In the immortal words of the Black Knight...

"It's just a flesh wound."

In the words of those who observe these type of things:

After 12-13 years in the league...it takes it's toll. The knees aren't what they once were. And that makes anyone slower.

Come down!
Come down!
O' Great mighty one!

Time is a slippin'
The NBA's hand is a grippin'
Those knees are a trippin'

mike t.

You are totally, 100% correct. Gambling on defense, getting beat to the rack, taking too many jumpers, and no lift or arc on those jumpers. He is probably the no. 1 reason the defense has suffered lately. The 2nd unit's defense is/was more helter skelter, harrasing type defense but the first unit is more dependant on help and rotations. Most of the breakdowns lately seem to start with Kobe. Although he'll never admit it publicly I am sure he and his mates are aware of it. We panic but P.J. and Kobe and the rest of the team know it is a long season. No need to panic. I do however see an L.O. trade this year, before the deadline.

LAKERS NEED SIMPLY MAN-TO-MAN DEFENSE. TOO, MUCH SWITCHING AND DOUBLE TEAM GUYS THAT DON'T NEED TO DOUBLED. GOOD SMART MAN-TO-MAN. ON ONE INSTANCED IN PHX. GAME PAU GOT HIS THIRD FOUL HELPING IN A USELESS SITUATION. ON ONE OTHER PLAY TREVOR, OUR BEST ENERGY GUY JUST OPEN THE LANE FOR STEVE NASH RATHER THAN FOUL HIM OR AT LEAST TRY AND TAKE A CHARGE

TYPICAL........pj.

We lead the league in scoring........
are defense is getting sliced up by teams with losing records..........
An dude bench VLAD because why????? there is no movement in the offense.......WTF......you have to be kidding me.
THIS MOVE DIDN'T MAKE BASKETBALL SENSE.
TYPICAL pj instead of speaking the truth he bench VLAD as a cover-up.
I hate pj as a coach.

COMPTON

TOP TEN

Wednesday Dec. 10, 2008

Honorable Mention

The Lamar Anthem (forever acknowledged)
Posted by: Troll Man | December 10, 2008 at 04:13 PM

Scouting Report on Lakers:
During pre-game drills before games with Lakers no need to practice out-side shots. Just practice layups.
Posted by: BD | December 10, 2008 at 11:10 AM

DRUM ROLL............................
#10 TIE for all the following reactions to Luke starting

WTH is PJ doing?
Starting Luke!
Posted by: Faith | December 10, 2008 at 07:36 PM

Luke Walton is starting tonight.........PJ has lost his mind
Posted by: chuck23 | December 10, 2008 at 07:37 PM

phil jackson is mentally retarded its official!!!! walton over odom, radmonovic, and ariza??? is this guy high!!??
Posted by: ben | December 10, 2008 at 07:37 PM

In regards to the fact that luke is starting tonight I want to apologize to the blog! Obviously the anti-dementia drugs we are giving phil are not working and I will begin trying something else.
Posted by: phil's doctor | December 10, 2008 at 07:53 PM

Luke hasnt earned those minutes in my opinion
Posted by: Paul Lee | December 10, 2008 at 08:56 PM

#9 Somebody needs to tell Kurt Rambis that the rest of the league has figured out his little defensive "scheme" and he needs to implement a REAL DEFENSE.
Nuff said.
Lakerman420
Posted by: Lakerman420 | December 10, 2008 at 10:32 AM

#8 Jay Jay,
The idea that blacks own the game of basketball is a fast-disappearing myth based on the reverse racism of a few white guys and the wishful thinking of a few black guys in the 80's and 90's. That same myth has been a major factor in causing over-confident U.S.teams to get their butts kicked in international competition by mostly white teams who never received the memo that black people own the game of basketball...
Posted by: guity | December 10, 2008 at 05:52 PM

#7 So why would OKC give up their starting PG and a reliable
backup PF for a 1-year rental on Lamar? What's in it for them?
LTLF - Good question. Here is what's in it for OKC: Cap space. Since Westbrook figures to take the job from Watson at some point this year anyway, OKC gets Watson's $6.5 mil for next year. Odom might make them a little better for the rest of this year, which may mean that they don't finish with fewer than 9 wins. If OKC wants draft picks or maybe Sun Yue, that would be doable as well. In other words, this would be a scaled-down version of the Pau trade with Memphis.
Posted by: Jman449 | December 10, 2008 at 06:36 PM

#6 "You can't have two scoring big men. That's a faulty basketball philosophy." -Mike T.
Gee Mike T., have you ever heard of David Robinson and Tim Duncan????
Posted by: Korey | December 10, 2008 at 07:03 PM

#5 Losses tend to bring out the worst of the blog.
I don't like all the in-fighting amongst fellow bloggers.
Having said that, IF the Lakers are to have home court all throughout (best record in the L), they simply have to play better more consistently or they will fail that objective. It doesn't mean we should blow up the team or throw out the baby with the bath water. It doesn't even mean that the Lakers can't or won't win the title this year, it just means that Cleveland or Boston (or both) would have the home court in a series.
If this was 2006, we'd be stoked. But it's not. It's 2008, heading into 2009 after suffering the worst kind of playoff loss... to the Celtics and watching those jerks celebrate at our expense and the expense of the players we love.
There's absolutely nothing wrong with rooting or asking for higher effort and more of a mission-mentality from the same players we love so much.
Posted by: Tim-4-Show | December 10, 2008 at 01:47 PM

#4 I have been a Laker fan for 40 plus years!!!! I definitely am not a troll and you just can't take it when other fans speak opinions that are contrary to yours. Obviously no one knows for sure what will play out - I truly hope the Lakers will come together - but I really feel that this team is not tough enough to beat Boston. That makes me a troll? When the same thing happens to us (if we get to the finals) - then we've wasted another year while we know LO will disappear at critical times, Rad will throw up airballs, we'll get beat up by a PG that can penetrate, some hot team with 3 pt shooters will kill us, the physical play will demoralize us as we look for the refs to save us. I don't want that to play out again. We need some players who will take this by force!!! This it not the Showtime era - the players aren't even close. I'd love to eat my words at the end of the season. Come on Lakers!!!!!
Posted by: SgtRoss | December 10, 2008 at 10:59 AM

#3 Hey Eric,
20 games in you start to get a feel for the team. The Lakers have offensive prowess - we;ve seen that. We've now also seen a defense very similar to last season and a similar killer instinct. 20 games is almost 1/4 of the regular season.
The Lakers have issues. Maybe you don't understand the game well enough to see that. 17-3 means nothing in a title series with the Celtics. The Celtics will crush the Lakers today and at the end of the season if the Lakers don't find the resolve needed to make a stand on defense.
Posted by: 1969 | December 10, 2008 at 08:28 PM

#2 If the Lakers can some how hold the Suns to under 50 layups tonight Lakers should win.
Posted by: BD | December 10, 2008 at 06:06 PM

#1 Don't celebrate...this was really a Suns victory. Butler will telll us why in 3...2...
Posted by: utzworld - THE BANNER HOLDER | December 10, 2008 at 10:12 PM

I'm not worried about Kobe, because I've just accepted it as fact that he's not what he once was. I know this makes me a heretic, but does anyone see a trend here?

Kobe's PERs:

2004-2005: 28.11
2006-2007: 26.13
2007-2008: 24.09
2008-2009: 23.68

There are three things I've noticed about Kobe last year and even more so this year.

1) He's having much more difficulty getting to the rim. This was particularly evident in the Boston series as he primarily operated from the outside. He says it's merely a case of him settling instead of attacking. But I've never known Kobe not to attack if he has the opportunity. I think the problem isn't that he won't, but that he can't like he used to. He's lost a half step on both offense and defense. A half a step slower Kobe is still better than 98% of the league, but he used to be better than 100% of the league.

2) He's losing the ball in traffic much more frequently. It seems he gets stripped or loses the ball at least 3 or 4 times a game. I don't know if this is his finger or what, but Cuttino Mobley must have stripped him 5 times in one game earlier this year.

3) He's relying too heavily on his pump fake. Because he's not able to blow by guys anymore, he's relying on getting the guy in the air and drawing the foul. It still works sometimes, but the scouting reports are catching up to him and guys are staying down and not biting as much as they once did. As a result, Kobe frequently pump fakes once, twice, three times before finally taking a contested and very difficult fallaway that is not in rhythm. Now, Kobe being Kobe, he still knocks them down more than any other player in the league, but it's not a high percentage shot. Just because he CAN do it doesn't mean he SHOULD.

As I said, the diminshed Kobe is still a top 5 player in the league. But I do worry that he doesn't realize he's not the same player he was, but still insists on playing the way that he did then.

MAMBA24

I pick C.
Which is A + a finals sweep over the Celtics

I think it's jacked up how Phil is treating poor Vladdy! I feel sorry for Vladdy, he's Phil's new whipping boy. I hear he did the same thing with Luc Longley back in the day.

Vladdy "scapegoat" Radmanavic

poor guy...

Long Time,

Here is my proposal for the trade, that you alluded to in the previous thread.

http://tinyurl.com/5lt969

You get back a player that only adds to your payroll for an extra season, and makes the Lakers better in the starting 5 immediately. Miller is a better defender than Vlad Rad, and a better shooter than Lamar. The rotaion might shorten by a player, but 9 guys is really as deep as it should get.

Collins can be a good position defender/calf model and will appease the need for a guy with a "steady base."

Huh - Lakers are moving to 710espn starting next season. Does that mean am570 is going to become the Clippers station?

It is interesting that PJ not only takes Vlade out of the starting line-up but also takes him out of the rotation totally.
Wow, he could have at least inserted him into the game somewhere down the line.
Whereas Phil's reasoning that the offense needed movement, I understand the Luke experiment but since we also needed some defense doesn't it make more sense to start Lamar?
Remember when all of us couldn't wait for the "Triple Towers" ?
Why has PJ refused to even try that line-up. If it fails it fails but you'll never know until you at least attempt it.
Nothing ventured nothing gained.

Enforcer please
BOSTON MUST NOT REPEAT

GO WIZARDS!

Tonight at least.

The article does not say when this will be effective, but the Lakers radio broadcast is moving from 570KCAL to 710ESPN.

http://tinyurl.com/lakersradio

"I think I heard there is something wrong with his pinky.
Like, the ligament is torn off from the bone.
Yeah, I think that's it"

Comedy.

But, I have been saying he isn't moving right for weeks now. I've noticed when he walks there's the look of an old guy every once in a while. Forget which game it was but he didn't move right. I don't think it's so much his hand as another body part - knees, legs, feet - not sure. It makes sense if you think about how off his shot has been and the lack of elevation. Also the lack of defensive intensity. Hope he's ok.

It's just a slump. Nothing terrible. Give it a few weeks or so.

Remember, he pretty much played professional basketball year round last year. He should be in form around Feb. We just need to make sure to keep his minutes down.

Kobe Bryant is still the M.V.P. but with a different meaning on the letters.... Most Valueless Player right now.

LOL,some people are overreacting. Kobe hasn't slipped at all. Those who say he has are lying through their teeth. The guy is playing less minutes for one thing. Secondly look at kobe's opponents production compared to his? It's not even close. He is taking a lesser role,and it helps because the lakers are 18-3. To the guy who says kobe is not playing well. Up until this two game slump he has had kobe was shooting a career high 47.7% from the field. The lakers team defense is horrible. That has nothing to do with kobe,because most of the times it's point guards breaking down our defense and getting into the lane. Even after playing in the finals and in the olympics kobe is getting 25,5,4. while shooting 46%. Quit being drama queens and be happy that we have a team that can still win,without kobe going for 35 a game.

Bizzle,

"Dear brothers K, please do many of us a favor and inquire as to why Andrew Bynum is not on the floor to close out games?"

It's addressed in my practice report coming later today.

AK

BK,

Well, throwing Kobe under the bus is one way to keep the hits coming on the blog. JK. I am not one bit worried about KB24. He is the greatest basketball player in the world. He is probably just suffering a few bad games due to all of the wear and tear he has endured what with playing in the Olympics right after the Finals and then back into training camp.

As for the Lakers, every one of the complainers would have stood in line to sign up to support an 18-3 start by the Lakers. The only Fools Gold around here is Mike T’s jock and bloggers who base their opinion of an entire season on a few games in early December and think you can implement an entire new defensive scheme and attitude in 21 games.

The Lakers came within 2 games of winning the NBA Championship last year without Andrew Bynum and Trevor Ariza. I am frankly embarrassed by the regular bloggers who are eagerly jumping on the Chicken Little Bandwagon like the fools who missed Mike T. Thank God that the Lakers front office, coaching staff, and players have more confidence in the team than the LA Times Lakers Blog, overflowing with posters who believe a temporary bump in the road to the championship is the big one finally hitting LA.

Wake up and smell the roses. If you cannot enjoy this team, there is plenty of room on the Clippers and Suns blogs for you to really express your loss and lack of faith in your team. Stop embarrassing yourselves with your dire proclamations and idiot trade proposals. As Mamba reminds you, we are the FREAKING LOS ANGELES LAKERS. Stop acting like Clippers and Suns fans! Trust that we will right the ship and win the NBA championship. If you cut your throats in despair after our horrible 21-3 start, you will miss the great finish.

Calm down and chillax, bloggers! As always, JMNSHO.

Tom

Kobe will be all right.

Kobe's kobe. He just needs to stop gambling on D as far as I'm concerned.

Love the top 10. Tied? Come on lol, jk.

Why does the blog hate Luke? Let me count the ways. No wait, I don't have time. It'll take years lol.

TEAM USA, LONG SEASON, GOOD TEAM OVERALL, HE IS SAVING ENERGY NOW, U LL SEE THE REAL KOBE IN SOME TIME !!!

>>>According to LTLF, it has something to do with the
>>>explosion of Garcia, well Garcia exploded on any Laker
>>>guarding him.

No, what I said was that that was one small part of it. it was also
the explosions of Caron Butler, Thaddeus Young, and Danny
Granger, not to mention the fact that Vlad had more turnovers (11)
than assists (7) over the last few games.

Look. Luke's defense is at least as good as Vlad's. Vlad is
a better shooter, Luke is a better passer and runs the triangle
better. It's not like Phil benched Bynum to start MBenga here.
Luke is about the same talent level as Vlad. Neither of them is
ever going to be an all-star, but they each have some talents
that can help the team.

The team had had a stretch of playing down to their competition,
so Phil decided to try something new. Would you prefer he be
loyal to a fault to his starters and let them lose a few more games
to sub-500 teams?

I was watching a game at the Staples and I went to get a beer and hot dog at the concession stand. On the way there I went into the tunnel and it was dark as hell. I instantly got a weird feeling and got goosebumps, when all of a sudden I tripped on a wheelchair. In the dark I see this figure start to materialize and it was Pierce with a smile and chanting "Beat La, Beat LA" Of course I start to freak out and quickly tried to go through only to find a door shut at the end of the tunnel. I tried to open it but it wouldn't and I started banging on it. The door suddenly burst open, and it was Kevin Garnett pounding on his chest yelling "what you got to say now!" looking all prime evil. WTF is going on I thought, I need to get out of here. I turned the corner and there was PJ sitting on the bench. Meanwhile, I faintly hear the announcer saying the Celts were on a 20-2 run and has taken the lead. I see Pj again just sitting down, and I started yelling "call a time out PJ, call a damn timeout." All of a sudden I see Odom with a hot dog, which I try to grab from him. He ran away from me and all of a sudden a deafening whistle sounds, and it looks like Odom was called for a backcourt violation. Now I seem to be floating in the air and I can see Kobe shooting brick after brick, missing lay ups, turning the ball over and called for an offensive foul. I am totally freaking out and I want out of there now. In my panic, I hear this sooting voice, saying "Lew keep the faith, Lew keep the faith." It was Chick Hearn. "The Lakers will give you great joys, but it will at times break you're heart." Remember we are the good guys and we always come out on top at the end."
Then he started fading away and I was yelling "Chick, chick how do we fix our defense? Chick, chick...and then SLAP...it was my wife, "Wake up! Wake up, you're dreaming! I sat up in bed and though, WOW that was a trip...only true Laker fans have dreams like this.

Hi Hog;

No offense meant at all - just a little gentle ribbing, just a
bit. I'll cut it back, though - no one's feeling all that super
right now.

Don't micromanage the Lakers, fellow blogmeisters. It's
the ability to evolve as a unit that will serve this journey.
Ah Khallam Bey Vinanda - go pour yourself a tall one, Hog.

>>>Garcia exploded on any Laker guarding him.

Garcia made 9 of his 21 points in the first 6 minutes of the game,
with Radmanovic "guarding" him. The worst of it was when
Garcia blocked Rad's 3-point shot. Rad stood there staring at the
shot, while Garcia ran out on offense and got a long pass for a dunk.
Once Vlad saw that his shot was blocked, if he'd have ran back on
defense, he probably could have prevented that fast break.

Vlad also managed to pass the ball to John Salmons who
went the other way for a layup in that same 6 minute
period.

In the fourth quarter, with Rad out for basically the whole quarter,
Garcia shot 3 for 7. With Rad guarding him, it was 5 for 6.

And yes, John Salmons went off for the game as well, but
it's not like you're going to bench Kobe and start Sasha. The
difference between Rad and Luke isn't very great. There's
nobody you could sub in for Kobe who would be even close.

You ever notice,
"Remember when all of us couldn't wait for the "Triple Towers" ?"

Not all of us. Lamar's best position is PF, he is not good at perimeter defense against SFs, and he doesn't have a good outside shot. On this roster, the best way to use him is in some type of Bynum/Gasol/Odom PF/C rotation.

Sorry to blow up everyone's preconceived notions of Luke Walton, but I have a few interesting statistics for you all. I know stats don't tell the whole story, but they tell a whole lot of it...

1) In 2007-2008, Luke Walton ranked in the top third in SF in steals per minute. That's right. The big, slow white dude (that one's for you Jay Jay) ranked ahead of Danny Granger, Corey Maggette, Shane Battier, Travis Outlaw, Luol Deng, Tayshaun Prince, Josh Howard and Richard Jefferson (to name a few). If you watch Luke play, he may not be the greatest one on one defender, but he's an extremely attentive help defender. This is reflected in the fact that...

2) In 2007-2008, the Lakers gave up 2.8 points per game fewer per 48 minutes with Luke Walton on the court than with him off it. That's right. The Lakers held their opposition to FEWER points while Luke was on the floor.

The problem isn't Luke's defense. The problem is that he can't shoot or make a layup. If he got that early 2006-2007 confidence he had to knock down that open 3 and also if he could show some more restraint around the rim, he could be a very useful player.

To divert from the Kobe talk for just a second. If anyone here is an avid ALL-STAR voter and happens to be a rooter of Andrew Bynum (not many of you are) Please head over to NBA.com and make it a habit to vote early and often. Right now, Bynum is fourth in the West Ballot for ALL-Star Center, barely behind Shaq, Okur and some else. He has 155,000 plus vote. It may be impossible for him to catch Yao but it is indeed possible for him to hawk Shaq and take that second spot.

Gasol has 260,00 plus votes and is further down in a deeper West forward ballot but he can and should catch up if we do our part.

I think Kobe's finger/legs are either bothering him more than we are let on and that is ok. Its the NBA people get and play hurt all the time. Something tells me that he is "Shaqing" it...in that lazy coattail mode until after the ALL-Star break.

If that is what Kobe is doing, it is good for the team because then the long season would make the rest of the team gel and Kobe would know exactly where he fits and asserts himself in the big-time.

As for Phil Jackson, that guy is suffering from something. He is contracting himself...he talks about pulling Bynum because of his defense, then its simple...leave him in the fire so he learns from being burned. He's just playing his stupid mind game with those guys and its not funy anymore. He is ultimately holding this team back and he needs to walk when the season is over...and for pete's sake get a player or two willing to stick to defensive principles or hand the defensive portfolio over to someone else.

From where I'm siting, Jackson is slowly loosing the ear of this team, they see what is starting to look like an erratic trend. And I think it is safe to say that if Odom isn't gone by trade deadline he won't be coming back next season. That much is set in stone. Two places we are still weak defensively---Point Guard and Small Forward. Farmar is pretty much secure but we've got to get better than Vlady (on his space cadet nights lol) and Odom/ Luke Walton who is really a bench player.

Not everyone has a perfect game but Odom has more basketball blunders per possession than anyone on the team. But yah, Kobe IMO is fine.

"Pig" Miller,

>>>Here is my proposal for the trade, that you alluded to in
>>>the previous thread.
>>>
>>>http://tinyurl.com/5lt969

I like Mike Miller and I don't even mind Jason Collins that much.
I'm sure Mike T would appreciate the size of his calves.

I'm guessing you're assuming here that Minnesota would be
doing this as a salary dump (to dump Miller's salary). Is that
correct? I can't see any way that Lamar would be willing to
re-sign with the Timber-losers.

The other thing here is that ugly salary issue again. Miller
will make 9 million next year. Toss that onto the existing bonfire
of Laker salaries for next season and you're up to over 84 million.
How much more is Buss willing to spend? If he was willing
to spend 82 million, he could have kept Ronny Turiaf this season.
So when it gets to 84 million, I don't think he'd be willing to add
6 or 7 million more (doubled) to keep Ariza.

So which would you rather have? Ariza or Mike Miller?

There is nothing wrong with Mr. Kobe Bryant. Amazing and Godly gifted people, Like Mr. Bryant has human like qualities but in the realm of earthly existence there is always reasons for a change.

Over the 15 years that I have observed Mr. Bryant, I have found that he was born to be the greatest of his era in the basketball professional sport. He knows, he sees, he plays hard, he makes sure that his positive stamina is over the limit functional, he never stops for injuries-except broken ankles, legs, arms, shoulders, etc., he is defensive and offensive with expertise excellence and most of all, he can win a game by himself.

At 62 years old, I have lived through many great people in all occupations in their era, Mr. Bryant is the greatest in the world in his era.

I never question the actions of the great ones for I or anyone else can make a determination for what they do.

So, it is best to sit back and watch, observe and enjoy because people like Mr. Bryant never lose their gigantic scope on their God given tasks until they say, "I am through!"

>>>The offense is fine. We don't need a "Triangle expert",

Really?

The offense that scored 16 points in the 4th quarter against Indiana,
19 points in the 4th quarter against Washington, and 21 points
in the 4th against Sacramento may be "fine" with you, but it kinda
sucked from my viewpoint.

It's a shame that the Bobcats don't have any desirable players on their roster. Or else I'd want Mitch to be calling MJ every hour, everyday.

Long Time Laker Fan,

Please. Please. No talk of trades.

Let's no do anything to make Michael Teniente a prophet.

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

GO LAKERS!

Eric M,

>>>I really don't see anything Luke can contribute to the defense.

Well, the biggest thing is really a lack of turnovers. He turns
the ball over a lot less than Ariza or Rad.

>>>Trevor is our best defender. Luke and Vlad are about the same.

I agree with that wholeheartedly.

So let's say you start Ariza. That means there's only one
real outside threat (Fish), so opposing defenses can pack
in the lane and double and triple Bynum & Gasol (and
Kobe if he tries to drive into the Lane).

And then the bench mob is playing Luke or Rad instead of
Ariza, so the defense takes a hit there instead of with the starters.

I've got nothing against starting any one of Ariza, Walton,
Rad, or Odom at SF. I think each offers certain benefits
and certain drawbacks.

For a while at the start of the season, they were very
effective with Rad starting. Then something went wrong
and the team started playing down a notch. So PJ tried
to shake things up a bit by starting a player who has started
many games for the team.

Maybe they'll get into a groove with Luke in the starting
lineup, win 20 straight, and he'll keep that spot all the way
through their sweep of the Cavs in the finals. Or maybe PJ
just did it to light a fire under Rad, and he'll go back to starting
Rad next game and Rad will go back to playing harder on defense.

It wouldn't surprise me if PJ experiments a little more and
tries Ariza &/or Odom as the starting SF spot.

I know these Lakers are deep, but I have a nagging feeling they would learn to play together on both ends better and learn the system better if Phil shortened the rotation and played the starters more minutes, and doled the rest of the minutes to key reserves - especially Odom and Farmar.

LTLF,

I second what Eric M told you, OK Vladrad was not doing the job on his assignment, do you think Luke can guard those players you mentioned. We are not in defense of Vlad but put it in proper perspectives, the whole team are very inconsistent on their defense. There are times when they excel on their steals, then another segment they are watching a lay up from a lousy turnover. I saw these scenes with Sasha, Farmar, Vladdy, Kobe, Lamar a complete bystander, where is the defense?

LTLF, all we do is exposed what is glaring flaw out there. In your case, if we follow your posts, Lakers will be changing or trading players in every game because you never run out of ideas of trading someone. Then you back it up with your fuzzy statistics.

"There is nothing wrong with Mr. Kobe Bryant. Amazing and Godly gifted people, Like Mr. Bryant has human like qualities but in the realm of earthly existence there is always reasons for a change."

what a butt kisser. i hope this person is joking.

all this kobe talk is reminding me of a conversation i had with a certain blogger whom i won't name, but i made the argument that star players begin the decline at age 30. i belive mr. bryant is now 30 and will begin to be a shadow of his former self.

i once heard the comment that once star players age, they can bring it once in a while, but not every single night. mr. bryant falls into that category now.

i will give some credit to mr. bryant with being a better teammate this year (and last year for the most part), but i sometime see the old ballhog bryant come out when the lakers are losing. case in point in sacramento when the lakers were down 15, ballhog bryant began jacking up bad shots in the 4th quarter.

lakers better begin to play some defense or they'll have problems in the playoffs.

Puddle,

You wrote this: Kobe's PERs:

2004-2005: 28.11
2006-2007: 26.13
2007-2008: 24.09
2008-2009: 23.68

There are three things I've noticed about Kobe last year and even more so this year.

1) He's having much more difficulty getting to the rim. This was particularly evident in the Boston series as he primarily operated from the outside. He says it's merely a case of him settling instead of attacking. But I've never known Kobe not to attack if he has the opportunity. I think the problem isn't that he won't, but that he can't like he used to. He's lost a half step on both offense and defense. A half a step slower Kobe is still better than 98% of the league, but he used to be better than 100% of the league.

2) He's losing the ball in traffic much more frequently. It seems he gets stripped or loses the ball at least 3 or 4 times a game. I don't know if this is his finger or what, but Cuttino Mobley must have stripped him 5 times in one game earlier this year.

3) He's relying too heavily on his pump fake. Because he's not able to blow by guys anymore, he's relying on getting the guy in the air and drawing the foul. It still works sometimes, but the scouting reports are catching up to him and guys are staying down and not biting as much as they once did. As a result, Kobe frequently pump fakes once, twice, three times before finally taking a contested and very difficult fallaway that is not in rhythm. Now, Kobe being Kobe, he still knocks them down more than any other player in the league, but it's not a high percentage shot. Just because he CAN do it doesn't mean he SHOULD.

As I said, the diminshed Kobe is still a top 5 player in the league. But I do worry that he doesn't realize he's not the same player he was, but still insists on playing the way that he did then.

my response:

I find it AMAIZNG that you and others tend to have a
myopic vision of things. He's averaging 5 pts less than
he was 4 years ago. You mean that he's averaging
5 pts less per game than when he had Smush Parker
for a PG, Kwame Brown and Chris Mihm for Centers,
& a useless Brian Cook for a forward? While he's
averaging b/n 5 & 7 minutes less per game?

You speak of him not getting to the rim. You mean
after winning TWO scoring titles in a row and single
handedly beating the Raptors he's not getting to the
rim anymore? Might it be that the ENTIRE NBA has
tilted their defense to stop him from penetrating? I
still have two of the Lakers vs. Celtics games on the
disk. It was interesting to see the WALL that the
Celtics built to stop Kobe from getting to the rim. If you
go back and look at the Lakers vs. the Pacers you'll
see the same thing.

You speak of him not attacking. You mean that he's not
attacking AFTER HIS COACH TOLD HIM TO BE A
FACILITATOR??? He's not attacking after HE'S BEEN
CALLED A BALLHOG? He's not attacking after being
PUBLICLY RIDICULED BY BARKLEY, MAGIC & others
for not making SMUSH PARKER, KWAME BROWN, &
BRIAN COOK better players?

On DirecTV, channel 601, they play classic games.
Recently, I had a chance to watch the 2000/2001
Lakers play the Kings. Oddly enough, I didn't see him
going to the hole very much & he passed the ball to
his teammates. A lot like he's doing right now!

Did you pay attention to Team USA basketball? Did you
notice that he didn't shoot very much during the games?
Did you pay attention to what the coaches said about
him? To paraphrase: During practice, KOBE DESTROYED
THE OPPOSING TEAM!

As you're noticing the decllining numbers, are you
paying attention to LeBron James? I quote: " I'm on
record as saying this before, and I'll say it again. Kobe
is the best player in the NBA." Perhaps, he doesn't hold
any weight with you. How about a quote from Larry
Bird? And I quote: "There's only one player on Team
USA who would have played on the dream team and
that's Kobe Bryant."

So let's see if I got this right ...

1. He turned 30 in august.
2. He's won 2 scoring titles and an MVP in the last 3 yrs.
3. He won an Olympic Gold.
4. His teammates have been upgraded.

and you'e saying he's lost a half step?

I'm all for finding that last Championship piece via a trade, and the more I think about it, the more I realize that this team can handle any player, any situation, and baggage that comes its way. I don’t think there’s a player in the NBA that this team can’t transform into a fit soldier. The world knows Kobe is the big dog on the block, they know he (and the whole team now, thanks to Kobe's lead/example) won't tolerate slackers, that winning is everything.

I'm even starting to look Starbury's way. What's the worst that can happen if we sign him? He takes minutes away from Fisher if he's good, he sit's on the bench if he's bad, and he gets cut if he pisses Phil off.

Honestly. I have no idea if Starbury can still play, but if he can, if he has enough pride left to be a quite soldier on an already loaded team--if he can give fits to the Celtics like Rondo has given us fits, I say maybe, if he ever gets free, give him a look.

I just don't want to be the bills and lose every year to the Celtics, who have a starting 5 that right now look uneatable to me.

Thinking out loud.

Wes

I noticed that Kobe's game began to drop-off since last year. It was more noticeable after he injured his pinkie. His 3-points have been failing before the injury. His mid-range used to turn into free-throws but now more into turnovers. That was why he had so many technicals last year – because he was frustrated. The injury started to affect his freethrows and he never recovered. I noticed that he usually missed his first freethrows and then adjusted himself to basket the second. In fact, in technical freethrow situation, he missed more than he made. His defense was troublesome when he began to “roam”. He would leave his assignment and went to assist his teammates. Normally he went for a steal instead of a trap, which usually resulted in leaving his own man alone to score. I don’t know if it was Phil’s idea or his to “roam” because Kobe is still a great one-on-one defender. He did it in the Olympics. He was a bad shooter in the Olympics but he defended well. He is more effective to play one-on-one and lock down the best players in the opposing teams.

I want to add that it is not given that Kobe will re-sign with the Lakers next year. It all depends on the outcome of the playoff. Kobe is playing for the ring. If he fails to get one this year, and see that another year will be another year with the same system and same coaching, he will walk. And Phil seems to setup Kobe as the fall guy. Phil has already shielded himself away 72-10 wins, as if to say that he is not responsible for such hype. If Lakers do not get the ring, Phil will make Kobe looks like he is uncoachable, Kobe is not buying into his system, … There will be a blowout between Phil and Kobe and obviously Phil wins the argument and Kobe walks.

That is why I am saying that it is very important to hold Phil accountable for his coaching. Is Luke the answer to Lakers’ problem? If not, what is he doing to remedy the situation?

A good coach will find a way to maximize all his available players, like Byron Scott. He made a much less talented team into a contender. A bad coach forces everyone into his own system even though it is not practical. Kobe did not flourish in Phil’s system. Last year, there was two Kobe’s. The first half is the facilitating Kobe. He gave up his scoring to help his teammates. The second half is the scoring Kobe. He started shooting and driving. There was no in between. This year, there were a few games that Kobe did not play the 4th quarter. After that, he started becoming aggressive even in the first quarter. I don’t see how Kobe being a scorer and facilitator at the same time. If Lakers need a facilitator, it should be a non-scorer like Lamar, or a point guard. Phil is asking a scorer not to score. For what? So, at best, a less talented player score 2 points instead of Kobe. Luke being the facilitator make better sense but why Luke, not Vlad, not Lamar, not Sasha or even Powell. They all have better quality than Luke. I don’t have 9rings, I have no right to question!

Contrary to most people, I don’t think Lakers’ half-court offense is that great! Lakers score by fastbreak. When they were forced to play half-court, they stagnated. They couldn’t make the inward pass. If they did, there were too many “trees” between the players and basket. They had to shoot mid-range and Lakers don’t have consistent jumpers. So, it does not matter what Phil says and wants to do. If Lakers play Phil’s games, it looks ugly and may lose. If they play the wrong way by fastballs, by steals, by playing no defense, they win a lot of games but no championship. I wish I’m wrong. We will see the result in the playoff.

Random thoughts. Or as LakerTom would say JMHOFXIRYE

Kobe's doing a Big Game James thing? Coasting in the regular season. Will he wake up in time for the playoffs?

Farmar after all this time still has not learned the triangle. He's like the annoying little brother. The one that goes "Can I play, can I, can I? Nyah nyah, I played more than 3 minutes."

Dfish is clutch, just can't make a layup to save his life.

Ariza can't play a crunchtime till he raises his free throw percentage. Teams will learn they can hack a shaq him.

Bynum can't pass from the post but he does make more FT than Shaq. I bet KAJ can beat him one on one.

LO is going the way of Cedric Maxwell. Mchale (AB/Pau) showing up made him expendable.

Pau is the best low post option.

Only 3 players can call out the team to account, Kobe, Pau and Dfish. None willing. Hence this team has no leader.

Did anyone actually read Mike T's laker breakdown at his site? And if one did, would he do it again?

wesjoe,
"I don’t think there’s a player in the NBA that this team can’t transform into a fit soldier."

Then why trade for someone?

The Lakers have four young players in their rotation who are going through mini-slumps and/or recovering from injuries, all at the same time. Vujacic, Bynum, Farmar, and Ariza.

Vujacic didn't have a pre-season, and is trying to get his shot back while only playing a few minutes at a time. Last night was a return of his old form.

Bynum is still coming back from his injury, figuring out his offensive game, and (I think) having a little bit of an attitude problem. He is rounding into form, though, and showing steady improvement.

Ariza's shooting has been off lately; we'll find out if this is a slump or a return to earth. If the former, great. If the latter, then he will adjust his game and not shoot quite as much.

Farmar, as the PG on the bench mob, has to dealing with the dropoff of these players (as well as Odom going into one of his periodic offensive funks.) It's not a surprise he is trying to do too much on his own, and his game is not developed enough yet for that.

Who knows what will happen with Odom, but I expect all four of the other players to settle down and find their grooves. When that happens, things will be fine.

Ex,

>>> The Lakers have four young players in their rotation who are going through mini-slumps and/or recovering from injuries, all at the same time.

A very wise post. The real concern is with the starters, who -- except for Pau -- are not delivering in the way the way the team needs right now. The same for Lamar, who, given the chance, is not the leader on the floor he is in the locker room.

Therefore, the central question remains: Can this team, as constituted, play at the level required to win a Championship? If not, what are the options?

As a fan, I only have questions. I don't have the answers. But answers are needed, and the time to get them is now.

Thanks for a great post.

Exhelo,

I think you know what I mean. You can transform a player into a role player but you can’t add talent that's not already there. That's why we may need a trade. The Lakers have great bigs but need better smalls. Right now we have Lamar, thus the ability to get a quality small. I don't care, BTW, one bit about Buss spending money. I care that there's an option open if indeed we want to spend money to improve the team. Right now that option exists and because we're so far over the cap, a similar financial situation may be years away.

Also, Lamar is keeping Bynum out of games in the forth. All I'm saying, is that if we could get a guy like Billups or Andre Miller or Mike Bibby or Steve Nash for Lamar, I'd do it. Baby.

Wes

plum loco...plum loco...

AK/BK, please bring this question up back up midseason or towards the end of season when the trends will play itself out...

ex,

>>>>>The Lakers have four young players in their rotation who are going through
>>>>>mini-slumps and/or recovering from injuries, all at the same time.
>>>>>Vujacic, Bynum, Farmar, and Ariza.

>>>>>I expect all four of the other players to settle down and find their grooves.
>>>>>When that happens, things will be fine.

Well said, ex. Still “exhelo” succinct but more meat to ponder. But you are right that these guys are still young and relatively inexperienced. Throw in an entirely new defensive system and a struggling Kobe Bryant and Lamar Odom and you get a very inconsistent team.

We all need to be patient and realistic about how long it will take for these guys to develop into championship players. As a team, last year’s Lakers arrived a couple of years earlier than many experts expected. It is not impossible that the difficulties we are seeing now could end up in this year’s team also not being ready. That is the question that the rest of this season will answer. I think we will see a championship team emerge as the season progresses.

But there are good reasons to be confident that the Lakers will develop into a strong defensive team by the end of the year. First, Drew and Trevor, their best two defensive players after Kobe, are still very young and raw defensively and, as you pointed out, both recovering from injuries that kept them out the second half of last season. What is also obvious is that both players have physical skills, size and length, and desire to become All-NBA defensive players.

Second, no matter how poorly the Lakers have played on defense the last few games, the coaches and the players realize that they have to be a better defensive team if they really want to take the championship away from the Celtics. We have a defensive coach and system now. And I believe a defensive commitment. The problem is that you can’t just implement a totally new defensive system and attitude in 21 games. That will be a season-long challenge.

I would say that the one position that does worry me a little is point guard. I feel comfortable that we will have fine defense at center with Drew, power forward with Pau and Lamar, small forward with Trevor, and shooting guard with Kobe (when he wants to), but point guard will be the position that will need great team defense to help defend. Sun Yue could be the answer but not anywhere in the near future which means that Jordan better pick up his game.

Like you, I still love this team. We just need to get it together on defense. The key to me is still Drew. He is the key to the defense and is playing hesitantly and getting caught in between. Once he figures out that the place to protect the rim is at the rim, our defense will take off. Drew needs to become the Big Intimidator who swats away or alters every layup attempt.

Anyway, to me the worst possible thing that can happen with this team this year (other than injury, of course) is that they are still a year too young to beat the Celtics because once they do beat the Celtics, another Lakers Dynasty will be born and the Celtics will fade away like the
Kings and Suns, knowing that their championship windows were just slammed shut.

JMNSHBO! Just My Not So Humble Biased Opinion…

Tom

"When the blog starts to agree with Mike T’s hair-brained defensive theories and the copycat media who claim the Lakers are too soft, then I feel it is time to speak up."

Let me see. The copycat media? That would imply that the media is reading me. That idea just eats you up, doesn't it? LOL!

Laker Tom wants the media to take him serious. He wants the media to "read" him and pat him on the back. He put so much effort in his post...this has to be eating at him to the point where he has to "speak up." LOL!

I mean, what is wrong with this guy? The defensive flaws in the Lakers are obvious and here Laker Tom is saying: It isn't so! It isn't so!

Now you understand that when he said the Lakers would average 120 points a game this season...he was serious. Just like he doesn't see the Lakers' defensive problems...he's serious!

Gee, the copycat media?????

Everything is pointing to the problem and everyone is wrong except for him. Again, he's serious!

mike t.

Copycat!
Copycat!
You're nothing but a big old fat COPYCAAAAAAAAT!

LOL!

mike t.