WOW! Did the Lakes overplay their hand with Ariza? Hope not, but he's looking really good with the Houstonians!

Pau has played two NBA Finals, and 2 Summers for Spain in the last 2 years.
He has the body type of a long distance runner rather than a sprinter so hopefully he can go for a long time without breaking down.
His hamstring injury this early in the season can be absorbed by the Lakers.
But I have nightmares of it reoccuring in the playoffs.
Does anyone remember how Magic and Byron's hamstrings popped in the 89 Finals after the lunatic Riley overworked his players in practice?
It prevented the Showtime from ever threepeating.

Mitch is probably working on trade scenarios for the bench right now. Aside from LO and UPS, I think everyone on the bench is trade material.
C'mon Mitch pull off another Ariza for Cook and Evans type deal.

And that future HOFr thats suppose to replace DFish.

starve the trolls....starve the trolls...you are getting very sleepy....cause the trolls are boring...starve the trolls...

Greetings Lakeshow Fans,

It's great to be back on the blog!

Wow! What's all this EARLY negativity towards the Lakers organization? Lakers regular season game #2 loss to Mavs, free-agent departure Ariza's unexpected offensive surge in Houston, add-on Artest's lack of impact thus far, Phil's lack of coaching "fire", benchmob's meltdown, Gasol's hammy.... Hmmm....

Folks...ADVERSITY is always a good thing. If you recall, that's what got the Lakers the 2008-2009 NBA Championship! WAYYY TOOO EARLYYY to tell at this point.

I know some people are looking at Boston, Orlando, SA's (in my estimation, the three best teams that will challenge LA all around) latest victims in terms of blowout wins compared to the Lakers 7 pt win vs Clips and 14 point debacle against the Mavs at HOME.

Whether you win by 40 points or win by 1, it counts as 1 WIN only! I'm curious to see how long these revered teams that "blowout" opponents will last when it comes to keeping up the "intensity" that it requires day in, day out. There is a difference between "managing" energy and "exerting" it to the fullest. Smart teams always look at it as an on-going process. After all, Rome wasn't built in one day....

Cleveland and Boston last season were prime examples of what happens when a team presses the gas way too much prior to the finish line. All the wins and nothing to show for it in the end. What's the point? The last time I checked, it's a 82 game season including playoffs that require 16 wins for the big prize. That's a lot of burn!

Furthermore, Artest's adjustment, Gasol's health and bench issue should improve in time. Phil will right the ship as he has done 10 times before. Life is a strange and eventful thing indeed...We shall see...

Anyways, looking forward to the Hawks game Sunday as well as the many others that lie ahead.

Laker pride through ALL and ANY ADVERSITY!

every shot Ariza made last night was like a dagger to my heart

Folks, there are so many kinds of Laker fans,one group will cheer to the hilt even if when they notice there is something wrong, it is not in their system to scold their players or be critical to their team. The other type will tell it it is, they still love the team but they have to express their disgusts on what is going on. They have to vent to reach the point across. It is like a parent who love his kids and has to express his anger as his way of teaching lesson. Both fans have the same objective, they want the team to excel. Oftenly their point of views always clashed whether half-full or half-empty opinions but the focus remains on the glass. It goes like this: the sky is not falling why do we criticize the team after just two games? The other will say, it is better to be frank and candid to put them back on track after two games The prize is not easy which is a REPEAT.

Therefore, for newcomers like the trolls in the blog, they will often misinterpret with what is being said here. They are not used to work in a blog family, not familiar at all with the Laker nation culture. The trolls will blog to all sites and treat them all the same. They are here to destroy not support, they post to mock, not offer any constructive criticisms. What makes them different from Al Qaeda or little devils? Well, this is just basketball discussions, there are no bombs thrown or people killed but they inner intentions or feelings are about the same. They hate to any kind of Laker success. We have known these mold-liked tactics since time immemorial as the leprechaun way to gain happiness by teasing, mocking, hating, tempting. Their suggestions are worthless and their posts are rated "dangerous" to our health. Treat those posts like a grain of salt, it could be tasty but after absorbing so much in the long run it could be harmful to our system.

Laker in BC -
I discussed this yesterday on another blog - I believe with Edwin.

Mitch is actually working on two separate trades.
1. Farmar and Morrison to GS to Monta Ellis and Stephen Curry- Don Nelson will bite on that one.
2. Sasha and Walton to Memphis for OJ Mayo and two #1 picks. Memphis let you rob them 2 yrs ago, so they figure they owe you another one.

Face it BC - no one wants your scrubs. This is your team love it or hate it. And, maybe this year you guys will finally see what is generally known outside of LA - your bench can't get any better, because Phil Jackson does not develop players. I will give you Bynum, as a work in progress (but if he craps out this year......), but other than that, name ONE player on this roster, drafted by LA and developed by Phil that can make a difference. Great Coach - sure, you can't win 10 titles and NOT be a good coach. But Phil Jackson is an opportunist, and no Larry Brown, Gregg Popovich, or Jerry Sloan. And we won't even mention the guy he passed. (who retired at 48, btw)

What makes them different from Al Qaeda or little devils? Well, this is just basketball discussions, there are no bombs thrown or people killed but they inner intentions or feelings are about the same. They hate to any kind of Laker success. We have known these mold-liked tactics since time immemorial as the leprechaun way to gain happiness by teasing, mocking, hating, tempting. - Edwin Gueco

Dear K Bros - I can take a little good-natured ribbing as well as the next man. I can dish it out as well. But, AL QAEDA?? Why doesn't he just call all trolls Nazis and be done with it?
My father, who died in 2008, was a decorated WWII vet, and as an American, I am offended by these comments. I have shown nothing but respect for the lakers organization since I've been on here. The fans? A different story!! But, it's just basketball, isn't it? I have said many times I hope the lakers play the CELTICS in the Finals this year, and every year. It is great for basketball. I do not hate the lakers, but I'm really starting to not like some of the im-posters on here!! I would like a retraction, please. Despite any First Amendment stuff, he does not have the right to compare me to a terrorist, am I right? I may never get one, but I feel I should. This is over the line!!

GGBHL,

The "Al Qaeda" comparison was made in a basketball blogging sense, in that it becomes war (of sorts, on a much smaller, considerably less important scale) on the blog between fans. Smack talk is the "battle." It was hyperbole to the nth degree, overly dramatic and pretty silly (I personally would have used a different phrase), but at the same time, it wasn't being lobbied at the "trolls" as individuals away from the Internet. He didn't say the trolls were like Al Qaeda as actual people. Moreover, it wasn't directed specifically at you. Thus, if you don't think you've crossed a line and don't consider yourself a "troll," then why worry about it? The whole thing isn't even worth sweating to begin with.

Having said that, I do think it's important for you to remember that if you are coming onto a site multiple times a day specifically to put down the Lakers, there's very little friendliness you should expect in return. You may be attempting to talk basketball in earnest (and I often think you do), but at the same time, you're undoubtedly irritating people. I don't consider an irritation that crosses a line, but it does guarantee a frosty reception heading your way. We've have MANY readers ask us to ban readers rooting for other teams and keep it a pure "Laker world," and we steadfastly refuse. BK and I believe smack talk is a vital part of sports, and beyond that, banning people from the community because they don't root Lakers is seriously lame. It's a weak request and would be an equally weak policy. But at the same time, there's only so much backward bending we're willing to do in order to make your stay as a seriously vocal contrarian as pleasant as possible. Assuming the posts don't cross the line into the personal, my advice to both sides is the same: Develop a thicker skin, lighten up and, if need be, just scroll on past.

Also, you made the following statement: "I have shown nothing but respect for the lakers organization since I've been on here. The fans? A different story!! But, it's just basketball, isn't it?" The blog rules dictate the reverse decorum. If you want to show disrespect to the franchise, so be it. That's what comes from rivalries. But it's mandatory that respect be shown to the fans/readers as individuals on the blog. I'm not saying you haven't. I'm just making sure you know where BK and my priorities lie.

If you have any further questions about this, please email us at kambrothers@yahoo.com. I don't want to bog down this thread with a discussion between us.

AK

A note to all readers,

When addressing other readers, have the respect to address him/her by their actual, full name, not a "nickname" of sorts. Failing to do so will lead to comments not going live.

AK

The reason the Lakers are losing is that they do not have Pau Gasol.

Pau Gasol makes the Lakers a much more dangerous team. He greatly improves their defense and their offense. He can play Center and Power Forward.

Without Pau, they don't have a center to back up Andrew Bynum.
Without Pau, they don't have a dangerous Power Forward, who is absolutely consistent, who plays great defense.

The BIG TWO on the Lakers are Kobe and Pau.

Andrew, Odom, and Artest are much more limited players - each with flaws in their game, despite how good they are.

Andrew can't take the Lakers over the top like Pau can.
Odom is inconsistent.
Artest can't shoot well - though hopefully he will improve as he gets to know his place in the triangle offense. He currently just looks lost.

The Lakers were very frustrated by the Mavericks. This is because they are not playing with their second best player - Pau. It is like driving with one of your wheels flat.

I hope Pau comes back soon 100%. He is THE KEY to repeating as champions. Of course, losing Kobe loses everything. But the Lakers without Pau cannot win the championship. Simple as that.

As good as the other players are, they simply cannot bring to the table what Pau Gasol can bring.

While I respect the K Bros policy (in contrast to the Dodgers blog), the downside is a risk of a diminishing signal-to-noise ratio that gets seriously out of hand. I've seen this happen in other blogs.

It would be nice if we could somehow have a commenter filter in this blog to weed out some of the chaff (or even better, a filter by conversation). That way the K Bros don't have to be in the awkward position of censors.

Though it puzzles me why a Celtics fan would even spend time bothering to argue on this blog, or conversely why a Lakers fan would spend any time on a Celtics blog. Do people really have that much spare time on their hands?

GGBHL - now you're rewording your original post and splitting hairs just to be argumentative. You're becoming petty and boring and to be honest, I'm usually a very easy person to get along with on this blog. I don't hate on other teams or their fans. There's no point in continuing this discussion, it's ceased to be substantive and there's no entertainment value.

I would have liked to kept Ariza, he was key last year, but I understand Kupchak's move.

I hope Ariza does well, just not when he plays us.

Stockton - Your bench is not good. Your bench will not get better because Phil doesn't develop players. I said he was a great coach. Did you skip that part? But, my point is, have him switch places with Jerry Sloan for ONE year. Utah won't make the playoffs, and the Lakers will win easily.
Why is everyone so touchy today?

Another win for the old guys.
4-0 3 playoff teams from last year

tomK - Rondo would start on your team over Brown, Fisher OR Farmar - and you know it. There is more to being a point guard than shooting. He took 2 shots the other night, and was the dominant player on the floor. If you could afford him next year, you'd cut both Fisher and Farmar and sign Rondo. PLEASE tell me you are only kidding here!!

tomK - bad news, then for Farmar.
If he is better than Rondo, which anyone knows he is NOT,
then Farmar should be worth more than the 5 yr 55 mill contract Rondo signed this morning.
Rondo is better than Brown, Fisher, and Farmar.
But keep having fun with the troll, your basketball acumen makes my day!!