in the injury?

Whatever the Lakers do make sure that Vitti doesn't check out the injury. This will go from day to day to 8-12 week period if he even looks at the injury. Keep Vitti away!

There is some good news to the injury. Kwame will not be his replacement. That alone should get rid of the frown of Bynums injury to a BIG SMILE knowing this.

If Kobe doesn't get his act together and show he can play with this group what about bringing him off the bench as the 6th man?

I say start the 2nd unit with Bynum and the BIG 4
LO, Ariza, JF, Sasha and bring Kobe and Gasol off the bench. This should get the NBA talking!!!

Okay Phil you gave the guys the day off yesterday I sure hope it was a good idea and you get a victory tonight because if not this is on YOU!! We already know the 1st unit will come out slow tonight and get behind somewhere around 10 -14 points and then Phil will call on the 2nd unit to save our BUTTS! again. With Phil refusing to start JF and Ariza our 2nd unit is going to remain better than our starting unit. Whatever Phil.

I did see Iverson didn't like to work on Thanksgving thou.
Can you imagine Kobe not showing up for practice. The blog would blow up!

Not worried about the injury..remember not long ago we had Kwame and Smush on the team. See, It's ALL GOOD!

GO Lakers and Happy Holidays to all the bloggers.

BD

The person I'm most concerned about on the Celtics, the person I think we had better have an answer for if we want to have any chance to beat these guys in a seven game series, is Rajon Rondo. He's the Manu Ginobli of that Celtic team, and if we don't take him seriously and find a defensive answer to his all-around game, we're gonna be sorry for it. The guy can do it all, and I don't think Fisher or Farmar is prepared to stop him. We doing have some things going for us, like say, Jordan Farmar's offensive game might give Rondo enough fits to take the edge off his own game, maybe tiring him out a bit. In 2004 we (fisher especially) were able to shut down Parker and it resulted in turning a 0-2 series deficit into a series win.

Can we trade Odom for a top point guard not named Marbury?

Wes

After stuffing myself with Turkey hehe I forgot to post this post:

Xodus,

True some of us over rate Derek's defense. Even in his prime he didn't exactly shut down athletic penetrating guards like Mike Bibby (when we had KB guarding Bibby he had to guard Bobby Jackson), Jason Kidd, or CP3. Hey those guys were a handle for almost any point guard, only very few point guards like Kidd in his prime or The Glove were very excellent at shutting down point guards.

That being said Derek's defense is much better and very solid compared to Jordan Farmar's. I think that if Derek started against Detroit in the 2004 Finals, Chauncey Billups wouldn't have been torching us up since Gary Payton was just letting him do so without any real resistance and by the time Kobe guarded him in Game 5 it was too late. Like we both agree Derek will still start no doubt. But I do expect him to receive more minutes than Farmar. As much as I love to see Jordan getting steals, I also notice about how many times he gets juked out of position when one vs one.

-blitz

Way to break the story, guys.

KamBrothers,

Hope you all had a great Turkey Day in St. Louis. While the blog was taking it easy, the rest of the Lakers oriented sports media was unusually busy for the holidays. Here were the three articles that I found especially meaningful and informative:

******************************************************

FIRST, there was Ramona Shelburne and Elliott Teaford’s excellent article for the LA Daily News, to which you supplied the link – “BUSS: LAKERS STILL TO BE TESTED,” which clearly showed that Lakers owner Jerry Buss still possesses a keen insight and understanding of the game of professional basketball and a solid grasp of this team.

Four comments by Buss really showed why he is the greatest owner in the NBA:

(1) About how good the Lakers are:

>>>>>"I don't think one game ever determines anything," Buss said of the importance
>>>>>of the Lakers-Boston Celtics showdown on Christmas day. "Somebody can come
>>>>>out flat or something. I tell you one thing: I'm really looking forward to that game,
>>>>>but I won't really measure this team until they have their big Eastern swings and
>>>>>they play Cleveland and Orlando, and catch Detroit again.

>>>>>"That's when you can really tell. If you've got a really good road team against
>>>>>top teams, that's when you get a good measure of your abilities."

(2) About Lamar Odom’s play off the bench:

>>>>>Odom, Buss said, has been "fabulous."

>>>>>"He provides so much energy and gives us such an extra dimension,
>>>>>I think it's fabulous," Buss said of Odom. "I think we have the best team and
>>>>>it's based on the fact that we have such good energy coming off the bench."

(3) About Andrew Bynum’s progress:

>>>>>I think he was beginning to show his promise last year when he unfortunately
>>>>>got hurt, and I don't think he's back where he was at that time," Buss said.
>>>>>"But I fully expect him to continue to improve and then we'll see. He's still
>>>>>really very young. Even though he's been in the NBA for a few years,
>>>>>he really hasn't had much game experience."

(4) About Phil Jackson continuing as coach

>>>>>"I was asked that question and I said that it would be hard for a coach to
>>>>>walk away from this team because they're relatively very young and they're
>>>>>just loaded with talent," Buss said. "So I think Phil may change his mind
>>>>>about how long he's going to coach."

ANYBODY WHO SAYS JERRY BUSS IS JUST LUCKY TO WIN CHAMPIONSHIPS DOESN’T KNOW WHAT HE OR SHE IS TALKING ABOUT. THE GUY IS AN ASTUTE, MOTIVATED, AND KNOWLEDGEABLE OWNER, THE BEST IN THE NBA.

******************************************************

SECOND, there was the article you linked today about Kurt Rambis role in the implementation of the Lakers new defensive strategy by Mike Bresnahan for the LA Times – PUTTING THE LAKERS ON DEFENSIVE OVERLOAD.

I think we all had wondered about the actual origins of our new defensive game plan. It was great news to hear that it was Kurt who was pushing Phil to incorporate more zone principals into the defense. This has to elevate Kurt’s potential as the heir to Phil’s throne as the Lakers next head coach. Here are some great quotes from the article:

>>>>> So Jackson gathered his coaches before training camp and told them he
>>>>>was appointing a defensive coach, something he hadn't done in his previous
>>>>>18 years of coaching in the NBA.

>>>>>"We didn't want to announce it and make a big deal about it like Boston did
>>>>>with their guy," Jackson said. "But Kurt is real good at this and he's willing."

>>>>>Rambis, in his seventh season as a Lakers assistant coach, had been in
>>>>>Jackson's ear for a while, pointing out an opportunity to take advantage of
>>>>>the NBA rule changes in 2001 that allowed zone defenses. Jackson ultimately
>>>>>relented over the summer.

>>>>>"Kurt's been pestering me for a year or so about doing some things defensively
>>>>>that I was reluctant to do," Jackson said. "I come from the old school where you
>>>>> play man [defense], and you have that man and that's your primary goal."

HOW MANY OF US HAVE PLEADED AND BEGGED DURING THE SEASON FOR THE LAKERS TO HIRE A DEFENSIVE COACH ALA TOM THIBODEAU IN BOSTON. FINDING OUT THAT IT IS KURT WHO IS THE ARCHITECT OF OUR DEFENSE IS BETTER. THERE’S A NEW FAVORITE TO FOLLOW PHIL AS LAKERS COACH.

******************************************************

THIRD, there was the article by blog favorite Kevin Ding for the OC Register about Pau Gasol and playing inside-out basketball – LAKERS NEED TO FEED GASOL.

You cannot help but appreciate Kevin Ding, in my opinion the best reporter on the Lakers beat next to you guys.

>>>>>Here’s something that was very wrong during the Lakers’ 11-1 start:
>>>>>Derek Fisher had 123 field-goal attempts (and shot 35 percent on them),
>>>>>whereas Gasol had 142 attempts (and shot 52 percent on them).

>>>>>In the Lakers’ 12th victory, Gasol shot 9 for 12 from the field, scoring 26
>>>>>points to lead the Lakers over New Jersey on a night when Kobe Bryant
>>>>>was off (5 for 17 from the field, 12 points). And Lakers coach Phil Jackson
>>>>>acknowledged afterward that the Lakers need to be mindful of going to
>>>>>Gasol, who isn’t going to demand the ball the way that a certain former
>>>>>Lakers big man coached by Jackson did.

>>>>>Jackson wants 10-15 post touches per game for Gasol, which can get lost
>>>>>in the shuffle when the Lakers do not operate with the attitude that 7-footers
>>>>>Bynum and Gasol are interchangeable. Jackson considers it unfair to ask
>>>>>Bynum, still developing as a center at 21, to execute a face-up game at
>>>>>power forward on a regular basis. So Bynum is supposed to go to the post
>>>>>first – although if Gasol is there, Bynum doesn’t have to face up when
>>>>>occupying the pinch-post spot on the weak side of the triangle offense.

>>>>>When Jerry West was courted by Memphis back in 2002, Jerry Buss
>>>>>asked him why he would want to go to that hole – OK, I’m paraphrasing,
>>>>>but the truth is that West never did want to go live there – and West
>>>>>brought up Gasol.

>>>>>Buss started watching Gasol closely way back then. Now Gasol is here –
>>>>>being paid by Buss on the contract extension West gave Gasol in 2004 –
>>>>>as the final piece the Lakers needed to build the post-Shaq dynasty.

>>>>>O’Neal’s memorable reminder to the Lakers was that they needed to
>>>>>remember to “feed the big dog.” If you really think about it, skinny dogs
>>>>>need to be fed even more.

KEVIN DING NAILED. WHILE WE ALWAYS NEED TO FEED KOBE SO HE IS READY WHEN WE NEED HIM, OUR PRIMARY FOCUS SHOULD BE TO PLAY INSIDE-OUT BASKETBALL. IT’S ALL ABOUT SHOOTING A HIGH PERCENTAGE. WE NEED TO DOMINATE THE PAINT AND SET UP THE WIDE-OPEN 3’S FOR VLADE, FISH, AND SASHA. IF THE BREAK IS NOT THERE, WE NEED TO SET IT UP AND FEED PAU, DREW, AND LAMAR IN THE PAINT

Of course, all of this is solely my personal opinion and not intended to disrespect

Tom.

Eric M,
Yes, I am not serious about Marbury.

ex,

We can all see that you had your full share of turkey and are in an unusually mischievous role for by your own standards. As I posted earlier, I wouldn’t even trade Pau at this point for Duncan or Garnett, who are both 5 years older and cannot play center as well as Pau. To me, the question over who should get the ball down low – Pau or Drew or Lamar – should depend upon the matchups and who is hot. But all things equal, Pau’s low post game is better than Lamar’s and, at this point in time, Drew’s. There are matchups, however, where Pau does not have the edge. That is when he starts throwing up weenie shots and such. Of course, with Drew around, most of those matchups are long gone. Feed the skinny dog and the young dog.

Tom

LakerTom,

Way to support your optimism with FACTS!.

It's nice feeling hopeful. I prefer it to wringing my hands in angst whilst pacing back and forth and muttering to myself "Kwame Brown is eventually going to be the player we need... I'm sure of it! I mean, he's GOT to become the player we need, right?"

Lakers Today... Lakers Tomorrow... Lakers Forever.

GO LAKERS!

Jon,

Glad you’re around. Never a doubt whether to consider that Lakers glass half full or half empty in my mind, especially when it appears to be close to overflowing. You too, of course. After all, how can a die-hard Lakers fan stuck in Cleveland still be an optimist? The answer is to trust and believe that history will repeat itself. The Lakers will win the championship and you will get back to LA someday, right? GHF is easy when you are a Lakers fan. Now as for your Clippers, maybe it’s time to save your energy. LOL.

Tom

LO, Pau, Farmar and Ariza for Marbury,Wilson Chandler and Eddy Curry.

AB said he was going to play tonight. so hope no more pain and injury will resolve itself in a couple of weeks.